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It had been a long day.
Running errands without Blake always led to a painfully long day. Yang couldn’t complain because her wife was bending over backwards and driving across the country to collect a very specific birthday present for their kids (which may or may not include an assortment of sneakers and clothing that should beat Weiss’ expensive gifts for once).
So, now, after stumbling into their home and stashing the bags of party hats, paper plates and other small gifts in the wardrobe of their bedroom, Yang had collapsed onto the sofa. A sigh of relief as her muscles ached from the hours of standing in line at too many stores for her to count.
That wasn’t even the worst of it. The worst was having to pick out clothing with Kali, who had caught a boat to Vale to stay for the week for her grandchildren's birthday. What should have been a short task turned into a two and a half hour endeavour across the mall.
She adored the woman, she was her mother-in-law after all, but it wasn’t coincidence that Blake always snuck off when a shopping trip with her mom was rolling around.
The blonde rubbed her face, groaning as she reached over for the tv remote. She realised that she was home alone and would take full advantage of the rare occasion by watching whatever she wanted without Blake’s input…and by that she meant that she could watch absurd amounts of sports and literally any sci-fi franchise that she loved without Blake rolling her eyes.
Then it hit her again, she was home alone…it seemed like one of the beers in the fridge that were saved for late nights when she couldn’t sleep were absolutely in order.
So that’s just what Yang did, went straight to the fridge to collect a beer, cracking off the cap with a delectable crunch of metal. She let out a happy sigh after a quick sip of her beer, hopping back to her sofa to continue her evening of lazing around.
Until the front door swung open, clicking closed a moment later and she swore that every god to ever exist had it out for her.
“Hi, mom. I didn’t think you’d be home yet.”
Or maybe not. Maybe they just wanted her to have some bonding time with her son.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Yang said, throwing her arm over the back of the sofa to see what Kade was up to. “You’re home early, too. Where’d your friends go?”
Kade rubbed the back of his head and shook out his hair. A nervous tic that Yang had picked up on years ago. “They, uh, we decided to quit early.”
Yang hummed, knowing her son was lying but not pursuing the matter any further. If he wanted to talk about it, he would always come to her first. She and Blake had argued many a time over their parenting styles, but Yang remained adamant that sometimes their kids wanted to be left alone. If they wanted to talk, they would talk.
Meanwhile Blake would just appear at their bedroom door every hour offering food and drinks like she was their butler. However that often didn’t work. That just led to a god-complex from their daughter Kamari who now thought she was the one in charge.
…and with the way she bossed everyone around she technically wouldn’t be wrong.
“Your hair looks good,” Yang yelled after Kade as he strolled into the kitchen, the sounds of him helping himself to whatever he had chosen from the fridge ringing out. “What’d your mom say after she gave you your haircut?”
Kade chuckled as he came back from the kitchen, a soda can in hand. “She said I looked like you when you were seventeen except with black hair.”
“She’s teasing you, I’ve never had a mullet in my life,” Yang said, pulling a face at that comment. “It looks really good on you, though.”
“Thanks…” Kade said, settling into the opposite side of the sofa from Yang.
The blonde hummed and took another drink from her beer, breathing out a soft “ahh” afterwards. She knew there was something on her son's mind. He was quiet but he was never this quiet. Never enough to let her watch tv peacefully without either teasing her on what she was watching or slamming it completely.
She tilted her head to the side and tapped her metal fingers off of the beer bottle in her hand.
“Go on, I know there’s something on your mind,” Yang said. She wasn’t being a hypocrite. She usually did let sleeping dogs lie. But sometimes they needed a little nudge. “It can be just between us. I won’t tell your mom if that’s the case.”
There was a beat of silence.
“You’re not gonna make fun of me when I tell you?”
“No promises.”
Kade rolled his eyes.
“I’m joking! Just tell me.”
He shuffled around on the sofa for a moment, fiddling with the scroll in his pocket and his freshly cut mullet. Far more stylish than anything that Jaune had ever tried to pull off in the past, so he clearly took more after his mom’s rather than the extended family.
“They started wanting to go get drunk but…I haven’t had my first drink. So…I got embarrassed and said that I had to leave.” Kade sighed. “It’s embarrassing.”
Yang hummed and swirled the beer bottle in her hand, listening to the liquid swirl inside.
A first drink didn’t seem like a big deal. Maybe to some people it was but to most it was just one of those things that everyone tries at some point. For Yang…it was a little sensitive. A core memory seared into her brain.
She was around fifteen, a couple years younger than Kade was now.
She remembered sitting on the sofa with her uncle Qrow beside her, watching late night cartoons whilst Ruby slept upstairs. Tai snoring the house down from his bed, probably halfway hanging over the edge with the sheets draped to the floor. Qrow never slept at night so she would always sit with him on nights that her dreams went beyond the realm of fantasy and got a little too personal for her own liking.
On one particular night Qrow had been quietly watching tv and noticed Yang twitching next to him. Far too awake at two in the morning for any normal fifteen year old, wired and on edge. Qrow noticed and chuckled at her. Then, silently, offered up his beer.
It tasted like shit. But she would never forget her first drink.
“You wanna try some?” Yang asked, offering up her beer to her son.
“Are you sure?” He asked, tentatively reaching out for the bottle.
She was more than sure. It was a right of passage in her eyes. A bonding experience that would later become a core memory for her son because whenever he would think about his first drink, he would think of the time they spent together. So she nodded and passed the bottle to him.
It was hilarious. Kade coughed and sputtered so much after his first sip that someone may mistake it for poison with the way he reacted.
“That burns so much,” Kade rasped, passing the bottle back to Yang as he punched on his chest. Trying to help himself through his coughing fit. “How can you drink that stuff?”
Yang shrugged. “I’ve been drinking this stuff for over twenty years, you get used to it.”
“No words of wisdom for this one?” He snarked.
“Actually,” Yang replied, pointing towards the floor. “Pass me your soda.”
Kade nodded and passed it over.
Yang sat the beer between her legs as she cracked open the can of lemon soda, carefully pouring some of the contents into the remainder of what liquid was within the bottle. She passed it back over to her son, nodding at him to drink it.
“That tastes so much better,” he said after sipping his drink.
“If anything’s ever too strong for you, always try mix your drink.” Yang hummed and pointed a stern finger at him. “You can finish that but afterwards you're cut off. Your mom might kill me if she finds out.”
“I won’t kill you, I’m just confused as to why you’re making him drink your crappy beer.”
Yang jumped in place, startled by Blake’s sudden presence in the home. Her wife strolled past her, not a care in the world as she dropped her jacket onto the armchair, a pair of shades to match and a bag of shopping for good measure.
“Don’t drink her shit, sweetheart. I’ll get a nice glass of wine.”
“Okay, let’s not get him drunk.”
“Who said it was for Kade? No, I deserve a nice little glass of wine,” Blake said, talking herself up more as she strolled into the kitchen. The sound of glasses being rattled and bottles being popped open following after her.
“Does she think she deserves a nice glass of wine every night?” Kade joked as he turned to Yang, the blonde laughing at her son heartily.
“I heard that!” Blake yelled from the kitchen. “Don’t forget who the best mom is!”
“Yeah, me!” Yang yelled back.
“Okay, you keep telling yourself that whilst you're sitting in a pair of slippers and sipping on own-brand beer.” Blake announced as she strolled back into the room, whipping her shades off of the armchair and settling them on her face. “Meanwhile, I drink premium wine and wear designer sunglasses. Can’t be cooler than that.”
“Whatever you say, mom.” Kade grinned as he settled back into the sofa.
Blake shrugged and came over to sit with them. She took one look at the football game on tv and rolled her eyes. “Kade, next time just steal the remote from her, she watches the worst tv in the world.”
The blonde chuckled, relieved that she hadn’t been reprimanded and was even rewarded by her wife cuddling up to her on the sofa. She greatly welcomed the gesture and wrapped an arm around Blake, pressing a soft kiss to her lips as Blake curled into her. Somehow, her glass of wine remained pristine and unmoving.
“You guys are gross,” Kade commented.
Without moving her gaze from the tv, Blake said: “Hey, if you can drink beer then we can cuddle on the sofa. It seems like a fair deal.”
“Does it?”
“No, you’re right, Kade. You shouldn’t be made to drink that beer, it's horrific.” Blake sighed in such a melodramatic way that it was almost comical. “Kamari’s staying at her friend's house tonight so it’s just us three.”
The other two hummed in acknowledgment of Blake’s statement. Yang couldn’t help but laugh at how Blake rolled her eyes at how Kade had taken after Yang in the way that he was very relaxed.
“Kade, honny, why don’t you run upstairs and grab the takeout menus from the drawer in the hallway. We can order whatever you want for dinner tonight.”
Kade hummed and did as Blake asked, never one to argue with what either of his mom’s advised for him to do.
Blake took a long inhale and smiled at Yang, pressing a hand into the blonde's chest as she sighed. “I think now would be a good time to tell you that Kamari had her first drink given to her from me.”
Yang chuckled and raised a brow. “What did you give her?”
“Oh, you know just a little beginner shot-“
“You gave her a shot?!”
“It was only half of a vodka shot, she was fine!” Blake justified. “Besides, she had been eyeing up the bottle all night. I’d rather give it to her than have her steal some while we’re asleep.”
Yang sighed, dipping her head onto Blake’s shoulder. “Are we awful parents?”
“No!” Blake sang, lightly slapping Yang’s arm. “Sure, we’re a little irresponsible, spoil them and let them off the hook a lot, but we know where to draw the line.”
“Sure,” Yang agreed, shrugging. She could neither agree or disagree with Blake’s statement. It was true but overplayed to a certain extent. She knew deep down they were damn good parents but sometimes she did question their morality when it came to situations like this.
But…it was a bonding experience. Her son would always have that memory. That memory of his first drink; that memory of his mom.