#my mom made me a cardboard golden corset

[sometimessmagical]

Not to flex excessively or anything but…

[daybreak-delusion]

Chapter 9

Introduction: Whitney Goodwinson was planning on inheriting one of her deceased grandmother's properties, but not a little house off the coast of North Carolina.  As she struggles to meet new people, fix up her new property, deal with troublemaker JJ Maybank, and perfect her grandmother's infamous lemonade, she might just find that the Outer Banks has more to offer than it seems.

Series Masterlist

Previous chapter 

I want to say that on Sunday I was totally independent and was totally not missing the presence of a certain golden boy at all, but I’d be lying to myself. It wasn't a complete waste of the day though. I did manage to drive the Bee (my new nickname for the Volkswagen) to the hardware store that I saw yesterday and picked up some essentials for fixing up the house. Blue tape, a bunch of paintbrushes and rollers, a couple of gallons of primer and white paint, drop cloths, this anti-rust spray for the garage, about a million trash bags, and some other items that I had to pre-order. The store had limited options for paint so I had to order some from a manual and it would be coming later this week. I figured I would stick to the yellow/lemon theme that she had going on and picked a shade of light yellow. Since the paint should be arriving in a week I had time to get everything situated. Somehow I managed to shove everything into the Bee and make it home. I mean back to the Lemon House. Back at the house, I placed all of my new equipment on the back porch and then headed to the garage. My task for today was going to be cleaning out the garage. I parked the Bee closer to the house so I could have more space and started to realize the trouble I was in. There was just so much junk and the last thing I wanted to do was find the pests that had made a mess of the place. I decided to change into a more suitable outfit for the deep cleaning I was about to do. After switching my sandals for some sneakers and putting on some leggings I made my way back to the garage with a trash can, recycling bin, and a box of trash bags. It was gonna be a long day. 

The boxes were filled with all kinds of things. There were old suitcases filled with clothes, rusty pans with ancient stains on them, old fashioned jewelry, and a bunch of old photographs that were in good shape. I was really conflicted about what to get rid of and what to keep. I decided to ditch the pans and pots seeing that they were out of shape. I kept the clothes in case there was a thrift store I could donate them too. Most of the stuff could also be given to thrift stores or antique shops, but there was one box underneath this ancient-looking blanket that seemed different from the others. First of all, it was an actual wooden box, not like the cardboard boxes that had held all of the other items. Unfortunately, there was a lock on the box and it wouldn't open. I didn’t want to break it in case I broke something in the box. Then I remembered the bulletin board where I found the car keys. Walking over to it there were a bunch of different labels for different keys, but one of them didn’t have a label. I figured it was my best bet. Thankfully it was a pretty good bet. When I opened it, a disgusting spider the size of one of Grandmother's lemons crawled out and I bolted out of the garage screaming, knocking over a few boxes in the process. It took me a couple of minutes to calm down and I reluctantly walked back into the garage with a baseball bat I found in my hands. I was shaking as I started to open the box again until I was sure the spider had disappeared. In the box were a bunch of misshapen things covered in old linen cloth and unfortunately spiderwebs. Not wanting to be in the pest infested room anymore I decided to take a break and bring the chest on to the porch. It was a lot lighter than I expected and stained my gray shirt with dust. I placed it on the porch and went inside to grab a damp cloth to clean off the dust. Sitting on the porch I cleaned the box and opened it again. The first misshapen item was a gold locket in good condition, I was excited to see what was in the compartment only to find it empty. The next item was a silver ring with a crop of wheat engraved on it. It was a bit bulky for my taste and definitely had belonged to a man at one point. I slipped it onto my thumb and thought it looked nice with the rest of the rings that I had on. Then at the bottom of the box was an old cracked leather journal with yellow pages. On the bottom right-hand corner the name Elenora Stanton was engraved in gold letters. I instantly knew this stuff belonged in a museum or something the date on the first page was from April 1843. 

“Holy shit,” I whispered to myself stroking my hand across the faded ink. The writing was in a small cursive that I could barely make out. It would be easier to read with a magnifying glass. I carefully wrapped the leather-bound book in the white cloth and placed it back into the box. Walking inside I cleared a space for it on the table and set the box down. Thankfully from my knife search when I was making lemonade I got an idea of where everything was in the kitchen and I remembered seeing a magnifying glass in a drawer with a bunch of other random items. I brought it over to the table and opened the old book again. Thank god Mother made me practice writing in cursive or this would have been a nightmare. 

23 April 1843

Dear friend as of today, I am eighteen years of age and now get to embark on the responsibilities of an adult. I had received many good wishes of health and good tidings for my birthday and my dearest younger sister Juliana gifted me my most favored gift, this diary. I was also gifted a new church dress from Mother and Father and Aunt Alice promised to take me into town to buy a new corset. She said that all adult women should own a suitable corset and if I am to live with her and Uncle Harry this summer it would be an absolute necessity for me to own one. Mother wishes I would stay home and help care for my younger siblings, but I find it absurd that she puts the task of looking after them on me. If Mother feels too overwhelmed with her offspring then she should simply just hire a nanny. I pray that whoever she hires will be able to keep her sanity after a week of working with my siblings or perhaps Juliana will have to bear my burdens. No matter I mustn’t worry about my family anymore. I am an adult as of today and now am able to focus on the wishes of my own heart. In all truthfulness, my wishes are few in number, but this summer I hope to make more. Aunt Alice says that Outer Banks is a marvelous island and I count the days until we depart. Nonetheless, I still have time to prepare for my departure, till next time dear friend! 

30 April 1843

Dear friend this week has been excruciating. Father is beginning to go back on his promise to let me live with Aunt Alice this upcoming summer. He is skeptical of the owner of the island being a colored man and all, but Aunt Alice says that to be truly Christian we must see and treat all people as the children of God and that my father is little-minded. I would never speak to Father with such forwardness so to help my case I have been taking on extra tasks and duties around our home. Juliana has been accompanying me in my tasks as she will be taking over my responsibilities as I predicted. She is quite a quick learner and I’m sure she will be able to manage all of my duties when I leave for the summer. Today we- 

The rest of this entry was just explaining all of the chores that Elenora and Juliana had to do on a daily basis. I was incredibly fascinated with the diary and was confused as to why it was in Grandmother's garage? I am interrupted from my thoughts by a buzz coming from my phone on the table. I placed a stray piece of paper where I left off and reached for my phone. Checking my phone I noticed a text from an unknown number. 

U/N: Hey Whitney it’s Sarah! My friends and I are going to the beach tomorrow afternoon! I remember you said your board was coming in tomorrow, but if you don’t have it yet John B has an extra one you could borrow! BTW this is nonnegotiable you are coming! We’ll be by at 1. See ya then!

Oh thank god, I was so scared it was going to be Rose Cameron inviting me over for brunch or something. 

Also, my mom wants to know if you can do brunch sometime.

Great. Oh well, I guess there could be worse things than free food. 

Me: Tell your mother that brunch this Saturday will be fine and I would love to go to the beach with you guys! About the board, I’ll be sure to let you know if I need it or not. 

Sarah: Sounds like a plan and be by your dock at 1

Me: Got it see you then! 

I was excited to finally have plans that didn't involve me having to wear a dress. I just hope that my board would get in before the afternoon, I’d hate to have to be a bother. I eyed the journal and decided to continue reading. What else did I have to do? 

The next few entries were about Elenora’s daily life. Taking care of her siblings, washing the laundry, having tea with her mother’s sewing group, and walking through town with her friends. It was starting to become boring until an entry from June 3rd. 

3 June 1843

Dear friend today is the day! I am finally leaving this simple town and am leaving with Aunt Alice and Uncle Harry to The Outer Banks of North Carolina. My soul has reached happiness beyond my comprehension. All of those days of labor around the house finally served a purpose in my measly life. Now I will be embarking to a new place where hopefully anything can happen. Nonetheless, I will not be staying there without a purpose, I am to work in Uncle Harry’s tailor shop mending minor rips and sewing on buttons and such. Mother and father are still reluctant for me to leave our household, but Aunt Alice is most persuasive especially when her favorite niece is involved. We will leave today at noon and then will stay in a tavern closer to the ferry we will take tomorrow. I am just jittery with excitement, this will be a new area for me to explore and I cannot wait to see where it takes me!  Till next time dear friend!

It was so strange that this lady, Elenora, was so excited to come to Outer Banks, and just two days ago this was the last place I wanted to be. Maybe I was being a bit ungrateful, maybe this place had more to offer than it seemed. I was absolutely fascinated with the diary, but for real why did Grandmother have it? Maybe she bought it in an auction or it was a gift or something. Looking at my phone for the time I realize it’s a quarter past 1 and I still need to clean out the rest of the garage. Sighing, I closed the diary with a makeshift bookmark and left the house. Bagging up the clothes took the longest, but with the music playing, I didn’t really mind it that much. I had also gotten used to the heat, kind of, so it wasn't completely unbearable. After cleaning everything out and dusting some of the hard to reach corners I decided to power wash the garage. It was disgusting, but it had to be done. The garage was still wet so I decided to bring the remaining boxes to the porch. I was definitely done cleaning for the night and needed some relaxation time. So I cooked up some pasta and steamed vegetables and sat down for dinner. As I was eating my lonely feelings were coming back to me. I was craving company and turned to the diary for something to do. 

10 June 1843 

Dear friend, I have been staying with Aunt Alice and Uncle Harry for a week now and it has been a thrilling experience. On the ferry ride to the island Uncle Harry let us sit on the top deck and it was exhilarating leaning over the edge to see the water. The shop that Uncle Harry owns is the only tailor shop on the island so they are always busy. We stay in the apartment space above the shop and one of the windows in the parlor gives the most breathtaking view of the ocean. It is so vast and wide that I feel as if I am a small button on a white collared shirt. The apartment is quaint, but I have my very own quarters! There is so much space that I felt quite foolish when I only had my small bag to fill up the drawers. However, Aunt Alice says that if customers are satisfied with their work they sometimes pay extra and that I can keep the excess money for myself! Me owning my own money! It will truly be thrilling I know it. I pray that my skills will be adequate for the shop and that I will exceed my skills. There is still more work to be done, so until next time dear friend! 

19 June 1843

Dear friend, I  thought that my experiences here on this island could not have been better, but I was proven wrong! This week has been most eventful. It all began on Monday the 13th in the tailor shop. Denmark Tanny, the owner of practically the whole island, came into the shop. He was accompanied by his eldest son Robert Tanny and as they were discussing business with Uncle they mentioned the expertise work on the stitching of a new suit and it was my own work! Thankfully Uncle gave me the credit and I had the pleasure to make their acquaintances. They were truly delightful people and invited us to tea that coming Wednesday at their residence at Tannyhill. Their home was the most gorgeous sight I have ever seen in my existence. It was a mansion. I felt so quaint in my three-year-old Easter dress compared to the lavish home. The Tanny family was most welcoming and tea went by too fast. The conversation was most interesting, although I did not speak much. They talked of the economy and politics and I was too mature on the subject. However what was most interesting was during the conversation I prayed my mind was not presuming it, but Robert kept looking in my direction. Looking back on the occasion I should not be assuming such things, but one cannot help themselves when the presence of an attractive male is in the room. When he smiles I feel nothing, but sunshine and complete bliss. The feeling magnifies when he smiles in my direction. I was anticipating our next meeting, however, Mr. Tanny did not come into Uncle’s shop for the rest of the week. Not all hope was lost however because today after our church services Robert Tanny asked to accompany me on my walk home. I almost fainted with excitement, however, I kept up my studious facade and accepted. On the pathway home, we talked of nature and the ocean. To my disappointment we arrived at the shop rather quickly however, Robert promised to take me to the beach to search for shells so that I may decorate my quarters. I am counting the second until this Thursday comes along. Until next time dear friend! 

I wanted to keep reading, but I noticed it was past midnight and I still had a lot to do tomorrow. JJ would be by and I had a list of things for him to get done. I also needed to get enough rest if I was going to go surfing and I didn’t want to be the one lagging behind. Elenora’s diary was just gonna have to wait. As I fell asleep I tried to imagine myself in Elenoras place, wonderstruck about Outer Banks, and starting a relationship with a true gentleman. Oh, how things have changed. Still, the name Tanny sounded really familiar to me, especially their house, Tannyhill. This all did take place on Outer Banks, so maybe some of the places Elenora was talking about still exist. I would have to save it for another day because for now, I needed as much beauty sleep as I could get.

a/n: Hey guys sorry I haven’t updated in a while I am on vacation and have been going through a bit of writers block. But I am revived and am so excited to finish this story. Also like PLOT TWIST can’t wait for you guys to read what’s next! I’m still on vacation so I’ll try to update when I can.

[jadekitty777]

Who Needs Genetics When We Have Family?

We’re now at the final stretch for this Golden Hummingbird adventure. I thank the few people who have stuck around for this ride, as it was a great joy to write. There’s one more chapter that will be up in a few days, and it’s absolutely my favorite of them all! 

Word Count: 7,200

Pairing: Summer/Tai/Qrow

Ao3 Link:  Who Needs Genetics When We Have Family?

Summary: While going through her mom's old clothes, Ruby discovers an old scrap book that reveals she may have one additional parent she never knew about. Now questioning everything from how the trio ended up together down to her very identity, Tai and Qrow find themselves with a lot to answer for.[Takes place Post-Canon]

~

Dust shook from the rafters as Ruby stomped about the attic, ducking under spider webs and zigzagging around the clutter of old things her packrat of a father just couldn’t bear to get rid of. Her only source of light filtered in from the small circular window, mites dancing in the beam. Though it was still early spring, the air in the highest level of the house was stifling, and she had to keep wiping sweat from her brow.

“Anything?” Yang called from where she was perched on the attic steps, only her head and top half of her torso visible.

“I don’t see it!” She replied. She pat the railing of her old baby crib as she passed it. “We really need to tell dad to get rid of some of this old junk.”

“Ruby, of all the battles I will happily jump into, telling dad to do spring cleaning is not one of them.” Her sister said in a tone more suited for a mortician.

“You’re so dramatic.” She replied. She mostly ignored the indignant response that earned her, busying herself with shining her scroll’s flashlight at the tower of boxes in one corner of the room. “Oh, I see it!”

“Yeah?” Yang climbed the rest of the way up.

While she made her way over, Ruby balanced her scroll on the armrest of an old rocking chair, making sure the flashlight was pointed towards the black luggage trunk that made up the base of the box pyramid. “Figures it’d be at the bottom.”

“Yeah but I’ll have it out in no time.” Her sister boasted, already reaching up to bring down the first box.

Ruby winced when she almost conked herself on the head with it. “Please don’t give yourself a concussion.”

“I got it!” Yang carefully brought it down to grip it more securely before setting it to the side. It would be one of many as she brought one after another down from the tower, creating smaller piles on either side of herself until it looked like a collection of cardboard skyscrapers. It wasn’t long before she was placing the last one, running a hand over her face. “Alright, that’s it. Stand back a bit, I got to drag this out.”

Ruby quickly backed up a few steps, rocking on her heels while her sister pulled out the trunk between the miniature city by the handle. With more room to move, she was able to sidle around to the opposite side and grab the other handle. Together, they carried it back to the hatch, Yang going down first while Ruby angled it down towards her, not letting go until she had a secure grip on it and could put it on the floor.

Ruby started to climb down, saying, “You know, it just occurred to me we probably should have checked to make sure we got the right one.”

“Well, then let’s check now.” There was a series of snaps as Yang undid the latches and opened the top. “Yep, that’s a lot of frills alright.”

“It’s tactical camouflage!” She argued even as she nearly tripped over herself to get a look, unable to help the squeal as she saw the many folded up skirts, dresses and blouses packed into the trunk. One that particularly caught her eye was a red and black corset top with bows tied into the sides. She snatched it up, speeding down the hall in a flurry of petals. “I’m gonna try on this one first!”

“Wait! What about the rest!?” Yang yelled after her.

“Can’t talk, gotta dress!” Ruby shouted back, already standing in the middle of their bedroom. She unraveled the fabric of her cape from around her collar, tossing it onto the bed. She was shimmying into the new corset by the time her sister was coming in, trunk in tow.

“You’re the worst.” Yang told her, dropping the load in the middle of their room.

“And you’re the best!” She chirped right back, whirling to face her. “So, what do you think?”

Her sister gave her a once over, humming. “Well it’s cute but I don’t think it’s first date material.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause it’s basically the same thing you always wear. You should go for something with more color.”

Ruby crossed her arms, grumbling, “Red’s a color.”

Yang was already back in the trunk, pulling out more clothes. “You know what I mean. Something different, flashier. Really dazzle him.”

She pulled at the little bows mournfully, but she knew her sister was right – probably. She’d certainly gone on more dates than her at least. Not that it was hard to compete with a number of zero. Still, she didn’t want to mess this up and if that meant being a little more girly for a night, she could handle that. She’d even wear heels!

…Maybe.

“So what are you thinking?” She asked, resigned to her fate of being Yang’s dress up doll. This was starting to feel like their pre-teen years all over again.

“Well, first we need to organize all this. Then we can see what looks good on you. You should put the skirts and dresses on your bed.” Yang suggested while dropping an armful into her hands.

Ruby huffed but did so, straightening them out side by side so they could see them all while Yang did the same on her own bed with the blouses. Most everything was just blacks upon blacks with splashes of color to them - unassuming and quiet. It made her think of her mother’s picture in the photo with her team and how she was off to the side, as if she were trying to hide.

“You think it’s weird that me and mom have the same style?” Ruby asked as she pulled out another one of her mom’s skirts, instantly falling in love with the lace roses sewn into the petticoat. She was keeping this one.

“Not really.” Yang shrugged, glancing back at her. “You never got to know her.  It’s probably normal that you’d want to try and emulate her somehow.”

“Dunno if I’d call that normal.” Ruby reached into the trunk again, using her arm as a clothesline to layer the outfits. As she drew closer to the bottom though, something pure white peeking between the folds of fabric caught her eye. Her heart jumped. But as she dropped the pile onto the floor so she could unearth it, she found it wasn’t the cloak she knew her mother always wore, but another dress. She instantly knew it was special, because it was unlike anything else in the trunk and more on par with something she could imagine Weiss owning.

The material was soft but shimmery and definitely expensive. Satin, she was pretty sure. The bodice was simple but elegant with its off-shoulder straps and delicate lacework overlaid on top in branching, flowery designs. The entire dress was so long she imagined it must have trailed the floor when her mother walked in it, yet also had a lot body around the flounce like a traditional ball gown. Like many of the other clothes, there was only a small bit of color combating its primary shade – but on all the white, the yellow and black flowers that circled the waistline like a belt were instantly eye-catching; loud and wanting to be seen.

She knew the yellow was for dad – it was tradition to wear the husband’s colors on the wedding dress. They were even shaped like sunflowers. But she wasn’t sure why her mom had chosen black dahlias instead of roses. The blotches of dark in-between all the sunny brightness felt out of place, like a bad omen.

“Whoa.” Yang breathed as she came over to get a better look. “It’s gorgeous.”

Ruby couldn’t help but agree. It didn’t seem right to just toss it aside while they kept looking. “Maybe we could hang this one up for now?”

Her sister nodded, heading to their closet to fetch a spare hanger. It wasn’t long before they had the dress hanging over the edge of their closet door. In the light coming from the window, it really seemed to make the fabric shine. It felt a shame that its only future was to wrinkle away in the corner of their attic.

But Ruby also knew it was no mistake that it had been at the bottom of the trunk to begin with.

Maybe that was why she found something else hiding away in there just a few minutes after.

The burgundy red, leather-bound book was tucked away at the bottom, face down. Ruby reached for it, finding it surprisingly heavy as she plopped down onto the ground and flipped it over.

Yang joined her moments later. “What’d you find now?”

“I think it’s a photo album.” Ruby said, looking down at the picture in the window embedded into front cover of her mom, her dad and Uncle Qrow. Mom stood between them, an arm around either of them and waving peace signs over their shoulders. Dad stood to the left, laughing while his own arm reached around behind them to muss up Qrow’s hair, who was on the right. It was her uncle’s grinning expression that gave Ruby pause.

She wouldn’t say her uncle was never happy but, she was more accustomed to seeing the gentle, reserved smiles he’d give when he was proud of something she’d done or was just in a comfortable atmosphere. Only when he was drunk did he ever seem that enthused – but something told her he was anything but during the time this picture was taken. She wondered how young he was.

“Hey, it’s dad’s lullaby.”

“Huh?” Completely derailed from her thoughts, she glanced at Yang in confusion only to look at where her metallic finger was pointing. So distracted by the photo, she hadn’t noticed the words scripted around it. ‘I know that when I’m with you’ it said above the picture, and underneath it finished the lyric with ‘I’m at home’. She could practically hear her dad’s soft cadence echoing in her ear, just as it had when she was small.

It was a song about family and love – and the reminder made her realize that someone else was suspiciously missing from the cover. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t still hidden within its pages.

“Come on, open it!” Yang urged.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be looking at this.” She deflected.

She was unfortunately not as sly as she hoped she was as her sister quickly waved her off. “If she’s in there, it’s fine. I can handle it.”

Ruby eyed her, those words not exactly instilling her with confidence when the years’ worth of arguments between her and dad still seemed to echo down their halls. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” Yang met her gaze. “Don’t worry so much, okay? The way I see it, she’s the one who missed out. She never got to see all the things I accomplished or be a part of our awesome family. That’s her loss, not mine.”

Ruby felt the oddest sense of sadness overcome her. Not because her sister had seemed to of made peace with Raven’s abandonment, but that she hadn’t seen it happen. “When did you start thinking like that?”

“Around the time we, uh, ‘met’ Weiss’ family.”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought. They had been a bundle of fun alright. While Winter was bearable, if a little cold, Whitley was a lot like Weiss had been, a spoiled brat with a ‘better than thou’ attitude, except dialed to eleven. Her mother, Willow, was a worse drunk than Qrow, to the point the woman almost seemed in a permanent state of catatonic inebriation. And Jacques was…

Well, Ruby didn’t really have any non-swear related words to attach to a man who really should never have been allowed to procreate, let alone raise three kids.

What she did have was a desire to turn back time and drag Weiss back to her own home for a do-over on her childhood. To let her experience what it was like to have a dad who would pin her grades to the fridge and bandage her scraps when they hurt. To have an uncle that was comfortable to act like a kid right along with her and who never got impatient even if she asked him to tell the same story for the fifth time. To have siblings to build pillows forts together with and sneak downstairs late at night so they could share one more cookie from the jar. To have a family that had rowdy dinners full of laughter, vacations focused on nothing but fun, and holidays that made everyone feel just a little more together then before.

Yang continued on, “Seeing how Weiss handled things back then, I couldn’t help but admire her strength. It felt like she spent her entire life surrounded by people who didn’t want her. And yet, instead of letting that get to her, she acted like it was their fault. And it is. Because, Weiss is great. She’s practically another sister to me, and I can’t imagine her not being part of my life. Anyone who can reject her so easily isn’t worth her time.” She placed a hand on her chest, “And the whole thing just kind of gave me a reality check, you know? It made me think: if Weiss can do it, then I can too.” Her fingers curled into a fist over her heart. “So, I decided from that day on, I would. Raven may not have wanted me, but that’s fine, because I have plenty of people who do, and those are the people who matter.”

Ruby couldn’t help it – she hugged her.

Though confused, Yang responded in kind. “What’s this all about?”

“I’m just happy for you.” She told her.

For as poor an explanation as it was, her sister smiled like she’d never heard a better reason. “Thanks sis.” When they pulled apart, she tapped the album again. “So, we gonna look at it or what?”

“Oh, right!” She settled back, adjusted the book so that it was laid more properly in her lap, and opened it.

As it turned out, her worries were completely invalid. For the book – which turned out not to be a photo album but a scrap book – was almost definitely not going to showcase Raven.

It was impossible to imagine it would, what with the hand-written script ‘To my boys whom I love with all my heart’ written around the picture of Uncle Qrow kissing their dad on the cheek.

“Well.” Yang said, tone as shell-shocked as Ruby felt. “That’s new.”

~

Tai hummed a bouncy tune as he poured the cups of tea, body bopping gently to the rhythm.

“You seem to be in a good mood.” Qrow observed from where he sat at the dining table.

He unscrewed the jar of honey, spooning some out. “Suppose I am. It’s just been so calm lately.”

“DAD!”

The shout startled him, the spoon falling from his hand and clattering to the floor, splattering honey everywhere. He gave it a mournful look as Zwei eagerly padded over to lap it up.

“You were saying?” Qrow said, a teasing lilt in his tone.

Tai huffed his way, before turning his head towards the doorway where a flutter of petals was just fading around his youngest daughter. “Hey now, what did I say about semblances in the house?”

Ruby didn’t bother to answer and the sound of Yang’s thunderous steps coming down the stairs only seemed to enunciate her dark expression.

“Uh, honey? What’s wrong?” He asked, going from mildly perturbed to intensely worried as he started to cross the room.

Her hand jerked upwards, showing him what she was holding. “Care to explain this?”

He froze mid-step, his throat closing up at the sight of the old scrapbook Summer had gifted him and Qrow on their first anniversary.

Oh.

Oh shit.

Qrow’s own eyes doubled in size as he jumped up from his seat. “Where did you find that?”

“It was in mom’s trunk.” Yang answered as she finally made it to the room.

It was hard to pin down whether Qrow was being accusatory or not in the too-casual way he turned to him and said, “Figured you’d thrown it out.”

“I don’t throw out anything.” Tai replied numbly, finding it slightly easier to focus on him then Ruby’s unnerving glare. “Especially not anything of Sums.”

“But it was mine too, you could have given it to me.”

“I- Look!” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “People do weird stuff when they’re depressed, okay?!”

“Guys!” Ruby cried shrilly. “Missing. The. Point!” She started waving the book at them, making him concerned for its life expectancy. “What does this mean? That you two were dating? With mom?!”

“Er.” Qrow hesitated, then revealed, “We were quite a bit more than that, kiddo.”

“WHAT?”

Tai withheld a sigh.

And it had started out as such a nice day too.

~

Ruby stared down at the dining room table, certain her thought process had shut down from the nuclear explosion that had gone off inside her brain cells because she just didn’t know how to comprehend what she was just told. Maybe it had a limit on how much unbelievable stuff it could take. Magic glowy eyes that disintegrated Grimm? Weird, but not too out of the bounds of reality. Magical maidens that controlled the weather? Pretty crazy, but alright. Relics created by the Gods and a magical witch that couldn’t die? Now things are getting a little out of hand but she could deal.

Her dad and Uncle Qrow being married to her mom at the same time? Okay now she had to be in an alternate reality.

Maybe she had just switched places with Yang for the day, because her normally hot-tempered sister sounded rather calm as she spoke up, “I don’t get it. Why don’t I remember any of this?”

“You were really young, Yang. And losing Summer had been traumatic for all of us.” Her dad replied. “It’s probably normal to block some stuff out.”

Qrow snorted, amusement coloring his tone. “You used to be a little bragger though.”

“I was?”

“Yeah, you kept going to all the other kids on the playground and telling them how you had two daddies to read you bedtime stories and a mom who made the world’s best cookies every night. And then you pushed them down when they called you a liar.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Their dad rubbed his temple as if recalling the old headaches, but his smile was fond. “We got so many angry phone calls from the other parents.”

“I really did that?” Yang asked. “I don’t remember that.”

“’Course you don’t. You hadn’t even started school yet, Firecracker. And boy were we not looking forward to it when you did. We were sure you were gonna end up in the principal’s office the first day.” Qrow laughed.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence!” Yang said, huffing a bit.

Ruby listened and seethed. Why were they laughing? And making jokes? None of this was funny!

Dad must have noticed, because he asked softly, “Sweetheart, you doing okay?”

“No!” She exploded, slamming her hands on the table. “Of course I’m not okay! Why didn’t you guys say anything? Why is everything some big secret in this damn house?!”

Her outburst soured the mood instantly, but she couldn’t find it in herself to feel bad.

Her dad shifted in his seat, crossing his arms along the table. “Believe me, this wasn’t a secret we intended to keep.”

“So then why did you?” She muttered, slumping down in her own chair and glaring at the table corner.

There was a soft sigh and an even softer admittance, “Because we were scared.”

The words caught her by surprise because she’d never seen her dad as anything but brave – yet here he was, telling her she was wrong. She glanced through her bangs at him, “’Bout what?”

“Everything, really.” He said. “Before we lost your mom, it really wasn’t a problem. We just figured you’d grow up knowing you had three parents and it would just be normal. But after she passed and things just fell apart between Qrow and I, everything got swept under the rug.”

“We talked about it.” Her uncle tacked on. “How and when and all that. We figured we’d tell you both at the same time. About Raven. About us. But…” His gaze shifted to Yang. “When you found out about Rae and didn’t handle it so well, we thought: ‘Well shit, we can’t do that to Ruby too!’ And so, we just kept pushing it off.” He gestured as he spoke, his tone having the inflection of a narrator from an animated movie, “At first we said ‘we’ll tell her when she’s ten!’ And then she was and we were all ‘No it’s too soon, maybe when she’s thirteen!’ And then year after year passed and…” He deflated, hand falling to the table. “We just, never knew when the right time was.”

“So, it’s my fault.” Yang spoke up.

“No, of course not!” Her dad quickly assured. “It was an accident you found out that early, nothing more. But Qrow and I could see how badly it affected you and because we had the power to choose to spare Ruby from the same thing… we took it.”

“We didn’t know what we’d do if we had two kids going through an identity crisis.” Her uncle lamented.

That’s when it hit her harder than Nora’s hammer to the gut.

“Wait.” Ruby sat up straight, looking between them. “Then, which one of you is my dad?”

They froze, sharing a look.

“Well…” Qrow spoke first, waving towards Tai. “Legally, he is.”

That didn’t sound like an answer. “What does that mean?”

Tai explained, “He means as far as your birth certificate is concerned, you’re mine. But as for who, uh-”

“Knocked up your mom.” Qrow intoned helpfully.

“Qrow!” Tai smacked his arm.

“What?! They’re adults. They can handle it!”

She really couldn’t.

Tai pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “As for who impregnated your mother… we don’t know.”

“You don’t know?!” Ruby echoed, unable to believe this. “How can you not know? Don’t they have tests for these things?”

“Well, yes, but, uh,” Tai floundered a bit.

Qrow spoke up instead (She never really noticed how often they did that), “Vale has a lot of legality restrictions when it comes to kids. Oz pushed a lot of those regimens with the council, because he wanted to make sure kids who lost their families were still taken care of, so we got a lot of advice from him. And the smartest thing to do was make Tai your dad, since he was the one staying at home. That way if anything happened to Summer and I at the same time, he wouldn’t have to fight the protection services to keep the family together.”

“But the kingdoms don’t share medical records.” Tai continued, “So, we figured when you kids were older and we could afford it, we could take a trip to Mistral or Atlas. Have the test done then, if that’s what you wanted.”

“What I wanted?” She frowned. “You guys didn’t want to know? It doesn’t bother you?”

“I did, at one point.” Qrow admitted. “But, then I held you for the first time, and I realized it didn’t matter. I loved you more than anything; learning which of us actually donated his DNA wasn’t going to change that.”

“It was the same feeling for me. I grew up in Vacuo. A lot of communities there live on the philosophy that family has nothing to do with blood and everything to do with heart.” Tai said, his smile kind and warm. The familiarity was odd when she felt like her whole world had flipped upside down. Wasn’t everything different now? Or was she just the one acting weird?

“Well then,” She scrambled, pointing towards Qrow. “Then why do I call you uncle? Shouldn’t I call you dad too or something?” The sudden burst of laughter from everyone made her rethink what she just said. “Oh my gods, be serious! Dad also.”

Qrow was the first to get ahold of himself. “We tried, at first. But no matter what we did, you just kept imitating your sister. We kind of realized by accident it probably made things easier on you kids, and on us too. If you called both of us dad, we’d never know who you were asking for. We figured eventually you’d come to understand it like Yang did.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the somberness veiling back over his expression. “But then things changed and here we are.”

“Why did it change?” Yang asked cautiously, as if she didn’t really want to hear the answer. “Did you two fall out of love?”

“No. It was the opposite really.” Tai said, sharing a look with him. The gaze they shared was a silent conversation all their own, and the slightest nod from Qrow spurred him onwards and he turned back to them. “Losing Summer was immeasurably hard. We were both grieving in our own ways, and we loved each other enough to know neither of us were doing anything but hurting each other. Qrow’s drinking was out of hand and I - back then I,” He trailed off, taking a deep breath. “Let’s just say depression is a very scary disease that can twist your thoughts in ways you never thought you could think of yourself. Until I got help, I wasn’t good for anyone.”

Ruby heard her sister shift uncomfortably beside her. She didn’t really have many memories of back then; mostly she remembered her dad being absent a lot of the time, but she’d reasoned it was because he was at work. It was only after Blake had questioned her shortly before the Vytal Dance about her family life and revealed to her the story Yang had shared with her, that she began to question if the happy home life she always perceived she’d had, had more cracks in it then she was aware of.

Uncle Qrow reached out, curling his hand over one of dad’s. As if that was normal. As if they’d done it a million times before. It was weirding her out.

“Point is,” He said, completely unaware of her internal screaming, “We were wrecks. Tai was sick and I spent more time blacking out in alleyways than at home. Neither of us could support each other the way we needed too, so we called an end to it. We decided we wouldn’t try again until things were okay.”

“But you never did try again.” Yang was frowning. Ruby guessed she was probably worrying about herself and Blake.

“Uh. Well. That’s not entirely true.” Their dad said.

Qrow suddenly grinned. “Actually, had you two been a bit older, you probably would have figured it out. Remember that time you girls were bowling down the hallway and the ball went into Tai’s room? And when you went to get it, you found me in his bed and I told you girls I was getting over a hangover? I wasn’t.”

“Wait, what? Why were you still in my room?”

“Because I couldn’t walk!”

“Oh, gross.” Ruby groaned. Her sister made some equally distressed noises while her dad turned a ripe shade of tomato red. Qrow just laughed uproariously at them all.

Yang shuddered. “I could have gone my whole life without knowing that.”

“And I could have gone my whole life without you girls hearing that.” Dad agreed, shoving Qrow’s shoulder. “Stop laughing already. You sound like a donkey.”

“Tai, they’re over eighteen. You can call me a jackass now.”

“I just happen to have some class, unlike you.” Ignoring the childish faces their uncle started making his way, he continued on, “As I was saying, we did try – more than a few times, really. But we kept it hidden from you girls, until we knew things between us would work out. It was important to us that we show you two what a healthy and positive relationship was like so that when you got older, you’d hopefully take our example and find the right person for yourselves. We just, never got that far. It was… complicated.”

“Pff. It was not.” Qrow rolled his eyes. “You got better, I didn’t. Seems pretty straightforward to me.”

“It was so much more than your drinking and you know it. And anyways, you’re way better on that than you were.” Dad refuted.

“Ha! Then don’t let me tell you about Argus.”

His eyes narrowed. “What about Argus?”

“Uh-” He looked towards the clock on the wall. “Whoa, look at the time! Ruby don’t you have a date tonight or something?”

Her sister looked too, then jumped to her feet. “It’s almost 6? Come on Ruby, we haven’t even chosen an outfit!”

“What?” She jerked around. “Are you crazy? How am I supposed to go on a date after all this?”

“Well you can’t cancel the first date!”

“That’s not a rule!” When her sister only rose an eyebrow, she backpedaled, “I-Is it?”

“Ruby.” Her dad’s voice had her turning back to him. “If you really don’t think you’re up to going anymore, you don’t have to. If this guy’s a good one, he’ll understand. Then, we can talk all night if you want. But, those answers aren’t on a time limit either.”

Her uncle nodded. “Yeah. It ain’t like we’re gonna clam up come tomorrow. And we kind of hit you with a lot just now; letting some of that sink in for a few hours isn’t the worst thing you can do.”

Ruby chewed her lip, not wanting to admit how undeniably tempting the offer was. “I just don’t get why all this had to be kept a secret. Didn’t I have the right to know?”

“Of course you did.” Her dad answered. “And I’m sorry we kept it from you as long as we did. We were just so focused on trying to make things feel stable and safe for you girls, that the idea of deliberately throwing another wrench in the mix never seemed like a good idea.”

“Yeah okay,” She said in a tone that implied it was definitely not okay.

The two men shared a worried glance, before Qrow sighed, placing his elbows on the table as he lent forward, “Look kiddo, this was never easy on us either. Kids aren’t born with manuals. And yeah, we definitely screwed up at times. Just ‘cause we’re trying to raise you doesn’t mean we’re suddenly perfect adults. Least of all me.” He rolled his eyes as he said this, as if even he was exasperated with himself. “But you got to trust me when I say any decision we made for you,” He glanced at Yang, “Or you, was always done with the reason that we love you both.”

“I know that! I just-!” She couldn’t stay still anymore. She jumped to her feet, pacing around the length of the kitchen. “I don’t know, I feel like I’m the crazy one here! Why is everyone so calm about this?”

“Ruby-”

Ignoring her dad’s attempt to placate her, she whirled on her sister. “I figured at the very least, you’d be with me on this! Why aren’t you upset?”

“I mean, I guess I am a little?”

“A little?! Don’t you get it? We might not even be sisters!”

Yang stared, her eyebrows rising with understanding. She crossed over to her, saying, “Is that what’s bothering you?”

“Well, yeah!” Ruby said, feeling absolutely silly that she wanted to cry.

She stopped in front of her, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Ruby, say you do go and do this test. And say Uncle Qrow is your dad��� why does that have to change anything?”

“I-I don’t,” She sniffled, rubbing away at some tears. “Shouldn’t it?”

“Why? I don’t care what that test says, you’re my little sister. Always. So why do you need to think differently?” Yang urged. “Things only have to change if you want them too. Do you want them to?”

“No!”

“So then what’s the problem?”

She blinked rapidly, giving a watery laugh. “Well when you say it like that, it makes me feel kind of stupid.”

“I prefer slow on the uptake.” Yang joked, tugging her into a too tight hug.

Around her bending ribs, she squawked, “You’re the worst.”

“And you’re the best!” Was the proud chirp before she pulled back, heading for the living room. “Come on, you got a big night ahead of you.”

She nodded, wiping away the rest of her tears. She glanced over at her dad and uncle, who had stood from their own chairs at some point during her mini breakdown, but hadn’t gotten further then around the table. They looked about as uncertain as she felt; but they were still her uncle and dad – even if biologically that may be the other way around. Things hadn’t really changed for them either, had they?

Her dad was still the man who sat with her after school and helped her with her homework or taught her how to focus her aura so she could unlock it for the first time. Someone who had been in the crowd of all her school events, taking pictures as she won awards or got her diploma, and had seen her off at the airstrip the day she left for Beacon. The one she depended on to take care of her when she was ill or walk with her to the cliff on those sad, sad days she missed mom the most. Was still and always her guide, the person who taught her right from wrong and who always encouraged her to be the greatest she that she could be.

Her uncle was still the guy who spent hours with her showing her how to shoot at targets 500 meters away and snuck into her welding class to help her forge Crescent Rose. The one she could count on to take her out for ice cream if she had a bad day or play video games with her all night if she was bored. Knew that even if he had to be away a long time, that he’d write or call when he could, and come back with a gift or two for her and Yang from some cool town or big city he’d gotten to visit. Was still and always her hero, the person she’d tell everyone she wanted to be just like when she grew up.

Neither of them were perfect; that was something she was seeing more and more of as she grew older. But they were here, raising her, watching over her, loving her. That was never going to change. That’s what mattered most.

She hurried over to them, throwing her arms around them both. “We’ll talk tomorrow?”

Her dad’s arm was strong and steady as it encircled her. “Of course. Anytime you want.”

“Go have fun.” Qrow told her, ruffling her hair. “Knock ‘em dead. And if he gets too handsy, take that advice literally.”

“Qrow!”

She giggled stepping back so she could prepare for a quick escape. “Thank you. I love you.”

“We love you too sweetie.” Tai told her fondly – only to immediately shout after her retreating petals, “And no semblances in the house!”

~

With the sun’s descent, quiet also seemed to descend their home. Ruby was out of the house for the evening and with it being morning in Menagerie, Yang was holed up in her room on Skyria, video-chatting with Blake. It left the first floor to themselves; but the calmness and normalcy was not something Qrow found to be undesirable these days.

The spoon clanked against the tea cup as the last teaspoon of honey was added, before he dropped the utensil in the sink. He grabbed the two cups, heading over to the couch in the living room, handing one to its only occupant.

“Thanks.” Tai gladly took a sip. As Qrow sat beside him, he said, “Ruby handled that way better than I thought she would. Maybe you were right and we should have told her sooner.”

He lent back into the cushions, propping his feet onto the coffee table. “Or fighting magical maidens and immortal witches builds up an intolerance to these kinds of things, and waiting was the right call. We’ll never get the ‘what if’ answer.”

“Guess not.” Tai set his cup aside, before going back to flipping through the scrap book propped in his lap.

Truthfully, after traveling with her from one end of Remnant to the other, Qrow hadn’t expected anything less from Ruby. He wasn’t sure where she got her fortitude from, but her ability to push through even the most adverse of conditions was her most admirable quality. Perhaps it was just that, or maybe the other shoe was just waiting to drop, but he had a feeling things would be back to the status quo before they knew it.

No, it was Yang he was more impressed by. He was certain it would be her yelling at the top of her lungs – especially when it was just another secret being kept from her – but instead, she’d handled it with a rationality he’d never really seen before. He knew, in part, it was because she was striving hard to reign in her quick temper. Not for herself, but for her girlfriend, whose sketchy past romantic relationships made it hard for her to deal with the shouting matches Yang was prone too. All on her own, Yang decided she didn’t want to be a reminder of that past. That’s how he caught her, in a library of one of the towns they had stayed in during their travels, reading up on anger management. When he confronted her, she told him that it was only fair that if Blake was working on her tendency to back down, then she would work on improving herself for her too.

Firecracker was turning into more of a Fire Dud these days, but it was a welcome improvement and today just proved how far she’d come. He was insanely proud of her.

He was also immensely jealous.

Because if she could fix something about herself with only one reason, why did he keep giving up when he had three?

Tai’s sudden laughter shook away his thoughts. “Oh, you remember this day?”

Qrow’s eyes darted towards the entry he was indicating, an amused chuckle bubbling almost instantly. “Yeah.”

The page was decorated with various stickers of smiling fruits and flowers set in patterns that matched well with the photos glued to the pages of them on a picnic. It had been Tai’s birthday and as he tended to want simple things and with it being right at the tail-end of summertime, he had requested a day out with the family. So, they made up a little basket of food, got Yang in her little flower dress, and headed out. Despite being plumper than the watermelon they’d brought along, Summer probably took about three dozen pictures that day – but the four she’d chosen seemed to perfectly highlight the timeline of disaster they were in for.

The first was a posed picture with them all standing together, the backdrop a field of wildflowers they’d chosen to have their picnic in.

The one underneath was a more candid shot of Tai and him stretched out on the blanket, empty plates strewn around them. Qrow had Yang in his hands and was lifting her upwards, making the infant feel like she was an airplane.

The third was one he took. Summer, Tai and Yang were in the flowers, the little girl trying to toddle her way after some butterflies. It would have been nothing more than another charming family photo, if not for the hint of grey clouds inching their way over the tree line behind them.

The last was of him and Tai standing at the top steps of the porch, looking like a pair of wet sheepdogs with the way their hair hung over their eyes. Sheets of rain was coming down behind them, and just to the left was a blur of yellow bounding forward – Yang, seconds away from ruining her dress and splattering mud all across their backs.

Taiyang must have been looking at that one too because he said, “Gods, Yang was such a mess. Summer had to wash her in the sink! I don’t think we ever managed to save her dress, did we?”

“No. I don’t think we did.” Qrow replied distractedly, his mind lost in the past.

It should have been an awful day; but instead, there was nothing but laughter over how ridiculous they all looked or the rush to clean themselves up and put Yang down for her nap. There were kisses shared under a warm shower. The coziness of the three of them wrapped up together in an afghan, sipping hot tea and watching the storm from the bench on the patio.

He could almost smell the rain again. Or feel the weight of Summer leaning against his side as she dozed, tired from the day. Or how his breath caught a little bit when he looked over at Tai, and found himself so caught by how gorgeous he looked at that moment, that all he could do was stare.

Just as he was now.

He traced his eyes over Tai’s gentle visage, from the faint freckles that valiantly held onto some of his youth to the slope of his blue eyes that made him appear so kind and the brightness of his smile as he turned to another page. There were signs of his age of course, in the wrinkles around his eyes, the dimming color of his hair, but his beauty had aged with him. Or maybe Qrow was still just that captivated by him that he’d find him so no matter what he looked like.

Warmth bloomed in his chest, burning like an overheated flame, the love that had once been so prominent in his life warring with the sorrow of everything he’d lost since then. It was hard to bear, and he found that he was tired of feeling it. And perhaps it was that that finally led him to ask, “Do you ever miss us?”

Tai paused, gazing at him searchingly for a few long moments. It felt an eternity before he finally murmured back, “All the time.”

“Me too.” Hope tentatively pulled the next question from him, “Could we try again?”

A hand reached out, larger fingers slipping between his own, brushing against the three wedding rings he wore. Tai lent in close, until their foreheads brushed together and all they could see was each other. “I thought you’d never ask.”