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Yang’s birthday… It filled Jaune with dread, not because he was unprepared, but because it was his first birthday as Yang Xiao Long’s boyfriend. Honestly, dread wasn’t the right word. Terror was closer. He’d been threatened by Taiyang, Qrow, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and the deadbeat mother herself in regards to the sunny dragon’s birthday. They were out of school from Beacon, which was good, but he was in Ansel while she was in Patch, which was bad. However, he was a team leader for a reason. He made plans and he made backup plans for his plans.
Plan one was a bust as his father broke his leg and needed him to help out on the farm for a few weeks. Plan two solved that problem by judicious hiring of neighbors who were quite friendly with Jaune and the Arcs. However, plan two then failed because the Bullhead to Patch broke down due to engine trouble.
Plan three solved it by taking a train from Ansel to Domremy, but the Bullheads there were all fully booked. Plan four did work though. Passage by boat around the Valean coast to Patch. And since Jaune was a worrier, he got there a few days early. His luggage had already been there since Plan one, but all that did was worry Yang. Oops.
“Jaune!” His girlfriend nearly tackled him into the sea when she saw him on the ramp down from the ship. “I thought you were coming by air?!”
“Well, there were some complications.” Jaune summed up with a nervous laugh. “Hopefully my luggage is still intact, and unopened…” He looked over at Ruby who nodded discreetly. His gift for Yang was in there, after all, and his girlfriend liked to play detective by rooting through everything when something wasn’t right. Luckily, Jaune asked Ruby to divert Yang’s attention in case something came up. Like he said, he makes backup plans.
“Yep. Rubes made sure of that. I bet your present is inside one of them, huh?” Yang, as always, read Jaune like a book. “I said you didn’t need to get me anything, remember?” She sighed as she draped an arm around Jaune’s neck before lowering it as he was too tall for that. “Hey, did you get taller?”
“About an inch or so.” Jaune shrugged. When the Xiao Long family looked at him in shock, he furrowed his brow. “What? Isn’t it normal to grow an inch at 18?” They all shook their heads slowly. “Huh, it's happened to every member of my family so far. Even my sisters.” He shrugged again before draping HIS arm over Yang’s shoulders. She curled into his side, getting an eyeroll from Ruby and a slight glare from Tai.
The father opened his mouth to say something, but received a sharp elbow to the side from Qrow. “You weren’t any better when we were their age.” The drunk mumbled. “Hell, we’re still not any better than them.” Taiyang looked abashed at that for some reason.
Yang leaned in and whispered, “Dad’s in couple’s counseling with Raven. Apparently their divorce was never finalized in Mistral, so they’re still technically married. There were a whole lot of screaming matches for a few weeks when that was discovered. It’s a whole thing.”
“Just in time for your birthday, huh?” Jaune asked wryly, getting a playful slap from her. “I’m glad I can be here though.”
“Me too, my silly knight.” Yang shook her head as she plucked the fabric of his hoodie. “It’s summer, why are you wearing a hoodie?”
“Apparently the ship I hitched a ride on was a refrigerated cargo ship. I slept next to prime cuts of meat. I’m still a little cold.” He admitted bashfully, making the others laugh. He couldn’t help it and joined in with them.
“You must really care for Firecracker if you jumped on the nearest ship without checking if it was a passenger ship or not.” Qrow commented with a swig of whiskey.
“I did check, it was the only one that had room for me. However, it didn’t say it was a cargo ship on its manifest.” Jaune retorted. “You are right though. I do care for Yang. A lot more than anyone else I’ve ever met.”
Yang blushed before smacking him again as she hid behind her hair. She buried her face into his hoodie. “Stupid knight.” He felt her smile though. “Thank you for visiting for my birthday.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Yang. Not for the world.” Jaune told her, gently patting her on the head.
The rest of the walk to the Xiao Long house went in a companionable quiet. Every now and then someone would mention a funny anecdote or ask a question or two, but they mostly just enjoyed each other’s company. When they came within sight of the cabin though, Jaune had one question. “Um, does anyone else smell smoke?”
“Brothers damn it Rae!” Tai grunted as he rushed in, flinging the door open and letting thick, black smoke exit the house. Windows began being flung open as muffled cursing was heard inside. “What did I tell you? Follow. The. Instructions!!”
“It’s just a cake, Tai! How hard is it to make a stupid cake?!” That had to be Yang’s mom. She stormed out after Tai, looking like a palette-swapped version of her daughter.
“Apparently pretty difficult, you bird-brained bandit!” Tai retorted, making Raven laugh harshly.
“Really? Bird-brained? I guess that’s why I thought it was a good idea to marry you, you stupid spineless stud!”
“Huh?” Jaune asked, not quite sure what was happening. In the beginning, it sounded like a typical couple’s spat, albeit a pretty bad one, but now it seemed more like—
“They’re flirting again. Sorry you had to see this, Blondie.” Qrow sighed. He let out a sharp whistle. “Oy! Tai, Rae! Knock it off! Firecracker’s brought her boy-toy home. You two are making a bad impression. Again.”
“Sorry, Jaune. Old habits die hard, I guess.” Tai apologized. Raven crossed her arms and looked away before being elbowed by her husband.
“Fine. I’m sorry that you had to see the mother of your girlfriend behave in such an undignified manner.” She looked over at Tai. “Is that good enough for you?”
He nodded. “Well, luckily I made a cake ahead of time and left it in the fridge. Once the cabin airs out, we can have that.”
“Then why did I spend so long trying to bake one?!” Raven shouted with furious eyes.
“You were so excited about making Yang a cake that I didn’t have the heart to correct you!” Tai responded at equal volume.
Yang pulled Jaune away from her parents. “Sorry, they’re always like that. Eventually, it always devolves into flirting and a makeout session.” She shivered. “As much as I’ve dreamed of them getting along, I don’t really want to see my parents making out all the time.”
Jaune patted her shoulder reassuringly. “So, what do you want to do?” Yang smirked before pulling a familiar box from behind her back. “Oh come on.”
“You should’ve asked Drunkle Qrow or Dad to watch your stuff. All it took was a tray of cookies to make Ruby lose focus long enough for me to find this.” She winked at him. “So, would you like to put it on me?”
Jaune nodded, smiling exasperatedly at her. “I can’t ever surprise you, huh?” Yang laughed as she opened the box and took out the necklace he’d made for her.
It was a pendant with their symbols interlinked on a golden chain. There were small white gems embedded along the length of her symbol while yellow ones ran along his in order to symbolize their relationship. With a practiced ease which was learned from his many sisters, he unclasped the chain before affixing it in place on her neck. “I love it.” Yang whispered as she held it with one hand before putting the other on his neck. “And I love you.” She gently kissed him. It lingered for a few moments before she leaned in near his ear. “But you did surprise me once already. You actually came on the right day.”
“What?” Jaune asked. “Wait, don’t tell me Beacon got it wrong?”
Yang nodded. “Yep!” She had a large, knowing grin on her face. “It’s hilarious, isn’t it? All our friends think that my birthday is in a few days, but it’s actually today!” She let out a laugh that was partially fake. He’d been dating her long enough to recognize that.
“Yang, you didn’t put the wrong date on your enrollment papers, did you?” Jaune asked hesitantly, not sure if he was going to have to try and dodge her punches or not. Her face turned red, which could have been anger or embarrassment, but it was her next reaction that gave it away. She looked away, trying not to lock eyes with him. “You did, didn’t you?” Yang lowered her head.
Jaune pulled her into a hug before lifting her face up to his. “Yang, thank you for being my girlfriend. And thank you for putting the wrong date in the system.”
“Why?” Yang asked. “Because it’s a stupid mistake that makes you seem smart?” She was definitely embarrassed, but that was alright. She was cute when she was embarrassed. Then again, she was always cute to Jaune.
“No, because it feels like it’s a secret between us. Something only we know. That makes today something that belongs to you and me alone.” Yang’s embarrassed ire turned to a charming expression as she shook her head in disbelief.
“Oh, Jaune. You really are one of a kind, huh?” Yang commented, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Let’s use your mouth for something more fun than talking.” With that said, they began making out in her backyard. With her family not even 30 feet away from them. All in all, not a bad start to a birthday.
The End.