#And HAPPY BIRTHDAY YANG XIAO LONG BIG SISTER OF ALL TIME

[princess-mei]

Mei 美美 Qin – Character Sheet

it’s like everything you say is a sweet revelation / all i wanna do is get into your head / yeah we could stay alone, you and me and this temptation / sipping on your lips, hanging on by a thread, baby

late night watching television / but how’d we get in this position / it’s way too soon, i know this isn’t love (no) / but i need to tell you something

i really really really really really really like you / and i want you, do you want me, do you want me too?

Archetype — The Explorer Birthday — July 9th, 2002 Zodiac Sign — Year of the Horse, Rising Leo, Sun in Cancer, Moon in Cancer MBTI — ENFP Enneagram — 2, the Helper Temperament — Sanguine Hogwarts House — Gryffindor Moral Alignment — Chaotic Good Primary Vice — Lust Primary Virtue — Charity Element — Water/Fire (she’s a Water Horse, so she definitely identifies with that but in Western tradition she is Fire.)

Overview:

Mother — Tanya Qin Father — Peng Qin Mother’s Occupation — Editor-in-Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle Father’s Occupation — financial diviner Family Finances — wealthy Birth Order — middle Brothers —  none Sisters — Ting-Ting (Gemma Chan, May 13, 1993), Su (January 22, 2003) Other Close Family — close to their mother’s side, father’s side lives in China, but they’ve taken trips to see them once or twice. do not have any cousins/aunts/uncles, but close to their grandparents. Best Friend — Daisy Zanetti, they grew up together. Met in school and were thick as thieves right away. Daisy is a half-fairy, so they both understood the whole “half” background thing. Other Friends — Lots and lots of friends~ Enemies — There was probably like one Mean Girl that Mei was always antagonizing and who was always antagonizing her. Pets — None. Home Life During Childhood — Relatively happy. Has nice, loving parents. Did a lot of Family Activities, since that was important. Mother was busy a lot with work, but her father was around a lot and Ting-Ting was always around (until she went to school.) Town or City Name(s) — San Francisco, CA What Did His or Her Bedroom Look Like — Posters everywhere! Very personalized and customized. Lots of reds and golds. Probably had like one of those net things around her bed. Always very messy, because Mei starts a project and then just jumps to the next. Lots of natural light too probably. Any Sports or Clubs — Dance and Gymnastics. Mei has kept up with both of these throughout the year. Does both ballet and hip hop. Her favorite gymnastics is rhythmics. Favorite Toy or Game — She wouldn’t consider it a toy or game, of course, but loves doing tarot and tea readings. Also enjoys a good board game, is very competitive though. Schooling — Public school. Favorite Subject — Physical Education ?? Maybe literature. Art classes… Popular or Loner — Decently popular. She wasn’t one of the people that everyone knew but she had a wide circle of friends. Important Experiences or Events — Discovering she had divination skills. Deciding her specialization. Moving to Swynlake! Nationality — American Culture — Chinese-American Religion and beliefs — Spiritual, borrowing from a spread of Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese folklore, and Confucianism.

Physical Appearance:

Face Claim — Cheng Xiao Complexion — Fair-skinned Hair Colour — Naturally a dark brown, but she dyes it a lot! Eye Colour — Dark brown. Height — 5’6 Build — Athletic, but slim. Tattoos — None. Piercings — Ears. Common Hairstyle — Likes to braid it or put it in two buns. Does a lot of half-up/half-down hairstyles. Clothing Style — Chic and trendy, lots of colors and patterns. Mannerisms — Very bouncy, doesn’t sit still much. Twirls her hair around her finger a lot. Usual Expression —

Health:

Overall (do they get sick easily)? — Pretty healthy! I’m sure this is due to Ting-Ting constantly balancing her Yin-Yang Physical Ailments — None. Neurological Conditions — None. Allergies — None! Grooming Habits — Rather good. Takes a lot of care with her appearance. Always makes sure to moisturize and exfoliate and change out of sweaty clothes. Sleeping Habits — Average. Eating Habits — Eats a lot because Su is constantly making things, but can forget meals if she is distracted or concentrating. Exercise Habits —  Exercises a lot! Does all sorts of things like pilates and swimming and jogging. Emotional Stability — I give her a 7/10, she loses points for being a stubborn, unreasonable teenager and for her temper, but otherwise is pretty even-keeled. Body Temperature — Average. Sociability — Very social! Loves surrounding herself with people. Addictions — Love? Drug Use — None, we will see. Alcohol Use — Has gone to parties where she’s drank before, but not often.

Your Character’s Character:

Bad Habits — Interrupting people, bouncing from topic to topic, meddling in things that she shouldn’t, talking back, being a general nuisance. Good Habits — Very kind, very caring. Wants to take care of all her people. Strong moral compass. Best Characteristic — Her certainty. Worst Characteristic — Her stubbornness. Worst Memory — Being told she would have to move to Swynlake. Best Memory — When her father told her that he was proud of her for completing her studies for being a sorcerer and accepting an apprenticeship. Proud of — Her magic, her family history, her looks, her sporting ability. Embarrassed by — Not much, probably the fact she isn’t very good at school. Driving Style — Probably was just learning how to drive. A speed demon, but surprisingly a good driver. Strong Points — Her moral center and her big heart. Temperament — Can be explosive, but general soft and sweet. Attitude — Generally positive. Weakness — Not knowing what she wants. Fears — Not knowing what she’s going to do with her life. Phobias — Anything unlucky, though I wouldn’t call it a phobia, more of a cautious regard. Secrets — None really? She doesn’t keep much from people. She’s very “This Is Who I am. Fight Me.” Regrets — Having to leave Swynlake. Feels Vulnerable When — People are angry or upset with her, she’s not following her heart. Pet Peeves — Being told she’s wrong, lol. Conflicts — Duty to Family v Duty to Heart Motivation — Following her heart. Short Term Goals and Hopes — Make friends and something out of her life in Swynlake. Long Term Goals and Hopes — Figure out what she wants to do with her life. Sexuality — As-is she is straight, but this can change. Day or Night Person — Day Introvert or Extrovert — Extrovert. Optimist or Pessimist — Optimist except she can be really sour when things don’t go her way.

Likes and Styles:

Music — Oh, gosh–where to start? Mei loves love songs, of course. Big fan of Elton John, Elvis Presley, Celine Dion, etc etc. She also loves modern stuff, of course. Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ed Sheeran…if she’s really feeling it some Florence and the Machine. Loves KPop too. I’ll let Lauryl tell me who she stans. (Is that the phrase I feel like there is a phrase.) Anyway, anything that is love related, she’ll give it a listen. Books — Doesn’t actually like reading that much, tbh. Doesn’t hold her interest. Magazines — Do people read magazines anymore? Does Buzzfeed count as a magazine? Probably giggles over Cosmopolitan. Foods — Sweets! Chocolate is her favorite, but she likes licorice a lot too. Is one of those weird people that likes black licorice. Also, loves a good rice pudding. That’s probably her favorite dessert. She also loves chicken, any kind of chicken–she doesn’t care what you put it in or what you put on it. Isn’t much of a picky eater. Actually really enjoys being adventurous with her food. Drinks — Green tea, green tea, green tea! Mei loves tea, especially iced. She also surprisingly likes salt soda water–she goes back and forth on sweet and savory. Sometimes, she just really wants salt soda water because it is just crisp and refreshing and wakes her back-up and reorients her yin-yang when she needs it. Animals — Elephants! Mei loves elephants. She’s that girl that has like elephant shirts and an elephant backpack and an elephant stuffed animal probably. They have such a high emotional capacity and Mei really respects them for this. They are also just so cute with their floppy ears and their soft, sweet eyes! Loves birds too as most of them are symbols of good luck and good tidings–besides owls, which are harbingers of death. Sports — Gymnastics and dance. Social Issues — Magick Rights is the biggest one. Also feminism. Also all the “main” issues. Favorite Saying — “Better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness” - Chinese Proverb Color — Golds, yellows, reds, blues are her favourites. She loves gold because it is a Classy color. Most of her jewelry is gold. She loves yellow because it is bright and happy! Red is lucky in Chinese culture and it always reminds her of times like New Year’s! Also, it is the color of passion and love. Blues she likes because they are calming and gentle.  These are her lucky colors. She also loves pink, even though it is technically a color that she should avoid. Really hates white, because she doesn’t like what a blank slate it is. Also, hates brown because it is an icky boring color. As you can see, she has a lot of Opinions on colors. Clothing —Chic and trendy, lots of colors and patterns. Jewelry — Loves it! Wears mostly gold. Probably has a few staple pieces but then exchanges things depending on her mood. Websites — Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter etc etc TV Shows — CW shows and K/Cdramas Movies — All the great love classics: Gone with the Wind, the Titanic, When Harry Met Sally, Roman Holiday, all of Audrey Hepburn probably, the Notebook, Singing in the Rain…I could go on and on. She loves movies that tug at the heart strings and are full of that wild, amazing, passionate kind of love. They always make her swoon and if she is choosing a movie for movie night, you know it’s gonna be a romantic tearjerker. Though, she also likes romcoms. Doesn’t like action movies or horror movies or anything too intense, they freak her out Greatest Want — To figure out what to do with her life. Greatest Need — To grow up and learn things aren’t all about her, lmao.

Where and How Does Your Character Live Now:

Home — A three bedroom apartment with Ting-Ting and Su. Household furnishings — Rather plain at the moment, but will probably grow cozy as they settle in. Favorite Possession — Her pseudogrimoire where she writes down all the signs and stuff that she sees and puzzles out the meaning to. Most Cherished Possession — Her wand, which is a fan that was her mother’s, her mother gave it to her and her father and Ting-Ting help her imbibe it with magic. Neighborhood — Tortuga Place Married Before — No Significant Other Before — Non-serious boyfriends and Serious crushes Children — She iS a child Relationship with Family — Very close with her dad, even though he’s always yelling at her and being disappointed in her. They have a lot in common and she loves him. Her and her mother also get along more or less, she’s less stringent than her dad. Ting-Ting and her probably have the most contentious relationship, but even that hasn’t been that bad really. Mostly Mei being a nosy, annoying little sister. It will get more intense now that Ting-Ting is the authority figure and Mei is pissed about their situation. Su and Mei get along more or less well, they annoy each other, as sisters are wont to do, but Mei would def consider Su one of her best friends. Car — None. Career — Student Dream Career — She doesn’t know !! Dream Life — Married, with children, though she doesn’t know what she wants out of a career. Love Life — Nonexistant, which pisses her off. Talents or Skills — Excellent gymnast and very good with her magic. Intelligence Level — Decently intelligent, has street smarts, tbh. Very sharp in conversation. Finances — Wealthy

[rwbyremnants]

CHAPTER WARNINGS: Hard convos and fluff (and awkward almost-incesty feelings)

Getting pretty close to the end! Also I started writing a new project - I know I know, I'm not even done posting this and Princess And The Dragons! Believe me there's just a ton of fics I could keep posting for all eternity, but they're all a complete mess (except the 2 I'm working on posting now). I might hit the fuck it point and post a few of them without doing any editing or rereading to make sure they make any sense. Yay for all that information nobody asked for!

=Chapter 10

A few months passed. Ruby had no further contact with Winter after she drove away from her, apart from one message she asked Penny to send, establishing that she no longer wanted to continue their arrangement. No more sessions, no more visits to the club, nothing. Even the casual texts had stopped, or the occasional silly snaps back and forth of each other's day; it was like they had never met. Strangers.

Then came an occasion she was dreading. There were other family gatherings she had managed to bow out of – anything to avoid awkward contact again out of fear of embarrassing herself; but this wasn't one she could squirm her way out of so easily. Weiss's birthday. She would never want to avoid her idol's celebration, especially not when she was specially invited! Dodging that one would also raise suspicion, and make it far more obvious that she was avoiding something to the other guests.

Plus, she didn't want to hurt her any more than she already had. Her guilt was too heavy. Time to bite the bullet and say hello.

All she could do was mentally prepare while she was out shopping with Yang, looking for an ideal present with her wife. She had promised that she would look after whatever she bought so Weiss didn't find it; at least that was a promise she could keep without anyone getting hurt.

"Hey, how about a cute little pony?"

When Ruby looked over, she saw Yang was holding up some kind of rainbow-painted porcelain horse tchotchke. She practically welcomed the distraction, no matter how mundane. Raising an eyebrow, she laughed, "Oh God, are you gonna turn her into one of those kooky nerds who has a billion of those?"

"Well… no…" Putting it back, Yang sighed and looked around. "But I'm totally drawing a blank this year. You know she's the one who's good at picking out gifts, and I just… suck ass."

Still trying to distract herself, Ruby smirked back toward her, walking a couple of steps backward to keep their pace in the store. "She told me enough times she liked what you got her last year. You know… the 'banana'?" If she wasn't going to be able to distract herself with small goods, she could by embarrassing her favourite sister. "She tells me everything when she gets drunk, unfortunately."

Ducking her blonde head, her big sister groaned and muttered, "God, Weiss… why can't you handle your booze?" She cleared her throat and spoke up to say, "But I don't wanna get her another 'toy' this time. I want it to be something sweet. Y'know, romantic and shit."

"Oooh…" That didn't give Ruby all too much to work with. While Yang and Weiss were definitely happy together, even she knew romance wasn't Yang's strong point. Aside from throwing herself in the path of an explosion that time a few years ago, the closest she had gotten was buying flowers on one occasion; only to get rid of them when they discovered Weiss was allergic. That was a story she wouldn't let her live down.

"Well, what kinds of things has she been into lately? Anything she mentions in passing or something?"

"Um… music? Frilly dresses and expensive perfume? Marrying the worst girlfriend in the world?" Sighing, she leaned back against a shelving unit full of lawn gnomes and hung her head. "I'll just get her another Victoria's Secret gift card."

"Doesn't that kinda count as a present for yourself? Just saying…" But Yang's phrasing didn't sit well in Ruby's own mind. Sure, she didn't know what sorts of presents were romantic and usually ended up with a cop-out gift, but at least she wasn't hurting anyone in the process of that. The worst girlfriend award for sure went to Ruby Rose. "And we both know she has the better of the Xiao Long-Rose sisters, so don't say you're the worst, dork."

"Does not! You're the real prize, and Penny is so lucky! Geeze, if you weren't with her, I'd be beating guys and girls off you with a stick!"

Even if it was meant positively, Ruby wasn't particularly in the mood to play along. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders reluctantly as she wandered out of the store, walking aimlessly in the direction of a jeweller’s. "Nah, I'm lucky to even have Penny. Don't even know how she puts up with me sometimes."

After a moment, Yang followed. She took so long to respond that by then, Ruby assumed she had forgotten the topic. Then…

"Okay, spill. What's been up with you the past couple months?"

"H-huh?" Even if it was a question she should have expected, she was taken aback, instantly finding herself on the defensive. "N-nothing! I was just saying that Penny's good for putting up with me, that's all!"

"Yeah, but you and Penny never fight. She hasn't seemed unhappy being with you or anything like that, at all." Folding her arms over her ample chest, she demanded, "So what's up, Rubes? Spill – unless you want me to tickle it out of you."

No getting out of that not-so-idle threat, no matter how much she tried. And even if Yang didn’t tickle her, she would be like a dog with a bone. Sighing, she looked downward sadly, still idly pacing around in the hope either of them would see something of interest for Weiss.

"It's not Penny and me that have had issues. We're fine. Our relationship's been pretty solid for a while…" When she stopped in front of the bracelets, she debated where to begin, whether or not to tell the story. In the end… "But… I’m, uh…"

Sensing this was big, Yang slid an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "You can tell me anything. If you could handle me coming out and transitioning, I can handle whatever's bugging you."

In the end, that tilted the scales. Yang deserved to know, since she had always been so open with her. At the same time, she didn't need to know who it was. The thought of that conversation coming to light certainly wasn't a good one given Yang's past with Winter.

"You know Penny and I don't… y'know, that often. So, um, Penny let me go out and see someone else, purely for sex. It worked out so great at first, me and this other girl had an amazing connection… but I had to go and ruin it."

For a moment, all Yang could do was blink in surprise. "Whoa, really? Never thought of you as a 'side chick' kinda girl." She hastily added, "But that's cool! I mean, if you have needs and Penny's okay with it, why the hell not?"

"Yeah, heh… I guess." Scratching the back of her head nervously, she couldn't look Yang in the eye anymore. The situation was too sensitive. "But it got deeper than that. Penny and I talked about it as well, and… and we realised that I was falling for this other girl the same way as Penny. Which she felt, too. But then… then I said some really stupid stuff and made a huge mess."

"Falling for both of them?" But of course, Yang had mostly been saying that to confirm it to herself. Blinking a few more times, she then asked, "What kinda stuff? Like, maybe it wasn't as bad as you thought."

"L-like…" There was the awkward part; she didn't know how to word what was happening without possibly outing either Winter or Qrow. Sighing in frustration, she looked back up. "Okay imagine if, I mean just imagine here – you're about to confess your feelings to Weiss for the first time, but then when you're just about to, you find out she's been sleeping with… with Dad or someone as close as that. Y-you'd be shocked, right? Shocked enough to really hurt her feelings on accident?"

For a long moment, Yang just tried to process the very idea being put across to her. Then she burst out, "Dad's been banging your side-chick?!"

"No!!!" Quickly slapping a hand to her forehead, she groaned out in frustration; one that had a couple of people turning to look at them. "I said 'someone as close as', not Dad himself! But that's not the point, anyway!" Looking around some more of the various watches and charm bracelets, Ruby sighed again. "I was yelling at her how if she cared she would have told me, because that was happening before I started hooking up with her, and during. And like, she knew this person was close to me! And I ended up… ended up learning I'd hurt her on other occasions without meaning to. Bad."

This time, Yang took even longer to respond. They both went back to looking over the things in the displays, picking them up and putting them down. Neither really paying much attention to what they were seeing.

"This, um…" Yang held up a tennis bracelet with a musical note dangling from it. "Is this dumb? I… think she could like it, but I, um…"

Again, Ruby welcomed the distraction. As much as she needed advice for what to do next, she much preferred to ignore the subject and keep burying her head in the sand. "That is super cute, actually. Maybe you can get another little snowflake charm for it too?"

"Ooh, that's a good idea… let me know if you find anything like that. Or maybe a star, because…" Her voice got quieter as she added, "She's my star."

Despite Yang having meant it genuinely, Ruby only saw her usual attitude of pun making and groaned again. "That was sooooo bad, international superstar. But stars and snowflakes, got it."

"Y-yeah," Yang replied with a feigned laugh. Clearly she had thought that was really romantic and it fell flat.

They both dug through the display for a little while longer, and Yang did eventually find a snowflake. Ruby was still hunting for a star when she walked back over. Clearly her mind was preoccupied.

"Um… hey Ruby?"

"Hmm?" Noticing that Yang had found what she wanted, she turned back to the display a moment to look longer. "Still can't find a star… Do you mind if it's a typical one? Or do you want a more… what? Something wrong?"

"The typical one is fine, we dug through most of 'em." Then she cleared her throat and tried to sound unconcerned as she asked, "So, were you, uh, maybe, kinda… sleeping with Blake?"

That'd made Ruby drop the small charm she had picked up, which bounced and rolled under one of the displays before she could catch it. At least it was one of the cheapest ones. "Oh, shoot! Noooo!"

“Those things are dime a dozen. C’mon, I asked you a serious question.”

She looked back around to her sister reluctantly. "No, not Blake. I mean, she said she thinks I'm cute before, but also said she would never want to because of your past. Kinda... crossing the streams, or whatever."

"Okay," she sighed in relief. "Whew! Just… you know, I noticed you guys were kinda hanging out sometimes, and… like, I never for sure thought you were, but that’s the only obvious guess I have."

Breathing with relief, Ruby laughed nervously with her. "T-that's fine! Nah, she and Sun seem to be exclusive to each other, from what I know, at least."

Under her breath, Yang muttered, "She's said that one before…" Then she cleared her throat and said, "Okay, Ruby. Whatever went on between you and whoever… it sounds like you were going past just bumping uglies and into really caring about each other. Weren't you?"

"H-hey, it wasn't like-!" But as much as she wanted to deny it, Yang was right; that was the simplest way to put it. Looking downward, she mumbled, "Yeah… we were."

"But… she's also doing stuff with someone really close to you, and it kinda gives you the 'this room is too crowded' vibe?" When Ruby didn't answer, she sighed and ran a hand through her bangs. "Whoo. That's rough."

"She’s also roommates with this person," Ruby added. It seemed like a major detail to leave in given the situation. Pacing to the other displays, she explained in more detail. "I'm not really mad about that anymore, I guess… I'm more mad that I hurt her. Not just by yelling at her about that, but that I left before talking it though. And that I hurt her before all this ugliness and didn't even know I did."

"God… and you were just gonna walk around with all this weighing you down?" Reaching over, she tousled Ruby's hair until it was a messy brown-and-red mop. It was one of the few things she had done when she was Ying that still lingered, even with how much she had changed before Ruby's eyes as they both grew up.

"Sis, I can only work with the facts I got. From where I'm standing… it sounds like this, um, person is worth it to you to go out on a limb for. I’ve been watching you moping around the past few months, and it's like… like something's missing inside you. And maybe your hookup isn't what you need, or maybe she- they are, and… I think you owe it to both of you to try. Just… I don't know, talk to ‘em again. Be chill and see where it goes."

"How?" she asked desperately with a little shrug. "How can I be 'chill' about it when I more or less said 'fuck you and what you've been through' to her face? Like… okay, it wasn't those exact words, sure; but the message was the same."

Though Yang did wince at the implication of saying something like that to someone, she gripped Ruby's shoulder. Unfortunately, due to her ignorance of the topic, her phrasing was less than ideal. "Hey, so you messed up in a… not small way. Sometimes to get what you want, you gotta eat a little crow."

Which was rather noticeable, given that she immediately shut her eyes tightly at the remark. "GOD I'd rather not hear 'Crow' and 'Eat' in the same sentence, you have no idea…"

But whether Ruby liked it or not, her sister was completely right. The problem wasn't going to be solved by hiding from each other; they needed to talk. To apologise, say their piece, and learn. Even if they ended up still avoiding each other after, the least they could do was try.

Apparently, Yang had been trying to talk to her all along, because she finally said, "Yooo, you in there, little Ruby? Big sis calling!" Then a fist was knocking on the top of her head, albeit lightly.

"GAH!" Flinching as soon as her head was touched, she nearly managed to knock the bracelet from Yang's hand! But right away she composed herself again, scratching her head. "S-sorry… I spaced. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that we should probably check out," Yang laughed easily, beaming her usual confident smile down at Ruby. "This bracelet's kinda lame, but it's literally the only idea I've had all day that doesn't make me wanna hurl myself into a volcano."

Ruby could only smile back, handing over the small star charm she had unearthed. "I actually think it's really cute, she'll love it."

But just after they'd finished checking out and re-entered the mall complex, Ruby was attempting to get some information of her own. She had been wanting to for a while, but didn't know how without raising suspicion. As naturally she could, she asked, "So… who's coming to the party? Me, Penny… who else?"

"Oh, well you know. Family people. Plus FNKI is supposed to be there, and Blake and Sun." Pointing, she asked, "Smoothies? My treat, for helping me out with this."

"Yeah, I guess smoothies wouldn’t break the bank," Ruby laughed, following her big sis. "Family people… so Dad, Jacques… Winter…?"

With a slow drawl, Yang answered, "Riiiight. That's who family is. Oh, I don't know if Uncle Qrow RSVP'd yet or not; he was invited. But Dad's gonna be there for sure." Then she looked suspiciously at Ruby. "Unless there's a problem with Dad being there…?"

"Why would I have a problem with Da-" But given the rather serious look, Ruby rolled her eyes. "Look, Dad was an example. This friend isn't actually sleeping with Dad. If she was, he would be living in the house with them, cause they are roommates with the person, remember? And no, it’s not Penny, and it’s really not me."

"Well yeah, I guess. Just double-checking, okay?" When Ruby still seemed irritated, she sighed and said, "Okay, I won't ask who's who again. I get it, this is sensitive. But… I do hope you get whatever's going on squared away. And promise me you won't sit on it until too much time went by, and now you feel like you can't speak up. Please?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Ruby looked up to her sister anxiously. She was genuinely worried about her… and had good reason to be, given what she had to deal with a few years ago; of course now that a somewhat similar situation presented itself, even if only affecting her sister, she would be on edge. But not wanting to let on how truly she was bothered by this, Ruby instead looked at the smoothie menu.

"Get me a banana and blueberry smoothie and it's a deal."

But all Yang groaned in response was, "Do you have to pick 'banana'? I'm already embarrassed enough about that as it is!"

----------------------------------------

"…but she’s been saying she wants to eat more organic, so I figured, buying some vegetable plant seeds could be an idea; something to do with little Fèn once she gets older, also. Not such a boring present, is it?"

Winter’s father had offered to drive her to her sister’s birthday party to both spare her sobriety and cab fare. He insisted strongly, despite her reluctance to be in his company. In recent days, that seemed to be worryingly common; for her to be alone or seem a little more uptight and serious than usual. Even if he had never mentioned it, her father certainly noticed.

And when noticing she still wasn't particularly listening on this occasion, he cleared his throat. "S-so… Amber couldn't come. She had something with her own family she couldn't miss, so you and Weiss will have to meet her properly another time."

"Hmm? Oh, yes… that's wonderful, Father." It was a stock answer. Winter would normally have offered up something a lot more in-depth and pointed, but it seemed she still wasn't up to the task.

In fact, she had spent most of the past months avoiding any time alone with her father. Not that he would know why. Not that they never talked, but their discussions had been fewer and further between ever since he told her about Amber. Poor Jacques. The only cause he could think of was the possibility that Winter didn't like his flowering relationship. And no wonder; no one would like to hear their parent had moved on, much less such details.

While they were at a red light, he looked around to her, asking, "You… aren't mad at me for dating again, are you?"

"What?" she asked, roused from her reverie. "No, not at all… oh, Father, I'm sorry. My mind is just elsewhere." Frowning over at him, she told him as earnestly as she could, "I didn't mean to make you think I disapprove of Amber."

There was a wave of relief, and right away he swept the sweat from his brow. "Phew! You had me worried there! Last thing I wanted to do was make you or Weiss feel uncomfortable." As the light turned green, his attention returned to the road, but he didn't drop the subject. "Then what is wrong, dear? You've seemed off for a long time now."

"Have I?" she asked, trying to sound as convincing as she could. She shifted in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable position. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Well, you have been a little," he admitted. "So, if it's not Amber… what is it? Is there something I should be concerned about? Have I done anything to upset you?"

"No, nothing," she answered immediately. There was no way she could ever tell him why she was so uncomfortable in his presence now - especially since it was getting easier to manage a little at a time. So she had to distract him, and she could only find one topic that would adequately excuse her standoffishness without making her poor father feel worse. "Just… I was beginning to think I might have found an 'Amber' of my own. But the relationship fell through before I could figure that part out."

"Oooohh… so, it's relationship trouble." While it was a better assumption than the whole truth, it was still awkward for old Jacques Schnee. He wasn't used to talking to his daughters in such circumstances until a couple of years ago, so the advice was always rusty. Still, he tried. "There's always more fish in the sea, even if you have to swim a little further out, I suppose. I know you get out more than I do, I'm sure you'll find a nice… girl, to settle down with someday."

Laughing weakly, Winter crossed her legs in the opposite direction, hoping against hope that it would abate her discomfort. No such luck. "Doubtful. I just don't feel that kind of connection with people. Not until…" Did she dare confirm? "Until she came along."

"I see… the one that got away, hmm?" Given the silence, that was also confirmed. While it wasn't as easy for him as it would be talking to a son about this sort of thing, he tried his best to treat her in the same way he would a son, and cleared his throat. "Girls are very mysterious. One minute you think you have them figured out, the next, you're back to square one. Or in your case, square zero. Of course, you know that, being a woman yourself." Scratching his head nervously, he tried to continue, "But what I'm saying is, don't bet all your money on one horse. If it's not meant to be, it won't happen. If it is, things will… well, they'll find a way to work."

"But I wasn't putting money on any horse," she sighed. "My feelings came as a complete surprise to me; I wasn't even looking! And then…" There had to be a way to discuss this without going into specifics. "We had an argument. About our relationship, and how we hadn't been entirely honest about our situations. It should have been something we could work through, but…"

"Ah, of course. Nobody likes complications." They weren't too far from the house, but rather than pull right up to the drive, he pulled the car over onto the shoulder a moment. "Listen, I'm not very good at this, you can tell; but it sounds like you both left everything up in the air rather than talking through the issue properly."

Winter could feel her anxiety rising. They were so close! She hadn't been mentally prepared to be alone with him for any longer than the drive there. But she also didn't want to squander this chance to have a non-superficial conversation with her father; they were so rare, and if she avoided this one she might not get another for a while. Or might even lead him to believe she hated him. That wouldn’t do.

"I wanted to try again. But she let me know we were done. That… she didn't want to see me anymore. She was so upset, I… how can I approach her if she hates me?"

Leaning back in his seat, Jacques sighed deeply, drumming his fingers against the top of the steering wheel as some form of distraction. "How indeed. Then again, your mother and I used to have our fair share of arguments before we got serious; sometimes, shit happens." It was unusual for her father to swear, even more so when he was calm. Still, it meant they were possibly getting somewhere. "Perhaps arrange to meet under more neutral circumstances?"

"Perhaps so." Her eyes flicked toward her sister’s house and the promise of safety, and she sighed. "We'll see. It feels so hopeless, but… I should at least apologise for my part of our misunderstanding. Then it would be up to her, right?"

"Exactly." He smiled toward her. "The ball will be in her court, as it were. If she wants to play, she will. If not… well, you can say you did everything you possibly could. It's disappointing if it does come to that, but in the end, it's far more satisfying to say you tried than to give up without trying."

Nodding glumly, she tried to let herself believe him. It was so hard! But she knew it was the truth; yes, Ruby was well within her right to end their arrangement, even without what went on with Qrow. Even so, that didn't mean she and her sister-in-law couldn't patch up their friendship, and discuss what went wrong like mature adults.

"You're right, of course. It's… I'll think about it. Thank you."

Nodding happily, he put his hands back on the wheel again to drive the last few seconds of the journey. Already, there were a few cars and bikes on the drive from the various guests. One of which included the small red car that Winter recognised so much: Ruby's.

Oblivious to that, Jacques was already taking off his seatbelt and opening the door. "In the meantime, just enjoy the party today. I'm sure Weiss will let you hold Fèn for longer than a couple of minutes this time!"

"Don't count on it," she laughed as they exited the car and began walking up towards the lakehouse. Despite their difficulties and Winter's private discomfort, she really did appreciate the talk more than she could say.

Once they got inside, they could see most of the guests had arrived. Yang and a few members of FNKI were loitering in the spacious entryway. One or two other children from Fenléng's daycare were toddling back and forth in the living room, their mothers likely nearby. Winter thought it was nice that she had a few little friends to play with.

"I'll be back in a bit, guys," Yang reassured both Flynt and Inu upon noticing the new guests. Suspecting they hadn't seen Weiss yet, she thought it best to greet the newcomers herself, managing to scoot past them to welcome her inlaws with open arms. "There you two are! Figured you got lost, again."

Jacques chuckled to himself, accepting a quick hug from her with a pat on the back. "That was just one time. Where is my other pride and joy, anyway?"

"Out in the garden with Ruby! I think they wanted to catch up a little bit before we gave Weiss her presents and stuff. You can head through, if you want?"

Raising a small bag and the box from Jacques, Winter said, "Where shall I put these?"

"Oh, I'll take 'em while we go through, it's on the way. Weiss's been waiting for you guys to turn up!"

With a brief wave goodbye to the two guests, Yang journeyed through the living room with both of Weiss’s relations following behind. She detoured to the kitchen with the two gifts, adding them to the pile, then leading Winter and Jacques to the rear conservatory doors. And there in plain sight were Ruby and Weiss, sat together on the bench.

The circumstances couldn't be any worse. Both Jacques and Weiss were completely unaware of the tension between Winter and Ruby. It gave no time for either of them to prepare mentally, especially not when Jacques was already walking outside toward them both, calling out to get their attention. "There she is! Twenty-two years young."

Turning, Weiss smirked at him as she said, "You got it right this year, Father. I'm impressed." Then her smile widened and she said, "Hey, sister of mine!"

"Happy birthday," Winter said, smiling gently. For the moment, she could forget about the girl sitting next to her sister. Ruby was definitely very important to her, but this wasn't her day, and it wasn't Winter's. "How does it feel to be another year wiser?"

"About the same," she laughed back with a little shrug. "Yang and I were just talking about that this morning; every year is just an encore, isn't it?"

"Once you're past twenty-one, it is pretty much the same,” Jacques chuckled. “Still, gives us an excuse to have a drink or two."

While he was making small talk with his daughter, Ruby continued to sit still with a drink in hand, staring toward the ground nervously. She knew Winter was there, but was far too scared to even make eye contact with her. Clearly, she had been just as cut up as Winter was in the first place. At least that was one small good sign; the pseudo-breakup wasn’t already an irrelevant event for the girl.

"So, how many others are on their way?" Winter asked, hands in the small of her back.

"Well, there's Blake and Sun," Weiss began to list off as she embraced sister. "Taiyang is on his way with Qrow. That might be everyone, right, honey?"

"Blake just messaged and said she's on the way," spoke up Yang from behind them, who had just finished putting the gifts away and was now coming to a stop by her wife’s side. "Aaaand Dad's on the way but a little held up because he went to get Penny from the airport. That’ll be a while, so… should we do presents?"

"You guys go ahead," Ruby said from her seat. At least now she raised her head a little, and looked outward to the large lake rather than at the floor like she was before. "I'm just gonna… chill here for a minute. Crazy week."

"Sorry to hear that," Winter said almost automatically. Then she cleared her throat and hastily turned to Weiss. "Are you ready for presents, or would you rather wait for Blake and Sun?"

"We can wait. In fact, now that I've stopped breastfeeding, I'm ready to have a drink. Can I get you something?"

Smiling demurely, she responded, "Oh, come on; this is your day. I can make drinks for both of us. What will everyone have?"

"Maybe Weiss already has the drinks I…" Though before she could finish that quip, Yang realised just who was in their company. They might well be on good terms, but an adult breastfeeding joke might be a bit too much for the subject’s father and sister to take. Winding back, she cleared her throat again. "Yeah, but I'll get them though, seriously. I know Weiss wants a strawberry daiquiri, and I’m still on the dry list. You two…?"

"I'm driving, so just sparkling water for me. What about you, Winter?" Jacques asked, although he was about ready to head inside.

Her eyes flicked to Yang, but then she said, "Martini, dry, single olive. That is, if it's no trouble."

"Nope, not at all!."

Weiss and Jacques headed inside first, with him asking about how she was and how Fènleng had been. It was always the subject whenever he came over now. But before Winter could step inside, Yang's hand landed on her shoulder, pulling her slightly around.

"Hey… you got a minute?"

That was quite startling for the elder of the Schnee sisters. Glancing both between the door inside and Ruby on the bench, she asked, "Of course, what's up?"

Glancing back at her little sister for a quick moment herself, she leant in closer toward Winter, talking in a hushed tone. "Okay, this is gonna be a weird request, but could you talk to her? This past few months she's had a bad case of the blues about, um, this situation she’s in. I know it's weird asking since she barely knows you, but… I'm kinda at a roadblock."

"Me?" Gulping, she glanced back at Ruby, then again at Yang. The woman she had treated so badly once upon a time. "I… don't have the greatest track record with helping people. Mentally. I'm honestly very surprised you'd ask me."

"Well, I'm stuck… Weiss is stuck, Penny's stuck… we're out of options. Not that you're a bad option, that's not what I'm saying at all! I mean, I know it's not gonna be the same as when you talked me into leaving and-" Sensing she was rambling, however, she looked down when the quizzical gaze of Winter met her own. "Bad start… bad start. But, yeah… if it's okay with you, could you? She may open up more if it's with somebody who doesn’t know her as well as us."

"Yang… you have me all wrong. I'm honoured you trust me to help her, and I'll definitely do my very best. Just… surprised." Swallowing hard, she whispered, "I've been hoping to… make things up to you; I know I can't, but anything I can do to try…"

"Oh pssshhh, I wasn't even thinking about that!" Yang quickly assured her, even laughing a little just to prove it. But in a short moment she squeezed her shoulder, just enough to convey she was serious. "I'm asking as a sister-in-law. Not as a 'you owe me'. Please?"

That prompted Winter to sigh in mild relief as she patted the hand on her shoulder. "That means the world to me. And yes, of course; I just apologise in advance if the talk doesn't do as much good as we both hope."

"Least we can say we tried. I'll have your drink ready in a second."

Finally releasing the shoulder, she headed back in the house behind Weiss and Jacques, leaving the two girls outside alone. Ruby, who was still trying to look to one side with her beverage to do anything to avoid looking her way; and Winter, who was awkward enough thinking about what needed to be done. It was pretty obvious Ruby wouldn't be the one starting.

There was so much she wanted to say, but in the end all she did was pace up behind the bench, come to a stop, and ask, "So… how have you been?"

Nervously shrugging her shoulders, Ruby kept watching the lake while she took a sip of her drink. Damn Yang… she didn't know anything about the situation, yet had somehow managed to convince Winter to do the very thing they needed to - despite her wanting to run a mile from it!

"G-good," she murmured after the sip, resting the hand back on her knee again. "J-just, um, doing so-so. And you?"

"I've been better… but I've been worse. So… I guess the same as you." She looked down towards her hands, white-knuckling on the back of the bench, and tried to relax. It wasn't working. "How are… you and Penny?"

Yet again, she shrugged her shoulders. However this time she at least made some form of effort to acknowledge her needs, by scooting to one side of the bench. "Not too bad, I guess. She has a new job, but she's been kinda stressed because I've been super tired a lot of the time."

Realising it would look strange if she kept standing there when there was an empty seat, she rounded it, sitting down as far away as she could from Ruby. Hopefully, she wouldn't feel crowded. "Why so tired? If it's not too much to ask about. Feel free to tell me it's none of my business, I…" But she didn't finish her thought.

"O-oh, it's nothing. J-just… uh…" Seemed it was more than nothing, especially when it came to the person she was admitting this to. But trying her best, she eventually shrugged her shoulders after another drink. "Just… felt a little off, that's all. I-it's like that sometimes."

"You should talk to your sister about that. She would know more about that, since she's… already on medication. No thanks to me," she added in a bitter undertone.

Closing her eyes, Ruby sighed deeply as she placed her glass on the ground and out the way. "That wasn't your fault entirely, you know. There were a lot of issues at the time with her, hiding under the surface. And besides, I'm pretty sure it’s not genetic; my parents weren’t diagnosed with stuff like that. So if it’s anybody, it’s Yang’s mom, I guess."

"Still, you… should work on what's troubling you." This was getting harder to dance around, and when she thought about doing so, she found she was unable to. "Because despite… how things played out, I still want what's best for you, Ruby. There's just no sense in you suffering if you can talk to someone, sort things out. Medication or no medication."

"I'm not depressed," she corrected. Although from the way she kept staring toward the ground, she wasn't exactly doing anything to prove that comment wrong. In the end, she placed her hands on the bottom of her small skirt, grasping the hem anxiously. But in the end, she thought to herself; what good would it do to keep distracting and leaving things unsaid? "I've just… been upset. Not Depression, not anything else; I'm just sad, okay? It… it was my own stupid fault in the first place."

"What was?" When Ruby didn't answer immediately, she followed up with, "I don't want to assume anything. That isn't my right. But maybe whatever has upset you wasn't your fault alone, and… and then you wouldn't have to punish yourself so harshly. Right?"

For a long while, there was silence between them. Ruby continued to look downward, still unable to yet look up at someone she once couldn't get enough of. It was almost tragic how far they had drifted thanks to a single argument. But the silence was lifted by a small, but rather desperate whisper.

"I miss you."

Winter's head raised, eyes wide. Her mouth worked as if she would respond right away, but she forced herself to stop, to consider her words more carefully. Then she stated, "And I have missed you. So much."

Tucking a stray strand of hair out of her own face, she eventually settled to holding her hands together on her lap, idly crossing her legs to appear casual. Just on the off-chance anyone inside was looking. But already, she could feel everything she had bottled up coming loose, feel her heart thudding with fear, eyes welling up.

"I just got so mad," she began to confess. “S-so mad and so jealous… and I had n-no right to be. That wasn't fair. Not when I-I'd done things just as bad to you."

"You didn't realize what you had done was so…" Winter paused, having to breathe deeply. This wasn't something she made a habit of discussing, so even now, months later, it was difficult. "We both crossed a line that we didn't think as important to the other person as it turned out to be. Is… that fair to say?"

It was accurate. All Ruby had wanted to do was show Winter that she was brave enough to do more daring things, while Winter simply wanted to keep the two most important people in her life happy without awkward encounters. It was certainly a fair assessment. Nodding in agreement, she stared out toward the lake again in a somewhat more contented silence.

"…How's Qrow?"

"Oh, he's been alright. They promoted him to assistant manager of the bar; said he was doing a great job with the work but was a little rude to the customers, so he was better placed being rude to the bartenders."

"So he gets to sit at a desk behind the bar and drink? Sounds like an ideal job for him."

Winter smiled down at the hands in her lap. "You… probably don't want to know any more details than that, do you?"

Though that last comment didn't make Ruby laugh. Unfortunately, she was still rather awkward about that situation. "N-no… not really. I wanna hear if he's okay but not like, those details."

"Of course, of course," she replied hastily. "I have no problem with that. As long as you agree not to tease me about… about the other thing. We can bring it up from time to time, but don't tease. It just…" She looked away, biting her lip to keep from showing a reaction too severe.

"I know… I stepped over the line." Nervously she shuffled in her seat again, looking downward toward the floor. A look of pure shame. "The truth is… I just thought that maybe… if I used my intuition and showed that I could be daring enough to try something big like that, you'd be pleased with my progress. But now I know, t-that was completely wrong. That you can't ‘guess’ with this stuff."

The corner of her mouth ticked up as she conceded, "Well, to be fair, you were right with everything except the third person who happened to be in the room. But your performance was… I still have to fan myself thinking about how good you were."

"It… was pretty hot." Unsure if that was crossing the line or not, she shrugged her shoulders nervously. "That doesn't count as teasing, right? To admit that it was really… really thrilling?"

"No, not at all. I… could tell you how I really felt about it, if you promise not to pass judgment. A-and if you promise not to think it means I dislike you; just because I was angry and upset didn't mean I wanted you out of my life! I regret so much that I made it seem that way…"

"I wouldn't blame you if you did… I crossed the line," she admitted again. She knew she deserved more than that. She expected fury, rage even, but Winter had something else to say. "…g-go on?"

"What I said during play… that it really turned me on… I wasn't lying. It did. But admitting that means admitting that…" Winter's cheeks were pink already due to how long they had been talking about their last session, but she bravely forged ahead.

"On the car ride up here, I spent the entire time trying to ignore how wet I was getting. Because I was in the same car as my father. You were so good, and gave me such a powerful climax, that now… now I associate that with speaking to him, being in the same place as him. Which I'm so ashamed of; it's… not as if he had anything to do with it directly, or as if I want to sleep with him! GOD, no! But the two things are connected in my brain pretty strongly now." Now that the older woman had said her peace, she closed her eyes and waited for the reaction. However bad it might turn out to be.

"Ohhh…" Surprisingly, it was far easier for Ruby to take in than expected. While it was good to learn that she had given Winter an extremely powerful orgasm, and Winter was proud of her as a sub… learning that Winter now associated her own father with their escapades wasn't so good. In fact, when she thought about it…

It was the same association she now had with Qrow once learning who he was. Finding out that Qrow was another of Winter’s partners made such thoughts hard to totally block out. A sexual context for her own uncle. They were both dealing with those awful tricks of their minds. Only difference was, Ruby knew she would never accidentally be picturing her uncle during the act the same way Winter might with her father.

"Shit… I really screwed up…"

"Not so badly. I mean, it's almost fun, when I'm not disgusted with myself." A few seconds later, she added in a weak murmur, "That was supposed to be humourous, but after saying it, I realized it didn't come out that way…"

Still blinking, she finally looked more in Winter's direction than the floor at last. Not eye contact yet, but it was better than what it was. "Geeze, I just wanted to do something… adventurous. To be bold or whatever. I didn't want to ruin an entire person for you, let alone your own father!"

With another gentle, nervous smile, she turned back to face forward. "You don't have that much power, Ruby. He's not ruined, exactly… just… this is something I'll have to work through. But it does help to have a specific cause; you fucking me under the desk, instead of just 'Surprise, you're turned on in your father's presence'. Keeps me from thinking I'm even more of a deviant than I already am."

There was a small chuckle coming from her. "That would be the worst version of the Daddy kink."

"Ugh," Winter groaned, ducking her head. "Do you know how long I mentally dissected me moaning 'Daddy' when I’m being fucked?! I haven't called him that in over a decade, and I still had to worry about it!"

"Oh my god, I was kidding - I didn't know you had one!" The laugh was beginning to increase in volume. In fact, it would be the loudest anyone would have heard her laugh in weeks, even if it was a slight form of teasing. Their talk was working.

So Winter kept it going. Yes, she was uncomfortable with the subject matter, but it was also a relief to be able to get it out and discuss it instead of bottling everything up. "Well, I do, but it never had anything to do with my actual daddy until that night. Not as far as I knew, anyway." Shifting in her seat, she muttered, "You know what they say about all little girls wanting to marry their fathers…"

"Not me; never ever been interested in men. Even me being kinda weird about sex aside…" Finally, she felt her muscles relaxing as she grew more at ease; even began to smile. Maybe things were going to work out for them still being friends, after all. In the end, that's what they wanted, to be in one another's lives, regardless of feelings.

But Ruby didn't want to leave it there. Talking about where things went wrong with their arrangement was one thing, but with their feelings was another. They had come too far, said too much to leave it there without talking it through fully. If only she could take that first step.

Though Winter beat her to it. "If you're sure you want to keep these secrets, and aren't already disgusted by me…" Her eyes flicked up to Ruby's face, then away again, waiting. Bursting to speak, but afraid that she had already gone too far.

"I could never be disgusted with you." At long last, she looked up, and right at Winter's face. It was like she was seeing her for the first time all over again. She could already feel the bottled up feelings reemerging, the compulsive need to grab Winter and kiss her as hard as she could. But they had to talk it out first. "Even after all my thinking, all this time with these dumb thoughts… I can't be disgusted with you. I can't even dislike you. And I don't want to. Because all this time has passed and I… I-I… still…"

Almost as if to head her off, Winter went on, "G-good. Because it's been getting worse, even if I've been getting better at processing it; understanding it's a kink, and it doesn't make me bad for having a kink if I don't indulge it. That's not as bad, right?" Her eyes held Ruby's for just a moment, hopeful, drinking in the desire she saw reflected there, before she turned away.

"As you heard, my father has begun dating this Amber woman. I've seen her, and she really is attractive." More fidgeting from the elder Schnee sister. "S-so… I may have had a stray fantasy about walking in on them…"

"Well… I-I guess… um…" Truly speechless after that confession of hers, Ruby looked to one side wide eyed, scratching the back of her head nervously. Managing to force a chuckle of her own, she admitted, "I guess these things don't hurt. Fantasies and all that, different strokes for different folks."

"You know, I could tell he was flustered by that sketch of yours - which I framed, by the way, I hope I can show you how it looks framed. That… is part of what made it harder to forget this whole thing. He didn't know it, but he was finding me attractive." Then she cleared her throat, waving that away as best she could. "Which only makes sense; he's always told me I'm a lot like Mother was. Weiss is the one who looks so distinctly different, even though there's a family resemblance, of course."

"Weirdly? She looks like your dad, if he was a girl… if that makes sense?" She could only hope that would be enough to make her chuckle along with her. The strange thing was, at the start of this arrangement, she was so obsessed with Winter's likeness to Weiss. Now, she could completely separate them. When with Winter, it was like Weiss was never even a factor.

"She does!" Winter admitted with a giggle of her own, raising a hand to her mouth to hide it. Then she sighed and said, "Anyway, enough about my budding Electra complex before I develop a thing for Weiss, too." Turning more fully, she looked straight at Ruby with a sober gaze. "I'm so happy that we can talk again. It might not be easy, but I can't tell you how much I've missed this!"

Laughing right back with her, Ruby picked her drink back up from the ground. The smile on her face evolved into a grin. "Me too! This was one of the things I missed. I mean, Weiss and Blake are great to talk to, but you sorta get fed up with them bringing up their other halves like, all the time."

Nodding, Winter crossed her legs in a lot less discomfited gesture - though she still shivered slightly at the action. "Indeed, they do go on about each other. But it's a positive thing, that they're in such stable relationships." Glancing over at Ruby, she asked in a careful tone, "You and Blake didn't ever…?"

Drinking the final swig of her drink, Ruby shook her head lightly, drawing the glass away. "Nah. We agreed that'd be too weird with how she was with Yang and all. Plus, as much as she knows she's bisexual…" Shuffling up closer to Winter a moment, she quickly checked the area to make sure no one was in sight. Thankfully, they were all too distracted by the presents to even notice those two outside. Finally, she leaned into her ear, whispering, "She is definitely all about dicks."

Giggling, Winter whispered back, "I know. I offered to Dom her a few times, or to let her Dom me, and she said she 'wouldn't mind' but didn't seem all that excited about getting around to it. I saw that as the gentle kiss-off that it was, and never pushed for an answer."

"Yeah… She won't admit it, but she is a cockslut," Ruby whispered back. And yet even when she was done whispering, she didn't move away. Not yet. She had become content with sitting right at Winter's side, even leaning in slightly toward her. So close… even after months, it was becoming like those few romantic sessions all over again. Except there were no characters, no practice. This was Winter Schnee and Ruby Rose.

"Do you still…" But as soon as the words began to form, she held a hand up, shaking her head. "Nah, forget it, I'm being dumb."

"I still miss more than just our sessions," Winter told her firmly, offering it when Ruby hadn't finished her question. "I miss YOU, all of you."

Ruby found no more words to say. Usually a chatterbox who let her mouth run, and she was completely speechless. All she could do was keep their close proximity, feel her cheeks beginning to heat up once more as Winter stared back at her. She always managed to make her blush… and this was no exception. After a brief check to make sure no one was around, she found her eyes wandering elsewhere. To Winter's eyes, her lips…

"Kiss me."

"Are you sure?" she breathed gently, allowing her index finger to brush down along Ruby's arm. "Someone might see. Or do you want them to see?" Quirking her lips, she whispered as she drifted closer, "Not that I would fault you if that was secretly what you wanted."

"I-I want…" She wanted everything to go the way it was meant to go when she first confessed her feelings for Winter. She wanted for them to be more, so much more. "I want you… I want to feel how you feel about me. Even after this long. I-if you still do."

At the more insistent wording, the lessening of ambiguity, Winter's eyes began to shimmer. Her throat tightened, and she leaned in yet closer. With only another second of hesitation, her lips took the younger woman's, hungrily and with great relish.

And she poured every last ounce of desire into her mouth as she kissed her back, as her hand slid up to rest upon her neck. For the first time, one of their kisses wasn't merely full of confidence, sensuality, desire. This time, there was so much affection - on a level closer to Penny's, though different in its own right. Open and earnest.

In the same way, Ruby felt her eyes closing in bliss. Her hand crept up and into Winter's hair, bringing her in closer. Her other hand was holding her glass as best she could, but even that was a struggle. In the movement and effort Winter displayed when she opened her lips slightly further, when she eased her tongue forward to brush against her own, she could feel it. This kiss was so completely different to what she had felt from her before, yet entirely familiar. Winter Schnee loved her, and she could tell from that single, honest kiss between them. And already she could feel tears welling up in her eyes all over again.

Though Winter continued to pour more and more of her affection into the contact, eventually it grew to be too powerful. She had to break away to whisper, "I thought I lost you forever!" before she threw her arms around Ruby, pushing her face into her neck and trembling all over as she tried not to break down entirely.

Although hesitant at first, Ruby eventually found the strength to hug right back, pulling her in tightly as she grasped the cardigan she was wearing. Everything was back, her scent, her touch; her. And she wouldn't have it any other way. What a fool she was to let it all go, to let such a thing slip away because of a pathetic argume-

"Guys, we're starting to open the presents!"

Yang happened to call as she stood by the conservatory door. Why did that have to happen now?! Thankfully, there was no awkwardness about the embrace; it simply looked like what Yang had intended for them, for Winter to have helped Ruby with her sadness. And that brought a smile to her face. "Awww, come on you nerds, get in here!"

Pulling back with a sniffle, she was sure not to do what she would have done - kiss Ruby again - and instead turned immediately to call, "Coming!" When addressing Ruby again, she whispered, "Are you going to be alright? I mean, I think I can dry it up, but we can linger a moment if you need to."

Moving the hand from the back of her head to her shoulder instead, she nodded. She desperately wanted to do the same, quickly lunge forward and kiss Winter. But that would have to wait until another time. "Y-yeah, we'd better. Yang's been worried about me."

"Yeah, she said. Your sister really cares for you; I'm glad you're so close." Biting her lip as she stroked Ruby's arm, down out of sight due to the bench, she whispered, "Maybe… she can be one of the first ones we tell, when we're ready. She and Weiss. I think they're the ones who might feel the most strange about us being anything other than sisters-in-law."

"Yeah… Yeah that's true. It would be a good idea." But it seemed at first, Ruby hadn't quite realised what that implied. Until she started to really think about it. And her eyes widened once she began to think on it more and more, before finally gasping, "You… want that with me? Like, to be completely out in the open? Really?"

"Possibly," she answered with a shy smile as she finally began to stand up, pulling Ruby to her feet alongside. "Depending on other factors. Mainly, you and Penny; if we did that, she would be part of a polyamorous relationship, even if she has no feelings for me. I don't want to put her in that position if she's not comfortable with it. And then we'll have to decide how we feel about each of the other people in our lives knowing about it in turn."

"Yeah, of course. If we don't handle this right, people would accuse me of being a cheater. And I don't want that – she doesn’t deserve to have people thinking that, either. Don't worry, I'll be talking to her about it soon."

Winter nodded, then couldn’t help grinning down at the little puppy. Now all hers – or at least, more hers than she had been expecting. "I can’t wait."

[bssaz97]

“Call Me Back” Finale

* Patch Maternity Ward *

Ruby always knew that labor and delivery was going to be one of, if not, the hardest and most excruciating part of her pregnancy. She vividly remembered the tired faces of when Winter, Weiss, Blake, and Nora had delivered their babies and how happy they were after they got to hold onto their babies for the first time. But Ruby also remembered the seemingly endless amount of screaming and curses she heard from down the hallway of the maturity ward each time one of her friends went into the second stage of labor. When Ruby tried to ask for any ideas for how she could make the delivery stage easier for herself (that was the time when she learned she was carrying twins). However, all four girls just looked at her and collectively said one statement.

Past Winter/Weiss/Blake/Nora: “Practice breathing and pray.”

Ruby had greatly underestimated the counsel of her close friends and was convinced that they were trying to spare her the terrible truth about childbirth. The truth being that no matter what, childbirth is the most intense and painful experience that a woman can experience. How Mrs. Arc was willing to go through this experience five times (two of those resulting in twins) was truly a mystery to Ruby. But if Mrs. Arc could make it through all that amount of pain and struggle, then so could world savior Ruby Rose right? Oh poor, poor sweet past Ruby, how foolish she was to think that optimistically about the stages of childbirth.

Ruby: “GAAAA-HAAAHHHHhhhh!!!” *she screamed in utter agony, sweating profusely*

Taiyang: “It’s ok sweetie you’re doing great. You just need to wait until the head starts popping out. And by then it’ll be- Gah!” *feels his hand crushing under the pressure of Ruby’s grip on it.*

Ruby: “‘huff!’ If you say... it’ll be a piece of cake. ‘Huff!’ Or any other stupid birthday pun. ‘Huff!’ I’m going to kill you Dad!”

Taiyang: “Yeeep! Read you loud and clear sweetie!” *groaned as his grip was once again under the pressure of a mother birthing her offspring*

Doctor: “Ok Miss Rose you’re doing great, just keep breathing and PUSH!”

Ruby: “AAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

* Waiting Room Area *

Yang waits anxiously in her seat along with the other members of her team, their husbands, and Ren and Nora. Yang was trying to find something to focus on but came up blank. She was gripping tightly on chairs arms and ponders about how her baby sister is doing... well for lack of a better term ‘birthing babies’. She tries to calm herself through any means, but when a family member is expected to wait until the end of more or less a twelve-hour process is done, then calm is the last thing she wants to be right now. Yang has spent a good portion of her life fighting monsters and many groups hellbent on the destruction of humanity as a whole along with other things. However, if there was any situation that she dreaded the most was the feeling of helplessness when someone she cherishes is in pain or hurting. But then again, this isn’t normally like any of those cases, this was supposed to be a special day for both Ruby and...

Yang: ‘God damnit.’ *internally trying not to start any waterworks*

This was supposed to be a good day for the two of them, where they would start a new chapter of their lives together. Now there’s only her sister, who’s now all alone on this supposedly special day. Yang felt something in her boiling, a rage she had felt only a few times before in her life. She felt hatred, hatred towards whoever deemed it fit to take away not only her baby sister’s fiancé, but her happy future as well. A future that everyone worked and fought so hard for was taken away from Ruby without her knowledge.

The parallels between her own childhood and right felt so unbearably similar that all Yang wanted to do was hit something. A happy family who was robbed of someone who was so loved and admired by everyone that was close to them, only to never see them alive again. To that was the most painful part, he-Jaune did not deserve to be taken away from his family, friends or his soon to be mother of his children. But someone sought it fit to do just that, and now his parents lost their son, they lost a friend or brother, and Ruby lost the love of her life, the father of her soon to be born children. Just like Summer and so many others were taken away from them, a tragic repeat of history in their family.

Yang: ‘why...? Why?...WHY DID WHENEVER SOMETHING GOOD WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO RUBY DID SOMEONE HAVE TO TAKE IT AWAY?!’ *She didn’t notice when tears started to trail down her face before shaking her head*

Yang had come to terms with the fact that Jaune was gone, they did have a body after all but that didn’t make it any less painful to know. She tried to remain strong for her sister who was no doubt going through the darkest part of her life, and she knew that it would only persist if not addressed. But Yang felt that she lost a friend and a brother many months ago, the saddest part was that it wasn’t something she’s not used to feeling. The sad cycle of their family was supposed to end with Ruby and Jaune’s union but maybe they had placed too much hope in their happily ever after. But whatever the result was, there was nothing that could be done to change it. That to her was perhaps the most painful thing about it.

Blake: “ Yang are you ok?” *places her hand on her friend’s shoulder*

Yang: “Hmm? Oh sorry, guess I was lost in thought. Got a lot on my mind I guess. Hehehe... ‘sigh.’”

Weiss: “Yang Xiao-Long. If you think for a moment that we’re going to believe that poor excuse, then you clearly do not realize who you are speaking to.”

Yang: “Heh. Yeah I should’ve figured that wasn’t gonna go pass through you Weiss-Cream. Well... I guess I’m just thinking about how Ruby’s doing right now.” *she leans back into her seat*

Neptune: “Yeah, by the way. How has she doing? Before right now I mean!” *adds in quickly*

Yang: “Honestly, not too good. Ok that’s an understatement, she was a mess, had to keep my eyes on her almost all the time. I’ve... never seen her look so defeated before. There’s been bad times before but now... it just brings back some bad memories.” *drags her prosthetic hand over her face*

Blake: “Yang...” *Looks at her old partner sympathetically*

Sun: “Sorry to hear.”

Neptune: “How’ve you been holding up?”

Yang: “What do you mean?”

Neptune: “Well you’ve been there for Ruby all during this time, but I can’t imagine it will be easy for you when you have to... well go back to doing your ‘other’ job.”

Yang: “Wha-? Do you actually think I would leave Ruby all alone during this time!” *eyes briefly flash red*

Weiss: “We’re not suggesting that Yang. But we do need to address this matter, because we have noticed that you haven’t been to Mistral since this... we found out what happened. That’s why we need to talk about it.”

Yang couldn’t deny what Weiss was saying and she had to admit that she has been slacking in a duty she’s neglecting for sometime. Although she would prefer not to do this today if all days. But rarely did they ever have time to hang out with one another.

Yang: “‘sigh’ Okay. Let’s talk.”

Weiss: “Well from what we remember you telling us, you spent most of your looking after Ruby. Even as a child back then you placed yourself with a lot of responsibility. So now after everything that has happened, you may not notice but we see how you are reverting back to the position of a helicopter sibling. However, as you know, you’re also in a position where you have to uphold a duty to the people of Mistral, so you cannot be in two places at once.”

Yang: “So what’s your point Weiss.”

Weiss: “The point that WE want to make is... we want to help easing up the burden you’ve been holding for so long.”

Yang: “...What?” *her face displaying confusion*

Ren: “It’s true Yang. While you are Ruby’s sister, the responsibility of helping her shouldn’t be on your shoulders alone. Nora and I are the godparents of these coming children, so it’s our responsibility to be there for them and Ruby as well.”

Nora: “That’s right.”

Blake: “You and Ruby are one of the best friends I have, who have fought many personal battles alongside me. So let Sun and I return the favor.”

Sun: “Yep.”

Weiss: “Yang, do you remember what I told my father when he tried to force me back home all those years ago. Your not just friends to me, you’re family. So as part of my family, I want to be able to help out as best as I can. Plus I refuse to not help with expenses she may need.”

Neptune: “‘laughs’ What she says.”

Weiss: “So what do you think.” *gives a small smile*

Yang: “..... Y-You guys would really be willing to do all this... for us? *moving her gaze to look at all of them*

Weiss: “Of course. Did you really expect to go any other way?”

Yang: “I-I don’t know what to say.”

Nora: “There ain’t nothing to say, you can’t get rid of us that easily!”

Yang: “Guys..... ‘sniff, sniff’ ....thank you.” *bows her head a little, mostly to hid the fact that she couldn’t hold the tears she had built up earlier at bay any longer*

Blake, Weiss, and Nora group around Yang so that the girls could have group hug around their blonde friend. Soon enough the husbands of the group also formed another layer of hugging to show their support as well. Yang felt as if a large load was taken off her shoulders that she had no idea she was carrying but was just happy to have friends and family such as these. Maybe with them around, she wouldn’t have to worry as much to care for her sister. Even if one of them was gone, there were still others there to help carry the load alongside her, as one big happy family.

Female Doctor: “*Cough, cough*”

Everyone: ‘⁉️’ *They all look up to see a doctor standing in front of them in scrubs*

Female Doctor: “Sorry to interrupt this special moment but I wanted to inform Miss Xiao-Long that her sister has completeld her delivery.”

Yang: “‘gasp!’ Oh my gods, is Ruby ok! Did everything go ok! Please tell me everything is ok!” *she knocked everyone off of her to get up close to the doctor pleadingly, hands clasped together*

Female Doctor: “*laughs* Yes Miss Xiao-Long, everything went off without any problems. Would you like to meet your niece and nephew?”

Yang: “Do I?!”

Weiss: “Ahem!”

Yang: “Eh?” * turns around to see the others picking themselves up after Yang unceremoniously pushed them off after a such touching moment*

Yang: “Oops. Sorry guys, got a little too excited there. Hehe...” *raises hands in a defensive manner*

Weiss: “‘Hmph’ I will forgive you right now but only because it’s a special occasion.”

Yang: “*laughs* Thanks.”

. . . . .

Nora: *sprints past the two of them* “FIRSTONETHEREGETSTOSEETHEBABIESFIRST!”

Female Doctor: “Mam, please no running in-!”

Yang: “Ohhh Hell No Lie-Valkyrie! Those kids are my blood so I get first dibs!” *follows hot on Nora’s trail*

Female Doctor: “Miss Schnee could you please-!”

Weiss: “Damn Brutes, you get there before me I will have words!” *uses Glyphs to boost her speed*

Blake: *Uses Shadow to follow after*

Female Doctor: “NO RUNNING IN THE HOSPITAL!”

Ren/Neptune/Sun: “So sorry about this.” *starts lightly jogging to catch up to their respective wife*

Female Doctor: “...... ‘sigh’ It’s always like this with Huntresses.” *shakes her head*

*Few Minutes Later*

Nora/Weiss/Blake: *sulking in defeat*

Nora: *pouting* “Using special powers in the last lap is cheating Yang!” *forms an X with her arms*

Yang: “Hey, you got a good five seconds head start on all of us so I don’t wanna hear it.”

Ren: “Nora, you can still see the babies today. You’ll just have to wait your turn.” *he says but internally is just as upset that he can’t see his godchildren first*

Yang: *looks at the door* “Ok. *breathes* Here we go Yang.”

*Door Opens then closes*

Yang enters the room and hears a small tune playing that sounds almost like a lullaby. Just as she does she sees her father standing on the right Ruby, with what seemed to be the biggest smile on his face she’s ever seen. Her dad turns to look to see that Yang had entered and signaled her to come over quietly. She gently walks over to the opposite side of Ruby’s hospital bed and after moving the curtain that was blocking her view Yang stood still, holding her breath. There she saw Ruby, her baby sis, holding two bundles of white blankets in both arms that only showed two tiny, squishy, baby faces. Ruby’s hair was damp with sweat and seemed very tired but was awake enough to soothe her newborns with a lullaby.

Ruby: *stops humming and looks up to see Yang, then smiles* “Hi Yang.”

Yang: “Ruby... They look... I mean just look at them.” *says with a hushed quivering voice, barely able to contain her smile*

Ruby: “*giggles* Yeah. Aren’t they just perfect. Took awhile getting them out but... they look so beautiful don’t they.” *she smiles tiredly*

Yang: “I-Is it ok if I...?” *hold both hands out*

Ruby: “Sure. Dad, could you?”

Taiyang: “Sure sweetie.” *he grabs onto one baby with blonde hair*

Ruby: “Here you go Sis.” *gently holds her other baby with reddish hair*

Yang gently takes one baby into her arms from Ruby and takes the other from her Dad. She looks at both of the babies up close and her lips were trembling with tears threatening to spill out.

Yang: “They’re so precious! Did you decide on names yet?” *says quietly so as to not disturb the tiny babies*

Ruby: “Yep. If one was a girl Me and Jaune wanted to giver her both Mom’s and Pyrrha’s name. Then if we wanted a boy we would name him Rowan... named after Jaune’s favorite fairytale character as a kid, ‘Rowan the Red.’”

Yang: “... Wasn’t that story about a squirrel?” *starts to giggle*

Ruby: “Yeah. But it was so cute that I couldn’t think of anything better than that. Plus I actually like the sound of it. My little Rowan.”

Yang: “Wow. Summer *kissed the redhead* and Rowan *kissed the blonde*”

Taiyang/Ruby: “....*holds in laughter*”

Yang: “What?” *face becomes confused*

Taiyang: “Yang, Rowan’s the one with red hair and Summer’s the blonde one.”

Yang: *eyes widen drastically and looks down at the two babies she just mixed up* “Whoops. Rowan *kisses redhead* and Summer *kisses blonde*”

Ruby: “That’s better, almost thought you were gonna check just to be sure.”

Yang: “To be fair if I wasn’t holding two bundles of joy in my arms, I would have tried that.”

Ruby: *shakes head while giggling*

Yang: *Looks fondly at both babies once more* “They’re amazing Ruby. How’re you holding up?”

Ruby: “Well the Doctor gave me some painkillers to dull the pain so right now I am doing greeeaaaat~”

Yang: “That’s good to hear.”

. . . . .

Ruby/Yang: “There’s something-.” *both laughs*

Ruby: “Sorry you go first.”

Yang: “Nah it can wait, there something on your mind?”

Ruby: “Ok... So I’ve been thinking for a bit while I have been here, thinking about what happens after I get out of this hospital with my children.”

Yang: “Oh?”

Ruby: “Well you’ve been helping me a lot since what happened to.... after the incident. I reminded me a lot of how things were when we were kids. Then I thought about how these two are going to be living once there back home with me.”

Yang: “Right.”

Ruby: “So with that thinking in mind I realized something that I hadn’t thought of before. How do I wanna raise my kids. Sure I’ve thought about it a lot since I had.... Jaune with me. But now he’s gone, and these little ones only have their mother left in the world. Their mother who is a sworn protector of Remnant...”

Yang: “...Where are you going with this Rubes.”

Ruby: “It’s come to my realization Yang that with Jaune no longer here with me, I’m all my babies have to rely on to care for and nurture them as a parent. But I can’t do that as a Huntress sworn to protect others. So it’s with that I’ve decided...”

Yang: *starts moving closer to Ruby with the babies in tow* “Ruby wait please, before you say anything else-!”

Yang was having a bad feeling about what her sister was going to say next. She hoped, no, prayed that Ruby wasn’t going to do a Raven and give up her kids. Sure these babies had Ren and Nora as godparents but Yang’s seen how that road ends with Raven and she didn’t want Ruby to-!

Ruby: “I’ve decided to retire being a huntress.”

Yang: “.......what?” *her face is one of disbelief and shock*

Ruby: “Yang I love being a huntress. It’s all I ever wanted to be when I was little, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life. *holds a hand out playing with Rowan’s hair* But in the short time that these two came into my life, these wonderful things of purity and innocence, I’ve discovered something that’s worth more than all those years spent slaying monsters and stopping the bad guys.”

Ruby: *moves up slowly to retrieve both of her little ones from Yang, who let them go gently* “That’s being these two’s mommy. I don’t want to miss a single moment of either of their lives, I want to see them grow, learn to walk, say their first words and be normal kids with a mom they can come home to who will be there. So that’s my decision, I choose to be my children’s mother..... my little blessings.”

Yang: “...And you’re sure this is what you want Rubes?”

Ruby: *nods* “I know I can’t prevent every hardship they will face, but I at least want them to have a better childhood than what we had.... No offense Daddy.” *turns to look at her father*

Taiyang: “*sniff* There’s no need to apologize sweetie. I’m just so proud of you right now.” *he says as small tears fall from his eyes*

Yang: “Yeah. *sniff* So am I sis.”

Ruby: “Thanks... so what is it you wanted to talk about?”

After much time spent having each and every member of her team and friends see her little blessings they all took time to explain and establish what would be their plan of action to move forward. Nobody could change what happened, Life is filled with hardships and struggles but together they could rise above it. They all had done so many times before and together they would do so again. Ruby was touched that everyone wanted to help so much with caring for her babies, she almost wanted to cry again. She was so happy to have friends and family such as these, a true blessing in her life.

*Knock! Knock!*

Female Doctor: “Miss Rose you have more visitors. They said they’re family to the newborns.”

Ruby: “Were we expectanting anyone else?”

Yang: “Weeeell I might’ve sent a late invitation to one family.”

Saphron: “For the love of- Move out of the way! I want to see my darling niece and nephew!” *pushes by the Doctor*

Female Doctor: “GAH!” *almost trips*

Saphron: *looks around and sees the four couples in the room* “Oh come on! You all got here before me!”

Terra: *entering holding up a five year old Adrian* “Well we would’ve gotten here sooner had someone NOT send us a notice at the very last minute. Then we would’ve been here sooner.”

Adrian: “Hi Everyone!” *while waving*

Ruby: “Hehehe. Sorry it happened so suddenly that well we kinda forgot make a big announcement about it.”

Saphron: “*snort* Ok I guess that’s fair. Now where’s those darling little angels!”

Ruby: “Well they’re right here but they’re sleeping so I would be- *Saphron swiftly takes them* careful with them!”

Saphron: “Oh my gods! Terra look at them! They’re so cute! Rowan has blonde hair like an Arc and Summer has the her mommy’s hair~ Oh could just eat them up!~” *says in a hushed tone*

Terra: “....Saphron. The red haired ones a boy and the blonde is a girl.” *smiles at her wife*

Saphron: *eyes widen and looks at both babies, who she just mixed up* “.... I knew that. I totally knew that I was just saying that to test you.”

Terra: “Sure. Look Adrian, it’s your new cousins. Don’t be like your other mommy and get their genders confused, ok~”

Adrian: “Sum-Sum and Rowen.” *pokes Summer’s cheek*

Summer: “pfff-! Hehehehehe!~”

Everyone: “Awwww~”

Yep. Everything was starting to feel right in the world again.

*One Year Later; Unknown Destination*

Dark Figure 1: “Is he awake?”

Dark Figure 2: “Not yet, but he should awaken soon.”

Dark Figure 1: “I still can’t believe the Master wants to keep this one alive, it took a lot of effort to take him down and we lost too many of our own. We even had to sacrifice brother Nil in order to make a convincing corpse of this one for the Huntsmen to believe.”

Dark Figure 2: “Brother Nil chose to make that sacrifice, his shapeshifting semblance allows him to become the perfect copy of one’s body and blood. Without him we would never had been able to make those heretics believe that £^%3 ^~< was dead.”

Dark Figure 1: “You maybe willing to follow his bold ideas but I do not. I serve only the command of the True Queen, not him.”

Dark Figure 2: “Patience Brother, we will have justice for Nil soon enough. This only serves as a means to fufill the Queen’s Will. Once we have all the pieces of the puzzle, then we can awaken her from her eternal slumber.”

Dark Figure 3: “Quiet! He awakens...”

A man’s eyes open from his deep slumber, he brings one hand up to rub his temple so ease his piercing headache. He tries to raise himself but feels that he is still too weak. What was he sleeping on? He looks around and sees three distinct figures wearing dark robes and were looking at him from different spots of where he was laying. Alarmed by them he tries to get up but the one closest to him places his hand on his shoulders to keep him in place so not for him to go thrashing around.

Dark Figure 3: “My brother, you must not push yourself. You’ve been asleep for a long time, and your body is still too disoriented to move around freely.” *a scraggly male voice*

Awaken Man: “What’s happening? Who are all of you?!”

Dark Figure 2: “Brother, you have been greatly injured in your last mission. You need to be put in a temporary deep sleep in order to heal your wounds. It has been a little over a year ago. As to who we are, we are your companions.” *voice reveals to be a females, who’s sounds like silk*

Awaken Man: “... So I know you all?”

Dark Figure 2: “Yes my friend, you know us all very well. We’ve fought together for many years.”

Awaken Man: “Years...? I... do not recall.”

Dark Figure 3: “Yes. A side effect of the deep sleep treatment I’m afraid. You were dealt a rather heavy injury from the warrior you faced last.”

Awaken Man: “I was fighting someone?”

Dark Figure 3: “Yes, you were fighting against one huntsman named ‘Jaune Arc.’ He was a formidable enemy who had slain over thirty of your own men.”

Awaken Man: “He... killed my men? That bastard! Where is he?!”

Dark Figure 1: “Dead. Slain by your own sword.” *the last member with them stepped in, his voice sounded deep but calm and cold*

Dark Figure 2: “It’s true brother, you had defeated your adversary but soon afterwards you succumbed to your wounds. We had to take you back to our home in order to help you survive.”

Awaken Man: “Yes, I think I’m starting to recall now. I was fighting against a strong warrior, he... had others with him...” *holds his head in an attempt to remember*

Dark Figure 3: “No you are mistaken brother, he was alone when you fought him. But his battle power was vast.”

Awaken Man: “Was he truly? I could’ve sworn...”

Dark Figure 1: “What’s done in the past is done, there is no changing it. You fought Arc, you prevailed and he died. Now come, the Master will be expecting you to fully recover within the next two days.”

Awaken Man: “The Master...?”

Dark Figure 1: “Yes he will be expecting you to come see him, he will want a full report on your mission, Abel.”

Awaken Man: “Abel?”

Dark Figure 1: “Yes, that is your name, Abel Gris. Do you not remember at least that much?”

Abel: “My memory is still not too clear right now, I must have been more injured than I thought.”

Dark Figure 2: “Have no fear brother. We will help you fill in the gaps.” *she runs her hand through his blonde hair*

Abel: “I... thank you my sister.” *it felt odd for him to say that for some reason*

Dark Figure 1: “Well I hope for your sake that you at least remember the events that occurred to you last year before the week is done. The Master is not as understanding as we are and he will expect the full report soon.”

Abel: “Of course... brother.” *why did it feel like there was a spike in his throat to say that*

With that all three of his companions left the healing room. Soon when he felt he was able, he stepped off whatever he was laying on. It looks like a opened metal egg with dark purple crystals sticking out on the sides. He walks forward to wear he sees a mirror at the left side of the room. Slowly he walks over, holding onto what he looks to be injured side that presented the most pain. As he walks up to the mirror he takes a look at himself.

His appearance looks to be young, lean physique despite being in bed for over a year, and what looked to be more than a long horizontal scar to the left of where he supposed his heart is located. A nearly fatal wound indeed. The last thing he looks at is his face. Abel looks at himself as he sees his unkept blonde hair, his pale complexion and his what looked to be dark purple eyes that seemed to have a glow to them. He places his hand ver his reflection in the mirror and narrowed his eyes.

This was the face of Abel Gris. The man who killed Jaune Arc.

- Fin -

[razorblade180]

Lasting Embers part 29: The Gift

The long awaited day is finally here; the day nobody wanted to come. The famous and secret heroes of Remnant finally close the distance to venture off to a threat bigger than any of them. Friends and family by their side not ready to say goodbye but have to nonetheless. All but one that is.....a young and broken girl who still sits against her door; not moving once through the entire night.

[Jaune’s house]

Yujin:......*looks at her window*

Sunlight breaking through the blinds...

Yujin:(It’s morning huh? Have I really been sitting here the entire night? Wonder what time it is? Maybe it’s already past ten and they’re gone.) *looks around* (where’s my scroll?)

She keeps swiveling her head to spot it until it’s painfully clear she has to stand up to look. Blood eventually flows back into her legs and she’s able to move. High and low she search’s for it until she spots it under the door crack.

Yujin:All that searching and it was right next to me. *opens door* I guess I really am slip-......

Yujin:*picks up a small box wrapped in white, yellow, and blue.*.......(Mom did say was leaving the gift here didn’t she? It feels light; maybe it’s a-......why should I care? Why...do I care?)

Her finger rubs the thin paper; surprisingly, it looks like it came from a professional. One thing is for sure, Yang spared no expense when it came to effort. It irritated her slightly to know that. The box was held and admired for a solid five minutes by now. Maybe it would’ve been less time but deciding if she should open it was difficult. What she was holding just might be the last thing she ever gets from her mother. No matter what it is or how she feels it was a truth she had to accept.

Yujin:(It might not be my birthday anymore but still....*undoing paper* it’s only right to open a gift.) Hmm?

Yujin:*lifts up a scroll and a journal*.........(no way they’re school supplies.) *open it*

“Hey Yujin it’s me your mother, but I guess that’s pretty obvious isn’t it? Sorry, writing was never my strongest skill set in school so this might get a little clumsy so to speak. If you’re reading this then I just want to say thank you; taking the time to look at this means the world to me. I also want to apologize for being a terrible mother....."

Yujin:.....

“No matter how I slice it, some of the words you said was true about me. Going off to fight these villains instead of trying to defend you while staying close does not sound or look good. Knowing Summer, she would’ve attempted to at least make it work. Unfortunately I’m not her; the only way I know how to protect you is like this. Fighting along side our family and friends; yeah I’m including Adam in that. Honestly I see some of grit in you and it’s pretty damn awesome. I see so much of everybody who’s got to raise you throughout the years when we interact. Jaune’s will, Mom’s poise, Dad’s heart, and even aspects from Ren and Nora. The only person I don’t really see is me; it stings if I’m being truthful. All you wanted was to get to know me and I’ve robbed you of that. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Her heart nearly stopped as she turned the page. The left side was more of the message written to her. The right side on the other hand wasn’t a message at all; it was a table of contents. Birthdays, first fights, training, vacations, adventures, it was everything. In just under a week Yang Xiao Long had written about what seemed to be every major and memorable thing in her life. The story of her mother was currently in her hands.

“I know it’s no replacement for a face to face conversation but in this journal I’ve written numerous things about myself so you can know who I am. On the scroll you’ll fine videos of the events in the book; it’s named and put into chronological order thanks to your Aunt. You deserve to see me at my best and worst moments of my life; to know I’m not as glamorous as anybody might make me out to be. Learning about me though isn’t the only thing I wanted to share with you finally. Yujin I want to be able to push you forward in life; be a mother and help figure problems that might come you way. We didn’t get to do much together but if we did anything it was fight. The final chapters was everything I noticed in each one. Not only that but I’ve made a list of possible ways for your Semblance to be used. I hope it’s useful somehow.

Sure enough the list was there and detailed. The back of the book was filled with experimental new tricks that Yujin wouldn’t have began to dream off. Each one carfully described and some drawn for reference.

“I know it never seemed like I was there for you, but I’ve always been in your corner to cheer you on. Despite how you feel about me and whatever happens to me out there, know my love for you will never die. You’ll always be my little ember dragon.”

Yujin:....*starts searching through the scroll* First Day At Beacon? *hits play*

Yang:Yo this is Yang Xiao Long, future huntress extraordinaire. Making this little vlog on the airship because my dad is corny and wants memories. Not all bad though because *flips camera*

Ruby:*hides face* Don’t record me! I

Yang:My baby sister gets to join me! Isn’t she the cutest?

Yujin:(They look so young. I wonder if....) *fast forwards*

Yang:So that air ride could’ve gone better. Some guy ended up getting vomit on my shoe. He’s lucky it wasn’t my hair.

Yujin:(Yep...)

Ruby:Give him a break. Not like he wanted to do it.

Yang:Defending strangers huh? A model huntress already, or is puberty finally hitting you?

Ruby:Puberty has been here thank you very much! He is pretty cute though when his face didn’t look green.

Yang:Eh, not really my type. *video ends*

A small smile creeps onto her face that immediately changes to shock as she continues to searchl. Maybe it was out of instinct but her finger immediately kept scrolling until found it on the day of her birth. The file was named “Sundrop” The video opens with a very tired Jaune holding the camera and pointing it at an even more tired Yang.

Jaune:*whispering* Here we are at Vale General Hospital. It’s very late and we’re both very tired but it doesn’t matter. What matters is the little sundrop my amazing wife is holding.

Yang:*snickering* Sundrop? Not sure how I feel about that.

Jaune:It only makes sense the sunshine in my life gave birth to a smaller sunshine.

Yang:*cuddling her* As far as I’m concerned she shines brighter than me already. Just look at her, I can’t believe I’ve made something so perfect. From here on out it’s all about her from now on; forever and always. *smiles softly*

Yujin:.....*eyes watering*

Jaune:Uh oh, it’s been thirty minutes and Yang has officially lost her mind over this baby.

Yang:Our baby, and it’s been nine months and thirty minutes thank you very much. *kisses it’s forehead* Your daddy is acting like he’s not head over heels for you Yujin. Don’t worry though, as soon as he turns the camera off he’s gonna want to hold you and cry.

Jaune:Possibly.....*video ends*

Yujin:*wipes her eyes*(There’s......so much here. Six days and it’s so detailed. If this is about her life then what’s the last vid-)

“Homecoming”

Yujin:This date is....*presses play*

Ruby is recording her sister as she anxiously bounces her leg on the train ride home. You can tell het smile is filled with happiness and worry.

Ruby:Hello future me or whoever is watching this. You’re currently watching my big sister silently losing her mind as we finally head home from a.....I think eleven years of fighting evil. She’s so worked up that I don’t think she notices that the train seats are heating up and people are staring.

Yang:I’m what? *red* oh, sorry everyone! My bad.....

Ruby:*laughing* Please calm down. It would be a shame if you died of a heart attack before we made it home.

Yang:How can I be calm!? In a few more hours I’ll have Yujin in my arms again.

Ruby:You know she’s not four anymore right?

Yang:I know that, I can still hug her. Hehe I wonder how big she’s gotten, if she’s made friends, *gasp!* maybe even a boyfriend!?

Ruby:Calm down there dork. You’ll see her soon.

Yang:Hopefully she’ll recognize me; hopefully I recognize her. My four year old is fifteen today. *tearing up* God it’s been such a long time. Soon things will be calm; finally I can spend the rest of my life with her. She’s probably absolutely stunning by now. *smiles*

Ruby:Geez you’re about to smother Yujin, I can already tell. Hopefully she’s not in an angsty teen phase.

Yang:Even if she is I’m still gonna smother her! Things are looking up! *video ends*

She didn’t bother to play another video after that. Instead she decided to just stare at the screen as the journal in her hand got gripped tightly. Soon after, the screen became blurry to her; tears kept finding new ways to sneak their way out of her. This time though it was different than the rest. Anger, frustration, and sadness was what kept her down before; now it was the feeling that bothered her all week. For seven days and seven nights she’s done nothing but push out someone who’s been desperately trying to reach her just like how she wanted to reach out to them. The only difference is Yang never stopped trying to reach out for her. Yujin knew exactly what this feeling was and it was about to eat her alive. Guilt and Regret we’re going to ruin any memory she has of her mother, unless......

Yujin:*looks at the scroll*

“8:45 am”

Yujin:*rushing down stairs* Please tell me took grandpa’s car. Please tell me- *looks in garage*

Sure enough, her car was there and ready for use.

Yujin:*wipes her face* Okay..... I can do this.....

[Train Station]

Vale’s train station is one of the remaining architectural works that survived The Fall of Beacon. From here it’s the jumping off point to the rest of Remnant. This feeling is echoed by the fact that even though it’s called a station, there isn’t a real building. A massive slap of concrete with a umbrellas for shade is mostly what is here besides the ticket punchers with their small booths. It’s old fashioned but it works; people come and go from here often. Unfortunately Yang and Ruby didn’t think they’d be here so soon again; at least it’s a beautiful day out. Warm weather and a gentle breeze that blows through the rolling hills behind the rails gives off a sense ease.

Yang:Ruby can I tell you something?

Ruby:You can tell me anything.

Yang:This just might be the worse day of my entire life.

Ruby:Definitely top ten.

Yang:At least I have you though.

Ruby:Always....*grabs her hand*

Raven:You haven’t always had me but I’m definitely here for you! *smiles*

Yang:*snorts* Never doubted it for a moment. I wonder if everyone is still going to show up?

Weiss:What, you think we would “snowflake?”

Yang:Weiss get seri- oh hey you’re here. Wait, did you just make a pun!?

Neo:*walks up* She’s been waiting to say that for a week.

Ruby:Oh hey! I didn’t think you were gonna decide to come.

Neo:Nah I’m not coming; I’m not leaving the Arcs like that. They have good food; I’m just here to see Weiss off. *grabs her hand*

Weiss:*blushing*.......

Ruby and Yang:!!??

Weiss:It’s been an interesting week.

Ruby and Yang:I’ll say....

Tai:*looks at Jaune*......

Jaune:In my defense it wasn’t my idea. Also what were you and Raven doing for a week?

Tai:I can’t tell if you’re more like me or if Yang is more like me. Either way I guess I shouldn’t complain. I’m glad you’ve been someone they could always depend on. I couldn’t ask for a better son-in-law.

Jaune: That means a lot; think they’ll be okay.

Tai:Are you kidding? No one stops our family as long as they’re together.

Adam:Believe me, challenging them alone is a struggle in its own right.

Everyone:Turns to see Adam clothes similar to his days robbing trains. The only difference is the flower symbol is missing and a cloak is over it. His eyes are hidden by shades and even his hair is dyed black. The rest of the family, along with Ilia, and Blake walk behind him.

Yang:Okay so I have two major questions. One, why dye the hair when it’s already long and laid down.

Adam:Just in case.

Yang:Second, I learned you have my sister’s number for years. Why exactly?

Adam:*pulls out cross necklace* rose’s recognize other rose’s

Yang:*looks at Ruby*

Ruby:*holding a cross necklace* It’s a story for another time; maybe on the train ride sis.

Yang:I literally can’t with you all.

Jael:She’s not what I quite expected. What do you think Sien-

Sienna:Uh..excuse me? M...Mrs. Xiao Long?

Yang:Hmm? Well hello there, need something?

Sienna:*ears down* I’m not sure if you remember me but we’ve met before. You actually helped save my life when I was six. I bit your hand?

Yang:......*rubs her ears* Of course I remember you silly. How’ve you been? You’ve grown like a weed. *smiles*

Sienna:*wide eyed* Good! I’ve been really good! You may know or not but I have a sister now. *steps aside*

Jael:.....

Yang:Hey there *crouches* I’ve heard a bit about you. Adam makes cute kids I see.

Jael:Th...thanks. I’ve heard much about you; also your daughter.

There was a sort of coldness in her voice that everyone felt. Her absence was noticeably missed and it took Yang by surprise for her to mention it. Jael didn’t look worried though; she looked eager. Almost like she’s got an itch that desperately needs to be scratch.

Yang:Unfortunately she’s not here. Things for her are rough with all this going on.

Jael:She didn’t want to see you off?

............

Yang:*frowns* No, she didn’t.

Jael:Oh, sorry to hear that. Excuse me but I need a moment. *quickly walks off*

Jacquelyn:uhhh I’m just gonna...yeah. *follows her*

As Jael walks away Tenzen and company pass by her. No glances were exchanged but there wasn’t a need for any.

Tenzen:*stops walking*.......*turns around*

Ren:Everything okay?

Tenzen:Yeah.....just got a chill or something. I didn’t like it. *continues walking*

Jacquelyn:Hey Jael are you-

Jael:She doesn’t even show up to see her family off, is obviously angry with her mom about it, gotten our family roped into it by accident or not. I’m beginning to think I don’t have to actually meet this person before I form my opinion like you guys want.

Jacquelyn:......You hate her don’t you? Even after what your father told you.

Jael:He’s leaving to help protect me but I’m not dumb enough to believe not a piece of it is for her. Just thinking about how someone so loved and blessed with opportunity can be so....so.... *clenches her chest* yeah, I hate her.

Jacquelyn:*slightly opens up her kimono* look at this for me.

Jael:*staring at a scar below her ribs* A scar? How long have you had that?

Jacquelyn:Years, your father gave it to me on accident.

Jael:Wh....what? Why would he.....I thought.... he loves you.

Jacquelyn:Yeah, but you gotta remember the dad you see wasn’t how he used to be. A long time ago hate ruled his life. One time when our Oasis was still being built people came and destroyed everything. They didn’t know who we were, just low lives causing pain. Any time we relocated either grimm got the better of the place or them. We were tired and hungry; him especially. So when they came back again your father was ready to kill them despite my wishes.

Jael:You wouldn’t let him fight?

Jacquelyn:It was a delicate time for him. I was afraid any back pedaling would ruin any progress already made. There were times I fought them but more and more kept coming. Eventually Adam finally lashed out and it did actually scare them away; it wasn’t enough for him though. While one was running away Adam sent a moonslice at him; I jumped in front of it....

Jael:You what!?

Jacquelyn:I wasn’t thinking. All I knew was I was scared of this one incident turning into something worse. That night is still a bit of a blur; I remember an intense pain and then just laying on the sand bleeding. When I woke your father was over right over me crying. It might’ve been the first time I saw him scared and genuinely apologetic. He promised me that night things were going to be different; he’d try harder to do the right thing.

Jael:.......*looks away*

Jacquelyn:Hate and anger are dangerous. You might just get you or someone you care about hurt if it goes unchecked. You have the disadvantage of it most likely being both. Hating this girl is fine for now but don’t let it linger. Let it fade away with time. *holds her close*

Jael:Did dad’s hate fade away?

Jacquelyn:Sort of; he stopped focusing on the hate left by his past and found a way to fill it with love. Sienna eased his mind but I think you really filled it with the love he needed to have. *smiles* You saved him, not me.

Jael:.....I’m gonna just stand here for a moment okay? I’ll come back over when the train arrives.

Jacquelyn:Take the time you need. *kisses her cheek and leaves*

Adam:She okay?

Jacquelyn:Yeah, just processing everything. Sorry about that Yang.

Yang:It’s no problem. I should be the one apologizing; can’t help but feel like it’s my fault a bit. If I knew about her sooner then-

Adam:Geez, apologizing to me feels weird. Just watch my back when things get heavy. *smirks* I’ll watch your arm.

Everyone:.........

Yang:......*rubs nose*

Adam:........*smacks lips*

Both of them end up in a fit of laughter suddenly. To everyone’s surprise they even fist bump and causes everyone else to slowly begin to laugh as well. To any stranger you would think everyone here were old friends since birth. Only they would know the truth about the effort it took to get there. Even Jael admired the sight.

Jael:(Is this what happens when hate heals? If dad could do it then there’s hope for me. I just need time right?)

“9:45 train to north western Anima arrived. 10:00 train to Vacou will arrive soon.”

Ren:Well...that’s me. Time to get healed.

Mercury:We’ll miss you guys.

Emerald:Don’t you dare get lazy out there. We want to meet up with all of you.

Nora:Hopefully we’ll be done before you guys are. Don’t rush your healing for me ok?

Ren:As long as you don’t rush so I don’t have to join. *kisses her* Tenzen?

Tenzen:Yeah?

Ren:Be ready for me to out dance you when I get back. *winks*

Tenzen:*smiles* I accept your challenge! I’ll show the student has surpassed the teacher.

The unlikely trio gets on the train as they wave goodbye. Even with a nice goodbye however, hearts start to get heavy. No turning back now.

Nora:You okay Tenzen?

Tenzen:I’m okay *takes a breath* being here hurts more than I thought to see him go.

“10:00 train to Vacou arrived”

Tenzen:Now I gotta watch you.

Blake:Already!? It’s ahead of schedule.

Nora:*hugs him tightly* No matter what happens, never lose that smile of yours. Light up people’s world and live happily.

Tenzen:Bright and sudden like a lightning bolt; I promise.

Adam:Neo, you’re second in command. I know you and Ilia can handle things.

Weiss:Hey, you got that promotion you wanted.

Neo:By default but I’ll take it. You leave the organization in good hands.

Ilia:I’ll watch her....

Blake:Same....

Frost family:*stares at him*

Adam:*opens his arms* Don’t just stand there you three.

Frost family:*hugs him* Be safe, we love you.

Tai:Will you miss me this time?

Raven:I missed you last time. *kisses him* Don’t worry, I’ll be back in your arms before you know it.

Jaune:*hugging Ruby and Yang* It was seeing you two again*

Ruby:Next time it’ll be for good. You have my word. My house still needs to be rebuilt. I’ll give you two a moment. *dashes off*

Yang:.....I really wanted to wear that wedding ring longer.

Jaune:Next time you will. Until then...*tears up* it’ll be waiting for you just like me. Anything you want me to tell Yujin?

Yang:I don’t know if there’s anything more for me to say. If she never forgives me then......hehe *covers her face* damn it, please let her forgive me. *weeping* I don’t think I can live knowing she won’t!

She breaks down and drops to her knees; not caring who sees. The sight of it is almost too much for Jaune to take as she helps her back on her feet and guides her to the train door. From there Ruby takes her and everyone on it stares back at their family as the doors finally close. The whistle finally blows to solidify the journey, then it starts to move. Slowly at first but surly getting faster. Every so, everybody just keeps staring as the distance grows. The moment nobody wanted is here; the moment of uncertainty.

“STOP THE TRAIN!!!!”

Yang’s head jerked up in shocked. That shout was extremely close; too close to be possible. The train was moving near high speed by now. Already the station looked like a speck to them, but she definitely knew what she heard.

Yang:Please tell me someone else heard that?

Nora*halfway out a window* This is something you might want to see Yang.

Yang:*looks* Y....Yujin!?

Several feet behind them was none other than her daughter driving right beside the train at full speed. She glances over at her mother with an awkward smile and wave.

Yang:YUJIN!?

Adam:Never a dull moment.

Ruby:How’d she gey the mustang off of Patch?

Yujin:Tell the conductor to stop! I’m almost out of ga- *car slowing down* damnit.....!

Yang:Shit! Uhhh is there an emergency break or.... Oh! Make a portal mom!

Raven:That car is still moving way too fast. Last thing we need is mustang flying in here. If she got out the car then-

Nora:Would a boy flying through here be a problem? *smiling*

Once again they look out the window but the mustang is empty. A trail of orange lightning can be seen barely keeping up with the caboose of the train.

Raven:*grabs sword* I’ll try...

Yang:*walks to the back.*

Yujin:Whenever I need help you never hesitate.

Tenzen:*carrying her* By now you should know I have your back; even if your ideas are completely insane.

Yujin:*stretching*If I can just reach the back....I almost..... *grabs it* Ha!

Tenzen:*tosses her up* Good luck!

Yujin:Huh? Take my hand!

Tenzen:Nah, this is your goodbye. Tell my mom she doesn’t have to worry about me. *stops running*

She can see him wave as the distance increases. Her heart starts to race as her palms get sweaty. Only thing standing in her way now is a few doors. All she has to do is open it.

Yujin:*grabs handle* Here goes noth-

Yang:*Opens door*..........

Yujin:....Have you been crying? Your eyes are puffy.

Yang:Your eyes are puffy too......

Yujin:It’s been a rough morning. *pulls out journal* I guess you were wrong about me not getting anything from you; we cry the same. *shaking* You were also wrong about you being a terrible mom. I’m a sorry excuse for a daughter.

Yang:Yujin I-

Yujin:No, I need to get this off my chest. I...*sniff* I punched you in the face, screamed and shunned you. I said I didn’t care if you came back alive. *crying* How could I say that to you!? I am so, so sorry mom. I am ashamed and disgusted with myself for what I did. All you did was try your best to be around ever since you came back and I-

Before she could chastise herself further, Yang reached out and pulled her in close. Whatever Yujin was going to say turned into pure noise as she began to wailing into her mother’s shirt. All Yang could do his hold her tighter she started to cry again too.

Yujin:I can’t believe I wasted the entire week being upset; now I don’t know when I’ll see you again.

Yang:It’s alright, this moment right is enough. It’s more than enough. *lets go* I want you to know that I’m not mad at you in the slightest you got that? Life has a way of bringing people together when it matters most; I’ll come back to you and your father I swear. *wiping Yujin’s tears*

Yujin:We’ll be waiting for you; no matter how long it takes. Mom I...I love you, even when I thought I didn’t. Being your daughter is something I’ll never regret.

Yang:I love you too and I’m so proud of you as well. You’re growing up just fine. *smiles* Promise me something; promise me that you’ll continue to be the best version of yourself you can be and show everyone at Beacon what you’re made of.

Yujin:*smiles* Ha, with this journal I’ll make sure everyone knows what a Xiao Long can do.

Raven:*walks in with everyone, including Tenzen* Sorry to cut this short but people are starting to see we have stowaways.

Yujin:How’d you get on Tenzen?

Tenzen:*winded* We overshot a portal your grandma made. Please don’t make me run that fast again.

Nora:At least you got to see me one more time. *hugs him*

Raven:*makes a portal* this leads right to Jaune. Stay safe kiddos.

Yujin and Tenzen:See you later everyone!

Everyone:See you when we see you.

Tenzen:*jumps through portal*

Yujin:Later “Hunter extraordinaire.”

Yang:Later Sundrop.....

As she walks up to the portal, Yujin stops for a moment and turns back around. Without warning she swaps her blue bandanna with Yang’s purple one.

Yujin:For luck, better have it when you get back. *jumps through portal*

Jaune:*waiting*

Yang:*smiling* Deal.....

Yujin:*hops out* Hey dad! Saw mom and I sort of lost the car in a ditch. Sorry for not telling y- *gets hugged*

Jaune:You’re such a handful you know that?

Yang:I think it’s genetics. Can we go home now? I’m super exhausted.

Tenzen:At this rate you’ll be spent before the exams begin.

Yujin:About that, *looks at journal* I think I’m gonna hold off on those until next year. I got some reading to do.

Sienna:*ears twitching* You hear that?

Jael:As clear as day.

Sienna:Guess that means you’ll be a year ahead.

Jael:Nah, *holds chest* I think....I want a breather and spend time at home a bit longer. Is that okay?

Jacquelyn:When would I say no to spending more time with my kids? So, you gonna say hi to her?

The idea was enticing and not a bad one. Before she agreeded to it though her eyes glanced back over at Yujin; specifically what was around her neck. A pendent in the shape of a sun. Not much different than the star pendant Adam gave her as a late birthday present during the festival. The only reason was it was late was because during her actual birthday he was already off to check in on Yujin like usual. But why would he give her one too? Unless both of them have close or the same-

Jael:.....*walks away* I’ll pass, not up to it. Maybe next time.

Jacquelyn:Oh uhhh okay? Let’s get going then.

Jael:Fine by me; not a fan of this place anyways.

Yujin:Hmm? Is that Adam’s family? Maybe I should say- *tugged away by Tenzen* hey! What ar you doing?

Tenzen:You smell like you haven’t showered in in a day, you’re in a tank top and pj pants with no shoes, and they probably need time to themselves. Not the best time for first impressions. Go home dork; I’ll call you later.

Yujin:You have a point I guess. Thanks for everything Tenzen; you are a real life saver.

Tai wraps his arm around the girl and walk off with Jaune. Neo finally decides to make her leave with Ilia and Blake as they discuss their next move. Tenzen however takes a minute just to stare at this mysterious girl with goat horns as she continues to walk away. He couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something about her aura that was just.....intense.

Tenzen: “A life saver” huh? I hope it wasn’t that serious. *walks home*

[sonofabludger]

In her extreme quest to be a better friend to all of those around her, Yang had found something small in almost everyone’s life to brighten their day. Helping Ruby make friends, another big sister to Jaune, soft family for Weiss, but Blake…

She didn’t want to be a big sister to her partner.

Blake didn’t seem to like the idea of becoming an extrovert. She certainly had a knack for at least two hobbies. In her desperation to find ANYTHING she could do for her best friend, she even made a misguided attempt to cook some of the native foods Blake didn’t have access to here. All of her endeavors had failed to find that special thing that would give her that dazzling smile of - appreciation wasn’t the word - she wanted Blake to look at her like just for a moment, Yang was her world.

So she changed track entirely. She was going to show her a good time!

“Hey there, partner!”

Looking up from her book, Blake raised a brow to see what sort of shenanigans the fireball was proposing they get up to now.

“I know you’ve been rather underwhelmed by our outings, but I want to try one last thing. Blake Belladonna, will you go out on the town with me this evening?”

At this, her partner set her book down entirely. A look of surprise crossed her face before slowly morphing into a mischievous smirk.

“Why Miss Xiao Long,” she practically purred, “are you suggesting you might want to a ‘better friend to me’ by asking me out on a date?”

Yang’s face immediately went a bright red. “W-what?? N-no I mean NO! I - I just meant if - but like you - we - want”

Blake’s smile turned into a full grin as she softly chuckled at her partner’s flustered response. It became clear she was enjoying this a little too much, but she eventually she took pity on this poor brawler. “Yang, calm down - I know what you meant. And I’d love to paint the town with you tonight. How about we leave around 8 o’clock?” She offered a genuine smile to her still-pink partner.

The sigh of relief let out by the blonde could probably be heard across campus. Closing her eyes and taking a calming breath, she shyly looked back up to her partner. “Yeah,” she whispered, grateful that Blake had taken the lead, “8 o’clock sounds perfect.”

Yang was surprised to find herself back in their room. Thank gods she was alone, because no one should see her this brain-dead.

------------------

“ - but unlike the book, it isn’t always bad. Sometimes, it’s exciting.”

“Hmm,” she replied thoughtfully, “I guess I could maybe give some of them a shot. I’d like to start easy, though. Do you have any recommendations?”

Blake immediately pulled out her scroll and started flicking through pages. Once she found what she was searching for, she scooted up next to Yang to better show her. Their shoulders were touching and the blonde suddenly had to cough, fighting the small blush beginning to form.

“See this? Dustbook is an app that not only lets you recommend and share things with your friends, but also lets your friends know what you’re up to and currently interested in! You can share photos and stories, but I really wanted to show you this group I’m a part of where we share books of all genres. If you make a post with the type of book you’re looking for, loads of members will recommend the perfect stories! Do you already have a profile?”

Yang looked at her as if she were speaking in tongues. “A - a what?”

The girl giggled that adorable laugh before reaching to start searching Yang’s many pockets. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make you one! Just give me your scroll.”

Her cheeks were burning as Blake freely searched her body. Oh gods. Something please save her before Blake looked up and saw the embarrassment and… something else clearly written across her face.

Heavy breathing that didn’t match her own was suddenly behind her.

“This the buttercup who roughed up your brothers?”

Yang had never been so grateful and relieved to come across a fight. The gods really were on her side.

-------------------

Her pacing must be burning a hole in the floor. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before, thinking of the girl sleeping in the bottom bunk. Watching her kick butt and help Yang demolish a building had sent fire through her veins in a way she’d never known before. Speeding back on Bumblebee, partner wrapped around her waist had been even more thrilling as the brawler practically howled in pure, uninhibited joy. Yang laughed as they dismounted, Blake lightly chuckling behind her.

But that was it.

They said almost nothing to one another as they walked back to their room.

“What a night huh?! I haven’t had that much fun in months! You were a real force in there, Belladonna!”

Blake smiled sweetly at her. “Thank you. It certainly was an eventful night! Speaking of, I need to hit the sack. Goodnight, Yang.”

And that was it. Blake just… went to bed. They had talked for hours, listened to some killer music, kicked some ass, and burned down a building! But all Blake had to say was that it was ‘eventful’. She was almost heartbroken. It really had felt like a date. They had been relaxed, open, heartfelt and talked as though they had known one another their entire lives. Not to mention the pocket stunt that still brought a little blush every time she thought about it.

The blonde shook her head. At the end of the day, she still hadn’t accomplished her mission to find the perfect thing to be a better friend to Blake. Was there something she hadn’t thought of yet?

That was when a bit of conversation came rushing back to her. Dustbook.

Yang scrambled for her scroll and frantically searched to download the app. She could check out Blake’s account to find out some of her hidden or forgotten interests to give her the perfect day!!! Fingers flying, she set up an account at lightning speed. It prompted her to fill out her profile as she smiled at her genius.

Quick selfie? Check.

Name? Check.

Birthday? Check.

School? Check.

Gender? Check.

Sexuality?

…

Sexuality? She’d never really thought about it before. I mean, she liked that boy band a lot and there had been some cute boys at Signal. She also kinda thought Pyrrha was a snack. Coco was… just kinda a wow. But would she ever want to date them? Hold them?

There certainly only one person she was stalking right now. Only one person who seems to light up the room. One person whose hair she could spend hours running her fingers through. One person she had spent the night obsessing over the way her arms had wrapped around her on Bumbleby and who sent her heart into overdrive as they searched her body. One she had sought for more and more time with. It was pretty clear that she had developed a bad crush on her partner.

If she wanted to do this little Dustbook thing to make Blake happy, Blake would be able to see this profile. And her sexuality. If she put down hetero, would she completely ruin any chance of being more? If she indicated an interest in women, would her partner think Yang had asked her on an actual date? Would she be disgusted and she would lose her best friend? Or worse - what if Blake saw this and liked it? Oh gods. What if she reciprocated. Yang was completely paralyzed with the millions of possibilities and implications this tiny question held. She was screwed.

A loud *thunk* echoed in the room as her head met the desk.

The door slowly creaked open, taking in the mess of blonde hair sprawled on the desk.

“...Yang?”

She met her sister’s question with a groan.

“What’s wrong? Are you ok?”

Wordlessly, Yang put her scroll on the desk in the direction of her sister’s voice.

After a few moments clearly trying to figure out what the problem was, Ruby broke the silence.

“So… which of these are you? Straight, gay, bi, asexual, demi? What do you want to say is your sexuality?”

“...A mess.”

[texanredrose]

Countdown (Pt 1 of 2)

Here’s your only warning: angst ahead, but with a happy ending. Promise. For the Free Day.

Day -195 Winter awoke to her alarm much like every other day despite the realization that she'd turned twenty seven while she slept. Her final birthday, a marker she'd seen coming and watched with equal parts dread and grim acceptance. How else should she regard the milestone? Sitting up in bed, she cast her gaze around her military lodging. Per regulation, she would be discharged one hundred and eighty days prior to her death day, which gave her only two more weeks amid familiar surroundings before she would have to move her meager belongings into one of the funeral motels- a distasteful reality, to be sure, but a necessary one. They only existed for people like her, those too stubborn or too far gone to be welcomed back home for their final days. Getting out of bed, she grabbed her scroll and headed for the kitchen area. No doubt Weiss would call, try to arrange for some manner of bonding. Although it had taken them a few years, the sisters had improved their relationship substantially during that time, no longer at odds now that they'd similarly distanced themselves from their father. Without him constantly driving a wedge between them, they got on rather well, and their brief contact with their mother similarly proved much easier without his interference. Then again, it might be her imminent death that moved them to mend bridges rather than remaining silent until the end. That Winter, the eldest daughter, would only live for twenty seven and a half years while her mother and sister had over eighty years each seemed unfair to some extent but... it also made her invincible, in some ways. She didn't fear death. She didn't have to consider the long term health effects of strenuous work or balk at suicide missions. She didn't have to worry about anything. Twenty seven years... in the grand scheme of things, she couldn't do much with that, aside from what the military offered her. She couldn't have a family of her own because leaving them behind would be unfair. So she adopted her soldiers and defended them viciously. It won her more accolades than she could count.

But she would be lying if she said she had no regrets. It lingered in the back of her mind- children, a wife, a family of her own. A dream she wanted to chase but couldn't. Her scroll ringing snapped her out of autopilot, only then registering the bubbling of coffee and the bread toasting, as close to a breakfast as she felt necessary. She picked it up, unsurprised to see who it was calling her. "Good morning, Weiss." "Happy birthday, Winter." She chuckled, pinning the scroll between shoulder and ear as she continued making her meal. "I'm not sure if that's entirely appropriate, given the circumstances." "I don't want to be morbid about it; just because it's your last doesn't mean it can't be a good one." "I suppose you have a point," she replied, grabbing a mug from the cupboard. "How are your cases going?" "Ah, right, I... probably should've informed you already." A pause, anxiety gripping her sister then, almost audible in her concern. "I've opted to stop practicing business law." "Oh?" She raised a brow. "Have you found a different calling?" "Family court." Her other brow joined the first. "I've found that the work suits me a little better." "Really?" She lifted the mug to her lips, needing the bite of black coffee to prepare her for the day. "I would think watching families tear themselves apart would be the furthest thing from what you'd want to pursue." "Actually, I tend to think of it as ensuring the best circumstances for the children," she said, her voice turning to steel. "I'm rather tired of seeing children awarded to the parent with the most money. It's hardly a fitting scale for the child's welfare. It certainly did us no favors." "I'm glad to hear you aren't in it for the money." Her toast popped up, and she grabbed the jam from her fridge to spread across the slices. "Any noteworthy cases?" "None I'd like to discuss at present." Weiss paused, obviously hesitant to voice the next sentence but doing it all the same. "I'd rather talk about your living arrangements." That made her pause. "I already told you-" "Come to Vale. Stay with me instead of one of those wretched death motels. It's no way to spend your last six months." "I only planned to use one for the final two; there's some traveling I'd like to do beforehand," she said, sighing. "But I can make Vale my first stop... and I'll consider returning for the last month. Did you talk this over with your girlfriend?" "Blake's been the one pushing for it." Weiss admitted with a fond little laugh. "If you met her parents, you'd understand. It took her a while to reconnect with them but she's now very adamant about supporting familial bonds. Our friends may or may not be an equally strong influence." Rolling her eyes, she took a bite of toast to mull it over. "Very well. I'll be discharged in fifteen days. I'll book my flight to Vale as soon as I finish breakfast." "Excellent! I think you'll like Vale-" "I've been there before, remember?" "Right, right, but I think there's a few spots you haven't experienced fully..." Winter listened as her sister went on a long speech, expounding all the things she'd yet to see in the kingdom of Vale. She couldn't help but smile; at least she could rest easy knowing Weiss' zest for life wouldn't suffer from her passing. Maybe she could spend a bit more time in Vale than she'd originally planned.

Day -180 Winter stood outside the terminal, bag slung over her shoulder. She'd opted to travel light, having already sold or gifted her worldly possessions while going through the process of leaving the Atlesian military. In the unassuming drab olive bag sat a few changes of clothes and her hygiene kit; she needed nothing more. Well, except a ride. Checking her scroll, a frown touched her lips as she noted the message Weiss had sent her a good two hours ago, warning that her meeting with clients ran long and she'd be sending a friend to pick her up. Really, she wasn't in any hurry, so it didn't truly matter; she had one hundred and eighty days to wait. She'd accepted it. All her affairs were in order, lightly tapped into line over the past few months, and she had nothing left except seeing a few sights and spending time with the only family she cared to claim.  As easy an end as could come. Various vehicles came and went, waving goodbye to loved ones bound for airships or welcoming them back, and she contemplated taking up smoking in her final months- because, really, what harm could it do? Her aura, the life force that sustained her, would give out far before her lungs would. It wouldn't be accurate to say she didn't notice the roar of a motorcycle coming around the bend, seeing as it was rather impossible to miss, but she didn't expect for the rider to make a short stop in front of her, a bit of smoke rising up from the skid marks as she kicked out a leg and lifted her helmet clear of her head. "Wow, when Weiss said 'look for an older version of me, but more pissed off', she meant it literally!" Lilac eyes that sparkled like her smile, an unruly mane of golden locks, and skin tanned and kissed by the sun- Yang Xiao Long, if her memory served, though her sister's description of the woman hardly did her justice. "It's nice to finally meet you! Weiss talks about her big sis all the time!" "And you must be Yang," she replied, offering a hand. "She's mentioned you as well." "All good things I hope!" She laughed, shaking Winter's hand with a strong, firm grip, flexing muscles beneath her skin tight leather jacket. "Sorry I don't have a car; I prefer riding and didn't know you needed a lift until I was already out." "It's no trouble." She shrugged her shoulder to indicate the bag. "I'm traveling light." "Hey, sounds good to me!" Then she turned, digging into a saddle bag attached to the bike and fishing out a helmet. "Here. I really hope it fits alright." Winter smiled, a bit bemused. Weiss mentioned that Yang could be caring bordering on motherly from time to time and took other people's feelings seriously, but she hadn't expected someone quite so... well, genuinely kind. "I'm sure it'll be fine." "Great!" She waved a hand towards the city beyond. "Officially, I'd like to welcome you to Vale! Where do you wanna go first?" And she didn't know why, really, but she felt a smile tug at her lips. "Surprise me." And the expression was mirrored back at her. "I'll do my best."

Day -166 Two weeks later, Winter found herself with a... strangely active social life. She'd never exactly sought out friends or companions- she fell into step with some fellow service members from time to time, sure, but she didn't actively try to come across others or spend time with them. It just seemed like a futile effort, seeing as she would only have a handful of years with them. Why make her loss even more felt? But, as she'd quickly learned, Yang Xiao Long was a very hard woman to turn down. "C'mon!" The blonde laughed, smiling wide enough for a dimple to appear in her cheeks. "How have you never been to a carnival?" "I just never saw the point." She shrugged, finishing off the last bit of her coffee. They'd opted to meet for brunch on a gorgeous Saturday, when Yang's job permit her time off. "Cheap rides and cheaper prizes- I don't see the appeal." "It's about the experience!" She spread her arms wide, voice taking on a rather whimsical quality. "I mean- the music, the screams, the cotton candy, the flashing lights, the pings of the ring toss, all of it's great! And the view of the city from the top of the Ferris Wheel? How can you pass that up?" Raising a hand, she conceded defeat. "I'll at least admit that you make it sound far more interesting than I thought." "Hey, if you're still skeptical, why don't you give me the chance to prove you wrong?" She jerked her head. "There's one down by the docks. I could pick you up around five?" On the one hand, it would at least be cool enough by then to bear, seeing as she hadn't quite acclimated to Vale's warmer climate yet. On the other... "I find it hard to admire the lights you've mentioned with the sun up." "See, that's the beauty of it." She waved a hand. "We go a few rounds on the bumper cars, we play some games, maybe a ride or two, and then we can grab some good, greasy carnival food and catch the Ferris wheel as the sun sets." She smiled again, eyes sparkling. "What do ya say?" "Count me in," she replied, finding herself more and more agreeable with Yang's suggestions. Ever since the woman opted to surprise her with some of the best food- home cooked at that- she'd ever tasted and a trip out to Beacon Falls when she first arrived in Vale, Winter couldn't really fault her self appointed tour guide's tastes. "But at the end of the night, when we're both lamenting how much time we'd wasted, I want you to remember this conversation." "Oh, I will."  Winter didn't know she could enjoy someone's company so much. She'd never really had a best friend before but Yang... she made it impossible not to consider her for the position. An infectious laugh, a kind and caring demeanor, a penchant for joking- a proverbial sun to brighten her day. While she couldn't quite return that- razor sharp her wit might be, but it tended towards the biting sort, not the funny kind- she somehow provided the woman with something, considering how often they met for little talks like this. It made her heart ache a little. With her time so limited, it would've been nice to have known Yang earlier in life. Perhaps they could've been more than friends.

Winter sighed, relaxing back into the seat as the Ferris Wheel began to turn, raising them into the twilight sky. As much as she hadn't admitted it aloud, she'd found their activities at the carnival were a great deal more entertaining than she'd expected. She'd won a cheap teddy bear at the dart toss, and felt more than a little proud of that, and Yang had won a stuffed dog of some sort at the 'test your strength' game, proving the muscles in her arms and core weren't just for show, even if the air had turned a bit cool by a Valen's tastes for the halter top she wore.  "So?" Yang turned towards her, settling an arm across the back of the seat. "How lame are carnivals?" "Very well, I concede defeat." She rolled her eyes at the woman's wide grin. "This was a lot more enjoyable than I expected. Truly an experience worth having." "See, now that's what I'm talking about!" She chuckled, waving a wand in front of them. "And this is the best part! I mean, look at this view!" Blue eyes roved over the cityscape, lights beginning to flicker on as the sun sank beyond the horizon. "Personally, I'm partial to the roller coasters, but this is nice." As they ascended, the wheel stopped to admit new passengers, until they sat at the very top. "Ya know, some people think that Ferris wheels are kinda romantic." She returned her attention to the woman beside her, raising a brow. "And why is that?" Yang had her own gaze trained on the sights below them, a small smile on her lips. "It's kinda intimate? Alone, on top of the world, night falling... seems like the perfect time to sneak in a kiss, yeah?" "That does sound rather romantic." Again, her thoughts turned to her single regret, that she would never indulge in the secret, strong desire for a family of her own. A partner to kiss at the top of a Ferris wheel- how bittersweet that the night would provide her with both a wonderful experience and a daydream that would never be fulfilled. Then she noticed Yang turning, the arm she'd rested on the back of the seat curling around Winter's shoulders, trying to coax her closer as the woman's head tilted. She quickly put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, stopping her advance immediately. "Huh?" Yang leaned back, blinking at her a bit owlishly as a blush began to rise in her cheeks. "Oh, I thought- sorry, I just-" "There's no need to apologize." She offered a small, sad smile. "If I had more time, I'd take you up on that offer. But as it stands, I've less than six months. There are better uses of your time." "Wait, what does that have to do with anything?" Confusion splayed across her expression as the wheel began to turn again. "Just because your time is running out doesn't mean you stop living." "That's a nice sentiment." She chuckled, touched by a bit of dark humor. "But I've lived all I wish to; now, it's just a matter of waiting out my remaining days." "So, what? You're just going to give up?" She withdrew her arm, running her hand across her bicep where a long, golden dragon tattoo wrapped itself around a white rose. "Haven't you ever heard it's better to have loved and lost than to never love at all?" "I've never seen the sense in that," she replied, sighing. "I've lived my life without regrets and without apologies. I've become exactly the sort of person I set out to be. Were I to become involved with someone now, it would just be a blip- nothing meaningful. There's no reason to pursue something I'll not have the chance to finish." "You never 'finish' loving someone." Yang slumped slightly in her seat. "It doesn't work like that." "At any rate, I'm afraid it's one of the many mysteries I'll not have the chance to unravel myself." "You mean, you won't take the chance." "Semantics." As they approached the platform, she glanced back at Yang. "How long do you have? If you don't mind the question." She gave a mirthless chuckle. "In total? One hundred and forty six years. Plus some change." "Oh." She blinked. "That's... quite a long time." "Runs in the family." A sigh left her lips. "Downside is, I'll end up watching a lot of people die. I'll get left behind. But, at least, I can choose who leaves me behind like that now." She shrugged. "And I'd choose you." "Forgive me for sparing you that pain." As the attendant raised the bar so they could exit, she looked back at Yang. "Save it for someone who can give you years, not months." "A month from the right person is worth years from someone else." She said nothing in response even as Yang fell into step beside her, the two heading for the parking lot. A rather sour end to an otherwise pleasant experience but she tried not to dwell on it. In the end, it was for the best.

Day -162 Winter pressed her lips together in a thin line, maintaining her sister's stare for a few moments longer. Then, she relented. "What would you have me do?" "You're more than entitled to conduct your affairs as you see fit," Weiss said, a thread of annoyance in her tone. "But you did lead Yang on; you could've made it very clear from the beginning that you didn't wish to entertain anything romantic." "She knew very well why I'm here. She could've drawn her own conclusions." A bit unfair a claim, perhaps, and maybe she'd noticed that the attention she'd received from Yang wasn't the platonic sort, but it still should've been obvious. "If the circumstances were different-" "The circumstances, as you call them, and entirely within your head." Her sister wagged a finger at her, and she had to be a bit proud that Weiss somehow learned to stand up and buck those whom she admired. "Yang's aware of the situation and still wants to try. If you're turning her down because you feel it's a waste of your time, then tell her that. But don't try to blame her for it." "That's not-" "That's exactly-" "HEY!" They both stopped, turning to look at the Faunus frowning at them from the kitchen. "Stop fighting about it. Weiss, I appreciate you sticking up for Yang, but it is Winter's decision. Winter, you could've turned Yang down in a better way than making it seem like having a shorter countdown is a reason to not consider a relationship. You could've just said you weren't interested." "That would be a lie, though, and I still don't see the error in my logic," she said, not nearly as inclined to quit the field just because Blake had spoken up as her sister. "It's perfectly sound-" "Almost everyone will die before Yang." Feline ears flicked back, a subtle display of her mounting aggravation. "She's known that since she was young. Most people don't have the sort of aura she does, the sort of time, and it puts a lot of people off. They don't want to get involved with someone they know will outlive them by decades and they always say it's for her sake. She's just tired of people making that determination for her." Winter sat back in her chair. She hadn't considered that angle before. "But some don't, correct? Use that excuse, I mean." "I didn't." Blake shrugged, disappearing back into the kitchen for a moment before returning with two mugs of coffee, setting them down on the table for the sisters. "We didn't date for long, but we learned a lot about ourselves from the experience." She bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of Weiss' head. "That's how I found out I need a little more friction from my partner. Someone to challenge me." "Which I certainly do, some days more than others," she replied with a fond smile, tilting her head back for a proper kiss before Blake went back for her tea. "But more to the point, relationships- or dating in general, for that matter, it's not about finding forever right away. It's about the potential." "Except, there is no potential here." She spread her hands. "My time's almost up." "And when it is, are you certain you'll be at peace with never knowing?" Weiss raised a brow. "Perhaps you and Yang aren't meant to last anyway." Blake sat down beside her, wordlessly offering her hand so they could sit, side-by-side, fingers interlaced, their chosen beverages in their other hand. "But perhaps she'll be there at the end." Winter's gaze lingered on their hands before she looked away, busying herself with her coffee. For a woman already slated to die... would a taste of ambrosia really be so terrible an indulgence? And if it turned to poison on her tongue, what could the harm be? Perhaps it wasn't too late to mend one last bridge. She still didn't think pursuing a relationship would be wise but she could at least reach out and apologize for her thoughtless words.

Day -157 If she didn't know any better, Winter would be very hard pressed to think anything could be remiss. Yang seemed in high spirits as they walked through downtown, heading to a little restaurant that didn't get nearly enough attention considering the quality of their cuisine, according to the blonde anyway. In fact, she seemed just as upbeat as ever. But she didn't quite press close like she used to, verging on invading personal space but not quite crossing the line. Her gaze seemed focused elsewhere, rarely on Winter, when it seemed like her attention rarely wandered before. Most obvious of all, however, was the complete absence of teases and jokes, those little flirtations that had fallen from her lips so freely. This could not continue. "We don't have to do this," she said, her voice soft. "We can be cordial without overt acts of friendship." "What?" Lilac eyes snapped to her, then immediately darted away. "I mean- I, uh, I'm not following." "I'm saying that, if I make you uncomfortable, just say so." Yang pressed her lips together, looking down at her feet for a moment. "It's not you; I'm just... I like you, Winter. I wanna get to know you a little better, ya know? But I get it, you don't want that, so it's gonna take some time for me to... get over it." Her brows pinched together. "You mean, you're still interested in me? How?" For a moment, they just blinked at each other, and then Yang started laughing, shaking her head as she walked. "You really don't see it, huh? You're a heartbreaker, Winter." "I beg pardon- what do you mean by that?" She hurried to catch up to the woman, a frown on her lips. "You're just- you're kinda amazing!" She glanced over. "You've got this poised and dignified thing going on, like you're above it all, but then you turn around and you swear under your breath and you get annoyed over things like anyone else. You've got a sweet side that you don't always show and I like coaxing it out. And you're just- you're steady. You're like the ground beneath my feet." She shrugged. "It's hard to put into words but I just... feel good around you. You laugh at my jokes and you listen to what I have to say and it makes me feel invincible." "I don't see how-" "Hold on, lemme finish." Lilac eyes sparkled, though there seemed to be a hint of sadness about them. "See, I know if I see it, others can, too. Have you ever thought of how many people have fallen in love with you without you ever being the wiser?" She hummed. "I suppose I haven't." "Yeah. That's what I meant. You've probably broken a lot of hearts, just being you." Another shrug. "So, yeah. I'm kinda bummed you aren't interested, and it's going to take a while to get over, because I still look at you and see marble over steel, silk over iron, and it still gets me. It just takes time for it to... not. I'll get over it, eventually." They walked a few more steps before Winter spoke up. "I never said I wasn't interested in you." "You aren't interested in a relationship," she said, waving a hand. "Same difference." A shrug. "Perhaps my thoughts on that have changed." That brought Yang to an abrupt halt. "Wait, did I hear that right?" "You did." Winter nodded, clearing her throat. "Now, you must understand that this will only be temporary-" "Hey, don't ruin the fun!" She smiled wide, enough for that dimple to reappear, and linked their arms together. "We both know we're on a clock. That doesn't mean we have to focus on it!" "I suppose you're right." She chuckled, both amazed and a little proud that something so small could make Yang so happy, and that she'd been the one to cause it. "And try to give me some... slack. I don't exactly have much experience dating-" "Then I'll be your teacher." She laughed, a happy and free sound. "Lesson one? I'm gonna be your rock. So lean on me if you need to and don't be afraid to speak up, alright? You can always hit me up just to talk." She tapped the side of her head. "I'm a pretty good listener." "As long as you'll do the same," she replied, tone turning serious. "I do prize honest communication." "I picked up on that." Yang smiled, leaning her head to rest against Winter's shoulder. It felt... words couldn't describe it. Having someone so close, actually touching her, being so... she'd never allowed herself to focus too heavily on what she'd be missing, not pursuing that single daydream she harbored. Now, she could tell with utmost certainty that it would be her only regret. Still, despite the melancholy, she couldn't help but feel warmer and lighter with Yang beside her. Perhaps it would never satisfy her deepest desire but maybe she could still enjoy what she could while it lasted. "Oh, and one more thing. Just for the record." Yang hummed curiously and a smile curled her lips. "I think you're quite amazing as well." A chuckle and a squeeze of her arm were all she received in response.

Day -143 Dating Yang, as it turned out, was akin to breathing air. She fell into it much easier than she expected- or perhaps it only felt like that because the woman seemed patient to a fault. Either way, it became habit to grab her scroll and send a text before even getting out of bed, wishing Yang a good day and hoping she slept well. "Are you sure-" "I'm fine, Snowdrift! I got this!" Talking to her became as easy as before but their conversations turned deeper, more personal. Yang confided in her- her fears, her worries, her weaknesses, her triumphs. How she felt more than a little cocky after showing up some rude customer who'd tried to con her into giving a discount, how she cried for a week when her favorite character in a tv show died, how she had to restrain herself and busy herself with other things to keep from hovering around her little sister, how she worried that, in the end, she would have little to show for her long life span. Winter learned that beneath the cheer and jokes lay a glass heart- golden and true, yes, but pieced back together after being scratched and gouged. "Sundrop. I'm right here." "I'm getting the hang of it!" Yang loved freely and she'd been hurt for it but she threw herself into everything with the same vigor regardless. Perhaps more cautiously, perhaps with more restraint, but with no lack of fire in her soul. Winter admired that, adored it even, and she'd swallowed her pride and admitted Weiss and Blake were right to talk some sense into her. It would break Yang's heart when she passed but, for every minute they had together, they made them count. And she'd emerge all the stronger for it. "Yang." Lilac eyes flashed her way, one of her stubborn streaks possessing her as she clung to the rail for dear life. "I said. I got this." "It's been fifteen minutes and you've moved two meters." Winter raised a brow, nodding towards the little entry door to the indoor rink. "I'm not saying it's an insurmountable task; I'm merely offering a shortcut." Perhaps ice skating, though, wasn't the best suggestion for a date. "Look..." Yang tried closing the distance and standing up straight but nearly lost her balance again and went back to clinging to the rail. "... okay, fine." She puffed a breath up, ruffling the golden bangs peeking out from beneath her cap. "I've never ice skated before." "I surmised that." She chuckled, holding out both hands. "Give me your hands." "But-" "Trust me." Such a simple phrase. Such a powerful one. Without another moment's hesitation, Yang took her hands, awaiting the next set of directions. "Now, just try to focus on your balance." And then she was skating backwards, dragging her girlfriend with her, and bracing as best she could against the jerks and hesitations from the woman as she tried to find her balance. It amused her, how off kilter she seemed, but Yang did her best to not use her superior strength to her advantage and bring them both crashing to the ice.  Which, in itself, was rather telling. "Okay... I'm getting the hang of it." She nodded, tongue poking out in that little way she had as she concentrated. "Indeed." Winter smiled, noticing she could lead them into a gentle turn without a jerking motion to answer her. "It's almost like you've stopped feigning inexperience." Blonde brows climbed high before she barked out a laugh. "Can't get anything past you!" She shrugged, pushing off with her skates and adding to their momentum. "I learned when I was really young but I haven't skated in years." "Then why pretend otherwise?" She didn't really concern herself with the little fib, not until she'd uncovered the reasoning at least. "Isn't it obvious?" She chuckled. "I didn't want to embarrass myself! I'm still trying to impress you!" "Impress me?" Now, she laughed, shaking her head. "You needn't worry about that. You're perhaps the most impressive person I know." "C'mon." She rolled her eyes, using the next turn to turn herself around and skate beside Winter, keeping one hand clasped in hers while the other swung wide. "Your sister is a lawyer, she's dating a community activist, you're practically famous in your own right- that's a lot! And I'm just-" "Hold on now," she said, wanting to correct a few misconceptions immediately. "What makes my sister impressive, in my eyes, is that she broke away from a toxic environment and built a life she can be proud of in doing so. Next, what makes Blake impressive is that she's made mistakes in her life and found a way to not only overcome them but make amends as well. And the only thing I find impressive about myself is how I'm incapable of boiling an egg without step-by-step instructions but can disassemble an Atlas Paladin and put it back together in less than two hours without so much as glancing at a manual." Her expression softened. "And you are not 'just' anything. You started your own business and built it from the ground up, working out of your own garage until you could open a proper shop. You provided for your sister and supported her through university. And you did something only three people can even claim: you changed my mind." She skated a little closer, lowering her voice. "Frankly, you've yet to do something that doesn't impress me." "You really think that highly of lil ole me?" She tried playing it off with a laugh but her cheeks turned a bit redder, and it had nothing to do with the cold of the rink. "Gotta say, I didn't expect that." "Then you probably didn't expect this, either." She smirked, shifting her weight and pulling on Yang's hand as she switched to skating backwards, now in control of their momentum. As her girlfriend struggled to keep her feet, Winter lead them to the middle of the rink, the stopped short, bringing them close together- close enough for her to lean down and steal a firm, deliberate kiss. At first, she stiffened, caught off guard, but then she came roaring back to her senses and held her close, fingers digging into Winter's jacket. When they parted, she wore a dopey grin on her lips. "Well... got me there. Didn't expect that either." "Not as intimate as the top of a Ferris wheel, admittedly," she said, aware of the various eyes upon them, the little awes from adults and either confusion or excitement from children, but ignored them all. "But I do hope that was sufficiently romantic." "Hmmm," Yang replied with that twinkle in her eyes. "I dunno. Might need to try it again for a real comparison." "Where's the next carnival?"  She'd planned on some manner of travel, simply to pass the days. This proved to be a much better use of her time.

Day -139 "What's on your mind?" Winter blinked, turning away from the view outside the airship window to see her girlfriend's expression pinched into concern. "Nothing." Yang watched her for a moment before sitting back in her seat. "Alright." She winced. Fooling the woman turned out to be much harder than she'd anticipated and it just made her feel lousy besides. "It's just... Weiss is keeping secrets from me." "How do you know that?" Something about lilac eyes watching her carefully made her think that perhaps the odd behavior she'd noticed had an explanation- one her girlfriend seemed privy to, for some reason. "Usually, Weiss allows me free roam of the house, whether or not she's there." She frowned. "Lately, I've noticed she tries to... steer me clear of wherever Blake is. Not in overt means, of course, but I've hardly seen her in the past week for some odd reason." "Well, it might not be the solution you're looking for, but why don't you move in with me?" Yang shrugged. "Maybe they just need some space." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You know why Blake's avoiding me, don't you?" "Yeah," she replied instantly, expression twisting. "But it's not my place to tell. I get where they're coming from, even if I disagree with how they're handling it." Winter hummed, slipping an arm around Yang's shoulders, coaxing her girlfriend into leaning her head against her shoulder. "You think that if I moved in with you, it would improve matters?" "Something like that." A short chuckle. "Plus, I just like the idea. Sometimes, I can be an opportunist, ya know." She remained silent for a moment. Frankly, she'd been ill accustomed to roommates, having never shared a room as a child and often finding herself in positions where she had single housing while in the military. Moving in with Weiss and Blake came with challenges, but they'd adjusted well.  Now, however... "I suppose we could move in together," she said, a smile curling her lips. "I don't have much in the way of personal belongings, outside of what you've bought me." "Hey, some of that stuff is hand crafted!" She playfully corrected, then sighed- content. "We could pack up your stuff when we get back. Have you set up in no time." "Would I have my own room?" The airship began to descend, making to land in Vacuo. They'd opted to combine the search for a carnival with Winter's desire to travel, Yang more than capable of turning the shop over to her crew for a week or two. Silence for just a moment too long. "I mean... my bed's big and comfy. I've got room in my closet. The bathroom's attached and it has a killer tub." As always, Yang offered her a choice while making her own thoughts known. Not an outright refusal to utilize her guest bedroom but a tempting sell on sharing the master. "We haven't slept together."  It was both an excuse and not. Winter hadn't wanted to delve into the physical side of a relationship- somehow, she connected sex with the sort of bond that was meant to last, not one under a time limit- and Yang hadn't objected. However, with every kiss, she found herself wondering... would a little more be so wrong? A little more friction, a little more heat, a little more passion- what could they explore together, what could Yang teach her, what could she learn for herself? "Yet." Her girlfriend offered, voice soft. She turned her head and pressed a kiss to golden locks. Yang had a point.

Day -126 Winter lay spent, sweat cooling on her skin and panting, listening to her girlfriend's attempts to catch her breath. Although she'd moved in upon returning to Vale a week ago, they hadn't actually done anything aside from sleep in the same bed until tonight. Not for lack of willingness, from either party; rather, it stemmed from a touch of romanticism on Yang's part, and she'd cooked a full meal that they'd shared by candlelight to build the atmosphere. "Hey... Snowdrift?" She turned to see the wide, lazy grin on the woman's lips. "Anyone ever tell you you're a fast learner?" A laugh burst from her chest, invigorating her for a moment to roll over, laying on her girlfriend for a moment and hovering, staring into those lilac eyes. When they kissed, it wasn't the heat from before- slow, languid, reveling in the feel of their skin pressed together, hearts slowing in tandem. Winter hadn't been a prude before- one in the service would inevitably be exposed to carnal descriptions, either in jokes or just the complete lack of boundaries between soldiers- but she'd always discounted what she'd heard as exaggerations born of boredom and poor prioritization. Better to make it sound like a worthy investment of time than merely an aerobic exercise. Experience, of course, gave her a new perspective. "I have a superior teacher." Yang laughed, wrapping her arms around her, indulging in more kissing and cuddling before her expression turned downright wicked. "Just you wait. There's a lot you don't know." Despite the promise, they both found themselves settling down after that, preparing to turn in for the night. Yet... she found herself not wanting the contact to end, not very keen on returning to their usual opposite sides of the bed sleeping arrangement. "Sundrop?" "Do you really want to go another round?" Her girlfriend teased, lightly pushing at her hip to encourage her to move. Which she did, rolling onto her side and watching the woman settle for bed. "No, I have a different request in mind." "Oh?" Yang stretched her arms above her head, yawning wide and relaxing fully into the mattress. "Wuzzat?" "May I... touch you while we sleep?" A frown touched her lips. "That's perhaps poor wording-" "Are you asking to spoon?" She perked up, excitement replacing the mischief in lilac eyes. "... spoon?" Yang laughed. "C'mere, you." After a bit of shuffling, she found herself being cradled in her girlfriend's arms, Yang's forehead resting against her shoulder blade. "How's that?" Winter breathed in deeply. "... better..." "But?"  Her girlfriend seemed genuinely confused, and she hurried to clarify. "Is there any way... I could hold you like this?" A hand stroked along her hip as Yang laughed. "You wanna be the big spoon, huh?" A kiss pressed to her shoulder. "I'm super okay with that." They switched positions, allowing her to nestle among golden curls. "I'm not on your hair, am I?" "Nah." Her girlfriend yawned, already falling asleep. "Night, Snowdrift." "Good night, Sundrop," she replied, closing her eyes and nearly dropping off but kept awake by two mumbled words. "Love you." The deep breathing that immediately followed proved that the woman hadn't said them consciously, had probably meant to kept them to herself but groggily let them go. Winter's eyes opened, watching the sliver of broken moonlight catching in golden strands as her heart swelled. Just two months of knowing each other and dating for half that... it felt like a whole other lifetime. A new life, one where she'd been able to indulge in every idle fantasy, and in that time, she'd come to believe the words herself. "I love you, Yang." Carefully, she leaned over to press a kiss to her shoulder before settling back down. She would say them again in the morning- as many times as she could. Avoiding love had seemed like the pragmatic answer before but now that she'd allowed herself a taste, she couldn't drink enough, and Yang made it so easy. She loved wholly and freely, let her fall as deep as she wanted, strong and steady enough to catch her but trusting enough to buckle and lean against her as well. It felt... well, like she'd always imagined. Yet, better, because Yang could be as unpredictable as a storm, as passionate as fire, and as quick as lightning. "And I owe you an apology." She whispered into the night. "This is meaningful." To her, at the very least.

Day -125 If Yang's reaction to waking up and hearing 'I love you' served as any indication, it was meaningful to her, too. And Winter learned a little bit more that morning.

Day -113 Winter sat across from her sister, noting ever nervous pick at her sleeves and skittish glance. In public, perhaps she'd be so concerned about her appearance, but not in the comfort of her own home- not that she seemed comfortable in the slightest. Weiss and Blake had taken the news about her change in living arrangements well, though a bit of guilt lingered in their expressions, and they'd seemed more at ease for a time. However, a hushed conversation between Yang and Blake the night before during a double date dinner seemed to prompt some sort of change, hence the invitation. But a pot of tea later, Winter couldn't tell what seemed to be preying on the woman. "Weiss-" "We didn't plan it." Their gazes met briefly before she ducked her head, drawing a steadying breath. "We weren't sure whether or not we should tell you. If it might... bother you. It wasn't intentional-" "Weiss, I'm still not sure I know what you're talking about." She raised a brow. "You've yet to mention that part." Her sister winced, though her lips appeared to be at war, caught between smiling and frowning. "Blake's pregnant." Immediately, her expression brightened. "Congratulations!" Of course it stung. Frankly, it might've hurt worse two months ago. But now? She wouldn't want Weiss and Blake putting their lives on hold, waiting for her time to be up. She would never know her niece or nephew or any of her sister's children... but that didn't mean they wouldn't know her. "How far along is she?" "We just got the confirmation a few weeks ago." Now faced with Winter's approval, Weiss glowed with happiness, smiling wide. "We're hoping for a girl. Blake's family is predisposed to them too, so there's a good chance. The morning sickness has caused a bit of an adjustment but..." Winter smiled and listened intently, reveling in her sister's excitement.

She heard Yang come through the front door even as she set up the scroll, leaning it against a book on her desk in Yang's little tinkering room. "Snowdrift?" "In here!" She called, waiting for her girlfriend to find her and greeting her with a smile and a kiss. "Welcome home." "Heh, thanks." Lilac eyes fell to the scroll. "Whatcha up to?" "Weiss told me the happy news." She nodded towards the device and papers laid out in front of it. "I thought I'd record a message for the little one to watch when they're old enough." "Oh." And she saw something, then, the spark of an idea that would no doubt be brought up again later. For now, it got filed away, as Yang instead smiled and nodded. "That's a really nice thought. I'll go get started on dinner while you do that." "I could-" A sharp look silenced that offer; after her last attempt cooking dinner, she'd gotten into the habit of ordering some manner of delivery before her girlfriend got home. She'd just forgotten today. "If there's anything I can do, let me know?" "I will." Yang started heading back towards the kitchen. "Focus on that for now." "Right." She nodded, looking at the camera on her scroll and sighing. "Right." Reaching forward, she started the recording, glancing at the notes she'd made to ensure she covered everything she wanted to say. "Greetings." She paused. She sounded stiff and formal- a realization she'd come to after being around her girlfriend's much more relaxed demeanor. So, she stopped and tried again, restarting the recording. "Hello. I'm your Aunt Winter..."

Two hours later, she emerged to find Yang settled on the couch, watching some show while their dinner stayed warm in a pot on the stove.  Wordlessly, she went to her girlfriend, not bothering to announce her presence until she'd curled up beside her. Yang merely chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "So? How'd it go?"  "I accomplished my mission," she replied with a frown tugging at her lips. "I just hope it conveys what I want it to." "Can I watch it?" She smiled. "I can give you a one hundred percent unbiased opinion." Winter raised a brow. "Okay, ninety-five percent." Even that number seemed too high but she relented, hoping Yang wouldn't inquire as to how many tries it took to get right. She queued up the video and held it out, watching her own countenance fill the screen. "Hello, little one," the recording said, a small smile on her lips. "I'm your Aunt Winter and, by the time you're old enough to understand this, I'll be long passed. However, there are some things I must impart upon you before I go." Her expression turned a bit more somber then. "I'm not sure which surname you will bear when you're born, little one, but Schnee blood will still run through your veins. With that heritage comes certain standards, ways to conduct yourself, and a single rule you must follow." Her shoulders straightened, chin tilted up, eyes piercing as she continued. "As the next scion in a long proud line, you absolutely must pursue your own happiness." Every feature softened as she continued. "We're headstrong and nigh impossible to dissuade, so it's important you remain focused on the right priorities- yours. Don't bend or bow to those without your well being in mind and don't compromise yourself; believe me, you'll be stronger from surviving those who'll try to break you. I have no doubt your moms will fully support you doing so." She sighed. "And try to give your Mother some slack. Her heart's in the right place and, when you're old enough, you'll see that you'll do the same thing; being passionate and being right don't always align. It's a challenge we Schnees face: having patience and respect for others rather than just our own goals." She paused. "Or... perhaps that's just me. It's something I learned perhaps too late. My life hasn't been very long but I've managed to learn my fair share of lessons along the way. I'll pass what wisdom I have to you." Her smile pulled a little wider. "Know that you're loved, little one, even now and it will only grow with time. Know that, sometimes, it's better to ask forgiveness than permission. Know that your Mother Weiss is trying her hardest and doing an excellent job and that your Mommy Blake is much stronger and more brave than you think. Know that they didn’t start out that way, that the challenges they overcame helped them become the people you see before you, and that you will grow like that, too. Know that your Aunt Yang is no doubt going to sneak you cookies before dinner and will always guard your secrets and your Aunt Ruby can literally build anything and will always look out for you. Know that you have before you untold opportunities and untested abilities. Know that the only person who will determine how far you go in life is yourself and, know, even if you stumble and stutter and fall, that your family will be there to help you back up." Her gaze deviated then. "I wish I had the time to know you. No doubt I'd love you just as dearly as the others; I already love you so much now. But if an after life does exists, I'll be your guardian angel; speak to the north wind and I'll hear you. You will never be alone." Tears gathered in her eyes but her voice remainder strong. "Play often and rest when you can. Fight when you must and try not to hold grudges. Above all else, enjoy your time, because no matter how long you have, it's going to feel far too short." Then, she saluted. "March on, little one, and hold your head high. You're a Schnee, and you've already made me so proud. Keep it up." The video ended and Winter looked to her girlfriend holding back tears. "Yang?" "It's good," she said immediately, scrubbing at her eyes and laughing. "It'll mean a lot. They- I think they'll really like it." "Yang, what's wrong?" Worry colored her tone as she set aside her scroll and gathered the woman into her arms, stroking through her hair gently. "Talk to me." After a few minutes to compose herself, she started, turning into the embrace and clinging to Winter. "It's just- my birth mom, she ran out on me, yeah? And I just- she could've done that. Left me a message, done something to let me know that I'm- that I wasn't a mistake or a waste of her time." She drew a steadying breath. "She didn't have to mean it but... it would've been nice to hear." "Oh, Sundrop." She believed that it constituted part of the reason for the reaction, sure, but something about the way Yang wouldn't meet her eyes had her concerned there remained more to it than that. However, best to handle one thing at a time. "You're certainly not a waste of anyone's time. Please don't think that." "I know, I know, I just- it's hard not to think about sometimes." A watery laugh. "And thanks, ya know. For calling me Aunt Yang. I know Blake's gonna ask me to be godmother and all but hearing it... you hit the nail on the head." She smiled. "This kid is gonna be loved. No doubt about it." Winter nodded, waiting for a few moments before gently prodding. "Is there anything else on your mind?" For a moment, she thought Yang might break. But then she just shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, I think the message is great, but I also don't think those two are the kind to stop at just one kid." "A valid point," she replied, opting to set her concerns aside for the moment. "But I think I should eat something before I try making another one." With that, they got up and went to fix their dinner, but Winter kept a close eye on her girlfriend for the rest of the night. Something seemed to be on her mind... but she would have to wait for it to come to bear.

Day -107 Winter made a few more videos over the week, mostly addressed to any subsequent kids Weiss and Blake might have. Her sister seemed genuinely touched she’d made them and Blake all too happy to safeguard them in the meantime, though the couple tried- in vain- to insist they wouldn’t have a big family. Maybe one more, they said, but she could see the way they looked at each other and didn’t doubt for a moment they’d have four or more.

But she found her attention pulled away from making more videos by Yang’s odd behavior. With just a little under half her remaining time spent, perhaps it was the looming deadline beginning to prey on the woman’s mind.

At any rate, it required further investigation.

The moment she heard the door open, she closed the book she’d used to preoccupy her time. 

“Hey!” Yang set her motorcycle helmet down and shook out her hair. “What’s up, Snowdrift? No welcome home kiss?

She offered a small smile and got off the couch. “My apologies. I’m afraid my mind’s been a bit preoccupied.”

“Oh?” After their kiss, Yang kept her close, hands on her hips. “Wanna share?”

“I feel like you’ve been acting a bit odd recently. As if you want to talk with me about something but keep refraining.” She ran her hands up and down the woman’s back, noticing the way her posture changed, eyes looking away, body turning as if she wanted to break contact. Yet, when Winter ducked her head, encouraged her to meet her eyes, her girlfriend didn’t balk. “You can tell me anything, you know. I promise I’ll listen. No judgments.”

“You... really don’t want to hear this.” Yang mumbled, shaking her head. “It’s just a stupid thought-”

“Is it important to you?” Reluctantly, she nodded. “Then it’s not stupid. Regardless of my opinion on it, it’s not a stupid thought. Tell me and let me form my own opinion.”

This time, her girlfriend did pull away, but took one hand in hers and led her to the couch, sitting both of them down. She then took a moment and composed herself, choosing her words with care. “What if I stopped taking my birth control?”

“Why would you do that?” Of all the topics in the world, this happened to be the last one she expected they’d discuss. “Is it... making you sick or-”

“Well, aura pregnancies are pretty rare. We could leave it up to chance-”

Winter jolted, sitting up straighter and incidentally pulling away from her girlfriend. “Aura pregnancy- Yang, what are you talking about?”

She remained silent for a moment, drawing in a steadying breath before taking the plunge. “I want the chance to carry your child.”

“No,” she replied, instantaneous, getting to her feet and pacing. “Do you even realize what you’re talking about; I’ve hardly three months left.”

“I know that.” Yang got to her feet as well, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know there’s a big chance it won’t happen anyway and I know that, even if I do get pregnant... you’ll be gone before the baby’s born... but...”

“There is no ‘but’ here.” She shook her head. “I’m not going to leave behind a child that’ll never know me-”

“They’ll know you, the same as Weiss’ kids.” A frustrated sigh. “Look, I know it isn’t what you want-”

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Winter looked at her, the pain in her chest nearly crippling as those secret daydreams she’d entertained flashed before her eyes. “You don’t know how badly I want a child, a family- you have no idea what this life has denied me.”

“You mean what you’ve denied yourself.” Yang’s lips twisted, a bit of anger coloring her tone. “I get it, I can’t understand what it’s like having so little time. But you don’t have to give up on everything else. There’s ways around it, to try- it might mean only having a taste but it’s something.”

“Not now.” She shook her head, waved her hand, denied as best she could. “Are you even listening to yourself? It’s- it’s impossible, Yang. I don’t have a chance for a taste of anything- it’s too late for me. I can’t just leave you alone to raise our child by yourself.”

“My dad did it.” Her expression softened slightly. “Being a single parent... yeah, it’s hard. It can be hell. But it’s not impossible and at least, this way, our kid would know they’re wanted, that if you could be here, you would. That- I don’t think you understand how much that means. That could be enough-”

“How could it possibly be enough?” Winter sighed heavily, turning away. “Please understand, in any other life, I’d be with you. I’d- I’d marry you, I’d start a family with you, I’d be completely devoted, every moment of my life, because I would have that time to give to you. In another life, there wouldn’t be any hesitation on my part.”

“But this is the only life we have, Winter,” she replied, crossing the room and putting a hand on her shoulder, turning her gently so their eyes could meet. “This is all the time we have. And when it’s over, if all I have left of you are memories... I won’t regret this, because I love you, so much it hurts and scares me. But... to have a kid, a little bit of you living on- that means something to me, too.”

The words were born of a helpless sort of anger and pain but they left her lips too quickly for her to catch. “Then you’re being selfish, wanting to have a child purely so you can cling to past memories.”

The hand on her shoulder disappeared but Yang didn’t say a word for a long moment. When she did, her voice sounded heavy with tears that wouldn’t fall. “Yeah... maybe you’re right.”

Regret lanced through her heart. “Yang, I didn’t- I’m sorry.”

But her girlfriend had already turned her back, heading towards the bedroom. “I’m gonna change. Get out of these clothes. Call for pizza. I don’t feel like cooking tonight.”

“Sundrop, wait-” The closing of the door sounded much louder than it should’ve and Winter stood there, flinching at the sound.

She thought about following Yang into the bedroom- watched the door for half an hour before the pizza arrived while she debated- but ultimately decided to give the woman some space. Plus, she needed the time to properly formulate an apology; her words were harsh and unnecessary, she didn’t want to hurt her girlfriend and she shouldn’t have lashed out at her.

For the remainder of the night, Yang stayed in the bedroom, only leaving to grab some of the pizza. She avoided eye contact but Winter could see her puffy red eyes, the dried tear tracks on her cheeks.

Winter opted to sleep on the couch that night.

Day -106 When morning came, Winter waited in the living room for Yang to come out. She hadn’t slept much, plagued by the argument from the night before, but at least she’d decided on what to say. Provided she had the chance to do so, of course.

The moment the bedroom door cracked open, she shot to her feet. “Yang-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Lilac eyes didn’t even glance her way as she made a bee line for the kitchen, ignoring all else. “The conversation’s over, case closed.” A mirthless chuckle. “I told you it was stupid anyway.”

Seeing as words would do her no good for the moment, Winter crossed the room, heading her girlfriend off before she could slip into the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist, pressing back to front, and rested her chin among golden locks. Her embrace wasn’t so tight as to completely prevent Yang from escaping- any pressure and she’d relent- but it at least made her give pause.

“It isn’t stupid,” she said, her voice soft. “Before I knew how long I had, I had dreams. I wanted a wife and a family, children of my own. I wanted to raise them better than my parents raised me.” Winter paused, closing her eyes and tilting her head so she could rest her forehead against the back of Yang’s head. “But then I became old enough to understand how little time I had left. I wanted to be there for my children and support my wife; bereft of that, knowing I wouldn’t be around to protect them... I couldn’t abide it. So I put those dreams away. Until I met you.” A sigh, heavy and deep. “I’m sorry for accusing you of being selfish. For the longest time, I convinced myself that it would be selfish of me to pursue those dreams, knowing I wouldn’t be around to see them through. It... assuaged the regret of never trying, thinking I’d taken the nobler path... but that doesn’t excuse my behavior last night. I am sorry.”

Yang sighed, not quite encouraging her embrace but not breaking it either. “Apology accepted. We both got a little heated last night.”

“But you were right. I did give up on those dreams.” She held her girlfriend a little tighter. “What does it mean to you? Having a child?”

She turned in her arms, encouraging Winter to open her eyes. “It’s an expression of love. Finding someone I love enough... that I want to see a part of me and a part of them, together. I mean- you’re not entirely wrong. It is a way to hold onto the past, onto you. But it’s not just you- it’s both of us. Every time I look at them, I’m going to be reminded of this.” Slowly, Yang drew her into a kiss- soft, sweet, and slow. “I want this part of you to live on and, in my heart, you always will. But there’s a chance another part of you could live on- a part of you that’s also a part of me.”

“Very well.” She swallowed thickly, trying to hold her emotions in check. “Make me a promise.”

“Yeah?”

“Promise me they’ll know.” Winter did her best to keep her voice steady but it broke anyway as tears slipped. “They’ll know how much I wanted to be there for them. That I love them even though I’ll never know them. Promise me they’ll never think otherwise.”

Yang gave her a small, sad smile. “That’s a promise I look forward to keeping.” 

A nod as Winter leaned forward, burying her face in her girlfriend’s hair. And she sobbed, clinging to Yang, because in her mind, she could clearly picture it- the blonde laughing and playing with a small child with lilac eyes and white hair, both happy and content, and she so badly wished to be part of the picture.

But she never would be. As much as it hurt, it also brought a smile to her lips, because there stood a chance she could see it from whatever afterlife she’d earned for herself. And maybe, in time, before her end came, she could take solace in knowing they would carry on even after she fell.

That would be her legacy and she could ask for nothing better.

“Did you mean what you said last night? In another life, you’d marry me?”

“I’d marry you in this one if you’d let me,” she replied softly between sobs.

“You still have to ask.” A small chuckle and a kiss pressed against her jaw. “Even if you know I’m going to say yes.”

“Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed of asking someone to marry me?” Winter confessed, stifling her tears long enough to draw back and look at the woman properly. “I hope you’re ready.”

“Hit me with your best shot, Snowdrift.” Yang smiled, wider than she had in weeks. “Blow me away.”

Part 2 is coming shortly.

[mikotyzini]

Operation Birthday

Pairing: Bumblebee Words: 2465

I suck at writing short things...

“Are you nearly finished, Miss Xiao Long?”

“Yup!” Yang called out, opening one last drawer and sticking a file in at random.  No one could prove she was the one who did everything out of order, right?

That was the hope...otherwise Professor Goodwitch would be mad.  And then Yang would be sentenced to even more detention, with even more filing.  On the plus side, she’d get to spend more time with all these dusty files that served zero purpose other than punishment!  ‘Death by papercut’ wasn’t exactly a thrilling way to go, but at least it was unique.

While shoving the file drawer closed, her eyes caught a familiar word - ‘Bella.’  Shooting a glance towards Professor Goodwitch and finding the woman’s back temporarily turned, Yang pulled out the file and let it fall open in front of her.

Whoops.  Total mistake.  But now that it was open, might as well take a look…

The word stuck out to her because ‘Bella’ meant one - and only one - thing.  

Ok, it meant a lot of things, but in her mind, it meant only one thing.  One person, to be exact - Blake Belladonna, AKA Yang’s partner.  

AKA Miss Mysterious.  

AKA Ninja-Extraordinaire.

AKA the person whose Beacon application Yang was looking at right now!

“No way…” she breathed out, her eyes widening at the discovery.  She’d always assumed Beacon had zero information on Blake, but the professors were too embarrassed to admit that to each other.  So they just kept teaching her, never asking but always wondering where Blake came from.

That was wrong!  Here was tangible proof in Blake’s own handwriting!

Knowing she didn’t have much time, Yang read the details on the form as fast as possible, committing it to memory before Professor Goodwitch came over to check on her.

Name, address, parents, schooling, birthdate -

Wait a second.  Birthdate?

Hearing Professor Goodwitch’s heels click closer, Yang memorized the date, flipped the file closed, and shoved it back in place.  

“Done!” she declared, pushing the drawer closed and giving her professor a grin.  “Have anything else for me?”

One of the best ways to deflect suspicion was by offering help.  At least, that was Yang’s thinking!  And it worked like a charm.  Even though Professor Goodwitch looked vaguely suspicious, she shook her head and gestured towards the door of the office.

“That’s all for today.  You may leave, but please exercise better judgment next time.”

“No more pranks in the cafeteria - got it!”  Backing towards the door, Yang gave Professor Goodwitch a thumbs up before hurrying out of the hall of records, breathing a sigh of relief as she left the stale room behind.

As soon as she rounded the corner - free for the afternoon - her unintended discovery took over her thoughts.  Blake’s birthday!  She hadn’t realized until just a few minutes ago that she didn’t know Blake’s birthday.  Now she did - and what good timing, considering it was in a couple weeks!

But...why hadn’t Blake mentioned it?

Off the top of her head, Yang could think of two reasons.  One - Blake didn’t want it to be a big deal.  Two - Blake didn’t want anyone else to know for reasons.  

By now, Yang stopped asking for reasons and just accepted that Blake liked things a particular way.  There was nothing wrong with that - they were different people, after all!

Blake probably had reasons...and Yang wished she could let it go, but it was like the date had burned into the back of her eyelids.  Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it as if the paper was hovering in the air in front of her.

Blake’s birthday was coming up, and birthdays were a time of celebration.  They didn’t need to have a party, and it didn’t need to be a big deal, but Yang needed to do something for her partner - give a gift or token of appreciation or something.  

If she hadn’t known about it, she’d be ok letting the day pass without anything happening.  But she did know.  And Yang Xiao Long did not...not celebrate birthdays.

They were different people, after all…

Over the course of the next couple weeks, a low-key plan developed while Yang kept a watchful eye on her partner.  If Blake brought up the special day, Yang would jump on the opportunity like fresh pancakes.  But she didn’t want to force Blake into divulging the information, so she sat back and not-so-patiently waited - searching for clues or hints or any word that was remotely birthday related.

The closer the day drew with no birthday mentions being made, the less likely it seemed that Blake would bring it up on her own.  But Yang would wait and give Blake every opportunity to tell them.

Of course, waiting for Blake to freely offer personal information seemed pretty doomed from the start.  But Yang would wait!  In the meantime, she would keep her mouth shut and plan a teeny, tiny, mini celebration that no one else needed to know about.  She didn’t have much experience planning tiny surprise parties, but she’d figure it out for Blake.

And what birthday was complete without a gift?  

Using her expert gift-giving skills, Yang thought of the perfect gift - not that Blake was hard to think of ideas for.  There was a new book she mentioned a while ago, but they hadn’t had time to get away from Beacon so she could buy it.  

Fortunately, Blake wasn’t the only avid reader at Beacon.

After asking around for a couple days, Yang found a copy already on campus.  Luckily enough, Velvet had just finished reading it and was willing to sell it to Yang for the reasonable price of...twice what she bought it for.

Ok, Velvet was willing to give it away for free, but when Yang insisted on paying something it was Coco who fleeced her.  But it was totally worth it!

Armed with a gift and a plan, Yang watched the day of Blake’s birthday arrive with zero fanfare.  Everyone woke up, like normal, and got ready for the day, like normal.   She held out hope that Blake would mention something - a quick and completely unexpected ‘by the way, it’s my birthday’ (Blake did like the shock factor…) - but no dice.  

Time to launch Operation Birthday.

While Blake was in the bathroom getting ready, and Weiss went across the hall to give Team JNPR a nice, frosty wake-up call (seriously, how could they sleep through so many alarms?), Yang caught Ruby’s attention as she flew across the room.

“Hey Ruby,” Yang said, motioning her sister over.  “l need you and Weiss to take a hike.”

“But we just went on a hike last week!” Ruby whined.  Raising a finger to her lips, Yang shushed the complaint before explaining in a softer voice.

“Not an actual hike.  Just stay out of the room for a while.”

“Oh,” Ruby replied, immediately losing her pout.  “Uh, ok.  We can work on that project - collecting some plants from the forest?”

“Perfect.  Make a day of it then?”

“Sure!  But...why do we have to leave?”

“l can’t tell you that now.  But later!”

Ruby pursed her lips but nodded all the same.  She was always willing to go along with Yang’s ideas, even if that meant she wouldn’t understand until later.  That’s what made her the perfect minion for pranks - if she got caught, her answers were so innocent that she hardly ever got in trouble.

Of course, that meant Yang got in twice as much trouble, but it was worth it!  Usually.

Hearing the dorm door open, she nodded in that direction and moved out of Ruby’s way.

“Hey Weiss!” Ruby said, hopping over to Weiss’ side as soon as she re-entered the room.  “Can we go collect those plants today?  The ones for class?”

“If you want to -”

“And maybe we can bring some snacks and have a picnic in the woods!” Ruby added with a big smile.  For a second, Weiss was confused by the suggestion, but eventually she shook her head and smiled.

“If that’s what you want to do,” she replied, emptying out Ruby’s (already mostly empty) backpack before handing it over.  Through that unspoken action, Ruby quickly opened the bag and began filling it with snacks from her overflowing ‘snack drawer.’

While Ruby did that, Yang shook her head in disbelief at the mellow interaction.  It was remarkable how willingly Weiss went along with Ruby’s suggestions.  If Yang floated that idea, it would be shot down in a blaze of burning fury.  When Ruby made the suggestion, Weiss agreed and actually looked happy about it.

What did Ruby know that Yang didn't?  Maybe she could teach Yang a thing or two...but first - Operation Birthday!

“See you later!” Yang said, waving Ruby and Weiss out of the room and closing the door behind them.  Turning around, she looked at the empty room with a satisfied smile.  

What better way to spend the day than in a quiet room, curled up in bed with a new book?  

Yang could think of a lot of other ways she’d rather spend the day, but it wasn’t her birthday.  Instead, she tossed some magazines onto her bed so she’d have something to flip through (quietly) while Blake focused on her new book.

Hearing the bathroom door open, she turned and smiled as Blake walked into the room.  Blake, however, looked around in confusion.

“Where’d they go?” she asked while walking to her bed.

“They went to work on Professor Oobleck’s project,” Yang replied with a grin as her excitement grew.  She loved giving presents.  “They’ll be gone all morning, so we get the room to ourselves!”

The response caught Blake’s full attention, her amber eyes fixating on Yang.

“Really?” she asked, and Yang heard the slightest bit of excitement in the response.  Part one was a success - Blake was silently thrilled to have a quiet day for reading.  Now for the best part...

“Yup!” Yang answered with a nod.  “And, to make your day even better -” Opening her desk drawer and pulling out the hastily-wrapped book, she extended it to Blake with a smile.  “This is for you.”

It probably didn’t look like a birthday gift since she’d used regular paper to wrap it (she found the book but no wrapping paper on Beacons grounds), but she drew cute purple hearts on it to make it more festive!  

Or the hearts made it more confusing, because Blake turned the gift over in her hands several times before finally pulling at the paper to unwrap it.  And, since Yang was such a good gift-wrapper, the paper fell away in one piece and left the book laying in Blake’s hands.

“What?” was Blake’s first response as she met Yang’s gaze.  “What’s this for?”

One thing Yang failed to consider was if Blake had ever received birthday gifts - maybe that wasn’t something Blake’s family did?  Or maybe she’d forgotten that people give gifts for birthdays?  Yang knew the past few years hadn’t been a walk in the park for Blake, and birthdays probably weren’t a huge deal when living on the other side of the law, so maybe she’d forgotten the tradition?

“It’s a present for your birthday!” Yang explained with a smile, but Blake continued to look confused.

“My birthday?”

“Yeah!  I know you didn’t want to make a big deal of it or anything, but I found your Beacon application when I had to file all that stuff and couldn’t not do something to celebrate!  So I got you this new book and an empty room to read it in.”  Pausing her hasty explanation, Yang waved a hand around the room before adding, “Well, almost empty room…”

Blake’s gaze followed the path of Yang’s hand before understanding dawned in her eyes.  With a smile, she looked at Yang and shook her head.

“Today’s not my birthday, Yang.”

“Uh, but -”

“l made up almost everything on the application,” Blake added, her amusement growing while Yang’s confusion did.  “I think only my name was correct.”

While Blake patiently waited, Yang raced through about a thousand questions until finally stumbling over one.

“But why would you do that?”

“l don’t know...because I didn’t want someone snooping through files to find out everything about me?” Blake replied, looking fairly smug at how this had turned out.  “Thank you though.  This is very sweet of you,” she added, holding up the book and smiling.  

The compliment warmed Yang’s cheeks, and she ran a hand through her hair before letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Oh, well...you’re welcome,” she replied, still not completely sure what had just happened but going with the flow.  “I know Weiss tries to have that whole ‘best partner’ thing on lock, but I like to think I can give her a run for her money.”

Yang hoped for a response - something to say she was doing ok as a partner.  She really wanted to be doing ok, but it was hard to tell sometimes. She was either doing ok or royally messing up.

Instead of saying anything, Blake reached out and pulled Yang into a gentle hug - which was the best answer she could’ve ever hoped for.

“You’re the best partner for me,” Blake whispered before pulling away with another smile.  

Yang smiled on cue, thrilled that her not-birthday birthday gift went over so well - and ecstatic that she wasn’t failing miserably as a partner.  They were still learning more about each other and finding new ways to work together, but she couldn’t be happier with the person she was spending the next few years with.

“Wait,” she said when a thought popped into her head.  “When is your actual birthday?”

Blake’s smile instantly turned into a smirk.  

“Can’t you find out?”

Blake’s eyes dancing in delight while Yang scoffed at the subtle challenge.

“Of course I can,” she replied, trying to sound confident even though she wasn’t.  Blake knew it too - she gave Yang one of those looks before sitting down on her bed and flipping open her new book.

While Blake lost herself in the words on the page, Yang tried to think of a way to find Blake’s real birthday.  If she hadn’t put it on the Beacon application...where could it possibly be?

Operation Figure Out Blake’s Birthday was about to commence.

Sneaking another peek at Blake - who already had a content smile tugging at her lips - Yang knew she’d be spending a lot of time trying to pry the information from Blake’s steel trap of a mind.  When that was unsuccessful - which it would inevitably be - well...they could always celebrate on this day again next year.

Maybe she could convince Blake to tell her as a graduation gift...

[firecrcker]

REALLY  LONG  CHARACTER SURVEY.

  RULES.  repost ,   don’t  reblog  !    tag  10 !good  luck  !   TAGGED. @xgambolshroud   TAGGING. Look I can’t put pressure on anybody else to go through this but please please please take it and say I tagged you if you want to! I don’t mind! (plus then I get to read everyone else’s)

BASICS.

FULL  NAME :   Yang Xiao Long NICKNAME : Blondie, Firecracker, Sunny Little Dragon AGE :   17/18 (verse dependent) BIRTHDAY :   15th April ETHNIC  GROUP :   Mixed – Chinese/Caucasian (or, y’know, Remnant equivalent) NATIONALITY :   From Patch LANGUAGE / S :  English SEXUAL  ORIENTATION :   Bisexual ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION : Biromantic RELATIONSHIP  STATUS :   Single CLASS : Middle Class? HOME  TOWN / AREA : Patch CURRENT  HOME : Patch PROFESSION :   Huntress

PHYSICAL.

HAIR :  Long, blonde, stupidly thick and a little wavy in parts EYES :  Lilac/red NOSE :  Small, round, kind of flat FACE :  Round, soft LIPS :  Full COMPLEXION : Tanned BLEMISHES :  Freckles, probably a few moles SCARS :  I guess her arm counts? TATTOOS :  None, but she’d get one HEIGHT :  5′8″ WEIGHT :  150 lbs ish BUILD :  Pretty muscular, toned FEATURES :  Nothing I can think of! ALLERGIES :  None USUAL  HAIR  STYLE :  Loose, unstyled USUAL  FACE  LOOK :  Either smug or with a big goofy grin, there’s no in between USUAL  CLOTHING :  Casual; orange racer back vest, baggy pants, plain white trainers

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S :  Abandonment, betrayal… spiders… ASPIRATION / S :  To have a good time and maybe help some people possibly POSITIVE  TRAITS :  Kind, funny, protective NEGATIVE  TRAITS : Short tempered, moody, blunt MBTI :   Hmm… ESFP ZODIAC :   Aries TEMPERAMENT :  Sanguine SOUL  TYPE / S :   Warrior ANIMALS :  One dog - Zwei VICE  HABIT / S :   None? FAITH : None GHOSTS ? :  Maybe AFTERLIFE ? :   Unlikely REINCARNATION ? :  Unlikely ALIENS ? :  Maybe POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT :   Probably liberal ECONOMIC  PREFERENCE :  If you asked her this she’d just stare at you blankly so that SOCIOPOLITICAL  POSITION :  L…liberal? EDUCATION  LEVEL :  Nearly finished her first year of Beacon but not quite

FAMILY.

FATHER :  Taiyang Xiao Long MOTHER : Technically Raven Branwen but she considers Summer Rose her mother more than anything SIBLINGS : Ruby Rose EXTENDED FAMILY :  n/a NAME MEANING / S :  Little light dragon HISTORICAL  CONNECTION ? :  Uhh Goldilocks?? Otherwise nothing really.

FAVORITES.

BOOKS :  Thrillers, fantasy MOVIE :  Action, thrillers, superhero films, romcoms 5  SONGS :   I’m gonna just list some songs that make me think of Yang because she’s into everything:

Calendar Girl – Stars

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

Yellow Flicker Beat – Lorde

Make Them Gold – CHVRCHES

Alpha Dog – Fall Out Boy

DEITY :  Probably thinks Dionysius is kinda funny idk HOLIDAY :  Christmas MONTH :  July SEASON :  Summer PLACE :  Her garden in Patch WEATHER :  Hot - no clouds, lots of sunshine SOUND :  Good music SCENT / S :   Gasoline, baking TASTE / S :  God probably just any type of meat and also chocolate FEEL / S :  Leather, metal ANIMAL / S :  Dogs, birds NUMBER :  7 COLORS : Yellow and orange

EXTRA.

TALENTS : Punching things, engineering, driving, socialising BAD  AT :  Studying, paying attention, tactics, taking things in moderation TURN  ONS :  Just generally keep her entertained/interested, friendly teasing, etc.  TURN  OFFS : Putting too much pressure on her, being overly clingy, etc. HOBBIES : Riding her bike, training, hanging out with friends   TROPES :   Red Eyes Take Warning, Missing Mom, Boisterous Bruiser, Good Is Not Soft, Pungeon Master, Big Sister Instinct, etc. AESTHETIC  TAGS :  Yellow, motorbikes, sunflowers, glitter QUOTES :   “Instead of ‘sweetheart’, you can just call me ‘sir’”, “Nailed it!”, “You better not go easy on me”, etc.

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC / S :  n/a ALT  FC / S : n/a OLDER  FC / S :   n/a YOUNGER  FC / S :   n/a VOICE  CLAIM / S :  n/a GENDERBENT  FC / S :  n/a

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :   if  you  could  write  your  character  your  way  in  their  own movie ,   what  would  it  be  called ,  what  style  would  it  be filmed  in ,  and  what  would  it  be  about ?           A1 :  I don’t know what name, but I’d go with South Korean revenge cinema and have her defeat all the people who hurt her and her friends. I mean maybe not as gory. But then I like gore so maybe yes as gory. Idk. Q2 :   what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like ?          A2 :  She already has music so, that.  Q3 :   why  did  you  start  writing  this  character ?           A3 :  I write a lot of fanfiction but sometimes it just takes too long and it can be pretty sad just writing by yourself so like two weeks ago I decided to give RPing a try.   Q4 :   what  first  attracted  you  to  this  character ?           A4 :   I’m weak for soft-but-tough characters who joke away their problems to keep their loved ones happy. Q5 :   describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse.           A5 :   I’m still really distressed that she didn’t tell Ruby she loved her before she left like it still makes me cry (seriously) Yang why didn’t you take the time to say that Q6 :   what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse ?           A6 : My little sister is my best friend, I’m (kind of) strong and have had a fair amount of fights, my sense of humour is stupid, and I’m better at talking about other people’s feelings than my own. Q7 :   how  does  your  muse  feel  about  you ?           A7 :  She’d probably think I was boring and try to make me do fun/risky stuff, but we’d probably bond over partying at least. Q8 :   what  characters  does  your  muse  have  interesting  interactions  with ?         A8 :   I’m not just saying this but honestly everyone I’ve RPed with on this blog has been really interesting so, all of you. I’d like to interact with more villains though. Q9 :   what  gives  you  inspiration  to  write  your  muse ?         A9 :   I don’t know! I just have inspiration atm.  Q10 :   how  long  did  this  take  you  to  complete ?           A10 :  I feel like I’ve been doing this since the beginning of time

[rwbyremnants]

Warnings: wrapped present girl, light bondage, nipple play, fellatio, condom sex, cowgirl, first time, caught together, thrown out, hot chocolate

NOTE: Another leap forward in time to the final chapter of this fic. And a few pages in, there’s a Ten Little Roosters reference for those of you who can spot it.

And that wraps up this holiday special (published at the completely wrong time of the year lmao). Thanks for coming along on this silly little ride, we hope you enjoyed it! We're going to be rolling out some new stuff soon, we promise!

-NBW

=Chapter 7

Unlike last year’s Spin The Blade debacle, Ruby had insisted that the team should have a quieter Dustmas Eve this year. One that involved cuddling up by a warm roasting fire, with a few snacks and quiet conversation. Ruby and Yang's father, Taiyang, had already headed up to bed, tired after a long day of working, and partially to allow the girls privacy.

But as the fire began to die down, there were two groups cuddling together. Ruby and Blake were under a blanket one side of the sofa, Weiss and Yang were at the other. But Weiss wasn't exactly happy with Yang's decision to snuggle her head against the top of hers.

"Do you mind, Xiao Long?" Weiss was grumbling as quietly as she could. Of course, Blake and Ruby could still easily hear her. "This is awkward, and I'm feeling rather warm."

"Oh come on, you really complaining?" she asked, wrapping her arms around the much smaller woman as she pulled her in even closer to snuggle. "Loosen up, Ice Queen."

The flailing of Weiss's small feet against the couch could be felt by all four of them. "I will not loosen up! How dare you simply assume I want to cuddle!"

"Soooo you want to sit on your own?" she demanded, opening her arms completely in a test to see if she would leave after all.

"It's like watching an old married couple," Blake whispered into Ruby's ear, pulling her in closer while they were distracted.

"Yeah," Ruby snickered. "Weiss is such a grumpy old lady in disguise."

"You jerk," Weiss grumbled as she settled against Yang again. "Just because I don't mind sitting next to you is no excuse for you to take all these liberties."

Soon enough, Yang just cuddled into Weiss once again, whispering into her ear, "You didn't mind it last Dustmas before we went to sleep…" Of course, it wasn't a volume which either of the two would hear, but it was enough to make the girl beneath her blush to the high heavens. But she wasn't distracted from the other two for too long. "And look at you two, all cozy over there."

"Hm?" Ruby said innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Yang? Aren't they always cuddly like that? It's because Ruby's such a cuddler; she even tries to rope me into it on occasion."

"Yeah, but those two seem extra cuddly. Like, couple -cuddly."

"Your point?" Blake asked, tilting her head.

"Rubes and Blakey sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

The sing-song teasing made Blake blush heavily, even enough to back away from Ruby very slightly. Yang may have been joking, but there was no way she wanted to risk being found out.

"Yang, don't be a jerk!" Ruby snapped with a slight pout. "It's cold in here and Blake's warm, okay?" Already she looked sad to be robbed of her teammate's closeness.

"So go sit in front of the fire," Weiss said offhandedly. "No big deal."

"What if I don't want to sit by the fire?!"

"Weeeeiiiiss, she wants to sit with her girlfriend , can't you tell?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Blake shouted in response, once again blushing madly. It was true they weren't officially an item, but with the amount the two cuddled together and how much they had done, it was fairly obvious. But if Yang knew for sure that they were fooling around, she may as well write out her will there and then.

"Wow, thanks for sounding so grossed out by the idea," Ruby muttered glumly.

"W-What? I didn't- that’s not what I… can I actually win here?"

"Nope,” Yang snorted. “Welcome to dating, pussycat!"

With a reluctant sigh, her head just rested on top of Ruby's head, blowing a few stray strands away. "I didn't say we were dating!" Ruby snapped at her sister.

"OooOOOOooohh, someone is touchy!" Yang continued to tease, leaning back against the sofa as she gazed over at the clock. It was close to midnight. "Anyway, it's pretty much time for bed. Will you two lovebirds be both sleeping down here again, or should I set up the spare room?"

But Blake just looked back down to Ruby again. If she requested to sleep in the same room as her now, it would be too suspicious. And there wasn't any way she wanted to share a room with Weiss. "I'll take the sofa. That way we all get some privacy."

"No, I'll take the sofa," Ruby insisted. "You can sleep with Weiss, and Yang can sleep by HERSELF!"

"What? But I…" Then the heiress's cheeks pinkened slightly. "I mean, yes, of course! Wh-what possible reason would I have for finding fault with that arrangement? It's not as if I'd want to sleep with Yang, or anything!"

"Oh, thanks." Yang teased, finally shuffling around so she could stand up again, stretching her arms over her head as she yawned loudly. "Well, looks like you got a room, Blake; I'm sure Ruby won't mind you taking her bed."

"Yep!" Ruby said brightly. "That's- hey, wait, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Don't worry," Weiss breathed as quietly as she could to Yang. "As soon as Blake's asleep I can slip away." The blonde left a quick wink at her friend, before she headed upstairs with the other two.

Of course, Blake looked back toward Ruby before she followed them upstairs. All she wished was that she could slip away easily to stay down with her, much like the previous Dustmas. But it seemed that was more difficult this year.

"Don't look so down," Ruby hissed as she approached the staircase. "We'll have the morning, too, right?"

"Yeah. Till the morning." She gave one last smile, before turning to head upstairs.

----------------------------------------------------

Just as they had arranged, Yang had her room, Weiss took the spare, and Blake had taken Ruby's room. Which was unfortunately Zwei's room of choice to sleep in also. She had gotten used to the little mutt by now, but when a dog was snoring most of the night it was difficult to relax. Every now and again, she found herself looking back to her scroll to check what time it was, since she couldn’t sleep. That was until around 1:30, when she received something more than the time.

RUBY: It's technically Dustmas morning now so come down and unwrap your present < 3

At that, Blake perked back up again. Unwrap a present this early? Or did Ruby mean other things? The two had become more and more adventurous in their escapades in the months after the gym incident. There was Blake's birthday, when Ruby insisted she was a flavour of ice cream for her to savour, and following that plenty of other moments when they had been alone and took full advantage. Maybe she could expect more of the same.

One way to find out. Tying her robe around herself, she slipped by Weiss's room and crept downstairs. And when she finally saw her present laying under the bush, she stopped in her tracks.

There, splayed reclining beneath the Dustmas Bush, lit by the flickering fireplace, was Ruby – and she was dressed in a way Blake had never seen. Almost entirely nude, other than numerous red and green ribbons encompassing her nubile flesh. How she had tied her own arms behind her back was a complete mystery. Three large bows covered three very specific areas. Her face was flushed with both effort and anticipation as she watched Blake descend.

"Oh… my… Dust ." Her face immediately matched the same red as on the ribbons covering her body, whilst her breath hitched in surprise. Part of her wanted to take a photo, to save this memory forever. But that would be crude. Not wanting to keep her friend waiting, she crouched down by her side, speechless as she looked down her figure.

"M-merry Dustmas, Blake," she breathed, voice literally quavering as she squirmed ever so slightly. "Um… I hope you l-like what I got you."

"You look… I-I have no words." All she could do was keep drinking in the image. All of the ribbons were tied wonderfully, let alone the bows hiding various parts of her. "Do I have to unwrap it? Part of me wants to keep you like this."

"You can do whatever you want; it's your present." Her silver eyes flicked down to the way the hand in which Blake was holding her scroll kept twitching. "Even t-take a picture? Of course, I don't know why you'd want one of me anyway, but I mean it – anything you want, go for it."

"First thing’s first…" She leant forward toward Ruby's face, capturing her lips with her own, kneading at them and seeking out her tongue with her own rather quickly. Her hands couldn't resist, running up and over the smooth curves of her body, resting on her behind to squeeze the cheek she found there.

Ruby gasped quietly against Blake's lips when she felt the squeeze but put up no fight, suckling the bottom lip to show her clear encouragement. With her arms behind her, there was little else she could do except open herself up as much as possible to her lover's advances. It had been a huge change for Ruby the past few months. She had grown a lot more confident in the bedroom, allowing Blake's advances in many different ways. Touching, licking, even both at the same time on one occasion.

There was only one thing that they hadn't done yet.

"Ruby…" Blake finally parted their lips, looking back into the soft silver eyes below her. "I-I know you and I have been doing this kind of thing a while… so I was wondering, if you think we're both ready to… take things further. If you say ‘no’, I will completely understand; it’s just a thought."

If Blake had been expecting more resistance or shying away, she was stunned when Ruby simply nodded and smiled. "Didn't I say you can have whatever you want? You have two sets of ears, right? Or are they all plugged up with wax?"

The ears in question twitched repeatedly to show they were working perfectly, and it even coaxed a giggle out of their owner. But she had to be sure. "Y-you definitely know what I mean, right? Before do this?"

"I do." Gulping, she shifted back and forth on the floor before saying, "I'd show you with my fingers if I wasn't kinda tied up right now. But… yeah, Blake. I think we're ready."

"Alright. But first…" The hands moved to the small bows she had placed on on her breasts, pushing them away so she could place her lips there instead. "I'm gonna play with my gift."

"Mmhhh," Ruby sighed happily. Initially, she had been unable to weather the feeling of Blake teasing those parts of her anatomy, but now she welcomed the lesser stimulation, relished each feeling. She regretted the absence of the bows, for she felt they made her modest assets look much larger than they truly were. No matter.

Blake on the other hand adored them. They were just big enough for her to get her hand around and squeeze gently. Which she did so with one of her hands. The other breast gained her mouth’s attention, lips continuously kissing at the soft peak while her tongue made slow circles around it.

Now that the teasing was increasing, Ruby's wriggling became slightly more pronounced. Cheeks rosy and stomach fluttering, she tried not to think about how her nipples were hardening at Blake's attentions, about how little she was wearing. If she thought about it too much, she would get hopelessly aroused. Perhaps that had been the point of presenting herself this way, but there was no sense hurrying to the finish line.

Teasing further, Blake’s teeth flared out to gently nip at the delicate peak below her mouth as her tongue continuously lapped at her, and a hand wandered down to the many ribbons around her, moving them aside to unwrap her gift. Of course, the side effect of all this was herself getting more and more aroused by her side. And her length was already very nearly as hard as it ever had been.

The wandering hands were also spurring on Ruby's heat, but she was determined to be the gift she had told herself she was tonight. To stay still and allow Blake to do whatever she wanted, not to do things in return, not to make demands or force her own agenda. This was all for her lover.

Drawing her lips away from the soft peak, the Faunus glanced up at her again. As much as having her bound was wonderful for her to see, she wanted nothing more but to embrace her for what she planned to do next. And she was sure that was what Ruby would want as well.

"Ruby…" She sighed, reaching behind her back to get to the ribbons keeping her hands together. With a quick pull, it soon released her from her bonds, so she could hold her closely. "I know you said for me to do anything I wanted, but I want to be absolutely sure this is what you want as well. Do you want to be with me tonight? Completely?"

"Of course." There wasn't the barest moment of hesitation, no flicker of uncertainty. Ever since Ruby had the idea a couple of weeks previously, she had been contemplating it daily, However, she didn't think Blake needed to hear about all of her internal strife. "It's what I've been wanting for a while now. I just… wasn't ready for it. Does that make sense?"

"It does. And if you're ready, then I am." There was another smile full of affection, and then, realising something they had been missing in all previous ventures, she looked down to her length. "Well… I'm almost ready."

Tracing her hands up and over the nightgown covering Blake's back, she whispered, "Almost? Anything I can do to help? Hands, mouth… thighs? Feet? Elbows?"

"Elbows?! No, not any of that." Putting her hand into her pocket, she then pulled out a small square packet, containing what looked like some form of ring. "Surely your father or your sister has covered safe sex and all that?"

"Y-yeah," Ruby whispered with a slight blush. "Dad tried, but um, he just ended up talking about schneeball and butterflies, and I didn't understand any of it until Yang straightened me out later." Her eyes flicked between the packet and Blake's face. "Sh-should I put it on you?"

"I-If you want to. I can do it myself if you'd prefer." This really was Blake's first time; things had never developed further with Adam, and she had been too burned to date again after that. What did people usually do and say in this situation? Was the condom something the 'man' should do themselves, or another thing they could both enjoy? If anything it was more strange that she required one.

Perhaps Ruby wasn't always the most observant person, but this time she could definitely perceive her girlfriend’s old shame about her atypical sex. Shifting around, she whispered, "Let me up and I'll get it, okay? I tried it one time before."

"Tried one ti- huh?!" Though she still obeyed, rolling aside to allow Ruby to get back up again. “With who?”

"On a banana," Ruby laughed as she carefully swung her legs to the side, trying not to tear the ribbons still binding them together. "Yang told me about them, so when I found one a couple months later in her room, I tried it on a banana – just to see if I could figure out how to put it on. Wasn't so hard." Then she held out a hand for the condom as she crouched over Blake's lap, one hand lightly falling atop the bulge behind her pyjamas.

"Oh, right. Why am I not surprised Yang leaves those lying around?" Truth be told, that was in fact who she managed to sneak one from, after an event of trying to find something in Yang's drawers and coming across her stash of them. But Ruby coming across it out in the open was another level of negligence. Still, that wasn’t important right now. Blake opened her gown enough to expose her underwear, and then went to lower them enough to allow Ruby access.

"Not like that tonight." Kissing the outside of the underwear and allowing her lips to press against what lay beneath, Ruby hooked her fingers over the waistband and began to draw them down. "Is it weird that I want you totally naked? Am I weird?"

"No! Not at all… actually, it’s kind of n- kind of nice." As Ruby worked away below, she undid the small ribbon on her dressing gown, letting it fall from her shoulders and down her back. But as Ruby was pulling at her underwear away, she wiggled her backside to try and shake them down further. "Your wish is my command."

After slipping them past Blake's ankles, Ruby slowly inched her way forward again until she was crouching over the throbbing sex, now exposed to the air. The light scent of arousal came from its tip as she bent to inspect it, hand caressing, a quiet humming from deep in her throat as she looked it over.

"My favourite banana," she commented. There was an embarrassed groan from her girlfriend as she quickly covered her now crimson face. She couldn't deny that Ruby's touch was her favourite thing to feel upon it. But how much better would that feel when their bodies were joining?

Soft lips wrapped around the end as Ruby again drew it into her mouth, already bobbing her head slightly. As she did so, she felt it grow in length and hardness, coming that last little bit to full arousal.

"Oohh…" Leaning her head back in pleasure, she let out a small content moan. Her free hand soon slid into Ruby's hair, lightly scratching over her scalp.

After a few experimental movements, the hand fell away and Ruby was fully enveloping Blake with her mouth and throat, leaving both hands free to paw at and stimulate her inner thighs, soft balls, hindcheeks. The moans coming from her partner made her moan against the thick flesh inside of her head in answer.

"Ah! Ah! R-Ruby!" It seemed to be something Ruby really enjoyed doing! Quite often the method of bringing her to climax consisted of the younger girl almost swallowing her sex. And the more they had continued to practice, the better she had become. But there was a downside to her heightened skills. "Y-You're gonna- ah! - gonna finish me before we s-start!"

"Sorry!" Ruby said as she jerked the slick member from inside of her throat. "What can I say? I like the taste!" Her head ducked slightly in shame, hoping Blake wasn't too mad. Her eagerness to please had nearly made the entire point of her gift irrelevant!

"Y-You… you're too good at that." She sighed, reaching forward to hug her friend closely, feeling her throbbing need grind against soft skin. It took her a short moment to catch her breath again, in which time she reached down to the hand which Ruby was holding the condom. "Shall we?"

Nodding, Ruby kissed Blake gently on the cheek before she returned to the lap and took just the very tip of Blake’s cock between her lips as she slit open the packet, teasing the miniscule opening with the tip of her tongue. It seemed that even doing her best to abstain, she wasn't above cheating ever so slightly.

Not wishing to argue with her, Blake let out a higher-pitched whine from the too-sensitive teasing of that opening. Of course, warm lips were soon replaced with colder latex when she placed the item around her, pulling it downward to coat the entirety of her length. The sensation was different than what she had expected, but not enough to put her off. There were other things at hand to keep her ready.

Which soon she would be ready to experience for herself as she leant back fully, allowing her lover to mount her. It only felt fair for her to go at her own pace, to allow her full control, since Ruby was the younger and least experienced by a hair.

Ruby had just been drawing one of the fragile spheres into her mouth when she felt Blake leaning back. Letting it fall, she leaned up and shot her a questioning look.

"Aren't you… I mean, wasn't I gonna be the one on the bottom?"

"I wondered if you wanted to go at your pace, so you're comfortable." That was partially true. The other fact was that Blake was incredibly shy about initiating. As her hands finally fell to her legs to undo the ribbons, she looked back up to her. "I just want you to be happy, love."

"Of course I'm happy." Trailing her fingers through Blake's hair, she then eased her newly-freed legs apart while pushing her backward. "And… this is kinda sexy, you wanting me on top. I'm so much tinier than you. Are you sure?"

"Positive. You think it's sexy?" she asked, gazing up at the woman above her. From this angle, she had a marvellous view of her lover's gloriously full figure. Not only that, but it was one of her favourite things, to be topped – treated like the “lady”. It was the main reason Ruby most often was the one satisfying her, rather than the other way around. "Cause I really like it when you make me yours."

Instantly, Ruby was a blushing, tearful mess. Blake said things like that to her all the time lately, it was true, but they always flustered her even at the best of times. "Wh-why do you do that? How? "

However, the younger woman refused to let it deter the proceedings. Gazing along the smooth, milky flesh below her, the twin mountains and the thick girth she would soon straddle, she edged her ribbon-draped hips forward until her own heat was pressing against the thickness, eyes falling closed. Never had they come into contact with each other before in this way. Would she be able to handle all of it?

Blake's own eyes also fell closed. Unable to help herself, she pushed her hips upward, grinding the large length against the warm soft lips between Ruby's legs. It was indescribable to her how inviting it was. How much she craved to just force her way upward and into the soft body of her close friend.

But Ruby was in control, and the wait was making the actions feel even better.

"S-so warm."

Of course, Ruby did feel a slight amount of anxiety at the idea of what was about to happen. However, that was entirely to do with the act itself, not the person with whom she would be exploring. Making love. She knew she could trust Blake completely and that made the fear almost insignificant.

"It's about to get warmer," she told Blake softly. The words came out more as a hesitant whisper than the throaty, sultry promise she had intended, but she meant it all the same.

"Ruby…" A hand went up to the base of Ruby’s spine, holding her gently in place as she continued to grind her sex against the wet folds, the other journeying down to grasp her length again, ready to angle it inside of her. Then she sighed and looked up to meet her silvery eyes.

"I want you."

A bleary red smile was there waiting for her. "I w-want you, too, Blake. Take me."

And with that request, Ruby shifted forward just enough that her opening was pressing against the end of the firm arousal, her entire body trembling and rippling with gooseflesh in anticipation. Blake’s hands gradually brought her lover' hips closer, pushing her own arousal inside that of her lover’s. Instantly she was met with wet, tight heat enclosing around the head, a far different feeling then her mouth, despite it being a similar temperature in there. She was yet to witness Ruby’s reaction, so she tore her eyes away from the sight of their bodies uniting.

At first, Ruby's face was merely pained, eyes clenched shut, braced for any and all discomfort. Then, as she began to relax against the new presence inside of her, eyes and mouth flew open in surprise as she shivered from head to toe, speechless.

Blake was inside of her. A full year of teasing each other, of fooling around in stolen moments… they had come to this, and now she was both relieved that the waiting was over, and also excited for the next few moments to come.

"B-Blake!" she breathed, feeling one hand down along her stomach. "Y-you're…. it's filling me up!"

Her partner’s expression was almost that of a daze; eyes half-closed, mouth hanging open as the inviting opening took her further inside the body of her friend. "Yes," she sighed out, mouth hanging slightly open as she approached the point of no return. The process was slow, just to get her used to it, but there was only so much the Belladonna could do to avoid hurting her fragile lover above. Some pain was inevitable when she finally got there.

"NNNHHH!"

That was it. Ruby's body swayed atop Blake for a moment as she overcame the troublesome moment, heart pounding in her throat. But that was that; she truly had become a woman, and now no one could say otherwise.

"Ruby!" Before continuing any further, she placed one of her free hands on her arm, holding it tightly a moment to get her attention. "A-are you okay? Did I… I didn't hurt you did I?"

"N-not very much," Ruby panted. "It was… I'm fine." Blinking away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks, she beamed down at her partner. "You feel so good…"

"I do? You feel amazing!" She couldn't help but push herself upward even more with those words, trying to contain her excitement so as not to push too quickly or too hard. It was still the first time after all.

"Ah!" Ruby gasped as she felt the girth slipping even deeper inside of her. She found herself amazed that her body could accommodate the entire thing, but then again she truly felt they had been made for each other.

"Oh… Oh Ruby…" She moaned out once more, finding it impossible to say anything else now. Her hips met her lover's above; the entirety of her was inside Ruby! She didn't think it possible, not with how much smaller the girl was than herself, and yet she seemed to have taken it without any harm. If not for the moment of pain, she might have wondered if she practiced this with bananas, too.

"B-Blake!" Ruby began to chant every few seconds as her hips slapped downward against another set, thick skin forcing its way up and into her over and over again as she provided the energy, raising herself up and lowering again. It was so big! This felt good in a way completely different from the teasing tongues and fingertips that had found their way to the outside on previous occasions. This felt insane, satisfying.

This felt perfect.

Another moan fell from Blake’s lips as she grasped at her lover's behind for dear life. This time, she had to push up and into her with more force, meeting Ruby's hips each time they slapped down against hers. Tight, warm, wet. Even behind the initial coldness of the condom when she first put it on, the blazing body made up for it entirely.

"Th-this… hmah!" Ruby couldn't speak. She couldn't let her lover know that she was not only close, but that she was close to an entirely different kind of climax than she had known before. Both of her hands slid forward, one bracing against the ground and the other against Blake's shoulder as she began to force her hips down at a higher rate of speed. Something was about to be spectacular .

"Ah! Yes!!" Shit . Thanks to the previous attentions of the girl’s lips and tongue, she was already getting close, as well. When her lover had slammed her against the ground with even more pressure, she felt an even greater need to try and push up faster. To impress her even further as she was dominated. Of course, she was going as hard as she could already, but could feel the pleasure building beneath her stomach. "R-Ruby, I'm gonna- i-it’s gonna happen! In you!"

"Yes!" Ruby panted heavily, sweat rolling down her back and underneath the ribbons still hanging there, heart pounding in her chest. "M-me, too! It's gonna happen for me, too, Blake! D-do it! I… I want you to come in me!"

With that command, she shifted so that her hips would crash down against Blake harder than ever before, feeling her core heating up exponentially, tightening around her lover's rock-hard arousal until it felt like they were merging as one, friction making it impossible to distinguish herself from the other.

"Yeah! Yyyyeah – RUBY! NNNHH!" Having to bite her lip to keep herself from awakening the other girls upstairs, her grip tightened on the girl above her as she felt her own legs starting to tremble. Until finally, her sex began to throb, sending shot after shot of seed into the girl above her. Without that layer of protection, she would have been thoroughly painted on the inside.

The feeling of Blake loosing her seed was enough to send Ruby over the edge, and she let it happen, throwing her head back and growling through her teeth – as it was the only way she could keep herself from screaming. The climax had her entire body shaking as she felt something unlike anything she had ever experienced.

This was it: this was sex . Blake would forever be the one who kept her virginity, and she would keep Blake's. It was a sacred bond.

After a few minutes of panting, Ruby finally collapsed against Blake's chest and whispered, "S-so… was it… did you like it?"

Blake wrapped her arms around the woman above, cuddling against her closely to hide her blush. "Yes, of course," she confessed, kissing at the soft skin of her neck she had cuddled against. "I-I loved it. You were amazing."

"Really? I mean, there's supposed to be stuff you can do to make it better, like um… positions or techniques or whatever, but I don't know anything about those, a-and I was just so nervous about tonight that I didn't have the brainpower left to ask Yang or anybody about that kind of thing, s-so I wasn't sure if y-"

Her rambling was cut off by lips reaching up and pressing against her own, kneading against them softly and slowly in a deep, meaningful kiss. Blake had no energy to go for fast or intimate, so she strove to pour her heart and soul into their delicate embrace.

When Ruby pulled back several minutes later, she was sobbing with heavy tears rolling down her cheeks, face redder than a beetroot and trembling all over.

"Ruby?" Blake could only whisper, reaching a hand up to caress the cheek of her partner. One thumb brushed away a tear falling there. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yes?" she blubbered unconvincingly. "Just… it's a lot for some reason and I'm really happy, but… Blake, I don't know why I'm crying, what's wrong with me?"

"Hey, hey." The Faunus wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, bringing her closer into her to cuddle her closely. In comparison to Blake, Ruby was rather tiny, which made Blake often the one to cover her when they cuddled. But in a way, it was something Blake rather liked: to be her protector throughout everything. Be it Grimm attacks, sexual activities, or setting her own arm on fire thanks to a finicky stove.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Ruby. I'm sure if our positions were reversed, I'd be the same as well. And if I was a normal girl, we’d both be blubbery messes together."

Ruby's muffled voice replied, "Hey, you are normal. And at least you can handle yours and don't break down crying because you're the happiest you've ever been! This m-makes no sense! I just… I just love you so much, Blake!"

"Yeah, well it’s not all it’s cracked up to- wait. You… love me?" The words echoed through her mind. Even though she didn’t need to explore her feelings to know she loved Ruby just as much, she never truly believed anyone would feel for her in that way. Not in her life.

So she needed it confirmed. Looking into her lover's silver eyes once more, she asked again, "You really love me?"

Sniffling, Ruby nodded emphatically. The only sound that would come from her throat in that moment was an ugly, high-pitched whine. There were many more questions Blake felt she needed to ask. Why? How? When? All of which related to her paranoia about her own personality and body, instilled in her by an unkind man with a heart of coal. But Ruby had poured her soul out to her, despite all those issues. Time and time again, Ruby had shown she loved her, and with no guarantee of anything in return. Her feelings would have been rude to question any further.

But her own had to be shown. It was kept secret for too long.

"I love you, too, Ruby Rose."

"R-really?" Petting her hand along Blake's cat ears, she then grinned blearily and kissed the tip of her nose. "Th-thank you, I… gosh, I love you so much, a-and I'm so glad we're friends, Blake!"

"Yeah. Me, too. Actually… did you- okay this is going to sound stupid, especially after how close we've been this past year. But did you want to be more than friends? Officially?" Despite her denial of their relationship when Weiss and Yang were present, it only made sense. They already enjoyed being with each other more than with anyone else, and now had done the thing most couples do with one another; forged a sacred bond for life. It would be the logical option.

"Well, obviously we are, just… isn't friends the most important thing you can be with a person?"

"I meant girlfriend… If you wanted to be?"

Ruby tilted her head to one side. "I'm a girl and you're a girl, and we're friends, and we're girlfriends. Seems pretty simple to me."

"Okay, okay,” she laughed, pulling her in even closer for a moment. “So you wouldn't mind me calling you my little flower?"

"Flower? Me?! I'm not that flower-like, I don't think… why would you call me that?"

"Ruby Rose?" Though she had a point. Personality wise, Ruby was nothing like a flower. She was determined, jolly, energetic. The complete opposite. If anything, she more resembled Zwei in her personality.

"Oh." Blushing just a little more than she already was, Miss Rose whispered, "And, um… you can be my big flower, right, Belladonna?"

"Maybe. Or…" She quickly leant down to nip at her neck repeatedly, bringing her head up only once to say, "Your lioness. Always protecting you." And then she was back to nipping her neck again. Ruby let out a breathy laugh as her lover teased her neck with her teeth, grinning into her black mane.

"Mmhh… I don't know if I could handle a second time right now…"

"Uuuuuhhh…." She stopped a moment to look back down to her own sex. Which was completely asleep thanks to their earlier activities – and still wearing the condom at that. "Yeah, I think we'll just leave it at the once for tonight. I don't think I'd survive a round two, either."

"You'd survive, you're tough. But yeah, no point in pushing it." Kissing Blake's cheek gently, she whispered into one of her pink human ears, "Should we go get cleaned up a little before we go to sleep?"

"Good idea. Surviving round two is one thing, but I know I wouldn't survive whatever Yang would do if she found me like this with you. Or smelled the evidence in the morning." As much as she was joking, it was a fear of hers. Yang was her good friend; best friend even. The last thing she wanted to do was sneak behind her back, but it was the safest option.

“Yeah, you’re right. Really gonna make midnight showers a regular Dustmas tradition!”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

The grinning girl shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Nevermind. Just something I might wanna try next Dustmas… we’ll see.”

Shifting a moment to allow Ruby to get back up, she leant back upright to get the ribbons off her, and then reached for her clothes to fetch her underwear. It was a rather quick trip to the bathroom, relatively speaking. It was clear that Ruby felt the temptation to do things to Blake's glistening member when they tossed the used condom into the toilet, but she restrained herself and simply helped rinse it off in the shower. They didn’t dawdle overly, however, and were quickly back in the living room with Ruby perched on top of Blake again as they lay on the couch.

"I wasn't the only one giving presents today," Ruby breathed affectionately.

"I gave you wood for Dustmas?" she chuckled, tossing the thick wool throw over the top of them both, she nuzzled into the sofa to find the best position possible to sleep in, cuddling into the woman laying on top of her. Ruby had convinced her that she would be up far before Yang was. There was no way to convince her to get fully dressed and go upstairs just yet, no matter how often she tried to warn her this was not the wisest idea.

Not that she really minded. She couldn’t be upset with Ruby by her side.

"Are you really uncomfortable with me in my undies?" she whispered as they settled against each other. "I mean, I'd rather be like this, but if it makes you feel funny…"

"I would love to be in my undies with you. It's just…" Looking back up toward the stairs again, her ears tilted downward with worry. "You're sure you'll be up before Yang?"

"Definitely," she giggled. "You know she snores until noon if she can help it." Then Ruby kissed against Blake's neck as she began to drift off. "Thanks for making this the best Dustmas ever."

A small kiss landed on the top of Ruby's head as she nuzzled down into the soft sofa with her, beginning to close her eyes as she too drifted away.

"Thanks for making this the best year ever, Ruby."

----------------------------------------------------

"Oh for pity’s sake, Weiss," Yang muttered as she tried the door to the upstairs bathroom. As much as she wanted to have slept till noon, nature was calling her name. And thanks to a certain heiress's morning beauty regime, the upstairs bathroom was unavailable. There was only the downstairs half-bath.

Rushing down in only her bra and pyjama bottoms, she dashed across the living room and toward the other bathroom, not taking a moment to spare a glance to her sister before she went to relieve herself. That was so much better! Humming happily, she washed up and then left to head back upstairs and nap just a little bit longer.

However, the sight that greeted her when she made her way back toward her room was enough to stop her in her tracks.

In the middle of the night, the cover had fallen off the sofa, exposing the two girls together. Both of their legs were tangled in each others, and Ruby was in nothing but her underwear. At first, she didn’t know quite what to make of it – until the two shifted slightly, and Blake kissed Ruby's cheek.

"Morning, Big Flower," Ruby whispered to Blake with a telling smile. "Man, why is it so cold in here? Did the fire go out?"

The blonde's hands clenched into fists at the clearly intimate words. Already she could feel her blood beginning to boil as she stared at them both, vision going slightly red.

"Ruby," she snarled through gritted teeth – earning both of their attention. "Get, dressed, now."

"Huh?" Ruby attempted to turn enough to look at her sister, but she overcompensated and wound up falling off the couch and onto the floor, landing with an undignified thump. "OW!"

“Yang,” was all Blake managed to breathe, eyes wide as dinner plates now that they were open.

"Okay. That works." Once her little sister was out of the way, Yang leant over the sofa to grasp the cloth of her teammate's gown close to her neck. Which snapped her out of it completely.

"Y-Yang?!" But before she could react properly, she was being lifted up and off the sofa, reduced to a flailing mess as she tried to grasp her hands. "Yang, wait, please let me explain!"

"Not girlfriends, you said? So you're just screwing. Good to know." With the woman in her grasp, she was already headed for the front door with her.

"Yang?" Ruby breathed, scrambling to her feet. "W-wait, don't do-"

But Yang had already kicked the front door open. "Just taking out the TRASH!"

And with that final word, she threw tossed her teammate out of the house and into the freezing cold snow, hearing a rather loud mewl when she hit the ground. Before she could even get herself back up again, the door slammed shut behind her, and a rather triumphant looking blonde paced back toward the living room, dusting off her hands.

"YAAAAAAANG!" Ruby wailed, standing there with her fists clenched. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

"Mornin'." She continued to pat her hands against one another. The expression however still hadn't changed. It was probably the angriest she had ever seen the party girl – even counting the times she had her luxurious hair pulled. "I see you two had a good night."

"W-we…" Her cheeks started to flush with colour as she remembered, but she forced that away. "That's none of your business, Yang! Why did you throw Blake out of our house?!"

"That's a ‘yes’ then." She folded her arms as she glared at the younger girl. "Because when someone has their paws all over my baby sister, who is barely legal to do that kinda thing, I'm not gonna stand there and let it happen!"

"Well, too late! It already happened!"

Then Ruby threw her hands up to cover her mouth. Clearly it hadn't been her intention to so openly admit what had transpired the night before. Besides, even though she was pretty sure she was in the right for this current argument, Yang still looked beyond incensed. The once angry expression turned to surprise. The words came from her sister’s own mouth, the very ones she didn't want to hear. Her best friend! Her best friend had already claimed her little sister’s virginity right under her nose!

"…How long?" When there was no immediate reply, she pressed, “How long have you two been… y’know, doing this shit?”

"Long enough." Then she reconsidered. Yang looked hurt, even though Ruby couldn't figure out why. "Alright! Really, um, we've been kissing and stuff for about a year, but last night was the first… do we really have to talk about this?"

"She's had her paws all over you for a year?" Then the penny dropped further. "She's been doing this stuff with you before you were legal?!"

"It's not illegal to kiss and cuddle, Yang! Gosh, would you grow up already?!"

"Grow up?! Me grow up?!" Though quickly glancing upstairs, she then quelled her voice a little, stepping closer to her sister. "Do you have any idea what Dad would do if he found out about this? Being thrown into the snow is nothing compared to what he'd do to her!"

Straightening, Ruby puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips. "What would he do? Tell me I can't see Blake anymore because we like each other? You know Dad wouldn't be like that! For God's sake, he was married twice! He knows love can't be stopped just because my big sister’s all mad and stuff!"

"You're sixteen, Ruby, there is a huge difference!"

"I'm seventeen!" Ruby pressed. "Can't you even remember my age when you're being all judgey?!"

"It's still just… just…!" Unable to fathom the words together she merely yelled loudly before shoving her face into her hands. "It's just wrong! My baby sister and my best friend just… just feels so beyond wrong!"

"You don't think I felt this way when you and Weiss started sneaking around and kissing in broom closets? That it didn't make me a little sad that you two had this thing that I couldn't quite understand? I… I know it's hard, but you can't just throw people outside when they do something you don't like!"

"How did you know about-" But shaking her head, she looked back up to her sister again. She was right. Getting mad at her and Blake was rather hypocritical. Love was love, Yang knew that all too well. And though she had never told Ruby, even she was active in such ways when she was that age. Even though it was with boys in her case.

"I… listen. You're my baby sister , okay? I’m supposed to be protecting you! And even if she’s not a creep, like… Blake's my best friend! Battle partner! I don't want either of you two to get hurt! I don't want to end up in a situation when I have to choose between you both."

"Choose?" Falling quiet for a moment, Ruby seemed to realise where Yang was coming from. Nothing was certain; there might come a day when she and Blake would split up. If that happened, it wouldn't be easy for the blonde bombshell to side with one of them over the other.

"That's not for sure, though. Maybe we'll be fine, and you'll just have your best friend… be part of our family. Wouldn't you want that?"

Yang sighed once again, staring down at the floor as she started to realise where her sister was coming from. She was thinking about the bad so much that she was ignoring the possible good. "Yeah. Damn right – of course I would."

"We both like Blake, you dummy. I just like her… a little more than you thought I did, that's all. And I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but like, I was a little afraid of how you'd react." Ruby left that last bit hanging, waiting for Yang to connect the dots.

"Oh… well… wow. I'm an idiot." She held her hand behind her head in embarrassment. "Sorry, Rubes. Damn. I wish you both good luck, but… I'm gonna have to get used to this. I still feel like I wanna punch something."

Nodding, Ruby snatched the blanket from the floor and draped it around her sister’s shoulders. "We’ll get there. But just so you know, this really wasn't the way I wanted you to find out, though… I thought you would be up later like usual."

"That does sound like me,” she laughed weakly. “And I'm sorry for however you found out about Ice Queen and I… like, what tipped you off? We were so careful!"

“Oh, nah, it’s a funny story, actually,” Ruby piped up. “Remember that time Weiss was making a papier-mâché rooster? And you were supposed to-”

But almost as if purely because of the mention of her name, said Ice Queen let out a shrill scream from upstairs.

"Whoa, talk about timing," Ruby breathed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" came the shout as the bathroom door slammed open, Weiss backpedaling into view on the landing with a towel wrapped around herself, cheeks pink and expression livid.

“Weiss?!” Yang shouted in alarm.

When the other two finally ran up the stairs to see what was going on, they were met with a snow-coated Faunus hauling herself in through the open bathroom window, thankfully placed above the bath full of still-hot water that Weiss had left ready. She hadn't even had chance to get in herself, but already Blake had lowered herself into it, sighing contently at the heat.

"Warm… s-so warm…"

"HEY!" Weiss snapped, stomping to the edge of the tub. "That's my bathwater! Draw your own, you- you bath-thieving pervert!"

"N-N-Nope… Warm…" The ears tilted down in contentment as she sank lower into the water. There wasn't even an ounce of concern that it was soaking her pyjamas, neither was there any concern that the teammates were staring.

"Okay, I'll take the blame for this one,” Yang confessed, bringing Weiss in closer to her so Ruby couldn't see too much of the heiress. “I kinda threw her outside."

"You threw… wait, why would you do such a thing? And why would she climb in through my window?!"

"Ummm, because Yang locked the front door?" Ruby put in. “It is pretty cold out.”

Weiss looked between the three of them for a moment. "Am I missing something here? What on Remnant could Blake have done that would be deserving of getting kicked out of your home?"

"Uuuuhhh… well, now that I had a chance to really think about it… nothing." The blonde looked back toward her sister at that comment, smiling lightly to show that all was forgiven between them. “I’m just a big jerk. Sorry, Blake.”

“Mmhhhhh,” the poor frozen woman responded.

While Ruby was returning the smile and nodding with approval and gratitude, Weiss was blustering, "This is just fantastic! I take ten minutes to shave my legs and everyone else on my team takes complete leave of their senses!"

"Waaaaarm," Blake couldn't help but mutter one more time, before submerging her head for a short moment. Ruby grinned and flocked to her side, perching herself on the edge of the toilet and taking up Blake’s hand to hold. Blake gripped back, slitting an eye open to gaze back at her as they exchanged a private little smile.

“My big warm silly,” Ruby whispered.

"Sheesh,” Yang sighed with a shake of her head. “And I thought cats were supposed to hate water."

----------------------------------------------------

“Merry Dustmas!”

Ruby grinned up at her father as he passed out the hot cocoa to the four teammates. The black-haired Faunus was in fresh clothes, though an extra blanket was draped over her back in addition to the other one hiding their laps. “Merry Dustmas, Dad! Thanks!”

“My pleasure,” he hummed with a big grin, which offset his five o’clock shadow nicely. “You girls really livened up this house around the holidays; I thought it was just gonna be me and a big plate of convenience store sushi.”

“You’d get food poisoning,” Yang laughed as she snuggled up with Weiss under the big blanket. Luckily said blanket kept her father from seeing Weiss’s hand clasping hers.

“Nahhh.” Then he handed one to Blake. “And for you, Miss Belladonna.” “Thanks,” she whispered with a small smile as he left for the kitchen. Then she looked between the other three girls and whispered under her breath, “I feel… bad.”

“Yeah,” Ruby admitted with a long sigh. “Poor Dad; both his girls are super gay, and have super cute girlfriends – and we’re all in his house! And he doesn’t know he’s got potential new family people here!”

Weiss’s cheeks pinkened as she hid her face partially behind her mug. “H-hey! Quiet, you – that’s- d -don’t make such big assumptions!”

“Awww, isn’t she the cutest?” Yang cooed as she snuggled her way too much, causing them both to have to fight to keep their mugs upright.

Meanwhile, Blake turned her attention to the adorable brunette in her lap. The one with the big grin as she watched her sister and her teammate squabbling playfully at the other end of the couch. And she felt contentment settle over her like she had never known in her life. Too much time spent fighting for Faunus rights, the White Fang… but now, she had a new chapter in her life to look forward to. One by the side of the cutest girl at Beacon.

“Hm?” Ruby finally hummed when she looked up to see she was being observed.

“Oh, n-nothing,” she hedged with a warm grin of her own. They shared a quick kiss – too afraid of being caught by a certain parent to make it any longer than that – and then leaned their foreheads together. “Just happy.”

“Happy is good, Blake. I’m full of happy, too.”

Then a large serving platter was nudging Blake’s arm, distracting her from the smile-fest. Yang’s expression was a little manic, but she was trying to simply smile at her battle partner. “Dustmas cookie?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” she laughed as she and Ruby both took one apiece. “Thanks, Yang.”

“You got it. Better that you be nibbling one of these than nibbling anyth-”

“YANG!” Ruby burst out in exasperation. “Cut it out!”

“Just leave them alone!” Weiss added sternly.

“Whaaat? I didn’t even do anything!”

While the other two resumed their ceaseless bickering, Blake leaned her head against Ruby’s for another moment. “Merry Dustmas, Big Flower,” Ruby whispered up at her as they bumped their mugs into each other, cookies in their other hands ready to be enjoyed.

“And a very Merry Dustmas to you, too.”

THE END

~ Merry Dustmas ~