A/N
Rated M throughout, sex, swearing, violence, adult themes, drugs, etc.
Disclaimer: RWBY, the plot, characters, and settings all belong to Rooster Teeth and were created by the beloved Monty Oum. I do not own them. I merely borrowed these characters, and I will put them back exactly as I found them. Maybe a little worse for wear, but still all in one piece!
Prologue: Freezerburn Established
Bright shafts of sunlight blazed through the crack in the curtains, pushing warmth and light into Yang Xiao Long's plush bedroom. She stirred from her slumber, sensing the sunbeams as they reached her shared kingsize bed. The tall blonde's eyelids slowly opened to reveal her tranquil, amethyst eyes, and her arm twitched awake, disturbing the warm body it was resting on. Yang ran her hand over the curves and dips of the exquisite female form she was spooning, and nuzzled into ivory-white hair. She breathed in the sweet scent of luxurious shampoo and kissed the pale shoulder that was left exposed by the thick, duck-down duvet.
"Good morning."
Weiss Schnee moaned softly as she woke, basking in the heat radiated from the feisty brawler behind her. Her hazy half-dream was fleeting but she knew it was a happy one from the blissful smile on her face. She was naked, a remnant of their passionate night of lovemaking, and the memories of it floated to the forefront of her mind, replacing the dream entirely. Her celeste eyes were open as well, and she turned over in Yang's arms to face her.
"Happy anniversary, my darling." Weiss whispered, before placing a sweet kiss on Yang's lips.
"Mmmmm, happy anniversary, Princess." Yang kissed her wife, entwining the fingers of one hand together with Weiss' small, slender ones. She brought their hands up between them and placed them over her heart so that Weiss could feel the steady beat. "I love you so much." she said, while they shared a look that conveyed all the warmth, tenderness and deep fondness they felt for each other.
Weiss blessed her with a coy smile. "I love you more." Even after all this time, Weiss blushed as she said it. Yang just made her so content and complete. Words could not describe how thankful Weiss was that Yang said 'I do' at the altar and pledged her life to her. "I'm so happy you're my wife, Yang."
"Me too. I can't believe I get to wake up next to you. I want to do this every morning for the rest of our lives." Yang's voice was thick with emotion. Yang really meant it and she wanted Weiss to know it, she brushed her lips over the knuckles of their interlocked fingers. It was a testament to the strength of their undying bond that she allowed Weiss to see her this open and vulnerable.
Weiss used her free hand to sweep Yang's luscious blonde hair out of her face, and then affectionately stroked her cheek. "I made a promise on our wedding day that we would be together forever, so your wish is my command."
Yang closed her eyes to reminisce about that day, one of the best of her life, it brought a smile to her face and tears to her eyes. Their vows were beautiful, pure, and heartfelt, erasing the lives that they lead before that day, and starting anew, permanently joined as one soul instead of two. Weiss leaned over and gently kissed away the tear that dared to fall from between Yang's long eyelashes. The moment Weiss' lips touched her face, she was the happiest she had ever been, she trusted Weiss so entirely with all her heart, with her whole life, that it was perfectly acceptable for her to cry happy tears.
"I'm the luckiest woman in the world. I want to stay like this forever. I wish we could lie here all day and cuddle."
"Yang?"
"Yes, Princess?"
"It's all right, you can stop with the fluff now."
Yang exhaled in relief. "Thank fuck for that. Wasn't sure I was gonna be able to keep a straight face for another round of sappiness." she said with a chuckle.
"It'll never cease to amuse me when you do get mushy. It's very cute."
"Do you think we have time before-"
"Mama! Reza is pulling my hair again." Yennefer cried and came running in from the other room. A miniature Yang, although with shiny, ghost-like mercurial hair, bounded onto their bed and hid her face in the puffy duvet. Yang sighed and smiled, albeit a little exasperated, and Weiss copied her after rolling her eyes.
"Reza, don't pull your sister's hair, if you know what's good for you." Yang shouted to the open door.
"She started it, ma." came the faraway reply.
"Don't make me send your mom in there, she'll set you straight. Come here, Yen, let mama give you a big cuddle."
Yang grabbed the child and pulled her into a mama bear hug. The very same moment, a little boy, tall for his five years, appeared in the doorway, his face and posture making it clear that he was a Schnee. The only evidence of Xiao Long genes were represented in his hair which was as gold as his sister's was silver, but they both shared the same sharp sky blue eyes typical of the Schnees. He climbed on top of the huge bed and stumbled into Weiss' open and waiting arms. He snuggled into his mommy.
She kissed the top of his head on his golden locks. "Hey, baby, you've got a busy day today, are you looking forward to staying with Auntie Ruby and Auntie Blake for the weekend?"
He looked up at Weiss with a toothy grin on his adorable face. "Yeah, I love Auntie Ruby!"
"She'll be very pleased to hear that, make sure you tell her so."
"I will, mom."
Yen sat up and crawled over to Weiss, "Will Auntie Blake-y be grumpy again? Last time, she wouldn't read her book to us." She stuck her arms out asking for a cuddle.
Weiss curled her arm around her, and sat with both her children, one on each of her knees. "Well, she will be grumpy if you call her Auntie Blake-y. You know she told you to call her Blake."
"But it goes, because Auntie Blake-y and Auntie Ruby. It's perfect, see?"
Yang and Weiss couldn't help but laugh. "Kid logic, eh?"
"Did you make sure Ruby has the T-I-C-K-E-T-S to the T-H-E-M-E-P-A-R-K?"
The confused looks on her children's faces was confirmation that they had not understood Weiss spelling out the details of their impending adventure, but they knew it involved them somehow. "Yeah, she's very excited about it."
"What's she excited about?"
"You'll see." Weiss kissed Reza on his small nose. "I think this will be the first weekend off work that Ruby's had in more than a year."
"She doesn't consider being a Huntress as actual work though, it's what she was born to do."
"You don't think that you might've had a little something to do with it? You make bedtime stories very exciting for the kids. I can't imagine that it was any different when you told Ruby those stories. This one is already telling me she wants to become a Huntress like Auntie Ruby."
"Yeah, she told me too. She's a little badass just like me." The moment she said it, Yen slipped out from under Weiss' arm and toddled off the bed, landing noisily on the wooden flooring. She didn't cry in pain, she just stood up and shook it off before running out of the door. Yang and Weiss were not worried, their kids were pretty much made of rubber in that aspect, bouncy and hard to break.
"Yang, I shouldn't have to remind you not to swear in front of them. Next thing you know, they'll copy your bad habits."
"Auntie Blake-y says bad words like shit."
His mothers' mouths opened in surprise. "Reza! Don't say that word again."
"But Auntie Blake said it."
Weiss pulled him closer into a death grip hug and rubbed the top of his head. "Yes, well, Auntie Blake is a grown up and uses grown up words and her mommy isn't around to tell her off for saying them."
"Yeah, she told us not to tell you but Auntie Ruby said it would be funny if we did."
"Auntie Ruby has a strange sense of humour."
"You're not wrong. I'm looking forward to seeing her later, if only for a few minutes. I miss her when she's away and doesn't remember to call. I still haven't got used to not having to take care of her in a way."
Reza wriggled out of Weiss' arms and dashed after his sister. "Do you ever think about how it would've been if we had stayed on the team?"
Yang hesitated, the thought hadn't crossed her mind in months. "Yeah, sometimes, I guess. But I couldn't imagine life without those little scamps, or you, for that matter. Why, are you not happy being Chief Executive Officer in training of the Schnee Dust Company?"
"I always try to weigh up which would be harder, working for my father and one day running the business myself, or risking my life on a frequent basis, fighting unending battles facing vicious Grimm."
"Which do you choose?"
Weiss' eyebrows tensed briefly. "It changes depending on the mood my father is in."
"I'm 100% certain which one I'd pick. I knew I couldn't do the Huntress thing once those two arrived. I could never make them go through what Ruby and I had to suffer growing up. The older they get, the happier I am with my choice."
"You were always the most motherly figure amongst us. It suits you, being a mom. You could've so easily become the best Huntress in Remnant."
Yang gave Weiss a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, hon. That means a lot. But I think that title would go to Pyrrha or Ruby whether I became a Huntress or not."
"Oh, my. Pyrrha Nikos, I haven't thought about her in years. I wonder how she's doing since her wedding."
"She's got a bun in the oven."
Weiss' eyes opened wide. "No way!"
"Yep. First one. Saw the announcement on Scrollmates."
"Wow. Good for her. She'll be keeping her job as a Huntress though, I take it."
"Yeah, I think she will. But she mainly teaches at Beacon now, so it's not like she'll be in life threatening danger, like Ruby always manages to get caught up in."
Their conversation got interrupted, as it often was, by Weiss' scroll beeping and flashing on the bedside table. She sighed and picked it up, reading the incoming message with a terse look on her face.
"All good things must come to an end, I suppose." She huffed and climbed out of bed. Yang's eyes followed her body to the dresser. Weiss had picked up a thing or two from Yang over the years, and her muscles had hardened beneath her cream-coloured skin. She would never achieve the sheer size that Yang had, but her abs were just as visible, if not more so than Yang's. Seeing the progress that Weiss had made filled Yang with pride, not because she helped, but because Weiss' relentless determination did not allow her to quit.
Weiss pulled out a hanger from their closet, fresh from the dry cleaners. "You ok to watch the kids while I pop to the office?"
Yang's forehead scrunched up with worry. "I thought you said no work today."
"I'll be an hour, tops. Then I'm all yours, promise."
"You better be, because Ruby and Blake should be turning up around then and I don't want to waste a single child-free minute without you."
Weiss dressed herself in pristine business attire, the material was soft and luxurious, but Weiss felt as if she was suiting up for war. The armour was useless against her father's sometimes cruel and biting words, but it helped Weiss to change her frame of mind to the leadership required for the managerial role she undertook at the SDC. She brought her A-game every single day without fail, or her father would put her through the wringer. It had taken some getting used to, but she could snap in and out of her office persona at will, and looking the part was the trigger she used to get into Chief Analytical Officer mode. The only thing that could break her well put-together image was the goodbye kiss that she shared with Yang everyday before she left, that would always melt the ice she had built up around her heart.
Yang washed and dressed the kids. She whipped them up a healthy breakfast; eating her own pre-prepared food, while making theirs. She tuned the TV to the early morning cartoons and gave them their plates while she dashed upstairs to shower and change into something presentable. She tidied up a bit, not that she cared what Ruby and Blake thought of the state of their house, but she didn't want Yen and Reza to realise which toys they were not taking with them. Plus it made her feel good to have everything neat and orderly for when they all came back home after travelling, a little something that had rubbed off on her from Weiss over the years.
Yang's maternal instincts were strong, she was good at anticipating whatever her children may need at any given time, so she packed Yen's favourite book next to her bedtime milk cartons, and she wrapped Reza's cuddly bear in his blankie. He was such a big softie, but he was so clever and quick-witted. He was way ahead of his classmates in all aspects of learning due to his inquisitive nature and powerful observational skills. He was the older of the two by 14 minutes, but Yen was definitely the more daring one. She was always the first down the slide in playgrounds, and wanted to leap the highest and the furthest, jumping head-first into trouble whenever she had the opportunity. Yang felt the protective urge to hold her back, keep her safe inside a bubble, but she could never bring herself to constrain Yen in any way. So Yang kissed the boo boos and bandaged the scraped knees and elbows and patiently wiped the tears away, telling the child how brave she was over and over again. When the tears were all cleaned away, Yen looked a lot like Yang did at that age, apart from the hair, but her personality was almost a carbon copy of Ruby.
Yang was extremely proud of them, and loved them both in equal measure. It was impossible to choose a favourite. But the kids had chosen their favourite and it was Weiss. They always rushed to her side when she arrived home from work and loved talking to her at dinner, they unquestioningly obeyed her and behaved just that little bit better when she was present. Weiss assured Yang that it was because they did not see her all the time, that they loved Yang probably even more than they did her, but they had no idea how to show it due to being around her all day long. The day that Yen fell and split her head open and had to be rushed to hospital, Weiss had the chance to feel smug about her reasoning, but she was little preoccupied with one of her babies needing emergency surgery. When the doctors explained to Yen that she could only take one parent into the operating theatre for her stitches, she chose Yang without skipping a beat. That little hand squeezing hers with its whole strength as the doctors sewed up the deep gash on her scalp was all the love Yang needed to feel, and she stopped being envious of the cuddles and kisses they showered on Weiss. She finished up her chores and sat with them, watching cartoons, and soon enough, they leant on her, and she was content with that.
Chief Analytical Officer Weiss Schnee, shareholder, board member, and director of the Schnee Dust Company, pulled up to the office skyscraper on her sleek motorcycle. Yang had given her the keys to the Viper on her birthday last year and Weiss could not have received a better gift. Where Yang's bike was a heavy, noisy hog, her bike was a lean, sculpted wildcat, built for speed and manoeuvrability. She loved the way she could snake through traffic, jumping the queues, and then competed with cars at the stop lights. The frame was a custom carbon fibre alloy, very light and strong, and the engine was oversized for the smaller-than-average bike, and it made Weiss feel like she was riding an out-of-control rocket. To tame such a powerful beast exhilarated Weiss. She immensely enjoyed pushing her limits on the bike, carving the corners aggressively and testing out the acceleration in drag races.
She did not bother parking in her usual space since she was not staying long, and tossed the keys to the valet. She removed her helmet and shook out her hair. She had done away with the tight ponytail of her younger days to accommodate the helmet, and instead sported a chic single side-shave. It was an impulsive decision this one time at the hairdresser, but she revelled in the way her father had hated it from the moment he saw it, so she maintained the short cut as an act of defiance. She kept her shades on once inside, and rode the elevator to her office wearing her game face. It was the kind of look that meant business but also that she did not care either way. She avoided eye contact, otherwise she would be laden with several hours' worth of things to do that she did not intend, and merely nodded politely to her staff who greeted her as she walked by.
She made it to the safety of her office and shut the door behind her. She shed her leathers and phoned her secretary to have them field her calls and also to bring her the paperwork that her father wanted signed. She stayed late last night to review it for the umpteenth time, making sure it was all sound. As Chief Analytical Officer, a position that her father instated upon hiring her, Weiss was a huge decision-maker for the SDC, and she was responsible for the collection and processing of huge amounts of data and to then translate it into research and science-backed calculations that emphasised the return on potential investment. Her opinion mattered, and since she had the figures to back her up, her father, more often than not, listened to her. She had changed the course of the SDC from a greedy, ever-expanding conglomerate to an almost benevolent energy corporation with a large stake in the research and development of less labour-intensive ways of mining Dust.
Her proudest achievement so far was proving that happy staff are more productive staff and that lead to major improvements in the working conditions of all employees of the SDC, most notably the Faunus doing the risky business of extracting raw Dust from the ground, giving them a fair wage and health insurance, finally treating them like people. A lot of workers were freed from unlawful zero-hours contracts, and staff turnover was at its highest ever level since the incorporation of the company. Productivity dropped at first as a result, but it stabilised as the positions were filled by people who actually wanted the job. The upbeat morale of these new willing workers and the reshuffling of middle management helped to hit revenue targets like shooting fish in a barrel, and within a year revenue had doubled, and then again the next year. Rolling on from that great feat, she steered the PR machine to publicise the drastic overhaul of the working practises at the SDC. The stocks rose 40 points overnight, and the dividends paid out to the shareholders at the AGM, including herself and Yang, who was also a shareholder for tax purposes, covered Yen and Reza's school fees for the next five years.
Unfortunately, it was not all sunshine and rainbows, as she had to tackle the issues she had with the weapons manufacturing in which the SDC partook. The small saving grace of that was she could put her knowledge from her Huntress training to good use, and suggested designers that would make the weapons more efficient and deadly. The Atlas military ate it up like candy, and she received a massive bonus that paid for their house outright and the deposits of several high-value buy-to-let properties which they rented out to generate yet more income. Her father had been surprised but impressed with her investment decisions. All that, and she had directly increased the SDC's profit margin by 18.4% in a year, which made her father very pleased with her indeed.
Her latest project, or more accurately, one of her many current projects, was to bring some order to the chaos that was communication between the IT department and everything single other part of the business. Weiss knew enough about technology for her father to concede her superior knowledge in that particular area, and he was testing her diplomacy skills in the task he had given her. All the data indicated that the IT department experienced a bottleneck when receiving requests, and had many skilled service providers, but who were left idle as the details of problems were not passed to them correctly or at all. She had a few ideas of how to rectify this problem, refined them vigorously with her 12-strong team of senior analysts, and out of the results, she had cherry picked three options to consider. Weighing out the pros and cons of each had been agonising as they all came with their own merits and downfalls. Her one task today was to make the executive decision, and affect the lives of hundreds of staff members, some positive and some negative.
She put it off for a while, and read her email. She literally received hundreds of emails a day that required her attention, but many were fairly trivial and those she forwarded onto her secretary to deal with. That left a score of meaty messages that she could really sink her teeth into, and she began to draft replies, using erudite language befitting her job title, but she was not going to send them today. They could wait a weekend while it was her anniversary. She checked the motion sensitive clock on her Chronoscroll and the timepiece projected laser numbers on the back of her hand, it was nearly time to go back home to Yang. The thought of seeing her wife spurred her in action and she calmly chose the favourite of the plans laid out before her, signing her name to the document and having her secretary make copies and deliver it to the relevant board members.
As she stood up to go, the phone rang and she glared at the offending device, disgusted with it that it dare delay her. The small screen on the handset informed her that her father was calling. She groaned in annoyance but was obliged to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Good morning, Weiss." She relaxed, for once he did not sound stressed or angry which was a massive relief.
"Good morning, father. What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to wish you a happy anniversary. I hope you enjoy your weekend away." It was a nice thing to say, to give his regards and congratulate her on her anniversary, but she heard the edge in his voice. She knew it meant that her time away from the office was a begrudging privilege, not a right she was entitled to, and it would be some time before she would be able to leave again. When she returned, it would be back to gruelling 60-hour working weeks.
"Thanks, dad." she said flatly, not giving her father the satisfaction of knowing that she was affected by her heavy workload. She missed her family terribly, and truly cherished any moment she spent with them, but in the end, everything she did was for them, and she made sure they did not want for nothing. Yang had told her on many occasions that the most precious commodity she could give them was her time, so she did her best to have a lunch hour away from her desk, and spend it with Yang and the kids, or drop the kids off at daycare and have some scarce alone time with Yang. That was why she was so looking forward to the weekend, a whole two days with just her and the woman of her dreams, to spend as they desired. It would be paradise.
"If there's nothing else, I must go or I'll miss my flight."
"That's all I wanted to say. Really, I want you to have a good time. I'll speak to you on Monday."
"Thank you. See you Monday."
"Oh, and Weiss, you'll be available on your scroll, won't you?"
"Of course, father." she said, and bid him goodbye. She switched off her scroll's network link there and then, so she would be uncontactable. Smiling, she left her office, picked up her vehicle from the valet and sped home. As she turned into her driveway, she noticed Ruby and Blake approaching the porch. Her loud motor attracted their attention and they turned to her and waved as she dismounted her sport bike and removed her visored helmet. Ruby was on her like a shot, forcing an enormous bouquet of flowers into her hands, wrapping two lanky arms around her. Ruby had grown a lot since Beacon, as a person and also vertically. She was the same height as Blake now, who seemed much older and wiser than her ID card would suggest.
"Oh my god, Weiss! It's been so long! I love your hair, you shaved half of it off, it's freaking awesome."
"Thanks, Ruby." Weiss smiled over Ruby's shoulder, maybe Ruby had not changed that much. "I've missed you."
"Really?" Ruby leaned out of the hug in surprise.
"Of course, you dolt. I dare assume by your hyperactive display of affection that you missed me too." she said, and triggered Blake to snigger a bit. "Blake." Weiss made no more remark than that one simple name in acknowledgement of one of her dearest friends.
"Weiss." Blake nodded her head towards Weiss, and held up a magnum of Dom Pérignon. They let an awkward pause expand between them, but between such old friends nothing was really that awkward, and they dropped all their pretences and hugged it out. They let go and Weiss pulled out her keyring.
"Well, shall we?" She unlocked the door, but Ruby managed to get there first to open it.
"Hey, hey, guess who." Ruby sang as she opened the door.
"Auntie Ruby!" the children sang back.
"Hello, Reza. Is that really you? Look how big you are!" Ruby measured the top of his head in comparison to herself with her hand, and she gasped. "You've grown so much since I last saw you, what have they been feeding you?" She picked him up and swung him around before trapping him in a cuddle as he shrieked in delight. "Ugh, you're heavy too!"
Yen reached up to grab Blake's finger and tugged on it. "Auntie Blake-y, I mean Auntie Blake."
"Hey there, Yen." Blake knelt down to be face-level with the five-year old. "Do you have a new book to show me?"
"Yeah, it's in my bag. Ma, where's my bag?"
"Show me later, we can read it together."
"Ma said I'm a badass!" That made Blake smile somewhat guiltily, but it was genuine all the same.
"Yang!" Ruby put Reza down on his feet and ran towards her sister to smother her in a tight cuddle.
Yang returned the hug in earnest. "Hey Ruby! It's been far too long, I'm so glad to see you."
"Yeah, sorry about that, sis. I've been doing stuff for Beacon, travelling the world, fighting bad guys and killing Grimm, oh, and baking tons of cookies!"
"Cookies? I thought you were going to bring some over."
"She made a batch specially for Yen and Reza, but they didn't survive the trip." Blake said, as she passed the magnum over to Yang before hugging her best friend and former partner.
"Typical." Yang thanked Blake for the bottle of bubbly and went to go put it in the fridge. When she came back, Ruby and Blake were on the floor playing with Yen and Reza in the living room.
"There was a box of chocolates for the two of you but they met the same fate as the cookies."
"I figure we can make some together after we come back from the them-"
Yang rushed to put her hand over Ruby's mouth and shushed her. "We don't want them to know where they're going, it's a surprise." Ruby nodded with understanding and Yang let her talk again.
"You all ready and packed for your trip?"
"Yep, two days at the beach full of stress-free rest, sun, sand, just the two of us."
"Weiss, how did you manage to get the weekend off?"
"It's our anniversary. I persuaded my father to see reason."
"I can't believe it's been four years since you got married. Seems like only yesterday we were at your wedding."
"I know right, they were still in diapers. Time sure flies, and they grow up so fast."
"They were so cute in their wedding outfits." Yang's eyes flicked to the photo on the mantelpiece of them at the wedding. Reza and Yen were wearing baby versions of bride and groom clothes, it was so adorable. They stole the whole show with their darling little getups, but at least everyone agreed that Yang and Weiss were radiant, their happiness multiplying their beauty tenfold.
"So, how've you guys been? Still with the same team?"
"Yup yup, still with Team RVBY. Yale is still a troublemaker, and Vox keeps our spirits high with her singing."
"Is she better than Weiss though? That's the real question."
"She's, uh, different." Ruby stuttered.
Weiss stiffened up and pursed her lips. Yang put two tentative hands on Weiss' tensed up arms in an attempt to soothe her. "Yikes, maybe that was the wrong answer."
Ruby was about to back-pedal madly, but Blake saved her the effort. "Vox has a flair for the dramatic, she has a song for everything but I think you have a larger vocal range." That worked to appease Weiss. Ruby let out a silent 'phew'.
"Well, it sounds like you have great team chemistry. No wonder Ozpin sends you out on all the dangerous spy missions, he knows he's got a winner with you lot."
"Yang, shhh!" Ruby covered Reza's ears with her hands. "You're not supposed to know about that."
"Listen, I know it's great to schmooze and catch up, but if you don't leave soon, you'll miss your flight." Blake pointed out.
Before the front door had clicked closed, Yang and Weiss embraced, lips connected in fiery passion. They were still as hot for each other as when they first got together, perhaps even more so as they did not have as much time alone together due to Weiss' work commitments and their kids constantly being around. Any opportunity was going to be taken full advantage of with great enthusiasm.
"Do you think we have time?" Yang said, in between kisses.
"Just a quickie."
"Good, I love stripping you out of that leather." she purred. Yang swept Weiss off her feet, and carried her up to their bedroom.
Within 20 minutes, they were re-clothed, and Weiss was checking that they had everything packed for the third time. They loaded up their top-of-the-range SUV with Yang's weekend bag and Weiss' three suitcases and drove to the airport. They checked in using the VIP queue, handed over their luggage at baggage control, and breezed through security without a hitch, no doubt thanks in part to Weiss' infamous surname. Weiss was dying for a coffee so Yang wandered around the duty-free by herself. She picked stuff up, considered buying it for Weiss, and then put it all down again. Weiss had everything, it was hard to pick gifts for her. Luckily, Yang had something good hidden at the bottom of her bag which she planned to give to Weiss in their hotel room. She walked out of the shop empty handed, and tried to remember which barista Weiss had gone to, but something made her stop and stare.
Yang still found it surreal when she saw any of image of herself in print. She craned her neck to look up at the backlit billboard showing her photographed from behind, naked but for barely-there bikini bottoms, kneeling in front of the latest model car she was promoting, and was twisted at the waist to wink back at the camera. They had superimposed more photos of her posing on the car, all sexy and sultry, but the main focus was the centre image. She had dieted down to extremely low levels of bodyfat with a carefully calculated nutrition plan to spare as much muscle mass as possible, and post-editing had enhanced her body even further. Her silhouette drawn by the headlights of the flash little sports car was insane; plump, rounded booty at the bottom, extremely cut midsection, showing off obliques and a tiny hint of a six pack, and her wide, powerful shoulders finishing off the hourglass shape. She had her arms up above her head, further contributing to her V-taper, with her hands holding her long hair up a bit to show a tantalising glimpse of some epic underboob. Compared to Yang now, who was much thicker of limb and waist and with fuller cheeks, it was like looking at a different person.
Weiss approached from behind her, two coffees in hand, but noticed her odd expression. "Well, that's an attractive picture. Nice tight curves, good lines, sex appeal." Yang gave her a weird look through the corner of her eye. "The girl looks nice too." Weiss added with a cheeky half-smile.
Yang narrowed her eyes at the massively public advertisement of her butt. "Think I look good there?"
"Fishing for compliments?" Weiss arched a neatly plucked eyebrow.
"I see all my flaws on show. A little bit of fat here, my face is gross since my cheeks are hollow because I'm so lean there, my hair isn't the way I like it, it's all straight and under control. In every shot, I'm doing that dumb pouty thing like a gormless but really slutty fish. I remember being completely exhausted during the photoshoot, that diet really did a number on me."
"Trust me when I tell you that no one else sees it the same way. They see a gorgeous blonde with a body to die for, a cheeky smile and a naughty gleam in her eyes, and, if you squint really hard, sometimes you can see a car in the background."
"What do you see?"
"I see a model working hard for a living. I know it's you under all the make-up and lighting and editing, and yes, there is a lot of skin on show, but I can separate the business-you from the real-you."
Yang remained silent as they walked past the advertisement, only to be met with another, this time exhibiting the vitamin properties of a mineral-enriched smoothie. At least this one only showed her head and Yang was smiling, looking much healthier, an implied effect of the smoothie. It was a common theme to see Yang's face plastered all over many product endorsements throughout the airport. She was not the stay-at-home mom that she liked to be seen as, she knew how to graft and use the gifts her mother gave her. Her winning smile was a show-stopper and if that didn't do the trick, then sex always sells. Yang worked three, maybe four at most, months of the year and she raked in a tidy sum from modelling and sponsorships. Not nearly as much as Weiss brought home obviously, but easily triple what she could have earned working as a Huntress. They tried not to pamper Yen and Reza with their abundant wealth too much, but that was an exercise in futility, and they were the most spoilt children that Weiss had ever known, including herself.
They found their way to their departure gate and waited in the first class lounge. They were joined by a family of four, several businessmen and women, and a few couples, one older and the other two fairly young-looking as if they were on their honeymoon. Yang noticed the older child of the family had her eyes fixed firmly upon them, and she smiled politely at the girl. The girl seemed embarrassed she had been caught staring, and looked away. Yang turned her attention back to Weiss. Even though they were not saying anything, she was so easily wrapped up by her.
"Are you her?" the teenager pointed above them. Another poster showing Yang wearing a trendy waterproof jacket and leggings emblazoned with the logo of the her sports brand, WTD. It actually meant 'Win The Day' but Yang preferred to call it 'What The Dust'. Fortunately, she had a good relationship with the promoters so they had once used her favoured phrase on a humorous campaign a few years back, and it catapulted her up the fame ranks. She appeared on TV spots, doing breakfast and talk shows, and she always made mention of how devoted she was to her kids, even though the interviewers wanted to push the discussion towards her relationship with Weiss Schnee. The teenage girl was wearing an overcoat and jeans from Yang's premium fashion brand, Superfly. Unlike many celebrities, Yang was not bothered by interacting with fans, she did her best to treat them all equally and with respect, and she spent the very few spare moments she had replying to DMs on Scrollmates.
"Guilty."
"And are you Weiss Schnee?" Weiss nodded. "Wow, can I have a selfie?"
Yang and Weiss caught each other's eye, and they grinned. Yang turned back to the girl who had her scroll out, camera app open and ready to go. She knelt down between them and held her arm at the perfect angle to take a flattering photo. The youth was clearly a selfie expert, and took a burst of photos to choose the best one to upload for all her mates to see. They posed for another one, this time making funny faces, although Weiss' was similar to her duck-face. ΩBangaYangXL ΩWeissSchnee #VIPLounge #Cruisingwithcelebs
The mother trotted over, and directed the girl back to the sofa that the family had occupied. "Sorry to have disturbed you."
"It's no trouble."
"Thank you for that. My daughter follows you on Scrollmates. She talked me into buying your workout videos, best thing I've ever done. I've lost twenty pounds already."
"Wow, congratulations. Honestly, it's really amazing to hear that, I'm so pleased it helped you."
"Where are you off to? If you don't mind me asking."
"A vacation in Vacuo. It's our anniversary."
"Oh, congratulations to you as well. That sounds lovely. It's really nice this time of year, not too hot, not too cold, just right."
"Yeah, a friend recommended we travel down now."
"So how did you two meet?"
Lilac eyes met blue ones, as they recalled the story that seemed so long ago.