"So, did you get your coats?" Yang asked.
"Yes." Yuki, Dylan, and Jade all replied at the same time.
"Toothbrushes?"
"Yes."
"Underwear, bras?"
"Yes."
"I don't need those death traps." Dylan blushed.
"Well did you pack underwear?" Yang asked.
"Yes." Dylan replied.
"Ok, did you guys pack your brushes?" Yang asked.
"Yes, Mom we got everything." Jade complained.
"Ok, but make sure you got all of your entertainment stuffs. Oh and pick out five movies for the airship. You can be a bit indecisive at times so give yourself options." Yang instructed. The three walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to pick out movies. Ruby walked in, setting her carry ons the island. "Did you get your toothbrush, underwear, brush, and medications?"
"Yang, I'm not a kid, I can remember what to pack." Ruby sighed.
"Well even adults need reminders." Yang laughed.
"I can't believe two years has past us by already. It seems that just yesterday Yuki brought you here." Ruby commented.
"I know. And I can't believe in a month the twins will be ten. And Jade's about to turn thirteen this December." Yang sighed. "She's getting old on me."
"How do you think I feel?" Ruby sighed. "I really hope that I don't get sick on the airship."
"You know, I'll still pound him if you ever want me to." Yang offered.
"No, Yang, you may not 'pound' Nathan." Ruby sighed.
"Too bad. So what names have considered?" Yang asked.
"We can't agree. He keeps suggesting Sapphire or Emerald. I have no issues with those names, but my name is Ruby. Something's just up with that." Ruby sighed. "I was liking Lacey and Kyoko, but Nathan said no."
"So it's a girl?" Yang asked.
"We don't know. Don't even get me started on the names he's suggesting for a boy. Guess what he really likes." Ruby unconsciously glared.
"What?" Yang asked.
"Patrick." Ruby hissed. Yang clenched her fists.
"Patrick? Is he out of his mind?!" Yang exclaimed.
"I know, right!" Ruby said. "And as far as boys' names go, the poor thing will probably end up Nathan Jr. or Dylan 2. My mind keeps drawing a blank."
"Hm... Maybe Ryan." Yang suggested.
"It's defiantly better than what we've come up with so far." Ruby said. "Maybe Blake and Weiss will have some ideas."
"Maybe." Yang said.
...
"Would you like that in the can?" the stewardess asked.
"Nah, I'll have it here." Yang said. The stewardess rolled her eyes.
"Of course, I'm sure you intended on having it here." she handed Yang her coke and then Ruby her raspberry tea. "And you, sir?"
"I'll have a coffee with cream and two sugars." Nathan said. The stewardess fixed up the coffee and handed it to Nathan before turning to Jade, Dylan, and Yuki.
"I'll have a coffee, I want three puffs of cream, precisely seven cubes of sugar, five squeezes of vanilla flavoring, and whipped cream. Oh and drizzle, and I mean DRIZZLE some hot fudge over it." Jade ordered. "And don't you dare forget the cute umbrella."
"Would you like candied air with that?" the stewardess glared.
"No, now make my freaking drink." Jade glared. The stewardess made Jade her drink and handed it to her.
"And you little man?"
"Please may I have a bottle of water?" Dylan asked. The stewardess handed Dylan a bottle of water and turned to Yuki.
"Can I please have two pepsis in the can?" Yuki asked. Yuki grabbed her drink from the flight attendant and opened one up, starting to drink.
"Hey, Jade, whatcha drawing?" Yuki asked.
"Oh, it's a picture of what I think Dylan will look like all grown up. I'm doing you next." Jade said, holding up the picture. She was putting the finishing touches on Dylan's face.
"Wow, Dylan looks so handsome. Like a real prince." Yuki commented. Dylan was actually looking more like a cat than a prince, napping on the pull out table and drooling a bit. Jade chuckled.
"Maybe he'll cowboy up in the future." Jade commented.
"I love Dylan just the way he is." Yuki said. "I like him as a nerdy war fanatic."
"Yeah, it'd be weird if either of you had a head injury and your personality altered. That'd be hard to get used to." Jade said.
"Defiantly." Yuki agreed.
...
"Miss Xia Long." a tall man in a black suit and black sunglasses said. Yang jumped from surprise.
"Y-Yeah, why?" Yang asked.
"My name is Jasper. Madame Schnee requested I escort you and your family to Schnee manor. My co-workers Geophry and George will get you luggage, so please allow me to lead the way to the limo." he introduced.
"Oh, ok, Jasper." Yang said, motioning to the others to follow Jasper along with her.
"Woah! That's a huge car!" Ruby exclaimed upon seeing the super stretch limo. Yuki ran over to the limo.
"It's like we're celebs or something!" Yuki exclaimed. Dylan seemed not to trust the limo.
"Yuki, back away from that thing." Dylan warned. "It's unnatural for a car to be this long. I think we're hallucinating."
"No different than a minivan." Jade said.
"Yes, different from a minivan. Minivans are driven by stressed out mothers and packed with kids and their random crap. This is driven by a guy that looks like that guy from Black Butler. I don't trust him." Dylan explained.
"Why because you think he's a demon, you wuss?" Jade asked.
"I'm not a wuss! And he very well could be." Dylan crossed his arms.
"C'mon, you two, it's totally safe, just get in so we can go annoy Weiss." Yang said as she entered the limo.
...
Schnee manor looked quite festive. The outside was covered in Christmas lights, white of course, careful not to extinguish the theme of white. Snow covered the ground with the exception of the drive way and the trail to the front door. In front was a snow man wearing a Motley Crue tee shirt and had a guitar and Mohawk. Obviously made by Will. There was a reef on the door and holly twigs floating everywhere. Once inside you saw the business that took place. Maids and other servants scurried around, cleaning this, setting up that, hanging mistletoe there, hanging a reef at that door, ect. Cooks were setting up tables of cookies and hot cocoa along with discussing kitchen arrangements with Blake, who was apparently wanting to cook four days before Christmas through New Years so the cook could take off to spend with his family. Weiss came down the stairs wearing a white dress with a white jacket and white leggings. Her hair was in its normal side bun and her lips a light pink. As usual her skin looked fresh and white, like a falling snowflake. A snowflake wearing pink lipstick that is.
Weiss approached the group and greeted them, "I'm glad you made it here safely. How was your flight?"
"Horrible! They didn't do my coffee right!" Jade complained. "I said to DRIZZLE the hot fudge, not SQUIRT it."
"That's a minor inconvenience, Jade. I've dealt with worse." Weiss said.
"It was fine, except the stewardess was cranky." Yang said. "Couldn't take a joke."
"I thought it was just fine." Ruby said. Everyone stared at her. "What? At least the toilet flushed."
"And the whole time they played Clannad on the TV." Yuki added. "WHY! Why did Nagisa have to die? You can't just do that, that's not how life actually works."
"Do what, die?" Jade asked.
"Die before you're kids can even have proper memory." Yuki said.
"That happens all the time, Yuki." Weiss said.
"It does?" Yuki asked.
"Yes, yes it does." Yang said.
"Hmm... I like fields." Jade said randomly.
"Cassandra! William! Get down here!" Weiss called. A moment passed and as Cassandra, who was walking down the stairs, making sure to keep her regal posture, Will slid down the railing and landed on his butt.
"Ow. That hurt." Will commented as he pulled himself to his feet. He had changed a lot in two years now being thirteen and a lot taller. In fact, he was as tall as Weiss. His hair was a little more grown out but still short and shaggy, his face lacked any color now much like most of the Schnees, and he had a little more muscle mass. But still, he looked kinda puny. Yuki ran up and hugged him. "Woah! Hey, Princess." Will greeted the nine year old. He looked down at Yuki, who herself looked a little different. Yuki had gotten taller, but was still the same height as Dylan, which was four foot. Her hair was still in its signature low pigtails tied up in ribbons, which was red and green at the moment. Her cheeks still puffed out and her nose remained button like, but her face had matured a bit. Those two eyes, left silver and right blue remained the same. Still filled with light and joy, still naive and innocent. Will released Yuki before slipping on his jacket and dragging her outside.
Cassandra sighed. "Greetings." she said simply.
"Greetings? Don't ya mean, 'Yoyoyo! It's Cassa!'" Jade suggested. Cassandra rolled her eyes.
"Cassa?" Cassandra asked.
"Yeah, it sounds cool. You could be all gangsta and stuff." Jade smirked. Cassandra shook her head.
"No, no I can't. But you can pretend to be a gangbanger all you want. I happen to prefer the life I have." Cassandra said.
"Oh, come on. It works as a nick name." Jade said.
"No, it does not. I go by Cassandra and nothing but Cassandra." Cassandra huffed, beginning to walk back up the stairs. Jade followed her all the way to her room. Cassandra glared at Jade. "Why are you following me?"
"Can I please, please, please, see what you're whipping up for the spring collection at Snowflake, oh mighty and wonderful Cassandra?" Jade begged.
"And why would I do that?" Cassandra asked.
"Because you can't possibly be so cold hearted to deny your fan and friend access to your genius." Jade said.
"Friend?" Cassandra quirked an eyebrow.
"We have a complicated long distance friendship." Jade said.
"No, we do not. We are not friends. If anything, we are acquaintances at most." Cassandra said, slipping into her room and slamming the door. She locked it from the inside and sunk against the door.
"I'm not gonna give up on you. It has nothing to do with the clothes or money, just know that." Jade murmured before she walked away. Cassandra looked around her room. The walls were a light shade of pink, which matched her pink bed spread and canopy, a white vanity was situated in the corner, next to a window with black curtains. Cassandra headed over to the vanity and sat down on the little stool. She pulled her hair out of the side ponytail and began to brush it gently. Silently at first, making sure that the 'oaf' was around to hear her.
Mirror, tell me something.
Tell me who's the loneliest, of all?
Mirror, tell me something, tell me who's the loneliest of all?
Fear of what's inside of me; tell me can a heart be turned to stone?
Mirror mirror, what's behind you? Save me from the things I see.
I can keep it from the world, why won't you let me hide from me?
Mirror mirror, tell me something- who's the loneliest of all?
I'm the loneliest of all.
Cassandra stared at her reflection. Gently, she whipped off the makeup on her forehead to reveal a broken heart scar on the fore left side. Shivers ran down her back. Nobody could be trusted, she could only trust her enclosed circle of immediate family, Mom and William. Nobody else was safe. They were dangerous, they just wanted to create more scars like that one. More scars like the one going all the way down Weiss' face and down her neck. The scar that left her blind in one eye. Cassandra re-applied foundation to her imperfection before beginning to curl her hair and change her outfit before dinner.
...
"FINALLY!" Ruby exclaimed. Blake chuckled, grabbing the new found book that they had been searching everywhere for. Of course Dylan just had to like the ones that were hard to find. Blake read the back.
"I'm getting myself a copy of this. It looks interesting." Blake said.
"Oh, what's it about?" Ruby asked.
"It's a love story about a plantation owner's daughter and a faunus slave boy during the Faunus War." Blake said, grabbing two of the book and putting it in her basket. "Oh and the other two books in the trilogy."
"Oh, it's a trilogy?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, apparently. I really hope this isn't too over his head." Blake said.
"Maybe you should read them first."Ruby suggested.
"Mmm. It seems like violence will be our only problem and since the boy reads about faunus war strategies for fun, that shouldn't be a problem." Blake said, scanning the rest of the books in the isle. "Oh, he'd like this." Blake grabbed a book. Ruby scanned the books as well.
"I gotta admit, I sometimes feel stupid talking with him. He's always explaining to me what would be a great plan of attack and what not. I just feel like I have to nod and say uhuh." Ruby sighed.
"Well, think of it this way, he's obviously unique. How many kids are interested in old faunus warfare?" Blake pointed out. "I'm gonna try and find some more stuff for Molly." Ruby headed over Yang, who was currently looking at an Achieve Men auto biography.
"Hey, Rubes, you think I can get Jade to read something if cute boys are involved?" Yang asked.
"I don't know. Does she even like Achieve Men?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, she really likes Mark." Yang said. "I'm gonna get it. It's on clearance." Ruby looked into Yang's basket.
"Wow, could you have grabbed any more manga and art books?" Ruby asked.
"Could you have grabbed any more faunus revolution books." Yang motioned to Ruby's basket.
"True. Let's go check out." Ruby suggested.
...
"Ruby, look." Yang said. Ruby looked up from the doll she grabbed for Yuki and over at Yang, who was sitting on a giant stuffed ursa's back. "Getty up, Ursy!" Yang joked. Ruby tapped her chin.
"Maybe I can get that for Yuki." Ruby thought aloud.
"I wanna get it for her, I found it." Yang said.
"Ok, but if we find that doll she's been looking all over for, I'm getting it, I don't care who found it." Ruby said.
"Yeah, I know. " Yang said, grabbing the ursa and beginning to drag it through the store.
...
"Oh, these shoes are cute." Weiss looked at a pair of ice looking stilettos. "Perfect, I can get it for Cassandra, but it's really for me since we currently have the same foot size."
"Wow, do you normally give gifts like that?" Blake asked, comparing black skirts.
"No, I just really like those shoes and if I buy a pair for her and a pair for me, she'll think I'm crazy." Weiss said.
"You think?" Blake asked. "I have the exact same boots as Molly and she doesn't care."
"Really? I thought Cassandra might get angry." Weiss said. "But what do I know, I'll get myself these and get Cassandra them too. As long as we don't wear them the same day, we should be fine."
"Yeah, remember to spoil yourself every once in a while, Weiss. You're constantly working, let yourself relax or your gonna collapse." Blake said.
"Yeah, that's why I invited you guys for Christmas, for whatever reason, you three make me feel at ease." Weiss commented, grabbing her size.
...
"Hey, Ruby, does this look cool?" Yang asked, holding up a big G.I. Joe set.
"Yeah, why?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know what to get Luke." Yang said. Ruby sighed.
"Why are you so stressed?" Ruby asked.
"Because I don't know how I'm supposed to be a mom to a kid that lost his. I mean, James and I are getting married soon and I'll be his step-mother. I don't know how to do that." Yang said.
"Well, I can tell you this much, it'll probably be sorta like when you and Jade found out. It'll be slow, but Luke may not be as open as Jade was, just be there and love on him the best you can without scaring him." Ruby said.
"O-Ok." Yang said, putting it in her cart. "Wow, we bought the store."
"Yep! And the best part is most of it is Weiss' shopping money she gave us." Ruby said.
"Well that's enough to make anyone festive." Yang giggled.