Disclaimer: A Christmas gift for Moonwatcher13. Nuts n Dolts and Penny learning about Christmas.
Penny frowned, turning the wrapped box over several times. It weighed exactly sixty-six pounds but the contents didn't shift when she moved it, hinting at a very good packing job. Briefly, she narrowed her eyes, beginning a preliminary scan of the container.
"Hey! No peeking!" Ruby called from the entryway, brushing snow from her cloak and pushing back her hood. "It's Christmas Eve! You can wait a little longer, right?"
"I've waited twenty six days, three hours, and six minutes already!" She pouted, expecting the expression might win her a bit of leeway with her girlfriend. Among the many upgrades she'd given herself- including a new chassis so she could match Ruby in height- she'd also increased the amount of expressions she could portray, which took a fair bit of tinkering with her internal controls as well as implementing a few more servos in her interface. "You said we get to open one on Christmas Eve."
"Well, yeah, but it's not the right time!" Setting down the bags she carried, the woman came over and knelt down beside her, taking the present from her hands and setting it down beneath their tree. "When everyone else gets here, we'll all sit down, eat, and then open a present."
"Why?" Although still very interested in the wrapped box, Penny left it alone for the meantime while helping Ruby bring in the rest of the groceries and preparing to assist with the cooking duties. Apparently, Yang usually handled the duty of preparing the traditional holiday meals but, this year, allowed herself to be relieved of the duty. "The food won't be finished by the time everyone arrives."
"Well, yeah, but that's part of the fun!" Her girlfriend set about rolling up her sleeves and donning an apron. "Christmas isn't just about gifts; it's about spending time with family and friends, rejoicing in those we choose to hold dear. That means spending a bit of time catching up and joking around before getting to the presents."
"I have an up-to-date log of our friends' whereabouts and exploits over the past twelve months-"
"Not- not that kind of catching up, Penny. I mean, it's part of it, but- look." She turned, offering that little smile that spoke of patience. "Trust me, okay? Part of the Christmas spirit is the anticipation."
"If you say so," she replied, helping pull out the appropriate measuring instruments while Ruby attended to the produce and meats.
When the doorbell rang, Penny hurried over to answer the door and smiling wide when confronted with some of their anticipated guests on the other side. "Weiss! Blake! Yang! Merry Christmas!"
"Hey, there, other sis." Yang chuckled, pulling her into a hug and ruffling her hair in the same manner she did to Ruby on occasion. "Merry Christmas to you, too. It smells pretty good in here. You helped out?"
"Yep!" She smiled and returned the hug, always feeling a little better that the blonde never seemed to complain or ask her to be a bit more gentle with her embraces. "We're forty-three percent finished cooking the turkey!"
"Well, at least the meal will be punctual," Weiss said, holding out a tinfoil covered glass pan. "Yang insisted we make something, so I hope you can do with some more broccoli rice cheese casserole."
"Oh, you helped cook, too?"
"No, she's still outlawed from the kitchen." Blake teased, offering Penny a short hug before turning back towards the door. "She did sing some carols for us, though. Now, where are we putting presents?"
"Under the tree."
"Great!" Yang smiled wide. "And you're not allowed to run scans, right?"
"No." A frown touched her lips. "Apparently, part of the Christmas spirit is anticipation."
"Don't worry, Penny, it does pay off." Weiss lightly turned her towards the kitchen, ushering her back that way while her wives went to move the presents they brought from their shared car to under the tree. "As a veteran of being utterly confused by heartfelt Christmas traditions, I can assure you that the strangeness wears off relatively quickly."
"Oh, hey Weiss!" Ruby closed the oven, taking off the oven mitts she'd worn and accepting the glass pan to set it with the rest of the prepared food. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," she replied, obviously debating whether or not she could offer her assistance before taking the safer option and putting the kitchen island between her and the rest of the cooking food. "I'm guessing the cooking's gone well?"
"I don't think I've got quite the same sense for it as Yang does, honestly." She breathed out a laugh, checking on the pots- which, Penny could tell rather easily the exact temperature, but Ruby assured her that cooking involved more than just the exact specifications. She couldn't really understand what but trusted her girlfriend enough to understand it would remain one of those things she might not 'get' on some level. "Is your sister going to stop by? You said something about a bit of a complication a few days ago."
"Oh, that." Weiss chuckled and shook her head. "Winter's going to make it. She was considering remaining in Mistral due to some of her soldiers doing… well, what soldiers do when there's an abundance of both snow and alcohol, but opted to take her leave anyway and deal with the issue upon her return. You're still okay with her bringing Sienna?"
"Of course!" Ruby chuckled, taking a moment to leave the food alone and stand beside Penny, allowing her to slip an arm around her girlfriend's waist. "The more the merrier!"
"That's one of the principles of the Christmas spirit," she said, beaming when she received affirmative nods in response. "Will anyone else be joining us?"
"Unfortunately, no; Yang's Dad volunteered to stay at Signal through the break and Blake's parents have their duties to consider, though they invited all of us to Menagerie for next year's Christmas." Weiss chuckled, waving a hand. "They seem rather adamant about getting 'the whole family' together for a holiday, so we're planning on going over there for New Year's."
"Mom doesn't think it's soon enough." Blake walked in, brushing snow from her shoulders with Yang just a few steps behind her. "She's looking forward to having us all over, as soon as possible."
"Can we go for New Year's?" Penny turned to look at her girlfriend. Kali and Ghira were very nice the last time they visited and the latter, much like Yang, didn't mind how hard she hugged.
"If I didn't have my own school to look after, absolutely," Ruby replied, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "We'll go visit as soon as we can."
Yang clapped her hands together and then rubbed them. "So, sis, what do you need help with?"
"Oh no, out!" Immediately, her girlfriend began bullying the woman and her wives out of the kitchen. "This is my holiday meal, you've done enough of them!"
"But-"
"Penny!"
"On it!" Walking around, she helpfully escorted their guests out into the living room, a smile on her lips. Despite knowing all the details of their friends' recent exploits, this was the 'catching up' part of the evening, and she had very explicit orders to keep Yang out of the kitchen until mealtime.
Which she absolutely could do, physically if it came down to that.
About half an hour later, Winter and Sienna arrived, both carrying a fair amount of gifts- far more than the agreed 'one per' rule they'd established, and they brushed off the others' objections with explanations that didn't sound very justified to Penny. However, watching as Winter and Weiss briefly argued in a playful manner before the latter relented- which probably had something to do with the fact that she was particularly bad at arguing while being hugged- brought a smile to her lips. She didn't have the benefit of that sort of kinship, much like Blake, but it made her happy to see how the argument didn't seem to change anything between the sisters. Much like the debate over who would be cooking, the argument was an expression of how much one cared about the other rather than for the purpose of obtaining an objective.
"Penny, it's good to see you again." Sienna smiled easily, her ears flicking as a timer in the kitchen went off, the light glinting off her earrings. "How have you been?"
"Thanks to Ruby's improvements, I'm running at a higher efficiency than the last time we spoke," she said, smile breaking wider when the Faunus faltered. "Plus, I'm happy; teaching aura manipulation and application is a very rewarding experience and my students are learning the material very thoroughly."
"That's good to hear. I'm glad the next generation of Hunters will be even more prepared to deal with the dangers of Remnant." Her gaze briefly deviated to her girlfriend, who seemed to say something without needing words. Sienna leaned closer and lowered her voice. "There's talk in Atlas of separating the military and hunters entirely. She's… not sure how she feels about that."
Although Penny had read the article indicating such, it hadn't occurred to her that the woman might object. "Does she think it's not a good idea?"
"Her loyalty is simply conflicted." A shrug. "You found walking away from the military easy but it was her method of escape. Abandoning it is difficult but she finds more enjoyment from hunting Grimm nowadays rather than managing the base."
Mulling the information over, she eventually nodded. "I suppose I could see how those ideas would conflict but which would give her more time to be with you?" For a moment, she thought she might've said something wrong, because Sienna, Blake, and Weiss all looked surprised, Winter looked shocked, and Yang was too busy hiding her face behind a cup of eggnog for her expression to be immediately visible. Quickly, she tried to explain herself. "It's just- that's what helped me make my decision. I'm grateful to General Ironwood for ensuring I was created but part of claiming my life as my own is seeing to my own ends. And I wanted to be with Ruby."
"Penny," Winter said, her mouth working silently for a moment before a smile curled her lips. "You… make an excellent point."
Although Sienna didn't say anything, she laughed and squeezed her shoulder. "Thank you for your input. I couldn't have said it better myself."
She smiled, glad to help her friends, and caught the look Ruby gave from the kitchen doorway while fluffing a bowl of mashed potatoes.
"Dinner's almost ready, everyone," she said, nodding towards the dining room. "Penny, could you-"
"Ah ah, nope, we are setting the table." Yang quickly objected, marching into the kitchen to start retrieving silverware. "I'm not letting you two do everything, c'mon!"
Penny followed the others into the kitchen, then to the dining room, which would be a bit cramped with the seven of them but she figured that was somehow part of the appeal.
And, frankly, she could start to see it, just as the others promised she would.
Finally, after a long meal mostly spent talking and teasing, they got around to settling in the living room again to open presents. Seeing as a digestive tract didn't particularly appeal to her, she never looked into getting that particular upgrade and instead sat next to Ruby and helped pass the bowls and plates around, listening and talking while keeping an eye on everyone's drinks and refilling them when possible. Weiss, Blake, and Yang squeezed together on the couch, Sienna sat on the armchair with Winter in her lap, and Penny and Ruby took the loveseat after distributing all the presents.
Honestly, she felt her girlfriend suggesting they open theirs last to simply be a means of prolonging the inevitable, but it allowed her the chance to watch their friends' expressions as they opened theirs. With each gift unwrapped, their expressions lit up, and they thanked each other profusely for the presents. Some were practical- upgrades for weapons and scrolls- and others playing to their likes- a first edition of her favorite book series for Blake, new earrings and a necklace for Weiss- while others were just for fun- Yang got a Mistrali cookbook from Winter who in turn received a stress ball shaped like a crow.
Then finally- finally- Penny could unravel the mystery, provided she opened Ruby's gift last, and… frankly, the rest of the presents puzzled her more than anything. Blake got her a series of gyros, nuts, bolts, screws, washers, and various other pieces that would be good for replacing her own parts… except, they came in sizes far too small. Weiss gave her a brand new tool set, though sized smaller than she could use on herself, and the huge box Yang brought in contained several pieces of a chassis that was, again, far too small to act as a suitable replacement. Winter provided her with the wires for a new neural network- the lines of which weren't nearly long enough- and Sienna's present contained a few odds and ends.
She looked up, noting how everyone seemed highly invested in her reactions and that didn't seem to diminish, despite every confused 'thank you' she gave.
"Okay." Ruby grabbed her own present and handed over her present. "Now you can open it."
Taking the box into her hands, she ripped away the paper and opened it, confronted with… an aura shard, much like the one housed in her chest. Except, smaller…
Almost instantly, she took the dimensions of the parts she'd received and started mapping out blueprints, arriving at a design in a few seconds. Someone, just like her, except smaller.
Her brows rose, looking over at Ruby, who was absolutely beaming. "With these parts, we could make a child."
"Yeah." Silver eyes shone with adoration. "We don't have to do it right away but… it's an option-"
"Why can't we do it right now?" She quickly ran the calculations in her head. "Completing the basic assembly will take the better part of a day-"
"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa," Yang said, waving her hands around. "I'm eager to be an aunt but you two aren't literally making a baby right in front of us!"
"Oh, would you-" Weiss admonished while lightly elbowing her wife in the gut while Blake did her best to smother a laugh behind her hand.
Then, something occurred to her. "Actually, we have to wait anyway. It'll take a few months to create the AI chip."
"Wait." Sienna frowned. "Dear, did you forget to give her the General's present?"
"I didn't forget; I didn't want to spoil the surprise." Winter looked over to the tree, then started patting down her jacket, pulling out a small box wrapped in white paper. "Ah, here it is." She threw it to Penny, who quickly opened it to find the very piece they missed: a shining, new AI chip. "General Ironwood also wanted to pass along a message: merry Christmas."
All they lacked were the superficial details- clothes, synthetic skin, hair and the like- but they had the things that mattered most.
"Don't you have a present left, Ruby?" Blake pointed out, raising a brow.
In the confusion and excitement, Penny had forgotten that her girlfriend hadn't yet opened the present from her, and she set aside her own presents to watch. In the back of her mind, though, she started mapping out the designs, calculating the time it would take to assemble their child and the approximate features and age she'd acquire. Of course, they'd also need to ensure the aura shard generated an aura and gave their child a soul, but there would be time to work on that later.
Right now, she had the unmitigated delight of watching Ruby open the big box- about half her size- only to discover a slightly smaller box within, opening that one to reveal yet another slightly smaller box. The discoveries went on for a few minutes, with each box smaller than the last, until she finally reached the one no bigger than a ring box. Much as she expected, her girlfriend's frustration and excitement blinded her to considering what her present might actually be until she was staring at a silver wedding band with inlaid emeralds and a single ruby set in the center. Although they looked nice, diamonds were a bit too traditional for them, and the tears that sprang to silver eyes confirmed she'd made the right decision.
"I've been wanting to ask for a while now but thought this would be a good time," Penny said, sliding off the love seat so she could kneel in front of the woman. "Ruby, will you marry me?"
"Of course." Falling off the love seat herself, her fiance threw her arms around Penny and hugged her tight, an embrace she returned while everyone else gave their congratulations and clapped. "Did you really have to hide it in twenty boxes, though?"
"Next year, let me scan my presents," she replied, though she winked immediately after to show she didn't mean it.
Although she would probably always be a touch too impatient for it, the build up to the surprise did touch her heart. Her friends- this family they'd patched together- cared deeply and supported them, in every step of the journey ahead. Whatever came their way, no matter how painful, they'd look forward to it with smiles in their hearts.
That was what 'the spirit of Christmas' meant to Penny and she couldn't be happier for the experience of learning that definition.