Okay I was planning to do this as a set of Christmas fics but I was to late in writing them so they turned into Post Christmas New Year stories instead. I realised that Volume 3 showed Ruby leaving in the snow, and Volume 4 is set 6 months later. So there was definitely Christmas happening at some point between the two.
I'm gonna try to write one for every girl before new year, if I don't then ill post them start of January
(Story will most likely include implications of Bumbleby, Arkos and Renora)
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY
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"Are you sure you don't want to have some lunch? There's lots of leftovers from dinner yesterday." Yang looked up, seeing her dad stood hesitantly in the doorway, still wearing the ugly sweater that the two of them had bought for him.
"I said I'm fine." Yang replied, turning her attention back to Zwei on her lap. He jumped up, bouncing around as she pet him. The dog was one of the only things able to cheer her up recently, though her dad di try his best. Taiyang frowned from the doorway.
"Okay well just let me know if you need anything." Yang nodded, before giving a weak smile. "Let's make it a bit cheerier in here" he flipped a switch on the wall as he walked out, lighting the Christmas tree back to its glow. It hurt Yang's eyes to look at, but Zwei happily bounded over, yapping at the fairy lights. Yang smiled slightly, watching him have fun.
"At least you're enjoying it." She sighed "Someone has to."
Normally, Christmas was Yang's favourite time of the year. She loved decorating and buying gifts. People always told her how good she was at finding that one perfect present. She'd started early this year, buying up all her presents in Vale during the tournament. But, nobody had even got a chance to open them. Three large colourful gifts sat still wrapped on the counter. Untouched in the hopes that one of them would have come back in time.
They hadn't.
A handful of ones with rose covered wrapping paper were beneath the tree still, but Taiyang had been smart enough to remove any that had food in. And, considering who they for, there was a lot of sweet based presents. Yang's had all been opened yesterday, there was a lot there she was thankful for: A new scarf, her favourite chocolates, the sequel to her favourite video game.
But it was obvious that most of these had been bought and hidden before she came home, as she'd sadly pushed a beautiful long sleeved dress and some new fire dust containers to the back of her wardrobe. There was a framed picture of her team after winning the Teams round of the Vytal festival which sent her into floods of tears, though even she couldn't tell whether she wanted to get rid of it.
Yang got to her feet, heading towards the window. The ground was bare, she felt a twinge of disappointment. Even though she wouldn't be up for going out in the snow, just seeing it out there would lift her spirits. But it seemed that even that was too much to hope for.
She could've managed without Ruby. She could've managed without Qrow. She could have managed without Blake and Weiss.
But when you strip away Ruby's gleeful laughter at everyone's Christmas jumpers, the house sounds empty. The Christmas crackers at the table go unused because everyone wants to hear Qrow read the jokes out completely deadpan. Weiss singing carols would have been the highlight of the day. And the mistletoe above the door just seemed sad when there was nobody to kiss under it.
Yang turned back to the Christmas tree, she could spot a yellow bauble glinting in the light. She plucked it off the tree, spinning it round in her hand. Despite the age of it, the pattern had stayed pristine. A long swirling line of blackletters, her name written out in Summer's delicate handwriting. Yang remembered trying to write it out herself, but the curve of it confused her and she kept slipping. So, Summer had taken over, showing her how to hold the paintbrush steadily. It was onf of her favourite Christmas memories.
She knew Ruby's was on the tree somewhere as well, so she started hunting for it. Thinking she saw a red one round the back, she stood on her tiptoes went to hook her own bauble back on one of the top branches, hoping she could put the two next to each other. But using her left hand hadn't come easily too her, and it slipped from her fingers. Yang watched in silent horror as it fell towards the floor, moving too quickly for her grab it in time. She looked away as it neared the floor, not wanting to attempt to reach for it only for it to be smashed, it would just make her feel worse. She accepted it, knowing this was just the kind of thing that happened to her now.
But the crash never came, she finally turned her attention back to the floor, seeing Zwei there holding the bauble in his mouth. Yang held her hand to her face, despite her relief tears still sprang from her eyes. She took it from him and hung it back up, on a low hanging branch. Hers and Ruby's weren't together on the tree, but at least they were both still unbroken.
Christmas had been a disaster this year, but she still had New Year's eve to look forward to. Though, she didn't know what was planned.
Yang wiped her face with her sleeve and looked out the window again, trying to remember how she'd felt exactly a year ago, back then she wasn't expecting anything big to happen, yet she'd ended up with the biggest year of her life. So, standing there now she thought to the year ahead, and how different things would be. In a years' time, would she still be sat alone hoping things were different?
It had less than a month since everyone left, and things were starting to calm down now. Maybe there was a tiny chance of them being back before the New Year.
It was only wishful thinking, but Yang needed something to hope for after the mess of a year she'd had.