Hey, guys! Yes, yes, I know it's been a really long time, and I'll be honest about why. I kinda wrote myself into a place in this story where I just didn't enjoy writing it. The problem mainly was that I didn't want to rework the story and just push through, but I can't write if I don't enjoy what I'm writing. I've been doing some reworking, and I think I've gotten it somewhere that I'm happy with. Sorry for the wait, and I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 12: A Welcome Holiday
"Full house," Blake declared, showing her cards. Team RWBY, Neo, Emerald, and Penny were gathered around Ruby's hospital bed playing a game of poker. She, Ruby, and Yang were the only ones left in on this hand.
Yang groaned, "Damn it, how do you always know when I'm bluffing? Pair of tens."
"You always bluff," Blake snickered. "I guess I-"
"Not so fast!" Ruby happily interjected. "Flush! I win!"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "A flush doesn't beat a-"
"Yup, you win," Blake laughed, using the poker app on her scroll to award Ruby the pot. She whispered to Weiss, "She lost an arm and is gonna be stuck in this bed for another three weeks. I'll let her have this one."
Penny collected the cards and started to deal out the next hand, but Ruby's nurse came in and had to dissolve the game so Ruby could take her medication and rest. Ruby protested as usual, but it was hard to argue with her sister, girlfriend, and nurse all at the same time.
"Rest up, sis," Yang smiled, kissing Ruby on her forehead.
The leader pouted, "I'm telling you, I feel fine! I'd go run a marathon if they'd let me."
"No," everyone said in unison.
"Oh c'mon, can I at least get up and walk around a little? Please?"
"Your leg is broken, you dolt," Weiss chuckled. "And the one arm you have that could use a crutch isn't strong enough to yet."
"This sucks..." Ruby gloomily mumbled, sinking into the bed. She had managed to keep a cheery and positive attitude so far, but the extend of her injuries was clearly starting to get to her.
"We could wheel you around," Neo smiled, looking to the nurse. "Maybe?"
He shook his head, "It's still too early to take her off her IV's. Another week at most."
Ruby pouted and put her arm across her chest, then yelled in frustration when she realised she couldn't even fold her arms in annoyance. "I hate this! I freaking hate this! I wish they hadn't found me..."
"Hey, don't talk like that," Yang frowned. She went in for a hug but was instantly shrugged off. "Just... try to get some rest, okay...? I love you, sis."
"I love you too..." Ruby sighed.
The group left the room to let her rest, and the somber mood followed them all the way back to the dorms. Ruby's worsening depression wasn't the only reason for it; the search for Mercury had officially been called off. It didn't come as a shock to any of them, but knowing that whatever glimmer of hope they'd been holding onto was gone still stung. The knowledge that Mercury was truly gone wasn't something they wanted to accept.
To Neo, the last few days before winter break felt stagnant. Every lecture felt like a murmur of jumbled words, combat classes a blur, electives and readings a chore. She was finding a depression taking over her as well from the loss of her friend. Her thoughts were all clouded, and even getting out of bed in the morning was difficult. She hoped that meeting Weiss' extended family over the holiday would pick her up, but even that could turn sour.
On the last day before heading out, the group gathered in the dining commons for dinner together. Ruby was still in the hospital, and Jaune and Pyrrha were running late because of a lecture that was still going on. Neo mostly picked at her food and pushed it around the plate, not feeling hungry. The table as a whole was very quiet, and needed someone to step up and start a conversation.
"So what's everyone doing for the holidays?" Weiss finally asked. "Everyone has a place to stay, right?"
Emerald nodded, "I'm going home with Yang. Her dad is really excited to meet me in person."
"I'll be staying with Sun," Blake smiled, blushing a little just from saying his name. Neo couldn't help but smile as well at how excited her friend was.
Penny perked up, "I'll be keeping Ruby company in the hospital since she's not able to go home."
"I feel bad leaving her behind," Yang sighed. "Dad has been worried sick and calling every night to check in on her. I wish we could bring her home."
"She's in good hands with me," Penny reassured her friend. "Plus, she and I should be able to start working on her new arm soon. The last parts will be here by Wednesday."
"New arm?" Neo asked.
"That's right! I asked my father and General Ironwood about sending us the components to build Ruby a mechanical arm. It'll take a while, but she's really excited. We'll be building it in the same style and colour as Crescent Rose."
"That's wonderful," Weiss smiled, as did the rest of the group. "If you need anything else to help with her recovery just let me know. I'm sure my father would be happy to help."
Neo grinned, "I dunno if happy is the right word, but yeah, he'd lend a helping hand. Nora? Ren? What about you guys?"
"We're staying here as well," Ren replied. "We have permission to stay in the dorms over the break."
Nora nodded and happily turned to Penny, "I guess that means we'll be keeping you guys company too!"
"Don't forget about us~!" Pyrrha sang as she and Jaune walked over to the table. She did a little dance as she sat down, clearly very excited about something.
"Go on," Neo laughed, sensing some interesting plans. "Where are you two headed?"
Jaune blushed, "I'm taking her to a resort for a couple's vacation."
"I'm so excited!" Pyrrha exclaimed, giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back; need to use the little girl's room."
"Couple's vacation, hm?" Yang asked as Pyrrha walked off. "Sounds romantic. Any special plans, if you know what I mean?"
Jaune blushed even harder, and reached into his backpack as Yang made a few lewd gestures. He pulled out a small black box, and the entire table gasped in unison as he opened it to reveal a diamond ring. "Special plans?" he grinned. "Yeah, you could say that."
"YOU'RE PROPOSING?" Nora exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her seat in excitement. "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!"
Blake smiled, "Congrats. I know she'll say yes."
"Here's hoping," Jaune laughed as he put the box away. "I was a little hesitant since it hasn't even been a year yet, but she really is perfect. Why wait if I already know she's the one?"
Weiss shrunk back a little at his last statement as the rest of the table congratulated Jaune, and Neo couldn't help but feel bad for her. 'That's probably like a punch to the gut for her...'
'Something like that,' Beo agreed. 'It's different for everyone, though. There's nothing wrong with wanting to wait for the right moment or whatever.'
'Look at you being romantic,' Neo teased, grinning to herself.
Beo giggled, 'I can be surprising too.'
With a flicker of light, the chair beside Yang started to shimmer, and suddenly Beo appeared to fill it. She was dressed in the clothes she would've worn last year in the tournament with Cinder; black shirt and skirt, combat boots, black hair in pigtails, and green eyes.
"FINALLY!" Beo joyfully cheered while everyone jumped and gasped in surprise. "I've been trying to do this for WEEKS!"
"BEO?" Neo incredulously asked. "But-? How-? WHAT?"
"Our semblance is illusions, silly. Just using it to my advantage."
Yang looked at her and grinned, "Does that mean you'll shatter if I poke you?" She didn't wait for an answer and poked Beo in the shoulder, and sure enough, she shattered. She reappeared again a moment later with an unamused face.
"Don't do that," Beo said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I am soooo glad this finally worked! I am gonna prank you guys SO hard!"
"Evil," Jaune chuckled.
"No pranking the in-laws," Neo firmly stated. "I'm sure Weiss' family already hates us enough."
The heiress shrugged, "I think they'll like you. Most of them will, at least. If they're still visiting after being told their lesbian daughter is bringing her girlfriend home then how against it can they be?"
Beo kept the shenanigans to a minimum that night while she was still figuring out the limits of her illusionary self, and even though she was a little annoying, Neo still felt happy for her. It was nice to see someone enjoying themself.
"Neo, wake up," Weiss spoke softly, giving her girlfriend's shoulder a soft shake. "We just landed in Atlas."
Neo yawned wide and stretched, "Mmm, 'kay. How far is it now from the airport?"
"About a half hour once we get our bags and get in the helicopter. I figured you wouldn't mind being flown in to the helipad in the backyard."
"You have a private-? Nevermind, not sure why I'm surprised," Neo laughed. "We will have one when we get our own house together?"
"If you want," the heiress grinned, always amused by how much Neo loved to be spoiled.
They gathered their bags and boarded the helicopter, making the quick flight to the Schnee estate. Butlers and servants were there to greet them, including Klein, who Weiss was very happy to see again. As they disembarked and gathered their luggage, another familiar face came out to greet them.
"Welcome home, little sister," Winter smiled as she wrapped Weiss in a tight hug. "It's good to see you again."
"Likewise," Weiss beamed. "Who else has arrived so far?"
Her sister grinned, "Everyone. You and Neo are the last ones to get here."
"I guess that'll make introductions easier," Neo giggled and she and Winter shared a hug as well.
Klein showed them inside while the other servants took their belongings upstairs to their room. It was dinnertime, and Klein informed the girls that the extended family was in the dining room. Two aunts and uncles, Jacque's parents, and six cousins all gathered and giving Neo anxiety the closer she drew to meeting them. They arrived at the doors to the lavish room, and Weiss and Neo both paused to breathe.
"Ready?" the heiress asked, putting her hand on the doorknob.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
She opened the doors, and all heads turned to see who had arrived. "Weiss," her father smiled. "I'm glad you made it here safely. No troubles on the way?"
"None at all," Weiss smiled, blushing as eyes started drifting to Neo. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Neo. Neo, I'll introduce you to everyone once we sit down."
Neo gave a shy wave, "Hello."
Neither she nor Weiss knew what they were expecting to happen next. What did happen was that a number of hello's came from around the table, and everyone went back to eating. That changed once the two got seated, and soon the barrage of questions came about school, how they met, things about the upcoming children, and many more. What surprised them the most was nobody seemed to be ignoring the conversation or Neo. All her relatives were simply happy to see her, which came as a huge relief.
"So let's hear it," her cousin Sal asked with a sly grin. "How'd you two meet?"
"Which time?" Neo giggled. "Technically we met twice before we talked. Both times she pulled a sword on me. The first time we met and talked, well, she still pulled her sword."
Weiss blushed and gave her girlfriend a grin and friendly glare as the table laughed. "To be fair, you'd tried to kill me how many times before that?"
"You? Zero. Yang, one the other hand, was once."
"And me once," Winter interjected from across the table. "Remember a certain dust shipment you and Roman hijacked about two years ago?"
Neo grinned, "Hey, I said I was sorry! And your hair's grown back just fine."
"After a year," Winter smirked. "And you only won because I tripped on spilled dust crystals."
"I'm up for a rematch whenev-"
"After you have our kids," Weiss interrupted, rolling her eyes while she laughed. "You are not fighting anyone while they're still in there."
"Have you thought of names yet?" one of her aunts asked.
"We've talked about it a little, but we aren't making any final decisions until they're born and we can see what they look like. We're both thinking of gemstone names, though. Things like Sapphire, Diamond, Amethyst."
"I know one for certain," Neo smiled. "If one's a girl and she takes after me, I'm naming her Vanilla."
"That's a very pretty name," Weiss' mother smiled, joining the conversation at last.
Neo and Weiss both blushed, happy to see her being accepting. With the family not reacting well and the girl's nerves calmed, it turned into a wonderful evening. More just like it followed over the next few days, and Neo felt right at home with Weiss' relatives. Everyone was so warm and happy to offer advice for her pregnancy and for the first few months after having her children.
'It's great to know I have such a great support network,' she thought to herself as she lay down in her bed. It was late now, and she was happy to have some alone time to relax. 'Hey, Beo, getting any bad vibes from anyone or do they all seem genuine to you? I haven't picked up on any.'
Beo shimmered and appeared laying on the pillow next to her, "Same here. As far as I can tell, they all love you, and who could blame them? You're pretty adorable."
"You're only saying that cuz we're the same person," Neo laughed.
"Maaaybe, but really, what's not to like once you get past... well, our past? You're a model citizen now, and you're kinda carrying grandbabies inside you, so how much can they really hate you?"
"I guess I was just being paranoid," Neo chuckled. "As always."
Beo rolled her eyes, "That's an understatement. While we're being paranoid, though, what're we gonna do about introducing your parents to Weiss'? If there's one thing we aren't over exaggerating about, it's that the Schnee family don't take super well to Faunus."
"I thought they knew about Blake and were fine with it?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Beo replied. "But even so, Blake is just a friend. Their sister-in-law is gonna be a Faunus, and I don't think they're gonna like that."
Neo simply shrugged, "Yeah, well, they can get over it. I've finally got my real mom back in my life, and there is no way in hell I'm losing her. She settled into her pillows and sighed, thinking about her family. She was thrilled that she'd be visiting them before heading back to Beacon.
"I'd call you an idiot if you did. I'm sure Weiss' folks will get over it in time, but I expect a freakout the first time they meet. OH! We should TOTALLY video chat while we're here! That'd-"
"No," Neo cut in, laughing. "Let me enjoy them liking me for a while. I get to have all the butlers wait on me while they do."
If there was one thing Neo enjoyed most about her time at the Schnee estate, it was being pampered. Especially given that she was pregnant, the servants in the house were more than glad to help her out and make her as comfortable. She loved that she could request crazy food combinations when her cravings struck at the oddest hours and still have them fulfilled. After a life of mostly scraping by, this was heaven.
A week and a half into their three week break, things seemed to settle down now that everyone was acquainted and settled in. The weather up until then had been very cold and snowing, but the forecast of the next few days promised sun and warmed temperatures. Weiss and Neo were more than happy to get out of the house just for a change of pace, and a walk around the estate seemed like the perfect way to do it now that blizzard winds wouldn't freeze them mid-step.
"Ready to go for a walk?" Weiss asked as she poked her head into Neo's room. She was still bundled up in layers because although it was warmed than it had been, it was still fairly cold.
Neo was bundled as well, and lacing up her snow boots when her girlfriend popped in. "Almost," she smiled, putting on her other boot and adjusting her scarf and beanie. "Okie dokie, let's go!"
They headed out through the back door so they could walk through the arboretum first. Even though the colourful plants and trees were covered with snow, the fresh, white powder covering the leafless limbs was still very beautiful. Neo loved the crunch of the snow under her boots, and dragged her feet a little to make lines and patterns behind her as she walked, giggling the whole time.
"You're a child," Weiss remarked with an amused smile. "Going to make a snow angel next?"
Without a moment of hesitation, Neo lay back in the snow along the path and made one angel, and then another. "Yup," she giggled as she stood up and brushed herself off.
"And this is why I love you," the heiress giggled.
Neo blushed, "I'd hope there are lots of reasons why you do. So, what're the odds of us living in a place like this after we graduate and settle down together?"
"Given that I'm to be taking over the company once my dad retires, I'd say it's one hundred percent," Weiss smiled, taking Neo's hand and interlacing their fingers. "The thought of having an office job and being settled down is sounding better and better every day. The thought of having a family is really growing on me."
"And in me," Neo laughed.
'Ooo, is she warming up to the kids?' Beo asked. 'That's what it sounds like to me.'
Neo couldn't help but smile, 'It certainly sounds like it.'
"So what are you thinking about doing with school?" Weiss asked as they walked along. "I know you were worried about having to drop out before. Keep in mind that we could get an apartment on or off campus together and have a nanny to watch them during the day. You wouldn't be away from your classes that much."
"That's the thing, though. I know it's possible, but I'd still rather be raising them myself than having a nanny do it for me, especially while they're still so little. I could see doing that after we graduate and start spending time away on missions since they'll be older, but while they're still infants, I wanna be with them."
"So you do wanna drop out?" the heiress asked, not too surprised. It seemed like everyone back at Beacon knew Neo would be dropping out, but almost didn't want to accept it.
Neo contemplated it for a moment, "Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I don't think I'll be totally ready to choose until the babies actually arrive."
"That's fair. Besides, we- LOOK OUT!"
Weiss suddenly pulled Neo to the ground and something flew over their heads. When Neo turned to see what it was, she saw Lexy standing with her bladed gauntlets out, wearing an evil grin. Lexy charged them again, and this time was blocked as Weiss unsheathed Myrtenaster and met her halfway. Sparks flew as the blades collided, and again as the two disengaged. Lexy's gaze seemed to be fixed on Neo, but she knew she'd have to get through Weiss first.
Weiss narrowed her eyes and created a blue glyph behind her, using it to launch a barrage of ice spikes at Lexy. The cat girl had almost no trouble weaving through them as she ran back to Weiss, tucking into a roll and swinging for the girl's legs. The heiress jumped to avoid it, but Lexy's leg knocked her feet out from under her as she landed and sent her onto her back. She dodged to the side as Lexy impaled her blades into the ground where her head had been, and growled as she got back to her feet.
"What do you want?" Weiss asked, not taking her eyes off her foe.
"Neo," Lexy flatly replied. "I need her alive. You, on the other hand..."
She darted at Weiss and slashed wildly across the smaller girl's entire frame, forcing her to block at incredibly wide and awkward angles. Weiss managed to keep up with the onslaught long enough to make a red glyph at her feet. She leapt away as it exploded and threw Lexy back, but was knocked to the ground as the blast caught her as well. She tumbled over and lost her grip on her rapier, and Lexy immediately capitalised on it. She landed on her feet just like a cat and sprinted over, kicking the sword far past Weiss' grip.
"Nothing personal, hun," Lexy smirked, brandishing her steel claws as she walked toward Weiss. "But orders are orders."
"HEY!" a woman's voice suddenly called out behind them, and the massive arm of an ice blue Beringel caught Lexy in the chest. Weiss' mother had fire in her eyes as she watched the girl be thrown into the trunk of a tree. "Nobody hurts my baby."
Lexy was wobbly and dazed as she struggled back to her feet. She looked between the three girls, knowing she'd been beaten, and ran off into the forest.
"Neo, are you okay?" Weiss asked, rushing over.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she assured her. "I'm more worried about you."
"I landed a little funny, but I'm okay. I don't know if I would be if my mom hadn't- Hey, mom, why are you here in the first place? Did you follow us?"
"I was actually on my way out to the gardens," her mother replied. "I figured I'd see you along the way, but I didn't expect it to be like this."
The heiress nodded, "Likewise. We should get back inside. If Lexy's here then there's no telling who or what else is. I think Neo and I will be staying inside as much as possible."
"I agree. I'll talk to your father and get more security here so you won't have to worry. Get some hot chocolate and try to relax, okay? I want to do a sweep of this area, just in case."
Weiss nodded and got Neo back inside as quickly as possible. Her mother had called the house and already informed her father by the time the girls got back, and her father was livid that someone had snuck onto their property to ambush them. Once he was assured the girls were alright, he stormed to his office to hire more guards for the rest of the week.
"I haven't seen him that mad in a long time," Weiss said as she joined Neo in her room.
Neo shrugged, "Can you blame him? I'd be acting the same way."
"Ahem, girls?" Klein asked from the doorway, smiling and carrying a silver tray with two large mugs. "I was told hot coco was in order. Given the circumstances, I went ahead and added extra marshmallows."
Weiss giggled as he handed her a cup, "You really are the best, Klein. Thank you."
"You're quite welcome. If there's anything else I can bring you, don't hesitate to ask!"
"Nachos?" Neo sheepishly asked as she sipped her mug.
"Right away, m'lady! Any toppings?"
She thought for a moment, "Um... Sour cream, bacon, and strawberries."
"Are you pregnant or high?" Weiss laughed, as Klein chuckled along with her.
"Coming right up," Klein smiled, and headed to the kitchen.
Neo giggled, "Yes to pregnant, and probably not to high. Does being high on you count?"
"Sure," Weiss blushed, and nuzzled in against her girlfriend.
They put in a movie and cuddled up together under the blankets while they watched and sipped their hot drinks. Neo got her nachos after a little while, which Weiss was happy to let her have all to herself.
"Hey, Weiss?" Neo whispered. "I love you."
The heiress smiled and pulled Neo closer, "I love you too."
