Okay, time for this. Sorry I've been gone for a while. Been busy.
Chapter 25:
Pushing the cart, Pyrrha was at least a little glad that her mother had peeled off to go find something. It gave her just enough time to relax about how she was feeling wound up tightly by just her mother's presence.
She had thought that Yang would have been able to calm that feeling but instead was met with the reason she rarely enjoyed shopping with the blonde boxer. Namely the walking up to her and saying some pun about an object she had found.
The only solace to all of this was the fact she knew her sister was being well looked after thanks to Sun and if she was up by now Ruby. Nothing bad could possibly happen there and it just made her feel a lot better about the entire situation.
Turning to walk down another aisle, she could see the blonde woman walking up to her holding something behind her back with a clearly suppressed laugh that grew with each step towards her.
"Yang, if it is another pun... just please don't. You are here to be a calming thing, not making me wish I could pull my hair out." Pyrrha spoke, letting her exhausted tone seep through. She had no doubt that there was going to be anything more annoying to her. A sentiment that only increased as the blonde seemed to deflate and sulked as she started to walk back to the cart.
"It was going to be a good one too." Yang said as she pressed her back to shelves much to Pyrrha's annoyance.
"By definition, no puns are good. They are either groan inducing, or make the other person want to kill you. There is no other outcome." Pyrrha muttered walking away from the cart to try and find one of the many items she knew Ruby loved to cook with when she got a chance, and the last few times they were there they didn't have any.
Rolling her eyes, Yang walked up to the cart and grabbed the hand rail to lightly push it forwards before dragging it back towards her. "I beg to differ. Puns are easily one of the greatest things mankind has ever created. The other is paying people to fight. Then I suppose it would be something like fire then the wheel." Yang spoke laughing as Pyrrha turned around and sulked a little.
"You could pose that question to twenty different people and get twenty different answers. For example I wouldn't put professional fighting on the list. I would put understanding the mind enough to help people." Pyrrha said as she walked forward to grab hold of the metal frame of the cart to just pull it along.
"And you'd be wrong. You can punch a surprising number of problems away." Yang said with a small laugh at the sight of the red haired woman shaking her head. As if she was fully and truly exhausted by this one trip. "So how are you keeping up? I know when I found out Ruby used I practically tore her room apart, begged the folks to come home and broke down into tears like eight times in the space of six hours."
"Well, my Mom is home and being oddly enough far more hands on than she has for just about anything else. I did cry a lot yesterday and thankfully Ruby was there to calm me down. And that is probably also the only reason I'm not panicked to get home. Ruby knows what to expect and how much suffering Octavia must be going through. I'm just worried that she'll relapse." Pyrrha said in near tears at the thought of needing to go through it once again as she had to let go of the cart and walked towards the shelves to pull down some of the bags of rice. "I mean... Ruby wanted to get clean. Anyone at the meetings wants to get clean. Octavia didn't want to."
"Then you'll just do it all over again. And we'll stand by you. Not to mention you could always try and get Sun's brother; who is a major prick by the way, to cut Octavia off in Vale. I mean there are what three big gangs shouldn't be hard." Yang said with a small laugh as Pyrrha just shook her head at her friend's naivety.
"He had to call in so many favours, and Ruby was actually cared for by some of the gangs from my understanding. They wouldn't care for Octavia. Because you are Ruby's sister they might stretch far enough to care a little for you, and to my knowledge they care for Summer and Tai because of how they raised Ruby. But Octavia to them is just going to be another addict." Pyrrha said turning around to face her friend. She wanted the blonde woman to see how serious she was with the topic.
"Then get Ruby to try and get them to not sell it to her. Or get Ruby to tell her how low she has to sink before a pity party is acceptable. And you just know Ruby has had a few of those." Yang countered as she could see that seemingly brought some comfort to her friend.
Happy that she did her job, Yang took a breath as Pyrrha turned around and started to pull the cart around a corner. "Also apparently Ruby has never had a pity party in the traditional sense. She just gets so enrapt with thinking about every possible outcome, and would find it much easier if people just hated her for her actions instead of accepting them and her." Pyrrha spoke, noticing herself the shift in her tone towards happy that at the very least she wasn't on a topic like her sister. And one that she knew about fully.
"Talk about a lie. I can think of five times when we were children that she was having a pity party. Mostly because of something stupid but cool she did."
"You sure it was a pity party and you just didn't catch her thinking and tried to catch you up on what she did?" Pyrrha said with a small laugh at the fact she could feel the blonde no longer holding onto the cart as if she was in deep thought trying to figure out if it was really what she always assumed it was. "Come on Yang, we still have only done half the shopping if Sun is eating with us tonight and tomorrow... plus snacks."
Stretching from his spot, Sun began to roll onto his side to see a somewhat irate looking Pyrrha staring at him. Shrugging his shoulders, confident that after his repeated bouts with Ruby's mother the previous day that nothing Pyrrha could do would scare him. Especially if this was about what he thinks it is about.
"Tall Red, come on. I'm still getting up to check on her. And as I said before you dragged me here." Sun stopped mid sentence to let out a loud yawn. "There is nothing we can do in the meantime until it leaves her system. And seeing as those are police issue handcuffs which raise so many questions, but you can't cut off a limb or dig it too far into yourself." Sun continued closing his eyes, just enjoying the fact that it was still relatively silent given everything.
"How can you be so calm about this!?"
"Because my brother deals, my best friend used and has been through this a few times but only once by choice, and it is a common sight really if you live on the streets for even a day. So, can we just not shout?" Sun asked rhetorically as he tried to close his eyes tighter to get a few more minutes sleep.
As if sensing what Pyrrha wanted to yell and possibly do to the sleeping Faunus, Yang felt like she had to speak up. "Who would think banana, chocolate and chillies is a good combination?" Yang asked in a vain attempt to try and move the conversation away.
"Dibs!" Sun yelled startling Yang as she could hear some shifting on the couch followed by the man walking towards the small island "Tell Red I have dibs." Sun continued as he snatched the bag from her hands.
"Snatch something from my hands again if you want to feel what a broken rib cage feels like and at the same time get your ass kicked by a girl." Yang deadpanned as Sun chuckled at that statement.
"Already felt both of those. We've fought a lot. Mostly from your trust issues with Red." Sun said laughing lightly walking back over to the couch, taking a seat as he could hear some shuffling towards the living room.
"You've never fought Yang. Best you can say is you took one hit meant for me." Ruby muttered rubbing her eyes as she took a seat next to the monkey Faunus. A smile gracing her lips as she could see him finally opening the bag in his hands and offering it towards her. "I mean have you ever even been able to take a second hit?"
Chuckling a little as he could see his friend reach into the bag to pull out a small handful. Starting to just place the items into her mouth as Sun returned the bag to the right person. "No, but I can still tell people I fought 'The Rising Sun Dragon' at least that is as far as my parents, potential love interests and employers are concerned happened. That and she hits really, really, really hard." Sun spoke as Ruby just shook her head at the notion.
"What is that for when you explain the brain damage? Or do you want credit for saying you've punched a girl?" Yang asked walking into the room to be met with laughing.
"Yang, I've told you. As far as literally anyone is concerned the second you started fighting in the men's division and started climbing that ladder with ease everyone started to consider you as a man. Plus you've got mannish hands and mannish anger to begin with." Ruby laughed out as the blonde reached forward grabbing her by the scruff of the hoodie that she had been wearing.
"I still owe you a punch. So give me a reason not to." Yang seethed as Ruby chuckled again.
"You'd be proving my point so well I wouldn't need to provide evidence to back it up. The only way you could possibly win is if you don't." Ruby got out as she was thrown back into the seat laughing all the while. Turning towards Sun she could see was restraining a laugh. "Anyway, Sun go check on Octavia. Yang thank you for going with Pyrrha, feel free to stay if you want." Ruby said as she let the laughter die down entirely.
She knew that this was actually probably one of those times where Yang wasn't sure if she wanted to stay or go, but she still felt like she owed Yang the offer because despite all the prodding that she would do on a regular basis for the way she just helped put her own mind at ease.
"Nah, I have a hot girlfriend and we plan to cuddle by the fire until I have no choice but to leave to go with dad to a meeting." Yang said ignoring the eye rolling of her sister for the both of their own safety, because she knew that if she needed to defend the fact her drinking was a problem she knew she would punch Ruby repeatedly.
At least she was thankful for Pyrrha taking a seat next to Ruby for the fact that she knew she'd be able to separate any and all fighting. "Okay, enjoy the meeting. And if you need anything we owe you one." Pyrrha responded ignoring the hurt look she knew her wife would be having strewn across her face.
"Thanks, I'll keep it in my back pocket." Yang said as she walked towards the door and nearly sprinted out of the home.
Once the echoing of the door reverberated through the apartment, Ruby just smiled as she looked around trying to find the only woman to get on her nerves from her being so entitled. And she knew that there really had to have been something to set her off in that conversation alone.
As her feet got dragged onto the floor, Pyrrha rested her head onto Ruby's lap smiling all the while Ruby felt like she might as well ask. "Hey Pyrrha where is your mom?"
"Yang dropped her off at her hotel. She wanted to grab a change of clothes for Octavia because she doesn't trust us saying Sun is gay." Pyrrha yawned out as Ruby smiled and rested a hand on her arm. "Now can we just go the rest of the time while she is gone sleeping on the couch here? I'm still hungover, and I didn't get to wake up with my wife holding onto me."
"Sure Pyrrha." Ruby began as moved her head back to just rest it on the back of the couch. Eyes closed as she started to think. 'This is the feeling that beats heroin... and I know that... but why do I still feel this need to shoot up?'
Author's Note:
Annnddddd done. That took a while... time to edit and then play some more Final Fantasy 13... god damn gil grinding.