Heyo! Welcome to another special New Years chapter! *Checks calendar on phone* and it's already a week past. Welp, fuck. Y-yeah. This didn't go as planned. I'm terribly sorry it's this late. There's just been soooooo fucking much drama at my work. And, of course, I get fucked over because of it. Christmas and New Years have been so fucking busy too. The whole week prior to new years was just a steady circulation of get up, go to work, go home, get baked. I've been procrastinating for so long, and it finally caught up with me. But I'm coming back to regular working days now, and I'm finally able to catch time to work on writing again. So yeah. My sincerest apologies. This is just something I was able to whip together, cuz I'm outta time. So yeah. PCe.
"Come on Weiss! We're almost there!"
"Easy hun, we're not in a rush!"
The red clad was energetic as always as she happily pulled Weiss along the sidewalks of Patch. The team was heading to the mall as the redhead skipped joyfully ahead, looking at the items in the windows of the shops and the new stores that had opened up while she was away. Occasionally, a store owner would come out to greet the local girls, some giving gifts from their shops, others just came to chat. Eventually. The group all made it to the mall in little under an hour or 2 as they examined the map together.
"Okay. We need to grab groceries and supplies for dinner, That'd be oveeeer… here." Yang spoke, pointing on the map.
"Okay. Weiss and I are going clothes shopping," Ruby stated with slight disapproval. "Which iiiiss… over here."
"Okay, we should set up a meeting spot for lunch." Weiss said.
"How about the food court iiin… 4 hours?" Blake suggested.
"Sounds good. We'll rendezvous at the court. Good luck." Ruby spoke. As the group set the plan in motion.
"Oh, and Weiss?" Yang spoke, making the heiress-in-question turn around. "Don't spoil Ruby too much."
Weiss snorted. "I'll try and contain my platinum edge card." She retorted, turning back around as she returned to her girlfriend's side.
With the plan in motion, the Whiterose couple made their way to the giant store at the eastern side of the mall. The place looked huge to the redhead as they walked into the entrance. Displays of all kinds, mannequins all with the latest fashionable apparel. And outfits of all shapes and sizes. It amazed Ruby how large it was to her. it made her feel very small in comparison as she felt overwhelmed by the amount of everything around her. The heiress caught on to this as she simply grabbed her hand firmly, easily guiding her into the shop.
"Uhm. W-where do we even start?" Ruby asked, looking around the place confusedly as she scanned around the area for any possible starting point.
"Here." Weiss simply stated. The redhead looking straight again as her eyes widened in awe. The whole section was completely devoted to Onesie pajama's, and pajama's only. The heiress smirked as she watched her rose's face light up with excitement.
'Point, Weiss Schnee'.
Meanwhile.
"I am telling you, that was not on the list!"
"What's wrong with going a little 'off the list'?!"
"We can get the tuna fish crackers next time, right now we have to grab what we need!"
"But we do need it!"
The couple continued to argue with one-another as the passerby's turned to the noise, though returning to the job at hand soon thereafter. The duo was going through the large list the blond man gave her like nothing, and pretty soon they were at the snack aisle to grab munchies. And that's when the cat faunus found her favourite snack. The blonde had no problem per say with buying for her girlfriend, but she had spent most of her savings on Christmas and the last remains on airbus tickets, and her father had given her a strict grocery budget, leaving only a little bit of cash left for bus tickets home.
"Why didn't you bring your wallet? I told you we were going shopping."
"I did! I... put it in the storage compartment of your bike," The faunus admitted sheepishly. "Which is parked… in your garage at home. I thought it was just the two of us, so I thought we were gonna take your ride!"
"Well, I only have enough money left over for bus tickets home and for lunch. There isn't enough left over to buy all 3." Yang spoke, taking the edibles and putting them back on the shelf as the raven haired faunus frowned. Blake sighed as the couple continued to shop, finding the last of the items in a pinch as they finally went to the checkout.
Once the groceries were paid for and everything was done, the duo made their way to the food court. The blonde pushed the large shopping cart filled with groceries as the black cat followed suit behind her. Though her mood remained sullen the whole way to the food court. She wasn't stuck-up per say, but she hadn't seen her favourite food since she was young. She knew it wouldn't be the last time, though. And so, she tried to brush it aside and move on as her and Yang finally arrived at the food court.
The duo caught sight of the Whiterose couple as they made their way over to them, getting their attention quite easily as they regrouped. "Ah, long time no see." Yang quipped as she saluted to them.
"Likewise." Weiss returned as she smirked. The blonde noticed the many different bags, all donning the same logo on it. Yang sighed as she glared at the ivory haired girl.
"Weiss! I told you, don't go overboard!" The brute scolded. Making the heiress huff.
"Hey. I needed a few new outfits too, you know," She replied, waving her hand in a sign of peace. "Besides, you needn't worry about money. I am more than content to help pay. It's the least I can do for your family's plentiful hospitability."
"Hey, you're always welcome at our place," Ruby spoke, grabbing the heiress' arm lightly as she looked to her, then Yang. "Right?"
The blonde nodded as she smirked.
"Enough of this though, let's go grab some grub!"
After lunch, team split up as the bumblebee duo left the groceries with their team's counterpart. Blake told them she had a surprise waiting and would see them back at the house. Which left the duo to take the overabundant load of groceries home in about 1 trip. Bad news was no taxi could fit all the groceries and the 2 girls in the same trip, but fortunately for them, the redhead knew the owner of the mall. After a little talk and some easy negotiations with the man (Who could resist those silver eyes?), they convinced him to take the cart home, in promise that she'd return it by tomorrow. And so, the duo-
"Maaan, I'm tired already!" Ruby whined as she slumped her chin on the front of the cart.
"You're not even pushing this damn thing! Do you realize how heavy the groceries and your body mass is combined?!" Weiss retorted, pushing said cart as the redhead sat amidst it.
"I told you, We'll switch up when we reach halfway!" The redhead returned.
"I Thought you meant on the way back to the mall?!"
The heiress finally stopped as she panted lightly, gripping the handlebar like a support as she bent over. "This… isn't working," The white haired girl spoke, wiping sweat off her brow as she looked to the cookie crusader. "You're gonna have to get out."
"Aww, but Weiss! There's a hill not too far away, it'll be easier soooon!" The young rose pouted. Though the heiress wasn't too hard-pressed with having to still push her. "Pleeeease Weiss? There must be some trick to making this move without me having to!"
"Not at the mome-" Weiss went to respond, until an idea struck her. With said idea in mind, she simply activated her glyph as it appeared right underneath the bottom of the cart. With a simple push, the glyph took care of the rest as she hopped on the back end of it, letting her work do the… work as she rode atop it.
"There we go," The heiress spoke as she hopped inside the cart itself. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
Suddenly, karma soon kicked in as it soon started to roll faster with the descending hill. She soon saw her next challenge in front of her: the civilians trekking along, backs turned to her as she had to think fast. With quick thinking, she regained control of the cart as she grabbed the sides, leaning left as it actually started to move with her body.
"Ruby, help me steer this thing!" She commanded, the redhead complying as she too leaned, missing the pedestrian completely as the other 2 came up quickly. The duo leaned right, then left again as they veered around the people, nearly missing them by an inch as they continued.
"why'd I think this was a good idea?!" The heiress bellowed, dodging another person as the duo soon made it to the flat slope.
"This is so much fun!" The younger huntress exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her worried girlfriend as she giggled, chanting 'let's go again, let's go again!'. Soon, the heiress' worry turned to delight as she continued the journey back to the house.
Meanwhile
"Okay, okay Blake, hold on. You have me blindfolded, and you're running too fast!" The blonde spoke, guided by her faunus girlfriend as she ran towards the escalators, eager to get to the top. And for good reason, about a week ago, right after Christmas, Blake had received a call from someone she hadn't seen in a long time. Their 'quick chat' turned into a few hours as they caught up with one another. When Blake told the person where she was staying, they lit up with shock and surprise. Long story short, the man decided to come down to visit, in hopes to reunite with an old friend as well.
"Blake, I know you said it was a 'surprise', but isn't this a little overboard?" Yang spoke, about to take off the blindfold, only to be swatted away by the black cat's hand.
"No, trust me. It's a very different surprise, you'd figure it out if you saw what's around you."
"Why, what's around me?!" The blonde started to panic, looking around the place as she tried to swat and search. Only for the faunus to continue to pull her to her destination. Once the duo arrived, the faunus sat her down as she waited for the person to arrive.
"Can I at least take it off now?" Yang questioned, looking around for her faunus girlfriend to answer.
"Now you can, yes." The black cat responded, standing up as she finally saw the man she was looking for. With a smile on her face, she ushered her blonde girlfriend to stand as she brought her over to the man.
"Okay, okay. Just a second honey!" The blonde replied, finally taking off her blindfold as the first thing she saw was a burly man, dressed in purple coat and a white sweater, along with black hair and a beard. The man looked familiar for some reason, as the bright amber eyes glared at her. "W-who's this?"
"Yang. This is my father." Blake said, the brute in question's eyes widening as she froze up.
"O-oh, Mr. Belladonna, I-I mean it's nice to meet you sir!" the stuttering blonde spoke as she bowed, earning a confused look from the man.
"Dad, this is my girlfriend, Yang Xiao Long!" Blake replied earnestly. The man now peering at the blonde with vibrant golden daggers for eyes. Yang felt herself growing smaller from the man's presence, as the silence felt like it could drown her.
"So, you're my daughter's lover," The tall faunus man spoke. Yang could only swallow thickly as he continued to stare down her like prey. "Yang Xiao Long…"
She felt the urge, the impulse to do it as she cleared her throat. "That's my name, Xiao Long's the game." She quipped, hoping to break the thick ice between them. Only it didn't seem to move the man at all, making herself feel more so awkward and regretful. That was, until the man let out a chuckle.
"Ha ha! I haven't heard that awful pun since I was in signal," he spoke, his laugh growing bigger and hardier as he walked over to the blonde. "It's so good to meet you, what are the odds my daughter would be dating a Xiao Long?"
"W-wait. You know… my dad?" The brawler clued in, earning a nod, followed by a smirk from the man.
"Why of course. Your father and I used to be rivals!" The man spoke, letting out another hardy chuckle. "Now, where is that old man? I haven't challenged him in ages, it's about time for another round!"
Blake's dad walked away as the bumblebee duo watched him. Yang sported a dumfounded look, whilst the raven haired girl simply shook her head. The two looked back at one another as a moment of silence dawned on them, before finally continuing.
"Ya know, this explains a lot-"
"Shut it, Xiao Long."
"Come on! You think you can take me?!"
"Bring it on, Belladonna! Let's go, here and now!"
"Alright, BRING IIIIITTT!"
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
The team watched as the two dad's were locked hand-to-hand. each struggling to bring the other's arm down as part of another one of their 'rival competition's. Grunts could be heard as beads of sweat started to form on one-another's foreheads.
"Is that all you got?!" The blond man spoke, a grin piquing on his face as they continued to struggle.
"Yeah, go dad!" Ruby squealed, waving a small 'Go Dad' flag as she cheered him on. The heiress was locked on their battle, though nobody was sure if she was really watching or just off her own world at that point.
"Does your dad always do this?" Yang asked her faunus girlfriend around her arm as the duo watched them from the couch.
"Only when he's with his friends," Blake replied, looking back up to her girlfriend. "At home, he's a very polite and reserved. So I think this is his way of 'letting loose'. Or so you'd say."
"Oh ho, taking my quotes now, are we?" The blonde said playfully, earning a giggle from the faunus girl before receiving a quick kiss.
Finally, Taiyang's arm was thrown to the table as Ghira finally triumphed. The duo panted like dogs as the faunus held his hands up like a boxing champ. "This old man's still got it." He quipped as the duo laughed.
The countdown could be heard on the tv as everyone looked over to it, though without any drink to accompany it. Yang's eyes went wide. "Shit, we forgot the countdown!"
With that, she and Blake rushed over to the kitchen as they pulled out various plastic cups and started to fill them, with Ruby collecting them and placing them beside the two on the table in a flash. With that, they poured 4 more for them as they returned back to the countdown. Blake handed Weiss one just as it was time.
"Five, four,"
"Three, two,"
"One."
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone shouted as they raised their glasses to the sky. Clinking their cups together as they celebrated the end of the year.
And thus, a new year begun.
The end.