"Alright, folks! Yang Xiao Long is in the house!"
The blonde's announcement upon entering the pub was met by a chorus of groans and not a few jeers.
"Yes, obviously you are well-loved here," Blake deadpanned, following in her and Weiss' wake.
"You bet, they just need a few drinks to warm up," Yang retorted cheerfully.
"Or maybe you need a few drinks before you start pounding on them," a raspy voice called out from the bar. "How you been, firecracker?"
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby hollered, racing past the others to tackle the lanky man, almost knocking him off his barstool. "Hi!" she chirped, clinging to his waist.
"Hey yourself, squirt," Qrow chuckled. "Ah, and I see you brought your ladies with you."
"Hello again!" Pyrrha waved cheerfully, while Blake gave him a hesitant smile.
"Well, come on in, I reserved a pool table for us, we can chat while we play. I gotta split in a few hours… Oh." He paused, sizing up a particular white-haired heiress. "Heard you and firecracker here hooked up."
"Er, yes, sir," Weiss replied bashfully.
Qrow raised his eyebrows, looking over at his blonde niece. "Nice catch," he snarked before heading towards the rear of the bar.
"What?" the heiress sputtered quietly. "Nice catch? Nice catch?! What am I, a fish?"
Yang smirked and opened her mouth, only to have Blake slap her hand over it.
"Think very carefully on your next words," the Cat Faunus warned. "You will thank me for this later."
Pyrrha, meanwhile, had draped a friendly arm around the still-indignant white-haired girl, murmuring reassurances to her. Ruby had already scurried ahead to help get things set up.
Soon enough they had a game going on, Qrow going first and taking on all comers. Ruby fell fairly quick, as even she admitted it wasn't exactly her game, and then Yang lined up.
"So, you girls been enjoying Patch?" Qrow asked curiously while chalking up his cue.
"Oh, very much so," Pyrrha replied cheerfully. "It is a beautiful place."
Weiss had gotten over her earlier indignation and nodded politely. "And Mr Xiao Long is an excellent host."
"Yeah, I'll bet," he snickered softly. He lined up his first shot and broke, sending a number of balls careening into pockets. "He catch you guys sneaking his liquor yet?"
"I… That is…" Weiss looked at the smirking man, blushing brightly. "How did you know?"
"I didn't, really," Qrow laughed, sending another ball into a pocket and winking at his blonde opponent. "But I know my niece." He stood up then and regarded Ruby thoughtfully. "Though, maybe not the both of 'em as well as I thought I did…"
The brunette just grinned back at him innocently, joined by her raven-haired and redheaded girlfriends.
"Hmm." Qrow shook his head. "Nope, I don't wanna know." He returned to his game as the three girls snickered amongst themselves.
Yang was beaten fairly quickly thereafter, and the lanky man stretched with the cue held over his head. "So, anybody else?"
"I'll play a round," Blake said softly, accepting the cue from Yang.
"Good enough, I'll let you break."
"Thanks," Blake replied, flashing her girlfriends a quick smirk.
"Uh-oh," Ruby snickered.
"Mmhmm," Pyrrha grinned. "I recognize that look."
Sure enough, Blake handed Qrow a crushing defeat, wiping the table clean before he could even take a shot.
"That's… impressive as hell, kid," he stated, dumbfounded.
The raven-haired girl shrugged as she placed her cue up on the wall rack. "I grew up playing in Faunus bars, they were often the staging points for rallies and marches for equality."
"Ah, I see," Qrow grinned. "Pool shark, eh?"
"Perhaps," Blake replied, her smirk still firmly in place. Both Ruby and Pyrrha gave her celebratory hugs and kisses, causing the smirk to be replaced by a blush.
Before the next game could be set up, a rather large Bear Faunus stood up from his table.
"Alright," he bellowed. "Time for another drinking contest. Come on then, you pansies, who'll it be tonight?"
Yang grinned widely, standing up and beginning to approach, though the burly man noticed and immediately waved her off.
"Not you, Xiao Long, you know you're disqualified."
"Fine," the blonde pouted, but then grinned once more as sudden inspiration struck. "How about my little sister?"
The entire bar turned to gaze at a rather flustered-looking Ruby. "Ah heh heh… Hi there!" she waved hesitantly.
The Bear Faunus laughed uproariously. "Alright, yeah. You sure you wanna do this, kid?"
"Well," Ruby replied as she headed towards the table, shrinking slightly at all the attention. "Can I pick the drink?"
"Sure thing, what'll it be?"
Blake popped over by her elbow and whispered in her ear, causing the brunette to perk up.
"Ohhh, okay. How about shots of peach schnapps?"
"Absolutely, line us up!"
Qrow edged his way over towards Yang as both Blake and Pyrrha were standing by his other niece's shoulders encouragingly. "Yang, what are you thinking?" he hissed.
As the blonde had her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter, Weiss stepped in to explain in brief how Ruby had been easily able to out-drink Yang a short while ago at Beacon.
Qrow stared back at her, incredulous. When he glanced at Yang for confirmation, the blonde nodded rapidly, tears of mirth leaking from her eyes.
"Huh," he mused. Then he turned towards the rest of the bar. "Fifty lien on the little girl!" he bellowed.
The bets ran fast and furious after that, with the odds heavily in the current champion's favor.
Sixteen shots later, the bar patrons stared, stunned, as the Bear Faunus slumped under the table, while Ruby cheerfully downed another shot glass, seemingly unaffected whatsoever.
"I'll be a son of a Grimm," Qrow breathed. "How about that."
"Wait for it…" Yang snickered.
"Okay, so that was fun!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully. "I think it's time to head out now, though."
With that, the brunette stood up, turned, and promptly fell flat on her face. Soft snores issued from the petite girl soon thereafter.
"Just so you know," Yang laughed merrily as Pyrrha and Blake picked their girlfriend up off of the floor and carried her out the door. "I'm telling dad this was all your fault."
"Heh, why not," Qrow chuckled. "Wouldn't be the first time."
A/N: My apologies for the lateness of this posting up, all morning I've been as sick as Jaune on an airship (speaking of which, how did he even ride the Bulldog in the Breach episode without puking?).
A dusty old crow makes an appearance (being a bad influence per usual), and Ruby emerges from a drinking contest victorious. I imagine she'll wake up the next morning with an immense need to pee.
Sweet mother of all kittens, people, this little crack ship tale has broken 80k hits. We've got 357 followers and… 444 reviews? Gods I love you all.
Pink Cat Glory: And much Bellabooty was oogled by all.
Chaos: Wouldn't be surprised, Weiss gettin' all existential at a beach…
yosai: Thankfully she only uses the Bellabooty for good and not evil. I do have another Bind planned out, just need to sit down as the mood strikes me to write it.
Gorsouul: Thanks! Something tells me they won't get any less 'handsy' after they finally catch up with Bind…
Marauderby: Heh, yeah I imagine the both of them feel the need to pinch themselves. Blake in particular still has the stray thought that she shouldn't deserve that much happiness, but Ruby and Pyrrha are quick to dispel any such melancholy.
DschingisKhan: Sigh, fine, tension so thick it can be cut by Crescent Rose, happy now? (grumble grumble weapons nerds grumble…) Seriously, though, let's give them, ohhh… one more chapter? Yeah, let's just say one more chapter. It'll be a happy Friday treat.
ILikeHotDogs: Exactly! This is not normal doggie behavior, nor is the ability to be mailed via postal tubes! He's a dust-infused super-corgi!
Boombox94: So happy I could be a part of cheering you up!
PupOnDRun: Haha, I'm sure they were all thinking you'd lost your mind. And hey, always happy to reply to a review! I get one, I give props, them's the rules!
MakaS0ul: Thanks! I had a really fun time writing the gaming one as well, reminds me of playing L4D2 with my daughters. They're always yelling at me for setting the Tanks on fire… Cocktail party FTW!
mewtwo15026: Heh, definitely. And I did change the story synopsis, it was just too perfect not to.
FelipeCH98: Sexy indeed. I like carpe diem, kinda goes with my other motto, no regrets.
Jack Inqu: I think you might be spot-on for each girl's 'best asset', except perhaps for Weiss. At first glance she doesn't seem impressive physically, she's rather slim, doesn't have that great a bust. But consider, if you would, that she's a singer. With great lung capacity, ergo, ability to hold her breath… And I'm just gonna leave that right there 'cause this isn't Bind. But go with that dirty train of thought as you will.
growlscout: Thank you very much, I'm so happy you liked the way I structured the descriptions of their swimming attire! And yeah, I would imagine Weiss would step in to 'cool' the trio off if they'd gotten too carried away, heh. I'd like to think this is the sort of friendship that could have developed, almost as close as sisters, were it not for the continuous contention that arose with the whole mess from the White Fang to Vytal to everything else. Pull all of that out of the equation, and yep, this is what it should be. Plots be damned, I tell ya!
SamuraiShippo: Oh, the potential for calamity would be immense...
anubis7446: Thanks! I do intend to!
THB4: Well, as far as Zwei goes… he makes a reappearance in chapter 50.
kaiju62: Please, by no means do I ever expect reviews. I love to get them, but as you can see, it's almost an embarrassment of riches. And, if you liked the Zwei chapter, you might also appreciate the shenanigans two chapters from now...
Jazzatron: I can imagine the sisters being like, "Pfft, whatever, we make our own destinies" or the like.
Stay shiny!
