Chapter 51: Merry Christmas
Serena Caldron was in a dilemma. Christmas was approaching and she had no idea what to buy as a gift. She'd invited Ruby and her team together with Torchwick, Neo, Raven and Junior to celebrate Christmas at their flat and had everything planned out.
Except for the gifts.
She knew what Ruby would like (definitely something that has to do with weapons), but she had no idea on what to buy the others. Blake would probably be happy with a book, but apart from that, she was lost.
That was the reason why she was currently strolling through Vale, looking at shop windows in hope that something would catch her eye. So far, she had already bought Ruby a new pouch for her ammunitions, so that the young girl could carry more with her. The pouch was similar to the one she'd had when she had lived in the forest and could be stripped to either the waist, or simply hooked onto the belt. It was in the colors red and black, Ruby's favorite, and she hoped that the girl would like it.
Passing by a bookshop, she entered in hope that she would find a book for Blake. The shopkeeper greeted her and she returned the greeting before going around and looking at all the different sections. Stopping by the romance novels, a book caught her eye. It was a thick one with a red cover and was entitled "Tales of Remnant". In it, there were multiple stories about events that revolved around war, murder and love and Serena was sure that Blake would love it.
She'd gotten a glance at the book the cat Faunus had been reading when she'd met up with her and the others for their little party night and it had been something about a ninja falling in love with his next target.
Content that she'd found something, she walked over to the cashier and asked him to wrap it up. The man did so and she paid for the object before putting it in her messenger's bag and walking out the door, continuing her quest for gifts.
"I'm back," Serena called as she entered the flat, taking off her black coat and shawl and walking over to the bedroom to set off her bag. Her hands still felt could and she rubbed them together to make them warm again. Snow had started to fall only a week ago, but it was already high and temperatures had dropped to below zero.
Walking into the kitchen, she brewed herself a cup of coffee to get warm again and sipped at it until a pair of arms snaked around her waist from behind and she was kissed on the cheek.
"Welcome back," the one holding her said and Serena turned around to give him a kiss on the cheek as well. "How was shopping?" Adam asked, letting go of the woman and brewing himself a cup of coffee as well.
"It was okay, though I did need quite a lot of time until I found a gift for everyone. And it's freezing cold out there," she whined, pressing her hands against the warm mug.
"Found anything nice?"
"I did, but I'm not gonna tell you what. It's a surprise," she replied with a smile and glint in her eyes that told him that shows not going to budge no matter what.
"Suit yourself," the male replied, leaning on the table that stood by the wall.
"If you don't have anything to do later on, could you help me prepare dinner? I want to start today so that I'll be ready for Friday," Serena asked, looking at the man that was still leaning on the table in the most nonchalant way, yet he made it look like the most attractive thing that on could possibly do.
"Sure," he replied and they soon set off to work. It was still two days until Christmas Eve, but Serena wanted to prepare everything that she could in advance so that she wouldn't be stressed when the actual day arrived.
The girl planned on making what her mother usually made for Christmas, so that it would be a little like old times. For that, she had thought of, as starters, a salad with fried shrimps, then, as main course, a roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing, roast parsnips, cranberry sauce and some more salad. As finishing touch, the dessert will be a chocolate mousse, her favorite. It was nothing special, but her mom had made this every year and Serena wanted to keep the tradition. They prepared everything except for the main course and put the food in the fridge so that it would stay fresh.
Serena had just finished putting the finishing touches on her make up when the doorbell rang and she rushed over to let her first guests in. She was wearing a red top with black pants underneath and a light black jacket over the top. Her hair was down and her eyes were rimmed with some eyeliner and mascara. Pulling open the door, she was greeted by the sight of Ruby and her team, all dressed differently and clashing in colors.
Ruby was wearing a dark red top with white shirt underneath and a black skirt that reached mid-thigh with black stockings underneath, together with a simple golden necklace and her red cloak. The girl just couldn't leave her cloak behind. Yang was wearing a golden dress that also reached mid-thigh with black heels and a black coat. Weiss had on a white blouse that had puffy arms and a white skirt that reached to just above her knees together with white fur-trimmed boots, all topped off with a white jacket. Blake was wearing a purple pullover with dark purple pants and black boots, also combined with a black coat.
Serena wondered how neither Ruby nor Yang could feel cold in those clothes.
"Serena!" Ruby greeted the older female, crushing the girl in a hug. Serena let out a slight 'oof' but returned the gesture nonetheless and let her friend enter the apartment, followed by the other three girls after they had all greeted their host.
"Wow, your flat looks really nice!" Yang said, looking at the living room in which a christmas tree was standing, decorated with some red bullets and a few lights that were lung around it. Serena thanked the girl for the compliment, telling them all to sit down while she went and grabbed some glasses and a bottle of champagne that she had bought.
When she got back, Adam was also there, finishing greeting Blake and took the glasses from her to fill them up with champagne while Serena went to get the door. She was greeted by Torchwick, Neo, Junior and Raven, all of which either gave her a hug (Neo and Raven) or simply shook her hand (Torchwick and Junior). She led them to the others and the girls were all surprised to see the ex-criminal mastermind enter the room.
"Torchwick?!" Ruby exclaimed, not understanding what the man was doing there.
"A pleasure to see you too, Red," the man replied with a smirk, waving over to the girl that was still in shock of seeing her former enemy. Roman simply chuckled at the flabbergasted expression of the girl before settling down in the couch next to Blake who gave him a quick glance of distrust and surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Weiss seethed, ice blue eyes narrowing at the male.
"I invited him, along with Junior and Neo," Serena spoke up. "We're good friends and I figured that it'd be more lively this way." Which it certainly is, she thought before continuing, "Besides, they're no longer your enemies and this is Christmas. So let's just enjoy the evening and celebrate in harmony."
"That's right. Now who wants a glass of champagne?" Adam interjected, drawing their attention to him and handing everyone a glass, hesitating, however, when it came to Ruby. "You sure you're old enough to drink?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course; I'm sixteen now, so I'm legally allowed to drink," the girl replied, giving a slight pout.
"If you say so."
Serena had to smile at the antics of both. Ruby had told her a lot about Torchwick and how much he annoyed her, but right now, she could only see that he was teasing her good-naturedly and she was responding to it, whether consciously or not. When they continued their bickering, she had to put her hand to her lips to keep herself from laughing out loud, though she couldn't quite hide the giggles that escaped her.
Adam looked over at the young woman, and raised an eyebrow in questions, not quite getting why she was laughing so much. The girl simply shook her head and pointed to the orange-haired man and her friend and he soon understood why she was laughing. He had to hold in a light snicker of his own.
"Alright," Serena said, getting her giggles back under control and stepping up, stopping Ruby and Roman from going any deeper into their argument, "How about we start cooking dinner so that we can get started?" She earned a sound of agreement and soon everyone was seated by the table.
Ruby was sitting on the head, next to her was Blake, then Junior and Raven. On the opposite side were (from left to right) Roman, Neo, Yang and Weiss. On the heads of the table were Adam, sitting next to Raven and Serena, sitting to the left of Ruby.
Serena was currently busy in the kitchen, preparing the salad on the plates while simultaneously frying the shrimps. Adam helped her by giving her the plates to her when the shrimps were ready, surprised that the girl managed not to let the fish burn even though she was occupied with her things. Having divided the shrimps equally, Adam took three plates while Serena took the remaining five and balancing them all successfully until they were in front of each guest. She thanked her part-time job as a waiter that she'd had in her last year of high school.
"Wow, this looks delicious," Raven said, giving the younger female a smile of appreciation.
"Hope you'll like it. My mom used to do this when it was Christmas, and I hope that it'll be as good as hers," Serena said, raising her glass of wine and, with everyone else doing the same (though Ruby and Blake chose to drink water), they toasted and started eating. The meal was silent and Serena was worried that it was no good, but when she looked up and at her guests, she could see the pure bliss that crossed their faces, smiles on some faces. Adam caught her eyes and gave her a thumb up and a smile, and she continued eating with a slight smile of her own.
Dinner continued like this, animated conversations going back and forth and teasing being exchanges (mainly between Ruby and Torchwick). The guests were in delight when dessert arrived and even after they had finished it, they remained seated and continued talking, about the past and about the future and present.
When it was almost twelve o'clock, Serena said that they should perhaps take their coffee in the living room and, after having changed location, they sipped their coffee or tea in peace, conversation having died down a little but still going on.
"Shouldn't we be opening presents soon?" Ruby asked timidly, glancing at the packages that had been placed underneath the tree by Serena. Serena nodded and they each went over and grabbed their own package, giving it to the one person it was destined for. Serena went over to Adam and gave him his present, twiddling her fingers while he unwrapped it. It was a simple red scarf and she hoped he liked it.
Adam carefully took out the red piece of garment, feeling the soft wool and inspecting it. It was finely made and he could see that it was handmade. "Did you do this yourself?" he asked, eyeing the girl that was standing before him nervously. She gave a quiet nod of the head. He hadn't expected her to make one herself and couldn't hide the smile that spread across his lips.
"I'm sorry that it's nothing special. I didn't really know what to get you so… And I thought that you liked red, since your clothes are mostly red, and just assumed that you would like it," she continued on blabbering, getting even more anxious when he remained silent. Maybe it had been the wrong choice after all. Her babbling was however stopped when she felt a pair of lips on her cheek and she immediately looked upwards, seeing a smile on the red head's face.
"It's great, thank you."
The female smiled and opened the present that was handed to her, eyes widening when she saw that her gift was a pair of undergarments; those of the sexy kind. Her face went full on red and Adam let loose a laugh, the girl stammering and somehow trying to get rid of the blood that continued to rush to her head. The others were looking over at her and most were smiling or laughing at the couple, Blake happy that Adam seemed so relaxed.
She didn't know that he could be such a tease.
Ruby however, soon stopped laughing when she received a present from Torchwick to her surprise and was greeted with the same sight, only that the underwear wasn't as sexy and in the color red. Her face was even redder than that of her friend and now both girls were stuttering and Ruby cursing and hitting Roman, though only lightly.
Suddenly, a loud bang was heard on the door and Adam went to see what was going on. Serena put away the embarrassing gift, stopping when she heard arguing coming from the entrance door and the sound of two other men talking to Adam in an urgent tone of voice. The others had quietened as well, and the girl went to go see what was wrong.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, standing so that she could see past her boyfriend who was partially blocking the door. She could see two men, both about forty, wearing what looked to be a police uniform. "Did something happen?" she questioned, worried about why the police should be there.
"Are you Serena Caldron?" the one on the left asked.
"I am."
"We need you to come with us right now," the other one, the one on the right, said, his eyes darting around nervously.
"She's not going anywhere," Adam said, pushing the girl slightly behind him.
"Please, this is an emergency," one of the two said.
"Adam, it's okay. I'll go and see what's wrong," Serena told the male, laying a hand on his shoulder to calm him down and, after grabbing her jacket, she went out the door, the two police officers leading the way. She could hear the others following soon after, several feet hurrying down the stairs after her.
"What's going on?" she asked, following the men to the center of Vale.
"A large group of Grimm has suddenly appeared at the border of the city and are advancing still. We have tried everything to stop them, but they are still continuing on."
"Have they attacked anyone?" she asked with worry, not understanding why the Grimm should suddenly come to the city.
"Not yet, but we fear that they will once they've reached the center. We hoped that you could help us," the one on the left spoke this tim, stopping a car with his badge and crossing the street with them.
"Of course," Serena answered, concentrating on the Grimm's aura, noticing that they were now in the middle of the city, at least fifteen and none of them were moving from there. "We should hurry. They're already there."
They continued to jog, slipping in the snow sometimes, but continuing on nonetheless until they reached the center. The men backed away as soon as they saw the monsters and Serena started walking towards them, noticing that Napoleon was among the Ursas.
"Napoleon," she greeted the Grimm, people around them looking at the group in both horror and awe.
It is good to see you again, child, the Grimm responded.
"It is, but may I ask what you all are doing here?"
We have not come to harm the humans if that is what you fear, he answered, walking towards her and nuzzling his snout against her head once before retreating and looking at her. The rest of the Grimm were still standing where they had been, looking around them curiously at the onlookers. Adam, Ruby and the others stopped when they spotted the group, not daring to go closer.
"Then why are you here?" Serena asked, spotting Loki and Ajax, who gave her a small wave with their paws. "And why did you bring so many Grimm. You know how people react when they see you," she said exasperatedly, not getting why they were all here.
We have come to wish you and the rest of the humans a merry Christmas and would like to celebrate with you all.
The answer caught the girl completely by surprise and she had no idea what to think of it. "You want to celebrate? With us all?" she asked in disbelief.
Yes. I think that we have kept away from the humans for long enough now. It is time that we get to know each other and grow closer. I can see that your mate and friend are here as well, Napoleon said, giving a huff and nodding his head towards the small group.
"Yeah, we were just opening presents," she replied absentmindedly. "But never mind. Now, what are we going to do?"
Just tell them.
The answer seemed very simplistic, but the girl guessed that it was worth a shot and turned around, addressing the people that were still there observing the exchange between the two of them.
"Citizens of Vale," she started off. "The Grimm are not here to hurt you. In fact, they have come to celebrate Christmas with us." Disbelieving rumors and laughs went through the crowd. Of course the idea sounded silly, but it was the truth. "The Grimm wish to grow closer to us and have come in peace and without any intention of causing harm," she said, shushing the whispers.
"That's great!" Ruby exclaimed, surprising everyone and walking up to the Grimm and her friend. "Hey Loki, Ajax. It's so good to see you guys again," she greeted the Grimm, receiving a lick of the face as always from them.
Slowly, the rest of Serena's friends started to approach and with them came the others. Slowly but surely, people started to relax in the presence of the creatures. The sudden sound of music caught everyone's attention and Serena spotted a man with a guitar who was playing. Another soon joined with a flute and suddenly there was an entire orchestra assembled.
Serena could see some children dance together with Loki and Ajax and had to laugh at the happy faces both made, carefully holding the children's hands in their paws and standing on their hind legs. Neo pushed Torchwick to a dancing Ruby and the two former arch enemies were soon dancing together, the rest of Team RWBY soon following and Junior dancing with Neo. Other people were dancing as well and Serena could feel an arm on her waist whisk her away and into the arms of Adam. She laughed and they started dancing, everyone else doing the same and more and more people joining in as well.
Grimm and Humans alike were enjoying themselves, no longer scared to be close to each other and the party went on into the night, the music growing happier and the people doing the same. It was all over the news the next day and people called it the "Christmas Miracle". It was the most extraordinary and fun Christmas that people had ever experienced and it would remain in the memory of all that had participated that day.
A/N: I do not own RWBY or its characters. I do, however, own my OC Serena and any other OCs that appear in this story.
I know it's not the best chapter of the story, but it was really hard to write this and I hope that it's somewhat okay. The next ones will get better, I promise!
