Chapter 53

Yang woke up in a very different position from the one in which she had fallen asleep. After her attempt to get frisky, Pyrrha had insisted she be the big spoon for the night and Yang agreed. The positioning had the added benefit of allowing Yang to slip her prosthetic beneath her pillow, further reducing the chances of it causing discomfort. When Yang woke up she was flat on her back, her face smothered in damp golden hair. One of her legs was atop Pyrrha's, and her prosthetic was at her side. She sat up and stretched.

"Ow!" Yang whined as some of her hair pulled taut. It was probably under Pyrrha but...no, that was impossible at this angle. Following the offending strands, she discovered the source of her discomfort. Some hair had slipped between the glove and sleeve that covered her prosthetic and been pulled into the wrist joint. Yang tried to pull it free but it was stuck tight. "Damnit."

"Mng...what's wrong Yang?" Pyrrha asked groggily. She sat up and yawned.

"Hair's stuck in the fuckin' arm." Yang complained, holding it up to show Pyrrha.

"Oh, that looks bad." Pyrrha perked up. She took hold of the prosthetic to take a better look. "Maidens Yang, it's not just wrapped around, it's pulled inside. How did you even manage this?"

"I told you I'm a violent sleeper." Yang noted.

"It looks like your wrist was rotating and twisting...how did this not wake me up?" Pyrrha shook her head.

"If it's that bad, maybe I should just cut it off." Yang sighed. "It's not too bad, probably won't even notice."

"No, that won't do." Pyrrha refused. "Even if you cut it the hair will still be in the mechanism. It could do damage or cause a jam. We need to get it out."

"I'll book a flight to Atlas right away." Yang rolled her eyes.

"That won't be necessary." Pyrrha said. "Sit tight." She hopped out of the bed, grabbed a loose t-shirt from a nearby chair and threw it on before moving to the prosthetic's case. "Now let's see…" Pyrrha dug around the case for a few seconds. "There we are." She retrieved a screwdriver with a triangular head. "The manual explains how to clean the mechanism. First you need to turn off the arm."

Yang grabbed her scroll, opened the control app and switched the arm to "Off". "It would probably be easier if I took it off, huh?"

"No, I can do it, just hold it out wrist up." Pyrrha instructed. Yang used her other arm to move the prosthetic into position. Using the screwdriver, Pyrrha removed four almost invisible screws and placed them on the nightstand. She removed the panel, revealing the inner workings of the forearm.

The wrist joint was much more complex than Yang would have expected, though when she thought about it, that made sense given the multitude of ways a natural wrist could move. All the small parts inside were tangled with hair. "Well that doesn't look great."

"No, it doesn't." Pyrrha frowned. Using her fingers, she rotated some of the parts, unwinding a bit of the hair, but no matter what she tried, some remained stubbornly twisted within. Removing it would likely require further disassembly of the arm...or something Yang would not be happy with. "I think I'll have to cut some. Do you...do you mind?" Pyrrha knew that Yang was very protective of her hair, and only ever trusted Summer to cut it for her.

"Do it." Yang sighed. "There should be scissors on the dresser."

Pyrrha walked to the dresser and found the scissors in question. They were ideal - small and narrow, perfect for getting into tight spaces. "Are you sure?" Yang nodded in confirmation and Pyrrha went to work. She carefully snipped the offending strands, careful to remove them from the mechanisms following each cut. After a few snips the prosthetic was cleared. Ensuring that no more hair was stuck within, Pyrrha replaced the panel and screwed it on. "All done."

"Thanks." Yang smiled. "That was actually pretty awesome. It was like you were doing surgery, cool robot surgery. Wait...am I technically a cyborg now?"

"Um...I think so." Pyrrha replied. "The arm's wired into your nervous system, so it is an integral part of your body."

"Sweet." Yang grabbed her scroll and reactivated the arm. Careful to hold it away from her hair, she flexed it to make sure everything was in order. "Hmm...if I'm going to sleep with it I should get a better glove, something that covers the wrist, just in case."

"Good idea." Pyrrha agreed. "You should probably write up a bug report too. This is a problem the techs in Atlas will want to know about." Yang groaned and Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll write up a bug report."


Winter lounged on the couch, watching a morning game show. Summer had gone to buy groceries. Though Winter enjoyed taking such trips with Summer most of the time, with her broken arm in a sling she felt she would just be in the way. Besides, going out would require taking a shower, getting dressed, and probably putting on some makeup, and relaxing all day in her pajamas was one of Winter's guilty pleasures. As the game show neared its end, the contestants lined up to spin a wheel - that Summer had preposterously claimed was filled with blood - for the chance to reach the show's grand prize round. Winter found it curious. A competition that focused on knowledge and reasoning could ultimately come down to a test of physical skill...or more likely pure luck. At least it was more entertaining than the news.

Raven approached, dressed neatly in the uniform Winter had purchased for her. "Can I get you anything?"

"Hmm...no, I don't think so." Winter replied. "I could go for a foot rub though." She put her feet up on the coffee table, wiggling her toes.

Raven hesitated. "Uh...sure. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I can give it a shot."

"I'm just joking." Winter chuckled. She patted the couch beside her. "Take a seat, relax."

"Alright." Raven sat at Winter's side. She remained stiff, almost jumpy.

"Is something the matter?" Winter asked.

"Nah, not really, just not sure how to act around you." Raven admitted. "I don't know if I should treat you like my boss or my pal."

"Treat me like an old friend." Winter requested.

"Don't have too many of those." Raven sighed. "Not anymore. Used to have a bunch. But I just keep fucking up and pushing them away."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." Winter encouraged.

"I know I'm a fuck up, and I accept that." Raven insisted. "I always have been. In school I was in trouble all the time, for fighting or not doing my work. Never even finished high school. I only ever got by because I kept falling in with the right people. First it was Summer and Tai, but I fucked that up by letting myself get pregnant. Then after some...unpleasantness, Tai was gone, my brother too. I had Glynda though, but now she hates me. Summer isn't thrilled either. Even my daughter looks at me funny. You seem to be the only one who wants to associate with me, and I broke your fuckin' arm."

"We all make mistakes." Winter noted. "It's how you react to them that matters."

"Ha, seems like all I ever do is follow my mistakes with more mistakes." Raven smiled wryly. "At least not all of 'em were bad. Yang really was a mistake, but the best damn mistake I ever made. The worst one was pushing her away, not being her mother. Still trying to fix that one. Then I pull this shit with you, it's like I never stopped being a dumb teenager."

"I still think you're being too hard on yourself." Winter persisted.

"Agree to disagree then." Raven shrugged. "I used to blame it on my parents, 'specially when Qrow was a worthless alcoholic, but now he's got his shit together and I'm still a mess. No one to blame but me now."

"You had difficult parents?" Winter asked.

"Yeah, you could say that." Raven confirmed. "My father was abusive, liked to yell and smack the rest of us around for the slightest transgression, sometimes for no reason at all. My mother never did shit to protect us, never once stood up to him."

"My parents were...not ideal either." Winter sighed. "They were cold, in a sort of upper class, arrogant way. They never showed Weiss or I any affection. My father didn't show any love for my mother either for that matter. He slept around, and everyone knew it, and I think my mother even had a few affairs. The best thing they did was die before they totally ruined Weiss."

"Shit..." Raven shook her head. "You turned out alright though."

"I got lucky." Winter said. "There were people around who did care. Some of our servants were very good people. It's a good thing they were the ones who raised me, or I would have ended up like my parents."

"When we first met, I really did hate you." Raven admitted. "It wasn't just about Summer either. I spent years fucking up, bringing the people around me down. Then you came along and fixed everything. It was frustrating, made me feel like shit. You show up, make Summer happier than she's been in years, fix my daughter's problems, when all I could do was stand there and watch. And even though I treated you like shit, all you did was try to win my respect and my friendship."

"If my father taught me one worthwhile lesson, it was to face my problems head on." Winter noted. "I didn't just want to make Summer happy, I wanted to make the whole family happy, and that includes you. You didn't want any part of it, and that only made me more determined to bring you around."

"And in return I just punched you repeatedly in the face...and stomach...and boob." Raven groaned. "I'll admit that last one was pretty low."

"It really hurt." Winter complained.

"Want me to kiss it better?" Raven teased.

"Summer already did." Winter smirked.

"Now that's a low blow." Raven chuckled.

"That makes us even." Winter declared.

"I broke your arm." Raven observed. "Then you gave me a job and a place to live. We're hardly even."

"Well, I'm in no shape for it now, but when I heal up, keep training me, then we'll call it even." Winter suggested.

"That all?" Raven asked.

Winter smiled. "Hmm...I suppose you could throw in a foot rub too."


Winter and Raven sat in the diner's corner booth. Winter shoveled poutine into her mouth as Raven watched in amusement. Summer had witnessed Winter's uncouth eating habits, but the phenomenon was new to Raven. "I guess it's good." Raven smirked.

Winter swallowed. "Amazing." She took another big bite. "Summer got me hooked on the stuff." Summer had intended to join the pair for lunch, but a call from Nora drew her away. Apparently Nora and Jaune wanted advice about baby-proofing their apartment.

Raven's salad, topped with grilled chicken, remained largely untouched. She was not particularly hungry. It had been over a week since Glynda kicked her out, and Raven's appetite waned along with her hopes of a reconciliation. Glynda still refused to take her calls or respond to her texts. "You're eating like Yang after a marathon." Raven observed. "What gives?"

"Just a juvenile rebellion against my strict upbringing." Winter replied. "I was raised to use stupidly specific utensils and take tiny bites of only the finest cuisine. Shoveling junk food down my throat is liberating."

"Is Weiss this rebellious?" Raven asked.

"God no." Winter chuckled. "She's as straight laced as they come, except in bed apparently."

"She'll fit right in with Ruby then." Raven noted. "I'm into some freaky shit, and that girl...I guess she's sort of like my protege."

"That you're going to have to explain." Winter insisted.

"Oh, that's a good one." Raven reminisced. "Ruby was 15 I think. Summer walks into her room to find her naked, tied up, and dangling from a bedpost. Summer nopes the fuck out and calls me. I untied Ruby, and after she got dressed she explained what she was doing. Apparently she saw some video online about rope binding and shibari, and she decided to try it. She was using the bedpost to adjust the ropes when she slipped, got herself hung up, luckily by the waist and not the neck. It's a good thing Summer walked in when she did or the restricted blood flow could have done some real damage. Long story short, I gave her a talk about safety, and as time went by I became her go-to whenever she had sex-related questions."

"I like the open approach you and Summer have to discussing sex with your daughters." Winter noted. "I try to do the same for Weiss and Blake, but Weiss has never been comfortable discussing that sort of thing with me. I guess it would seem weird, since I'm her sister and sort-of mother. Maybe Weiss would have been more comfortable coming to me with her problems if our parents hadn't trained us to keep our issues to ourselves."

"Being a sort-of mother has its plusses and minuses." Raven shrugged.

"How did...hmm...I'm curious about your relationship with Yang." Winter struggled. "I don't want to pry, but-"

"No, it deserves an explanation." Raven cut in. "When I got pregnant with Yang, I wasn't even close to ready to be a mother. Tai really wanted a kid though, and Summer agreed to raise Yang in my place if I decided to keep her. I'm glad I kept her but...stepping back like that, not being her mother...it was a terrible mistake. It really wrecked me for a while. I couldn't bear to be around Tai and Summer and Yang anymore, I couldn't handle the emotions, so I left for a while. I was a mess, and I tried a lot to suppress what I was feeling - alcohol, drugs, casual sex, eventually violence. I was surprised by how many underground fight clubs there were in the city, and I kicked plenty of ass.

"Then one day, I was at the gym - the one Glynda owns - and this dude-bro starts hitting on me." Raven continued. "He was only too eager to fight me when I challenged him, but he was pathetic, and I was just toying with him. Then Glynda pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered to watch, yelled for us to stop. That distracted me and the asshole knocked me the fuck out. I woke up in the hospital with Glynda at my side. She begged me not to sue the gym. I said I wouldn't if she took me out to dinner."

"Smooth." Winter chuckled.

"Yeah, she wasn't impressed, but she took the deal anyway." Raven nodded. "Spending time with me did impress her, and we started dating. It was a sort of love-at-second-sight thing. She'd been looking into expanding the gym with a martial arts dojo, and she hired me to run it. She was a smoker at the time, and the thought of her dying from that shit terrified me, so I made her quit. She was really pissed at the time but thankful once the withdrawals ended. I saved her, then she saved me back. I was still dealing with the pain from the Yang situation, and Glynda could tell it was tearing me up. Yang was about eight months old by then. Glynda convinced me to reconnect with Summer and Tai, and that's when I started being Aunt Raven. "

"Why did you stop?" Winter asked.

"From then I always intended to tell Yang the truth, but it terrified me." Raven replied. "Summer was her mother, Tai was her father, and they were a happy family. I didn't want to fuck that up for them. It was eventually Summer who talked me into it, and when Yang turned thirteen we told her the truth. She...didn't take it well, yelled a bunch, ran off crying. Luckily Pyrrha was there to chase her, really calmed her down. Yang had some trust issues for a while after that, but we got it worked out, and as she got older she started to understand why we did it. Then the shit hit the fan with Tai and...well...I guess the silver lining in that is Yang became a lot close to me and Summer."

"What happened with Tai?" Winter asked. "Summer said he had issues with alcohol and violence."

"There was a lot going on, but basically, Tai ended up joining Qrow in alcoholism, then he hit Yang." Raven sighed. "I never thought he could...he wasn't himself. At least he got his life back together after he moved to Vacuo. I still can't bring myself to forgive him though, or Qrow for that matter."

"Maybe it's time to move on." Winter suggested.

"Maybe, but I don't think I'm ready." Raven noted. "And I know Summer's not ready."

"If I can forgive you for breaking my arm-" Winter started.

"I get it." Raven waved her off. "But enough of this sad shit. Tell me about Weiss and Blake."

"I thought you had enough of the sad shit." Winter shook her head. "I guess it's not so bad though. It might be a sad story but it's got a happy ending…"