Chapter 56

Weiss woke from her slumber completely refreshed. For a split second, she had to remember where she was. She was in her bedroom of their suite at the Platinum Lotus Resort. It had a modern twist to traditional Mistralian décor. Sitting up on her bed, which itself felt as soft as a cloud, she looked at the clock on the wall: 1:25 pm. "That late already?" she thought. Looks like she was still jet lagged. With a stretch of her arms, and a crack of her neck, she stood up, walking along the bamboo tiled floor, and sliding her door open to the living room. Immediately, she was struck with the scent of coffee. On the kitchen counter awaited some freshly brewed in a provided maker. She made herself a cup, adding cream and three sugars and mixing it nicely.

She then walked back to the living room, seeing Winter sitting outside on the suite's porch. She slid the door open to join her. "Finally awake?" Winter said.

"It's the jet-lag, and also my bed is too comfortable" Weiss said as she took a sip. Even the taste was exotic, the unique blend of cocoa apparently from Shione. She felt the caffeine take effect, waking her fully. The weather was beautiful; sunny, cloudy, and cool. The view they had was quite something too. With their suite on the fourth floor, they had a scenic shot of the great Lake Matsu. She took a step forward, leaning on the porch's guard rail and taking another sip. They were here, and today was the day they officially started their vacation. She spent several moments just taking it in; the water, and the rest of the city that surrounded them. But when she looked to her left, she saw Winter's feet, propped up left over right on the rail beside her. With Winter engrossed in the book in her hands, the temptation was irresistible. She reached out with her index finger, and softly dragged the tip down Winter's arch.

… …No reaction. She did it again, grinning when Winter's toes twitched. Trying again, she traced small circles on the ball of her foot. "…Do you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"Stopping. I'm trying to read" Winter said.

"Why not move then?"

"Because I was here first."

"Heh, really?" Weiss thought. Feeling jovial, she decided to test her sister's patience. Adding her middle finger, she walked her two digits from Winter's heel to her toes, before lightly dragging them down. She expected to hear a rebuttal, but instead Winter exhaled sharply and turned the page. Was she trying to act like it didn't affect her? If so, Weiss doubted it would last. She pressed a finger against Winter's heel, tracing its smooth curvature. Trailing upwards, she arrived at her toes, running across their plump little pads, then lightly caressed the back of her fingers down her arch.

"Weiss...stop."

"You're letting me do it~"

"I'm trying to relax" Winter said, crossing her ankles the opposite way.

Weiss shrugged, looking back out to finish her cup. She smiled in satisfaction; it was the best coffee she ever had, and she was going to be able to drink it every day while they were here. She eyed Winter's feet again, wanting to tease her further. With a half-step closer, she rested her left elbow on the other side of Winter's ankles, then softly scribbled a set of fingers into her right sole.

Chills went up Winter's spine as her lips wavered. Weiss was getting on her nerves now, but she refused to allow something so childish get the better of her. Suppressing the feelings bubbling inside, she returned to the text of her book. That is until those fingers targeted the ball of her foot, "Ngh knohock it off."

"Say Uncle~."

"Y-you're so immature."

"And you're ticklish~" Weiss added her other hand.

"Ehehahahaha! *gasp* Ohohokahahay uhuncle!" Winter laughed, finally pulling away.

Weiss giggled smugly, taking a seat in the second chair, "What are you reading?"

"'Into the Cosmos', written by Dr. Pietro Polendina" Winter answered, putting her feet back on the guard rail.

"Really? What chapter are you on?"

"Chapter eight. It's about the moon and how its gravity affects the tides here on Remnant. It also discusses the theories scientists developed on how the moon ended up the way it is."

"I wish you told me you were interested sooner. Believe it or not, his daughter Penny is one of our models."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, his niece Ciel is too. Last time we went to their place to shoot, they showed us this room Dr. Polendina customized to be his personal observatory."

"Did you get to meet him?"

"Not yet unfortunately. Penny said he was on a science expedition in Solitas to study the auroras. It's why we were able to film at their house for a short time. If you want, I can ask her if she can introduce us."

"Yes, please. That would be amazing."

"What made you interested in astronomy anyway?"

"… …I guess it's the sense of wonder it gives me. Think about it, there are events happening throughout the universe that we can't even begin to comprehend. The fact that humanity was able to invent the mathematics to be able to describe them is remarkable in and of itself. Also, when I met with Robyn, she really opened my eyes to think beyond my life in the Navy."

"You want to be an astronomer?"

"I sure do. I know I'm an amateur, and the math can seem daunting at times. But I'm passionate about the subject, and I want to have a career doing what I love."

"You and me both. What should we do today?"

"I'm fine with using the day to catch our bearings. Maybe later we can walk around the city and find a restaurant to eat at."

"Sounds like a plan" Weiss said, mimicking Winter and propping her feet up as well.

*FWOOOON*

The foghorn of the ferry blared as it approached. Yang stood beside Bumblebee as it docked into the port, brushing strands of her golden mane from her face. When the front draw lowered, a dozen or so cars drove off. Afterwards, the rest of the passengers made their way off the voyage. Among the group, she saw Ilia, adorned in her double-strap black boots with gold buckles, light grey skinny jeans, and a cropped maroon jacket. With two fingers, she whistled loudly and waved her over. "Hey babe."

"Hey Ilia. You look beautiful."

"Thanks, you do too. I love this bomber jacket" Ilia said, running a hand down Yang's sleeve. She took a moment to look around, "You know, it's funny. I see this island every day from Aunt Tock's deli, but this is the first time I've actually been here."

"If you want I can give you a tour" Yang offered.

Ilia smiled warmly, reaching down to hold both her hands, "There's no need to stall Yang. The sooner we do this, the sooner this weight will be lifted off your chest."

Yang closed her eyes, "I know…you're right" she handed Ilia the passenger helmet, putting on her aviator glasses to climb on Bumblebee. When Ilia got behind her, she revved twice and peeled off.

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When they pulled into the driveway, she shut off the engine. They both dismounted, walking across the gravel to approach the front door. Yang used her keys to unlock it, opening it to step inside. "Ruby! I'm back! And we have company!"

From the opposite corridor, they heard several footsteps until her sister came into view. She wore a red sweatshirt with the hood up, and black leggings with a red silhouette of a rose on the left pant. "Hello. Who is this?"

"This is Ilia. She's my girlfriend" Yang introduced. She watched Ruby blink twice, before the realization struck.

With a gaping smile, she brought her hands to her cheeks, "*gaasp* Aaaawww~ Yang! I'm so happy for youuu~! I'm her sister Ruby. Welcome to our home" she said, coming over to shake Ilia's hand eagerly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hehe, thank you. It's nice to meet you too" Ilia said, her eyes turning a rich fuchsia.

Ruby became confused, leaning forward, "…Did your eyes just change color?"

"Probably. She's a chameleon faunus" Yang said.

"Are you serious?"

"Uh-huh, check it out" Ilia said. She stepped back and let her skin and hair transition through the rainbow.

"…Holy shit. That's so cool!"

"Tell me about it. We've got time until dad gets back from work. Do you guys want to play some video games or something?" Yang suggested.

"Sounds fun. What do you guys have?" Ilia asked.

"We have an entire game room. You can pick whatever you want" Ruby said as she guided them. They went into the kitchen, opening a door that led down to the basement. Ilia grew a look of surprise when they arrived; there was a foosball table, an air-hockey table, two pinball machines, a billiards table, and three old-school arcade machines. Even further was a sixty-inch flat screen TV mounted on the wall, with four bean bag chairs in front of it. To its side, a bookshelf filled entirely with games.

"…Wow."

"Pretty sweet huh?" Yang said.

"I'll say. I didn't even know they still made these machines" Ilia said, walking over to examine them.

"They don't. Our mom was a huuuge fan of them. When an arcade in Vale went out of business years ago, she and dad decided to buy these ones to keep. They were totally out of order, so they had to restore them all by themselves" Ruby explained.

"I see" Ilia looked at the TV. On the floor were several game stations: a GameCube, a PlayStation three, an Xbox three-sixty, an Xbox One, and a Nintendo Switch. "You guys seriously have everything."

"So? What are you in the mood for?" Yang asked.

"Hmm…do you guys have Super Smash Brothers?"

"Uh, is the sky blue? Of course," Ruby said. They sat down in the bean bag chairs as she turned the TV on, along with the Switch. "Do you go to Beacon too Ilia?"

"No, I work with my aunt at the deli she owns on the docks of Vale."

"Oh? Then how did you two meet?"

"She's a foot model too. We met when our studio was just getting off the ground" Yang said.

"No kidding?"

"…You know?" Ilia asked.

"Yeah. She found one of my checks when she stayed with us while I was hurt" Yang said as the game came up.

They all took a controller as Ruby selected online, "Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask. Can I model too?"

"What? Why?" Yang asked.

"Because I want to have my own money. I'm tired of always having to ask dad for some.

"Ruby."

"Come on, a chance to make thousands of lien, and all I have to is show the bottom of my feet and talk dirty? Seems simple enough."

"You know people buy those clips to get off right? Are you comfortable with that?" Yang asked.

"Well, Oscar has a foot fetish too. I'm not foreign to the idea. I also want to try that tickle torture stuff too. It looks really fun."

Yang remained silent; Ruby seemed dead set on the idea. "… …Okay. Just promise me that you won't tell dad. Please?"

"I won't Yang, I promise."

"Good. Up until now, I've been telling him that I work as a Barista at a café next to Beacon's campus. I also have a separate bank account for the lien I earn. I set it so that every other week, some gets transferred to the account dad made for us so that it looks like a typical paycheck."

"Huh, that's really smart" Ilia said.

"And since I'm nineteen, I'll be able to create a separate account too, right?"

"Yeah" Yang said.

"Awesome, and when I go film, I'll just tell dad I'm going to hang out with my friends" Ruby said.

"Good. Now, let's play" Yang said as they all selected their desired fighters.

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It was 5:45pm. Taiyang pulled into his driveway, shutting off his pickup truck. "What time will the party be next week?"

"Probably around seven."

"Think Ruby's gonna like her gift?"

"*Pfft*, Are you kidding? She's gonna lose her mind" Taiyang chuckled as he stepped out and closed the driver door. "Thanks again for helping out with it by the way"

"No worries, Tai. You know I got your back."

"Alright Qrow, take it easy."

"You too man." Taiyang hung up, opening the door to the back seat to get several grocery bags. With them in hand, he walked to the front door, opening it to step inside, "Girls! I'm home!" he announced. When he got no answer, he knew where they were most likely. Going to the kitchen, he set down his bags and saw the door to the basement was open. He heard the voices of his daughters, along with a third one that was unfamiliar. He stepped down the stairs, "Ruby? Yang? I'm back."

"Hey dad. How was your day?" Ruby asked.

"*sigh* Waaay too long. Who is this?"

Yang and the other young lady stood up, "…Dad… …this is my girlfriend, Ilia."

"Oh? Nice to meet you. Do you wanna stay for dinner? I stopped by the store on the way, and I was planning on grilling some burgers."

"I don't mind. If it's okay with you?"

"Sure, you're our guest. Make yourself at…home…" He squinted his eye, "…Did your eyes change color, or am I crazy?"

"You're not crazy. She's a chameleon faunus" Ruby said.

"Really? You can turn whatever color you want?"

"That's right" Ilia demonstrated by changing the spots on her skin.

"Wow, looks like you reeled in a good one hon."

"Dad!" Yang said with a blush.

"Hehe, I'm just teasing. Dinner will be ready in a little while. I'll call you once the food's ready" he said as he went back upstairs.

When he was out of sight, Yang exhaled a breath she did not know she was holding. Ilia gave her a nudge on the arm, "See? What did I say."

"Yeah, you were right. Do you guys want something to drink? We have soda, juice, and iced tea."

"I'll take a soda" Ruby said.

"I'll have some iced tea" Ilia said.

With a nod, Yang went upstairs to the kitchen. There, her father was putting away the groceries he bought, placing ingredients on the counter as he did. She closed the door behind her, "Dad?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"…Are you okay? With Ilia and I?"

He stopped what he was doing to look at her, "Are you happy being with her?"

"Yes."

"Then that's all that matters Yang. I put all of that bullshit in the past. As long as you're following your heart, and what you feel you're doing is right, I can't ask for anything else."

Yang looked at him as he smiled. It was like that single sentence melted away all of her anxiety in an instant. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him for a hug, "I love you dad."

"I love you too, my little sun dragon" he said, returning the wholesome gesture.

To Be Continued…