Author's Note: And it's finally done! About time huh? Man this one took me a while, but it's here!
Announcements at the end!
Anywho, enjoy!
Alright. Mask? Check. Nice enough outfit? Check. Present... fuck.
Cinder had completely forgotten to pick up a birthday present for Weiss... Which was a huge issue for two reasons: She still had absolutely no idea what she could get her... and the party was set to start in under an hour. Just perfect.
Walking over to her bed, Cinder flopped down onto the lumpy mattress with a sigh. She had never been one that was particularly good at knowing what to buy for people. Back... when she was alive, that was always Emerald's job. No matter the occasion, she always bought the best gifts. Even when it came to Salem's wedding... Cinder could still not believe how much their boss liked the gift. But sadly she did not have the same help this time, nor did she have the necessary knowledge to buy Weiss an appropriate present. It left her with one question; What was she going to do?
Then it hit her. Cinder did have help. Or... at least she could have help, depending on the availability of a certain redhead down the hall. Guess there's one way to find out. She thought, picking herself up from the mattress. Hopefully she's not banging someone over there.
After a quick walk, Cinder arrived at her friend's apartment. First thing was first. Leaning closer to the door, she closed her eye and listened to see if there were any... activities currently happening inside. After a brief silence - thankfully - she stood back up and gently knocked on the door.
"Coming~!" Came Nora's voice from within. After a moment the door swung open, revealing the smiling redhead. "Hiya Cindy! What brings you here today?"
"Well I... need some assistance." Cinder admitted.
"Assistance huh? What do ya need?" Nora wondered. "A strong pair of arms? A shoulder to cry on?" Then her smile became a smirk. "Maybe a bit of stress relief if you catch my drift?"
Cinder let out a chuckle. "No nothing like that. I need help deciding on a birthday present." She informed. "There's a party at the bar for my coworker's girlfriend, Weiss."
"Well you've come to the right place! I'm great at that stuff!" Nora beamed. "What does she like?"
Cinder's gaze fell slightly. "I'm... not really sure. The only things I have learned about her thus far are that her punk style is merely an act she puts on to be like Vernal, she works at an ice cream parlour, and she's not exactly fond of children."
"Guess that makes things a little harder doesn't it..." The younger woman noted. "Did you have any ideas for what to get her?"
Cinder sadly shook her head. "Not one. Ever since Yang's sister Ruby mentioned the party to me, I've been trying to think of an appropriate gift to get her, but that's been... unsuccessful to put it simply. What makes it worse is that the party is today, so I have no idea what I'm going to do." She let out a sigh. "In retrospect I probably should've spoken to Yang about it before now." Her friend brought a hand up to her chin, seemingly in thought. The two stood there in silence for a few moments, until the redhead appeared to have thought of something.
"I've got it!" Nora burst - snapping her fingers for emphasis - before running back into her apartment. Cinder watched as she swung open her closet doors and began digging through the pile of assorted items within. As she did, the older woman could only wonder what exactly Nora was looking for, and how it could help her - if at all. After a minute of searching, she pulled out what appeared to be an already-prepared silver gift bag, complete with colourful tissue paper. As she brought it back to the front door with a grin on her face, the older woman raised her brow.
"Where did you get that?" Cinder inquired, confused as to why her friend even had that in her closet in the first place.
"It's my emergency present!" Nora beamed. "I have it for just in case there's a birthday I forgot or just really need a last-minute gift for."
Wow. That was actually a fairly smart thing to do. "I see, but what exactly is it?" Cinder wondered.
"An egg vibrator!"
Cinder could not hold back a small chuckle. Of course it's a sex toy. "So let me get this straight, you want me to give an egg vibrator to someone I barely know?"
"Well do ya got any better ideas?" Nora challenged with a grin.
Damnit. "No..." Cinder mumbled.
"Then take it!" Nora smiled, holding out the bag, which the older woman somewhat reluctantly accepted. "I find sex toys always get a laugh, unless it's a more conservative party of course, in which case it's quite a bombshell."
Cinder examined the gift in her hands. "I don't imagine it will be anything of the sort, but I'm still going to ensure she doesn't open it in the company of the others."
"Aw that's no fun!" Nora faux-whined. "The public reveal is the best part!"
Cinder sighed. "Even so, I would rather not make myself the centre of attention for something like that, or any reason for that matter."
Nora giggled. "Okay okay, you don't have to, but I still think it'd be pretty funny."
"Perhaps at a future party, after I've known these people for a little while longer." Cinder noted.
"Fair enough." Nora accepted. "So you said the party's today?"
Cinder nodded. "That's right. It's in..." She trailed off before pulling her scroll free from her pocket and turning on the device. "About half an hour."
Nora's eyes suddenly widened. "That's really soon! What are you doing standing around here for? You're gonna be late!"
"Just because it starts soon doesn't mean I'm required to be there by that exact time." Cinder defended.
"Yeah but showing up on time shows you care about it!" Nora countered. "Plus you could get the chance to give her the gift in private, before the place gets too packed."
Well she certainly makes a good point. Cinder thought to herself. Leaving now would allow me to give Weiss this present before the others show up... hopefully. Then a realization came. "Nora... would you like to come with me?
"As fun as that'd be, I wouldn't wanna intrude since I'm not invited and stuff." Nora declined. "Plus I don't wanna get in the way of you bonding with your new friends! But I will come if you need me." Then she giggled. "That's what she said."
Cinder nodded, but not before rolling her eye. It had been a while since she made that joke. "Very well. Though I'm sure they wouldn't mind." She offered a smile to the redhead in front of her. "But either way, thank you Nora, for both the advice and this gift. I really can't imagine what I'd do without you."
Nora just grinned.
As Cinder walked though the back parking lot of The Perch, a realization came. She had not been to a party - birthday-related or any other kind for that matter - in a long time. The last one she could recall attending was a company Solstice party over a year ago, when she still worked for Salem. It was certainly a nice event - as every other year had been - but just like the others, it was also rather... corporate. Everyone had a pleasant time, but Cinder could never recall actually having fun at any of them. Well, aside from that one time a few years ago when Emerald had managed to convince her to make out on one of the unoccupied floors, during the party. Even now, she was still surprised they did not get caught.
Then when it came to birthdays, Cinder and Emerald never really celebrated theirs publicly - at least after they graduated from high school and got away from the whole party scene. They both grew to much prefer to just spend the time with a few close friends - as well as each other of course - rather than having legitimate parties. Now, after years of not attending a single one, she was on her way to an actual birthday party, with a present in hand and everything. It was as if she was back in high school again. What a strange feeling.
Opening the back door to the bar, Cinder stepped into the break room, and found it a bit... emptier than she expected. The wooden table that normally sat in the middle of the room was absent, while the chairs had all been moved to the side. It begged the question, where was the table? Perhaps it had been moved to the main area, but that only made her wonder why it would be there in the first place. There were already plenty of tables in the bar. Maybe I should go find out rather than just standing here thinking about it.
Making her way into the front area, Cinder was immediately met with the sound of heavy rock music emanating from the bar's sound system. It was certainly a stark contrast from the radio station that normally played. She also spotted the table from the back, which was now set up near the closer end of the bar with ping pong paddles and a net - that she had no idea Raven owned. Or maybe it was someone else's, like Yang's. She did seem like the type of person who would own those kinds of accessories. Although, seeing the makeshift ping pong table made Cinder smile. It reminded her of her first year in university when she, Emerald, and some other friends decided to make their own using their common room's cafeteria-style table, a couple rulers, some paper, duct tape, and of course, a few borrowed paddles and balls from another residence - all due to not wanting to buy a proper one... even though Cinder attempted to offer to buy one for them all. But no, they wanted to do it the college way.
"Cinder?" Came Raven's voice, pulling the younger woman from her reminiscing.
Shifting her gaze over towards the other end of the bar, Cinder finally noticed that her boss was staring at her, appearing to be in the process of moving the other tables and stools into the corner... alone. Wait, where were the others? Cinder checked her scroll several times before she arrived, and it was already past four-thirty by then, meaning the party should have already begun, so why was Raven the only person in the bar? Maybe you should ask, rather than just staring at her.
"Oh, hello Raven." Cinder greeted, attempting a smile. "I was just..." She trailed off, taking a look around the bar. "Where is everyone? I thought the party was set to start at four-thirty."
Raven furrowed her brow. "Four-thirty? I texted you it started at five-thirty."
That couldn't be right... I checked the texts several times today, and she said four-thirty... Fishing her scroll from her pocket, Cinder switched it on and navigated to the text chain she had with her boss - which only confused her more. "Your text says four-thirty..."
Raven just blinked. "What?" Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her own scroll, then promptly sighed. "Well shit." She slid the device back into her pocket. "Sorry about that, my scroll's keypad hates me sometimes."
Cinder understood that feeling quite well. Her scroll's keyboard did not exactly respond very well to the fingers of her injured hand most of the time. It was a bit of a pain, but she got used to it after a while. "It's alright... But since I'm here, do you want any help moving those tables?"
Raven glanced around at the furniture around her, looking like she was about halfway done. So she shrugged. "Sure, just don't strain yourself if anything's too heavy. I don't want you getting hurt half an hour before the party."
"I won't." Cinder nodded, placing the gift for Weiss onto the bar - next to a set of empty plastic bowls, cups, plates and cutlery - before lifting the hatch and making her way over to the closet round table. She started with the stools, picking up one at a time - heeding her boss' advice - and carrying them into the corner where some of the others were. Once that was done, Cinder moved onto the table, which she hoped she would be able to lift. It would be rather embarrassing if she could not. Though thankfully that was not the case. When Cinder grabbed both ends of the table, she was able to pick it up - which was actually quite surprising. It was a bit harder on her left arm, but nothing she could not handle.
After spending another few minutes relocating the remaining tables and stools, the middle area of the bar was clear, for... some reason. Why did they just move all of those pieces of furniture into the corner of the room? Sure it freed up some extra space, but it also eliminated potential seating for when the party did start. The latter would only be an issue depending on the number of people that showed up, though Cinder did not imagine Weiss had that many friends.
"Now that that's done, you wanna play some ping pong?" Raven wondered. "Since we've got nothin' else to do until the others show up."
Cinder blinked, not expecting the offer. "Oh, um, sure." She agreed. "Although a fair warning; I haven't played since I was in university, so I doubt I will be that good at it."
Raven let out a chuckle. "You don't have to worry about that, pretty much everyone here is shit too."
Well, that's at least something.
Even though Cinder was a bit hesitant - as she imagined she would likely embarrass herself at some point - she joined her boss at the ping pong table. Upon Raven serving for the first time, the younger woman saw just how accurate her statement was... considering the ball hit the net after its first bounce. Looks like you won't be embarrassing yourself today... at least alone. Cinder thought to herself.
As the ball rolled back to Raven's side of the table, she quickly snatched it up. "Uh, that didn't happen."
Cinder could not help but smile. She used to hear that response quite a bit back in university when she played with Emerald and their friends. What ended up leaving her mouth was her normal response to that, though seeing as who she was talking to, that might not have been the best idea. Unfortunately she did not realize it in time. "Right, you keep telling yourself that."
Raven immediately quirked a brow. "Well well, feelin' sassy today are we?"
It was at that moment Cinder realized what she had just said. "I... I didn't mean to..." Then Raven laughed, causing her to let out a small sigh of relief. Before the accident, she was so used to having to watch her mouth around Salem that she had forgotten what it was like to have a boss that had any kind of a sense of humour.
"Relax Cinder, you don't need to always worry about what you say in front of me." Raven assured. "I'm not gonna bite your head off if you speak outta line or whatever. I don't give a shit."
After a moment Cinder nodded. She really needed to get that through her head. It was just... after having Salem as a direct boss for six years, working under someone that was more... chill - as the kids would say - was something she needed to get used to...
And then a ping pong ball hit her in the chest.
"Ah!" Cinder yelped at the sudden impact, flailing slightly as she tried and failed to catch the ball. It ending up just falling onto the table, bouncing a few times until it rolled into the net. Looking back up, she saw her boss smirking at her.
"Your serve."
Now it was Cinder's turn to raise her brow, though a bit nervously. "Were you aiming for my chest?"
Raven let out a surprisingly nervous chuckle. "I uh, no, I just... threw it and it happened to hit you there..." She rambled.
Once again, Cinder's mouth worked faster than her brain. "You sure you weren't trying to get it down my shirt?" She wondered as she picked up the ball. Damn you un-thought-through response.
"Yeah... pretty sure." Raven replied. "If I did that I could get in trouble with the boss."
Cinder furrowed her brow. "But... you are the boss."
"Normally yes, but when I do something wrong, I let Yang take that role." Raven explained. "I like to think she gets it from me but... eh."
"At least you have someone to take over when you feel like retiring." Cinder noted, getting ready to serve.
"Retiring?" Raven blurted. "I'm not that old Cinder. I ain't retiring anytime soon."
"I never said that." Cinder defended, still slightly nervously. It was odd being able to talk to her boss so... nonchalantly. "I merely said when you feel like retiring."
Raven did not seem like she was buying it, which due to her facial expression was a bit amusing. "Uhuh, sure ya didn't. Just serve the ball." She somewhat grumbled.
Cinder could not hold back a slight giggle. "Of course." Raising the ball, she let it go before lightly hitting it across the table with her paddle, resuming the game. It was quite relaxing, to be able to just... hang out with her boss, hitting a plastic ball back and forth. Cinder knew for a fact that she never would have been able to do this with Salem. Hell even talking to that woman always felt so... formal. But with Raven... maybe this proved that a boss could be more than just a superior at work.
Perhaps that was something Cinder could get used to.
"Son of a bitch!"
Cinder managed a smirk at Raven's outburst. They had been playing ping pong for the past half an hour, and in that time her boss had proven that she was certainly not very good at the game. It had been close to fifteen years since the younger woman had played, yet she was ahead by... a number of points. She was not quite sure. The pair were not exactly keeping track.
"Looks like that's another point for me." Cinder informed.
Raven leaned down to pick up the ping pong ball that had just fallen to the floor, due to another missed return. "Yeah yeah yeah." She grumbled as she stood back up. "You know, I'm really starting to think the whole I haven't played since university is bullshit."
"I assure you it was not a lie." Cinder promised.
"Then how can you explain being so much better than me?" Raven questioned. "We play on this table several times a year!"
"Number of uses does not always translate to skill." Cinder noted.
Raven quirked a brow. "Oh so I just suck?" She wondered, tossing the ball to the younger woman.
"Well, you're not exactly an expert." Cinder responded. Oh gods I can't believe I just said that.
Instead of defending herself, Raven just laughed. "Maybe I just need someone to help me not suck then."
Cinder let out a chuckle of her own. "Perhaps you do." Raising the ball, she prepared to serve it, but before she could drop the ball, she heard the door to the break room open.
"Looks like you two are having fun." Suddenly came Weiss' voice.
Turning around to face the direction of the wannabe punk - for lack of a better term - Cinder watched as she and Vernal strolled into the main area of the bar, the latter holding a couple of plastic bags that appeared to be filled with chips. So that's what the empty bowls on the counter are for. Cinder opened her mouth to speak, but Raven beat spoke up first.
"Well if by having fun, you mean getting my ass kicked by someone who hasn't played this shit in like, fifteen years, then yes. I'm having loads of fun."
Vernal immediately laughed, tossing the filled plastic bags onto the bar counter. "Alright, if you can't beat her, I don't think there's any hope for you Rae."
"I mean, I was able to beat Weiss at Yang's party last year." Raven defended, placing her paddle onto the table.
"Only 'cause I was drunk." Weiss reminded with a smirk at the older woman. Then her gaze shifted to Cinder, and that smirk shifted into a brighter, very un-punk-like smile. "Hey, glad you could make it."
Cinder offered a smile in return. "Thank you for inviting me." Then she remembered something. "Oh, I brought you a present." She informed, placing her own paddle onto the table before walking over to the counter and picking up the bag she brought.
Weiss blinked. "Wait, really?"
Cinder nodded, approaching the girl and holding out the bag, which she somewhat hesitantly took. "This is a joint gift. My friend thought you would... enjoy it... best not open it here."
"Wow, thanks Cinder... You know you really didn't have to..." Weiss started as she observed the present, before realizing just what the other woman had said. "Wait, what do you mean when you say not to open it here?"
Oh boy. Cinder hoped she would not ask that. "Just... trust me. It's something that would be better opened at home." To which Weiss and Vernal exchanged looks of slight confusion, the latter shrugging.
"Alright... Well still, thank you." Weiss acknowledged, walking over to one of the booth tables where she placed the gift.
Cinder let out a small sigh of relief, quite thankful that the wannabe punk was agreeing to not open the present until later. Unfortunately that only really delayed the inevitable situation of them realizing she gave Weiss, someone she barely knew, a sex toy for her birthday. But it was too late now. The gift had been given, and there was nothing she could do about it. Gods I hope they don't think I'm weird.
"So who wants a drink?" Raven asked, making her way past the other woman and towards the bar hatch.
"Would you look at that, Raven Branwen getting behind the bar for once." Vernal teased with a sly grin.
"Only 'cause I've always got other shit to do, and I have you guys anyway. I never get to be back here." Raven defended as she positioned herself behind the counter, while the other women approached the other side. "Plus Qrow's gonna be manning the bar later so this is the only time I get."
"Guess it's the downside of being the boss." Vernal commented.
"Well, that and not getting to hit on the customers, you and Yang have it good." Raven added, which promptly caused Weiss to lean forward to glare at her girlfriend.
"Excuse me?"
Raven let out a laugh. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Yang's the only one that flirts with folks around here, though that's just part of her character as she puts it."
Weiss then proceeded to cross her arms and... scowl? Or perhaps it was a pout... It certainly looked like the latter. "That'd better be the case." She grumbled.
"Of course it is babe." Vernal assured. "You know that ass of yours is the only one for me." She made sure to reach down and give her girlfriend's rear a firm squeeze, eliciting a slight jump and a choked squeak.
And there's the PDA. Cinder thought as Vernal pulled Weiss closer - by her rear - and into a quick kiss. Considering their usual activities in the workplace, she had wondered when they were going to begin that day.
"So... are any of you gonna tell me what you want?" Raven wondered. "Or am I supposed to just stand here and look pretty?"
Cinder blinked, realizing that they had indeed not done that yet. Although... should she really be drinking around not only her coworkers, but her boss?
"I'll take a White Atlesian." Weiss requested.
"Startin' off strong I see." Raven observed. "And you Vernal?"
"I'm actually not drinking today, so I'll have a water." Vernal answered, causing the older woman to raise a brow. "It's part of a gift for my little snowflake. Being sober is gonna allow for... better performance later." She ended with a grin and wink - the latter unseen by Cinder.
"Fair enough, makes my job easier." Raven acknowledged as she began collecting glasses and ingredients. "What about you Cinder?"
"I... don't think I should drink tonight." Cinder answered, partially avoiding eye contact.
Raven furrowed her brow. "You sure? This is a party you know, not a shift, so you're allowed to loosen up a little."
Cinder thought for a moment. Maybe she's right. Perhaps she should loosen up a bit. But what if she embarrassed herself? She could end up saying something stupid, or worse, doing something stupid. Though at the same time... considering what Weiss was having as her first drink, Cinder doubted it would be she herself that did something embarrassing. Maybe just start with something simple. Can't go wrong with simple.
"I'll just have a Rum and Coke." Cinder finally decided. Just take it slow, and everything will be fine.
A small grin spread across Raven's face. "That's the spirit." Then she turned to address all three. "Now you ladies go make yourselves comfortable in a booth, and I'll be right over with drinks."
"Sounds good, c'mon babe." Vernal answered, taking her girlfriend's hand and leading her over to a booth.
Cinder managed a smile. "Thank you Raven." She nodded before turning to join Weiss and Vernal.
After taking her seat across from the couple, the trio spent the short time waiting for Raven in somewhat awkward silence - at least for Cinder. The older woman essentially just sat there as Weiss cuddled up to Vernal, and Vernal... hopefully was not teasing her girlfriend, but if their facial expressions were anything to go by, that was likely what was happening. Gods this is uncomfortable. Thankfully her boss soon returned with a tray of drinks in hand - one for each of the three, as well as one for herself. Cinder could only hope she was going to break the silence.
"Okay... Rum and Coke for Cinder, a boring old water for Vernal..." Raven emphasized that one with a slight grin. "And a White Atlesian for the birthday girl, complete with one of those little umbrellas you love so much."
"Thank you!" Weiss smiled, happily receiving the glass and immediately taking quite a large sip. By the time she put her drink down, it was half empty.
Starting off strong indeed. Cinder thought as she was handed her drink. "Thank you." Her boss gave a quick nod in response before handing Vernal her water. She then took her own drink - what appeared to be a bottle of Vacuoan beer - off of the tray, placed it next to Cinder's and tossed the tray onto the counter... or at least tried to. In reality it fell a just a bit short, hitting one of the bar stools before falling to the floor.
"Fuckin'... Nobody saw that." Raven grumbled, walking over to pick up the tray and placing it onto the counter.
Cinder could not help but grin at the older woman. "She's been saying that a lot today."
"Oh ha ha, real funny." Raven deadpanned as she returned to the booth. "Shut up and scoot your ass over."
Cinder let out a chuckle. "Yes ma'am." She agreed, grabbing her drink and sliding further into the booth to allow Raven to sit down next to her. Once her boss was settled and sipping on her own beverage, Cinder looked across the table to find Vernal staring at them, a brow raised and an amused smirk on her face.
"Wow, she calls you ma'am and gets nothing?"
"Quiet you." Raven asserted. Then as she took another sip from her beer, she shot a quick glance over at Cinder, and the younger woman noticed the edges of her mouth curl upward a tiny bit. "I'll let it slide this time."
"Well well, special treatment from the boss." Vernal drawled, her smirk still present. "You better savor that shit Cinder, it doesn't come often."
"Unlike you two." Raven commented.
Vernal laughed. "Your fault for letting us use the back closet."
"A privilege I can easily take away, smartass." Raven added with a smirk of her own.
"But you wouldn't do that on my birthday! Would you Raven?" Weiss whined, suddenly aware of the present conversation after finishing her drink.
"Push your luck Weiss, and you won't get any cake." Raven warned, causing Weiss to immediately shrink back down into her seat.
"I'll be good."
Both Raven and Vernal then burst into laughter, and even Cinder managed to giggle. Must be some good cake.
Suddenly the door to the back room burst open, prompting the four women to look over at it, and revealing a gift-holding Yang who looked... nicer than usual, at least as far as Cinder knew. She was expecting her to show up in a t-shirt and short-shorts, but the blonde was clad in an orange blouse and a clean pair of skinny jeans. And to add to that, her hair was brushed back in a ponytail - Cinder had never seen it like that. If she was being honest, Yang looked quite beautiful.
"Hey! Sorry I'm so late! I kinda overslept." Yang admitted as she walked into the main area, placing the wrapped box she was carrying onto the booth table along with the other gift.
"It's six o'clock Yang, how could you have possibly overslept?" Raven questioned.
"I uh, had a guest over last night, and so you know, didn't get a lotta sleep last night." Yang explained. "So once she left this morning, I took a nap... for longer than I meant to, and well, here we are."
"Explains why I didn't get my midnight happy birthday text like last year." Weiss noted.
"Yeah... sorry about that."
"Well then." Weiss started, somewhat slowly raising from her seat to face the blonde. "Guess I'll have to settle for an extra big Xiao-Long hug." She grinned - unseen by Cinder - as she held out her arms.
Yang chuckled. "Deal." Walking over to Weiss, she wrapped her friend in what appeared to be quite the tight hug, actually lifting her up off the ground. "Happy birthday punk stuff."
Weiss let out a very un-punk-like giggle. "Thanks Yang." Then she turned her head towards the table containing the two presents. "Is that the super amazing gift you were talking about before?"
"The very same." Yang smiled as she put down the wannabe punk.
"Still no hints?" Weiss wondered.
Yang just grinned. "Nope!"
"But it's my birthday!" Weiss whined.
"Which is why I got you a present in the first place, silly." Yang reminded before leaning to the side to wave at the occupied booth. "Sup ladies, the party has finally arrived!"
Raven rolled her eyes. "Uhuh, the party that was supposed to be here two hours ago to help me set this shit up."
Yang brought up a hand to run it through her hair, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry about that mom. I only meant to nap for a few hours, but it ended up lasting all afternoon. Probably should've set an alarm now that I think about it, considering it took Ruby texting me to actually get me up."
Raven took another sip from her beer, leaning back in her seat. "Hm... What do you think birthday girl? Should I let her off the hook?"
Weiss immediately grinned. "Only if she makes me another drink!"
Raven chuckled. "Well you heard her Yang, get behind the counter."
"Alright alright, come on birthday girl, let's get you another... let me guess, White Atlesian?" Yang wondered, heading over to the bar hatch.
"Yep!" Weiss beamed as she sauntered over to the counter.
Once the blonde and the wannabe punk were occupied at the counter - and Cinder was finished somewhat creepily watching them - she turned her attention back to Raven and Vernal, who were just sitting quietly, enjoying their drinks. Which was honestly fine by her. Back when Cinder used to attend parties, whether they were house parties or corporate events, it was always nice to find time to just... relax - and she imagined that there will not be a lot of that once more people arrived. She knew Ruby and Pyrrha would be attending at some point, but that also begged the question; Who else was coming?
Then Cinder heard the bar's front door swing open. Guess that question's going to be answered sooner than I thought. practically mimicking her boss and turning to face the entrance, she was greeted with the sight of Pyrrha and... Ruby? At least... that was who it appeared to be. Though the closer she looked, the less she was sure it was actually Ruby. It was as if that girl had done everything in her power to look as mature as possible - Which looked rather weird. Had she always been that tall? Perhaps it was her new way of dressing up for a party.
Suddenly Weiss gasped. "You guys made it!" She burst - quite loudly - as she practically ran over to the pair and wrapped Pyrrha in a hug, who wished her a happy birthday before being released. She then moved onto Ruby, who she met in a much gentler and longer hug. She whispered something into Weiss' ear - likely a happy birthday, but Cinder was unable to make it out - and then planted a kiss on her cheek. Was that something Ruby always did to her good friends?
Then Raven spoke up. "Come on, time to be a big happy family." She sighed, pulling herself up out of the booth.
Cinder furrowed her brow. "What?"
"You'll see." Raven simply answered, moving out of the way to allow the younger woman to stand up.
Once Cinder was on her feet, she looked to her boss, who just gestured towards the trio, so she approached them - albeit slowly. As much as she did not want to be around Pyrrha and Ruby, she was still curious as to how exactly the latter was able to look so different. Upon seeing her coming closer, a gift-carrying Pyrrha offered a small smile.
"Hello Cinder, I'm glad you could attend."
Though Cinder badly wanted to just brush the other woman off, she ultimately decided against it. This was a party after all, everyone was there to enjoy themselves, so there was no need for unpleasantries. Cinder smiled as nice as she could manage. "Hi Pyrrha, it's good to see you." She kind of lied.
That certainly surprised Pyrrha, which was rather amusing. "Oh, it's um, good to see you too." She nodded before walking passed the older woman, further into the bar.
A few moments passed in somewhat awkward silence, until Weiss finally released Ruby, turning to find Cinder standing behind her. "Oh! Hi!" She beamed. "There's someone I want you to meet!"
Damn, why is that girl being so loud? Wait, did she say meet? Was this not Ruby?
As the wannabe punk - who was definitely not acting like one - guided 'Ruby' towards Cinder, she was starting to realize that it was not who she had thought it was. This woman, who looked frighteningly similar to Ruby, was actually nearly a head taller than Weiss, but still shorter than Cinder and Pyrrha. The only things that she could see that differentiated her from Ruby were the slight presence of crows feet. Did that girl have a twin sister that she was unaware of?
The woman offered a very bright smile. "Hello, you must be Cinder." She greeted in a voice that was undoubtedly not Ruby's.
Cinder nodded. "I am. Are you Ruby's sister or something?"
The woman let out a gentle laugh. "Oh no, but thank you the compliment. I'm actually her mother. My name is Summer Rose."
Wait a second. She was that girl's mother? How the hell... She must of had Ruby when she was a teenager. Well, either that or she knew the secret to looking like she was in her thirties while in her forties... or fifties... however old she was.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Mrs. Rose." Cinder addressed, extending a hand, which the other woman gladly shook.
"Please, call me Summer." She insisted, before taking Cinder's hand in both of her own, looking her straight in the eye as she took on a more serious tone. "I'm sorry we didn't meet sooner, I rarely had the time to attend other outings, though I heard a lot about you from others."
"A lot of lukewarm opinions I imagine." Cinder guessed.
"You would be surprised." Summer smiled. "But regardless, a lot has happened in the past, and I'm glad to have been able to meet you now. If you are ever in need of a helping hand, my family stands with open arms, as everyone should have done."
Cinder just blinked, unsure of what to think of what she just heard. Being offered help nowadays was starting to become nothing new, but the way Summer was doing it felt so... genuine. Although, thanks to Nora's still somewhat new presence in her life, Cinder was beginning to get used to having someone that was so forward with their support, but at the same time... To see someone that not only knew about the fire, but whose daughter experienced it offering such unquestionable support... Well, it was certainly surprising to say the least.
"Cinder?" Came Summer's voice, interrupting Cinder's train of thought.
"Oh, yes?"
"Are you alright?" Summer inquired. "You've been kind of staring off into space."
Cinder nodded, managing a smile. "You just... caught me off guard is all."
Summer chuckled, releasing the younger woman's hand. "My apologies. I've been told I can be a bit... forward when first meeting someone."
Reminds me of a certain someone I know. Cinder thought to herself with a smirk. But before she could actually verbally respond - or even think of something else to say - Yang approached from behind.
"Hey mom!" Yang beamed before meeting Summer in a one-armed hug - careful not to spill her strange yellow cocktail. "'Bout time you got here! Where's Rubes at?" She wondered as the two separated. "You didn't forget her at home did ya?"
"Of course not!" Summer defended through a laugh. "She's just parking the car."
"Aw man, does that mean she's stuck being DD?" Yang wondered with a frown.
Summer shrugged. "Depends where the night takes us. Though I suspect I'll be the one driving the girls home."
"Super mom's gonna have to take care of everyone as usual." Yang teased.
Summer let out a chuckle. "As usual indeed."
"Well why don't you two go join Pyr and get some drinks?" Yang offered. "Vernal took over for me and you know how good of a bartender she is. Plus I'm sure Weissy here is looking to get another White Atlesian."
Summer looked over to Weiss with a smile. "That sounds good to me. After the day I had, I think I could use a drink."
Weiss immediately grinned. "Okay!" She agreed, practically holding onto Summer as the pair headed to the bar counter, leaving Cinder and Yang.
After a brief silence spent watching the two woman - which Cinder could admit was a bit weird - she observed something about the behaviour of the wannabe punk. Everyone seemed to love Summer, but with Weiss... there appeared to be something more. "So... is it just me, or is Weiss hanging off Summer like a sick puppy?"
Yang let out a chuckle. "Yeah, that happens."
Cinder quirked her brow. "There some kind of story behind that?"
"It started when Weiss spent last Solstice with us." Yang explained. "At the end of the night, mom gave her some food and a hug, and the punk act just vanished for like a week."
"But then... where was Vernal?" Cinder wondered, knowing that the two were a couple by that point.
"Drinking with Raven." Yang informed.
Oh. Well that was certainly a bit unfortunate. Cinder had always spent Solstice with Emerald and some of their friends, so to think that Raven spent even one just drinking with an employee was... Wait a second.
"Where's Raven?"
Yang looked around, also suddenly aware that her mother was no longer present. "Oh you're right... Maybe she's getting something from her office or somethin'. I'm sure she'll be back soon, but I can go get her if you want."
Cinder shook her head. "You go enjoy yourself, I'll find her."
Yang shrugged. "Alright."
And so Cinder walked through the bar towards the back area, wondering what her boss was up to and why it drew her away from the party. She hoped nothing was wrong. But maybe Yang was right, perhaps she was merely retrieving something for the party from her office.
Unfortunately what she would come to find was not exactly going to be pleasant.
Well, are you going to knock?
Of course I am. I just need a minute.
Oh yeah, after how many minutes you've already taken?
Shut up me.
I'll shut up when you get your half-burnt ass in there.
Cinder let out a sigh. Fine. Bitch.
Taking a deep breath, she gently knocked on the door to Raven's office... and received no answer. Though that was honestly a bit of a relief. There were few things that she hated more than going to the boss' office - even if it was voluntary - but she could not exactly back out now. After all, she had already knocked.
"That you Cinder?" Came Raven's tired voice from within.
"It is." Cinder confirmed. "I- Wait, how did you know it was me?"
"Saw you through the window." Raven simply replied.
Oh yes, that mirror is a window on her side. "I just came to see where you had gone." Cinder informed.
"Oh, right... I'm just uh... takin' a breather is all." Raven answered.
Taking a breather? From what? Cinder furrowed her brow. There was something... off from the tone of her boss' voice. Which was odd considering she was having a good time with everyone not fifteen minutes ago. "Are you alright Raven?"
"Peachy."
Now Cinder could tell something was wrong. But unfortunately she did not know how to proceed, unsure of whether Raven was was the type of person who wanted help in this kind of situation, or just preferred to be left alone. Well maybe you should find out. Cinder thought to herself. She helped you, now you should help her. "Would you... like me to come in?" She offered, hearing a sigh from inside the office.
"Sure, why not."
Well, there's no turning back now. Reaching for the knob, Cinder slowly opened the office door, revealing a sight that was far sadder than she could have imagined. Inside was Raven, not looking for something as Cinder and Yang had initially speculated, nor was she doing work - as she would any other day - but slumped at her desk staring out the window into the main area, accompanied by an empty beer bottle, a mostly full bottle of vodka and a shot glass. Had her boss... just been sitting there taking shots alone? If she did not think there was something wrong before, she certainly did now.
A few moments pass by in silence before Raven's gaze shifted to the younger woman. "Hey, you enjoying the party?"
Cinder blinked in response, not expecting that... casual of a question. "Oh, um, yes... I am actually. Honestly I thought I wouldn't have that good of a time due to the fact that I'm so new to this group, but I'm glad to say I was wrong."
"That so? Good to hear." Raven somewhat mumbled. "What about Summer? Saw you two gettin' pretty friendly out there."
"Well I didn't get to spend very long with her, but she was a delight to talk to." Cinder smiled. "Excessively kind, bright-faced and all that. She's like a carbon copy of Ruby." Then she chuckled. "Or I suppose Ruby is a carbon copy of her."
Raven did not respond immediately, instead grabbing and opening the bottle of vodka. "Oh yeah? Well if you like her so much, maybe you should try your luck."
Cinder could not help but laugh. "Don't get me wrong, Summer is lovely to be around, but I think that kind of positivity would have me clawing my eye out in a week."
As she poured what Cinder could only imagine was another shot, Raven scoffed. "Wow. Can't say I've ever heard anyone reject the idea of tryin' to get with little miss perfect."
Cinder let out a chuckle. "From what I saw she seems like a darling. Everyone loves her, prissy perfect Summer Rose, super mom extraordinaire. Yeah, I can totally relate. You on the other hand? I can see us getting drunk and bitching about how shit we are."
Raven actually managed a smile at that. "Okay, let's do it then."
"Wait, what?"
Opening one of the drawers, Raven pulled out a second shot glass, placing it onto the desk before filling it with vodka. "Well I've got another shot glass here, so why not join me in burning some pain away?"
Burning pain away? "Raven, are you... really alright?" Cinder inquired - actually beginning to worry for her boss - as she pulled one of the chairs closer to her boss' desk and took a seat.
Picking up her glass, Raven sighed. "Not really, but hey, what else is new."
What else is new? What the hell happened in the last twenty minutes that had caused Raven to become so... well, grumpy? Perhaps something had angered her that Cinder did not notice, so took a moment to think. The first thing they had done was move the table and stools into the corner of the main area, and Raven seemed fine then. Next, they played ping pong, and they both actually had a lot of fun. It felt rather nice to be able to loosen up a bit around her boss. After that Weiss and Vernal showed up, and the four of them just talked for a while in one of the booths, and as far as Cinder could see, her boss enjoyed herself. But... that could not be right. The only things that could have possibly affected Raven's mood are when Yang arrived late and when Cinder called her ma'am, but her boss showed no signs of being actually annoyed by those. So then... what happened? The only thing that occurred after that was Summer and Pyrrha arriving... Wait a minute.
"Raven, may I ask you something?" Cinder wondered.
The older woman shrugged. "Sure."
Cinder had the slight feeling she was going to regret asking this. "Has anything ever happened between you and Pyrrha?"
Raven looked confused, then amused, barking a laugh. "Nikos is a cinnamon roll, it'd be a cold day in hell before she did something that made me walk out."
Cinder furrowed her brow. Wait, it wasn't Pyrrha? But... Summer seems too nice. What could she have possibly done? "Then... what about Summer?"
Raven's gaze fell to her filled shot glass. "That's... a little complicated."
Cinder got the feeling that there was a lot to this, but at the same time, she was not going to get anywhere by stopping now. "A lot of things are complicated Raven, but that doesn't mean we can just run away from them when they show up." She informed. Wow, I can't believe how well that came out. I guess Nora's really rubbed off on me. "What happened?"
"You sure you wanna go down that rabbit hole?" Raven asked.
Now that her boss was describing it like that, Cinder actually began to doubt she was. But there was one thing she was sure of, thanks to Nora of course. "If it means not leaving you alone to sulk and drink, then yes."
Raven managed a smile. "Alright then." Picking up both of the shot glasses, she handed one to Cinder, who reluctantly accepted it. "They're already filled, might as well take 'em." Raven added, seeing the younger woman's face of uncertainty.
"I suppose that makes sense." Cinder acknowledged.
Raven raised her glass, which Cinder met with a clink. "Cheers." She grinned before downing the shot.
Well, so much for taking it slow. Cinder thought to herself before somewhat hesitantly drinking her own. As the liquid traveled down her throat, one thought ran through her mind. Ah yes, there's that familiar burn. It had certainly been quite some time since she had the taste of vodka in her mouth.
Once the the two shot glasses had been placed back onto the desk, Raven let out a sigh. "Qrow and I were born into a shitty family, didn't exactly have the most caring parents, made me wonder if they even wanted kids in the first place... Anyways, still have no fucking clue how I survived to high school, but if it wasn't for Summer and Tai I'd probably be in prison or a gang or something."
"Tai?"
"My ex, her husband." Raven informed, partially avoiding eye contact.
Oh. So it was that kind of issue. "Did she steal him from you or something?" Cinder wondered.
"Not exactly." Raven answered. "He was uh, our boyfriend."
"Oh." Cinder could not help the shock on her face. That was surprising. "That's... complicated?"
"In theory no, just like adding another person into the relationship, which in this case was me, but that wasn't what made it complicated." Raven explained.
"Then... what did?" Cinder inquired.
"It was the fact that..." Raven sighed. "Summer didn't love me back... not in the way I wanted."
Cinder certainly knew how that felt. "That's unfortunate."
"Yeah, it was." Raven slowly nodded. "When I was invited into the relationship, I thought she at least liked me, but that was just me being hopeful. She was just being considerate of Tai's feelings for me."
"So then... what happened?" Cinder asked after a few moments of silence.
"Well at first I tried to deal with it, accept that Summer was never gonna return my feelings and just focus on Tai instead." Raven described. "It actually worked for a while, thanks to the sheer amount of effort that man put in just to try to make me happy." A slight smile crept onto her face. "Always givin' me extra attention whenever we were all together, takin' me out on a bunch of solo dates, and the sex..." Noticing her employee's raised brow, she let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry I'm not gonna describe it or anything, but gods damn did he know how to please a woman."
I really hope she doesn't continue. Cinder thought to herself. Hearing about her boss' sex stories was not exactly something she wanted to experience.
Instead Raven's gaze fell. "But of course that couldn't last. Tai did his best, and I can't thank him enough for that, but it wasn't enough. Summer didn't love me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't forget it. I ended up turning to alcohol, hoping that would at least dull the pain, but as you could imagine, that just made things worse. Eventually I did what I probably should've done months before that and separated from them. Thankfully it wasn't too hard since I was already living above this place, but uh... that didn't last very long."
Cinder furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"A few weeks after leaving them, I started getting morning sickness." Raven explained. "Thought I was just regular sick, but it stuck. Qrow tried to get me to a doctor but I was stubborn, and in denial, didn't wanna face the music." She then looked out the window towards the main area. "Unfortunately for me, Qrow's dumb ass went to Summer, who shows up while my head's in the toilet, and gently holds my hair back while chewing me out." Raven laughed, pouring and downing another shot. "Then she drags me to a doctor, and ding, pregnant." She sighed once again. "I could barely feed myself right, so of course I was the one to fuck up. One damn missed pill, and I'm right back where I came from, stuck between Summer and Tai."
Now Cinder was beginning to understand. She could not imagine receiving that kind of help from someone that previously rejected her.
"And that wasn't even the worst part." Raven continued. "Once Yang had been born, I realized that I couldn't take care of her on my own. I tried my hardest, but I just... wasn't good at juggling mothering and working. Honestly I've got no fuckin' idea how other women do it, so I had to admit to the newly engaged couple that I needed help. Of course Summer was more than happy to, being the type of woman she is, all 'cause I'm family in her eyes." She somewhat grumbled. "So then I was forced to deal with the fact that I was not only a failure of a lover, but a mother too. And every night I was kept up, scared shitless that Yang was gonna grow up loving Summer more."
Taking a break from her story, Raven poured another couple shots, offering the second the Cinder, who hesitantly accepted it. She definitely needed to make sure she did not drink anymore after this. Once the drinks had been consumed, her boss continued.
"Certainly didn't help when Ruby was born a couple years later." Raven added. "Yang got attached, felt the need to be there for her and stuff, you know, to be a good big sister..." Then she sighed. "Just like her mother taught her..."
"Aren't... you her mother?" Cinder tentatively inquired.
"Only 'cause I gave birth to her, but Summer's been more of a mother than I ever could've been." Raven replied, her gaze falling to the shot glass in her hand. "She raised Yang, and Ruby, working as a full time chef, even when Tai was working on his degree. You called her super mom sarcastically earlier, but that shit is fuckin' accurate."
Cinder could not help but smile. "I'll take your word for it." Then she realized something. "But if Yang was raised by Summer, what were you?"
Raven let out a sad chuckle. "Just good old Aunt Raven."
Cinder blinked. "You were... an aunt to your own daughter?"
Raven shrugged. "Wasn't too bad, meant that she got to grow up in a better home."
"And what about the truth?" Cinder wondered.
Raven's shoulders slumped a bit. "Well, the older Yang got, the worse Summer and Tai felt about her not knowing I wasn't actually her aunt, so a little while after her fifteenth birthday, we all sat down and talked about it, she didn't take it well, to say the least." Raven half-smirked through her grimace. "Naturally, Summer took most of the blame, and Yang ran off to her friend Blake's for a few days, 'cause she didn't wanna see any of us. Eventually Blake's mother talked her into coming home, where she ignored everyone but Ruby." She paused for a moment to briefly look out the office window. "It didn't happen overnight, but she eventually forgave us, and with Summer being the type of woman she is, she taught Yang not to show any favouritism between us, 'cause uh..." She cleared her throat. "Raven is a complicated woman, but she's still your mother, and she loves you more than anything else in the world. She needs people like us in her life to keep her strong." Raven described in a voice that the other woman could only guess was supposed to be imitating Summer's.
Cinder attempted but failed to stifle a laugh. "Was that supposed to be Summer?"
"Shut up, I can't do voices for shit." Raven grumbled. "You think you can do any better?"
Cinder chuckled. "Gods no. Do I look like a voice actress to you?"
"Well no, but you wouldn't really look like one, you'd sound like one." Raven commented.
"Good point." Cinder acknowledged. Then she thought of something else she was curious about. "How did Yang end up coming to work here?"
"It was Summer's idea." Raven began. "After Yang was outta high school, she was havin' some trouble with what she wanted to do. She thought about taking a year or two to get her head on straight, but needed to find more reliable work. Summer suggested coming to me for work, and since it meant we'd spend more time together, she thought it'd be good for us and stuff." A slight smile began to spread across her face. "At first I thought it was a terrible idea, that we'd never get over the unbearable awkwardness that came on her first shift, but I'm glad to say I was wrong. It was pretty weird for a while- scratch that very weird, but things eventually smoothed out, and now we're good. Happy family and all that shit."
At first Cinder smiled, glad to hear that Raven and Yang were able to make up after something like that, but it also reminded her of her own family. She lost her parents when she was a child, so she barely remembered them, but wished she did. They had to have been better than the pieces of shit she had to move in with - Her self-named and exceptionally wealthy stepmother and sisters. Even to this day, she honestly had no clue why they bothered taking her in, considering how horrible they were to her. Cinder hated them, and hated living with them, so she did the only thing that she could think of and convinced them to send her to boarding school. Then the moment she turned eighteen she was finally able to emancipate herself, and she was finally free.
"Hey, you okay?" Came Raven's voice, pulling the younger woman from her certainly less-than-pleasant thoughts.
After a moment Cinder nodded. "All this talk of you and Yang, and all I can think of is my own family." Cinder sneered at the label, before sighing. "I fucking hated those people."
Raven smirked, quirking her brow. "Really? I didn't get that impression from the massive stink eye you gave Glynda when she pushed the topic."
"If I had voiced everything I felt she would stick me in a padded cell." Cinder commented.
"Well I'm sure she's gonna get you to open about them sooner or later." Raven noted.
Cinder sighed. "Don't remind me." She somewhat grumbled.
Raven let out a chuckle, reaching over to pick up and uncap the half-empty vodka bottle. "Guess shitty family pasts are a theme around here too." She observed as she poured out two more shots. "Or maybe just shitty lives in general". Once the two glasses were filled, she passed one to Cinder, who accepted it with less hesitation than earlier.
"Seems like it." Cinder agreed. Then her boss did something unexpected. Rather than downing her shot, Raven instead raised her glass.
"To shitty lives that'll hopefully get better."
Cinder could not help but smile.
"I'll certainly drink to that."
After a few more shots at Raven's request, the older woman finally agreed to return to the party - which Cinder was quite thankful for. It was true she was a social drinker herself, so being able to hold her liquor was part of her character, but she was unsure of how many more shots she would have been able to handle if they had continued. Already feeling increasingly and kind of pleasantly buzzed, Cinder decided she would at least try to take it easy for the rest of the night. But at the same time, getting drunk was likely an inevitability, so perhaps she would just see where the night went. Well if you do get drunk, just make sure you're not the first one to do something stupid or embarrassing. Cinder told herself. Though I'm sure with Weiss around, that won't be much of an issue.
Following her boss through the somewhat squeaky door to the front area, Cinder was met with a view very similar to the one she had left earlier. Everyone was stuffed into a single booth, with Vernal, Weiss and Summer on one side - the wannabe punk cuddling up to the older woman - and Yang, Pyrrha and Ruby on the other. She also noticed that a couple of the plastic bowls that were previously on the bar counter were now on the booth table, filled with two different kinds of chips. Cinder wondered if either of them were sour cream And onion. She quite enjoyed that flavour.
Upon noticing the pair walking towards them, a sly grin instantly spread across Yang's face. "Well well, where have you two been for the last little while?" She asked as the other women turned towards the pair.
"Oh, we were just having some fun looking at your baby pictures." Raven smirked.
Yang's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait what?"
A few seconds passed in silence before Raven laughed. "I'm kidding, we were just talking about work stuff."
Yang quirked a brow. "You were talkin' about work stuff in the middle of a party? Yeah, not buyin' it mom."
Raven just shrugged. "So where's Qrow?" She wondered, taking a look around the bar. "I know he's usually late to these sorts of things but this is ridiculous."
"I mean he stopped by earlier, said hi to everyone and gave Weiss her present, but then left 'cause he still had a hangover from a party he was at last night." Yang explained.
Raven let out a sigh. "Fuckin'... Well at least he came to see Weiss." Then she turned to the wannabe punk. "Sorry about that kiddo."
"Ah don't worry about it! He gave me some fancy alcohol!" Weiss beamed, holding up a bottle of rather high quality whiskey. Then she suddenly perked up and gasped, revealing her now-let-down hair to Raven and Cinder. "Oh my shit I love this song! Come dance with me mom!" She excitedly requested, downing the rest of her drink before tugging on Summer's shoulder, who chuckled in response.
"Of course dear, but only for a little while okay? Work's been pretty busy lately, so I'm a little tired."
"Okay!" Weiss smiled as she practically dragged Summer out into the empty area of the room to dance.
"And there goes Weissy dance pants." Yang commented with a laugh.
Rather than taking their place next to Vernal, Raven just headed over to the bar, perhaps to get another beer. Cinder figured she could use some water after all those shots, so she decided to follow her.
"Raven, can I ask you a question?" Cinder wondered as her boss positioned herself behind the bar.
"Sure, what's up?"
"Why is Weiss calling Ruby's mother... mom?" Cinder inquired, somewhat unsure of what to think of that.
"It's what happens when a disowned girl meets Summer Rose." Raven answered before grabbing another bottle of Vacuoan beer from underneath the counter.
Cinder furrowed her brow. "Is she some kind of foster mother or something?"
Raven shook her head. "Nah, she just adopts broken things."
Adopts broken things? Cinder was curious to know what exactly that meant, but also got the feeling it was another rabbit hole that was not exactly her business... Wait, why did I come up here again? Oh yeah. "Could I get some water?"
A small smirk made its way onto Raven's face. "Done drinking already? Were the shots too much for ya?"
"You know I do have to get home at some point right?" Cinder noted.
Raven shrugged. "I've got a comfy couch that says otherwise."
Cinder raised her brow. "Oh so I don't even get a bed now?"
"Sorry Cin, the bed's for guests, employees get the couch." Raven informed, her smirk still present.
Oh I see, I'm an employee so I only get the couch- Wait, did she just call me Cin?
"How about a beer then?" Raven suggested. "Nice and light, and this Vacuoan craft brand is actually pretty good, even though it's not very expensive."
Vacuoan, huh? "Can't say I've ever had Vacuoan beer before." Cinder admitted. Even though she worked at several bars during her youth, getting experience with many kinds of beer, she only ever stuck to a few brands from Mistral and Vale when she drank - or course not counting other kinds of alcohol she was fond of such as vodka or rum.
"Wait, seriously?" Raven blurted, to which Cinder nodded. Grabbing a bottle opener and popping the cap off of her beer, she offered it to the younger woman. "Wanna try some then?"
"Sure, why not." Cinder agreed, gladly accepting the bottle before taking a small sip. It was delicious, tasting of apples, but damn was it sweet. She was definitely not expecting that. Turning the bottle face toward her, she examined the label. Oh, it was Cider. That makes sense. Then she smirked, shifting her gaze back to her boss. "Cider huh? I didn't realize I was at a children's birthday party."
"Well this is Weiss' party after all..." Raven noted as the pair looked over to the wannabe punk, who appeared to be having quite a lot of fun dancing with Summer - while the older woman was having a bit of trouble keeping up with the girl's seemingly drunken movements.
"She's certainly short enough to count." Cinder added.
Raven let out a small chuckle. "Better not let her hear you say that." She warned as she grabbed another beer for herself.
"Or what? She'll throw a temper tantrum?" Cinder wondered, her smirk still present.
Raven's chuckle quickly turned into a laugh as she placed a newly opened case of beer onto the bar counter. "Damn, if I knew feeding you a few shots would lead to this, I would've taken you out for drinks weeks ago."
It took a moment for Cinder to realize what Raven just said. Getting drinks with the boss? Wow, that would sure be a change of pace. She never would have been able to do that with Salem. There were a few times where she went out with Salem and the other chief officers of the company for business dinners, but those were not exactly enjoyable, at least not in a social sense.
Uncapping her own bottle, Raven made her way back around the bar counter. "Come on, let's go be social again."
"If we must." Cinder smiled, following her boss to the occupied table. As the pair approached the booth, she noticed Yang was just finishing up a story... of some kind, and- Wait, why was there a bottle of beer nestled between her breasts? And how was it even able to fit in there? Cinder took the quickest of looks down at her own chest. With an average C-cup, would she be able to fit a bottle there?
"And then I said, now that's a katana!" Yang boasted, earning her a set of groans from the other occupants at the table.
Her boobs must be really cold.
"Was... that supposed to be funny?" Vernal honestly wondered.
"Yang that story lost its novelty ages ago." Ruby sighed, taking a sip from her drink. "Tell something better."
"You assume she even has any better stories?" Raven asked as she slid into the booth next to Vernal, with Cinder sliding in after her. Yang just pouted in response, causing the older woman to smirk at her.
"Hi aunt Raven!" Ruby greeted, changing the subject.
Raven smiled. "Hey there squirt, what'cha got there?"
"A Strawberry Sunrise!" Ruby beamed, holding up her red and orange drink.
"Man when are you gonna have something stronger?" Raven wondered. "I haven't seen you let loose since Yang's birthday last year!"
Ruby Rose drunk off her ass? I would've payed to see that.
Ruby quirked a brow. "Do you remember what happened at that party?" She inquired.
Raven let out a laugh. "How could I forget? You two get super drunk, bang in the restroom, and when Pyrrha here fell asleep you tried to kiss me!"
Damn. Never thought those two would've had the guts to do something like that.
Pyrrha nearly spit out her drink in response. "You what?"
And she didn't tell her wife about that last part. Yikes.
"Don't worry Pyr, she thought I was you... somehow." Raven attempted to assure.
How the hell do you confuse Raven for Pyrrha?
"I was drunk!" Ruby whined. "And you were both wearing similar outfits!"
And I think you might need glasses Little Red.
Yang suddenly laughed, pulling her beer from between her breasts to take a drink. "And thus ended Rubes' life of partying, as little as it was."
Ruby just rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that ended the last time you tried to take me out partying." Then she turned to the others at the table. "Alright, so a few years ago - back when I was still living with Yang in that cozy little apartment - she tells me that we should go out to this party she knew about. I'm thinking Okay, we haven't actually hung out in a while since I've been busy with university, so why not? Plus that was during a time where Yang was constantly bringing home company when she went out alone, so maybe we could just have fun this time." She flashed a smirk over at her sister, who's smile quickly faded. "So we went and had a good time for a while... until she got drunk that is. I ended up having to wrangle her intoxicated ass home, where she decided to strip down naked and come onto me, thinking I was another one of her companions, which as her sister was not fun." Yang then slumped down onto the table, letting out an audible groan. Ruby's smirk only grew. "Then came the vomiting. Once Yang here was done tryin' to get in my pants, she threw up. A lot. I was up until like, four in the morning cleaning up all that crap."
If Cinder did not think Ruby and Yang were already odd, she certainly did now. Though she was not going to just tell them that. Instead she simply took another sip from her cider.
All of a sudden Yang perked up. "Alright then sis, if you wanna play it like that, who wants to hear the story of Ruby's first experience with boobs?" She wondered with a grin.
Ruby's smirk was then wiped off her face, replaced with an expression of shock. "Oh gods please no."
This ought to be interesting. Reaching into one of the bowls, Cinder grabbed a few chips, popping one into her mouth. Would you look at that. Sour cream and onion.
"So, just like Ruby's story, this was a few years ago." Yang began. "I was hangin' around, watching some cartoons in my underwear - Ya know, average night - when I get a text from Rubes. At first I was pretty confused, 'cause she was supposed to be in the middle of a date with Pyrrha, then I saw what she sent." Pulling her scroll from her pocket, she navigated to... something, then cleared her throat. "Yang help. What is it Rubes? Pyrrha is showing me her boobs I dunno what to do. Like right now? Yes right now! And you're texting me? I froze up!" She read, switching between an imitation of her sister and her own voice. What followed were laughs from the occupants of the table - including Pyrrha surprisingly enough. Even Cinder managed a laugh, considering it was a rather funny story. The only one not laughing was Ruby, who just pouted.
"I'm fairly certain that wasn't the end of that fairly inappropriately-timed conversation." Pyrrha noted.
Yang quickly looked in the opposite direction of her sister - which was at the wall. "I dunno what you're talking about." She probably lied, going back to her drink.
"Oh I think you do." Pyrrha continued with a slight grin. "If I recall correctly, you requested a picture that proved I was indeed showing my breasts to Ruby." Then she briefly turned to the others. "It was a tactic I used to get her to be more forward." She explained before turning back to Yang. "So you could add it to some sort of collection."
"Yeah! You wanted to- ah!" Ruby squeaked as a tipsy Weiss deposited herself into her lap, while Summer continued past them towards the bathroom.
"Hey guys!" Weiss greeted with a grin. "What'cha talkin' about?" She wondered, taking a fairly large sip from her already-half-empty drink.
Quickly getting over the shock of having Weiss in her lap, beginning to cuddle up to her by wrapping her arms around her neck, Ruby grinned. "Oh we were just getting into the topic of Yang's attempted titty pic collection." She informed, to which Yang nearly spat out her drink.
"You said you'd never tell anyone about that!" Yang burst, trying to reach over to silence her sister, sadly to no avail due to Pyrrha and Weiss being in the way.
Ruby shifted her gaze to Yang, the grin still on her face. "Whoops."
Cinder could not help but crack a smile. That was probably the most sarcastic whoops she had ever heard.
"Oooooo, how naughty!" Weiss cooed, smirking over at the blonde. "Can I see it?"
Yang let out a chuckle. "As much as I would love to share, no one ever gave me any pics."
Weiss gasped in response. "I can always give you some!" Which caused Yang's eyes to immediately widen. Cinder could have sworn she saw a slight blush tint her cheeks, but she was unsure. The lighting in the bar was not exactly amazing.
"Careful there snowflake." Vernal warned.
"I didn't mean mine!" Weiss defended through a laugh before glancing down at her breasts. "You think anyone wants to see these bug bites?" Then she did something unexpected. Releasing Ruby from her cuddle-hug, she slid down the girl's body until she was completely under the table. To Cinder it felt quite weird to feel Weiss touching her leg as she seemingly navigated towards Vernal. Once in front of her girlfriend - as far as Cinder could guess since she no longer felt movement - she opened her legs and used them to climb up Vernal before grabbing both of her breasts. "No no, people wanna see these babies... Not too big, not too small... not too soft, not too firm, they're perfect!"
Cinder could barely suppress a snicker as Vernal's face flushed for the first time in memory, the tough facade cracking under the sudden attention. I really hope I'm not the only one that thinks this is super weird.
"Why don't we do cake and presents now?" Raven suggested after a few moments of silence. "Before snowflake over here melts too much."
Suddenly Weiss perked up, looking to Raven with eyes full of excitement. "Cake? Yes please!"
Raven chuckled. "Alright then, get up from under the table and I'll go grab it." To which the wannabe punk promptly climbed up into Vernal's lap. Then Raven turned to Cinder. "Scooch."
Yes ma'am. As much as Cinder wanted to respond with that again, she decided against it, knowing her boss was not too fond of being called ma'am. Instead she simply nodded before sliding out of the booth to allow Raven to stand up - just in time for Summer to get back from the bathroom.
"Did I hear it's time for cake?" Summer inquired.
"Yeah." Raven quickly mumbled as she passed her and disappeared into the back room. It was only one word, but Cinder could feel the tension in her voice. Even in her movements, she could tell her boss did not want any one-on-one time.
Once Raven was gone, the rest of the group, minus Weiss and Vernal who were busy cuddling and... teasing each other - Cinder tried not to think about that - began preparing for the consumption of the cake. Ruby took the mostly-empty bowls of chips off the table and brought them to the bar counter, Pyrrha and Yang gathered a couple extra chairs since a booth only seated six at maximum, and Cinder helped Summer gather the plastic plates and utensils - partially because if she did not, she would have had nothing to do other than stand around and drink her cider, which would have been rather awkward.
"May I ask you something?" Summer wondered as she pulled the set of plastic plates off of the bar counter.
Picking up the bundle of forks, Cinder nodded. "Sure." It was just going to be an innocent question... probably.
"Is... everything alright?" Summer asked. "I noticed you and Rae left for quite a while, I'm not causing an issue am I?"
Well shit. Cinder hoped she was not going to ask something like that... but she did... And the younger woman had no idea how to answer. She could not just tell her that they were discussing Raven's history with them, it was none of Cinder's business in the first place! So she thought of something else. Wanting to keep Raven's privacy intact, she decided to instead come up with an excuse that pinned it on herself. Hopefully it was believable enough. "No not at all. I was just... feeling a little socially stifled, so Raven offered to spend some time with me until I was ready to return. Though I will admit it took a little longer than expected."
A moment of silence followed as the pair placed the plates and utensils onto the booth table, and Cinder started to get worried that Summer had figured out that she was lying. Thankfully she merely smiled. "That's understandable. Getting used to a new set of people can be tough." Then she let out a chuckle. "Especially when those people make up a group as strange as this one. But please, don't let that discourage you. Every one of them is wonderful in their own right."
Cinder got the feeling that Summer knew something was up, but for some reason she did not press. So she just offered a smile in return. "I won't." She managed to assure. Summer was a nice woman, but after the discussion she just had with Raven, she was probably the last person Cinder should be talking to. It just felt... awkward. Thankfully the others soon gathered around the table, so at least she did not have to be alone with her. Everyone then spent the next few minutes sitting around the booth table, with Vernal, Weiss and Summer on one side, Ruby, Pyrrha and Yang on the other, and Cinder in one of the chairs. They chatted about various topics - Cinder was not really paying too much attention - until Raven returned with a moderately sized cylindrical plastic container. Upon placing it as well as a fairly large knife and serving spatula onto the table, the conversations ceased as the wannabe punk audibly gasped.
"Is that it?" Weiss excitedly wondered.
"Nah, this is the cake for the other birthday girl." Raven joked as she opened the container, revealing a somewhat messy but still beautifully made desert. Chocolate shavings covered most of the cake, ten deep red cherries sat atop their own mounds of whipped cream on the top, and the words Happy Birthday Weiss were scribbled - for lack of a better term - in the centre. That was Black Forest cake - better known as Forever Fall cake in Vale. Strange... Cinder would have taken Weiss for a more... vanilla type girl. Or maybe ice cream cake... if she did not hate working at that ice cream parlour so much.
"It looks amazing!" Weiss burst.
"Well I just hope it tastes good, 'cause it took me over a week to get this shit right." Raven noted.
Cinder's eye widened slightly - hopefully not enough for anyone to notice. Raven made that herself? Damn. She guessed that her boss was at least a decent cook, considering she was forty-something years old, but she never imagined she would be good at baking cakes. Raven Branwen. Bar owner. Accidental Mother. Badass... and Cake Baker Extraordinaire apparently.
"Well if it's anything like my sexy girlfriend over here..." Weiss started, not-so subtly pointing at Vernal with a grin. "It's gonna taste just as good as it looks!" Which caused everyone except her girlfriend - who's face flushed once again - to burst into laughter.
Wow, twice in one day.
After everyone had calmed down, Raven began cutting and serving the cake. Upon getting her piece, Cinder immediately wanted to dig in with how delicious it looked. But of course she was not just going to do that before the others had their pieces. That would be rude. Thankfully that did not take long, since Raven was a quick server. Perhaps her years of owning a bar had something to do with that. Cinder joked to herself. Though unfortunately her for boss, a certain birthday girl had another request before she could sit down.
"Can I get another White Atlesian?" Weiss asked with an innocent smile.
"Sure thing kiddo." Raven nodded as she placed her own slice of cake at her spot next to Cinder's. "Anyone else want another drink?"
"Another Strawberry Sunrise!" Ruby requested.
"Alright, one White Atlesian for the white Atlesian, and a Strawberry Sunrise for my boring niece." Raven teased - earning a pout from Ruby and a chuckle from Pyrrha - before heading towards the bar. From there the chatter resumed until she returned with the beverages. She handed the Strawberry Sunrise to Ruby, who thanked her, but when she handed the other drink to Weiss, the wannabe punk pulled her into an unexpected hug.
"You know Raven, I dunno if I've ever told you this... but you're such a great friend..." She praised before reaching down to tap the older woman's rear. "And one hot piece of ass." Which caused everyone - including Vernal and Raven herself - to burst into laughter. Even Cinder managed to fully laugh at the amusing drunken behaviour of the girl.
I wish I could see this kind of shit every day. Cinder thought as the laughter died down and everyone began to dig into their cake. Gods damn this is delicious. Cinder never would have guessed that Raven could bake so well... or at all really. Maybe she should look into selling the bar and starting up a cake shop.
As Cinder continued to eat, she really began to see that this group was almost like a big family. The way they all interacted, conversed, playfully argued and just... enjoyed each others' company. Especially Weiss. Compared to the few times Cinder was working when she visited the bar after her own shift at work, the girl was like a ball of sunshine today. It certainly did not fit her punk aesthetic, though that did not mean it was not entertaining. Quite the opposite in fact. Of course Cinder participated in the conversation, but honestly this whole group was amusing to just... watch.
Once everyone was finished their cake - and Yang, Ruby and Weiss were done their second pieces - it was time for presents, which Cinder was actually somewhat nervous for, as she would soon get to see what the others got for the birthday girl. Everyone collected their gifts and gathered back around the booth, where Weiss was very excitedly waiting.
"So where's your gift Vernal?" Yang wondered as she placed a moderately sized box onto the booth table. "You didn't cheap out on poor Weissy did ya?"
"Of course not dumbass." Vernal answered with a slight scowl. Damn that woman is scary. "She's wearing her present." Then she smirked over at her girlfriend. "At least her first one of the day."
Cinder had not noticed it before, but the jacket Weiss was just wearing was not the same one she had worn on the other two occasions they met. It was not exceptionally different, at least as far as she could tell, but it was certainly of a higher quality.
"And I baked that cake you all enjoyed so much, so I'm off the hook." Raven commented.
Looking between the various boxes in front of her, Weiss shifted her gaze to the others, a grin spreading across her face. "Alright, which one of you sexy ladies wants me to open their gift first?" She wondered, taking a surprisingly small sip from her still-full White Atlesian.
"Why don't you open mine?" Summer offered with a smile.
"Sounds good mama." Weiss accepted as she reached for the largest gift on the table. Quickly ripping off the wrapping paper, she revealed what appeared to be a cook book, which caused her to nearly gasp as she looked back at Summer.
"Well I remember you mentioning how you wanted to learn how to cook better, so I got you a copy of one of my favourite recipe books." Summer explained. "I also included some personal notes inside for if you want to make any of the meals more interesting."
Weiss just smiled in response, raising from her seat to wrap Summer in a tight hug. "Thanks mom, I love you"
"You're very welcome sweetie." Summer acknowledged, planting a quick kiss on the girl's cheek as they separated. "I love you too."
Plopping back down into her seat, Weiss looked at the remaining two presents in front of her. "Who's next?"
"Do mine last." Yang requested. "I don't think these girls would be able to follow it up." She grinned, gesturing to Ruby and Pyrrha.
"Well then, it'd better be some gift." Weiss commented as she grabbed the smaller box. Once again she quickly ripped off the wrapping paper, this time revealing a black box. When she took off the lid, she actually gasped before pulling out a silver necklace, adorned with two charms; a snowflake and a red apple. "It's beautiful!" Then her brow slightly furrowed. "But what does this little apple mean?"
"It's a symbol." Pyrrha informed. "A ripe apple is said to represent a fertile womb."
"A fertile womb? You two do know that there's pretty much zero chance of me getting pregnant right?" Weiss wondered before she looked around at the other women. "Unless one of you has a secret dick I knew nothing about... which, not gonna lie, would be super hot..." Then she turned to Summer with a grin. "Or unless you'd be willing to let me rent out your husband for a night..." Which caused the older woman's eyes to widen, a slight blush tinting her cheeks as the others laughed.
"Hey, down girl." Vernal commanded between sips of her water.
Weiss let out a chuckle. "I'm just kidding!" She assured as she placed the necklace back into the box and got up to hug Ruby and Pyrrha. "Even if I'm not gonna get pregnant, it's a great gift. Thanks you two."
"Well we're glad you like it!" Ruby smiled as she and her wife were released by the drunken girl.
As Weiss sat back down in front of the remaining gift, she looked up at Yang, who grinned.
"Best for last!"
"Guess we'll see about that blondie." Weiss grinned back, grabbing the box and tearing off the wrapping paper. Upon seeing what was within, her eyes widened in shock, her mouth dropping open. Several seconds passed in silence before she slowly unwrapped the rest of the gift, revealing what appeared to be some kind of special edition DVD and Blue Ray box set of the first three seasons of... Truffle Troop? Cinder had never heard of that.
"Told ya." Yang commented.
Weiss was at a loss for words, which was rather amusing to see. "I... Yang how did you get your hands on this? I've been looking for somewhere that actually has this fuckin' set in stock for ages!"
Yang just smiled. "Let's just say I've got connections."
"And by that she means she bought it off some scalper in Vacuo for hundreds of lien extra." Ruby noted.
"She doesn't need to know that!" Yang hissed, reaching over to try to cover her sister's mouth.
"And she spent the last couple weeks worried sick that it wasn't gonna get here in time!" Ruby continued with a grin, avoiding Yang's attempts at silencing her.
As the two siblings continued to struggle over the silence of the younger one, Weiss just sat there watching, a smile on her face as she likely thought about how much trouble her friend went through to buy her that present. Eventually she stood up, quickly making her way over to Yang and wrapping her in quite the bear hug, a bright smile spread across her face. "Thank you so much Yang, I can't wait to watch the shit out of this. I love it."
"I knew you would." Yang hummed. "Happy birthday punk stuff."
Cinder could not help but smile at the rather cute display of affection between the two girls. She might not be that close with anyone in the group at the present time, but honestly, she hoped she would be someday. They were good people, and she was lucky to have met them.
Once Weiss had released Yang from their moderately long hug, the wrapping paper was cleaned up, the presents were moved onto the booth table that held Cinder's thankfully still unopened gift, the group went back to just talking and having some relaxed fun. Though that did not last very long, as the wannabe punk soon finished her White Atlesian, which seemed to bring with it another personality of the girl. It was as if after each drink or two she consumed, she was same kind of different version of herself. How odd.
Upon seeing Weiss slam down her cup with a satisfied breath, a grin began to spread across Yang's face. "Was that drink number five?"
"You know it!" Weiss beamed. "Say hello to the most confident woman alive!" Slamming her elbow onto the table, she held out her hand to her blonde friend, looking ready to arm wrestle. "Let's do this little girl."
Yang let out a chuckle. "You and I both know how that'd end Weissy."
"Yeah, with me kicking your ass!" Weiss boasted, much to everyone's doubt. "What's wrong, you chicken blondie?"
Yang's chuckle quickly turned into a laugh. "Okay punk stuff, if you wanna arm wrestle me, let's do it." She accepted, placing her elbow onto the table and locking hands with Weiss. "Alright mom, call it."
"Well this'll be quick." Raven mumbled. "Three, two, one, go."
From the moment it began, there was no doubt in the air; Weiss had the strength of a toothpick. She struggled and strained, trying with all her might to prevail, but it was all for naught. Arm wrestling did not run in her veins. Nor did it for Yang, she just happened to be physically fit, and far more sober... even though Weiss had only seemingly had five drinks. What a lightweight.
After a solid amusing minute of the wannabe punk trying her hardest to beat Yang, she was finally ready to admit defeat. "Alright Xiao-Long, you win this round, but I'll get you one day!"
Yang just grinned. "Oh I'm sure you will Weiss."
A moment passed by with everyone looking to Weiss, seemingly waiting for some kind of retort from her, but no such thing came. Instead, she perked up, an excited look in her eyes.
"Let's play a game!"
Vernal immediately quirked a brow. "A game? What are we, children?"
"No no, a drinking game!" Weiss corrected.
"Now that I can get behind." Raven commented before taking a sip from her beer. "What're you thinking?"
"Well I'm good with pretty much anything, so one of you should pick!" Weiss smiled.
Another few moments passed by as everyone likely attempted to think of a drinking game they could all play, until Pyrrha spoke up. "How about never have I ever?"
"That's a great idea Pyrrha!" Weiss burst. "Let's do that!"
Yang offered a smile of her own. "Sounds like a plan birthday girl." Then she looked around at the others. "Everyone got a full drink?" To which the other women examined their beverages. A few of them needed a refill or just another drink, so Raven volunteered to get those - along with refilling and bringing over the bowls of chips, which Cinder was quite happy about. She could go for some more sour cream and onion chips after that cake. Then once everyone had full glasses - or bottles - they got started.
"So who would like to go first?" Pyrrha wondered.
Yang quickly raised her hand. "I've got a good one." She grinned. "Never have I ever banged in public."
"Damnit." Ruby mumbled as she and Pyrrha both took a drink.
"Alright well I wasn't expecting that." Yang admitted. "When did you do that?"
Pyrrha giggled. "It's something that seems to happen anytime we hike for an extended period of time." She explained, to which Ruby attempted to suppress a growing blush. "I love being in nature, and making love beneath the sun is a great offering to the Spring Maiden."
"Just make sure you're being safe out there." Summer added.
That only caused Ruby's blush to grow. "We know mom!" Then she glared over at her sister. "Okay, if you wanna play it like that, never have I ever been finger blasted in a movie theatre." She grinned.
"Well played Rubes." Yang acknowledged before taking a drink.
"But why a movie theatre of all places?" Vernal questioned.
"Well when you live with not only your parents but your younger sister, you gotta find other places to fool around." Yang explained. "So after spending a little time on my knees giving what my boyfriend at the time Sage described as the best head he'd even gotten - and nearly getting jizz in my hair - he returned the favour. And damn did that guy know what he was doing down there."
My gods these people share way too much.
"And that's something I definitely didn't need to know about my daughter." Summer groaned.
Yang let out a nervous chuckle, running a hand through her hair. "Sorry mom."
"My turn!" Weiss excitedly volunteered. "Never have I ever done drugs!"
Well shit. Cinder thought to herself before she and Vernal - who she saw in the corner of her eye - took a drink. Then she noticed everyone was looking at her. Looks like they want a story... Really hope I don't get fired for telling them this. "Well, like many others I knew, I smoked a bit of weed every once in a while in high school, but after graduating and moving on to university, I stopped. It wasn't until years later at a rave my girlfriend somehow convinced me to go to, that we um... dropped some ecstasy." She somewhat hesitantly admitted. "I don't remember much of what happened that night, but it must have been fun considering we woke up in bed with a Faunus couple the next morning. They were lovely people, so we decided to take them out for breakfast. Though we all understood that it was a one-time thing, so we went our separate ways after that."
"Wait wait, you were in a foursome?" Yang gasped, to which the older woman nodded. "Damn Cinder, you've got my respect."
Cinder managed a small chuckle. "Thanks Yang."
A few moments of silence passed before Summer spoke up. "I've got one. Never have I ever gotten black-out drunk." She informed, to which Yang, Cinder, Weiss and Raven each took a drink - with the wannabe punk taking a notably larger one than the others. That girl really wants to get as drunk as possible.
"Never have I ever shoplifted." Pyrrha proposed. Unsurprisingly to Cinder, Raven and Vernal both took drinks, but then a third person did the same; Ruby. She never knew sweet little Ruby Rose was even capable of stealing, and judging by the others' faces, no one else was expecting it either.
Summer raised her brow in response. "Excuse me young lady?"
"It wasn't my idea I swear! It was all the way back in grade five!" Ruby defended. "We were playing truth or dare, and a friend dared me to steal a pack of those pop rock candies from a store near our school."
Luckily Summer seemed to accept that. Cinder did not want anything killing the mood, she was actually having a lot of fun.
"How about you Cinder?" Weiss wondered. "What's something you've never done?"
That was a good question. What was something Cinder had never done? Well, there were certainly quite a few things she had not done before, but which one could she use? Then she looked at the girl who asked her in the first place, and it gave her an idea. "Never have I ever had sex in the workplace." She grinned.
"Oh you're good." Weiss acknowledged before she, Vernal and Summer of all people each took a drink, her eyes also widening at the sight of her "mom" joining them in that act. It seemed that everyone else was just as shocked, as they all turned their their gazes to Summer, hoping for some kind of story on how a woman as sweet as her could ever do something as... well, vulgar as that. It certainly baffled Cinder.
"Well it was late, you kids were at with friends, and Tai was taking too long... So I decided to... you know... take advantage of the situation." Summer explained, a slight blush beginning to tint her cheeks.
Yang blinked. "Like, in his office?"
Summer nodded. "We cleaned thoroughly."
Ruby looked like she was ready to throw up. "I did my homework in that office..."
"Very thoroughly." Summer assured, though neither of her daughters seemed convinced.
"Details!" Weiss burst.
"No gods please no details!" Ruby pleaded.
"Did he bend you over his desk?" Weiss excitedly wondered.
Ruby looked about ready to feint. "Kill me." Pyrrha attempted to comfort her with a gentle back rub, but it appeared fruitless.
Then Raven made it worse. "Multiple times probably. She likes doggy style."
Summer's eyes went wide. "Raven!" The woman in question just smirked in response.
"Weiss, Pyrrha, someone, kill me." Ruby groaned.
Pyrrha chuckled. "Maybe later sweetie."
"So did you swallow?" Raven asked, her smirk still present.
Ruby immediately turned to glare at the step-mother. "Aunt Raven I'm gonna kill you."
Raven just laughed. "You wouldn't be the first pipsqueak."
"Someone please go next." Ruby sighed.
"Never have I ever skinny dipped." Vernal proposed, to which Ruby, Pyrrha and Summer each took a drink.
"Ugh, damnit!" Ruby groaned once again.
Summer let out a chuckle. "Let me guess, was it on your honeymoon?"
"Ye-" Ruby started before realizing what her mother was implying. "I don't wanna play this game anymore."
Cinder managed a grin. "What an enlightening evening."
"Alright squirt, just for you; never have I ever been outside the country." Raven suggested, causing Ruby, Pyrrha, Summer, and Weiss to drink - the latter finishing off her beverage. A very tame round, no one really needing any stories this time. Even Cinder could guess why each of them drank. Ruby, Pyrrha and Summer all left the country for the honeymoons - much like Cinder herself was planning to - and Weiss initially came from Atlas.
And then Pyrrha just had to make it worse. "Never have I ever been invited to a threesome." She grinned at her wife.
"Pyrrha!" Ruby and Summer burst in unison, before the latter and Yang were required to drink.
Cinder debated whether or not she should drink, considering she had been in several threesomes in the past while still with Neo, but none of them ever came from invitation, rather she was just roped into them. So she decided against it. "I sense an interesting story." She instead commented.
"Nope! Nothing happened!" Ruby attempted to assure, which Cinder did not buy for one second.
"An ex-girlfriend of Ruby's once asked Yang if she wanted to be in a threesome with them." Pyrrha explained. "And yes, she was aware they were sisters, considering she then tried to give Summer the same offer."
"Oh gods please don't remind me." Summer groaned, prompting some of the others - aside from Ruby and Yang - to laugh. "That girl was sweet, but such a weirdo."
Weiss giggled as she began cuddling up to the older woman. "It's okay if you were tempted mom. We still love you."
"I wasn't tempted!" Summer promised.
"Not gonna lie, I was a little bit." Yang admitted. She received a set of very shocked looks in response. "But I never would've done it! Who do you guys take me for? Some kinda homewrecker?"
"Well you have told me that you're gonna throw yourself at my wife before." Ruby noted.
"As a joke!" Yang defended.
"And you flirt with Weiss like, every time she comes here to visit." Vernal added.
"Wh- I do not!" Yang quickly denied, which actually made Cinder think that the opposite was true. "At least not on purpose... I unconsciously flirt with everyone!"
Everyone seemed to accept that one, so Weiss took her chance to speak up. "My turn!" She smiled. "Never have I ever walked in on a family member in the bathroom!"
Summer let out a chuckle. "Being the mother of two baby girls, that sort of thing was a common occurrence." She informed before taking a drink.
Yang then also took a drink. "At least you've never walked in on your mother on the toilet... or in the shower..." She shuddered. "All 'cause she's not used to having to lock the bathroom door."
Raven rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me, I lived alone for over fifteen years before you started staying with me, so gimme a break."
"Speaking of walking in on people, never have I ever had a relative walk in on me while having sex." Summer proposed. The only two to drink that time were Yang and Pyrrha, the only one surprising anybody being the latter.
"That sort of stuff was inevitable when living with Yang." Ruby commented. "I can't tell you how many times I came home from a class to find the apartment filled with moaning. Like there was this one time a prof let us out early, so I decided to jump on the bus and head home. It was still maybe mid-afternoon so I didn't expect to find anything, but sadly that wasn't the case when I walked in the front door. Instead I found Yang being full-nelsoned by a guy on our living room couch!" She shuddered. "I saw everything..."
Yang then let out a nervous chuckle. "Okay Rubes, that's enough about that..."
"I dunno Yang, I feel like I'm learning a lot here." Cinder smirked.
"Oh gods please don't encourage her." Yang groaned.
"And then there was this time I was trying to study for exams!" Ruby continued, much to her sister's displeasure. "It was late at night, and I was reading over my notes for class I wasn't doing so hot in, but I couldn't focus due to the... noises coming from Yang's room. I tried my best to ignore them, but after I while I couldn't take it anymore, so I marched in there to tell them to shut the hell up." She sighed. "Little did I know I would walk in on my sister with her legs wrapped around some girl's head, right in the middle of an orgasm." Then she turned to said sister. "I saw your o-face Yang! Your o-face!"
"What about you Pyr? What's your story?" Yang promptly inquired, likely hoping it would take the focus off of her. Luckily for the blonde, it actually seemed to work, as all eyes turned to the redhead.
"Oh, well, it's not even that interesting of a story-" Pyrrha started.
"I still wanna heart it!" Weiss pushed. "I love your stories!"
Pyrrha offered a smile to the drunken girl. "Very well." She agreed. "The first and thankfully only time it happened to me was about seven years ago now, while I was still with Jaune. We had been together for quite some time, and we believed we were ready to take the next step in our relationship - that being losing our virginities together. We spent some time doing our research so we knew what to expect, as well as planning when we could do it, as both of our families tended to be home a lot - Especially his, considering he had not only his parents to worry about, but his seven sisters. Even so, eventually we were able to be alone, and as far as first times go, it was wonderful... At least if you excuse our little... interruption."
"Did his dad walk in on you two?" Weiss gasped. "Did his mom?"
Pyrrha let out a small chuckle. "Not quite. We were just getting into it, finding a slow yet still pleasurable rhythm, when we hear the front door open, which scared us half to death since we were told the house would be ours for the day. Luckily it was just one of his sisters who had forgotten her scroll, though unfortunately that didn't stop her from wondering where we were and eventually checking Jaune's room... which was where we were currently making love." Then she chuckled again. "Honestly I'm not sure how either of us were able to finish after that, or even continue for that matter. Though I can safely say the next time I saw her was very awkw-AH!" She squeaked as an intoxicated Weiss crawled her way up onto the redhead's lap to cuddle her.
Apparently no one else noticed that while Pyrrha was telling her story, Weiss had slowly slid under the table to cuddle with her. Cinder noticed, but decided against telling anyone, as she thought it would be amusing to see what happened. And like she expected, Pyrrha did not disappoint with that reaction - especially considering how hard everyone laughed at it.
"I love you Pyrrha..." Weiss mumbled into the redhead's shoulder as she relatively tightly hugged her.
Yang chuckled. "Seems like Weissy's gettin' a little too drunk to keep going."
Looking down at the drunken girl cuddling up to her, Pyrrha giggled. "It appears so."
"Maybe we should look into starting to clean up." Raven suggested.
Up until that point, Cinder had not realized how tired she was - even though she had gotten a full nightmare-free sleep the night before. Man, being this social after so long spent alone was taxing.
"Sounds good." Vernal nodded, to which everyone else seemed to agree. "Was gettin' tired of you bunch anyway." She added with a smirk.
And so the group began to clean up, well, some of the group. Raven, Yang and Vernal did most of the cleaning, so that left the rest of the women to just continue talking. Normally that would mean Cinder would not have much to do, since the others were much closer with one another, but her level of tipsiness actually helped... Surprisingly enough. Though she did not have to be social for that long, as the clean-up was quickly completed and everyone got up and started getting ready to disband for the night. Ruby, Summer and Pyrrha discussed who was sober enough to drive home - all of them seemed relatively fine in Cinder's eyes - while Vernal attempted to pry her girlfriend away from the latter of the three. Eventually she was successful, but once the wannabe punk was no longer clinging to Pyrrha, she turned her eyes to Cinder.
Sauntering over to the unsuspecting older woman, Weiss wrapped her arms around her, eliciting a small gasp. Vernal just chuckled at the unexpected display of affection. "You know Cinder, I don't know you that well but I love you... you listened to me rant about my shitty job, and helped me see the brighter side of it... I thank you..."
Cinder just blinked, having no clue how to respond. The tipsiness could not save her this time. "Oh, um, you're welcome... Weiss... Glad I could help." She looked around, wondering what to do, as the girl was not releasing her.
"Alright babe, let poor Cinder go, time to get your drunk ass home." Vernal requested, reaching over and gently getting her girlfriend to release the older woman. "Sorry about that, she's a pretty touchy drunk."
"Clearly." Cinder acknowledged. "Though I think she confuses the word love for appreciate."
"Somethin' like that." Vernal responded before taking Weiss to say her goodbyes while she collected the presents.
It took a little while - specifically for Weiss, as she spent a long time telling people she loved them - but soon enough everyone had bid farewell and departed, leaving Raven and Cinder as the only people left in the bar. The younger woman was quite tired if she was being honest, and combine that with the amount of alcohol in her system, she did not want to make the trek home - Even though it was a mere few blocks away. So she looked to Raven with an innocent smile.
"So, is that couch offer still up for grabs?"
What a perfect day. Teased by her girlfriend, surrounded by loving friends - the closest thing Weiss had to a family - and the best part? It was not even over yet. Vernal had spoken all day of a second gift, and judging from the amount of time she spent with a hand touching Weiss' crotch or her breasts, she was fairly certain she knew what it was - and boy did it excite her. She had a feeling they would be having sex at some point after the party, but as they rode back home on her girlfriend's motorcycle, but with how much she had teased her throughout the day, there was no way Vernal was getting away without fucking her brains out.
Once the pair was back in their apartment and all the presents Weiss had received at the party were placed onto the kitchen table - including Cinder's still unopened one - she pounced, practically jumping into Vernal's arms and wrapping her legs around her waste. Sadly before she could attack her girlfriend's lips with her own, Vernal stopped her.
"What is it?" Weiss questioned, slightly annoyed that her advances were halted.
"You sure you don't wanna open Cinder's gift first?" Vernal wondered, a grin beginning to spread across her face.
Weiss furrowed her brow. Her girlfriend was delaying sex... for her to open a present? "I'll open it later." She quickly responded before meeting Vernal in a heated kiss. Whatever the gift may be, it could wait. She had a date with a dark red strap-on.
"I dunno, I might've taken a little peak." Vernal started in between kisses. "I think you're gonna wanna open it."
Weiss broke the kiss in response, raising her brow at Vernal. "Oh did you now?" Her girlfriend merely grinned. "Well okay then, I guess I'll have to open it instead of having sex with you." She faux-sighed as she was put down.
"We'll see." Vernal smirked as Weiss approached the kitchen table.
We'll see? Just what the hell is in that bag? Weiss wondered to herself as she grabbed said bag off of the table. Pulling out the tissue paper, she was greeted by a small box. She then grabbed the box and took it out of the bag, revealing something she never could have guess would be in there: An egg vibrator. Weiss' eyes widened at the sight of it, a blush beginning to tint her cheeks. She could not believe that Cinder of all people, that fairly quiet and reserved woman, bought her a sex toy. Was she secretly a freak?
Then from behind Weiss, Vernal burst out laughing. "Told ya."
As Weiss stared down at the small box in her hands, it actually gave her an idea, one that sent a wave of heat through her body. Now hopefully Vernal would be on board. Much like Weiss, she liked experimenting, but it just depended on what it was. But fuck it, having this toy in her hands was making Weiss feel adventurous. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her girlfriend. "Do you think we could... use it?"
Walking over to the wannabe punk, Vernal wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into a quick kiss. "Anything for the birthday gal."
Weiss' blush only grew as the pair met in a much more heated kiss.
This was going to be a fun night.
Author's Note:
And that does it for this set of One Last Chance chapters! I will be returning to Aftercare for a little while for another set of those chapters, so if you haven't checked that out, considering doing it! You might like it (it's nice and fluffy after the first 3 chapters, at least as far as the first 10 chapters that are out at the time of posting this).
Anywho, this story will be on hiatus for probably the next few months, so thank you so much for those who have read and supported it so far, and I can't wait to return. And as always, your feedback fuels me!
But before I go, here's a little surprise.
Everything is garbage.
You find something you care about... and it's taken from you. Your home, your dream job... the love of your life. I should just learn to never love anything ever again. Maybe that'll help. No love, no attachment, no loss.
How long have I even been laying here? How did I even end up on the ground? Didn't I fall from... ugh, I can't remember... but I don't care... It doesn't matter anyway. Nothing does.
Oh... my cigarette's almost out. How many is that now? I dunno, but I could use another one.
Ow, fuck. My arm hurts... Well, more than every other part of my body... and I can't move it. Why can't I move my arm? Is it broken? Maybe it's broken... Figures. I guess I could just lay here... It's all I'm really good for anymore anyway.
The stars are really bright tonight...
I wish Velvet was here.
