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Raven and Yang's Christmas Story

This is a sidestory that does not occur in timeline of the previous chapter. The chapter after this (20, I believe) will pick up where chapter 18 left off. I kinda just did this for a weird bit of fun. Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

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"I hate the holidays."

Upon hearing that, Summer turned to Raven in shock.

STRQ Team's leader was in the middle of decorating the Christmas tree in their dorm, when her teammate's sudden revelation caught her off guard. The ornament she held, fell to the floor and bounced around like some poor creature.

"What?" Summer asked, uncertain she heard right.

"I hate the holidays, Summ. I thought I made that pretty clear leading up to today."

"I thought you were joking!"

Raven raised a skeptical brow.

"Why would I joke about that?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe, cause…"

Summer scrunched her face into a scowl that didn't quite fit.

"I'm Raven,'" she imitated poorly, while swinging her hips in exaggeration. "I'm always grumpy, and broody, and I say terrible things all the time, and make terrible jokes. So no one can ever tell when I'm joking or just being mean."

"Hey, that was pretty good."

"Grr…!"

"Well, don't let me ruin your fun. I only stopped by to pick up some stuff."

As Raven reached for the sword sitting on her bed, a flash of white blinded her. In the next second, her weapon disappeared and reappeared in Summer's curled arms.

"No."

"Summer…"

"This is our first Christmas together as STRQ Team! You can't just go!"

"Yes. I can. Just celebrate it with Tai. He seems like the type of sap to fall for this stuff."

"Nope!" Summer shifted the sword behind her back. "All four of us are celebrating Christmas together as a team! This is an order, as your leader!"

"—What are you two on about?"

The two heard a voice from the doorway and saw Qrow leaning against the arch. Taiyang appeared shortly after.

"Perfect timing!" Summer pumped her fist. "Tai!"

"Yes?!"

"Apprehend Qrow! Your leader commands it!"

"Uh…" Taiyang awkwardly grabbed Qrow's arm. "Got…you…?"

The Branwen siblings stared at their teammates, like they were watching weird animals at the zoo.

"You don't need to worry about Qrow," Raven chuckled. "I'm sure he would put up with you, if you asked him nicely."

"Huh? Really?"

"Oh, yeah. He loves you so much, after all~"

"—Shut up!" Qrow crowed.

"But, does that mean…"

"Summer! She wasn't being serious!"

"Does that mean…" Summer ignored Qrow and gazed up at Raven with puppy dog eyes. "…you don't love me?"

"Ugh." Raven made a troubled expression. "That's—I…" *Sigh* Her palm cupped her forehead. "I can't deal."

"Raven! You're the one I want to spend the holidays with the most!"

"""GUH!""" Raven, Qrow, and Taiyang all clutched their hearts for completely different reasons.

Believing she'd finally won her comrades over, Summer puffed her chest proudly.

"Well! I believe that settles THAT! And not a moment too soon cause…I can't reach the higher branches."

All four of them turned their attention to the giant pine tree. The peak of its height reached the ceiling of their dorm.

"Yeah, none of us can reach up there," Qrow frowned.

"Just turn into a birdie and fly up there," Summer said.

"That's demeaning."

"Caw caw!"

"What are you doing?"

"Saying thanks!"

"…"

To hide his blushing face, Qrow transformed into a crow, and began flying up decorations.

"We should also take a picture!" Summer piped up.

At this point, STRQ Team's leader had assumed full control of the other three and was running away with it.

…

…

…

In a humble cabin, on the island of Patch, Summer cracked a small smile at the picture frame in her hands. It was a commemorative photo of STRQ Team's first Christmas together.

A lot had changed since their days at Beacon.

They had graduated and become full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses. But the paths they took afterwards could not have been any more different.

Qrow became Ozpin's lefthand man and secret protector of Remnant. Raven joined the White Fang and Salem. Taiyang still worked as a Huntsman, but mainly put his time to teaching at Signal Academy. And Summer…

Summer became something much, much more.

Looking out into the night and falling snow, she opened the windows wide.

"You should come in," she greeted with a friendly tone. "It must be cold out there."

For a long while, only slow snowfall and quiet winds answered her.

"…How did you know I was here?" a voice called back.

Summer's eyes flickered with a silver glint as answer.

"Right." Black miasma erupted beside Summer, and Raven stepped in from the void. "They're asleep?"

"Like you didn't already know. You waited until it was this late before showing up."

"Hmph."

Despite Raven's standoffish demeanor, there was a faint vulnerability there too. A weakness to her former leader she never got completely rid of. And it was obvious why.

Without waiting a beat, Summer embraced her. This woman, who fought the world and destroyed so much of it, and would only reap more destruction in the future. Summer simply embraced her with so much love, it hurt.

Raven hesitated, but eventually hugged back.

"I can't stay."

Summer sighed, uninterested in the seriousness of the other's tone.

"Of course, you can't. Wouldn't want anyone to know Raven: enemy of the world, is really just a big softie."

"I will fight you, Summer Rose."

"You could," the Huntress' silver eyes shone again. "But you'd lose. No matter what tricks the dark side's taught you."

The two traded challenges and grinned. Raven could sense the overwhelming Aura that radiated her former leader. At the same time, Summer could feel Salem's influence and the power of the Grimm pulse from Raven's sword.

By all accounts, they were sworn enemies. But there were times they put such things aside, glossing over them like they mattered nothing at all.

"You're not going to ask about her?" Summer asked.

"Oh. Sure. How's Ruby?"

"Raven!"

"…I have no doubt you'd be a better mother for her."

"But Yang's mother is you—It will always be you."

Summer began leading them to the children's room. Their steps falling carefully and silently through the hall.

"You can run away from Tai. You can run away from Qrow. And I wouldn't be able to find you, if you really wanted. But believe me, when I say this," Summer's stare pierced through Raven. "One day, Yang's going to come after you. And there won't be anything you can do to stop her."

"Right. We'll see about that."

"For someone so smart, you can be really dumb sometimes."

"Who's being dumb, I wonder? Tai and Qrow also think it's best if Yang never finds out about me."

"All three of you, idiots. The day she comes after you, I want to be there to gloat that I was right."

Raven gave a quiet laugh, which made the other laugh too.

Summer nodded to herself.

"Yeah. I really want to be there when you stop being so dumb, and just accept Yang as your daughter. I'll probably cry tears of joy."

"That thought makes me really uncomfortable."

"Raven."

"Hm?"

"This is an order from your leader."

Raven paused. "I haven't heard that in a while. And you're not my leader anymore." Expecting some sort of quip, she waited. But Summer only stared at her in silence. "What's the order?"

"Don't die until Yang gets to meet you."

"…That's a tough order to fill. I might die tomorrow."

"An order from your leader is law!"

Raven never won against Summer when it came to arguing. She could only sigh in surrender.

"…Roger that."

"Good."

The two stopped before the kids' room and inched in slowly from the small crack in the door.

There, they saw Ruby and Yang sleeping soundly in their beds. Summer reached out a hand to brush back their bangs to reveal their youthful faces. They squirmed a bit, but didn't wake.

Raven extended her fingers to Yang, but pulled back within a millimeter. Then, the appearance of Ruby caught the corner of her eye. More specifically, what the girl was dressed in.

"What…is she wearing?" Raven frowned.

"Cute, right?" Summer whispered excitedly.

"But black and red? It's not the best color."

"Whyyy? I always thought you looked cool and cute in it too."

"You're the only one who could ever call me that and get away with it, Summ…"

"Hmmm?"

"Well, I was going to give you this, since yours was wearing out…" Raven took out a boxed present. "…But it might be better for Ruby." She handed it to the other.

Summer opened the box and saw it was a brilliantly sown cloak. Its crimson color matched closely to the tones of Raven's armor and the inlay of Summer's own hood.

"I wove it out of Dust, just like yours," Raven explained. "Should be useful when she grows up."

"I'm sure she'll love it."

The two mothers gazed down at their daughters for a moment longer.

"You don't have anything for Yang?" Summer asked.

"No… Maybe, someday."

…

…

…

"Someday, you'll do something, and I'll understand your exact reasons why."

Blake narrowed her eyes.

"But…that isn't today. So, tell me exactly what you are doing."

"—It's a mistletoe!" Yang answered.

"Yes, I'm aware. What are you doing?"

Blake was in bed reading her book as usual, when Yang crawled on top of her with a mistletoe dangling in hand.

"You can't tell?" Yang asked.

"…..No."

"Even if you probably read this exact scenario in a hundred of your books?"

Blake's bow twitched and her face reddened. Her fingers tensed around the cover of her book, as she brought it up like a shield. Her lips trembled and her voice seemed to shoot an octave higher.

"O…Okay—"

"You're fine with it?"

"I'm…" Blake gulped. "I'm fine with it…! If it's you, I—"

"Ha! Got you!"

Yang leapt off the bed and started jumping around victoriously. At the same time, Ruby and Weiss filtered into the room. Apparently, they had been watching the whole thing through a crack in the door.

"What's happening? What is going on?" Blake asked in confusion.

"—They're idiots. These two sisters are idiots. That's what's going on," Weiss answered with a trace of shame.

"I don't understand."

After high-fiving Yang, Ruby turned to the other two.

"It was just a little fun on our parts."

"Fun?"

"Yeah!"

"'Our'?" Blake glanced to the side, and saw Weiss frowning with the same burning cheeks she had. "Oh, I think I get it now."

So Weiss was a victim, too.

"—We figured you two grouches would be grouchier this time of year," Yang grinned triumphantly. "So, Ruby and I decided to play a little Christmas prank to bring some Christmas cheer!"

"I see. How thoughtful."

"Right? You get it."

"Oh, yes… I get it."

"Huh? Blake—"

In the short frame Blake closed the distance, she grabbed Yang by the sides of her face, and planted her lips fiercely across the other's. The move was so sudden, Yang forgot to breathe through her nose and almost suffocated.

When Blake finally released her, after what felt like an eternity, Yang was wearing a sort of disheveled grin. Her mouth hung open, brain not working from a lack of oxygen—and other reasons.

"See. I got it," Blake said to her deadpan. And then, left the room with a speedy stride.

"Uh…Hey! Wait—Blake!" Yang chased after her.

Outside and down the hall, Weiss and Ruby could hear the partners' voices trailing out the building. Blake repeatedly saying, "Don't come near me, don't come near me…". Yang, trying desperately to appease her.

With only two left in the room, Weiss tried to process what just happened.

While she did so,

"Weiss! Weeeiiiiss~!"

"What is it, you incessant—"

"Muuuu~ Muuuu~" Ruby had her eyes closed and was puckering her lips. "Me too~ Me too~ "

"YOU DOLT!" Weiss shrieked. Her hands pressed against her partner's face, trying to keep her away.

"But! But~"

As Ruby's frantic advance pushed Weiss to the window, she could see the scene unfolding outside.

Yang was down on her knees, while Blake stood over her. The other's boot on her thigh, increasing in pressure. It looked pitiful to watch, but Yang seemed to be accepting her punishment.

Weiss couldn't help but think,

I wonder if Yang's Christmas will be this painful next year, too.

...

…

…

*Pant*

*Pant*

Yang was out of breath and exhaling hard through her teeth. Dense mists of white puffed from her cracked lips. Blood ran down her arms and face, painting her injuries vividly.

Her clothes were tattered. Her orange scarf in particular, was torn to shreds. This especially stung, since it was the last remaining article of her old dresswear. Many memories were attached to the piece of cloth, which was now nothing more than loosely hanging threads.

Yang's sight blurred and her body felt cold from the blood loss.

Just when she was tipping over, Neo appeared at her side and propped her up. When Yang began falling the other way, Mercury appeared to support the other begrudgingly. Both her teammates were in rough shape, but she seemed to have taken the most damage of the three.

"—Well, that was a thing," their leader's voice came.

Emerald scowled, as she kicked over one of the bloodied-up bodies on the floor. Her injuries were the lightest of the four, but was far from unscathed. Her wounds included a particularly nasty cut on her chin.

Team ENMY had taken a job shortly earlier.

A bounty was put out on a wanted fugitive in the area. According to officials, the man in question was one of Mistral's prolific gang bosses. Previously captured by the police, he managed to escape, and attempted to regroup with his subordinates.

Due to its sudden urgency, the gig paid much higher than usual contracts, which led Emerald to taking on the job. A decision that eventually led them into an ambush at one of the gang's "supposedly" abandoned hideouts—with the whole criminal organization collapsing on top of them.

One mistake among many others that piled and compounded to disastrous result.

"Come on, give me a hand here!" Emerald shouted. "The bounty has to be one of these face-down pricks."

She continued flipping bodies over, trying to get a good look at their faces. All the while, Yang, Mercury, and Neo just glared at her with the same thoughts in mind.

"""You have the nerve to tell us what to do, after you screwed up?!"""

Yang pushed off the two supporting her and strode towards Emerald, enraged. Her teammates tried to stop her, but she only shoved them out of the way.

Yang stopped just millimeters away from their leader's face. Tensions rose so thick between them, one could feel the dense heat through the falling snow.

"What?" Emerald met her glare.

Yang lifted an arm, then—pushed Emerald violently to the side. She used her boot to kick over one unconscious body in particular.

It was the bounty.

Yang ripped her torn scarf from her neck and tossed it to the ground. Then, heaved up the fugitive on her shoulder, and started walking away without a single word.

The team later notified the authorities of the gang's hideout and threw the target on the police station's front step.

After Emerald collected their reward, the four limped their way to the nearest open building they could sit in. The only place they could find being a small dive bar.

Unlike most nights, when various places were open at all hours, tonight was an exception—it being Christmas Eve.

As soon as they walked through the doors, they received dirty looks from several patrons.

Gazes followed the four, as they made their way to their own separate seats and booths. None of them wanted to be around each other at the moment. Although they usually helped with each other's medical treatment and stitching up wounds, there was a bitterness in the team dynamic tonight.

Emerald made the obvious first mistake in taking on the mission—but that frustration led to the other teammates making careless mistakes as well. Team ENMY had their bad days, but having a "dog eat dog" mentality meant their bad days were particularly ugly. And tonight perhaps, was their worst.

...

After a time, a sleazy drunkard made his way over to Yang's booth.

The girl had her jacket off and was dabbing a purpling bruise on her collar. Her chest being decently exposed.

"—Aren't you kids too young to be in a place like this?" he leered. "Could be dangerous for a young pretty gal."

"I can handle myself."

"Oho~ And what makes you say that?"

"Because we're the ones who just took down Senior's entire crew earlier tonight." The wooden table under Yang's prosthetic began to spread cracks. "So it wouldn't take much to add some drunk asshole to the body count, don't you think?"

Even though her Aura levels were low and her stamina was sapped, Yang prepared to put her fist through the man's face in the next second. It didn't matter to her that he was now paralyzed with fear or sweating profusely. She just wanted to put him out of her peripherals as quickly as possible. Her mood was terrible enough as it was.

In the next instant, a thin dart stuck right through the man's ear lobe, causing him to scream in horror. Holding the side of his head in agony, he bobbed back and forth, calling for help. Which made it more impressive when a second dart pierced the other ear.

The drunk's screams doubled, and he turned to the source of the projectiles.

Neo casually sat there, one leg crossed over the other. A third dart between her fingers. One eye closed with her cute little tongue sticking out the side.

The next rusted tip sunk straight through the man's nose, dead center. It gave him a resemblance crossed between a woodpecker and a clown.

Now, doing everything he could to simply leave the bar before things got worse, the drunk made for the exit. His vision completely blurred from the tears he was crying.

Mid-escape, he tripped over Mercury's foot conveniently resting in his path, causing the man to fall nose first into the floor. A crunching moist sound came from the resulting impact.

After some more stumbling, and leaving a mess of blood, tears, and vomit, the drunkard was gone.

Fear set into the other patrons. They no longer glared at the newcomers, but tried to avoid any attention by turning to their drinks. It made them jump all the more, when Emerald slammed her hand on the countertop.

"Payment for damages, the mess, the darts." Emerald lifted her palm to reveal lien set on the table. "And a round for everybody. For your own safety, if you're thinking about opening your mouths to say something, stick a drink in it instead. Probably for the best."

The barkeep gave a stiff nod and picked up the lien. Seeing Emerald didn't leave, he became worried.

"Is there something else, I can do for you?"

"I said a round for everybody. Whiskey neat for me. Strawberry sunrise for the lion queen over there. Your dirtiest vodka for my friend with the aim. And something virgin for the one with the terrible quaff."

While Emerald ordered beverages for her team, Neo put on Yang's jacket and sat on her lap. Yang zipped it up, which fit like a sleeping bag over Neo's small form. And then, gave her a small peck on the lips.

"—I hate drunks. Almost as much as I hate the holidays," Mercury complained, as he slid to the opposite side of the booth. "Whose bright idea was it to come to a bar on Christmas?"

"Who else but our glorious leader's?" Yang snarked. "Really crack job tonight, Em."

Emerald was in the middle of coming over with drinks in hand.

"Yeah, because going to the hospital where there's drunk AND whiny sick people is so much more preferable. And paperwork." Emerald set a glass down for each teammate and sighed. "Tonight was a bad call. It won't happen again."

"Is she apologizing?" Yang asked Mercury.

"As close as it's going to get it. Also, her way of saying she loves us, and doesn't want us to be mad at her anymore."

"I'm treating you out of the goodness of my heart," Emerald scowled. "The least you two can do is shut up and drink."

"That's her way of saying thank you, but she's too embarrassed."

"That's the way I heard it," Yang snickered.

"Screw. All of you. Die."

"Weird toast, but it'll do," Yang raised her glass. "Screw-all-of-you-die!"

"Screwallofyoudie," Mercury chimed in.

Neo also raised her drink cheerfully.

Unable to deal with it anymore, Emerald echoed the sentiment.

…

…

…

It was Christmas morning when Team ENMY arrived back at their dorms. Exhausted, the four dropped dead into their beds. Neo falling into Yang's bed than her own.

The girl felt a box underneath the sheets and handed it to Yang before wrapping herself in a cocoon of blankets.

With a wary look, Yang opened the present.

Inside, was a long, bright yellow scarf with a card. When Yang draped the cloth around her neck, she felt something immediately special about it.

After channeling her Aura, the scarf reacted with a vibrant glow. Small flames spat from the tail-ends. It reminded Yang of Ruby's cloak for some reason. It was obviously woven with Dust as well, and there was a personal touch to it that she couldn't quite describe.

Curious to who the sender was, she eagerly read the card.

The only thing written there were three short lines,

To Yang,

Saw the one you had was worn out.

Merry Christmas.