Author's Notes: Sorry for the long hiatus kids. I've been doing things. Like deployment. Lol. It feels nice to right something cute though, so here's some fluff.
Holiday
Chapter 6
That morning, the household was awakened with much ado, by no less than a stampeding combination of Ruby, Bo and Zwei. Weiss and Qrow watched these festivities with no small amount of humor as the rest of the late sleepers were ousted from their beds.
Ruby was terribly excited, having awoken shortly after Weiss and Qrow had come in from the porch. Her partner refused to tell anyone, including Weiss, what precisely she had planned. She just kept dancing on her toes, exclaiming near unintelligible phrases as Zwei and Bo trotted after her.
Qrow merely shrugged and winked at Weiss as he shuffled off to make breakfast for the others. Weiss, after putting on clothing that was inconspicuously appropriate for riding, assisted him while the others were essentially dragged from their beds.
Blake was a good sport about the manner of the wake up, sleepily coming down stairs and accepting the tea that Weiss had made for her. The faunus curled up on the couch, watching with bemusement as Ruby was loudly defeated by her sister's refusal to be moved from bed. In the end, Mr. Xiao Long had to be enlisted to wake up Yang, laughingly carrying his stubborn child downstairs like a baby before depositing her on the couch besides her partner.
Lo and behold, Yang woke up immediately in the presence of Blake, popping up to stretch casually and intentionally show off her abs. Weiss sipped her coffee in the kitchen, studying Blake's reaction; her ears, which she had been displaying for the past several days whenever they were in the cabin, twitched. Which ultimately, could mean anything; but Weiss was not fooled whatsoever.
The heiress took a long sip of coffee, surreptitiously studying her teammates over the chipped mug clasped in her fingers. In Atlas, everything in the Kingdom was about power. Power, power, power: it was the air you breathed, the bread you ate, it was all you craved.
Every person was intensely aware of their social status, of how others perceived them, of how they could manipulate those perceptions to go up another rung. Everything came back to that dance, that battle to climb up, up, up; including romance and flirting. Weiss understood the science of chivalry, of courtship, as well as she understood the mechanics of Dust.
As a Schnee and the heir to the most powerful company in all of Atlas, Weiss knew that she would also have to dance that dance to preserve her own power and freedom; every compliment was a deflected saber strike, every kissed knuckle another bruise, a lingering hug a dangerous grapple. She would not be some young Atlassian scion's conquest. She would not end up like her mother, drinking her wine and searching for oblivion at the bottom of a bottle.
So yes, Weiss was very aware of the currents of attraction and which way they swayed in other people, mostly so that she could calculate how best to avoid their attentions without being obvious about it. However, watching such a current develop between her own teammates had become a fascinating study for her over the past several weeks.
One of the first things Weiss had noticed about Yang, besides her hair and her ability to walk through a crowd as if she was the most magnificent person there, was her flirtatiousness. Some of it was intentional, but the majority was completely uncalculated. It had originally caught Weiss off guard.
Yang was not like the beauties of Atlas, whose sexuality and appearance were just another resource to utilize. Her charisma was as much a wildfire as she was during a fight: unpredictable, potent, dangerous. Weiss found it intriguing to watch Blake not only come to that same realization, but embrace it anyways. Because Blake was an even more cautious person than Weiss herself when it came to forming connections with others.
The faunus had sensed her stare. Amber flicked up swiftly to meet her own eyes; Weiss smiled, trying to be disarming, but she could tell that Blake was not fooled. Blake squinted suspiciously at Weiss before smirking and shoving Yang over, who had been in the midst of stretching luxuriously once again. Yang pouted, and her teammates shared a laugh at the blonde's misfortune.
After half an hour at most, the Xiao Long household and company were enthusiastically escorted out of the cabin and behind the shed; there crouched the oldest, most grizzly vehicle Weiss had ever seen in her life. It was rusted, scarred and pocked, with multiple weaponry pods and addons carved into its shell. Ruby and Yang whooped with delight, hopping into the back to fight over the best spot. Weiss was certain there was not, in fact, a best spot; they all looked equally barbaric.
However, whether it was due to an absurd sense of partner solidarity, or some other mysterious force, Weiss found herself compelled to climb in the back with her two ruffians to sit besides them. She wasn't certain who was more shocked: herself or them. She scoffed at the looks on their faces, tossing her hair imperiously.
Ruby was over her surprise almost immediately, happily scooting over next to Weiss while babbling about how this was 'a surprise', but she would love it. Her partner was dressed in a simple hoodie and skirt, hair still tussled from her morning of sprinting wildly about the house.
Ruby never had to try to be pretty; she simply popped up in the morning and it was so. It was a characteristic that Weiss was coming to appreciate, instead of being a little bit peeved. Weiss could spend hours getting ready and still never be completely satisfied.
She smiled genuinely, trying to ignore the warmth of Ruby and her red hoodie as she practically cuddled up to her in the morning chill. Her own heartbeat sped up at the proximity. Ruby smelled like roses, obviously, but also mint and something sweet, perhaps almonds.
As Weiss meditated on maintaining perfect poise in the face of potentially embarrassing herself beyond redemption, Yang continued to shoot her smug little glances; at least until Blake strolled out of the house. Then, of course, nothing else could keep her attention.
The faunus moved languidly up to the truck, thoughtfully drinking her morning tea and inspecting the passenger door. Yang deflated slightly, incapable of hiding her disappointment as she was incapable of hiding anything; yet, Weiss had once more spotted the little smirk on Blake's face as the faunus sipped from her thermos.
They shared a brief, conspiratorial look, before Blake slinked around the truck and climbed in the back as well. Yang brightened immediately, offering Blake her spot; Blake settled for sitting next to her partner, who was naturally pleased by this outcome.
"Alright, ya'll hang on to something!" Qrow proclaimed, starting the devil truck up. The beast coughed, shook, and growled to life before the huntsman took off down the gravel road. Ruby and Yang whooped again, practically hanging over the sides of the truck-bed as they drove far too quickly down the driveway.
Mr. Xiao Long led the way down Patch's back roads on his own motorcycle, Zwei and Bo both riding in the passenger car with their own helmets and goggles. The two men would race one another with the road was wide enough.
Occasionally, Mr. Xiao Long would utilize his Semblance to cheat, tossing down items that burst open into portals and jumped him ahead of his partner. Qrow would floor the accelerator to catch up, and the girls would be treated to the equivalent of sitting on top of a dysfunctional dryer.
"Whooooo go faster, Uncle Qrow! Don't let him get away!" Ruby laughed, her hair whipping in every direction. Weiss and Blake shared skeptical looks.
"Should I floor it?!" Qrow shouted.
"YES!" laughed Yang, standing up, mane blazing behind her like a comet tail.
"Can this thing handle that?" Weiss asked, her voice whipped away by the wind. Ruby heard her anyways, turning to look at her with an immense grin.
"Trust us!"
Weiss scoffed again, folding her arms. She obviously wouldn't be in this absurd contraption with these dolts if she didn't. Then there was a deep, grinding rumbling, before the sides of the truck opened to reveal two small Dust boosters. Blake crouched in the bed, grabbing onto the rope handholds that now made sense as to their placement. Weiss and Ruby swiftly followed suit.
"3! 2! 1!" Yang shouted. "Liftoff!"
The Dust boosters flared to life, and Weiss instinctively channeled aura into her fingers and arms as the truck took off. Yang and Ruby were hooting and laughing madly as they gained ground on their father's motorcycle, the truck kicking up an immense cloud of white dust behind it.
Weiss found herself questioning her life choices as she clung to the rope for dear life, wishing she had brought myrtenaster. The nearly airborne vehicle eventually began to slow, blasting past the motorcycle that had scooted over to make way, before cutting the boosters; it was still at least a full minute before it had reached a reasonable speed once more.
Ruby and Yang were laughing so hard they were nearly crying, Yang slapping the roof of the truck and Ruby exclaiming they should do it again. Blake and Weiss shared glances again, before chuckling themselves; it was possibly more due to relief than anything else, though Weiss had to admit, it had been exhilarating.
Mr. Xiao Long pulled up besides them once again as the road widened, laughing over the rumble of his bike.
"Yea, that's what you get! You big cheater!" Ruby blew a raspberry at her father.
Weiss tried to envision herself blowing a raspberry at her own father, and found that she could not. Yang's and Ruby's interactions with their father was probably the most surreal thing about her holiday so far.
"Oh I'm the cheater huh?!" Tai called. "Tell that to family game night!"
"You impinge upon my honor!" Ruby declared, pointing at him. "I do not cheat!"
"Do so!" Yang laughed, still standing in the truck bed.
"NO, you!"
"Nuh uh!"
"You are the cheaters, conspiring against me!"
"I blame Qrow!" Tai shouted, pulling back as the road narrowed once again. "He taught you bad habits!"
"You leave Uncle Qrow out of this! He is an innocent!"
Qrow flipped his partner off, before extending his palm; Ruby slapped it, before settling down again next to Weiss.
"Frickin blonde allegiance out here," Ruby muttered darkly. "Gotta do what you gotta do to win at anything."
Weiss stared at her, before giggling behind her hand. Ruby glanced at her before smiling nervously.
"Haha, what?"
"The streets of Patch are rough, are they?" Blake droned, eyes glittering with humor.
"Super rough," Ruby giggled. "Gotta hide your snacks, gotta hide your toys, and you gotta hide your cards in your sleeves."
"I'm telling," Yang laughed.
"You have no evidence," Ruby declared, pointing her index finger. "I was just joking."
"Oh yea?" Yang glanced down. "I guess you're right. C'mere a sec."
"No noogies!! Weiss, help me!"
Ruby dove behind Weiss, covering her head with her hands. Weiss, who typically would have never involved herself in such childish antics, stared up at Yang. The brawler's lavender eyes were alive with laughter.
"Begone, brute," Weiss waved her hand languidly.
Yang's eyebrows raised at her imperious dismissal. Blake started chuckling again, eyes squinting as she attempted to contain her laughter.
"Who are you-" Yang started.
"There will be no 'noogies' in my presence. They are crass, and the very concept offends me," Weiss continued facetiously, pressing a hand delicately to her chest.
"Oh they do, huh? Do you want one, too, to help get over your delicate sensibilities?"
"Psh, only if you wish to obtain permanent frostbite, you absolute Boarbatusk," Weiss scoffed.
"I'm sorry, but have you seen this?" Yang gestured to all of herself. "Yea? Your pretty little snowflakes can't touch this."
Weiss narrowed her eyes, channeling as many generations of Schnee contempt as she was physically capable of; she tilted her head and smiled sardonically.
"Aww. You think my pretty little snowflakes would want to. That's very sad."
Blake fell over, laughing behind her hand as Yang gaped in outrage; Ruby bounced up, pointing at her sister.
"Ooh burn! That was a burn! Get burned, scrub!"
"Blake! Blake, hey! Why are you on their side?! Hey!"
Blake had actual tears in her eyes from laughter; Weiss managed to prevent herself from tossing her ponytail. Victory was sweet.
Suddenly, Ruby, who had been belly laughing besides her, hiccupped; red petals exploded in every direction, prompting a startled silence before more laughter. The friends continued in their silliness all the way to the farm, trailing rose petals the entire time.