Disclaimer: For the prompt "Some of us have to work on the Christmas" submitted by NiceGuyAsexual.
Yang bit back a yawn, stretching her arms above her head as she sat up. The sun hadn't risen yet but she had to be at work in an hour. It wasn't much- a security gig for a power plant- but it paid her bills and put a little extra in the bank when she worked overtime. Not her career of choice, yet… and, well, she was working on that bit.
A pair of arms snaked around her waist, pulling her back as she tried getting out of the bed. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To work," she replied with a chuckle, tapping one forearm. "It's Thursday."
"It's Christmas Eve." Winter pouted- outright pouted- and flexed her arms. "Can't you call in sick?"
"That would be lying." She turned, looking down at her sleepy girlfriend.
Sometimes, she still couldn't believe her luck; when she'd asked the woman to dance all those months ago in a run down bar on the other side of town, she'd thought the most she'd get was a few minutes of small talk and maybe a number, perhaps a date that would just highlight that they came from very different worlds. One look said that Winter had way too much money to be in a dive like that and Yang half expected to get laughed away- it wasn't the first time a yuppie decided to slum it for their own enjoyment. The woman, however, didn't just have a silver spoon in her mouth, but dirt and rocks, too, and she swore like the sailors she served with just before exiting the service to go work in the family business.
That business just happened to be the Schnee Development Company- the largest corporation in Remnant, with claws sunk deep into every sector from construction to research and development. Hence, way too much money, but coupled with a distinct disdain for those unaccustomed to getting their hands dirty doing actual work.
The arms around her waist pulled slightly, not enough to topple her back but tempting her to do so. "But you never call in sick. What's two days?"
"Some of us have to work on Christmas, Snowdrift." Reluctantly, she pulled the arms away from her waist and stood up, heading towards the dresser. "That's just how it goes."
"You don't have to work at all," Winter said, sitting up and furrowing her brows. "I make more than enough to support both of us-"
"You make enough to fully clothe an orphanage, Snowdrift." She slipped into undergarments before pulling the black undershirt over her head, reaching back to pull her hair all the way through. "It's not just about the money. You've got the holidays off, but when you're at work, I'd go stir crazy if I didn't have something to do. And it's more than that." She grabbed her button up shirt, pulling it over her shoulders before turning towards the bed. "The people I work with, they have family, too, ya know. If me working on Christmas means they can spend that time with their kids, then it's fine with me." About halfway through buttoning her shirt, she stopped, looking back towards the bed and biting her lip. She'd thought coming to Atlas while Ruby and Dad stayed in Vale meant that she'd be on her own for holidays but… well, that wasn't exactly true anymore. "Don't get me wrong; I'd love to spend the holiday with you, and as soon as my shift's over, I'm yours." She shrugged. "But when I was a kid, my Dad had to work every holiday. He never had the chance to take it off. So if I can give someone else time with their parents, I'm going to do it. Besides, if you sleep in late enough, you probably won't even notice I'm not there."
Winter remained quiet, eventually sighing and laying back down, the covers pulled up to her shoulder as she turned away. "That's impossible. I always know when you're not by my side."
Buttoning the shirt up to her collar, and pulling on the damn thing, Yang walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning over to catch a glimpse of her girlfriend's face. "Don't tell me you're pouting again."
"I do not pout."
"Snowdrift." Blue eyes glanced her way before focusing on the other side of the room. "Look, I'll try to get New Year's off or something, okay? And when I get off work, I'll come straight home, and we'll curl up on the couch and watch a movie. I'll be home by three; it's just an eight hour shift."
"Right," she replied, distractedly, but turned enough to properly look at Yang. "Make sure you take your coat, hat, and scarf today. It's supposed to snow again."
"Atlas and its fucking snow." Her expression pinched together, a shiver already traveling down her spine. "Thanks for the reminder." She leaned over, intending to press a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek but finding lips instead, not that she was complaining.
But as she finished getting ready, Yang sensed something was… off. Winter got out of bed and pulled on a robe, walked her to the door and gave her another kiss goodbye like usual, but… it felt like she was intensely distracted by something.
They'd probably talk about it once she got back after work.
Yang pushed her way into the guard room, shaking the snow from her shoulders. On the one hand, everyone else got a white Christmas morning, but she could hardly enjoy it. After doing her best to assure Winter she'd be home at a reasonable hour on Christmas Eve, circumstances at work conspired against her. By the time she'd gotten home, her girlfriend had elected to pick up food on her way back from… somewhere, allowing them to at least make the most of their time before bed, but it wasn't exactly reassuring given their argument that morning.
In the back of her mind, she worried about her girlfriend. Winter had acted almost too loving since then, being sure to kiss her cheek or her lips, hell even her hand during dinner last night, but something lurked behind blue eyes. Maybe it was excitement about Christmas morning; it occurred to her, as she sat out at the guard shack at the far edge of the power plant's property, that perhaps her girlfriend had only objected to her working on Christmas because of some special surprise being planned- which, honestly, would be funny, and she'd laugh if they happened to have the same idea.
Then she noticed the heavenly smell filling the room, gaze falling on several Tupperware containers holding all sorts of food. Her mouth immediately watered but she was stopped from taking a closer look by her supervisor.
"Hey Yang, 'bout time you got back." He smirked, nodding towards the phone. "Clock out and head to the front. Someone's waiting for you."
She raised a brow. Though she mentioned Winter often, it was never by name, because while they'd been together long enough to share a living space, her girlfriend did her best to keep the press out of their private lives. The last thing either of them wanted was people sticking their noses where it didn't belong.
"Oh yeah? Any idea who?" Yang went over to the phone and started punching in the numbers so she could clock out, not paying attention to the automated voice on the other end of the line.
"Looks like a social worker." He shrugged. "Nice lady. Got a couple kids with her."
Puzzled, she hung up the phone and started heading towards the main entrance. "Thanks. Merry Christmas, Reggie."
"Yeah, you too."
When she got to the front, her brows furrowed as a frown came to her lips. She didn't recognize the woman standing there, short auburn hair poking out from beneath a knitted cap, with a heavy coat and scarf wrapped around her neck, and neither did she recognize the four little kids ranging from maybe five to about twelve, by her guess, arranged around her.
"Are you Miss Xiao Long?"
"Uh, yeah, that's me. Can I help you?" She stopped in front of them, surprised when the smallest immediately launched forward and latched onto her left leg. "Uh…"
"Thank you for writing Santa for us!" He looked up at her, eyes shining brightly. Only then did Yang notice that his clothes looked brand new, and perhaps a little big, though he'd probably grow into it rather soon. "Thank you so much!"
Now even more confused, she looked up to see the woman smiling. "Please, if you'd come with us, the rest of the children would like to thank you as well."
"Thank me for…" She looked pleadingly at the woman, spreading her hands. "What, again? I, uh, I'm sorry, but I kinda need to get home to my girlfriend, um-"
"Oh, she's already at the orphanage," the woman replied. "Miss Schnee thought it would save you the trip if we caught you before you left."
Suddenly, one of the other kids moved forward, grabbing hold of her other leg. "Please come eat with us, Miss!"
Thoroughly confused, Yang shrugged, discreetly checking her scroll and noting the message from Winter that simply said 'I sent them' and sighing. "I… guess. Yeah, okay. I'll follow you over."
Walking out the doors with two children attached to her legs wasn't easy, mind, but she accomplished it without slipping and considered it a personal achievement.
By the time Yang pulled up to the orphanage, she'd put enough of the pieces together to not be surprised by the myriad of children running around in brand new clothing, some playing with toys while others engaged in an epic snowball fight. When she popped open the door on her truck, she stepped out onto the floor runner and rested her arms- one on the door and the other on the roof- and watched for a minute as Winter ducked and dodged the incoming barrage, the disturbed snow all around her proof she'd been playing with the children for quite a while.
Leave it to her girlfriend to take one little comment and run with it. She hadn't offered the phrase 'clothe an orphanage' as a suggestion, but Winter seemed to take it as one, and added a bit to that list.
Climbing down from her truck and shutting the door, she started walking towards the battle grounds with her hands in the pockets of her jacket, the right closing around a present she'd wanted to carry on herself until she could give it to the woman, just in case.
"Yang!" Blue eyes lit up, the woman smiling bright a moment before a snowball collided with the side of her head, the children mercilessly taking advantage of her distraction.
With her girlfriend practically buried under the onslaught, Yang let out a full bellied laugh and walked over, snow crunching underfoot until she reached Winter.
"Good to see you're having fun." She smiled wider. "Merry Christmas, Snowdrift."
"Merry Christmas, Sundrop." Brushing the snow from her face and jacket. "I thought about what you said- about being able to clothe an orphanage, and how you didn't have the chance to spend time with your father on holidays. It occurred to me that these children probably understand that experience as well… so I opted to make their Christmas a little brighter."
"Don't tell me you adopted all of them." Yang chuckled, at once not certain she'd be surprised or even bothered if her girlfriend had; it wasn't like they particularly planned to do things in order, anyway.
"Yang, parenthood is a serious endeavor that requires more than a spur-of-the-moment consideration and off-the-cuff comment before undertaking." Her girlfriend chided.
On a hunch, she took a step forward, wrapping one arm around Winter's waist while the other went up to rest on her chest for a moment, lulling the woman into complacency before she pushed lightly, enough to hear the crinkle of paper beneath her jacket. "Is that so?"
"Taking a pamphlet for research purposes isn't the same thing."
Yang chuckled, shaking her head slightly before looking up into those blue eyes that shined brighter than any gemstone. "I love you. You know that, right?"
"I do. And I love you… though I haven't been the best at showing it recently." The woman sighed. "When I was a child, my father always had holidays off, purely so he could host extravagant parties and parade us around like living trophies. I always hated it." She shrugged slightly, returning the embrace and leaning forward until their foreheads touched. "I… suppose my excitement to spend the holiday with someone I truly wished to be with for a change blinded me to the selfishness of my request."
"I think we're all prone to bouts of selfishness from time to time," she replied, reaching into her pocket. "I'm definitely not immune." As her girlfriend raised a brow, she drew the gift out from her pocket and sank down onto one knee, prying open the ring box. "See, I kinda have this thing where I want to be your one and only, for as long as we're still kicking. So, whadd'ya say, Snowdrift? Will you marry me?"
Although surprised for a moment, a smile broke out on Winter's face, stretching from ear to ear as she reached into her own pocket. "I think that's amenable, but on one condition." And, sure enough, out came a ring box as the woman knelt down as well, opening it to reveal the ring within. "I'll say 'yes' if you do. You'll be mine if I can be yours."
She smiled. "Yeah. I think I'd like that."
"Then yes."
Snapping the ring box shut, Yang surged forth, bowling her new fiance over so she could kiss her properly, ignoring the varied reactions from the children and the snow they started throwing to discourage the adults from showing affection, though she eventually had to laugh because she vividly remembered her own 'eww, gross!' phase as a kid.
By the time they got back to their feet, they were both breathless- from kissing and laughing- but beaming all the same.
"Let's go inside," Winter said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and sneaking another kiss just below her ear. "We can take off our gloves and put on our rings, then sit down to a nice meal."
"I can't believe you organized all this in a day," she replied, though repaid the gesture around her fiance's hips as they started towards the door.
"It's like you said; I have more than enough money." She shrugged. "It's about time I put it to good use."
The caretakers called for the children to start coming inside, using their new toys and some other presents yet to be opened- apparently, Winter wanted to save something for when Yang arrived- to coax the children indoors.
All in all, probably one of the best Christmases she'd ever had.
AN: So, as a heads up, I'll be continuing this series with whatever requests I fill on tumblr/discord that aren't long enough to be proper stories. And I... fell behind on uploading them again, haha, so expect some more updates here in the near future.