Chapter 19
Things were moving very quickly. Pyrrha, Nora, Blake and even Winter herself did test shoots similar to the one Yang had done. Winter focused on securing contracts. Raven moved out of the beach house and in with Glynda. At Glynda's request, Raven managed to turn down the flirting a bit during her sessions with Pyrrha, but not nearly enough for Pyrrha's liking. After a few weeks of frantic activity it was time for the Equinox Festival. Winter decided there was no better time to hold a party and take a break from her hectic schedule.
The party was supposed to start around midday, but everyone was late. Sun was the first to arrive. Winter greeted him at the door. "Welcome." She said.
"Hey Winter." Sun said. "Nice place you got here. I mean really nice."
"Hey Sun." Yang said. She was busy in the kitchen, working on the feast planned for dinner.
"This place makes my house look like a shithole." Sun laughed. "Except that." He pointed to the table with the 2x4 leg. "That is easily the shittiest table I've ever seen."
"I know." Winter smiled. "It's great, isn't it?"
"Uh...sure." Sun said. "You have a place where I can get changed? Nora would be pissed if I didn't wear her...gift."
"The bathroom's that door." Winter pointed. "Or there's the shower hut outside."
"Oh, nice." Sun said. "And Yang, try not to spy on me."
"Who do you think I am, Nora?" Yang joked.
"Yes!" Sun shouted as he headed out to the hut.
The doorbell rang. Winter answered the door to find Pyrrha, Nora, Glynda and Raven waiting, apparently in the midst of a conversation. "You're sure you won't be uncomfortable?" Glynda asked.
"It's fine." Pyrrha assured her. "Oh, hello again Winter."
"Welcome." Winter greeted them. "Come on in."
"I'll just get changed in the bathroom if you don't mind." Glynda said.
"Sure." Winter said. "Raven's old room is open too. You can take turns…"
"Nora and I are wearing our swimsuits under our clothes." Pyrrha said.
"Is the scotch in the usual place?" Raven asked. "May as well get an early start."
"You should really cut back on your drinking." Pyrrha advised.
"I know you're jealous, being the designated driver and all, but you're not going to deny me this." Raven joked.
"I'm more concerned about your liver." Pyrrha said.
"What liver?" Raven laughed.
"Cool!" Nora cheered, peering through the back door. "Pyrrha, look at this!"
Winter smiled as Pyrrha walked to the back door. Looking out to the beach she could see a full volleyball setup. "Winter you…" Pyrrha started.
"I thought we could have a friendly game." Winter said. "Yang and I against you and Nora."
"I have to warn you, I get pretty competitive." Pyrrha said.
"Don't worry, so do I." Winter said.
"This is gonna' be so fun." Nora squealed. "Where's Sun?"
"He's in the hut getting changed." Yang replied. "Said something about a gift from you?" Nora giggled but gave nothing away.
"Knock, knock." Blake said from the front door Nora had so carelessly left open.
"Come in." Winter said.
Blake and Velvet stepped in. "I need to get changed so…" Blake started.
"Sun's in the hut and Glynda has the bathroom." Winter said. "You can take turns using the guest room."
"We can share." Blake said with a smirk as Velvet blushed. "Nothing we haven't seen before."
Raven started drinking inside the house while the others headed out onto the beach. Taking to the hut after Sun had changed - emerging with a towel wrapped around his waist - Winter changed into a blue string bikini. After wrapping up the food preparations and changing, Yang emerged from the house in a similar yellow number. Under her clothes Pyrrha had been wearing a red athletic-type bikini, while Nora wore a pink one more similar in style to Winter's or Yang's. Blake wore a surprisingly modest black bikini and Velvet a beige one-piece swimsuit. Glynda, bizarrely, wore a golden robe.
"Alright Sun, what's under the towel?" Yang asked.
"Something I hope." Winter added.
"Nora, I'm not happy with you." Sun complained.
"Take the towel off already!" Nora demanded.
"Alright, fuck it, fine!" Sun yelled. "I'm ownin' this shit!" He whipped the towel off with a flourish. "Shazam!" He wore a tiny pink speedo. Nora burst out laughing at the sight.
"You should have fluffed a little first." Yang chuckled.
"Wouldn't make a difference." Nora teased.
"Don't even care." Sun declared. He laid out the towel on the sand before laying on it. "I'm an attractive guy surrounded by attractive women, who are all in relationships, but hey! Silver linings!" He closed his eyes and relaxed in the sunlight.
"What's all the commotion about?" Raven asked as she descended the steps from the patio. She carried a glass of scotch in her hand and wore bikini bottoms but no top.
"Looking good Raven." Winter said as Yang rolled her eyes.
"Not nearly as good as my date." Raven smirked.
Glynda carefully laid out a pair of towels, one for her and one for Raven. "Pyrrha, you're sure?" She asked.
"Don't worry about me." Pyrrha waved her off.
"Okay." Glynda shrugged. She untied her robe and let it drop. She was wearing not a shred of clothing.
"Hot damn." Raven gasped.
"I think you're being a bit silly wearing those bottoms." Glynda said.
"Childbirth is not friendly to...I'm a little self-conscious." Raven admitted as she took her place on the towel beside Glynda.
"You should work on that with Pyrrha." Glynda suggested. "You have a lovely…"
"Okay!" Pyrrha cut in. She was blushing brightly, clearly very uncomfortable with the nudity that surrounded her. "How about that volleyball game?"
"Of course." Winter said, also not entirely comfortable with the casual nudity. "Yang, are you ready?"
"Can I play topless?" Yang asked.
"No." Winter replied. She quickly pointed to Nora. "And no." Yang and Nora gave disappointed sighs.
Blake joined those that were sunbathing while Velvet got out her camera. "Winter doesn't want us shooting nudes there Velvs." Blake laughed.
"I was actually going to take some shots of their game." Velvet explained. "It'll be good practice for action shots."
"Do you want to serve first or…" Winter started.
"You can start." Pyrrha said. "You'll need every advantage you can get." As soon as she stepped on the court her cheerful demeanor disappeared, replaced by a confident smirk. "Nora, watch the back, I'll play the net."
"Oh...sure thing Pyrrha." Nora said.
"Don't ruin this for me." Pyrrha growled.
"Well that's horrifying." Yang said. "And arousing."
"Focus Yang." Winter said. "I will not be embarrassed."
"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Yang sighed. Nora shook her head.
"Goddamnit Nora!" Pyrrha raged. "What the hell kind of set was that?"
"I...I'm sorry." Nora said meekly.
"Don't screw it up again." Pyrrha hissed. It was the third and final set. Pyrrha and Nora had dominated the first, but once Yang and Winter started targeting Nora, they won the second set and led the third. If they could just hang on they would defeat the great Pyrrha "The Destroyer of Worlds" Nikos.
Winter served, just clearing the net. Pyrrha got in front of the shot, bent down and popped it up in the air. Nora stepped up and hit a perfect, high set for Pyrrha, right along the net. Yang knew Pyrrha would go for the spike and jumped in front of the shot. Pyrrha leapt up and smashed the ball downward with all her might. It deflected off Yang's arm and into her face, smashing into her right eye. Yang fell down flat on her back as the ball skipped off and out of play. Dazed and with her face in pain, Yang groaned and sat up.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Pyrrha cheered. She went to high-five Nora but was left hanging. "What…"
"Yang's your friend, not the competition." Nora admonished. "You just blasted her in the face with the ball. I think she might be concussed."
"Oh...right…" Pyrrha sighed.
"God Yang!" Winter shouted. "That was awful form on the block!"
"I...head...ouch…" Yang groaned. She pushed herself up and stumbled a bit.
"Get it together Yang." Winter demanded.
"Are you okay Yang?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yeah...I'll be...yeah." Yang replied, still a little wobbly.
"Then let's get this show on the road." Pyrrha said. She stepped back and launched a hard serve that Winter could not handle. Yang was clearly still out of it and Pyrrha mercilessly hit the ball in her direction at every opportunity. After several scores in a row, it was game-point for Pyrrha and Nora. Pyrrha smacked another hard serve but Winter let it go. As it hit the sand Pyrrha cheered and celebrated.
"It was out." Winter declared. "Our point."
"No way!" Pyrrha shouted. "It was obviously in!"
"Well of course you'd say that." Winter countered. "I was closer, I could see it better than you."
"There's no way that was out!" Pyrrha screamed.
Winter and Pyrrha approached the net, shouting back and forth at one another. Off to the side Yang and Nora approached one another. "This is insane." Nora sighed. "Coming from me that really means something."
"No kidding." Yang shook her head. "Volleyball with these two was a mistake. This is totally out of hand. We have to do something to stop them before they start throwing punches."
"I have an idea." Nora smirked. She whispered something in Yang's ear.
"I love it." Yang said. "Let's do it."
Nora ducked under the net, slipped behind Winter and yanked the strings tying her bikini bottoms in place. With a pull they came free and Nora raced away, leaving Winter bottomless. Pyrrha's bikini was a bit more substantial and Yang tried to pull her bottoms down. Pyrrha caught her just in time, grabbing her hands and holding her clothing in place. Winter, seemingly unperturbed by her sudden nudity, glared at Nora as she froliced around, holding the blue bottoms high. All eyes turned to Winter, as much to see her reaction as to sneak a peek.
"You could use a shave there Winter." Blake joked.
Winter briefly shot an angry look at Blake before returning her gaze to Nora. "Nora, return my bottoms at once." Winter demanded. "And Velvet, if you snap even a single picture, so help me…" Velvet lowered her camera and looked ashamed.
Nora continued to dance around until Pyrrha stepped up to her and grabbed her arm. "Give them back." Pyrrha ordered.
"Okay." Nora sighed. She walked over to Winter and handed over the bottoms.
Winter grabbed them, returned them to their rightful place, and tied them. "None of you will ever speak of this." She declared.
"You should have put that in your contracts." Yang laughed. "I'm afraid we're going to be talking about this for a long time."
"Yeah, I know." Winter grumbled.
"So, have you and Pyrrha regained your sanity?" Nora asked.
"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked.
"Your competitive spirit." Blake observed. "It's like you flipped a switch."
"It was terrifying." Velvet added.
"I guess I got a little too into it." Winter admitted. "Sorry."
"Did I really?" Pyrrha asked.
"Just watch this." Blake said. She handed Pyrrha her phone, displaying a video of Pyrrha screaming at Nora after a mistake.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Pyrrha gasped. "I can't believe I did that. Nora I…"
"Don't worry about it." Nora said. "Just don't ever make me play volleyball with you again."
Raven tired of sunbathing. She got up and headed toward the house to get more scotch. As she passed Sun she noticed a change to the bulge in his speedo. "Excited are we?" Raven asked, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I'm a dude, and you're a topless lady with a nice rack." Sun replied. "What did you expect?"
"Sun!" Yang shouted. "Stop getting off to my mom!"
"I refuse to take responsibility for this." Sun declared as he pointed to his groin with both hands.
"Boo!" Nora jeered. "Lackluster!" Sun rolled his eyes. "Oh, Raven, nice boobs."
"Thanks." Raven smiled. "Where are yours?"
"Right here!" Nora cheered as she whipped off her top.
"Nora!" Pyrrha gasped. "Put that back on!"
"Whoever doesn't care if I go topless, say aye." Nora said.
"Aye." Yang, Velvet, Blake, Sun and Raven said in unison.
"Guys...do you have any idea how hard it is to get her to put clothes on?" Pyrrha complained.
"I know exactly what you're going through." Winter sighed.
"You know you love it." Yang said. "Both of you."
As afternoon turned to evening Yang and Winter headed into the house to change clothes and put the finishing touches on the meal. Once it was clear Yang had the food preparation well in hand, Winter set up a large table and several chairs outside. Everyone else changed into more appropriate attire and took their seats as Yang and Winter brought out the feast. It began with a turkey and a ham, along with assorted side dishes. The drink of choice was wine but as designated driver, Pyrrha stuck to water. Velvet too shied away from alcohol, preferring soda. The dinner soon turned into a competitive eating competition as Sun and Nora raced to stuff themselves with as much food as physically possible.
Nora won the impromptu eating contest, with Sun staggering off to vomit. Somehow she still had room for dessert and ate a huge slice of the cake Yang had baked. Even when the cake was finished the meal was not over. Next Yang brought out a towering plate of chocolate chip cookies. Nora sucked up cookies like a vacuum cleaner until she noticed Yang staring at her with tears in her eyes. Nora gulped down her mouthful of cookies. "Yang, what's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing." Yang said, wiping away the stray tears. "It just reminded me of Ruby. I've never seen someone eat so many so fast since her."
"Oh, well, I can slow down if you want." Nora offered.
"No, God no." Yang said. "Go nuts, it makes me feel appreciated."
"I think you should slow down." Pyrrha said. "Nora, you'll make yourself sick. I'm honestly shocked you're not already."
"Yang I understand, but why is Raven crying?" Velvet asked.
"These cookies...are they...Summer's recipe?" Raven asked.
"They sure are." Yang confirmed. "She taught me everything I know about cooking."
"They're so good." Raven said as tears streaked down her face. "It's been so long." She shook her head. "We're so screwed up, crying over cookies."
"We're all pretty screwed up, so you're in good company." Blake laughed.
After dinner the group headed into the house to exchange gifts. "I guess I'll go first." Sun shrugged. "You didn't really give guidelines on price or anything, so I decided I should just give something from the heart."
"That means it's cheap." Nora teased.
"Yeah, but they were a lot of work." Sun said. He handed bracelets to all present. "I wove them myself, sort of a family tradition. I tried to match them to the colors you guys usually wear."
"That's really thoughtful." Velvet said, slipping her bracelet on.
"It's perfect!" Nora exclaimed as she looked over the pink accessory.
"Velvs and I went in a similar direction." Blake said. She and Velvet passed out a series of small boxes. "We don't exactly have the talent to make them ourselves, but we did get them customized."
"Scarves huh?" Yang said as she opened her box. Inside was an orange scarf with a Yellow "Y" on it. "It's really pretty and soft. Shame it never gets cold around here. Won't get much use."
"Who knows where our new job will take us?" Velvet suggested.
Nora immediately wrapped her scarf around part of her face. She made finger guns, waving them around. "Give me all your money!" She demanded. "Pew pew!"
"Oh no, take whatever you want." Glynda laughed. She handed an envelope to Nora as Raven passed more to the others. "We got everyone vouchers for a day at a luxury spa. The owner is a former patient of mine and the place is incredible. I go there all the time."
"Thank you Glynda." Winter said. "It'll be good to have a relaxing day after all the work we've been doing."
"Us next!" Nora cheered. Before anyone could say anything she ran out the door to the car, returning with a series of boxes she passed around.
"I'm mildly terrified." Velvet admitted. Velvet opened her box to reveal a huge brown dildo. "Dildos?"
"Not just any dildo, it's a Ren-do!" Nora exclaimed.
"Aw sweet, mine has a handle!" Sun yelled. "Always wanted a dildo bat."
"Uh...touching?" Glynda said.
"Whoa, this thing is huge." Raven gasped.
"I'm not even surprised." Winter groaned.
"Ah, it's orange." Yang said. "That's awesome!"
"Oh yeah, this is what I'm talkin' about." Sun said as he grabbed his by the handle and swung it around.
"Hey Velvet, sword fight?" Blake laughed, jiggling the dildo towards her. Velvet looked perplexed and embarrassed.
"It's my gift to the world, from Ren!" Nora cheered.
"That just leaves us." Winter said, patting Yang on the shoulder.
"Thanks for bankrolling it." Yang said.
"I may not be able to throw money around like I used to, but it's still what I'm good at." Winter laughed. She walked over to a closet and opened it up. "Let's see, Blake first." She extracted a fairly large and heavy box, handing it to Blake.
Blake opened the gift to reveal a book - The Maidens - that was clearly quite old. "Is this from the original run?" Blake gasped. Winter nodded. "I didn't even know these still existed. It must be a century old."
"A century and a half actually." Winter said. "Next up, Raven." She handed Raven a much smaller, lighter box.
Raven opened her gift to find some lacey, barely-there lingerie. "You know me too well." She laughed. "I'll have to model it for you."
"I look forward to it." Winter smirked as Yang rolled her eyes.
"She's mine Schnee." Glynda said.
"I'm well aware of that." Winter laughed. She passed a very small box to Glynda and an identical one to Pyrrha.
Both contained gold necklaces adorned with various jewels. Glynda's featured diamonds while Pyrrha's was covered in emeralds. "This is beautiful." Glynda gasped.
"Incredible." Pyrrha said, gazing at the jewelry.
"Ooh, shiny." Nora added.
"Sun, Nora, I don't have your gifts here." Winter explained. "They were pretty heavy so I'll just have them delivered to your houses."
"What did you get us?!" Nora asked, shaking with anticipation.
"I got you each a videogame racing wheel, along with a stand to affix it to and a suitably realistic game to use it with." Winter replied.
"Thanks so much!" Nora squealed.
"That's super awesome, thanks." Sun added.
"Most of the thanks should go to Yang." Winter said. "It was her idea."
"And I got a setup of my own out of it." Yang admitted. "So did Winter. Now we can really race."
"Didn't I tell you only crazy people got those?" Nora said.
"Yeah, but come on, who would describe anyone in this group as sane?" Winter joked. "Alright, last but not least, Velvet." Winter passed her a medium-sized box.
Velvet tore away the wrapping paper. "A new camera...this is...wow it's state-of-the-art." Velvet gasped. "And these lenses! It must have cost a fortune!"
"It's a gift and a business expense." Winter said. "You'll enjoy using it, and everyone will enjoy the pictures you take."
"Yeah, but...since your father cut you off...how can you afford all this?" Velvet asked.
"Oh, that's easy." Winter said. "I have my own money."
"How much of your own money?" Yang asked.
"About 20 million lien." Winter answered to a chorus of gasps. "When I first started working for my father, he put me in charge of a big contract negotiation, said he'd give me 1% of whatever it turned out to be worth. Well, it ended up being a lot more lucrative than anyone expected. I gave most to the rest of the negotiating team, but I put some of it away, just in case."
"You have 20 million...you don't need to work another day in your life!" Yang exclaimed. "Why are you doing all this modeling stuff for us?"
"It's for me too." Winter explained. "Maybe you could spend the rest of your life lounging around, but without something like this to do I'll go insane. And it's a nice way to help the people who helped me." Winter laughed. "Speaking of which, I have a big announcement to make. Solstice Modeling has its first big contract! Alistair Business Apparel has signed us to model their new lineup. Sun, Glynda, Raven, don't feel left out because I'd like the three of you to participate as well."
"I'm in." Sun confirmed. "Sage would probably be down too if you need another guy."
"I suppose it would be fun." Glynda said. "I'll do it."
"Dressing up and having my picture taken?" Raven laughed. "Sure, sounds like a good time."
"Alistair Business Apparel, that sounds fancy." Yang observed.
"Because it is." Winter confirmed. "Top of the line businesswear."
"I guess that means no sexy shenanigans." Yang sighed.
"Yang, I promise you, there will be plenty of room for that." Winter said with a smirk. "Business isn't all about being stuffy and proper. Sometimes you have to let loose a little." Winter turned to Velvet. "A big thank you goes to Velvet for putting me in contact with Fox Alistair himself. He was insistent on one condition though."
"What?" Velvet asked.
"He specifically asked that you model some of the pieces." Winter replied. "Are you up for that?"
"I...I…" Velvet stammered. "Uh...sure! I guess I'll have to teach someone to operate the camera. And maybe go on a diet."
"Velvet, if you lost another pound a strong breeze would carry you away." Blake joked.
The shoots for Alistair Business Apparel could not have gone better. Fox even personally attended one. Though blind he was eager to meet Velvet again, having been a close friend of Coco. After the shoot he went out to lunch with Velvet and Blake, and upon returning agreed to sign Solstice Modeling for future projects as well. With that the company was on solid footing, and Winter could afford to stop racing around, running herself ragged in search of contracts. She took some time off to do something more personal.
Winter asked if Yang would like to visit Atlas for a short vacation, and Yang readily agreed. They flew to Atlas, Winter's first visit since she had left all those months before. She and Yang met up with a few of Winter's old friends but that was not the focus of the trip. There was a specific place Winter had to visit, one last act to put her old life behind her once and for all. It took all her courage and Yang's support, but she was determined.
Yang and Winter stepped out of their rental car. Carrying a bouquet of roses, Winter made her way between the gravestones. Yang held her hand as they approached a particularly large and ornate marker. A few steps away, Winter froze in place, breathing erratically. Yang stepped in front of Winter and pulled her into a hug. "You're nearly there." Yang encouraged. "You're doing fine, you're doing fine."
"I...every step is harder than the last Yang." Winter wept. "What am I supposed to say?"
"Anything, anything and everything." Yang replied. "Whatever comes to mind, whatever you would tell her if you were having a normal conversation with her."
"Can…can you stay with me?" Winter beseeched.
"You don't want some privacy?" Yang asked.
"You are my life Yang, the reason I can be here today." Winter declared. "I don't want to do anything without you by my side. Not even this."
"Is that a proposal?" Yang asked.
"It's a promise." Winter said.
Yang kissed Winter tenderly. "Then let's go." Yang said. Winter stood before the headstone, staring at the portrait of Weiss carved into it, beside that of their mother. She placed the bouquet before the stone and stood back up, Yang wrapping her arms around Winter from behind. Winter grasped Yang's arms and took a deep breath.
"H-hello Weiss." Winter said, tears already streaming down her cheeks. "It...has been some time...and for that I apologize. Your...I was in great pain. Your...I missed you...I miss you so dearly Weiss." Winter squeezed Yang's arms tighter. "I did not deal with your...loss...well. I sought to escape it, fled to Vale, tried to drown the pain in alcohol...I nearly ruined someone's life with my carelessness. That someone saved me Weiss, even though I didn't deserve it. Yang saved my life. She understood my pain and she gave me a chance to recover. I wish you could meet her, truly, but...this is the best we have. Weiss, meet Yang...the love of my life."
"Hello Weiss." Yang said, tears welling her eyes. "Your sister means the world to me. I promise I'll take good care of her."
"I've started a new life." Winter continued. "One away from father, one of happiness and love. I dedicate everything I do to your memory. If nothing else I will honor your...death. I love you little sister, wherever you are. I only hope you're happy. I just...I love you...so much." Winter crumpled, sobbing, and Yang slowly lowered her to the ground. Yang sat with her, pulling Winter into her lap and holding her as she buried her face in Yang's shoulder.
It took some time but Winter managed to regain her composure. She and Yang brushed themselves off, said their final goodbyes, and returned to the rental car. "How do you feel?" Yang asked as she slipped into the passenger's seat.
"Better." Winter replied. "Like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Thank you, Yang."
"You did the same for me." Yang said. "I'll do anything for you."
"And I you, my love." Winter promised. She started the car and they drove off.
"So, Atlas…" Yang said.
"Mhm, the shopping here is amazing." Winter said.
"I was thinking lunch." Yang suggested.
"Fine, lunch first, shopping after." Winter agreed.
"Do they have burger joints here?" Yang asked.
"No, they were outlawed for being too uncivilized." Winter replied.
"You're shittin' me, right?" Yang laughed. Winter ignored her. "Winter, this is an important question!" Winter just laughed as they drove on.
The End
Author's Note: This isn't quite the end. A sequel - Solstice - is already planned. I'll post a hype chapter when the time comes.