"You know," Blake murmured as she strolled along. "I used to think Patch the most beautiful place during the summer… I might have to revise that opinion."
Pyrrha nodded, holding hands with her on her left and looking around wide-eyed. "It is truly beautiful, is it not?" she breathed.
Their brunette girlfriend giggled and leaned up to plant a quick kiss on the Cat Faunus' cheek from where she had her arm around her on the opposite side. "It's pretty neat," Ruby agreed. "Every Yuletide they try to outdo themselves."
Downtown Patch was a rather quaint village, full of old buildings and shops with protruding window displays. It was the latter that caught the three girls' attentions, and the reason they were wandering downtown in the first place on their initial day of winter break. Each storefront was done up in amazing fashion, some with the assistance of prodigious amounts of ice dust use, others with skillful application of deft, crafty hands that had been doing this as a business for years.
They had arrived last night, along with Yang and Weiss, to spend the week of winter break at the Xiao Long household. There were plenty of preparations to be made, both for decorating the house and in anticipation of numerous guests for Yuletide. Ruby's sister and partner were off shopping for a new tree, as the last artificial one met an unfortunate demise. Tai had managed to burn it down accidentally when he tried setting it up a few days back. To which Yang's response was, "Dad, how have you even survived this long without us at home?"
And while there was plenty of other work to be done, Ruby wanted to make sure the loves of her life got to see the magical displays downtown first.
The three of them stopped in front of one window, arms around each other to stay warm in the crisp winter air. Past the window danced sprites and elves among a frosted woodland landscape, all automated by invisible gears and wires. In the middle was a decorated tree with tiny little presents all piled up.
"I have never, in all my life, seen such a thing," Pyrrha murmured wondrously.
"Nope," Ruby smiled. "It's unique to Patch. We like to keep it a secret, otherwise we'd get inundated by tourists."
"I can see why," Blake hummed. She sucked in a quick breath as her gaze traveled down to the next store in the line. "Oh, my," she breathed, enchanted.
The brunette giggled, tugging the trio forward once more. "Knew you'd like this one, kitty cat."
It was a bookstore, and in the display were cannily-crafted mannequins of, amazingly enough, a Wolf Faunus family curled up together on a couch as the father read from a book. The scene behind them was decorated for the season, and the eyes of the two little boys and adolescent girl were bright and shiny.
"I… I don't know what to say," Blake finally whispered. "I can't imagine such a scene outside of a place such as Menagerie…"
"And the best part?" Ruby said, her own silver eyes sparkling with happiness. "The store owner isn't even a Faunus. But he's always been supportive of Faunus rights, employs some here but doesn't make a big deal about it, y'know? Faunus are just people to him." She turned and gave Blake a quick hug. "He's a really awesome guy."
"Could we come back here?" Blake asked eagerly. "Perhaps after Yuletide?"
"Of course we can!" the brunette chirped.
Her redheaded girlfriend placed a soft kiss on the top of the warm purple beanie Blake had to keep her ears warm. "I think that sounds grand. And they would have after-Yuletide sales, yes?"
"Oooh, I like the way you think, fluffy fox!" Ruby giggled once more, her spirits obviously buoyed beyond measure by the season. "Let's make a date of it!"
"Really, little rose?" Blake smiled warmly. "You'd consider taking me shopping in a book store a date?"
Ruby grinned widely and nodded, staring intently into Blake's eyes. "Anywhere I go with you lovely ladies is a date for me."
The raven-haired girl sighed fondly. "I do love you, you know. As silly as you can be sometimes."
The brunette stuck her tongue out briefly before dragging them along the sidewalk once more. "Oh, you know you like that side of me."
"Well, to be fair," Pyrrha interjected humorously, "we love every part of you for who you are."
"And I feel the same about both of you," Ruby stated warmly. "Oh, hey, lookit this one!"
It was a toy store, and in an appropriately grand fashion, done up to look like a Yuletide toy workshop. Conveyor belts carried partially-assembled teddy bears around the perimeter while workers arduously labored over a variety of fun objects for children to enjoy.
"Oooh, look, I used to have one of those!" Ruby shouted excitedly, pointing at a lumpy-looking doll that seemed to be nestled in a leafy plant.
"Oh my Oum, are you serious?" Pyrrha laughed. "So did I!"
"As did I," Blake grinned. "One of the few toys I can recall from my childhood… And it had that catchy tune from the commercials…"
As one, the trio of huntresses-in-training belted out the lyrics for a decade-old toy commercial. The three of them collapsed against each other in a fit of giggles.
"Oh," the redhead sighed, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. "This has been a grand day, little rose. Thank you so much for bringing us."
"Mmm," Blake sighed. "I just…" She closed her eyes briefly, soaking in the contentment and love that their bond positively vibrated with, an almost audible hum that accompanied her everywhere. "It seems foolish, but I so look forward to when we no longer have school, just so that our lives can be filled with such moments…"
She felt two sets of arms enfold her, and another tear slipped down her cheek, this time from the sheer happiness that threatened to burst from her chest.
"I do not consider that foolish at all," Pyrrha murmured. "I think of such things as well, our future together… Granted, we have some time before we begin planning the specifics…"
"Doesn't matter, though," Ruby sighed happily. "'Cause no matter what, we'll be together for it."
"Gods, I love you girls," Blake sobbed quietly.
"Don't you start, kitty cat," Pyrrha wailed softly. "Or I shall as well!"
"Oh, you two," Ruby giggled, tightening her hug. "Such softies."
The Cat Faunus barked out a quick laugh, slapping Ruby's arm before pulling back. "Don't give me that, you can be just as sappy."
"Nope," the brunette replied smugly. "I'm all about bein' poised and stuff."
Pyrrha and Blake shared a mischievous glance before turning towards their girlfriend, who let out a startled eep as she spied the intent behind those emerald and amber orbs.
To keep things fair, Ruby didn't use her semblance as the other two chased her through the snow-coated streets, and likely even allowed them to catch up with her once they reached a snowbank on the outskirts.
Perhaps an hour later, the three soaked girls had changed out of their wet clothes and into more comfy attire. Grasping mugs of hot cocoa in their hands, they were snuggled up on the sofa and in front of the fireplace when the front door opened once more and a blonde stamped in, followed by her platinum-haired girlfriend.
"Well, lookit you three lazy bums," Yang laughed merrily, shaking the snow out of her hair. "Lying about while we've been working!"
Ruby snickered and patted the space next to her. "Plenty of room to join in!"
"But we still gotta bring the tree in…"
Weiss stepped up to the taller blond and leaned forward on her tiptoes to brush her lips against her cheek. "Please, Yang?" she asked with a small pout. "I'm cold…"
"Oh, fine, princess," Yang laughed again.
Shortly thereafter, all five of them were contentedly sipping on their hot cocoa and regaling each other with their day so far. Tai made his way into the living room and chuckled at the sight.
"Well, ladies, I see the relaxation is well underway," he smirked. "I thought we were going to get the tree inside tonight?"
He was met by five identically forlorn pouts, which caused him to laugh even harder.
"Okay, okay," he relented, backing away with his hands raised. "Tomorrow morning, then. I'll go pick up dinner. Noodles good with everyone?"
"Sounds good dad!" Ruby chirped happily. "You know what we like by now, right?"
Tai nodded and winked at Blake. "I won't forget the extra fish this time."
"Thank you, Tai!" the Cat Faunus replied happily.
The big blond hunter paused at the doorway before stepping back into the room. "You know, girls," he began seriously. "I don't have a problem with you all calling me dad."
"R- Really?" Weiss gasped.
"Certainly," he chuckled in reply at the equally incredulous looks on all of them. "I can tell you're all in this for the long haul, marriage or no." He eyed Blake and Pyrrha in particular. "And if what Rubes here has told me is correct, the three of you are close enough you might as well be married, right?"
"Er, yes… Yes, that's true," Blake blushed.
"Good, then it's settled," he stated firmly, clapping his hands together. "Since we're all family, you call me dad. Be back in a bit with dinner."
Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha grinned widely at each other. "I was wondering what he had thought of the Mark," the Cat Faunus murmured. "But I didn't want to bring it up unnecessarily."
"Well, he was pretty cool about it when I told him," the brunette conceded. "And, y'know… he's dad."
"Yes, he is," the redhead sighed happily. "And he is really quite incredible."
"I'm still at a loss for words," Weiss stated wondrously. "He… He really included me in that? To call him… dad?"
"Yep, that he did, beautiful," Yang grinned, hugging the slender girl against her side under the blanket they all shared. "Definitely part of the family now."
Weiss just nodded numbly and leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder, gazing into the fire with a soft smile on her face.
"You know, this really does mean we're all family now," Ruby said with a giggle. "So I get to call you 'sis' now, right, Weiss?"
"No, you do not."
"Aww, c'mon… Wait, your birthday is two months after mine!"
"Ruby…" the platinum-haired girl warned.
"Oh my Oum, I'm a big sister!" the brunette chortled, bouncing in her seat. Only the restraining arm of Blake managed to keep her from bouncing enough to spill everyone's hot cocoa. "You're totally my little sis!"
"But we're still two years apart, dolt. And if anything, I will be your sister-in-law," she mumbled in reply, blushing brightly.
"Why, princess," Yang chuckled, a gleam in her lilac eyes. "Was that a proposal?"
"No, you oaf. What is this, pick-on-Weiss time?"
The five of them settled back, giggling merrily as they relished this feeling of togetherness. All of them bound by love in some fashion or another.
"Yeah," Ruby murmured sleepily. "This is great. I can get used to this."
"Mmm," Blake concurred, nuzzling into the brunette's red-tipped hair.
Pyrrha covered up a yawn before agreeing, wrapping her arms around both Blake and Ruby. "I wholeheartedly agree."
When Tai returned a half hour later, he grinned widely at the five sleeping forms still cuddled up tightly together.
"Well," he murmured fondly. "Noodles can always be reheated." With that, he headed back into the kitchen, humming tunelessly under his breath.
A/N: I was actually at a total loss with what to do for this chapter, I just knew I wanted something before Yuletide itself. And then my oldest daughter suggested doing something like the window displays in downtown New York City during the holidays, and then I finally had a chapter. Yay! So, next up is Yuletide itself. It's a bit longer in length, but it will also be the last regular chapter for Thorns to round out the week. /sniff
Don't forget to vote in the poll for the Weiss x Yang x Neo ship name! I'll leave it up on my author page at least through the end of this week!
Much love to all of you wonderful readers and reviewers! lkdog, Jack Inqu, THB4, kaiju62, Gorsouul, Boombox94, ILikeHotDogs, WyattMoore, Jacklyn Frost, MakaS0ul, Marauderby, FelipeCH98, Arcredemption, OverDude12. Huggles!
Stay shiny!