Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Minutes After Byleth and Dorothea's Engagement
BGM: Hotel Delfino (Super Mario Sunshine)
"Okay, so your rooms are all on the second floor, the pool is open 24/7 and is on the third floor. We all recently installed a hot tub in there, so feel free to use it!"
"Thank you." Tai nodded. "What about the casino?"
"It's closed right now. We're trying to get rid of those pesky Boos that won't leave no matter what we do."
In the casino…
"Go! Go away!" A Pianta tried to smack a Boo with a broomstick. All it did was go through it harmlessly. The Boo let out a chuckle and lazily floated away. "No no no no no, don't go into the slot machines!" He exclaimed as the Boo went inside. The lever was pulled as three sevens aligned and then spat out coins, and the Boo continued to rig it to where it would get lucky seven jackpots over and over again.
The Pianta groaned. "Where's a ghostbuster when you need one…"
Back outside…
"Have you tried using a vaccum?" Ruby suggested.
"Er… yes."
"I see." He's lying. Ruby thought.
"Come on, let's go check out the rooms." Summer said.
"Shouldn't we wait for Byleth and Dorothea?" Rosalina asked.
"I'm sure they'll come. One of us could wait for them while the rest of us could get settled in." Claude said, and then the doors opened up as they would turn to see the happy couple walking in. "Oooor they'll just come in right after I mention it."
"You two look happier than usual, what's up?" Nyx asked.
"Should I tell 'em or should you?" Dorothea asked.
Byleth smiled, raising up Dorothea's hand. "I said yes~!" She giggled.
Summer let out a fangirl scream, which was enough to make everyone wince. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I'm so happy for you two!" She immediately hugged the two.
"Hold on. While I'm happy you two are engaged, shouldn't it be "She said yes"? She's wearing the ring." Qrow pointed out.
Dorothea giggled. "So here's the thing, she was out there admiring the ring her father had gifted her that was from her mother. I caught her staring at it, and I asked if I could take a look at it. I had the wild idea to put in on my finger and I asked her if I looked stylish with it, she said yes and then I popped the question with "You think I'd make a lovely wife?" she said yes and that was all I needed to know."
"The funny thing is, I was actually planning on proposing to her. She just snuck up on me and before I realized what was going on, she was the one who proposed."
Qrow let out a laugh. "Fair enough!"
"So, basically, you pulled a Claude." Yang said.
"He rubbed off on me." Dorothea smiled cheekily.
"Heheh, I do have that effect on people." Claude said proudly as he watched Xena, Ruby, Yang and the rest of the family hug Byleth and Dorothea.
"Come on, we got our rooms all situated." Tai said.
"Right." Byleth nodded as they walked up to their rooms. Byleth and Dorothea walked into one together, both of them seeing a patio outside that overlooked the beach. The two of them smiled as they leaned onto the railing together.
"I'm still amused that I pulled one right over you." Dorothea smiled. "Took the ring and proposed to you before you could even realize what was going on."
"And to think I was going to get on one knee and ask "Will you marry me"… I didn't envision an alternate version to it." She giggled.
Dorothea smiled, wrapping her arms around Byleth. "Surprise~" She giggled before sighing happily. "Just imagine… our new lives together with a new family."
"Yeah."
"And you know what? You're honestly a lot happier after Ruby adopted you. I've noticed that."
Byleth turned to look into her fiance's eyes. "Ruby has that effect, I guess."
Dorothea giggled, watching the sun disappear as stars started to pop up in the night sky. "She sure does." She would look Byleth in the eyes again as Byleth would gently caress her cheek as they closed their eyes and shared a passionate kiss, both of them making out for a few minutes before Dorothea pulled away. "I'm going to take a shower, care to join me~?"
Byleth smiled. "Of course~" She said as the two walked off together.
The next day…
Byleth opened her eyes, seeing Dorothea cuddled up next to her. She looked down and saw the engagement ring still on her finger. She gave a soft smile. It wasn't a dream all along… She thought as she closed her eyes and smiled.
A few minutes later, Dorothea woke up and kissed her fiance on the cheek as she got up to stretch. Byleth got up as well and yawned. "Morning, darling~" Dorothea smiled.
"Morning, honey." Byleth smiled. "So… ready to see what Delfino's all about?"
"Oh, you know it!" Dorothea grinned.
End BGM
Once at Delfino Plaza…
BGM: Delfino Plaza (Super Mario Sunshine)
"Wow! It's so grand." Rosalina said, looking around with a sparkle in her eyes.
"I forgot how big it was the last time we were here." Qrow said as they wandered around town.
"Yeah, at least now we don't have to worry about anything crazy." Tai said as Byleth, Bereto, Dorothea and Claude wandered into a shop.
"Consider this us making it up to you for not bringing you guys along for that wild time at Garreg Mach." Xena said, walking alongside the beach.
"Yeah… you're in some crazy as hell adventure and you didn't invite us along?" Nyx asked.
"It happened so fast, admittedly." Xena explained. "We just went to say hi to Byleth that we just got caught up in that war against Those Who Slither that we didn't think of inviting you guys. If anything, we were more concerned over Byleth since she was getting a little stressed out."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Iris nodded. "If I were there, I wouldn't have thought of contacting you guys either."
"Same." Nyx nodded.
"Yeah, agreed." Jade nodded as well. "Soooo, what are we gonna do?"
Nyx glanced over at a volleyball net that some Piantas were setting up. "Beach volleyball?"
"Hey, we're down." Xena nodded.
"Sure!"
In the store…
"Hmm… this looks cute." Byleth said, trying out a bikini as she did a pose while Bereto tried out simple dark green trunks. "Yeah, I'll go for it."
"What do you think?" Dorothea asked as she was in her own swimwear. "Is the sun hat too much?"
"I think it completes the look." Byleth said
"You think so?" Dorothea looked into a mirror, trying it out and then taking it off. "What do you know…" She chuckled. "I also picked out some casual clothing too." She said, pulling out a red shirt that had a few Note Blocks on it that had the same rhythm to it as Bolero of Fire with "Legendary Song Bird", she also pulled out a pair of blue short shorts and some sandals.
"That song looks familiar… I can't figure out where I've seen it before." Bereto said.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Claude chuckled, wearing a pair of tan swimming trunks.
Once they paid for their swimming gear, they all walked out as Claude decided to dive into the ocean to swim around in.
End BGM
Bianco Hills…
BGM: Bianco Hills (Super Mario Sunshine)
Ruby looked at one of the ropes hanging over the creek and then looked over the wall. "Hmm…" She rubbed her chin in thought before getting an idea. "Heheh…" She smirked as she hopped on and dropped down, latching onto the rope. She then activated her semblance and started spinning around it so fast, the rope started to catch on fire.
Ruby let go right after. "WAHOOOOOOOOOO!" She yelled as she landed on the other side of the wall, gracefully diving in and coming up for air. "Woo! That's how you do it!" She said as she turned around to see the rope on fire. "…Oh. Whoops." She blushed before turning around and swimming away, getting out of the water and innocently whistled.
A Pianta walked by and saw the rope on fire. "Ooooh, that's the fourth time this week!"
"Wasn't my fault this time!"
"Then who did? Because obviously it had to do with your fancy contraptions!"
End BGM
Ricco Harbor…
BGM: Ricco Harbor (Super Mario Sunshine)
"What the hell are they doing?" Bereto wondered, watching a Blooper race going on.
"They're doing a Blooper race." A Pianta said.
"…In a harbor?"
"Aw, don't worry about a thing. We moved the ships so no one would smack into them."
"Well, that's a relief."
"We thought the ships were safe… until crashes started happening last month."
"Yeah, that would make se-WHAT?!" Bereto looked at him in shock.
"Yeah… to this day, I'm surprised no one has sued us yet."
How are they still alive? Bereto wondered as all the other onlookers cheered the racers on.
End BGM
Gelato Beach…
BGM: Gelato Beach (Super Mario Sunshine)
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me…" Yang groaned, seeing a new batch of Cataquacks wandering around the beach. Luckily, they were all blue, minus a few reds that were wandering around.
"Aww, look at this little guy! He's so cute!" Dorothea gushed, petting the head of a docile blue Cataquack. It nuzzled against her affectionately. "Yang, there's nothing to worry about, this little guy's a friendly one."
"…I'll take your word for it." Yang said as she gently reached out toward it. "Nice Cataquack… niiiiice little guy." She whispered as the Cataquack walked up to Yang and nuzzled against her. "Oh…" She smiled. "What do you know, I guess you're not so-"
The Cataquack playfully flipped her up in the air. "-BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"
SPLASH!
"Why me…" Yang groaned.
"Aww, he's just playing!" Dorothea smiled as the Cataquack nuzzled up against Dorothea again as the two walked off.
"Ugh, whatever, I'm going to that island." Yang said as she swam across.
"Hmm..." Dorothea rubbed her chin, watching Yang sit underneath the palm tree in the shade.
Stupid Cataquacks... She thought as she closed her eyes.
Nearby, a red Cataquack was chasing after Zwei, however it screeched to a halt and turned the other way as Zwei came running back with Alexander and Cerberus, all of them barking.
Near the reef, Rosalina and Tai swam underneath the water, the former curiously investigating the reef with intrigue in her eyes, while Tai was getting dragged away by a Cheep Cheep. Rosalina turned her head and swiftly pulled the two apart telekinetically, then provided a cosmic air bubble for him in case he needed air.
Tai turned around and gave Rosalina the thumbs up, then they would go back to checking out the reef. Rosalina spotted a few Staryu resting amongst the reefand happily waved at them.
About an hour later, Yang opened her eyes from her nap and looked to see the Cataquack sleeping on her lap. She looked at it sleeping peacefully as she lightly chuckled, scratching it on the head before falling back asleep.
At the juice bar, Dorothea looked at this with a pair of binoculars, smiling. "Knew that would work." She said, taking a sip of her margarita.
End BGM
Pinna Park...
BGM: Pinna Park (Super Mario Sunshine)
"And now for the trick shot!" Claude said, as he was on the rollercoaster as he aimed a rocket with Failnaught and aimed at a balloon. "Steady... steady..."
The car went over the loopdeloop, and once he was upside down, he pulled the string as the rocket launched its way to the balloon, where it popped within seconds.
"Got ya!" Claude grinned.
Down below, Maia and the Branwens watched him pop the last balloon while they were eating ice cream. "He's a showoff, isn't he?" Maia shook her head.
"Yeah, he always does things like that." Raven nodded.
"Yeah, and Yang is into him. How about that." Qrow chuckled. "I'm not too worried though."
Claude hopped off of the rollercoaster. "Congratulations, here's your prize!" The Noki said, handing him a five foot tall Solgaleo plush.
"Well, if this ain't fitting..." Claude chuckled, taking it as he walked off.
End BGM
Noki Bay...
"What?! What do you mean you don't need an air tank?!" A Noki said in shock. "You're gonna drown down there!"
"Don't need air if you're dead!" Summer grinned and dove on in.
"...What does that even mean?"
BGM: Deep City of Mare (Super Mario Sunshine)
Summer found herself in the underwater city, looking around with a smile on her face. "Lovely." She said, swimming through without a care in the world.
She swam to the bottom, a few Nokis saw her and were surprised to see her without any oxygen mask or a tank. She would reach the bottom and see plenty of seashells.
Hmm... oh! She grabbed a blue green seashell and picked it up. She admired its beauty and with a smile, she swam back up. "I think she's going to like this."
End BGM
Pianta Village...
BGM: Pianta Village (Super Mario Sunshine)
Byleth walked through the bridge. "Do I hear a band?" She wondered as she walked further along, making sure not to lose her balance on the bridge that was a bit too bouncy for her liking.
Once she made it across, she would see several Piantas dancing around to their heart's content without a care in the world.
A female Pianta spotted Byleth. "Oh, welcome!" She said warmly as she walked over and gave her a lei, putting it over her neck. "Oh, you look cute with it!"
Byleth blushed. "Thank you..." She said as she walked off, admiring the scenery while also staring at the large palm trees over the perimeter of the village.
As she walked along the path, she spotted a hot spring. "Oh! I could go for a soak." She said as she walked over, taking her shoes off as she hopped in. "Aaaaah, that hits the spot..." She smiled, closing her eyes.
She rested in there for a few minutes, then she opened her eyes to see the water coming out of the pianta statue's nose. She smiled and closed her eyes again, but then reopened them a second later. "Huh?!"
She stared at the water coming out of the nose, where it poured into the hot spring. She followed the water all the way into the spring. Her eyes widened in horror. "AAAH!" She yelled, quickly getting out of the spring in disgust. "Eugh, gross... well, that's enough hot spring for today..."
She quickly turned around and power walked the other way in the hurry.
Next stop, a nice hot bubble bath at the hotel.
End BGM
Later...
Byleth had dried herself off, having the towel wrapped over her body. She had decided to order room service as she was munching on some orange slices when there was a knock on her door. "Hello?"
"Hey Byleth, it's me. Can I come in?"
"Oh, sure." Byleth said as Summer phased through the wall. "Hey Summer."
"I was looking all over for you." Summer said. "Something wrong?"
"Well, I was relaxing in the hot spring at Pianta Village...then I realized where the water was coming from."
Summer snickered. "Don't worry, I think Weiss had the same reaction." She said as she sat down on the bed.
"I was in the bath for about a half an hour, I decided to just chill here for a while."
"That's fair." Summer nodded as she looked over the bed. "Oh, you got a lei."
"Yeah, it's pretty." Byleth nodded as Summer decided to pick one off and gently put the purple flower on her head. Byleth blushed lightly as Summer let a giggle.
"Hey, I got something for you." Summer said. "Close your eyes."
"Okay...?" Byleth closed her eyes. She felt something going around her neck.
"Alright, open 'em!"
Byleth opened her eyes and looked down to see that Summer put a necklace around her neck, with the blue green seashell in the middle. "Summer... it's beautiful..." She smiled.
"I had a feeling you'd like it." Summer smiled.
"I love it. Thank you."
Summer still smiled. "You're welcome." She said before she let out a sigh. "Ya know, there's something ironic about this."
"What is it?"
"When I chewed out Yang for neglecting Ruby and how you were there for her instead, I told her that you'd make a better sister than her. I didn't really mean it, honestly... I was just so frustrated with her that she wasn't there when she needed her the most. And now, fast forward a few months and here we are, welcoming you into the family as another daughter."
Byleth giggled. "Yeah, that is pretty ironic." She said, leaning back and looked at the ceiling. "I'm gonna be honest, I was also frustrated with Yang. Did she have good intentions that I thought I could heal Ruby? Yeah, I thought it was no big deal... but the more I saw Ruby despairing and Yang not giving her the time of day... I even thought "Aren't you supposed to be there for your sister or something?"
She let out an annoyed sigh. "And of course, I was kicking myself for not realizing how much of a monster Ruby's doppelganger was and I had Ruby fight her. So of course, I was also more frustrated with Yang because there was this monster messing her up and she didn't even think about giving her a hug? I mean, I'm glad she got her head out of her ass but it was so frustrating... I wanted to yell at her, but I couldn't figure out what to say to her, then... you chewed her out and I didn't have to do a thing."
Summer looked down. "Honestly, I felt pretty bad that I took it that far. Seeing her in tears... I felt so awful, I kinda beat myself up. Did she needed that reality check, yes... but I took it way too far. I hid that pretty well honestly... kept that a secret for a while, never told anyone. Well, except you."
Byleth put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's not easy being a parent. You think you know what's best and when you scold them, you feel awful when they're in tears. It's natural, honestly."
"Yeah... You're right."
Byleth smiled. "So, don't worry about a thing. You're doing great, mom."
"Yea-... did you just call me mom?"
Byleth blushed a deep red. "Sorry, that slipped out..." She said.
"No no, it's fine." Summer giggled. "How did it feel?"
BGM: Family (Super Mario Galaxy)
"Strange, yet... natural at the same time." Byleth said, closing her eyes and let out an amused chuckle. "I guess it comes with the territory..."
"Well, you are my oldest daughter now." Summer winked. "Honestly, I don't mind at all."
"Well, in that case..." Byleth wrapped her arms around Summer and hugged her. "I love you, mother..."
Summer smiled. "I love you too." She said, pushing her back and gently kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, let's go in that hot tub. I imagine it's a lot better than that hot spring."
"Let's hope." Byleth laughed as she took her towel off and put her bikini back on.
Out at the hot tub…
"Ya know… I've spent my whole life fighting, I never really got to stop and just… enjoy myself." Byleth admitted.
"Really?" Summer asked.
"Yeah, spent my whole life as a mercenary, worked at the monastery… and even though I became a therapist, I still didn't take the time to just slow down. And now… now that Those Who Slither are gone, and I have a new family, not to mention I'm engaged… for the first time in my life, I… I truly feel at peace. Like, I can finally slow down and actually smell the roses or something. I can finally understand why Bereto was more laid back than I was."
Summer smiled, wrapping her arm around her. "You've got nothing to worry about now, sweetie." She said, gently kissing her on the cheek as Byleth rested her head on her shoulder, taking a deep breath and exhaling deeply.
"So this is how it feels to just… relax…"
Dorothea walked in, dipping her feet in the pool and noticed her fiance and Summer holding each other. "Aww…" She smiled.
Later…
Byleth leaned on the railing at the patio, looking over the beach as Ruby walked over to her. "You look relaxed."
"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Byleth smiled. "I was just telling your mother, no, our mother, that I truly feel at peace after all that's happened in my life."
Ruby smiled. "Feels great to unwind, huh?"
"I've never understood how anyone can just… take it easy and unwind. With me, I just couldn't relax at all, never understood the need for it. Now? Now I totally get it." She turned to Ruby. "I honestly have to thank you, Ruby."
"Hmm? For what?"
"If you hadn't adopted me, I'd probably still be fighting. Not sure what I'd be fighting but I wouldn't have the chance to unwind. Even if I had gotten engaged or proposed to Dorothea, I would've been more… interested in other things. I'd probaby get myself killed out there."
Ruby smiled. "You have us now."
"Yeah, I do." Byleth nodded as she turned around and gave Ruby a hug, gently kissing her on the forehead. "I love you, sis…"
Ruby returned the hug. "I love you too." She would then pull away and looked at her older sister. "So, you wanna head to the beach? Dad's getting the volleyball net out."
"Volley… ball?" Byleth tilted her head.
Ruby giggled. "Yeah, it's a lot of fun!"
Byleth smiled. "Sure, I'm game." She said as the two of them took off as they wound up on the beach.
"You look more relaxed." Xena said, munching on a snowcone.
"Yup." Byleth nodded as she and Ruby were on one side as Tai and Yang were on the other side. "So… how do you play this exactly?"
Ruby smiled. "Watch and learn, sis!" She said as she picked up the ball and served it to the other side, where Tai would bounce it over to Yang who quickly spiked it, but Ruby dove and caught the ball, bouncing it to Byleth. "Sis, go for it!"
Byleth stared at the ball before instinct kicked in as she jumped up and spiked the ball hard enough to go between Tai and Yang. "Whoa!" Yang exclaimed.
"Sweet! That was awesome! We got a point!" Ruby cheered.
"Woo! Go Byleth!" Dorothea cheered.
Byleth smiled. "Woo! Feel that adrenaline!" She said.
"Dang, she picked up the curve quick…" Yang said.
Tai smirked. "Looks like we have a hell of a fight."
Yang chuckled. "Alright, no longer going easy on 'em!"
"Rosie and I play against the winners next round!" Summer told them.
"Same with me and Maia!" Raven smiled.
"This looks fun." Maia said, watching Yang and Tai score a point as Byleth missed it by an inch.
"Yes!" Yang fist pumped, high fiving Tai.
"Alright, I see you." Byleth smirked as she was next to serve. "Here it comes!" She exclaimed, hitting the ball over the net, as they would play several rounds throughout the night while Byleth pretty much enjoyed herself throughout the night.
Ibuki: Awww, this is so cute!
Indeed, it's very wholesome.