All of You are Dense

"You're all idiots." Summer said bluntly.

Snow nearly spat out her drink as the two sat in a coffee restaurant in Vale.

"How is that a way to open a conversation?"

"I'm simply calling it how it is."

"You asked me to come here, that you had something important to talk about, and that is how you start it," Snow sighed, "And how are we idiots?"

"Because you act like children when it comes to love."

Snow blushed deeply at that. "W-what do you-"

"It may have been a month since I was last on Ketos, but I see the way you looked at Scarlet. The way you speak to Scarlet. Snow, I'm married to a man who's been married twice. I know when someone's in love."

Snow fiddled with her hair. "And…do you-"

Summer held back a chuckle, "I'm not the kind of guy who warns their future son or daughter in law to not hurt their baby girl…I just go straight to hurting if they do so."

Snow, despite also being a Maiden, could help but feel a chill going down her spine.

"I guess I'm being too harsh. You're not idiots. You're all just incredibly dense."

"That's not much better."

"Luckily, it's to varying degrees."

"And how would you rank us?"

"I wouldn't necessarily rank you, but I can describe you. Oak is the easiest. He originally pinned after you, didn't he?"

"Yes…embarrassingly so."

"And, the entire time, while he was pining for the white dove flying away, he never noticed the red canary on the window sill, wanting attention."

"That's…an accurate statement. Though, you make it sound like Pyrrha and I were pets."

"Yeah, realized the mistake after I said it, but the analogy fits, doesn't it?"

Snow nodded.

"And, from what Scarlet has said, he…hasn't really moved on, has he?"

"In what way?"

Summer sighed, "That alone answers my question. Honestly, I just want to give Oak a big hug. The guy lost the love of his life, and, now, despite her living again, he knows he can never have her, because it's not her. He might go the rest of his life not finding anyone special. And the worst part, he, unlike the rest of you, can't interact with his family. I mean, has he made any attempts to at least interact with them. Not talk with them, but maybe bump into them at a supermarket or something."

Snow put her cup down. "No. It's something I talked with Ursis about. And…the part that worries me…is that I think he knows and is okay with it."

"Well, not for me. I mean, I'd hope he'd at least want his past self to get to know Pyrrha, so-"

"Are you asking to try to play matchmaking?"

"I just want you five to live happy lives. You've gone through…so much. Frankly, you should be retired. But I also know that your hearts wouldn't let you sit idle."

Snow gave a sad smile, "No, we couldn't. But, how would you rank the others?"

"Well…"

"So…" Summer began, Beauty and Ursis sitting at the table on Ketos.

"So, what?" Beauty replied.

"How long have you two been dating?"

Ursis snickered while Beauty blushed.

"Um…well, I would say around a year, just before we came back."

Summer scrunched her face. "Wait, but you were a team for two years. Yes, you split up for over half a year, but still…" Summer stopped herself, then facepalmed, "Ugh, you are your father's daughter, Ursis."

Said girl looked offended, "What does that mean?"

"I thought you started dating at the Beacon dance, but, no, you didn't get to dating until the Ever After!?"

"And?"

Summer slammed her head down. "Beauty, Ursis, think back on all your interactions…and think about them from an outside perspective."

For a moment, the three were silent. Then almost in sync, Beauty and Ursis started to blush.

"You know," Beauty softly said, "You saying you'll save a dance for me, right after giving me that personal story…It kinda sounded like you were flirting with me."

"Not to mention," Summer added, "How you were completely oblivious to Ilia's affections. How did you discover your feelings for each other? Scarlet only said how, after the Ponder Storm, when you all came out, she saw you two were kissing."

Ursis rubbed the back of her head. "Well, while Scarlet and the others were walking those marble paths…me and Beauty were stuck on a ricky bridge that led to a platform in the middle."

"Everytime we revealed something we liked about the other, the bridge would form, getting us closer."

"I can see where this is going…"

"I had thought that Blake loved me, but I didn't voice it, so the bridge sent us even further apart. When we realized that…we kinda just said it."

Summer slowly began to shake with laughter.

"What?" Beauty and Ursis questioned.

"So, after two years of playing will they won't they, the world itself was tired of you not deciding, and did the equivalent of locking you in a room to sort out your problems?"

The two looked to each other, and then all three began laughing.

"They're dense in their own way," Summer stated."

"And how am I dense? I know I love Scarlet."

"Because you're waiting for her to figure herself out. Either that, or you're expecting her to notice that you're in love with her. Trust me, if she's anything like her father, she isn't. You need to go for it. Even if it ends in heartache…because what if she does reciprocate your feelings, but you wait too long to find out? What if she finds someone else? Or she goes so far into herself that love has no room to grow? I don't want you to miss your chance because…because you didn't have the guts to do it first."

Snow raised an eyebrow, "Are we talking about me, or you?"

Summer gave a sad smile.

"And…where would you put Scarlet on your list of denseness?"

"At the very top."

Scarlet and Summer walked through the hallways of Ketos when Summer brought up the infamous question.

"So…Scarlet…"

"Yes?" Scarlet nervously replied. She knew that kind of tone.

"Is there anyone special?"

Scarlet spluttered, "Mom, why would you ask that?"

"Look, you may have been telling me the story of RWBY, but that doesn't mean you told me everything."

"You told me to tell you everything!"

"Doesn't mean you won't hide the embarrassing parts."

"Mom, there's no one."

Summer raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously! No. One."

"I thought you connected well with Penny."

"I was her first friend, of course I connected with her!"

Summer sighed, "You truly are like your father-Scarlet, it seems clear that Penny loved you. Hell, if," Summer looked around, "If Pre-Hatter using Penny had that level of affect on you, then clearly something was between the two of you."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because your father was as blind to someone loving him as you are."

Scarlet stopped. "Really?"

"Yes. The only reason he realized Raven was in love with him was because, after countless missions with him, she just approached him, and she demanded they get married."

"Seriously?"

"Well, maybe not 'Tai, I demand we get married', but more like 'Tai, I have affections for you. Tell me if you share them with me.' kind of situation. The marriage happened shortly after."

"And dad…never realized until then."

"Oh, NO. You could go to a restaurant, with just him, and he'd treat it like going out with a friend. The point is, he was completely blind when someone was actually in love with him. Like Oak and…a certain someone he lost."

Scarlet looked to the side, remembering Pyrrha, the old Pyrrha.

"I just don't want you to make the same mistake Oak did. I don't want you to find out you love someone as they're dying. If you truly don't have feelings for anyone, that's fine. Just make sure they are aware of it."

"Alright, mom." She replied, cautiously.

Summer nodded and the two continued walking.

"But…if dad didn't know Raven was in love with him, how did he find out you loved him?"

"Oh, seeing how the direct approach worked wonders for Raven, I decided to up the game. So I grabbed him, dragged him into a room, threw him on the bed and got the tool-"

"NOPE!" And, with that, Scarlet was gone, with Summer merely smirking.

"Oh my god." Snow exclaimed, wide-eyed, "Was…was that just for Scarlet's sake, or-"

"Oh, no, I actually did. You call Raven a monster, but I was a freak. Only got tempered once Ruby was born."

Snow was starting to get nervous. If Summer, sweet, perfect mother Summer, was like that…she didn't want to know what Scarlet could do.

Author's Notes: And so begins the anthology series. This fanfic takes place between WSINM and WSINM: Cinnamon Spice. There isn't really an timeline for each of these. Did this take place shortly after WSINM, or four years later? With next chapter happen before or after this event? Unless it's stated precisely, it doesn't matter. You can read the chapters in any order you wish.

As always, leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all next time.