Author's Notes

I guess I ought to mention - homophobia exists, and it's mentioned in this chapter as a concept. No one will be homophobic, but just in case...

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

October I

Raven's job search didn't begin immediately. As much as she wanted to start stabilizing her baby's world by bringing in income, Summer's financial assistance could help with that. There were several far more pressing things to handle, immediate things that could wait no longer.

"I've already had Yang get her first hospital check-up," Raven explained to her friend/leader/babysitter/boarder. "And you say it should be…monthly?"

"Almost monthly," Summer said, knowing some of this from memory and having read other bits of it on her scroll the night before instead of sleeping. "The older she gets, the less frequent it becomes. But for now, monthly won't hurt, at least until she's a third of a year old."

"Okay, so that's that."

They were making a list of critical things, and 'Health' was at the top. Next down was food.

"A third of a year is also roughly how long you should keep breastfeeding, but it's also something to play by ear. A lotta babies do a lotta different things." Summer looked over at the singular baby in question, studying her as she would a painting. "Yang's been good so far, so I'll hold out hope she can wean early."

"That's a bad thing, though?"

Summer shook her head. "Not at all. Development to solid foods is great, for both Yang and your body."

"Not for my wallet, though."

"Yeah, but…"

But it's not my wallet, is it? Raven mused to herself, too afraid of disrupting their balance to voice such starkly Stark-treasonous thoughts. It's yours, and I'm a parasite who –

"Ray," Summer groaned.

"What? I didn't say jack sh–"

"Ray!" Summer yapped. "No curses."

"I didn't say jack squat!"

"Yes, but I know you well enough to say with certainty you were thinking it."

"I-I wasn't."

"The fact that I haven't specified what 'it' is, but you still know, is telling, Ray." Summer moved closer and placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. "Look, you're gonna need help. You don't consider yourself weak for not being able to, I dunno, play chess with yourself, do you? I know you don't play a lotta chess, but just roll with it, girl. Some things are two-person or more sport, and babies definitely count. So no more complaints, 'kay? Leader's orders."

Leader's orders – one of Summer's few free passes. She could use that one as a get-out-of-trouble card with almost every member of Team Stark, knowing that none among them would ever dare be the first to defy their supreme overlord.

But is there even a Team Stark? Tai and I can never get back together, Summer's out with me in the sticks, we've no idea what side of the argument Qrow's on…

The hand of her leader was still on Raven's shoulder, so she gently brushed it away and shook herself free. "Fine, Sum. What else?"

"We need a crib. I know you wanna make one, but your carpentry skills leave something to be desired, and you're gonna need a workshop or a dedicated spot in the lawn for that sorta thing if you do. Here's my proposal: we buy something storebought, just so we can put Yang somewhere, and you do your own building as a passion project in your free time. Izzat fair?"

It was, and Raven didn't hesitate to say so. Summer was always smart like that. She knew what her teammates needed, and she didn't insist on bland, stock solutions that someone else like Ozpin would give. When Summer Rose looked for a solution, she found one that would not only resolve the problem but do so without spelling out the death of Raven's already faltering pride.

Summer had even more suggestions. "We probably ought to baby-proof any sharp corners of the house and do a once-over for hazards. I kinda wanna make a box of things that are unsafe, so that we have clear boundaries. That way, if you find something outside of the box, you can say with certainty that it's okay to have around Yang.

"I'm also gonna print out some easy, healthy recipes or cooking instructions so that you don't starve to death if I'm not here. We should make a food planner, and also a budget with an itinerary of weekly costs."

"Yeah," Raven said, smiling along. "I thought of something similar on the…on the way back from the hospital."

"Great," Summer said. "And –"

"So…So I was…" Raven cleared her throat. "I'm not…I did…

Summer, in her infinite, godlike patience, waited for Raven to explain the thought that had prompted her to interrupt, but Raven herself barely even knew what she was trying to convey as she floundered about like a flopping haddock miles from the ocean.

I thought of writing up a budget. I want her to know that. I want her to know that I thought of it, and I'm not stupid, and I can do basic things.

But how did Raven say that without coming across as a dunce? How did she earn Summer's approval without directly asking for it, with all the maturity of an infant like Yang begging for the acknowledgement that came with recognition?

And was it even something to be proud of? Had she started on that budget, before she'd whipped out the hacksaw and gone to town on some planks of wood, apparently endangering Yang with hard-to-breathe sawdust and sharp metal edges and all sorts of other hazards that seemed like normal parts of childhood to someone like Raven?

In the end, Raven just stammered her way to silence, unable to phrase the message she'd initially had. Summer was probably dumbfounded by how low her old, once-respected colleague had fallen.

"…yeah, so…I thought of it…too."

"Good," Summer said, once it was clear that Raven's ramblings were at an end. "If you have any ideas, don't hesitate to say them. It's quite possible I'll miss stuff, as this is my first baby too. Just, ah, run any changes to the daily routine by me first."

Yep. That I shall.

Makes sense, after all. Any ideas I have need to go through Summer first, because she knows what she's doing.

Hell, it might just be more efficient if I hand her my Yangling and ask her to take a boat or airship or whatever back to her big fat Rose Mansion in Vale so that silver spoon she's g–

Raven slapped herself. Hard.

Even Summer was taken aback by the unexpected violence. Yang seemed to be both pleasantly surprised and babyishly curious about why her mama had suddenly glowed red from the application of aura.

"Sorry," she apologized to the room. "I had a stupid thought, and I needed to beat it out of my stupid brain."

Summer was her savior. Summer was not some…some…some rival for her Yangling's love.

I asked her to come. I approved of her staying. I'm the one who needs help here.

The list filled up with other considerations – more laundry for Yang, a regular routine for chores to keep the house suitably clean for a baby, some landscaping to prevent the wilderness from overrunning their house, and more.

"Remember, we don't necessarily need to completely check off every box on the list," Summer explained, tacking the list to the fridge with a small magnet. "I've written the first half in red, which means its mandatory, but the blue pen means its just a good idea. Once the red items are done, we can have you look into getting a job whenever you feel ready, regardless of how much blue is done or left over."

The first actionable item was securing a safe place to put Yang. Leaving her out and about was no good, according to Summer.

She had to have some means of locomotion, or she wouldn't have escaped when I put her on the bed. Can she walk? Crawl? Roll? Oh, that sounds so fucking metal, her just rolling up and tumbling away whenever she feels like it.

But a crib, also known as a baby-jail (it even had bars), would lock her in. They could tuck Yang in and basically forget about her in there, knowing she was safe no matter what.

Unless that Sid bitch and her hit squad of a family Summer mentioned kills her, but I'm confident I can beat the shit out of any numbers of Sids before they lay a hand on my Yangling.

Getting the crib would be taking Raven into town, and she would also pick up a list of groceries on her way. Summer had given Raven precise, written instructions that included brand, weight, and even a rough description of the ingredients Raven needed to get. Most of them were just fresh vegetables, given that Ta– given that Raven's existing stores of white powders and stuff remained, unused by Raven and apparently unaffected by the passage of time.

Raven could rest easy on this trip to the store, knowing that a registered adult was going to be safeguarding her child as she departed. She much would've preferred to be the one to get to bond with Yang while Summer got the grub and the crib, but that wasn't an option, and the fault lay solely with her. Besides, had…had it been her and Yang's father, she might've been relegated to this duty either way.

It ended up being impossible to do everything in one trip, so Raven bought the groceries first and made a second trip for the crib. That way, she could look over the foods and stuff with Summer to ensure it was all correct, saving her a potential third trip.

"Mommy's home," Summer said to Yang when Raven kicked open the door. "Let's say hi to her, shall we?"

Yang was being fussy, so Raven quickly set down her bags of food on the countertop (and this time, if she forgot to properly stow them, Summer would take care of it; having a second pair of hands might just make this work after all).

"I think she's hungry," Raven said, stepping over to pick up Yang. The many aspects of properly holding a child were…still tough for Raven to keep straight, but she remembered the gist of it. Neck cradle, support the back, keep the baby off the ground, that sorta thing.

"Not exactly," Summer said. "I'm almost certain it's because she's wet. But…um…"

"But?"

"Well, uh, now that you're…now that the immediate danger of, you know, saw blades and such has passed, I was hoping that you…you know, you're her mother, so I shouldn't go around…you should handle stuff down there."

Raven had no idea why Summer was reneging on their deal, and it made her feel uncomfortable in a lot of ways. For one thing, she wasn't keen on soloing a baby, and for another, the fact alone that Summer - reliable, dependable Summer of all people - was backing out was a tad concerning. Any pride at getting a chance to parent her own child was lost to Raven's disquiet.

"H-Have I done something wrong?" she asked hastily. If she'd messed up, she could just apologize and beg and grovel.

"No, not at all. I just…I think it might be inappropriate for me to be, uh, undressing your baby. I'm not her mother, and I promised I wouldn't…"

Raven nodded, not needing Summer to finish where she was going. "Hand me Yang. Can you put away the groceries?"

Nodding, Summer Rose rose (heh) and went over to the kitchen.

"Alright, Yangling," Raven said, lifting the crying baby up to face her. "Time for baby's first spin in the washing machine!"

"NO!"

Summer raced to intercept Raven as she took a step forward to return the child to her.

"Hahahaha, I'm kidding, Sum. I'm not that bad. But the point still stands; I don't exactly know how to fold a diaper. And do I put the used one in the trash, or are they reusable? You really should be the one to do this. I'll watch and learn so I can take over, but I don't think anyone minds if you handle her. You're like family to me, and I'm like family to her, so you're like family to family to her, right?"

Summer's mouth fell flat, and she weakly tilted her head. "I…are you sure? I don't mean to impose."

"You aren't imposing. You were right about it being easier on us both." Raven knew for a fact that she wouldn't have been able to walk her way into town without being secure in the knowledge that Yang was properly being cared for. Even the existence of a second set of eyes to prevent her from falling off the bed was a huge burden off of her shoulders.

If Summer were gone, I'd be worrying myself sick every time I turn my back on her. It's better that she's here, for sure.

"Okay," Summer nodded. "We'll set out a towel on the bathroom floor, and I'll…okay, are you sure you're sure? About me undressing her?"

Raven groaned aloud. "Sum, what is the problem? You already bathed her."

"Yeah, but…sh-she's a girl."

Summer stared at Raven, as though that was some sort of shocking revelation that merited a response. Raven didn't even bother. If Summer wanted to state the obvious, good for her.

"I just want to make sure that it doesn't bother you in any way," Summer said. "It's the parent's prerogative who their kid associates with and is tended to by. I can promise there is nothing untoward."

"Dumb it down for me, Summer. I don't speak fancy."

Summer bit her lip. "A lot of the matrons didn't take kindly to someone of my orientation handling…female children. I don't think you would take issue, but I want to be completely transparent about anything. About everything. You're Yang's mother, and it's your decision."

Orientation? How would that be a problem? Raven had no idea.

"Just turn around to a different direction. You can change Yang facing the west if that bothers you."

Gods, babies were so confusing. Raven didn't like to think she was all that superstitious, but this sounded a lot like some sort of myth or archaic belief, like the tribesman who wore talismans to ward off spirits. Still, magic did exist on this bizarre planet, so there was no telling sometimes.

"Facing – no, not my geographic orientation." Summer, stone-faced in spite of the apparent misunderstanding, just shook her head. "Although, some might describe it as being…turned around to the wrong direction. The problem is my…my se– again, it has nothing to do with Yang. My, uh, my sexual orientation. Which, to be clear, is…h-homosexual."

Raven was starting to get even more confused. "You…You want to…Y-Yang?"

"No! No, I don't!"

"Then why…?"

"Many parents feel…" Summer sucked in a breath and looked away. "…ill at ease, knowing their baby is being handled by someone of attraction to the same gender."

"You're into babies?"

"No. I'm into women."

"Baby women or something?"

"No. Adult women."

"Then why…how does that figure into you handling babies? There were male doctors who handled Yang, and I somehow doubt all of them were homex…hemos…turned around."

"I'm not…I don't know. But it bothered other people, so I feel like you should at least know, in case it bothers you." Summer cleared her throat, uncharacteristically fearful. It was enough to make Raven check the windows for Grimm. "In a similar fashion."

For some reason, this one didn't feel like the other unique baby advice Summer had brought along with her. Back there, she'd seemed sure of herself, like it was a well-known fact that babies needed certain fabrics and didn't eat AA batteries, but this topic had gotten Summer much more mixed around.

Probably another civilized folk thing.

"Sum, you could be sleeping with men, women, both, neither, or even Qrow, and I wouldn't care. As long as you can change a diaper, I'm happy to have your help."

Again, Summer got all weirdly tensed up, and for a sec, Raven feared she was going to run out the door and flee. But then she just swallowed and teared up. "Th-Thanks, Ray."

She's thanking me for…asking her to change diapers? Okay, I may be a hick, but there's no way that's some great honor in Vale, so there must be more to it. Let's table it for now, but I fully intend to pick this up later.

It took them almost a full two days to get through the red stuff, and Raven imagined they were burning through Summer's bank account far faster than the 'rent' excuse would normally allow. Still, she couldn't bring herself to protest, not when the living room was full of stacks of new clothes for her daughter, a nice crib that didn't creak when Raven tested it by rocking it, more diapers than Raven expected the island of Patch to even carry, and a wide assortment of foods, both in their raw ingredient forms and fully prepared for eating. And this time, it actually made it into the fridge.

"There we go." Summer dusted off her hands. As much as Raven might've wished to claim more credit than her friend for their success, it wouldn't be fair to do so.

I might've hauled the purchases from in town to my house, but I couldn't have done it without someone watching the kid. Also, Summer helped me sort it out, and I even think she did some cleaning while I was out.

Once they'd gotten Yang a crib, it was exponentially easier. Raven now had a little corral where she could plop down her daughter, and short of Yang self-unlocking her own aura and developing a flight semblance, she'd be safe.

I guess that means it's time to start part 2 – the job hunt and the lessons.

It would probably be good to start getting some income into her household, now that Raven was expected to be dependent on herself and not her former husband. In spite of Summer's protests, she fully intended to pay back whatever she owed, regardless of how much it totaled to.

It'll take time, but I'm a young woman who's both physically able and wise as a tack. I'm sure I can juggle making my fortunes and raising my daughter.

"There we go," Summer said, organizing the last of the fridge's contents into her neat little system. Raven didn't care much for sorting things, but Summer tended to be more of a neat freak and a clean freak than her.

"We did good," Raven proudly declared.

"That we did." She turned over to Yang's crib in the center of the living room and gave the baby a little wave, walking over towards her. "Didn't we? Yes, that's right, we did!"

For some reason, Summer seemed to really like talking to Yang. Raven couldn't deduce why – a silent toddler didn't make for riveting conversations, nor did she seem to be hearing a word of what they were saying.

Hmmmm…maybe it has some reason, though. Why don't I just ask instead of being silent myself?

"Why do you do that?"

"Huh?" Summer, who'd been crouching down to loom over Yang like a giantess and tickle the baby ever so gently, didn't turn away as she replied. "Do what?"

"Speak to her. She won't reply, will she?"

"No, but normalizing speech is good for a developing infant…and for developing parents. She won't answer anytime soon, but if we get into the habit of engaging her, it'll be sooner that she does." Summer refixed her attention on Yang. "Isn't that right, little Yangy baby? Momma Ray-Ray and Auntie Sums are gonna get you talking in record time, aren't we?"

"Auntie?" Raven half shouted in alarm. "Y-You married Qrow?"

"What? No, I'm just…it's just a phrase."

"Yeah, a phrase for the parent's sibling," Raven said resolutely. She may not have been too vocabulated when it came to the fancy stuff, but uncle and aunt were words she knew for certain, no twists or turned-arounds.

"Sometimes, a close friend of the family is called an aunt or uncle, just as a term of endearment." Summer shook her head vigorously. "I've no interest in Qrow. Raven, I told you, like, two or three days ago that I don't even like guys."

"Suuuuuure, and now suddenly you're Yang's 'auntie.'" Raven nodded over-exaggeratedly. "No ulterior motives here."

"Whuh…no! No, there aren't! I told you, I'm seriously not trying to steal your place as her mother!"

"No, you're just trying to steal my brother." Raven smirked as it all became clear. "You tipped your hand too early by calling yourself aunt, Sum. I can see how this goes. 'Ohhhh, it's it just lovely that I helped your sister in her time of need, Qrow? Look at how successfully maternal I am. Wouldn't it just be peachy keen for you to impreg–'"

Summer slapped Raven. Backhanded her right across the face.

Raven couldn't help but laugh at the hit. "You know I can take much more of a beating than that, Sum."

Hands wrapped around Raven's throat, familiar hands that had sparred with her many a time. "Oh, you biiiiiiiitttttttern."

"Bittern?" Raven asked, knowing that Summer had nearly broken her own rule of not cursing and fully intending to mock her for the hasty correction. "I'm a Raven, not a Bittern. Wrong bird, Sum."

Summer kicked Raven's legs out from under her, but Raven retaliated by elbowing her friend's knee as she went down, bringing both women to the floor.

"How do you know what bitterns are and not cribs?" Summer asked.

"I grew up in the woo–" Raven caught the glancing punch but realized all too late that it was a feint, allowing Summer's foot to get her in the gut and knock the wind out of her. "Oooof!"

The roughhousing was nothing they hadn't done before a million times, and the crib was far away from the two huntresses' games to possibly place it in any danger. Others might have assumed it was acrimonious, but Raven and Summer knew better – to aura-users as excellent as they were, it may as well have been arm-wrestling. In fact, the first time Raven had ever met Summer, the night before initiation, the superior huntress had proven her strength and earned Raven's respect by beating her into submission.

As expected, Summer got on top almost immediately. Not only did Raven almost always lose, but she had been out of the game for so long that her knack for it was on the brink of withering away. That said, it did feel nice to cut loose a little bit.

Fighting's what I'm good at…what I'm best at. It's not wrong to admit I do miss the rush, at least when I know it's safe for everyone, as it is right now. I kinda do see why Tai might've –

The fun diminished with that thought, as did Raven's smile. Summer had her in a headlock and couldn't see the frown appearing across her mouth. Three taps before Raven lost oxygen, and Summer could add another victorious notch to her belt. Sum released her, and Raven rolled free onto the tile floor.

"Alright, that's enough bull-stuffing," Summer said, her substitute-word game likely failing due to her heart rate spiking from the play-fight. She got up to her feet, towering over Raven who still lay on the floor from the wrestling. "I'm gonna whip up some dinner, and I expect zero interruptions. Go, I dunno, work on your resume or something. Keep busy and out of my hair."

"Gotcha, boss." Raven gave a thumbs-up.

Summer rolled her eyes, delivered one final kick to the stomach of a snickering Raven, and went to go make them something to eat.

Author's Notes

And so, the main ship becomes crystallized even further by Summer's orientation change from canon, and I waste zero seconds immediately dropping hardcore domestic abuse to round off the chapter.

We're also introduced to Raven not knowing words. She'd not an idiot, but she grew up in the woods and thus doesn't have the knowledge of these things like homophobia as a concept or calling a family friend 'auntie' as a term of endearment.

Did you catch the neat little reference to Bam-Bam from The Flintstones in this chapter? Good, because there wasn't one.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!