Ep. 31 - Raven, Come Home, Barbecue

So, today we will pay a visit to Raven. Who is 'we'? Me, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Qrow, and Winter. Why these six? Because I am Yang's boyfriend, Ruby and Weiss are moral support, Qrow because he is her brother and to introduce Winter. Apparently they are getting serious about each other. Well, I am happy for the old boi and for my sister-in-law, so everyone is happy.

I woke up with Ruby sleeping on top of me, drooling, Yang biting my arm while muttering 'Meat', and Weiss using my other arm as a pillow. 'Ok, I can die happily now.'

I laid still, waiting for the girls to wake up. I did want to free one of my arms to pat their heads, but I also didn't want to disturb them, so I had to restrain myself. I have found that I am much more relaxed now. Most of the real enemies have been eliminated or being taken care of by Atlas. I can enjoy a normal school life for real now, without having to sneak out to beat up someone. I think the girls laying on top of me might have noticed, since they are even happier than before. 'Is it even possible? I guess it is. Well, this is good.'

A full two hours after I woke up, Weiss started waking up.

"Good morning. Ready for today?"

"I just woke up. How should I be ready, plus it's Yang who has it tough today. Well, I'll be there with her to support her."

She's right, meeting Raven will be hard on Yang. While me and Weiss were talking a little while keeping our voices low, Yang also started waking up, so I asked her the same.

"Yeah… I think I am ready. I have wanted to meet my mother for so long… To be honest I am a little worried."

"Yang, we will be there with you, so just ask what you've been meaning to ask without worrying too much. I will be right beside you, as will your sister and your boyfriend." Weiss said.

"She's right. We'll stick right by your side. I said it to Weiss and I say it to you as well: 'I will be with you until the end of time'. You can take your time and have a nice, long talk with your mother. You can also introduce us, how about it?"

And she started crying. I wrapped the arm she was laying on around her and gave her a one-armed hug. That would have been ironic in canon by this point in time.

"Hey… when will you say that to me?" said suddenly Ruby.

"Hm… when you're older?" I got punched. "Well, I meant to have some kind of significant, touching moment, but… 'I will be with you until the end of time', Ruby. I mean it. I will be with all three of you until the universe ends and even after that since, you know, I can travel between universes and stuff."

"Pfft! Only you can make a touching sentence become kinda funny." Ruby said and hugged me, Weiss, and the still crying Yang.

"Wait a moment. You can travel between universes?" asked Weiss.

"Yeah, remember I told you of a device to return to my Universe, I modified it this week and now I can travel through different universes, in theory (*insert meme here* Thomas had never seen such bullshit before...). I also made the cockpit larger, so you can stay with me if you prefer. It should have enough space to fit the gang and a few more (*sips tea* 'tis some sweet foreshadowing?)."

After I said that we just fell in comfortable silence. At some point, I even started stroking Yang's hair. That feeling was divine, to be honest, so I enjoyed it more than I should have.

We started getting ready to depart, then met up with Qrow and Winter.

"Hey there! Got everything you might need?"

"Got it kid, let's go now. Can't wait to see the face on my sister when we show up!"

"Hehe, now that you mention it, that will be fun."

"One day you need to tell me where you get your info… It's like you know everything."

'He's sharp.'

"Sure, now let's go. Oh, I need to make you two some armor and improve your weapon, Qrow. I would make you a completely new one, but we won't have time while flying, so you're stuck with that bad boy." I said, then we trasmated to the ship. I made Winter a nice 'Sovereign' Hunter armor set. From what I've seen, she moves around more than Weiss, so I hope the added mobility will be helpful. I used the same color palette from her Atlas outfit. For Qrow, I made a 'Floating' Hunter armor set, cape included obviously. I also made a small pouch for him to hold his flask. I kinda want him to stop drinking, but it's a part of him for now. Maybe with Winter he'll grow a little. He was cool while actile like a group dad in canon and I want no complaints. The color palette was the same as the post-Beacon outfit from canon. I also added a small cross sign in silver on the chestplate, just for added coolness. For his weapon, I changed the material and made the gun-mode fire energy bullets.

Qrow had already located the area where Raven should be, so I just searched for her using the on board scanners. I found her camp before talking to the group behind me.

"We have the camp's location. Should we be discreet or just go there and watch her reaction?"

"I say let's go there while blasting music." said Yang.

"Oh, good idea Firecracker!" confirmed Qrow.

"It's been a while since you called me that, uncle Qrow." she added, evidently happy about being called that.

'I should come up with a nickname as well. Well, that can be left for later.'

I started blasting some rock music from the ship's speaker system, then moved towards Raven's camp. Naturally, the first thing I see is a very menacing Raven looking directly into the cockpit. She put her hand onto her sword, unsheathed it, and attacked us. Her sword snapped. She looked at it like she was about to cry. Qrow was laughing, hard, while I started broadcasting a message: "Seriously, woman? Your daughter and brother come visiting and you attack their vehicle? Nothing like: 'Oh, hey! How are you doing?' or 'Come down and have a drink!'. Nope, you just had to attack. Well, it doesn't matter. We're coming down."

I trasmated the six of us to the ground, right in front of Raven. I pushed Yang gently and winked at her, so she said the most normal thing that came to mind: "Hey there mom! Long time no see! Actually, scratch that, I've never actually seen you."

"Yang. After all this time, you decided to visit!"

"Can I punch her?" I had to ask that. I already can't stand her

"No. You can't I will punch her first." said Yang. 'Oh, I'm so proud of her!'

She then continued: "Mom. You know that I searched for you. I spent years looking for you and 'you decided to visit' is all you say?! I am so going to punch you!"

"Have to agree sis, not the best words to greet your daughter and her overprotective, insanely strong boyfriend." said Qrow.

"Oh, my! You're making me blush! But I don't swing that way. Sorry, Qrow."

Ruby burst out laughing, while Weiss was snickering along with Winter.

"You cheeky little-"

"Oh, so you would be the boyfriend, huh? And I guess the owner of that thing." she said, pointing at my ship.

"Sure am, mother-in-law." I said. I think I saw some tick marks appearing on her head.

"Hey! Can we go back to ME meeting MY MOTHER for a sec here?! Yeah?! Thanks! Finally." Yang shouted, obviously irritated by me and Qrow's little skit.

"Yes. Let's go back to our meeting. Although you have been helped by this 'boyfriend' of yours, you have shown determination in searching for me all these years." 'Oh, I am so going to punch her so hard, I'll bend her in half permanently.'

"I will answer any questions you may have-"

"Great! Then… Why did you abandon me? And don't say something about it being complicated or circumstances. I want the truth." Yang said. Her hands were shaking a bit.

"It's… I…" she started saying, but couldn't come up with anything.

"Seriously? You seriously can't give me a damn reason?! Do you even know how hard it's been on dad and me?! Did you ever stop and think?!"

"I did! I did… I… was scared for Tai. Ozpin had told us of his foolish mission of stopping Salem and convinced us to work for him, but I knew that it would be impossible. Our findings just made me more and more scared for Tai. Then, I obtained the Maiden's power, painting a huge target on my back for Salem… When I had you… I thought that maybe you could stop him from continuing his work for Ozpin, so I disappeared. I did it to save Tai, and you."

'Damn, that's a much better and darker reason than I expected. I kinda thought it would be related to the tribe or some kind of 'you are not powerful enough' bullshit. Kinda makes me have a new opinion on her. Still punching her though.'

Weiss and Ruby went and hugged Yang, who by now was crying.

"I think we should continue this inside." I finished saying that and trasmated everyone to the ship. "Chill, Raven. This is the inside of my spaceship." I said when I saw her put her hand on her sword.

I sat down close to Yang and pulled her close. Gently, as always. I whispered in her ear: "It's okay. It's okay. Just let it all out. We're here for you."

She sniffled a little and dried her tears on my armor. 'Seriously?'

Once Yang calmed down a bit, she asked the big question, which I kinda wanted to know the answer to: "So… Now that Salem has been defeated… Will you come home? There is no need to protect me and dad anymore, so please come back!"

Raven, who was still standing shook a bit and looked away.

"What? Why are you looking away? Answer Yang's question, Raven." I said, but she didn't answer and instead bit her lip. "No answer? Seriously? What is it now? Your tribe? Are those guys more important than your family? I can just kill them all then."

When I said this, Raven started furiously shaking and her eyes widened.

"What? Do you not want them to die or are you surprised that I would kill a hundred-odd people in cold blood? Because, if it's the second, that���s not even my highest number. Will you answer the question now?"

"I don't want them to die. I will go back."

"Oh, is that because you love your family, or because you don't want me to kill the tribe? I'm curious."

She grit her teeth and answered: "Both."

'To be honest, everything tells me that she doesn't value her family enough.'

"Yang, you heard her. Do you want your mother back?"

"I don't know… I thought you loved dad at least. I thought you might have loved me too… But Tula had to threaten you to get an answer… Why? Why can't you just say it to my face?! That you don't want to come back home! Coming here was a mistake... " Yang said, she started crying again and at the end rushed to the living quarters.

"It's surely my fault for extracting an answer from you. I will have to ask for forgiveness later, but for now… I am SO making you regret ever leaving her. Weiss, Ruby could you two check on Yang while I punish the woman?"

"Sure, take you time. We'll calm her down. Now that I think about it, you're going light on her if you're only using your fists. You shot my father after all." said Weiss

"Well, apparently she had a decent motivation to leave Yang, so I am going light on her. More painful but won't cause lasting damage, perfect don't you think?"

"H-hey, kid. You're kinda scaring me here. I know that my sister has a lot of faults, but you won't seriously cripple her at least?"

"Oh, don't worry Qrow. I won't cripple her, but this will hurt badly for a couple of weeks. Do you want to talk with her before I start or wait for after?"

"I-I think I'll talk with her for a moment." He said, before taking the frozen stiff Raven to another room.

"My dear little brother-in-law, don't you think you are being quite hard on her?" asked Winter, who had stayed silent until now.

"Oh, my dear sister-in-law… Maybe a little too hard, but she abandoned her newborn daughter and her lover/husband. Plus, she can't even say with confidence that her family is more important than a bunch of strangers. I already wanted to punch her since she started talking with Yang, but now… Now I just want to hurt her as much as she hurt Yang, only that my 'hurt' will be physical. I will also punish myself. I did kind of force the answer out of the woman, so it is at least partially my fault Yang stormed off. Sorry, if this sounds ruthless." I said.

"Don't worry. Your reasoning is okay-ish, so just go extra light on her. Okay? Do it for your favorite big sister!"

"Hey, Winter, don't you think your personality changed a tad bit after meeting Qrow?"

"Well, I guess Qrow did show me I can be a little more casual about things."

"Okay then. Do you want to watch their talk?"

"Yes, it must be interesting." she said. I operated a display and it started showing Qrow and Raven's talk.

Going back in time a little, Qrow brought his sister to a separate room.

��Ah, why did I even bother? The kid has probably eyes and ears all over the place. Anyway, sister… What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing?!" He asked, bonking her head at every word with his fist. "Seriously. THAT was the best you could come up with? You've never sounded more unconvincing. Why can't you just choose between your family and your tribe? You might consider those guys family, but you have a real family out there! I just met a woman I love and I already know I would do anything for her! The kid was obviously testing you and you failed miserably! And Yang… She's your daughter for goodness' sake! Can't you at least try not to act like a little bitch and show some love?!"

"But, I can't abandon the tribe like you did. I've been with them since the beginning! They trust me!"

"They use you!"

"They follow me!"

"Because you're strong and this brings them benefits!"

Qrow was rebuking all of Raven's words. She was getting closer and closer to a nervous breakdown, something she's never had.

"Look, you should just talk with the kid. I've met him like, what? Three weeks ago? And he has done one miracle after another! He got rid of Salem, discovered the truth about Grimm and the 'Land of Darkness', went to another planet to find a solution to everything, found it, came back, and actually saved the day! Oh, and don't get me started on the bomb he invented to wipe out all Grimm on a continent without affecting other beings… Just be honest with yourself and maybe he will help you!" He said.

"But I myself don't know what to do. I don't want to leave the tribe but I do want to go home. He said he'd kill them all if they were the ones holding me back!"

"Oh, he will kill all of those rats down there if he sees the need to. Or if they piss his girls off. But I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it and was pressuring you for an answer. Probably. Can't say I am an expert on robot psychology."

"What do robots have to do with anything now?"

"Oh, the kid's a robot. Don't ask. It's seriously complicated. The important thing is that you can talk to him and he will, most likely, help you. At least until you reach your own answer."

"Fine… Hey, Qrow? Is he really that strong?"

"Heh, he can beat ten of you with his eyes closed and using only his feet. And he wouldn't even break a sweat."

Back in the living area, I was clearing a single (fake) tear.

"Oh, Qrow. Didn't know he thought of me like that!" I said, joking. "And you heard him big sis, he loves you! Marry him before he realizes it's a trap!"

"What do you mean a trap?!"

"Pfft! Hahaha! Well, he got my original idea right. Let's see where this goes."

We didn't wait long until Qrow came back with Raven. She looked a little more determined than before. I had MoonRay secretly broadcast the footage from this room to where Yang is.

"Can we talk a moment?" she asked.

"Sure thing! I'll stop you when you start spouting bullshit and excuses, but go ahead, tell me anything."

"The part about me leaving Yang and Tai for their safety is true and I do miss them, so I tend not to think too much about them. I even made a rule for myself about saving them only once because I know that I would want to stay with them. On the other hand there is the tribe. It's like a second family for me and I am their leader now, so I can't just up and leave them. And now there's you telling me to choose between the two. I do want to return home, but I just… I don't know…"

"I see. Now your actions earlier make a little more sense. Hm… Tell me this: why should you stay with the tribe?" She looked at me like I was saying something stupid. "I mean, what did they do to make you stay? Are you sure you're not stuck in the past with some old member of the tribe? The members all seemed pretty young to me, so I doubt they were there 'from the beginning'. They look to me like bandits that follow you because you are a strong leader, some probably because you are, objectively, a good looking woman, while others might have other reasons. From the glance I gave around when we arrived, you can just elect a new leader then you'll be free from your duties, don't you think?"

I think she started crying, so I gave Qrow a look like those that Weiss gave me that means 'Do something!'

He went next to Raven and patted her head. It looks hilarious because he's quite a bit taller than her, it's almost like looking at an adult patting a child. Maybe not a child, but an edgy, moody, small teenager.

"Sis, this isn't like you. And I told you he'd help you." he whispered the last part in her ear.

"Mom, Tula is right. You don't need to be here anymore. Just come home with me, please." Yang came in and said, almost whispering.

Raven went next to her and hugged her.

"Guess I won't have to punish you. I'll go and elect a new leader while you two talk a bit. Then you can take your stuff, say your goodbye's, then we get the hell out of here. You'll spend the night with us, then tomorrow we'll go to Taiyang. I still need to present myself as his son-in-law."

After I said that, I trasmated down to the camp, gathered all these fuckers and said: "Listen up, fuckfaces! Your leader's coming with me so anyone interested in being the next leader raise your hands up."

"Who the fuck are you to order us?!"

"I am a badass guy who can kill you all without even getting a scratch on me, that's who! Now raise your hands!" When I said that, many didn't look convinced, but they still followed my directions. Quite a few raised their hands.

"Ok, tonight or tomorrow you'll hold fair matches between each other! The winner becomes the new leader! I don't want any complaints! Now go back to whatever the fuck you were all doing!"

'Hoo, that was GOOD! I needed to shout a bit!' I thought that as I trasmated back. Everyone was back to the living room. Weiss, Ruby, and Qrow were holding back their laughter. I didn't even need to ask.

"I forgot you guys can see the surface from here. Anyway, the leader problem was solved. When you are ready, we'll gather your possessions and so on."

It took a couple of hours to gather everything, say goodbye to the important people. We then flew back to the chalet. Raven was wondering why we weren't heading back to Beacon.

"Oh, we don't do that here. We have something much better than Beacon dormitories." Ruby said. She was kind of proud while saying it.

When we arrived and led her inside, she seemed to relax. I might or might not have added some runes with that effect. You have no proof, so you can't criticize me.

Anyway, Raven seemed to relax a bit, so I proposed she change out of her armor: "Raven, no one will attack you in her, you can take your armor off. Actually, you know what? You can store it in an exposition rack. I'll give you something better later."

"Uhm, sure?" She looked at the others with a questioning look, but they just smiled. 'My armors are fantastic! Nothing negative to say about them! I will give her a modified 'Iron Remembrance' Hunter set. Just change the colors and make it look like actual samurai armor, like an armored version of her old outfit, and I have my new edgy chuuni, quite beautiful, teenager-looking mother-in-law.'

Just then, Ren came downstairs.

"Oh, you guys arrived. I see your trip went well in the end. Tonight we're having barbecue!"

"Barbecue? Shouldn't students be all worried over assignments and just training to save the world and stuff?" asked Raven

"That's for normies. We are just too good to study and train, so we just play around. We do train from time to time though. By the way, I'm Nora!" said Nora as she jumped on top of Ren.

"Uh-huh… Where the hell am I brother?!" Raven asked Qrow, shaking him back and forth.

"Give it up sis! These guys are nuts, but they are good. And their barbecue is delicious. Goes well with scotch."

"You are the only one that would pair those two things together, Uncle Qrow." said Ruby.

I helped set up the grill and the instruments. By the way, the barbecue became something we usually do every other Friday, so that we can enjoy our time in peace in the forest. I also expanded the chalet recently and now every room has a proper, private balcony, bathrooms with jacuzzis and all the good stuff, and they even all have a basic kitchen for a late night snack after some 'exercise'.

'I really think I'm taking it too slow with the three girls. Guess that now I can pick up my pace. We've known each other for almost a year after all.'

Oh, I also added a rooftop garden with those 'tiki torches' and a lot of flowers and plants. Our chalet has basically become heaven on Earth and I love it.

I'm digressing. Hasn't happened in a while. We spent the evening eating, playing, talking, drinking, and helping Raven chill out. The woman had a lot on her plate and was quite tense due to it. Yang spent most of the time talking with her. Raven suddenly switched from cold, ruthless leader aka little bitch mode into teen mom mode. She's surprisingly jovial for her age, though it's better since she can relate better with Yang. I instead spent my time with Ruby and Weiss. Ruby had obviously been told that we had some fun while drunk, so she's been nagging to get alcohol and participate tonight. What can a man do but accept, in particular after my resolution earlier in the evening.