171

Chapter Text

"WOOOOO! I DID IT! I DID IT! PENNY I DID IT!" Ruby cheered, squealing and jumping around happily as she held the Vytal Tournament trophy over her head and pranced about with laughter and rose petals drifting in the wind as she spun around and threw herself into the arms of her beloved girlfriend.

"You did it! I'm so proud of you Ruby! Your prowess out there was amazing! And Cinder, you were no slouch either!" Penny laughed, hugging Ruby close and sending a nod towards Cinder, who was just watching from the sidelines and grinning as her baby sister celebrated her victory. "Ruby, your last attack was amazing! And you used my sword too- I felt like I was right there with you! I think my Aura was melding with yours from a distance using our weapons as a conduit!"

"Wow! I could feel you too! Now that I think about it, I felt you that whole fight- even through Augury, I could feel your Aura! I think that helped me so much- you made me feel more complete the entire time!" Ruby giggled, nuzzling against Penny and pressing close as she kissed the freckled girl on the cheek and received one on the lips in return. "Mmm~!"

"Oi oi, put the trophy down before you get your rose petals all over it, Rubes," Yang snorted, gently taking the trophy from Ruby's arms and noting, silently, that it already had Ruby's name engraved on the plate. Not that it was such a surprise- they usually made the plate during the ten minute stretch between the announcement of the winner and the trophy ceremony, but seeing Ruby's name engraved in the silver plaque… Yang felt a surge of pride as she set the trophy down on the ground as gently as possible, so as to not tarnish or scratch any bit of it with rough handling. "Congrats, baby sister. You're truly the strongest of all of us. Y'know, by tournament rules I guess."

"Heh! You know it!" Ruby giggled, still clinging to Penny like a koala as she nuzzled into the shoulder of her girlfriend and sighing happily as rose petals began fluttering from her cape- the red outside and green inside letting off dozens of little flakes and flurries as she curled up and only barely turned enough to look at Yang through a single glowing eye. "I'm the best!"

"Don't get too cocky, Rubles- If I'd used my Maiden powers more back there you woulda been in rough shape," Cinder huffed, sauntering over so she could give her sister a little flick behind the ear and a ruffle in her hair. "Good job though. Gods, that last clash where we broke the stage… hope they don't fine us for that. That'd suck."

"Eh, I'm pretty sure Atlas' insurance covers it or something," Yang shrugged, idly examining her nails before she walked over to Weiss and Blake and threw her arms around their shoulders. "And hey, don't forget! It's not just a victory for Rubes, it's a victory for all of us! Team RWBYP for the win! All of us won our rounds too, remember? Ha ha!"

"We did claim victory as well," Weiss nodded magnanimously, bending over slightly as Yang leaned on her and Blake and making a slightly awkward grin from being forced down and manhandled by her gigantic, buff, amazon of a girlfriend. "Without us, Ruby and Penny couldn't have gotten to the doubles round."

"We all fought hard," Blake nodded along as well, taking the sudden manhandling slightly better as she reached up and patted Yang's back slightly with a little huff. "Ease up a little, Yang. Don't break our backs just because you're excited to be the Vytal Festival champion this year."

"Aww, c'mon, it's fun though! We won! We beat everyone else as a team, as trios, as doubles, and in the finals! Team RWBYP is literally the best!" Yang continued grinning wide, but eased up just a bit to let Weiss and Blake stand back up before hugging them close again- this time squishing them to her sides instead of forcing them slightly downward with the weight of her biceps. "Say it with me! We're the best!"

"We're the best," Weiss and Blake dutifully chorused, indulging Yang's excitement while Ruby and Penny continued to celebrate by dancing around and doing giggly little dances that only they knew- flailing around as they essentially shook each other back and forth and flapped their hands and stimmed wildly from sheer excitement. 

"Students please- don't get too excited," Glynda stated quietly with a little huff, snapping her riding crop slightly to get everyone's attention for a moment before she used her Semblance to lift up the trophy and set it on a rolling cart that she'd brought with her. "You might knock over the trophy."

"Sorry Professor, but I think it's a lost cause," Emerald shrugged, waving idly as she became visible and popped out of essentially nowhere, Neo doing largely the same whilst also eating a clearly handmade fudge pop before she pushed Cinder against the wall and rested her head against her girlfriend's breasts. "They're kinda lost in it now. Better to grab the trophy and get it in a case before they start flooding the room with petals again. Or fire. I'm pretty sure I saw Yangles starting to act like Ruby when she makes out with her girlfriends now. Fire everywhere ."

"... That explains the large scorch mark in training room three," Glynda deadpanned, ignoring Team RWBYP for now as she turned to face Team CMNE fully- the only one that wasn't there was Mercury, and he was likely with Team CFVY at the moment, if not already out on a date with Yatsuhashi. "How are you three doing? Second place is nothing to sneeze at in the Vytal Festival Tournament. You did well."

"Thanks, prof. I mean, I guess we always knew we wouldn't win, but we still fought hard anyway," Emerald mentioned, sighing a little as she picked at the medal she and the rest of the team had gotten for winning- they wouldn't be keeping those either, seeing as they'd likely be hung up in a trophy case somewhere just like the actual trophy itself… but it was nice to pretend that they owned the medals they'd earned. "I mean, really, no one really wins against Ruby… CinCin got close, though. They were, what?"

"My Aura gave out right before hers did, sadly," Cinder sighed, shaking her head and petting Neo's hair gently while her gremlin of a girlfriend continued to eat her fudge pop without a care in the world. "Lessons for next year, I suppose… that is our only real chance, I think, if Ruby can't compete next year…"

"I kinda forgot that champions can't compete in consecutive years," Emerald muttered, rubbing her chin a bit. "I guess it makes sense- they don't want anyone just pulling a sweep year after year after year, right?"

"Mhmm."

"Well, you'll just have to train hard this coming year- not that you really need it, but… I'm proud of you, Cinder. Neo. Emerald. You three advanced admirably in the two years you've been under my tutelage, and I'm glad to say that you learned everything I could have asked and more," Glynda nodded gently, then paused and cleared her throat. "... Except for your test scores in stealth, Cinder."

"... Professor, my main power is literally burning things to ash by touching them, I am not a stealthy person," Cinder sighed, grumbling a little at the reminder of her lackluster ability to stay hidden- a trait that Yang and Ruby both shared, Yang moreso than Ruby seeing as Ruby was a stealth monster when she was using the full breadth of her grimm abilities. "I couldn't be less of a stealthy person if I tried."

"Yes, well, I still wish you'd raised your grades in the stealth section a bit higher. You would have made Valedictorian if you had," Glynda deadpanned. "Regardless. You've all become strong, capable Huntresses in your own right, and I look forward to your fourth year with great enthusiasm and expectations… and I hope you will stop setting everything on fire next year."

"No promises." Cinder immediately denied.

"Not a single promise." Emerald continued, shaking her head.

Even Neo held up a big X symbol, and generated an image of Mercury doing the same.

"... Of course you wouldn't leave well enough alone. Two years of setting everything and each other on fire- why did I think you'd leave well enough alone despite everything… oh well," Glynda shook her head, taking one last look at Team RWBYP- whom all seemed to be in the middle of a very enthusiastic group hug- then smiled ruefully and turned away, dragging the cart behind her as she went to go set the trophy in its rightful spot in one of the cases out by the main entrance in the Emerald Tower.

Cinder huffed quietly, shaking her head. "Gods, I forgot about fourth year… feels like it's been forever since we actually had class."

"It's only been a year," Emerald pointed out dryly.

"True. Still."

All three of them shrugged, with Neo throwing away the stick from her fudge pop with a mild flick of her wrist as she did so.

Classes next year… boy, wouldn't that be interesting?

Notes:

Congratulations Ruby, you did it!