175

Wynterfest at the Xiao Long/Rose/Branwen household was… interesting at the best of times. Ruby was always one of the first to wake up and start storming around the house as breakfast earlier had proven, especially once she'd started cooking and baking as a hobby and started making meals en masse instead of sleeping because it was more fun for her.

That she didn't need to sleep and that Penny didn't need to sleep either as long as she had a constant supply of power and wasn't in combat meant that the two of them had spent hours and hours and hours cooking, and after breakfast had summarily kicked everyone out of the kitchen to start cooking again because they wanted to have food ready for both Wynterfest Eve and Wynterfest Day , which was tomorrow.

This year's Wynterfest, though, was a chaotic mess of far too many people crammed into far too small of an area, and far too many presents brought and bought with far too many people deciding to run out on a day trip to Vale to pick up some last minute gifts.

Glynda had been one, as had Coco and Velvet. Cinder seemed quite panicked when she went with them, but Neo and Emerald stayed behind in order to cuddle in the attic with the family's… sort of pet raccoons.

Apparently they were about as smart as Zwei, about as friendly, and had been with the family as long as the entire house had been there. Clean too. Odd.

Yatsuhashi, Mercury, Fox, and Tai were all playing Slash Sisters on the couch, Qrow was passed out in his room again (having only woken up long enough to eat breakfast and then more or less die again), Yang, Blake, and Weiss all had their mutual gifts given and tucked away under the tree already, Pietro was sitting by the fire and taking a post-breakfast nap, Winter was outside practicing her sword drills to work off the breakfast haze, and Zwei…

Was somehow napping on top of the tree.

"Y'know, it's nice having the house so full for Wynterfest," Yang mentioned, idly nuzzling against Blake as the three of them sat together in Yang's favorite beanbag chair, Blake in her lap and Weiss in Blake's lap, sleepily lounging around and doing nothing but just enjoying the day and vaguely watching the gaming going on a few feet away as Penny and Ruby shrieked and giggled and laughed and played really loud Wynterfest songs in the kitchen. 

Somehow, despite eating a literal feast for breakfast, Yang found herself already drooling for their late lunch/early dinner that would be happening in a few hours or so, when everyone got back from their shopping, hopefully. 

"It certainly makes it seem more warm and cozy, but I suppose it's less of a family thing that way," Blake hummed, pressing back against Yang and shifting slightly so she could somewhat awkwardly twist around and plant a gentle kiss on Yang's cheek. "I don't mind too much, though. As long as I'm her with you. I just wish my parents could have made it but they're still stuck in Mistral for another few months…"

"I'm just glad Winter is here," Weiss admitted a bit softly, shuddering a little as she held Blake's arms around herself and nuzzled back against her girlfriends, biting her lip gently as she stared up at the ceiling. "Wynterfest was never a fun time back home. Lots of silent meals and meaningless gifts and galas thrown where I was just shown off as a business tool. Winter was the only one who got me fun gifts, who cared at all. Mother was always off drinking somewhere and Whitley… is a bitch."

"... Y'know, I don't think you've ever actually said anything about your brother before, other than saying you had one and that his name is Whitley," Yang hummed, reaching out and gently poking Weiss' shoulder in their little three person stack. "What's he like, other than being a bitch?"

"... He's… he used to be kind. Gentle. Kind of spoiled but less than I was. Father started trying to groom him into his perfect heir around the time that I started training to come to Beacon… or escape to the military, like Winter did. Either or would have been fine a few years ago. Regardless of that… Whitley is… I can tell that he doesn't like father either, but he's resigned himself to trying to act exactly like father because he doesn't want to draw his ire," Weiss answered, pursing her lips and shaking her head as she shook her head, trembling a little as she felt Blake's lips press against the back of her head. "I wish I had a better relationship with him… and also that he was less of a little shit… Then again, I suppose I was pretty shitty to him too. Winter and I did almost entirely abandon him to the mercies of father…"

"I don't think it's too late to mend bridges," Blake murmured quietly, holding Weiss close and gently running her fingers along her abdomen, drawing a quiet gasp from Weiss as Blake's slender fingers trailed across her abs and stomach area. "If you want to, that is. I suppose it does have to be mutual but… there's a lot you can do to fix bridges even if someone's otherwise… estranged from you."

"... I could always make sure my father has an… accident," Weiss murmured, holding her chin thoughtfully as she imagined just what she'd have to do in order to make sure her shithead of a father never hurt anyone ever again with his greed and neglect and amorality. "I may have gotten more or less disowned, but Whitley is still the heir… if I ask Whitley to maneuver a certain few board members into certain places within the next year, and Winter agrees… we can make sure Jacques Gelé dies an ignoble humiliating death alongside many of his most ardent supporters, and have more progressive shareholders take the reins until Whitley is old enough to inherit properly."

She paused, then tilted her head to the side. "That, or I could just ask mother to just hit him with a cast iron pan and then throw him down the stairs a few times. I'm sure she'd go sober long enough to kill the man who ruined her life, her father's company, and her family name."

"... Should I be worried about how casually you're talking about murder, Weissy?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow as she gently grasped Weiss' hips from behind, both her and Blake holding onto her in a tight, intimate embrace. "Cuz it's your dad, not like… some asshole bandits out in the middle of nowhere like my shithead mom, who hasn't even come back for any holidays and hasn't even really fucking talked to me except to make a bunch of excuses to my face during the Vytal Tournament. Hm… I should go find Raven and beat her up after Wynterfest if she doesn't show up for New Year…"

"... Sometimes I feel bad for having good parents," Blake sighed, shaking her head as she thunked her head both forwards and backwards, making sure to get both Weiss and Yang in that one movement. "You two are ridiculous. Not that I'd cry for your father's death, Weiss, but maybe you shouldn't be the one involved in it otherwise you might get in more legal trouble than a Huntress license could get rid of. It is the largest megacorporation on Remnant that you're going to have on your ass if you're found out like that."

"Hmph! It'd be worth it. Jacque Gelé is responsible for overwhelming amounts of suffering, pain, and loss due to his excessive expansionism and unsustainable growth practices in regards to the SDC, and the amount of ecological devastation the SDC causes not only in Solitas but also in the deserts around Vacuo and the northern regions of Mistral in the search for ever more Dust is irresponsible and utterly ruinous for long term environmental stability." Weiss stated, crossing her arms petulantly and wiggling around a little so she could get more comfortable in Blake's lap. "I'm pretty sure a Huntress license covers that specific exemption."

"Not a student ID, nor a starter license," Blake pointed out. "... If we got Qrow to do it though…"

"... I mean… Uncle Qrow is friends with General Ironwood apparently," Yang hummed, remembering that there were a lot of people coming over later for Wynterfest Eve dinner. Oscar, Professors Port and Oobleck, General Ironwood… a few other people that were probably gonna stop in here and there… hm. "That'd probably help…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Kids, I'm not killing the Ice Queen's dad just because he's a piece of shit. I do, actually, need at least one piece of legally admissible evidence before I can do that," Qrow stated dryly, stumbling into the conversation and yawning as he nursed a cup of hot coffee that had likely been delivered to his room via Rosebud. "I mean, I'd really like to, but… y'know. Need evidence of a crime first."

"... I do have a list of labor law violations that the SDC performed under my father's control," Winter cut in a moment later, walking into the conversation and shaking the snow from her shoulders as she toweled off the sweat she'd worked up even from practicing in the cold. ".... I could send those to you, if you like."

"... After Wynterfest. Maybe after New Years… or after Heart's Day. I am not gonna perform a very public, messy, and loud execution slash assassination of a public figure while trying to work off my holiday weight," Qrow deadpanned, already dreading the next few weeks… maybe months based on the smells wafting from the kitchen as Ruby and Penny worked with machinelike precision and speed as they created dish after dish after dish at a nonstop breakneck pace. They were still working. His trim, snatched waistline was already screaming to run away.

"... Good idea. I doubt any of us will be awake until after New Years based on the food coma we'll likely be in…" Winter acquiesced, wincing as the smells of gods knew how many regional dishes continued filling the air with an aroma of food so powerful she almost wanted to run away instead of facing the feast head on and risk rupturing her stomach from sheer food intake. "... Have I ever told you that Ruby and Penny are… frightening together? I swear, while I was practicing outside I saw a squad of Rosebuds rushing into town… and taking to the air, presumably to head into Vale."

"... We're going to die." Qrow deadpanned.

"But what a glorious death it will be," Winter nodded.

"... Oh Ruby's aiming for a few weeks of ten hour training sessions, I think," Yang sighed, shuddering a little. "We're fucked."

"At least we're gonna work off all the calories we're going to consume," Blake groaned.

"And at least this time I can't get kicked out for eating too much!" Weiss giggled, drooling as she stared greedily at the kitchen door, which was firmly locked closed with a barrier of grimm matter reinforcing the door, the walls, and the entire area- with multiple bone-like projections preventing anyone from getting in until everything was ready.

"Weiss… please control yourself."

"Not for this!"

"... Oi vey…"