Choice Extra: Thanksgiving Special

Ruby Rose

It's a rare pleasure as a grad student to wake up without the putrid sound of an alarm blaring. Even on weekends the schedule demanded Ruby start at dawn to work, either on school or her meager project. This morning was a special affair as it was the fateful autumn Wednesday, the primer for Thanksgiving, a five day break, one of the few her new school, Portland State, recognized. No professors damned her to master's work over the break, maybe due to begging, maybe due to not wanting to deal with puppy dog tears. Either way, five days were cleared. Her prayers were answered. After all, Ruby needed this time. Weiss was coming.

Portland in fall was a crisp cool, not the type to ice up the bones. Honestly, Ruby's German girlfriend would have laughed at how the open window sent a quake down the redhead's spine. This was not the temperate Spanish weather she had grown accustomed to over the last four years. Still, it was a beautiful time, all the colors of spring, the same cool days, it was a similar kind of gorgeous out. Well, except everything was dying and plant pollen didn't coat literally anything that didn't move in unmentionable sticky goo. These were, despite the cold, Ruby's favorite mornings. She woke up alert, face full of sun, energetic enough to kick off the sheets and toss away pillows in favor of a beeline to the kitchen and a bowl of peanut butter crunch, one of the many luxuries she had forgotten overseas.

"Morning, Rubes!" Reese's vigorous voice vented what was left of the sleepy mist in Ruby's mind. This little skater punk, neon cyan hair that matched her eyes, former best friend and current roommate, was Reese gosh darn Chloris. She lay languid on the living room couch, dressed in her usual purple and torn up jeans, knee pads on, either about to go skating or back from it.

"Hi Reese, want some of the captain's finest crunch?" Ruby replied, dancing her way towards the cupboards. She popped out two bowls without waiting for a response, dumping cereal into one, quickly followed by a helping of milk.

"Nah, I just ate with Bolin, mcmuffins for days. He says hi, by the way." Ruby didn't bother putting the extra bowl away, she would be back. They always came back for the captain. "So real deal, when's your pillow princess coming? Please tell me soon! I want to meet the girl that replaced us all in your heart!" Reese hopped up onto her knees, hanging her head over the couch edge with a giddy grin. This was dangerous.

"I have no idea, Weiss emailed me she was flying in today, but wouldn't say when. Could be any moment! I'll probably have to pick her up from the airport, or the Red Line. So short with me all week," Ruby lemented, shoveling her cereal into her mouth. Trip preparation had been Weiss telling her she was coming for Thanksgiving and dead silence. "And I promise, she is not a pillow princess."

"Still pissed you didn't go to the weird burn shit festival this year?" Ruby nodded back, yes. Vytal festival had grown into a tradition, one unmissed for five years till last. The bills had come in heavy, her short stories weren't being accepted by any anthology, and Ruby had to fix Summer's truck. It wasn't doable, not without taking extra cash from the Schnee family. Ruby Rose was not Emerald, and as the five year anniversary was passing of their relationship, she was still bound on proving it.

"So I'm just going to live my life, go shopping for tomorrow, pay my bills, and wait for my girlfriend to come to me. It'll be like a early Christmas surprise!" Ruby tossed her bowl away, sink empty from the nervous cleaning she had performed all last night. It had to be perfect for Weiss, then Ruby remembered, it was Weiss. She could smell that kind of deception. The bowl would remain, a single dish to give the apartment a lived in feel. Yes, the perfect plan.

"But what about me? My needs? Bolin wants us to leave before nightfall! How will I live with myself without seeing the true blooded queen of Germany!? Her majesty in the flesh!" Reese whined. Ruby had learned the day off their reunion the punk was just as much a baby as she had left her.

"Please no worshipping my girlfriend. How am I going to force her to hang out with me if you give her options?" Ruby joked, ruffling her friend's neon hair as she passed it. Time was of the essence, royalty was coming after all. A full kitchen was required.

"Share?"

"Stick to your boys."

Running through the checklist of chores, Ruby counted her lost funds. First off was the power bill, turning that in dropped her a hundred flat. On the way back, crossing the highway bridge over to Safeway, she'd ran into a homeless old man she often saw nabbing food, this time prepared with one of her old blankets and a gift card to Subway in hand. A solid twenty down, but totally worth it seeing him light up like that. With water and the cable internet bundle not due until the end of the month, she had three hundred free, plenty for food and gas tomorrow. This sort of weekly money math had become a staple of Ruby's life as a master's student. She still got checks in from her dad to help out, some from Mr. Schnee, but that just went straight to old medical debts. Everything else was wired right back... usually. Ruby tried to get by without being a bother, kept afloat by a mixture of a small stipend most master's students get teaching entry level comp and, with much more pride, the small fund of published works.

RWBY never got an out. Shopping it around, the book remained in a constant state of 'maybe in a few years with a couple of touch ups', but it wasn't the end of the world. A small volume of poetry and short stories made it out the door early this Spring, which helped Ruby become a regular in a few short story anthologies. There was one sci-fi novel entitled Worlds of Remnant that, while it didn't do fantastically, managed to do well enough with both the small publisher and the stores willing to carry it locally. Really, it seemed like her half-hearted sales came from half-hearted publishers who didn't believe in her. Yet still, she made due by working on a new LGBT steampunk book called A Walk North, and still touching up on the RWBY project; Ruby was completely unable to give up on something that contained so much of her and Weiss' soul. In the meantime, short story sales and generous aid from both her father and Mr. Schnee meant the girl was not starving.

Knowing that fact, she could breath, enjoy the cool air and autumn trees that spread out across PSU's park blocks. Through the busy campus, layered in leaves red, yellow, green, and all shades between, Ruby looped around to Safeway, the leading grocery store for the Pacific Northwest, and the only place not left desolate by the Thanksgiving food rush. The chill was not so bad, Ruby comfortable in her black jacket and red tank, a classy pair of black jeans to match protected her legs and looked great with her studded belt. Still, the temperature controlled air that rushed past her as she entered this kingdom of food was a welcome 75 even as the patrons were running wild through this humble establishment.

Ruby wasn't worried about losing the finer picks of the groceries litter. These panicking Portlandians were all searching for stuffing, not crackers, turkeys not unsophisticated white bread mayo smeared picnic sandwiches. No one had in mind the kind of Thanksgiving the redhead was planning. Who would in rainy and near frosty Oregon? Despite the perpetual tempest, Ruby had a recent ritual to fulfill, her family Thanksgiving by necessity an outdoors affair. Completing her purchase with just an extra plating of strawberries and Safeway brand sushi that could be passed as home made for Weiss' dinner, Safeway was conquered.

The wind curved all along Ruby's body as she stepped out into the Portland streets. The rain came in, light as a feather, all these things began to stir something, awaken it. Her footsteps were quick, but not afraid of droplets. She skipped past the overpass, turned into a run as she reached the imperial arms building. It wasn't the cold, it wasn't the sudden Portland rain, none of these things forced a sprint past the garage building, made the child in her laugh excitedly, uncontrolled despite the dark sky. Weiss god damn Schnee was coming. How had that managed to be sort of lost on her. in this morning daze? Sky could be as dark as it wanted, the light of Ruby's life was coming down the Red Line any minute.

Or now.

The elevator ride was the only thing that gave Ruby even the slightest pause, her run turned to a bouncing stand. She was stupid happy, a giddy oscillating energy flowing through her, barely contained in this metal faraday cage, bursting open as soon as the doors allowed. Ruby, bags in hand, lept through the frankly pot heavy smoke of her neighbors, passed the couch left to the apartment gods by a couple who had moved out just a day before. Nothing threatened to slow her down today. Aside from an open door and familiar shouting.

"Who the hell am I? Excuse you, who are you suppose to be, besides a neon light trap?!" That voice, despite the ugly words, translated to a tasteful music, lifted Ruby's heart, and made her want to cry and scream. Her Weiss was back.

"Weiss!" Ruby tossed their collective dinners to the side, completely ambivalent to the drama of the moment. Weiss didn't even have time to prepare, poor girl barely turned her head before her girlfriend jumped as though she was prey attempting to escape. There was no exit. The force of their bodies slamming into each other nearly toppled the girl, but the way Ruby's arms locked around Weiss' body tighter than a cast stabilized them. This one was not getting away.

"Ruby?" Weiss muttering, trying half as hard as she could to escape.

"Why didn't you tell me when you were landing? I could have picked you up!" Ruby let up just a bit for comfort, still coiled around her lover. She was warm, a sleeveless winter vest and long sleeved Christmas themed sweater suggested Germany's winter had already begun to hit them. The signature silver ponytail remained, but slightly shorter than Ruby remembered from last year's Vytal festival. Weiss' face was as always sculpted from determination and absolutism, showing only the mildest hint of duality, right now caught between relief and annoyance. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, liebling," Weiss replied matter-of-factly, though the use of liebling, or favorite in German, gave away her real feelings, "I felt with you being so busy lately, I decided to just manage it myself. Portland has taxis, same as any city in Europe." Oh yeah, she was still pissed about Ruby missing the last Vytal festival. Screw that, Ruby's sunny disposition was having none of her moodiness.

"Please, that's dumb," Ruby laughed, openly mocking the suggestion. A laugh beats a whine someone somewhere probably said. "I may not always have the money, but I swear I have the time for you. Just came back from getting you dinner for tonight! I know you love sushi!" Ruby finally let the hug go, sliding her hands down her partner's arms, finding a comfortable place in her hands. Weiss looked ready to strangle her, but broke a smile. The charm worked. God, she was so stupidly perfect.

"Gay~!" Reese both shouted and sang herself into existence. Ruby giggled, but Weiss, she was clearly in mourning for the moment, blue eyes firing artillery shells at the thrilled roommate. She was getting exactly the show she wanted.

"Excuse you?" Weiss snapped back, pulling her hands free, quick to get into her defensive power stance, cross armed and chest out. "I'm guessing you're Reese, Ruby's roommate?" No one had ever said roommate so hatefully before in Ruby's life, this was impressive.

"No, I'm Reese, Ruby's side hoe." Reese managed the lie so straight faced, Ruby's initial reaction to smack her was superseded by a shocked cough. Weiss damn well nearly popped a vein.

"You think that's funny?" Weiss muttered, shocked beyond belief at this stranger's audacity.

"No, absolutely not, does this look like the face of a joker to you?" Reese did an excellent expression of sincerity, but absolutely yes. Whether it was the green hair, the punk look, or, you know, the completely preposterous claim, she sure seemed like it.

"She's messing with you, Weiss. It's just what Reese does. I can promise you I've certainly never had sex with Reese." Ruby patted her partner's back, letting out an exasperated sigh, shooting Reese a "please shut up" look. That was a mistake, like shaking bait in front of a shark.

"No, never! Well depends," Ruby's head felt Weiss' sharp intake. This was it, this was going to turn into the thunderdome. "In lesbian sex, when is sex like officially sex, like is it second or third base, because like, fourth base would require some bank breaking I am just not in the position to do."

"Reese likes penises, Weiss!" Ruby shouted, too damn loud. Neighbors throughout the building would know of the girl's phallic predilection, none would be safe. Like a siren, a last alarm before the murder begins. Weiss clenched up fierce, ready to pop. Ruby had never seen her so jealous. The distance, maybe?

"Yeah, I know. She's trying to piss me off and it's working!" Weiss let out, defiant. Least it made Ruby happy to know she totally believed in her. They were a team, together they could kill this traitorous roommate, sinful thing cackling, getting exactly the reaction she dreamed of, handed to her on a platter.

"Damn Ruby, I would have convinced her if it wasn't for you revealing my deep hetero secret!" Reese tossed herself over the end of the couch, too light to disturb the furniture. Ruby kept her eyes comically sharp on her best friend, visually screaming, get your butt out of my apartment for, like, ever, as hard as she could. "She is cute though, both of you are. Oh, fair princess of a faraway land, please treat my old friend generously. She's been practically melting waiting for you to come. She's head over heels, so be good to the little sap." Reese extended her hand in peace, but Weiss wasn't taking it.

"You're a friend of Ruby's, so I won't kick you. That is all." Weiss kept it extreme. Nothing had changed since Beacon.

"Damn, that's brutal. I can appreciate that." Reese put her hands down, understanding she probably pushed this stranger too far. She was a good kid inside, after all. "I will now leave you two star crossed lovers to your gay shit while I go see Bolin, you know, my whole penis addiction Ruby so rudely revealed to you. I can only fight its clutches for so long." She laughed at her own joke, while Ruby barely held one in herself. "See you when you get back from the coast Little Red, and have fun dude."

"You too, you neon Dork." Reese left the stage, bag strung over her back, her own life and Thanksgiving festivities to go to. Good news, Ruby needed the house to herself. Over a year since they last got some time together, Ruby needed the whole damn place before she did something stupid.

"I hate your roommate," Weiss announced, shocking no one.

"She grows on you," Ruby weakly defended, turning equally weak as her attention diverted to her girlfriend. One year, this was an unfair hell. Continental divides sucked.

"Like a deadly fungus." That was an extremely weird line to start making out on.

A sharp inhale matched the motion of Weiss' hips. Strong, deep, full. Words converted to pleasure as Ruby's partner, naked aside from the necessary straps, pushed her and her silicone addition into her partner, a happy mess reaching up and pulling them together. Ruby kept her eyes open despite reaching climax, looking lovingly at her girlfriend. Weiss was covered in sweat, glistening lines that traced the now familiar chest tattoo, after all when has the giver not been an exhausting position to have, but Weiss, as always, performed it beautifully.

"I'm," Ruby took a breath, trying to say what Weiss clearly knew, her rocking movements slowed gently to a still, "done. Your turn." Honestly, the redhead felt more like a nap than ripping out a new condom and taking up the harness, but selfish was not the way when the best thing that ever happened to her came by once a year.

"No," Weiss argued, reading Ruby's mind as she was one to do, "I could use a momentary respite, just like this." The silicone add-on slid out easily, allowing Weiss to collapse, and mold into her partner. Worn down from a two hour session of making out, foreplay, and this cherry on top, nothing sexual stirred from having Weiss' nude body draped over her. Exhaustion cleared the mist, and gave them some more innocence. Ruby even chuckled, realizing how she appreciated being able to see Weiss' beauty and not just boobs at a time like this.

"What are you laughing at? I was amazing," Weiss whispered into Ruby's collar, quick to find a home wedged between her neck and shoulder. They laughed together, lightly, a shared vibration.

"Just thinking you're perfect," Ruby only half joked. One of Weiss' thin little hands reached up and tried to slap her. Uncomfortably squished her face was really more accurate.

"You're dumb," the sleepy princess muttered.

"You're beautiful."

"Shut up," Ruby hoped her giggling didn't shake up her irritable partner too much. Weiss loved being put on a pedestal, so long as it was at least semi accurate. Perfect failed the second test, irritating the tiny beauty. For totally unrelated related reasons, it was also Ruby's favorite compliment.

"Never!" Taking advantage of her partner's exhaustion, the redhead rolled Weiss over, quick to get on top. The sudden urge to lay a thousand short pecks on her cheek and neck was just too damning, too cute. "I got you right where I want you."

"Ruby, I want a break," Weiss groaned, turning away from the kisses, so stubborn, teasing.

"And you got one. I'm just an excited cuddler." Ruby ran her finger across a side, from the shoulder down to the velcro strap around her waist, checking to make sure the dream was real. The other hand was languid somewhere useless on the bed, Ruby cuddling into Weiss' neck, nuzzling cheek against jaw line. "What can I say? I missed you so much. You don't know how maddening it is to write without you messing around on the guitar to keep me going."

"Then come back," Weiss grumbled, finally turning her face back towards Ruby. The two of them probably looked so dumb, rubbing their heads together like they thought the friction could start a fire.

"I am not taking your father—"

"No, not a visit. I mean back to Europe, permanently." Weiss' voice drove a mental spike into the back of her brain. Even if she didn't shout it, a dozen other fights sharpened the point, a issue that never really resolved itself.

"Beacon doesn't have a creative writing masters, and certainly not one in English," Ruby replied, knowing she was side stepping the point. This was a necessary step on this sore emotional road.

"But London would, only a few hours from me. I could come for the long weekends." A point Weiss brought up often, and Ruby agonized over her entire senior year. She had sent letters to, even was admitted into some lower level graduate programs in England, but the math never worked out, even if she roomed with Penny. After all, she was finishing her studies in the Imperial College of London, the foreign tuition was insane. In Oregon, she had mom's old car, in state tuition, more than one friend, and some connections.

"Weiss, it's too much, my family can't afford it—"

"I'm part of the wealthiest family—"

"I'm not," Ruby's remark shot Weiss' eyes open wide, those solid blues not giving up her emotional torrent, something that only through experience the redhead was gifted knowledge of. "Not yet, and you have no idea how much I miss you and wished I was weak enough to take the easy way, but I can't. I only have another year till my MA is done. I know that's not fair, but I promise after, if you don't give up, I'll come back. If I can finish my doctorate I will there, or I can teach English, or write. Something, but I promise. Just don't give up on me, and maybe we can move in together, if you're ready?"

"You're an imbecile," Weiss remarked, biting her bottom lip in the pause after, drifting silver hairs sliding over her face, highlighting that beauty, "After this master's nonsense is over, you should count your blessings if I don't leave you chained to my wall. I'm not so weak as to give up now, after what five years together? I'm trying to talk sense into you, not threaten a break up." Weiss shoved her partner off with a mocking smile, encouraging Ruby to throw her entire self back, wrapping her clutches around the silver girl before she could even think of retaliating.

"I love you so much even if you are an ornery goof." Insults always made Weiss try and resist, but alas, nothing escaped a Ruby hug, not for Weiss.

"Don't you dare call me ornery, I'll fucking show you ornery."

"Nope!"

"You'll regret it," Weiss' mumbled, going loose in her lover's vice grip, something evil stirring, "I'll agree to your terms, waiting for you if you agree to mine. You will come to Germany for Christmas. You've never been, the Schnee family always hosts a gala there. You will come, understand?"

"What happened to not, you know, threatening the relationship?" Ruby joked nervously, aware of her own downfall.

"Well liebling, that peace ended about when you insulted my character."

"I insulted your temper."

"You really want to play chicken with me?" Ruby sighed, ready to go into her usual speech, about how she couldn't afford it, about her work load, about a thousand other excuses that all boiled down to some deep feelings of financial inadequacy. Weiss practically read the words she would have said on their ride to the throat, quick to put a finger to Ruby's lips. "No, this isn't about my dad's money. This is my money, I earned it. Shocking, I actually haven't been fumbling around for a year and a half waiting for you to come back. What I want is my girlfriend for Christmas. This isn't about you, it's about my interest, so you can say yes and shut your mouth."

Well damn. "If I say yes, will you stop being scary and go back to cuddling?" Ruby wasn't good at precise rules.

"Say you will, or I'll rip the blanket off your naked butt and watch you fucking freeze." Ruby just cracked and rolled on her back, body bouncing with laughter. This was the girl for her.

"Yes ma'am," Ruby answered simply, soon as her giggles found their natural end, "Now cuddles?" Weiss rolled her eyes, but that smile, how smiles betrayed her time and time again.

"Good girl," Weiss complimented, sliding her body back onto Ruby, right where they started, arms intertwined, a head of silver hair pushing into her neck and sweet kisses, "Love you too, so long as you behave."

Weiss Schnee

Thanksgiving was not a holiday that factored into the fabric of Weiss' reality until the moment it offered her an apropos excuse to barge into Ruby's daily life. It seemed to be a horrible time for a holiday. Oregon was undeniably alluring, but as her partner had suggested many a time, fall through winter the heavens erupted and the state flooded. This did not seem to drench the redhead's excitement even marginally.

Still, there was merit to this place, with the leaves all melting into soil, the naturalist look of Portland and the outlying areas. The city was built with the forest in mind, it seemed, nature did not encroach on it, the trees simply were a block in its form. Outside the city, the vast emptiness America was famous for displayed itself in full. The highway connecting Portland to the coast was two lanes, near no traffic, and an unnerving quantity of water. Ruby managed to wade through it so skillfully, her truck had to be kin with boats. Outside of that, there was nothing, nothing but trees, mountains, and more cloudburst.

Superseding any profit from seeing the wildlife was seeing Ruby. She missed that silly girl, her easy ways, her penchant for unraveling Weiss, an addicting weakness. More than the superficial benefit, she was in her world, not across the sea from home, and the differences illustrated the divide of their upbringing. Weiss' first car, gifted to her the day she turned 17, devoid of debt, was a new BMW. Ruby drove her mother's dissolving, 10 year old, four door ford truck. She grew up in a military family, filled with love. Weiss grew up in a corporate family that routinely failed to express that love. Both single parent homes, but inversed parents. They formed an opposing binary, one impossible to conjoin. Yet here they were, driving together through the sea of trees, eyes forward, but free hands touching, together.

Then there was Qrow. Weiss couldn't believe that was the old man's name. Ruby's uncle, brother to Envida, though he lacked her...discretion. The greying old man had apparently been Summer's right hand man at STRQ Securities after meeting her in Afghanistan. Weiss wondered if he was as much of a drunk mess then as he was now, in a stupor, the back seat reduced to a drunkard's death bed. Weiss understood immediately why Ruby went to her father, not her uncle, after Summer's death. He kept the company running, or claimed to. He was an unsightly addition to this "Thanksgiving" thing.

"Hey, Weiss, what's going on? You there?" Ruby called her back to reality, her eyes shifting from the mirror to the road, careful still despite the downpour's sudden suspension.

"Of course," Weiss lied, doing her best to pretend she had been listening all along.

"It's important you listen to me. I don't want you getting totally weirded out when we get there." Ruby's intense gray eyes, discs of sterling silver, a mesmerizing pair of precious metals that alway could nab Weiss, gave her a risky direct glance, a show of seriousness. Damn, Weiss noted, she couldn't exactly admit she wasn't paying attention now. She was too deep.

"I'm not a little girl. I'll hardly be freaked out about this," Weiss could guess at what she was on about, but after working out so many individual steps of grief together, a gravestone was never going to rock her.

"I know, I just don't want you to like, think I'm completely nuts. I know she's not there, but like, my therapist says it's a really good grief exercise to like, you know, do the talking." Well, this really had been a bad moment to zone out. While both of them had their...moments of doubt, specifically while wandering old castles late at night, neither of them actually believed in ghosts, the lingering dead were a manifestation of irrational fear, and desperate rational grief.

"If it helped to worship a disturbed voodoo doll of her hair, I would have helped to sew it. You should know by now, I'm here to help," Weiss shot back, somewhat more aggressive than she meant. Ruby understood though, years of translation helped them speak each other's vibrant personal languages.

"You know you're just sweet." Ruby found the time to quickly face her partner, squeezing her hand, showing a bit of love before going back to work. That moment cemented the changes, the developments over the last half decade they were together. Weiss had changed little, but Ruby, her features were sharper, baby fat melted off the cheeks, hair longer, less wild though still painted their signature colors. She looked wiser, some real future crone wisdom hidden behind those bangs. Ruby Rose was still cute, but grew as a woman to be gorgeous. Was she even aware of her own transformations? Or, more confusing, was this simply an awakening inside Weiss, to see what everyone had previously ignored. "Still, the food's fresh, home made cold cuts and fruits and whatever else Qrow shoved in the cooler before we picked him up. I swear this'll be the best Thanksgiving you've ever had."

"Ruby, I'm German. This will be the first Thanksgiving I ever have."

"I know how to pick my battles, don't I?" Ruby smiled, enjoying the supposed brilliance of being an undeniable smart-ass.

"Such a master strategist. Are you going to gloat about how this is the best vacation to the Oregon coast I've ever had with my SO and their drunken uncle as well?" Weiss countered, though there were few trips in her life she looked forward to more than this, more than Ruby. The redhead had to figure that out on her own though.

"If the shoe fits! And he's not that bad, he taught me how to shoot after all!" Weiss made sure to give Ruby a glare that threatened her to never tell a lie that heinous ever again. She might have laughed, but it would take. Never again. "Either way, this is my favorite trip to the coast. It's really cool you're doing this with me. Means a ton."

"Of course, wouldn't want to spend my foreigner's holiday any other way," Weiss decided to reward her sweetness, just a little.

"Plus we get to go to the beach after," there was a pause, Ruby remembering exactly what season it was, "If, uhh, you know, it's not pouring. We got a hotel on the beach and tomorrow we're taking you shooting."

"What?!" This was definitely not something she had agreed to. Ruby winced at the shout,

a small chuckle failed to pull her out of the firing line.

"Forgot that was a surprise, ha, but yeah. Uncle Qrow thought it would be fun," that old man would pay, "you've probably never handled a gun before, right? It's pretty fun, my mom used to take me hunting when I was little. It was so cool, except I didn't like the killing animals part so she would set up targets for us." Again, such drastically different environments.

"Your mother had you handle guns when you were a child? This is the same sweet and loving mother from every other story, and she gave you war weapons?" Weiss came from Germany, a country where the paperwork to attempt to acquire a license for a gun was the envy of mountains and even if approved, the right to ammo was another nightmare entirely. Her father had tried and failed twice to get approved, one of the richest men in the country, and Ruby was out there shooting before she hit puberty.

"Please, Qrow taught me with a .22 long rifle. Those things can barely kill squirrels. Wasn't like we were using the company guns, those things are cool. Got to visit a STRQ training operation once, we got special permission to practice with those big like M60 kind of guns. I was like 16, got to shoot it like three times, that was freaking crazy! We won't get anything like that. Just bolt-action rifles and revolvers, I have an odd feeling you'll enjoy those. They're classy, like your swords."

"Don't bring my babies into this!" Weiss had kept up fencing, a finer art, something of a more classical and civilized time. It wasn't a war art, but a dance really, a ballroom shuffle with steel.

"Just trust me. Not saying you'll love the things, or that you should, just saying you'll have a hell of a time. Pinky swear!" Before Weiss could think of a response, light struck the car, a simmering bounce from the ocean, the sunlight jumping from the sea at a distance, the Pacific welcoming them. Weiss instantly recognized the smell, the taste, salt in the air. They had arrived. "And welcome to Lincoln City."

It wasn't long from the moment the first ray of light from the gold waters hit them that they arrived at the seaside alter. A single monument on this lonely ground, sitting on the mountains a stone's throw from the village called a city. Apparently it was company land, where STRQ planned to bury employees who passed and lacked funeral previsions themselves. To the company's credit, there was only one grace, marked with a rose emblem and an engraved poem. Lonely place to decay.

Ruby kept her cheer, pulling what they needed from the truck. Qrow silently made his way to the altar as the others worked, whispering a few words. Weiss could neither understand, nor hear them. For a moment, a strangely humanist moment, the Schnee never intended to repeat, she wondered, what was his story? Following a girl from another country to fight battles for nations not his own? Why did he drink? Ruby woke her Weiss from this daze.

"Here's a poncho incase it rains again, and I got our food all ready when you are!" By the time Weiss looked back, Qrow was already heading back to the truck, sober she hoped, several hours since he touched the flask.

"Rubes, I'm heading into town to get our hotel rooms all in order. Start without me." Giving an order, not a suggestion, Qrow jumped in the driver's seat. A concerned Weiss gave Ruby a look, but she flashed a thumbs up, apparently sure he was sobered enough. Perhaps he never let Summer see him the way Weiss did that morning. The functioning alcoholic and war worn were not her specialty.

"He's not going to like, get in trouble is he?" Weiss clarified.

"Nah, he's sober." Ruby didn't feel the need to explain, tossing out a blanket to lay on in front of her mother's gravestone. It was a pretty spot. No flowers left to die on the stone marker, instead wildflowers grew where nature tried to reclaim the marker. "Come on!" Ruby patted Weiss' spot on the blanket, demanding her presence. It felt wrong at first, forbidden maybe, but Weiss passed over the divide, stepping toward the fixed family, the dead joining them for lunch.

"Hi mom," Ruby started as Weiss sat across from her, "I'm back for a bit, wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving together again, made some sandwiches, er, what am I trying to do fooling a ghost. They're store bought." Ruby laughed, shaking her head, only building on the eerie feeling of watching this. Watching someone talk to the dead, trying to transcend time, Weiss discovered felt much more unnerving in person than in concept, "But I brought something way cooler than sandwiches! I want you to meet someone very important to me, my girlfriend Weiss Schnee!" Ruby pointed out her arms to reveal Weiss, this mysterious woman whom was defiling this sacred family shrine.

"I've told you a bunch about her, but now you can finally meet the one and only! You'll love her mom, she's driven like you, has her own business, is a thousand times older than me emotionally. You'd have loved to meet her so much, you'd have really loved her mom." Ruby tried as much as possible, but she couldn't believe 100% that her mom was here, that anyone was listening. She was speaking to a uninterested void, and it was damning to the soul to watch.

"Hi," Weiss tried, needing and wanting to help with the exercise. It came out awkward and forced, but Ruby immediately smiled, the attempt meant more than the effectiveness ever could.

"You don't have to say anything, I know it's silly," Ruby offered the out, a cheap path to comfort. Not the kind of route Weiss cared to walk. They've faced five years of trouble together, this heart break a constant throughout, a slow healing wound. No cowards would fix it, not now, not ever.

"Don't you interrupt me while I'm talking to my potential future mother in-law. Wait your turn!" Weiss felt great watching Ruby's eyes bulge in shock, a wonderful successful feeling. It cracked the shell, gave Weiss the confidence to say what Ruby could use hearing. "Hello, Miss Rose, I've heard a lot about you and I must say I've enjoyed the benefit of your life's work. Ruby's the best girlfriend I've ever had, and that's an impressive list. No doubt due to your expert tutelage. She's an amazing woman, if a little naïve. I dare say I'm in love with her." Weiss kept eyes locked on the grave, focused on not breaking this string, convening with the dead in any serious fashion required a certain focus, but, every few seconds, the gaze danced between Summer and Ruby, watching for a reaction, a blush pushing her forward, towards something bright.

"Also, Miss Rose you need not worry, she has, thanks to a lot of work and practice, become a competent kisser." Ruby turned a darker color and Weiss could not hide her smile.

"Shut up!" Ruby complained, an embarrassed baby about to get more so.

"She also does something with her tongue that is absolutely divin—"

"No, you are not going to talk about my sexual prowess to my mother!" Ruby shouted, but in that smile, a mixture of complete shock, embarrassed laughter, something light. She could believe a little, in their family meal, the illusion, that Weiss was spilling the beans to Summer not a rock. Weiss was happy to give her that for just a moment.

"Oh it is to die for. I have no idea where she learned it, but I am so much happier for—"

"No!" Weiss felt a shove take her to the floor, Ruby pouncing on her. One hand on either side of Weiss' head, all of her partner pinning her to the blanket. Quite a perilous position.

"My, Ruby, this is a little forward in front of Summer, but I appreciate the attention," Weiss commented, loving the way Ruby just could not pull herself out of this. Beautiful.

"You are such a bully. Nevermind my mother liking you, she would knock some sense into me before letting me stay with such a bully!" That wasn't true, Summer wouldn't even have hit Ruby if the child ran up and slapped her. Even Weiss knew that.

"Well," the older girl replied as shocked as she could fake, "I'll have to change her opinion, because I love you very much, even if you are a twerp." Weiss pushed herself up by the elbows, giving Ruby a well deserved kiss to the lips, earning a childish pout.

"Can we go back to eating a PG-13 Thanksgiving lunch with the family, please?"

"I would love to," Weiss noted, looking towards Ruby's face, though dimmed by clouds light still shined bright around her outline, sunlight scattered through red and black streams. A halo befitting an angel, "but you're still on top of me."

***Wow sorry for being so late! This Thanksgiving special was meant to come out, you know, just after thanksgiving, but oh well! Honestly it's entirely my fault. Fallout came out and I was so stressed and after winter break I just have done nothing. It's so good. Christmas special is next! Let me know how you like the extras and happy holidays everyone!

So "too many gay girls" Anon, who reviewed, again, after I told you to stop. Heres me addressing your concerns.

!. No straight girls? How about: Raven Long Nora Valkyrie Pyrrha Nikos Glynda Goodwhich Winter Schnee Summer Rose The Malachite Twins ect. Reese was just another on the long list of Straight Characters.

2. Short Story mistake: this is not a mistake, Ruby is a regular as in like Yearly, but she hadn't be able to sell her OWN book of short stories in a while, she just is in other very low paying anthologies. Most short story writers know this situation quiet well.

3. And this is what pisses me off the most. LGBT is a genre. It has been for years. Don't even.

4. STRQ does stand for something. Security, Training, Recon, Quartering. All the services STRQ offers it's clients. Excuse me for not having Ruby go into a long explanation of what the acronym means. No one calls DARPA by its full name either.



I'll be posting this in my next AN too, since your always so focused on staying anonymous and I really feel like you should hear this.