Chapter 20

You Are Our Sunshine

For the inhabitants of the northern territories and the Kingdom of Atlas they rarely had to wait long for winter to sink its unforgiving talons into them and threaten to never let go, but for the southern Kingdom of Vale where winters were brief enough for late and early harvests, the majority of its residents were bundled up today fearful of what might be a preview of the harshest winter in recent memory.

Despite the cold and dreary morning however Beacon Academy was alive with activity. Students from both Shade and Haven joined Beacon's in running around the campus like chickens with their heads cut off, but while classes being cancelled for the week would have normally been enough cause for celebration for the huntsmen in-training, as well as an excuse to catch up on some much needed rest or double down on training away from prying eyes, that morning's announcements were the primary cause of celebratory bullets being fired into the air.

The first was that the latest batch of mission requests had arrived and every able bodied team would be shipping out tomorrow morning before sunrise, meaning for the rest of the week Beacon's campus would look like a ghost town and those left behind due to poor grades, disciplinary punishments, or injuries would have silence to keep them company acting as a painful reminder to not miss their next mission.

The second announcement had been infinitely more exciting however. The Vytal Festival's tournament finally had an official starting date, and was set to begin in less than three weeks...

For the three girls sitting around an umbrella shielded table in the courtyard, the warmth they felt within themselves had little to do with the fancy hot coffees they were drinking, or the winter jackets they were wearing imported from Atlas just for days like today.

Although Weiss and Blake had repeatedly stated that they would've preferred returning to the room and going back to bed after staying up most of the night watching movies, just like their leader they couldn't help but want to be a part of the chaos despite how painful it was not to be actively a part of it. Yang out of her own excitement, or more likely due to having long since gone stir crazy in their tiny room, had hopped on her motorcycle and hadn't said when she'd be returning, only promising to bring back food. Whether that was lunch or dinner was anybody's guess, but in the back of their minds the team couldn't help but wonder if this was Yang's way of giving them alone time to discuss a matter far more important in her estimation than a silly tournament.

Immersed in a small booklet with a floating arena on the front cover Ruby kicked her legs occasionally murmuring an apology when she kicked her teammates' shins, but never tore her eyes from what she was reading.

"So this is how it feels like to actually hear time," Blake muttered, glancing away from her own booklet to stare suspiciously into her Schneebucks coffee as though it might be poisonous.

"Really?" Ruby asked, the only movement of her eyes coming from moving them to the next paragraph, "because I think mine might be decaf."

The faunus glanced at her with a sour face. In someone's hurry they had mistakenly bought her coffee instead of her usual morning tea.

"Anything without at least five sugars is decaf to you," Weiss said in disgust. Like her partner she was also rereading every page but was more interested in the section about the rules and format changes, and her annoyance was made apparent by the protruding vein on her forehead. "Why can't they just make a format and stick to that format? Is that really asking too much!?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's hard enough for four girls to agree on a morning bathroom routine or whose turn it is to take out the trash," Blake said between her teeth, staring daggers into the heiress who pretended she didn't notice, "let alone four academies in four different kingdoms agreeing on something that inevitably benefits one of the schools and kingdoms over the others."

"Well it certainly isn't Atlas that can't get its act together," Weiss replied, ignoring the jab about her hair incident that morning and how it was in fact Blake's turn to take out the trash. "For example, normally there's at least two matches for both the team and doubles rounds, sometimes as many as four or five, but this year there's only one match per round! That means in the third stage of the tournament there might very well be dozens of single round matches per competitor, and they're not even going to have a senior tournament this year! Honestly, how do they expect people to take the Vytal Festival seriously anymore? It's completely lost all its credibility."

"Aren't you the one who keeps reminding Ruby and Yang how the Vytal Festival is more than just a tournament?" Blake asked dryly. "You didn't even know there were three different rounds or how many matches there normally are until Ruby told you, and as much as I hate being the cynical member of this team-"

"-do you though?"

"-the tournament is just a glorified recruiting advertisement for the academies and a way to give citizens peace of mind about the next generation of huntsmen, and to make a profit of course. You probably know all about that though." Despite her usual cynical attitude however even Blake couldn't hide her excitement watching everyone else's, or her leg bouncing under the table. Either that or the coffee was even stronger than she realized.

Weiss of course understood all too well the economic benefits of the tournament. It was her family after all that co-founded the festival and its accompanying tournament, and had sponsored them monetarily from the very beginning. Two centuries ago when the Treaty of Vytal's ink was still wet on paper, the tournament had just been another way for the northern kingdom to prove its superiority and entice future huntsmen to apply to the newly built Polaris Academy for training, but it hadn't taken long for her ancestors to also see its economic value as well.

Still, despite the increased revenue her company would experience during their already busiest time of year, the tournament's chaotic format and ever changing rules couldn't help but irk the easily peeved and orderly Atlesian, and as if sensing her partner's bulging vein Ruby took her eyes off the booklet for perhaps the first time since opening her mailbox, and as if themselves sensing their leader was about to speak both Blake and Weiss glanced up.

"That's because this year's different," Ruby said softly. "Professor Ozpin and the other headmasters are worried, and Vale needs all the security it can get. In just a couple of months the seniors will be registered huntsmen, and it's not that uncommon for them to be put on the active duty list early or have their tournament canceled. As for the team and doubles rounds only being one match each, it might mean a lot more single matches for the heavy hitters like Yang and Pyrrha, but the headmasters probably figure it's better to have as many fresh students as possible in case of another terrorist attack." She shuddered at the thought. "Plus they're heavy hitters for a reason. Their aura pools are bigger than ours and usually recharge faster too, which means they also heal quicker too."

"Point taken and well said, but personally I'd rather have your sister at fifteen percent than the three of us at a hundred," Weiss said semi-seriously, causing both Ruby and Blake to grin.

"Plus-" Ruby continued, her smile suddenly becoming sheepish- "this way you and I will only have a single match, Blake. All I have to do is get my aura to the combat minimum and I'll be cleared to enter. Someone could eliminate me a second after the match started but it wouldn't matter. I'll- we'll have made the tournament, and I know you three can beat any other school's first or second year team by yourselves no problem. Yang's the one who'll have to worry about third years in the single rounds, but I know she can beat them too!"

Blake and Weiss nodded but while there was optimism shining in their eyes, just like their leader's they carried a cloud of doubt. Ruby making the tournament would be a miracle at this point, and all the other students who were now their competition were going off on missions and receiving invaluable experience in the field by registered huntsmen that couldn't be taught in a classroom or in somewhat friendly training sessions.

"Let's just forget about the tournament for today," Weiss said, stuffing her booklet in a coat pocket. "We'll have plenty of time to sit and sulk later. Right now we have bigger concerns and they regard your sister."

"Yang?"

"Yes that's right. Like it or not Yang is your sister. Thank you for paying attention." When all Ruby did was stare blankly at her sarcasm Weiss rolled her eyes. "Her birthday's tomorrow, and because she sticks her nose into every single conversation we still have plans to make, especially now that classes are cancelled and we'll have the entire day to ourselves."

"Like what plans?"

"Like-" Weiss seethed, "where is she going to open her presents? The Cerulean Cafe isn't too terribly far from the air taxi service, and we could easily fly back to the dorm and drop off her presents after she's opened them to go to the mall, but-"

She trailed off looking at her tired-looking partner with concern when Blake cleared her throat. "-but that'd mean more walking, and we're going to be doing enough of that as it is..."

The pair shared an uneasy look while Ruby glanced under the table at her unbuckled and loosened boots. In truth it wasn't just her feet that hurt. Since her training session with Blake everything hurt and she was sore and stiff from the neck down, but it was a good feeling, familiar to the young huntress in-training, and because of it she was able to pretend that everything was as it should be and that the worst pain in her body was nothing more than a relentless stomach ache.

"I don't care how much walking there is," Ruby said, her high-pitched voice hardening. "Tomorrow's Yang's eighteenth birthday and I'll walk to Vacuo and back barefoot for her if I have to. Or burning hot glass again for that matter."

"That's what we're afraid of..." Weiss murmured. As she and Blake began to protest their leader held up her hand letting them know this wasn't up for discussion, however her eyes soon softened and began to sparkle causing her to glance down at her coffee.

"Back home Yang was always the one who planned everybody's birthdays. She'd make every single one of them feel special and the best day ever, only like for real, but she never really got birthdays like that herself. Uncle Qrow is usually on missions this time of year, Dad's, well, Dad, and I'm, well..."

"Socially inept, easily distracted, and kinda a dolt?" Weiss asked not-so-helpfully, causing her partner to ruefully nod.

"She and I have had some awesome birthdays together, really, but Yang always makes them more about me than her. We'd go see the movies I wanted to see, bring home the cake I wanted to eat, and sometimes when we went shopping she'd even buy me presents on her birthday. The only time she really got to do what she wanted was when she'd sneak out later that night to go celebrate the way she really wanted..."

Ruby was quiet as she struggled to swallow, and finally she looked up at her team. "I just want tomorrow to be special is all, especially now that you two are here. Y-you've been good for her, especially you, Blake."

Blake's face turned a shade of pink as she struggled with what words to say. Her eyes stung as something warm fluttered in her chest, but so did a pang of guilt as she felt as though she'd stolen something invaluable from the younger sister. Before she could apologize however Weiss sighed and shook her head.

"Dummy," she breathed, though not too unkindly. "If you were still stuck on Patch going to Signal your sister wouldn't have hesitated to skip school and fly back home just to drag you out of class because there isn't anyone she'd rather spend her birthday with." She glanced at Blake who dutifully nodded. "And believe it or not we feel the same as you, if not more so."

Ruby looked down and began playing with her thumbs. "She'd do stuff like that all the time you know," she said smiling to herself. "Sometimes she'd just walk into my class and tell the teacher that she was borrowing me, and we'd spend the rest of the day doing whatever we wanted. Movies, shopping, fighting, video games, swimming you name it. Sometimes we'd just sit and talk, but once in awhile we'd go visit our moms. I guess when your uncle's the head combat instructor and your dad's a tenured professor you can get away with that sort of thing, but being Yang and the school's top student probably didn't hurt either, huh?"

They shook their heads thinking it had more to do with Yang just being Yang. She marched to the beat of her own drum and did just about whatever she wanted whenever she wanted, and somehow one way or another could almost always get her way.

"This will be our first time celebrating someone's birthday as a team," Blake said, warmth filling her normally monotone voice. "I think I speak for Weiss when I say that neither of us have exactly had too many happy or memorable birthdays, but-"

"-but tomorrow is as much a celebration for Yang as the rest of us. Blake's her partner, your her sister, and I'm her unwilling acquaintance, and having had to put up with her for the past four months I believe we've earned the right to use her birthday as an excuse to treat ourselves, but more importantly-"

"-we want to treat your sister to something special and make it a day she'll never forget," Blake finished, sharing a knowing look with Weiss that caused them both to grin.

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

*sniff*

"Thank you..." Ruby whispered, wiping her eyes with her cape. Weiss handed her a tissue before she could blow her nose into it as well.

"Besides-" she drawled, raising her chin and looking down at her partner- "you're much too oblivious to plan something as important as this by yourself."

Ruby held her heart as though she'd just been shot. "Who? Me? I'm not oblivious! Okay, I'm not that oblivious!"

"Ruby," Blake sighed, shaking her head while trying not to laugh, "remember back when you thought Weiss might been a vampire?"

"Excuse you!?" Weiss' head spun and she shot Ruby with a near fatal accusatory glare.

"I never saw you while the sun was out!" she shouted, raising her hands defensively and scooting away from the table.

"You idiot we met during the day!"

"It was early in the morning and it was cloudy!"

Blake enjoying the turn in conversation chuckled but continued speaking in her usual somber tone. "It was noon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky..."

Ruby pulled at her hair looking as though she wanted to scream either out of frustration or because she was rightfully terrified of her partner, or simply because she was excited to finally voice her brilliant theory. "Alright listen, you hardly ever eat, you avoids mirrors like a monster might jump out at you, you're paler than even I am, you sleep like you're in a coffin, and your skin is ice cold. What was I supposed to think!?"

Weiss narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth where her fangs might've been. "Is that why at the beginning of the school year you ate garlic with every meal and why you wear so many crosses?"

Ruby nervously played with her necklace and pendants. "Crosses, no, those come from my uncle actually, and can't a girl just like garlic with her breakfast cereal?"

Weiss lowered her head and began nursing her fast approaching migraine that was seemingly never too far away.

"You really should be thanking me," Blake said to her, grinning ear to ear. "Yang wanted to drive a stake through your heart but I convinced her not to."

"My hero..."

"But only because I was worried you might come back as a vampire ghost, and none of us could agree whether beheading comes before or after staking the heart, or whether we should use regular fire, red dust, or Yang's aura to burn your undead corpse."

"And scatter the ashes in three different moving bodies of water while saying a prayer," Ruby murmured, eyeing the faunus as though the argument still wasn't entirely over.

"I voted we try all three personally," Blake said happily, "but by that time we'd decided you weren't a vampire."

"Thank God..."

"We decided you were something much worse, and by then a whole new debate on how to kill you started."

Ruby nodded in agreement until an icy glare caused her to hide beneath her cloak. Eventually the gaze turned toward Blake and became something more resembling disappointment. "I expect this sort of nonsense from them but not you. Either you've been around them too long or your Yang is starting to show..."

Blake snorted which surprised even herself, and her face beamed at what she considered to be the highest compliment anyone could've given her. Glancing around the courtyard she could see a few faces and animal ears turned their way, and she couldn't help but wonder if some of Yang's radiance was shining in her otherwise dark aura. Of course that would only fuel some rather unfortunate rumors about the two of them that in Blake's opinion didn't need any more fuel, but she didn't mind them so much anymore and figured anyone with a partner would understand.

Her greatest wish was for Yang's unmistakable aura to finally be seen shining in her own, just like how Ruby's occasionally felt cold or Weiss' smelling like roses, and hoped everyone would see it. More likely however the other students were simply staring for some last minute levity before mission prep began. Some however were probably looking down on them for missing yet another mission and not being able to accept even the most mundane of escort or security details that made up the majority of freshmen missions. Despite the notoriety team RWBY had received due to their mission to The Lost City, which was already school lore and would likely be gossiped about for years, many of the other underclassmen resented the fact that team RWBY's very first mission had been seek and destroy, something normally reserved for second years and above.

Or, perhaps more likely the other students were merely making bets whether this would finally be the day the Ice Queen killed her likable, albeit peculiar and sometimes mildly annoying partner before being killed herself by a vengeful blonde. In truth some sort of variation of this double homicide made up a significant portion the school's betting pool, including the faculty's, as well as half of the doomsday scenarios in team RWBY's handbook.

"Don't worry, Weiss," Blake said, "Back when neither of you knew I was a f-" she nervously glanced around all too aware how sensitive her kind's hearing could be even without an extra pair of ears. "Er, I mean knew my secret, Ruby once ran into the bathroom to show me all the upgrades she'd done to Gambol Shroud and didn't even notice I was getting ready for a shower and wasn't wearing my bow, or anything else for that matter..."

Both turned and stared at the girl whose face was becoming redder by the second. "W-why would your ears be the first thing I'd notice!?" she yelled. "Not that I'd look of course, a-and not that I'd not not look, but I mean you kinda can't help but look when-"

"You don't even remember any of this do you?" Weiss said dryly.

"Just the part about Gambol Shroud's upgrades." Ruby murmured, unable to look either of them in the eye.

Blake certainly remembered the incident, in vivid detail in fact, particularly the part where she had been frozen unable to move with both hands covering her cat ears all the while carrying on a conversation with a clueless weaponsmith while her sister stood behind her laughing uncontrollably and enjoying the view.

"You're a hopeless dolt," they said in unison, both their eyes widening in surprise.

"I believe your Schnee is also beginning to show," Weiss said, a barely visible smile hiding in the corner of her mouth.

"Which is punishable by death where I come from," Blake replied, her own grin widening. "How would your family feel about your wild side showing?"

The faintest look of disgust crossed Weiss' face but the faunus could sense that it was directed toward her family not herself, and almost instantaneously Weiss rolled with the punches just as easily as if she were trading verbal blows with the knockout artist they all knew and loved, and sometimes loathed.

"Which where I come from was once punishable by banishment to a Grimm infested island with natives that were nearly just as monstrous, and personally either would be preferable to living with you three."

Blake chuckled and soon Ruby forgot about being embarrassed and joined her. Weiss however was content just smiling and looking pleased with herself.

"So what are we gonna do about Yang's birthday cake?" Ruby asked when their laughter died down. "Wanna flip a coin to decide who bakes it?"

The duo stared at their leader with their mouths hanging open as though she had just sprouted a second head, and after what felt like an eternity where even the other students in the courtyard had seemingly fallen silent, Ruby's straight face began to crack and all three girls rocked their heads back in laughter at what might've been the most ridiculous question anybody had ever asked.

If Weiss baked the cake an ice glyph or a fire extinguisher would need to be at the ready to put out the inevitable fire, and as a rule Ruby wasn't to be trusted near chocolate or sweets. Blake could technically cook and actually had the most experience on the team, but unless she were to hunt a wild birthday cake, field dress it and cook the cake over a campfire there was little to no chance of that actually ever happening. She prided herself on being an excellent hunter and gatherer, but there had been a reason why during her tenure with the White Fang her name had been permanently removed from kitchen duty.

Wiping away tears from their eyes the girls beamed at one another. "Tomorrow's going to be special," Blake said, finishing her coffee and fighting the urge to twitch afterward.

Weiss nodded in agreement and Ruby began rubbing her hands together while bouncing up and down. "Oh I just can't wait to see her open her presents!"

As if sharing the same horrid thought both Weiss and Blake's heads froze mid-nod and tilted to the side like Zwei's when he didn't understand what they were saying.

"Open?" they asked slowly, in unison sounding the word out carefully.

"Yeah..." Ruby drawled not following along. "Unwrapping her pres-OH-MY-GOD!"

All three stood up and came face to face with each other. "For having super speed your brain works surprisingly slow!" Weiss shouted. "How did you forget to wrap your own sister's birthday presents!? And you! You're her partner!"

"Don't pin this on me, Ice Queen! You forgot too!"

"Yes well back in Atlas I always had someone to wrap presents for me! What's your excuse!?"

"Oh I don't know, could it have something to do with wrapping paper being hard to come by somewhere where you're eating roasted squirrel for breakfast!? We didn't exactly celebrate birthdays where I come from, princess!"

They turned and glared accusingly at Ruby who shrunk back into her seat and began playing with her thumbs. "Remember that one time I apparently walked in on you about to take a shower and didn't notice your ears uncovered or that you were naked except for your socks because I was too busy talking about Gambol Shroud's propulsion mechanism to notice? Yeah..."

Grabbing their coffees and chunking them into the nearest trashcan Blake and Weiss each grabbed one of Ruby's hands and whisked her away, running so quickly her feet hardly ever touched the ground.

"This is all your fault!"

"Wait, you noticed that was I was still wearing socks?"

"..."

Back in team RWBY's dorm room there was a whirlwind of movement as booby traps were being disabled and presents taken out of secret hiding places and either wrapped in colorful paper and/or thrown into large gift bags. Occasionally one girl would pause momentarily to show the other two what they had gotten Yang, mostly just to brag, but otherwise they kept to themselves so that the presents would be just as much a surprise to them as tomorrow's birthday girl.

More than once Zwei had very nearly gotten himself wrapped up as well only to be rescued at the last minute by Ruby and Weiss who suspected he might've been lured into the packages with the toppings of their favorite pizzas. Blake vehemently denied any wrongdoing or having any knowledge as to how the dog had opened the fridge, however finding stamps and the sisters' old mailing address written on the boxes had made them keep a close eye on her.

Once all the gifts had been wrapped and they were positive Zwei wasn't trapped in one of them the girls sat around gasping for air and feeling lightheaded. Blake sat atop the desk writing a couple of birthday cards while occasionally glancing out the cracked door toward the elevator in case Yang made an early appearance. But while Blake played lookout Weiss sat up against her bed with an arguably even more important task. Making sure every bubble on the sheets of bubble wrap they had found was expertly popped.

Every. Single. One...

She was as meticulous as she was methodical, only pausing occasionally to indulge herself after a particularly satisfying pop. Ruby was helping with her own sheet, but was only lazily popping bubbles as she rested atop Weiss' bed. Once in awhile both Blake's bow and Zwei's ears to turn toward them, and the faunus would scowl at the pair and the oblivious dog now gorging itself on her anchovy pizza toppings.

"I still can't believe we got everything wrapped," Blake breathed, glancing at the tower of gifts that nearly reached the ceiling. "We're still gonna have to shove it all back into the closet before she gets back though, so don't get too comfortable. There's no way Yang can resist that kind of temptation, but even she's not dumb or persistent enough to go digging in the back of the closet."

"No only we are," Weiss grumbled. "It'll have to wait until later. I still have two more sheets that I need to finish, and after Ruby here nearly got me killed earlier I'm not exactly looking forward to filling the closet back up only to have to empty it again tomorrow." She sighed and took her eyes off the bubble wrap momentarily and shuddered at the pile. "Any ideas on how to carry it all to the Cerulean Cafe? I suppose we could just make Yang open them up in batches. Some here, some there, and some when we get back or later that night? Hmm..."

"Maybe we can just bring a couple presents each and let her open the rest here. What do you think, Ruby?" When Blake didn't get an immediate response she turned about to repeat herself to the girl who too often tuned out the rest of the world, when she jumped to her feet unable to breathe. "W-Weiss?"

"Then again opening them up in batches would take some of the fun out of it," she continued, back to popping bubbles. "I suppose we could just bring extra gift bags or perhaps Ruby's little red wagon with us to help carry it all, and lucky for us the birthday girl has super strength. Well, I guess we all due but she has super super strength."

"Weiss!" Blake hissed.

"And I'm sure the manager will let us use their dumpster to dispose of all the wrapping paper and boxes. That alone should make the trip back manageable. It'll just require an adequate tip is all, and-"

"WEISS!"

A snowy white head shot up as it was possibly the loudest Blake had ever spoken, but while startled Weiss quickly began looking agitated as her precious time popping bubbles had just been interrupted. "What!?"

*pop*

She glared at Blake demanding an explanation but all she did was anxiously gesture for her to turn around, and finally catching on Weiss rolled her eyes and began to turn.

"Due to the current circumstances she has permission to lay on my bed so long as she takes off her boots and doesn't eat, drink, drool, pick her nose, clean her gun, or-" Whatever else Weiss was about to say caught on the back of her throat as she dropped the bubble wrap and gazed up at her partner who had her head elevated by several frilly pillows and was turning over a small silver box admiring its intricate engravings of glyph runes and weeping willows.

"R-Ruby, don't-"

The box opened as did Ruby's mouth, but obeying the rules she didn't drool, only marveled at the young girl and mother whose feet she was standing on, as well as the hundreds of tiny gears underneath them.

"Why didn't you tell me it was this beautiful," she gasped. "I-I've never seen anything like it."

"I-I-um-" Weiss stuttered and glanced at Blake who was scowling at her.

'You said you'd hidden it!' she mouthed, her fury growing. 'Underneath your pillow!? Really!?'

Weiss swallowed and slowly turned back around as if afraid any sudden movements might set the music box off.

"You told me it was just some boring old toy you had when you were little," Ruby whispered, looking at the mechanisms from every angle she could.

"It is, well I mean it's not the exact same one, b-but I also said it doesn't work, which means you shouldn't play it. You'll just end up breaking it worse than it already is and owing me a new one, and I assure you it's far beyond what you can afford."

Ruby didn't seem to be listening as she studied the mechanical marvel mentally taking it apart piece by piece the same way someone might undress another person with their eyes.

Weiss reached out with an unsteady hand but too late Ruby began turning the tiny handle.

"Ruby, stop!" The caped-girl paused at Blake's sudden outburst, and seizing the opportunity Weiss wrapped her hands around her partner's.

"Please don't!"

She looked up at them surprised. "If it's broken I can fix it. I can fix anything, but first I need to hear what's wrong with it," she said, perhaps more eagerly than calmly.

"No, it's not that..." Ruby raised her brow trying to look her in the eye but Weiss quickly turned her head. "J-just please don't play it. Please..."

Confused she glanced at Blake whose concerned expression was shaking side to side as a warning. Ruby turned back to her partner who was attempting to hide her face but with their hands touching their auras were beginning to weave together and she could feel Weiss' worry and guilt within herself.

Ruby was thankful for their concern, if not a bit perplexed at how a music box of all things could harm somebody, but more than anything she was curious. And while she appreciated their thoughtfulness, Ruby could also feel that they were trying to protect her from something, and she'd had enough of being protected by her family and friends.

"Please, Weiss," she said, sitting up with some effort while Weiss crawled atop the bed and knelt in front of her. "Just let me listen to it."

Weiss caught her partner's eye and immediately regretted it, however Ruby flared her aura and let them intertwine until they lost track of who was who, something they didn't do nearly enough Weiss thought.

'I don't want to hurt you,' said a tearful voice in Ruby's head.

'You won't ever hurt me, Weiss,' she replied back, making an effort to think slowly so she could be understood, 'but even if you do I know you'll always be here for me and that you'll make everything all better again.'

They were silent for a few minutes, their eyes closed while their heads drifted toward each other until they touched when finally Weiss slowly removed her unsteady hands from around Ruby's and stole a look back at Blake who stood with her arms crossed frowning at whatever private conversation had taken place between them.

'If she cries Yang's going to kill you, and probably me, as a birthday present to herself,' her narrowed eyes somehow managed to say.

Weiss swallowed the lump in her throat and scooted closer to her partner so that they were laying side by side their limbs practically tangled together. Ruby finished turning the handle and after a brief moment of hesitation followed by Weiss shutting her eyes and holding her partner's hand again, together they let go of the handle.

'...you are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Oh please don't take my sunshine away...'

After the song ended Weiss' eyes remained tightly shut but when she heard the familiar tune being hummed back to her she peeked and saw Ruby beaming at the mother and daughter, and the two girls in their silvery reflection. She quickly turned to Blake who stood at the doorway speechless, and the two nearly jumped when they heard Ruby giggle.

"What's so funny!?" Weiss scooted away from her unsure if she actually wanted an explanation or would rather just shout until she felt better.

"I take it Yang ordered you under penalty of death not to play your music box in the room me." It wasn't a question, and while Ruby was still smiling it wasn't quite as brilliant as it was before.

"N-no!" Weiss yelled, her voice and face distorting as if unsure what emotion the situation called for. Ruby however flared her aura again reminding her that their thoughts weren't all that private at the moment.

"Yang told her that your mom used to sing 'You Are My Sunshine' to you every night before bedtime," Blake said, talking delicately in case Ruby was just putting on an act for them, "a-and she asked Weiss not to play it in front of you because it'd just upset you..."

Ruby's eyes twinkled at the pair and she chuckled softly. "You two do realize that my sister's name literally means 'Little Sun Dragon', right? And that she might as well be the embodiment of sunshine?"

Both Weiss and Blake turned to each other with blank faces blinking as though faced with one of Professor Oobleck's infamous pop quiz trick questions.

"Who's the oblivious one now?" Ruby sang before going back to tinkering with the little music box while Blake and Weiss continued staring with embarrassed, bemused looks at each other.

'You just got outsmarted by someone whose favorite party trick is fitting her fist into her mouth and forgetting to put her gauntlets on safety...'

'WE got outsmarted, but it's not as bad as being made a fool by someone who falls for the trick every single time...'

They turned back to their leader who sensed their stares but didn't stop playing with the antique box. Finally it was Blake who cleared her throat and asked the question that didn't need answering.

"Your mom sang it to Yang, didn't she?"

Ruby nodded, a motion that looked difficult for her. "I don't know if Yang's mom sang it to her first, I've never asked, but my mom would sing it to her every night before bedtime whenever she came to stay with us. Yang hated it, or at least she pretended to, cause she'd always get mad if Mom didn't sing it to her before bedtime." She wiped her eyes. "Yang always lied though and told Mom that I was the one who couldn't sleep without it..."

"Oh..." Weiss murmured. "So when she said not to play it in front of you-"

"She meant herself, yeah..."

"Why didn't she just say so in the first place!?" she snapped, her eyes quickly welling up. "It's not like I wouldn't understand where she's coming from! Honestly, I-"

Ruby reached out and laid a hand atop her shoulder, and after letting their auras intertwine once again she spoke aloud perhaps to let Blake in on the conversation. "Because she's Yang, and she wouldn't be my big sis if she didn't put on a brave face just to prove how tough she is and to take care of everyone else when they're just as sad or scared as she is."

Teary eyed she glanced up at Blake whose own eyes were twinkling. "At this point you probably know her even better than I do, Blake. She's never shared her aura with me like she does with you, and she doesn't feel like she has to put on as brave a face in front of you. That goes for you too, Weiss, but she's still Yang, and my big sis would rather get a haircut than admit when something's bothering her..."

Blake turned away and put a hand over her chest as if the mere hours separated from her partner suddenly felt like a lifetime apart. There was always a subtle dull ache in your chest when separated too long from your teammates, but that gnawing pain could quickly become unbearable when it was the person you shared your entire soul with.

'We're not quite there yet,' Blake guiltily admitted to herself, 'but we'll get there, I'll get there, eventually...'

"Let's make sure tomorrow's special for her," she said quietly, repeating herself from earlier and wanting nothing more than to grab her partner and fall asleep in her arms watching movies again and dream each other's dreams. Already she found herself missing Yang's cheerful voice and terrible puns, her radiant but not so innocent smile, the way she warmed up a room whenever she walked in, the faint scent of citrus and lavender from their favorite shampoo and body washes as well as her own distinctive scent, and even the various ways she made her feel comfortable and a part of the team by trying to make her feel as uncomfortable as she possibly could. "She deserves it..."

They nodded, and Weiss turned to her partner who was looking at her expectantly. "Alright, fine," she sighed. "If you wish to use one of my binders to prepare 'The Best Birthday Ever' you may."

Ruby squealed and threw her arms around her. "Good! Because I may have already-"

"-stolen one from my locker along with using my perfume and deodorant because you wanted to smell like-" Weiss' eyes quickly glanced at the girl standing at the doorway and cleared her throat- "because you reeked after training and wanted to smell fabulous, y-yes I know." She lowered her voice to a whisper but Blake didn't have any trouble hearing. "I can still read your mind, so if you could please turn your brain off like normal and stop thinking the things that you're thinking I'd be very appreciative!"

Weiss attempted to release herself from the embrace and get off the bed but from Blake's perspective she didn't appear to be trying too terribly hard, and soon the two began wrestling and swinging pillows so wildly they might as well have been trying to take each other's heads off. Blake watched on chuckling but just as she took a step toward them to get in on the action her bow twitched and a moment later she she heard confident sounding footsteps exit the elevator that just screamed to the world 'Look at me!'

"SHE'S COMING!" Blake slammed the door shut while the other two froze mid-swing.

"THE PRESENTS!"

Like red, white, and black whirlwinds they began cramming presents back into the already too full closet. More than once the girls nearly sprung the deathtrap that was made up of just as many books and clothes as it was dust and ammunition, and occasionally a teammate had to be rescued before they could be buried alive. Zwei meanwhile smartly kept his distance even when the cat-smelling girl tried luring him in with more anchovies.

When the door unlocked and squeaked open warm air rushed into the room and a tall blonde looking as though she'd been caught by rain quietly poked her head in as if checking to see if anyone was asleep. Blake was calmly sitting by the windowsill reading a book as was her custom while Weiss filed her immaculate nails at the desk as was her's, but the blonde's eyes didn't stop searching until she found the caped-girl in the middle of the room playing with Zwei as she had since she was little. They all seemed out of breath, particularly her sister and Weiss whose faces were flushed, and scanning the room with her expertly trained huntress eyes and her big sister intuition she came to a halt on Weiss' uncharacteristically untidy bed causing a lopsided grin to stretch across her face.

"Alright-" Yang closed the door, locked it, and dropped several bags of fast-food onto the desk before crossing her arms over her chest- "I'm giving you a choice. Either tell me why you two look like you've been rolling on the bed together, or I'll just use my colorful imagination and we can cut to the important stuff like everything you all said about me while I was gone."

All three girls glanced up at her nervously then each other then back at their cocky, expectant-looking interrogator with Ruby and Weiss subtly adjusting their ruffled clothes.

"Why would we talk about you?" Weiss huffed, having been unanimously voted as speaker. "There's plenty to talk about in the world besides you, like me for instance."

"And the tournament," Ruby added helpfully, looking back at Blake who was smartly remaining silent.

Yang blinked clearing not buying it and shifted her gaze to a target so easily broken it usually spoiled her game, so instead she glared at her partner whose silence was becoming more readable for her by the day.

"Well for one thing," she boasted, hands now on her hips, "we're girls, and whenever one of us aren't in the room they're pretty much all we talk about."

Slowly, three comprehending heads raised and glared mutinously at each other trying to figure out what might've been said about them, as well as what sort of insults or payback might be in order.

"So, Ruby, if you tell me what y'all said about me I'll tell you what Weiss and Blake really think of your taste in music."

The caped-girl turned to Weiss then back at Blake looking hurt. "B-but y-you guys said you liked my music?"

"Don't listen to anything she says," Weiss seethed. "She's just trying to break one of us so that we stab the other two in the back."

"Because she knows it'll work..." Blake muttered, turning the page.

"Weiss, I'll tell you- wait, no scratch that. We pretty much say the same things behind your back that we do in front of your face."

"Good to know..."

"Except nowhere near as nicely." After exchanging their customary 'Go to hell' look which for them was much like saying hello to each other, Yang turned back to her partner and flared her aura causing Blake to instinctively look up to see a devilish grin staring back at her. "You wanna know what little Rubes here thinks about your you-know-what under your mattress?"

Blake closed her book and nearly growled. "No, as a matter of fact I don't, and for the last time it's a neck massager. All of you were there when I bought it." She glanced down at the caped-girl who smiled and waved innocently. "And what have I told you about looking under my bed?"

"I was just looking for a book to read, and it was under your mattress not your bed..."

"Alright, let's try this another way," Yang said, enjoying their little game but also wanting to get to the good part. "Blake, you and I share our thoughts, memories, and very souls now, and I'll tell them the full, unedited, uncensored story of the time you went swimming in a lake and had to run to a nearby village naked because a Grimm had eaten your clothes and started chasing you and your friend. Weiss, I'll tell them what I caught you doing that you gave me five hundred lien to never talk about. And, Rubes, I'll tell them about the tea party incident you had with Zwei. The person who answers my question doesn't get judged by their friends for the rest of their life."

With her threat looming in the air the girls' faces each began turning several shades of red, and occasionally their mouths would open to speak but promptly close again when the other two looked their way.

"Alright!" Yang began rubbing her hands together. "Weiss first, unless you'd like to say something, princess?"

"I-I-uh," Weiss blinked staring at the blonde who she suddenly realized was soaking wet and creating a puddle underneath her. "Why don't you just wear a raincoat or carry an umbrella like any ordinary person? They're literally at every entrance of every building on campus. Just look! You're getting the carpet all wet!"

Yang frowned and glancing down at herself flared her aura so brightly that everyone in the room had to shield their eyes. Retrieving a hairbrush from her ammo belt she then meticulously began fixing her hair which in mere moments was just as stunning if not more so than when it was wet, something that made even the girl who routinely cut her own hair with a sniper-scythe jealous.

"You're stalling, but for your information I'm not ordinary, I'm extraordinary. And I hate umbrellas."

"Since when and why?"

Yang made an arm motion which activated her right gauntlet and caused Weiss to scoot back in her chair. "Since around the same time I developed a strong hatred for ice cream and trains, which coincidentally started around the same time I developed an almost uncontrollable urge to punch pint-sized acrobats in their smug faces."

Weiss swallowed and began speaking in a higher pitch than normal. "For the record I'm a former gymnast, not an acrobat, and I wasn't even particularly good without my aura."

Before Yang could respond Ruby's stomach growled, and as if in response Weiss' followed suit causing them to both look at each other and blush.

Yang giggled finding her baby sister and her partner in sync adorable. "Same difference." She playfully winked and after repeating the arm motion in reverse began emptying the bags of food which Zwei was now begging for down below.

Blake got to her feet and helped Ruby onto her's and soon they all crowded around the large sacks overflowing with burgers, fries, onion rings, milkshakes, and other goodies. Yang however held up her hand just as paper plates began being passed around.

"You were talking about my birthday presents weren't you?" she asked coldly, staring directly at her sister.

Game over...

"N-no..." Ruby stuttered, shaking underneath her sister's gaze while Weiss and Blake lent their support. "Yeah..."

They both groaned while Yang squealed and began jumping up and down clapping her hands together, and in a single motion gathered all three into an embrace that took them off their feet and nearly broke their spines.

"You're the best! Even you, Weiss!"

"Hate you..." muttered a muffled voice.

"You can't open any presents until tomorrow," said another muffled voice.

"And no peeking!" Blake added, thankful not to be suffocating like the two down below.

Yang set them down and grinned devilishly again. "We'll just see about that..."

Without another word she launched them onto Weiss' bed amid laughing and screaming.

"TEAM RWBY CUDDLE PUDDLE! OH NO! WHO'S THAT? IT'S THE TICKLE MONSTER!"

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. "You Are My Sunshine" is a very special song for me personally. To me it's a very bittersweet song in that it's sung with a cheerful voice but also a heavy heart, and that's a rather apt description of Yang in my opinion. It was rather refreshing to get a chapter with mostly just Ruby, Weiss, and Blake together as that hasn't happened in awhile, but I also really enjoyed Yang's interactions with them. Chapter Twenty is quite the milestone and I have God to thank for blessing me with so many wonderful readers. It was December 2014 that I first put pen to paper and began writing what would eventually become "The Petals Scatter Now", and I could never have imagined it would've blossomed four years later. Thank you everyone who has supported me on this journey, and I hope you enjoy what's to come in "The Best Birthday Ever!" arc. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and all of you. God bless)