Chapter 59

Yang found the costume disappointingly simple. It was just a white tunic, tied around the waist with a white sash. Also included was a chaplet of laurel leaves, worn by Yang as a guest of honor. Pyrrha explained that she would be wearing something similar, though as eldest daughter of the family her sash would be red and she would wear a circlet of bronze. The tradition apparently dated back to the ancient military traditions of Western Mistral, though Pyrrha was short on the details of how it applied to Solstice celebrations. Yang was annoyed by the loose fit of the garment, but Pyrrha insisted, telling her she would have to wear clothes beneath it.

Since she was in town, Yang decided to make another stop. She and Pyrrha got in the car, Yang navigating without telling Pyrrha exactly where they were going. "And make a right here." Yang instructed.

"Yang, why can't you just say...oh damnit." Pyrrha grumbled as the destination came into view. It was the motorcycle dealership. "I was hoping you'd at least wait until the spring before you got yourself a new death machine."

"Sorry Pyr, all that money's burning a hole in my pocket." Yang smirked.

"Fine." Pyrrha sighed.

Pyrrha parked her car at the dealership and Yang eagerly jogged inside. She was immediately drawn to a bike on a pedestal in the showroom. It had a similar yellow and black livery to the bike she had crashed, though judging by the size, price and aggressive styling of the new machine, it was a step up from Yang's old bike. "This, this is my new bike." Yang declared.

"Yang, it has a bigger engine than my car, and it costs as much as a house." Pyrrha warned. Indeed, at 4 cylinders the bike's engine outdid Milo's by one and it had a larger displacement, and the bike cost almost 200,000 lien. "I think this is an actual racing bike."

"Yep." Yang confirmed. "They just added some bits to make it street legal. Super light, super fast, perfect handling...it's a dream machine."

"None of that will matter if you crash." Pyrrha frowned. "I...don't want to lose you."

"If I had this thing's acceleration, I would have made it past the truck." Yang noted.

"Is that supposed to convince me?" Pyrrha asked.

"Is there anything that would convince you?" Yang countered. Pyrrha failed to respond. "More to the point, is there anything you can do to convince me not to get it?"

"I could threaten to leave you." Pyrrha suggested.

"But we love each other too much, and you're far too nice to do that." Yang noted. "I promise I'll be careful. I won't go stupid fast unless I'm on a closed circuit - I've always wanted to do a lap around Signalstone - and I'll obey all the traffic laws."

"You promise?" Pyrrha pressed.

"I promise." Yang confirmed.

"Well...you'd better be telling the truth." Pyrrha huffed. "I'm not coming to scrape you off the pavement."

"You won't need to." Yang smiled. "This is so cool, I can't wait to take this baby out for a test drive."

Pyrrha pulled Milo to a stop in front of the house. Yang followed her down the driveway astride her new bike. She had named it Bumblebee 2.0, or Bumblebee 2: Electric Boogaloo, or Bumblebee 2: The Revenge. Yang still had not decided which name best fit the vehicle. After filling out the paperwork for the bike, she and Pyrrha had gone to a nearby shop where Yang purchased a new set of leathers. She insisted on getting Pyrrha a set as well, though Pyrrha suspected that had more to do with getting her into tight leather clothes than anything else. Yang had purchased a new helmet too, an aerodynamic model with a flame design.

Having heard the bike's loud rumble, Summer met the pair in front of the house. Yang shut off the bike and flipped up her visor. "Hey mom, what do ya' think?"

"I think I'm going to worry myself to death." Summer replied.

"You and me both." Pyrrha sighed.

"I thought you were taking her clothes shopping." Summer noted.

"Yang insisted we visit the dealership while we were out." Pyrrha explained. "If I knew she would get that, I would have refused."

Yang slipped off her helmet and tucked it under her arm. "Come on, relax. I went years without crashing my other bike."

"Until you crashed bad enough to lose your arm and end up in a coma." Summer grumbled.

"Mom, I already promised Pyrrha I'll be careful, like, super careful." Yang argued. "It'll be fine, I'll be fine."

"I guess I always knew you'd ride again." Summer relented. "But you'd better be careful. I swear, if something happens-"

"So you're not coming to scrape me off the pavement either." Yang smirked. "Maybe Raven will have a spatula handy."

Glynda sat alone in her office, bored out of her mind. Normally she was busy. There was seemingly always something to do, but today she had completed what work was required early, managing a few calls and ensuring the patchwork scheduling of temporary replacement personal trainers was in order. Now she alternated between browsing on her desktop and playing games on her scroll. It was nearly lunch, all she had to do was kill time until Raven knocked to take her out.

Since they had reunited, Raven had been quieter, not exactly subdued, but generally less loud and abrasive. She avoided talking about Summer, drank far less, and spent much of her time around Glynda, waiting on her hand and foot. It was both a refreshing change of pace, and a worrying departure from her usual personality. Raven was Raven, loud, proud and obnoxious. It was clear from where Yang had inherited many of her characteristics. Raven was loving and kind to those close to her, biting and harsh to those who rubbed her the wrong way, but very rarely had she been afraid. Glynda could count the times Raven had been afraid on one hand - when she returned to Summer for the first time, when she made Glynda quit smoking, when she revealed her identity to Yang, and recently, the moment Glynda walked into the dojo to find Winter's arm broken, and onward.

Even now there was still that fear, like Glynda was suddenly going to push Raven away if she did not prove herself worthy of her love again. Glynda did not care about that, not truly. She would always be jealous of the love Raven held for Summer. Raven had skirted more than a few lines over the years, but had never treated Glynda like anything less than the love of her life. Summer just happened to be her first, the woman who gave her the love she needed, but not what she wanted. Glynda was the first to do both, and she gave her all, welcoming Raven into her life, her home and her heart, and Raven was truly grateful, despite her tendency to slip up. Right now she was dedicated to showing it, through embraces and kisses, cooking up a storm, cleaning the house and gym until they were spotless and...serving her with a ravenous enthusiasm beneath the sheets. As much as Glynda loved this new devoted Raven, she knew a talk was in order. She just hoped it would go well.

A knock ran on the door, shaking Glynda from her thoughts. "Yes? Come in."

There came a shuffling and bumping before the door opened, revealing Winter carefully holding a white box with a tray of coffee on top. "Hello Glynda. I brought muffins."

"Oh, thank you." Glynda responded. "Would you like help?"

"No, no, I've got this." Winter refused as she stabilized the box and kicked the door shut. "I'm not entirely disabled you know."

"Thank God for that." Glynda chuckled. "How are you healing?"

"Good, good." Winter replied. "I ache a little in the morning and showering with a bag is annoying, but I'm improving." She placed the box on Glynda's desk, alongside the coffee tray. One of the cups, marked with a "G", she passed to Glynda, taking the one marked "W" herself. "Raven said you take it black with one sugar?"

Glynda smiled and nodded, taking a sip. She had been meaning to refill the pot she kept in her office, but it kept slipping her mind. "Mmm, it's perfect, thank you."

"It's no problem." Winter demurred. "I dropped one off to Raven too. She should be along soon. The muffins are baked fresh by the way." Winter opened the box and the smell of fresh baked goods wafted out, making Glynda's mouth water and her stomach growl.

"To what do I owe such kindness?" Glynda asked, taking a rather large and warm blueberry muffin.

"Summer wanted to train on a machine we don't have at home, and I wanted to speak with you about an idea I've had." Winter answered.

"Oh?" Glynda took a large bite of her muffin, looking at Winter curiously.

"Please don't take this as a personal slight, but I couldn't help but notice the overall state of the gym is quite...old fashioned." Winter observed.

Glynda laughed, nearly choking on her muffin before swallowing. "That's certainly a word for it. Yes, there have been no major renovations to the gym since I opened it. I've just periodically updated the equipment, replaced damaged weights, etcetera. It's been about 20 years, so I guess the styling is getting a bit behind the times."

"And you've never considered a modern update?" Winter asked, sipping her mocha.

"I have, many times in fact, but I have high standards, it would be quite expensive." Glynda replied. "In any case, I have another, more important project to save for."

"Oh?" Winter smirked. "Planning on opening a dungeon?"

"No, something far worse I'm afraid." Glynda deadpanned.

"I'm on the edge of my seat." Winter grinned as Glynda turned to her desktop, typing and clicking away before turning the screen to face her. A real estate website was revealed, showing a rather large but bland building...and a high price. "Ah, I see, you want to expand."

"I have been saving for quite some time, twelve years in fact." Glynda explained. "I estimate the total cost, between the building, necessary renovations and equipment, to be about five million lien."

"And how far have you come?" Winter asked.

"One point two million." Glynda answered. "In the long term, I hope to pay for the property upfront, and take out a loan for the rest."

"That is a lot of debt Glynda." Winter warned.

"I had to deal with that level of debt when I opened this place, and I have at least another forty years to pay it off, so I'll be fine." Glynda noted. "But no, I have no current plans to renovate. What was the idea you wished to discuss?"

"An investment, to fund the renovation of the gym." Winter replied. "As for your expansion...I assume you are aware of Yang's settlement."

"If you are implying I should mooch off of her-" Glynda started.

"No, no, far from it." Winter interrupted. "Yang came to me asking for financial advice, how to best use the majority of her funds. Ten million lien is far more than someone such as she could ever need, so among other things, she plans on saving and investing the majority, should I come across something she may be interested in. I believe this qualifies."

Glynda sat back in her chair and sipped her coffee, taking another bite of her muffin as she mulled it over. Winter was right, Yang had the funds, and very little to do with them, and if properly approached would more than likely hand them over. Yang cared for her, she was family, practically a mother for her presence and role in her life. But Glynda could not shake the nagging fear of taking advantage. Yang and Ruby both were so kind, open, honest and generous. If Ruby suddenly found herself with ten million lien she'd likely donate half of it to charity in a heartbeat, then splurge on a new graphics tablet, headphones, art supplies and cookies, then give the rest to Yang or Summer because she was afraid of going too far. Yang had the initiative to ask someone experienced in finance and investment, more so than even herself. And that person was now offering advice to Glynda, sound advice, yet still…

"I...will consider this suggestion." Glynda decided. "Thank you Winter. And as for your offer, we can discuss this now if you wish."

"I do, and for the record, in the unlikely scenario Yang refuses, I will finance the expansion myself." Winter declared.

Glynda froze with the muffin halfway to her open mouth, staring at Winter in shock. The door opened and Raven strode in. "Hey Glyn, hey Win, sorry I'm late." Raven took a seat beside Winter. "Kid twisted his ankle, again. Dumbass doesn't know how to land...you're gonna' catch flies hon'."

Glynda shut her mouth, placing the muffin down and rubbing her eyes. "Did he land or was he thrown?"

"He tried to do a backflip." Raven replied. Glynda looked at her skeptically. "I swear to God!"

In the morning, a limousine arrived to transport Ruby, Weiss and Blake from the university to the airport. It was a short ride, but Weiss managed to drain much of the limo's supply of booze. Her nerves were hardly a surprise. She was never comfortable with flying, and Winter would not be along this time to help comfort her. Add to that the Cinder incident, and her fears were thrust to the front of her mind. Blake and Ruby had ensured she took her anti-anxiety pills, and that she had more with her, just in case. Weiss was determined to push through. After a quick trip through security, she strode onto the plane, exuding confidence, even if she did start trembling once she was in her seat.

The night before, they had said farewell to their friends, discussing their respective vacation plans. Cinder and Neo had departed after Cinder said her apologies, but she told Weiss via text that they planned to spend the break at home recovering, to be in the best shape possible when the next semester started. Though they had missed weeks of classes, Salem arranged for a modified, from-home program that allowed them to complete the courses they had been taking prior to the accident.

Sun and Neon decided to vacation together, splitting the time between their respective families. Sun's would come first, with a week staying at his older sister's house with the rest of his family. She was the wealthiest, most straight-laced member of the family, and though that could make things a bit boring, it was certainly safer and more comfortable than spending the time at his parents' home in the inner city. After that, the pair planned to travel across town to spend the remainder of the break with Xenon. Neon was nervous about introducing her boyfriend to her mother, but she would have to do it eventually, and the holiday was as good a time as any.

Coco and Velvet chose to spend the break with Coco's family. Velvet was not on good terms with her own family, and for a number of reasons they would not approve of Coco, so it was the only serious option. Coco had some misgivings about the arrangement. Her parents had always tried to steer her towards heterosexual relationships, and their ignorance when it came to Faunus was colossal. But even when she acted against their wishes, they continued to support her, though at times it was accompanied by a sigh and roll of the eyes. Coco's main fear was not her parents rejecting Velvet, but them doing something so stupid and insensitive that they might cause her to have second thoughts about the relationship.

Ruby, Weiss and Blake already had some of their vacation planned out as well, but only in outline. The plane lined up at the end of the runway, waiting for permission to take off. Weiss gripped her seat's armrests, her knuckles bleached white. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked. "Do you need more pills?"

"I'll be fine." Weiss replied through gritted teeth. The engines roared as they were throttled up, and the plane began to rumble down the runway. Weiss whimpered as the aircraft was jostled about. Then the plane left the ground and all was smooth. Weiss loosened her grip and took a deep breath. "See, fine."

"You still have your eyes closed." Blake noted.

"Yep." Weiss confirmed.

"Planning to open them?" Ruby asked.

"Nope." Weiss replied.

"Pretending you're somewhere else?" Blake asked.

"Mhm." Weiss nodded.

"Sure you don't want more pills?" Ruby pressed.

"No." Weiss persisted. "Well...maybe."