Chapter 28

Ruby pulled a shirt over her head, Blake pulling on a pair of jeans behind her. Laying on the bed, Ruby was greeted with the enticing sight of Blake's rear, foregoing underwear thanks to a 'mishap' on Ruby's part. She barely noted the knock on the door. "We're decent." Blake called. The door opened and Ruby tore her gaze from Blake's behind to Weiss, who bumped the door closed with her hip, holding an iced muffin in one hand and a tray with two cups in the other.

"I stopped by the cafe for a while." Weiss explained.

Ruby grinned, eyeing the muffin, but upon glancing at Weiss' face, her expression fell. Weiss' eyes were still red-rimmed, tired and slightly cold, her thin smile barely plastered on. Blake evidently noticed too, as she fixed on Weiss with a worried look. "Weiss, are you okay?" Ruby asked.

Weiss' smile grew grim before she sighed, walking forward to sit beside Ruby on the bed, holding the muffin out for her to take before handing over the coffee and hot chocolate. "Neon and I have decided to end our arrangement." She declared. "We are no longer able to keep things platonic, and I am incompatible with her on a personal level."

Ruby and Blake moved to flank Weiss, resting a hand on her shoulder and thigh respectively. Weiss' expression fell and she withdrew into herself. "Weiss, are you going to be okay?" Blake asked.

Weiss chewed her lip, avoiding looking at either of her friends. As much as their touch pained her, their concern, their love for her comforted Weiss almost equally. She simultaneously wanted to flee and to relax into their arms, to let her pain flow freely, willingly soothed by the women she so loved. Instead she barely stifled a sob, managing a nod. "I will be." She replied. Blake moved her hand to Weiss' back, its warmth like a red hot iron through her shirt.

"What about Neon?" Ruby asked.

Weiss shook her head. The last she had seen of Neon was the sad smile on her face as she turned away, closing the door behind her with barely a sound, as if Neon were afraid of startling her, of causing any more discomfort than had already been inflicted. Her bottom lip quivvered. "I...I don't know." Weiss croaked, eyes stinging once more. She felt Ruby's arm slide around her waist, and as Blake pulled her into an embrace, the dam finally broke, and Weiss willingly vented her anguish in the arms of the women she loved.

Yang was released from the hospital, sent home with a corrected prescription and a mostly clean bill of health. She was showing no symptoms, but the doctors wanted her and those around her to be on the lookout for signs of neurological trouble. Her time spent comatose and the bump to her head had them concerned, and given the unpredictability of head injuries, it was better safe than sorry. Yang was happy to be out of the hospital again, much happier than she had been a few months before. Then it had seemed her whole world was falling apart. Now there was hope.

Back home, Summer immediately retired to her room for a much needed nap. Yang headed to her room with Pyrrha in tow. There was work to be done. Dirty clothes were strewn about the floor and the bed needed fresh coverings. Summer was normally on top of taking care of both, but with extra guests in the house for a week, followed by the crisis of Yang's overdose, she had fallen behind. Yang wanted to give her mother some rest, and Pyrrha was only too happy to help.

The sheets were stripped from the bed and taken to the laundry, along with the pillowcases and covers. Yang did her best to collect the scattered articles of clothing, though Pyrrha's two arms gave her a decided advantage. Pyrrha took a load of laundry to the proper room before returning. She found Yang sitting beside the bed, a shoebox in her lap. It appeared to be full of instant photographs. A small clump of garments sat beside Yang, clearly set aside so she could peruse the pictures.

"What's that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Just some pictures from my adventure with Nora." Yang replied.

"Adventure?" Pyrrha asked.

"Remember when I was dating her, and we left for a while?" Yang asked. Pyrrha nodded. "We went on a little trip."

Pyrrha walked over and sat beside Yang. "You and Nora on an adventure, I have to hear about this." She chuckled.

Yang searched through the box, producing a picture of she and Nora on a boat, the sea at their backs. "This is us on the ferry." Yang started. "Right after we took this we decided to bang in one of the bathrooms. Sex at sea! But it didn't go well. It was hot in there, and Nora got seasick, and we'd barely gotten started when she threw up all over me."

"Oh God…" Pyrrha did her best to suppress a laugh. "Let me guess, it didn't even slow you down."

"No, it stopped us cold." Yang corrected. "Nora was miserable for the rest of the ride. She recovered pretty quick once we got to dry land though. Then it was time to head for the parade."

"Parade?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Yeah, it was the Summer Solstice Festival, and in Vale there's a big parade, basically a giant party in the streets." Yang explained. "Mostly it's an excuse to cut loose, lots of people getting drunk and girls showing their tits." Yang rummaged through the box, finally pulling out a picture of a sleeping Nora, her legs hanging over the edge of a cheap hotel room's bed. She was wearing nothing but a tie-dye shirt and a comical quantity of novelty beads. "I think Nora had her shirt off more than on that night, hence the beads."

"I don't follow." Pyrrha noted.

"If someone gives you beads, you're supposed to flash your boobs, or you get the beads first, then flash, my memory of that night is still a little hazy." Yang shrugged. "I didn't give a shit about beads, but once people started offering me free drinks to show 'em off, I got into the spirit of the event. Anyway, rented a room in this dive motel, and we were about to bang, but Nora was just totally worn out from all the partying. She barely got her pants off before she passed out. I took the picture then passed out too. It's a good thing I got it too, it was during one of her rare clean-shaven phases."

"Yeah...good thing…" Pyrrha rolled her eyes.

"The next day we went to the beach." Yang continued, immediately displaying a photograph of she and Nora in bikinis. Well, part of bikinis. Both were topless.

"Was it a nude beach?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nope." Yang smirked. "But no one seemed to mind us walking around topless. Except this one cop, but he didn't chase us when we ran into the water, and he gave up after a few minutes."

"Yang…" Pyrrha sighed.

"Yeah, I know." Yang chuckled. "After we sunbathed and swam for a while, we walked down the beach and found this secluded little cove. Finally got to bang."

"What did you guys do next?" Pyrrha pressed.

"Well, we just sort of saw the sights." Yang shrugged, quickly going through a series of photos. "The trip was sort of a bust after that. We expected to spend the whole summer traveling the continent, but we ran out of money in like a week. I had to call Summer, and she ended up picking us up like 20 miles from the city. We really didn't get far. We would have slept under the stars and hitchhiked everywhere, but what got us was the food. We didn't know what we were doing, it was a spur of the moment thing. Shocking, I know. Having to call it off like that...I felt like shit, you know? I wanted to be all independent and make Nora happy, plus we were having the time of our lives! But reality hit us hard and...God I hated making that scroll call. But Summer just laughed it off and said she'd be right there. We had to wait a few hours, but she pulled up with a big smile on her face." Yang put the pictures back. "Such great memories...stuff like this got me through the break-up. When I was feeling down I'd look through the photos and think of all those great memories we made." Yang put the lid on the box and slid it back under the bed. "I guess it's our turn to make some memories."

"Wow, that's a cheesy line, even for you." Pyrrha giggled.

"You love it." Yang declared.

"I do." Pyrrha confirmed. She stood. "Come on, let's get these clothes to the washing machine already." Yang stood, pushing off the bed with her stump while holding the clump of clothes in her hand. She winced and grunted. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine, just a little twinge." Yang assured her.

"You're a bad liar." Pyrrha accused. "With your pain tolerance, to put on a face like that...you must be in agony."

"Fine, the phantom pains are acting up again." Yang shrugged. "I'll get used to it."

"Take your pills." Pyrrha urged.

"Pyrrha, I can't." Yang admitted. Her tough facade shattered and suddenly she seemed on the edge of tears. "I'm afraid to. I...I don't want to fuck up again."

"But you can't just suffer." Pyrrha noted.

"It was hard enough to use the morphine drip in the hospital, and there were hard limits on it to keep me safe." Yang sighed. "Now...I can't."

"Please, do it for me." Pyrrha beseeched.

Yang stood there for a moment. She glanced at the pill bottle on the nightstand, then to Pyrrha. Yang tossed the clothes she still held onto her bed, then picked up the bottle, handing it to Pyrrha. "Here, you're in charge of them." Yang declared.

"What?" Pyrrha asked.

"I can't trust myself, but I can trust you." Yang explained. "You'll make sure I take them when I really need it, and you'll keep me safe."

"Yang I...what about Summer?" Pyrrha suggested. "Wouldn't she be better for this?"

"Maidens no." Yang scoffed. "She's way too much of a pushover. She'd never be able to say no. And the second I showed a hint of discomfort she'd practically start shoving them down my throat. It has to be you."

"Well...I guess." Pyrrha relented. She unscrewed the cap and poured two pills into her palm. "Here, take two. You need them."

Yang took the pills from Pyrrha and popped them into her mouth. "Yes ma'am."

To the outside observer, it was not a pretty sight. It had started out as one, but in the course of the night, things had clearly gone awry. Yang's bed was plenty large enough for both she and Pyrrha to have space to themselves, but what was the point of sharing a bed if they kept to their sides and never touched? Yang wanted to feel loved, wanted to be held, so she had allowed Pyrrha to be the big spoon as the two drifted off to sleep. They had been fresh, smiling, and recently showered when they commenced their slumber. Now...not so much.

Pyrrha woke to find her face encased in damp golden hair. It was in her mouth, in her eyes, everywhere. The citrus smell of Yang's shampoo had gone, replaced by the reflected stench of Pyrrha's own morning breath. At some point during the night, Yang had shifted. She was now spread out on her back, a leg over Pyrrha's hips with her stump jabbed into Pyrrha's shirt between her breasts. She continued to snore, drool dripping down her cheek and soaking into her pillow. Pyrrha knew she must look similarly disheveled, and she suspected the subtle dampness of Yang's hair was the result of her own saliva.

What a mess. But to Pyrrha it was beautiful. She remained as still as she could, watching Yang sleep, a smile etched into her face. Yang's eyes eventually fluttered open. "Mornin' Pyr." Yang yawned.

"Good morning Yang." Pyrrha responded. "Sleep well?"

"Meh." Yang groaned. "I need…" Yang trailed off as Pyrrha felt Yang's stump move. Yang's eyes opened wider. "Oh...uh...sorry about that. Didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it." Pyrrha cut her off. "If you'll kindly move your leg, I'd be happy to go make us some coffee."

"Sure." Yang smiled. Pyrrha leaned over and kissed Yang on the forehead. A proper kiss would have to wait until they had both brushed their teeth. She stood and stretched. "I didn't wake you or anything, did I? I know I can be a...violent sleeper."

"No, I only woke up a few minutes ago." Pyrrha replied. "I had a wonderful night."

Yang chuckled. "So did my stump apparently."

Summer walked up and down the aisles of the grocery store alone, as she had many times over the past several years. It should have been just another normal shopping trip, but it was not. She felt lonely. She had quite enjoyed Winter's company, even if she was no help when it came to the actual shopping. Still, it was not as if standing there and crying about it was going to change the situation. Winter had promised to return, and Summer would just have to get on with her life until she did.

There was reason for optimism. Yang had requested a number of healthy items. She wanted to get back into 'fighting shape' - whatever that meant - and to that end needed to eat healthier. Since her accident she had let her usually strict diet slip, and though she looked no less fit, she apparently felt the change. Now Yang was even talking about going back to the gym, not to work yet, just to exercise, but it was a start. With both her and Pyrrha out of the house, and probably distracted while in it, Summer might just be able to get out of her own exercise regimen sometimes.

As Summer approached the candy aisle - Yang was on a diet, not her - she heard a familiar commotion. The Valkyries were near. Sure enough, Summer spotted Nora, Ren and Jaune as she rounded the corner. Jaune stood by the trolley in the middle of the row as Nora rushed around, grabbing bags of candy and dumping them in. Ren almost as quickly pulled them out, placing them back on the shelves from whence they had come. "I can do this all day!" Nora threatened as she dumped another load into the cart. "You can't keep me from my candy!"

"At this rate we're not going to get any shopping done." Jaune sighed. "Nora, please make an attempt at seeing reason."

"I want more gummy bears!" Nora demanded, grabbing a handful of bags.

"They're bad for you." Ren noted. "...and the baby."

Nora froze. "But...gummy bears…" Nora sulked.

"You can get one bag, and they have to last all week." Ren allowed.

"Can I get some chocolate too?" Nora asked.

"Yes, but only one bag of that too." Ren nodded.

"Fine." Nora sighed. She quickly grabbed a bag - the biggest on offer - of gummies and a bag of chocolate pieces, placing each in the trolley.

"You're gonna' need a new argument after she gives birth." Summer chuckled. "Better start working on it now."

"Oh, hey Mama Rose!" Nora cheered. She rushed over and hugged Summer.

"Didn't expect to see you here." Jaune added.

"Nora, why don't you accompany Summer while we finish shopping?" Ren suggested.

"Sounds great!" Nora agreed. "Already got what I wanted anyway...sort of." Ren and Jaune breathed sighs of relief and departed. "Will you buy me some candy?"

Summer hesitated. "Okay, but don't tell them." She smiled. "It'll be our little secret."

"Okay Mama Rose!" Nora skipped away to grab another bag of treats. "You're the best."

"How's everything going?" Summer asked. She started pushing the cart down the aisle as they chatted.

"Pretty good." Nora replied. "I swear I can feel the baby kicking sometimes, but it's probably too early for that."

"You're at what, four months?" Summer asked. Nora nodded. "Hmm...I actually can't remember when stuff like that starts. It's been so long since I had Ruby."

"Ah well." Nora shrugged. "I guess I should do some research. Or have Ren do some research. I'll just end up watching cat videos…"

"Oh, I don't know if she told you, but Yang's home." Summer remembered. "She's healthy and happier than I've seen her in a long time."

"That's great!" Nora cheered. She glanced at Summer and her mood dipped. "But you don't seem too happy."

"Don't mind me, just got a lot on my mind." Summer waved her off.

"Is it about Winter?" Nora persisted.

"Yep." Summer confirmed.

"What's the problem?" Nora asked.

"Well, now that she's gone, I feel pretty lonely." Summer admitted. "I haven't felt like this since...I guess since Tai left."

"I'm sure she'll be back soon." Nora encouraged.

"She said she would be." Summer nodded. "But that only fixes the easy problem."

"What's the hard one?" Nora asked.

"The thing is, the whole Winter situation has me...conflicted." Summer sighed. "I always thought I was straight. I told Raven as much back when we were younger and she expressed her interest in me. Now...I'm pretty sure I love Winter, and I'm pretty sure that makes me a liar."

"Not necessarily." Nora shrugged. "People change. Sexuality can be fluid. First I thought I was straight, then bisexual when I was with Yang, now probably pan, because going from Ren to Yang and back to Ren showed me that gender doesn't matter."

"I don't wanna' to hurt Raven though." Summer frowned. "I can tell she still has feelings for me, but I still don't feel that way about her."

"You can't force love." Nora declared. "If you don't feel that way about her, that's just the way it is. Sometimes love hurts and there's no way around it. I'm sure it really hurt Yang when I went back to Ren. I love Yang, I really do, but Ren is on a whole different level, he's my soulmate. Yang knew it would be unfair to keep me from him, and Raven can probably see that it would be unfair to be mad at you for loving Winter. Sure, she's not gonna' be thrilled, but she'll be fine. You both will."

"That's...an encouraging way of looking at things." Summer declared.

"I have my moments." Nora chuckled. She spotted something on a nearby shelf. "Wait...they make cookies with candy inside them?! Why was I not informed?!"

Summer laughed. "Oh Nora, never change."