Chapter 16

Yang and Winter stood outside the Belladonnas' apartment door. Yang knocked firmly with one hand, clenching Winter's with the other. The door was opened by Blake, who's already grinning face brightened even further. "Hey, come in." Blake invited, stepping aside. "We're just watching cartoons."

The trio headed to the lounge. Velvet waved from her position on the couch, with Summer snuggled in her lap. "Aunty Yang!" Summer exclaimed, leaping up at the sight of her. Yang knelt down to allow Summer to rush into her arms. Yang squeezed her, but not too tightly. Ruby had always complained about how tightly she could hug, Yang knew her strength, and she just loved squeezing the life out of her sister. Summer, on the other hand, she treated like she was made of glass. Maybe when she was older she would get the full experience.

"Hey Yang, Winter, how's it goin'?" Velvet asked.

"Quite well, thank you." Winter replied with a polite bow. "Yourselves?"

"So far so good." Velvet answered. "No one else has fallen pregnant, as far as I know."

"I've considered stocking the bathroom with tests, just to be on the safe side." Winter joked. Blake and Velvet shared a laugh at that. Yang pecked Summer on the temple, and the little girl giggled before detaching. She ran over to hug Winter around the legs, and Winter smiled, reaching down to stroke her hair. "Summer, Aunt Yang and I need to talk to Aunt Blake and Velvet."

Summer nodded before returning to the couch, where Blake wrapped her in a hug. "Just go to your room for a bit." She requested. "We shouldn't be long."

"Mmkay!" Summer nodded before running off down the hall. At the sound of Summer's door closing, Winter took a seat on the couch. Yang stared down the hall for a minute longer, before joining Winter.

"You've given things thought?" Blake asked.

Yang chewed her lip, nodding. Winter pulled the adoption papers from her bag, placing them on the coffee table. "I haven't signed them yet." Yang noted. "Blake, Velv, I don't wanna' take Summer away from you if she belongs here."

"She belongs with family Yang." Velvet declared. "You're all she has. It's up to you."

"But you're family too Velv, both of you are, and you love her." Yang countered. "You love having her here, and she loves you too. You work together...I don't know if she'll work with me. I can't make this decision alone."

"Well, why don't you ask Summer?" Blake suggested.

"She loves you too Yang." Velvet added. "She misses you when you're gone, draws you, and Winter...she draws all of us really, but she really goes all out on you. She gets all shy if you try to look before she's done though."

"Just like her mother." Yang sighed, shaking her head and huffing a chuckle. She rubbed her eyes as they stung, swallowing the lump in her throat that threatened to burst forth. Winter's hand squeezed her shoulder and she took a deep breath. "Okay...I'll ask Summer."

Yang knocked twice on Summer's door, hearing a muffled chirp. She pushed in, closing it behind her. Summer sat on the bed, book in her lap. "Hey, whatcha' readin'?" Yang asked.

"Scarlet Rose." Summer replied. "It's really cool!"

Yang chuckled, laying down on the bed next to Summer. The little girl put the book aside and snuggled up to her. Yang wrapped an arm around Summer, enjoying the familiar feeling. It had been so long since she could do this. "Summer, I need to make a very big decision." Yang announced.

"What about?" Summer asked.

"You staying here, or coming with me." Yang replied.

"I like it here." Summer declared.

Yang's eyes stung again, and she squeezed them shut. "Yeah, I know." She managed.

"But I like you too." Summer added.

Yang hugged Summer a little tighter. "I like you too Sum, and I wanna' take care of you." Yang smiled. "I want you to be happy. We all do. They all say it's my choice, but I don't think that's fair. You haven't had a choice all your life, so I wanna' give you one." Yang looked down, meeting Summer's wide, silver eyes. She swallowed. "Do you wanna' stay here with Blakey and Velvs, or do you wanna' come with me and Winter?"

Summer blinked, but did not look away. Yang found holding her gaze difficult but unavoidable. She never thought she would look into those silver eyes again. It filled her with as much joy as sadness, creating an emotional whirlwind that churned in her gut, made worse by the warmth of the little body pressed against her side. "Won't Blakey and Velvy be sad if I go?" Summer asked.

"They'll be a little sad, but they just want you to be happy." Yang replied.

"I'd miss them." Summer noted.

"You can visit them anytime you like Summer, I promise." Yang declared.

"Does this mean you'll be my mummy?" Summer grinned.

"Yeah, if you want." Yang nodded, tearing up. "I'm your aunty though. My baby sis is your real mummy, don't ever forget that, okay?"

Summer nodded, then climbed on top of Yang, hugging her as fully as her arms could reach, giggling. Yang hugged her back, squeezing until she squeaked. "Too tight!"

Winter drove the sedan, with Yang the front passenger. The car was a fairly recent purchase, made when Winter tired of her convertible. As fun as it was she missed the comfort of a big luxury car. Sure, it was something of a reminder of the accident that had claimed Weiss' life, but she saw its purchase as another step in coming to terms with the tragedy. It was fortunate that she had made the purchase, because it was now necessary. In the back, Summer sat in her car seat, craning her neck to look at the scenery as Winter slowly rolled the car down the long drive toward the house.

Finally, the trees and shrubbery thinned out, revealing the modern structure, set against the beach behind it. "You live at the beach?!" Summer exclaimed.

"Yep." Yang confirmed. She had spent the past few minutes struggling to watch Summer in the mirror, taking joy in the faces she made. "Cool huh?"

"I love the beach!" Summer cheered. "Miss Arslan took us a few times. We got to swim and build sandcastles! It was awesome!"

"And now you get to do it all the time." Yang smiled.

"Ah, but no swimming unless Yang or I are present." Winter warned. "Safety first."

Summer's mood was not dampened by the warning. As soon as Winter pulled the car to a stop, she undid her belts, opened the door and slid out of the spacious back seat. She rushed around the house and onto the sand, Yang and Winter in hot pursuit. "Wow!" Summer gasped as she took in the sights. "Where are all the people? When Miss Arslan took us to the beach there were so many people."

"It's a private beach." Winter explained. "So it's just us. That gives us lots of room for sandcastles."

Summer giggled and rushed back to the house, climbing the steps onto the porch. She opened the screen door and pressed her face against the glass door beyond, straining to see inside. "You don't have to squish your face." Yang laughed. "We're going in." She slipped the key into the lock and opened the door as Summer moved out of the way.

Summer eagerly rushed into the house. After racing around to do an initial lap of the lounge, she slowly made her way along the walls, examining the various paintings that hung all around. "You have so many paintings." She observed. "They're really pretty."

"Your mother painted them." Winter declared. "We have even more in the other rooms. There were too many to hang up!"

"That's a funny table." Summer chuckled, pointing to the beat-up kitchen table.

"I brought that with me when I moved in." Yang noted. She thought for a moment before her expression darkened. "Ruby ate at that table…"

Winter saw Yang slipping and jumped in. "Summer, would you like to see your room?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Summer replied.

"Follow me." Winter said. She walked to the door of what had once been the guest room. She paused, then with a flourish, threw the door open. "Ta-da!"

Inside the room had little furniture, but the walls were adorned with several paintings. There was a bed with red covers, and a television on the wall. "It's so big!" Summer gasped. It was indeed much larger than the room she had occupied while living with the Belladonnas.

Yang twitched. "Yes." She nodded. "It's a big room, which means we can put a lot of stuff in here!"

"What kind of stuff?" Summer asked.

"Fun stuff!" Yang cheered. "Beanbags and toys and anything you want!"

"You're trying so hard not to say…" Winter smirked.

"Shaddap." Yang cut her off.

Summer leapt onto the bed and wrapped herself in the covers. "Don't get too comfortable." Winter warned. "We're going shopping."

"Shopping?" Summer asked. "For what?"

"For you!" Winter exclaimed. "We're going to get clothes, and furniture, and toys, whatever you want."

"Can I get a pony?" Summer asked.

"Uh...no." Yang replied. "Do you...do you really want one?"

"Not really." Summer shrugged and chuckled. "Can we get some art stuff too?"

Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "Of course!"

Winter and Yang took Summer to the mall to do some shopping. It was to be a major endeavor, covering everything Summer would need, from clothes to furniture to toys. First up was clothing. Summer had a bit from the orphanage, and the Belladonnas had added to her wardrobe, but she could still use some additions. Winter knew high fashion, but her knowledge of casual clothing was still sorely lacking, so she left things up to Yang and Summer.

Winter sat in a chair by the fitting rooms, watching her partner follow their newly adopted daughter through the aisles. It was strange to think of her that way, daughter, Summer Rose, now Summer Xiao-Long by law. Xiao-Long, not Schnee. Not her wife, not her daughter. Even Blake had seen fit to marry Velvet. Sun, Nora and Pyrrha would probably be next, however that would work. The only thing stopping Glynda and Raven seemed to be lack of concern. Perhaps they thought themselves past that. Perhaps their love was enough.

Was this enough? For her? For Yang? How did it make her feel, seeing her friends marry? Did Yang want to marry? Did Winter? Had she stayed under her father's thumb, she would have been married off eventually, most likely to some rich, arrogant heir who saw her body and wealth instead of her heart. Had that line of thinking forever ruined her view of marriage?

But Yang saw Winter's heart. It had brought them together, even as they lied to themselves, reveling in each other's bodies, brushing aside their true passion as carnal desire, all for nothing. They had fallen in love, and Winter gave her life to Yang, starting anew by her side. And now they had a child. It seemed they had skipped a vital step. If they married now, would it just be out of obligation? Could it, would it be something they truly desired?

"Win?" Yang asked. "Wakey, wakey!"

Winter jerked, meeting Yang's lilac gaze. She smiled, shaking her head free of the cobwebs. "Sorry, lost in thought." Winter laughed it off. "Did Summer find anything she likes?"

"She piled a bunch of stuff into the trolley." Yang replied, pointing to the overflowing cart. "Took a few things into the changing room. You okay? You had a really intense look just then."

"I'm fine Yang." Winter answered. "Did she only get clothing? What about underwear? Socks? Shoes? Hats?"

"We can get 'em next." Yang shrugged. "Let's just enjoy the show for now."

"Aunty Yang, Aunty Winter, look!" Summer called, leaping from the changing room in a yellow shirt and tan shorts.

"Lookin' stylin' Summer." Yang praised. She nudged Winter.

"Yes, very bright." Winter added.

"Try on something else!" Yang encouraged. Summer giggled, grabbed some things from the trolley and ran back into the fitting room.

"She's already taking after you." Winter joked.

"God I hope not." Yang shook her head. "You couldn't handle two of me."

"That doesn't inspire the image you intended Yang." Winter smirked. Yang slapped Winter on the shoulder, laughing.

"Look, I'm Aunt Winter!" Summer announced. Yang and Winter turned to see her wearing a white singlet top and blue skirt.

"Oh God." Winter chuckled.

"Oh, that's cute!" Yang cheered. Winter did her best to hide her smile as Summer twirled her skirt some, a bright smile on her face. "Definitely a good look! Keep 'em comin', we've got a load to work through." She tapped the trolley, still half-full of clothes. Summer nodded, grabbed more, and ran back inside. Yang wrapped her arm around Winter. "Now who's she taking after?"

"Shush you." Winter huffed.

Hearing a warble in Winter's voice, Yang noticed her bleary eyes. "Did she warm your frozen heart?" Yang smirked.

"Oh har-har." Winter scoffed.

"She's such a cutie." Yang declared. "If she grows up to be anything like you it'll be awesome."

"Oh hush." Winter waved her off. "It's you she should take after."

"What?" Yang demanded. "And be a bimbo?"

"You are not a bimbo." Winter countered. "Leave it alone. I was drunk and stupid."

"You were cruisin' for a bruisin' for sure, but you weren't wrong." Yang sighed.

"Yang, don't say that about yourself." Winter admonished.

"You saw my grades Win." Yang reminded.

Winter reached for Yang's hand, clasping it in both her own. "Average to above." Winter noted. "You weren't bad. Your strengths just lay in more practical subjects. You've seen me in the kitchen."

"You're learning." Yang protested. "You can, you know, not burn pancakes now, and you're great at chopping stuff. You're better than me with a knife for sure."

"Sure, I can chop things up and remember to flip when the batter bubbles, but you're amazing." Winter asserted. "Your cookbook grows every year, plus you're basically a mechanic and carpenter! You can do these amazing things I can't wrap my head around because it's full of numbers. You're a beautiful, amazing woman Yang Xiao-Long, I love you...I want to be yours for the rest of my life." With that, Winter tilted her head and kissed Yang, who reciprocated passionately, sliding her hand to lightly caress Winter's neck, Winter threading her fingers through Yang's mane.

"Eew!" Summer yelled.

Winter and Yang broke, turning to face the intrusion just as the door to the fitting room slammed shut. Exchanging a look, they chuckled. Pulling away, Winter smoothed her skirt and blouse, schooling her posture. Yang just slouched back, arm not leaving Winter's shoulder. "It's okay, Sum, you can come out now." Yang laughed. "It's safe."

Summer peeked out. Seeing it was indeed safe, she stepped out fully. Yang's breath caught. Summer was wearing black tights with a crimson skirt, her black t-shirt emblazoned with a red rose. "I look like mum!" Summer cheered.

"Yeah...yeah you do." Yang managed. "You're just as beautiful as she was Sum. Here, lemme' get a picture for Grandma Rave." Yang fumbled for her phone, struggling to free it from her tight jean pocket. Winter pulled her own from her purse, switching on the camera and handing it to Yang, who took it with a tight smile. "Big smile!"

Summer grinned toothily, clasping her hands. Yang snapped a picture and grinned at her. "Go on Summer." Winter encouraged. "Can you do Aunt Nora?"

"Yeah!" Summer exclaimed. She grabbed the appropriate garments and ran back into the changing room.

Winter wrapped her arm around Yang, who sat hunched over the phone, staring at the image and struggling to hold back her tears. "She's so beautiful Win." Yang sniffled. "Our daughter, our baby girl, Ruby's baby girl, Summer Xiao-Long."

Winter chewed her lip. "Legally she's your daughter." She noted. "I'm still a...Schnee."

Yang looked at Winter, confused at first, but smiled. "Then let's fix that." Yang suggested. She stood, fiddling with Winter's phone for a moment before dropping to a knee, taking Winter's hand and holding the phone before her, a picture of a diamond ring on screen. "Winter Schnee, will you do me the honor of putting up with my weird last name, for the rest of our lives?"

Winter blushed, laughing, even as her eyes stung. "Gladly." She leaned forward, meeting Yang in another fiery kiss that was sure to send Summer fleeing again.

After purchasing more clothes than Summer could probably ever wear, they moved on to furniture. The adult bed was replaced with a child-sized model, and properly sized furniture was added. Yang and Winter had expected to be buying a lot of pink, but Summer broke the mold, preferring red, black and purple. Instead of cutesy pieces designed for kids her age, she preferred more adult pieces, including a lamp with a stained glass shade. It was not just adult, but artistic as well. All the while Yang struggled to keep her composure. Ruby had been the same way. Summer seemed a little confused, but Yang insisted on a beanbag chair to finish it all off.

After the boring trip to the furniture store, it was time for fun. Yang and Winter brought Summer to a toy store, but were surprised by her general lack of interest in most toys. She only seemed to care about things she could use for art, like painting kits and big boxes of crayons. More at Winter's insistence than anything else, they did buy her a giant teddy bear. The trip looked headed for a let down, but Yang came to the rescue. She knew exactly the sort of thing Summer would love, and that she would love too for that matter.

"Pick out a few kits." Yang encouraged, leading the others to an aisle filled with sets of plastic snap-together building blocks.

"Get as many as you want." Winter smiled.

"I always wanted to play with these, but the other kids usually got to them first." Summer noted, gazing at the shelves of sets. "It's like art you can play with!"

"That's right." Winter nodded. "Go ahead. Maybe this…" She trailed off as she noticed Yang picking up a few sets and placing them in the trolley. "Yang, what are you doing?"

"Winter, I only just realized it now." Yang replied. "I'm an adult. I'm rich. I love these things. I could have been buying them for years! Look at how cool this stuff is!" Winter looked but seemed unimpressed. "I'm going to get all the kits I wanted as a kid...and I'll build huge replicas of awesome stuff! And I'll put them all in a big cabinet to show them off!" She looked back at a somewhat amused Winter. "Are you going to tell me I'm too old for this?"

"Yang...live your dream." Winter chuckled.

Between Yang and Summer, they came away with over a dozen sets. It was terrifyingly expensive to Yang, even after several years of living in luxury, but Winter did not care. She saw it as a fantastic opportunity for family bonding, and she was a bit curious herself. Anything that brought them all closer together was worth the price tag.