“You can’t be serious,” Winter said as she looked at her sister’s Boarbatusk summon as it lay on its back letting Ruby and Maria give it a few gentle scratches.
“Why would I joke about Baconator the third?” Ruby asked as Maria did her best not to laugh directly in Winter’s offended face.
Make fun of her height would she? Oh ho she’d get back at her and enjoy every second of it.
“I refuse to believe that Weiss would allow such a thing, or that you could command a summon of the Schnee family!” Winter said as she glared.
“A Schnee has a better hold over their own summons, but I should be able to show you how to treat one with respect and give orders to Weiss’s,” Winter said, concentrating on imposing her will onto the summon.
“Come here,” Winter ordered the summon which merely cracked open an eye and rolled away from her.
Winter’s affronted screeching drew Pyrrha from where she’d been wandering through the halls to the room.
“Are you alright Winter?” Pyrrha asked kindly as she looked at the annoyed Schnee who merely pointed a finger in anger at the summon.
“What’s wrong with Baconator the third?” Pyrrha asked as Winter screeched and grabbed her face with both hands.
“Why did no one tell me it had such an unbecoming name?” Winter moaned.
“Probably because they knew you’d react this way babe,” Cinder said from the corner, watching the entire situation torn between amusement and slight worry because she knew it would be up to her to deal with the inevitable fallout. “The name is kinda stupid though.”
“Why is it named Baconator?” Winter whined.
“The third!” Maria put in and smirked at the growl Winter sent her way.
“Because that’s what we trained him to get!” Ruby supplied with a guileless smile.
“That’s not possible,” Winter said instantly as she crossed the room to stand over the summon. “While I can believe you might have trained it to get used to responding to such a name, or that it can understand our will in battle I refuse to believe you’ve trained it to fetch you fast food.”
Ruby shrugged before she held out her hand toward Winter. “Gimmie your card and I’ll prove it to you.”
Winter raised an eyebrow but made no other move to comply.
“Come on Winter if ye don’t think it’s possible then I’m sure you should have no problem forking over your card,” Maria goaded the older woman who snarled and retrieved her bank card from her pocket.
“And when I’m proven right?” Winter asked as Maria and Ruby looked at each other and shrugged.
“Uh what do you want? It’s not like I can buy you something you don’t own after all,” Ruby pointed out reasonably.
Winter’s first thought was to tell them to break things off with Weiss, but that was cruel, they wouldn’t do it, and literally everyone else in the home adored them and her mother…best not. Miss Rose was also correct in that there was nothing she could offer to buy her she didn’t already possess.
“You’ll both owe me a favor,” Winter decided and then when Maria opened her mouth she amended her statement, ‘within reason.”
Maria shrugged and Ruby nodded. "Ok you owe us a favor then when we're right," Ruby bargained and when Winter nodded Maria high-fived the red-caped huntress.
Winter handed over the card as Ruby got down on the ground.
“Ok, Baconator the third we need you to get,” Ruby paused to look at Maria who gave it a few moments of thought before holding up nine fingers, and Ruby nodded in return.
“A dozen number nines, unless you guys want some?” Ruby asked Pyrrha and Cinder.
“Wait, you mean the stupid thing can actually do this?” Cinder asked as she looked at the Boarbatusk who looked affronted at being insulted.
“Whitley and I would probably prefer the number four combo if that’s alright,” Pyrrha said from the doorway.
“That’s fine Pyrrha,” Ruby said as she relaid the order to Baconator.
“I don’t think he’ll get you the meal now that you insulted the proud name of Baconator the third,” Maria said with a smirk toward Cinder who was starting to backpedal.
“Now let’s not be hasty. I didn’t realize he was the third! I would never insult the illustrious lineage of the Baconator line. Especially when it can get me a number 12 grilled no mayo extra pickles with a frosted chocolate shake,” Cinder said, nearly salivating as she came over to the summon who actually backed up a step at the crazed look in her eyes.
“Whose side are you on?” Winter asked with narrowed eyes and an annoyed tone.
“The one that can feed me a burger. You should know this,” Cinder said, dismissing her almost fiance.
She was sure Winter would cave and propose to her first. Not that she carried around a ring just in case or anything.
They were distracted by Baconator pawing the floor.
“Well of course you can get nuggies for yourself! It’s Winter’s money anyway,” Ruby said.
“Hey!”
“I thought you said it wasn’t going to work? So it shouldn’t matter right?” Maria said with a smirk. “Or are ye chickening out?”
“Fine, let the stupid thing have ‘nuggies’,” Winter said, complete with air quotes around the word, and wow Cinder thought that was the most precious thing she’d seen her do all week.
She cut her eyes over to Pyrrha who had a scroll out and gave her a thumbs up. Yep Whitley’s fiance was aces in her book for now.
“Want anything Winter?” Ruby asked kindly. The return glare she got told Ruby that no she probably didn’t.
“Oh and get Weiss a number one with a salad on the side, and extra fry or she’ll eat ours,” Ruby informed Baconator who nuzzled her and then Maria before leaving the room.
“How long do we have to entertain this farce?” Winter asked as Pyrrha left the room to find Whitley.
“Uh, how long should it take him to get there and back? Like twenty minutes?” Ruby asked Maria who shrugged.
“More or less.”
“Less,” Weiss said entering the room. “They were getting the car keys as I passed them.”
“Really Weiss you expect me to believe-” Winter was cut off at the sound of a car starting up from the garage.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s just mother returning from a meeting I’m sure.”
“Did you make sure to ask for a salad on the side of mine?” Weiss asked.
“Extra fries too,” Maria said. “So maybe don’t eat ours this time.”
“Yours always taste better,” Weiss said flippantly.
“You know love has its limit Weiss,” Ruby said, sounding serious for a moment until she cracked and giggled.
“Weiss, why did you allow them to name your summon Baconator?”
“The third!” Cinder chimed in just to get the angry Winter glare she loved. Perfect.
“They named all my summons, and they only respond to those names now,” Weiss said as though it made perfect sense.
“You must be joking,” Winter pleaded with her sister who merely raised an eyebrow at her.
“Dare I even ask what names they came up with?”
“Uh let’s see the Nevermore from the pool a while ago is named Larry,” Ruby said as Maria snorted.
Winter’s face fell even further at that. “Please, no more I just…I just can’t.”
Winter’s breakdown was interrupted by a peppy tone as Ruby answered her scroll.
“Yeah I’ll ask,” Ruby said, taking the scroll from her ear. “Baconator wants to know if you want anything,” Ruby said toward Winter who refused to entertain the idea and stormed out of the room and towards the garage.
“Just get her a milkshake and uh number two I think. Extra fries. She’s gonna want to power spar when she’s done,” Cinder said with a shrug as an answering squeal came from the scroll before Ruby hung up.
“So level with me, how's it getting there?”
“Oh Klein drives him,” Ruby said with a bright grin.
“You really trained a summon to get you fast food?” Cinder asked.
“Why not?” Maria asked. Her tone of voice said it was a great use of time.
“Think of it,” Weiss teased. “Greasy burgers on demand.”
“...shit. I wonder if I can do that with Winter’s?” Cinder asked aloud.
“Are you still looking over our weapons after lunch?” Maria asked.
“You let her look over your weapons?” Cinder asked, confused.
“Everyone does!” Ruby said excitedly, “except you and Winter.”
“Huh, didn’t know that,” Cinder admitted.
“Indeed and I believe we’re going to be looking at my weapon first,” Willow said, breezing into the room to snag one of her children’s intended, and pulled her toward the workshop.
“I got you a number nine!” Ruby said as Willow smiled at the thoughtful gesture as she led one of Weiss’s future spouses toward the workshop.
Weiss had said Ruby had a way with weapons and she had not been exaggerating in the slightest.
Ruby could and had analyzed things in such a way about her fighting style that she’d never told anyone about merely by examining her weapon.
It was honestly terrifying and made her wonder if she didn’t somehow have a secondary semblance.
Maria’s cackling laughter echoed through the manor joined by Weiss’s only moment’s later.
Cinder knew with all her heart that she didn’t want to be involved but also knew she wanted Winter involved for the amusement it would bring her so she subtly maneuvered her partner down the hallway that would likely bring them in contact with them as she made sure Winter was in front of her.
“Oh good Winter I had a question for you!” Ruby asked as she skipped up to the elder Schnee who was still annoyed Baconator the third had somehow managed to acquire fast food with her money, and no thumbs. The fact that she now owed Maria and Ruby a favor just made it even worse.
She just put it out of her mind as Weiss’s paramores being able to bend reality and decided to ignore it.
“Miss Rose, what can I help you with?”
“Weiss and Maria laughed at me when I asked them a question, but I really wanted to know,” Ruby huffed even as her girlfriends laughter echoed from the open door down the hall.
“Well I shall endeavor to answer if I can,” Winter said and cursed her inability to say no to helping when asked.
“So what’s the Spanish word for Tortilla?”
Cinder’s laughter joined the other two as she made sure to get a video of Winter’s face which was…well it was just great.
The amber-eyed huntress sat in the study while Winter was away on a bonding mission with Weiss tapping her pen on the table.
“So what’s the matter with you?” Maria asked as she came in with Willow and Ruby, the latter two talking excitedly about a mother-daughter bonding hunt they’d gone on together.
“I promised Winter I’d think of a poem or something to explain my feelings or try to, and that I’d get it played on her favorite radio station as she was coming back. I already have the time slot booked, and Winter is always punctual so that’s not a problem it’s just…” Cinder trailed off.
“How do you summarize your feelings for the most important person in your life in just a few words?” Cinder asked the dark skinned woman who appeared almost caught off guard before she sighed and sat down at the table.
“You know sometimes I forget how serious you can be, especially about her,” Maria admitted.
“It’s been…hard to learn to trust, and even harder to trust my heart, but Winter has never let me down or steered me wrong. I love her,” Cinder said sincerely.
Ruby appeared to be engrossed in the conversation animatedly making various re-enactments, but Willow’s pleased and knowing smile said she’d likely heard.
Cinder was well past caring Willow knew, it would be more strange if she didn't, given how she wasn’t shy about expressing her feelings for her eldest daughter...physically.
But admitting it all out loud to Maria, or really anyone not Willow was hard still.
“Would you…like some help?” Maria offered tentatively.
“You write poems?” Cinder asked incredulously.
“Poems, love songs, haiku's, just anything really. I’m aware that I can be…difficult, and not the easiest to love, but they do, and so despite everything I want them to know and believe I cherish them,” Maria said sincerely.
“Oh…sure then l’d love the help. I want this to say exactly what I feel about her,” Cinder said as Maria sat down and they got to work.
Winter relaxed in the transport back. The mission had been easy and spending time with her younger sister was hardly a hardship.
“Didn’t you say Cinder was going to have something special on the radio for you when you got back?” Weiss asked.
“Oh I had almost forgotten. Thank you for reminding me,” Winter thanked her younger sister as she turned on the classical music station she favored and listened to the ending of a particularly wonderful song.
“ And that was the Atlassian classical Raise me Higher performed by the Mantle Open Orchestra. Coming soon we’ll hear more from them, but right now we have a very special message to Winter Schnee from the love of her life Cinder Fall. Isn’t that lovely?” The radio announcer said.
Winter smiled so widely her face nearly hurt. She was so happy.
“Alright there’s a little message here to be read first. It just says that trying to find the words to explain how I feel about you is almost impossible but this comes closest. I had a little help to get it all written down right but this is from me to you.”
Winter was almost giddy with excitement as Weiss squeezed her hand pleased for her sister and the romantic act.
“ Roses are red. Violets are blue. If your butt needs a pillow, then my face will do.”
The dead air on the radio after the announcer quickly cut back to the music was echoed in the transport.
Weiss watched her sister cycle through various shades of red, white, and even purple, which all seemed remarkably unhealthy in Weiss’s opinion, but then again…
It didn’t however stop Weiss from stealthily recording her sister. She was sure the results would be very entertaining.
Cinder shivered. Somehow she’d screwed up. She wasn’t sure how yet until she double checked the time and date and realized what had just played on the radio.
She picked up her scroll and dialed her emergency contact.
Ruby picked up on the second ring. “Howdy!”
“No time for chatter Little Red. What does the binder say about a level three shiver?” Cinder asked as she began pacing in her room and calculating the amount of time until Winter was back within stabbing range.
“Warm or cold shiver? And have you felt a sense of impending doom? Yeah, no. Pick the red power-up Maria,” Ruby asked as she commanded Maria through their game.
“Cold like the bottom of a frozen lake, and solid four on the doom scale,” Cinder informed her.
“Oh wow,” Ruby said, “one sec. Hey Miss Schnee, need you here for a minute,” Ruby called to the room.
“How bad she mess up this time?” Maria asked as she joined the conference call after pausing the game.
“Me? You were the one who helped me with the poem!” Cinder protested.
Maria scoffed. “One you agreed to go with it, and two it worked on Weiss.”
“It did not,” Cinder said as she stopped her pacing, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“It totally did. Well, she said it in Mengarian so Weiss had no idea what she was saying, and she was also wearing that one costume of hers tha-” Ruby was cut off as the sound of her being shoved onto the floor echoed through the scroll.
“That’s only for you two,” Maria chastised Ruby who apologized.
“Anyway,” Maria continued, sounding remarkably unbothered. “What’s the binder say?”
“That Cinder should leave the immediate area for a period of at least a week so that Winter misses her more than she’s angry,” Ruby read off the entry.
“This binder is remarkably accurate,” Willow commented as the sound of pages being flipped could be heard. “How long have you three been working on this?”
“I’d say about a week or two after we met them?” Maria said and Ruby made a noise of agreement.
“Well it seems I must send my three daughters on an emergency mission that’s just come up,” Willow said as she tapped in a few buttons.
A minute later a high priority request for a three man huntress team was issued to their scrolls.
“You’re the best mom!” Cinder said hanging up and starting to get her emergency bug out bag from the closest.
She had maybe a quarter hour to get out of the manor before Winter got back.
A scant few minutes later she was urgently pushing open the door after making a quick apology meal for Winter. It was just spaghetti, but it was something!
“Why do I have to leave?” Ruby asked grumpily even as she shouldered her own bag.
“Do you really want to remain at home when my eldest will be on a warpath? Besides if you don’t go with them Maria and Cinder might get up to some sort of hi jinks that will worsen everything. Somehow,” Willow said with a teasing tone.
“Fine but I’m getting vengeance on Winter for this. I think Velvet still owes me a favor,” Ruby mumbled.
“That’s fine, dear. I’ll make sure to record anything amusing for you to watch when you get back,” Willow assured them as the sound of a helicopter starting up was heard in the backyard.
“That would be Klein. Best get going,” Willow said looking at the clock in the room as Ruby sent Velvet details on what she needed.
Willow sat in the entrance room mentally making sure her poker face was ready and waiting. She was going to milk this for all it was worth.
“CINDER FALL!” Winter’s voice rang-out as she very literally kicked the front door open with Weiss trailing behind her looking both concerned and amused.
“Whatever is the matter, my eldest?” Willow asked careful to keep her voice curious rather than teasing.
“Mother…I was just, there was,” Winter floundered, clearly not counting on her mother being right in the first room.
“Yes I am your mother, and I’m concerned as to what might have happened to cause you to react in such a way. After all, what did the front door do to you?”
“It is…personal,” Winter finally got out after much effort as Weiss joined their mother for a cup of coffee on the table.
“I was unaware the door was out to get you in such a way.”
“Not the door my…Cinder,” Winter corrected herself. Had she been more in her right mind she’d realized she was being teased.
“That would explain why you yelled her name when you kicked at the door. Unless you were pretending the door was your girlfriend in which case I have to admit I’m concerned about potential abuse,” Willow said airily.
“I would never-” Winter started before Willow interrupted her again.
“Then again if that’s what you’re into that’s alright. I would never kink shame you dear,” Willow assured her eldest who was bright red at this point.
“I. You. She!” Winter said, pointing at herself and then her mother.
“Oh yes it’s alright. We all have our own proclivities. I can put you in contact with someone who handles the upper class and their…kinks with discretion if you like?” Willow offered.
“MOTHER! THAT IS UNNECESSARY!”
Willow merely nodded as though what she’d said made perfect sense and ignored Whitley and his paramour giggling from nearby.
“You’ve already made your outfits. Very practical. It won’t interfere with any allergies either of you might have with latex that way. Very wise my eldest,” Willow complimented as Weiss snorted into her coffee and began coughing.
Willow gave her a strong hit to the back to assist her daughter and looked to Winter who was close to breaking down.
A ping on Weiss’s scroll drew their attention.
“Huh. Fascinating. You should see this Winter,” Weiss said, sending over the article she’d just been sent as Winter frowned and pulled up the scroll.
“BACONATOR THE THIRD TO RECEIVE KEY TO THE CITY?!” Winter’s scream of rage as she threw her scroll away and stormed outside was perhaps one of the funniest things Willow had seen this week.
Once her daughter was out of earshot she lost it and let out a refined chuckle. Truly her family was growing richer by the day.
Winter could complain all she wanted but her recent test results had shown a marked improvement in her blood pressure which said she was doing wonderfully.
Pyrrha came in with glowing hands as the scroll was set gently on the table.
“Such a thoughtful daughter you are. You should invite your mother over soon my dear,” Willow complimented Pyrrha who beamed as Whitley came up to join her.
“You guys ever think we should start a Huntertube channel?” Ruby asked as she skillfully took out another Grimm at long range.
The other two looked bored as Ruby had managed to deal with every single Grimm in the area without them having to do anything so far.
Cinder was even buffing her nails while Maria was hanging upside down by her knees in a tree for some reason.
Cinder had been about to protest not wanting to see her unmentionables but Maria was apparently truly as gifted as she claimed with gravity dust and had used it to keep her robes from moving at all.
Although how she managed anti gravity with her Kama as she kept throwing them toward the ground and catching them as they came back to her made Cinder’s head hurt so she tuned it out.
Apparently Weiss liked them smart in certain fields. Not a huge shock...well more so that Maria and Ruby despite how they acted were actually absurdly intelligent than they appeared than Weiss appreciated intelligence.
“What would we even do?” Cinder asked, choosing to focus on the one member of their team she knew she could get along with almost all the time without question.
It’s not that she actually didn’t like Maria, but they could both be remarkably competitive and the last thing they needed was to get in even more trouble with their respective Schnees before they’d cooled down.
“Well cool shots and fights obviously, but we can also tests out theories and myths. Show what does and doesn’t work, maybe tips and tricks for newer huntsmen. That sort of thing,” Ruby answered as she sniped another Beowolf from a quarter mile away, barely even looking through the scope.
“Might be fun,” Maria offered as she sat up on the branch and held out her hand to catch the Kama that flew up from the forest floor into her hand.
“We can split the money and use it to like take 'em out on dates and stuff! Surprise dates they don’t know anything about ‘cause they don’t know about this money!” Ruby said excitedly.
“That would be nice, and it beats doing nothing while Little Red snipes everything before it gets close. If we do this though we do it right. Introductions, production values and all that. I refuse to be associated with a shoddy product,” Cinder proclaimed.
“Well sure! Velvet has good rates. We can ask her, or Ilia if she’s not busy,” Ruby said as she excitedly began to take a piece of paper and begin plotting.
Maria sighed and took Ruby’s place behind the scope of Crescent Rose and frowned. “This sight is off.”
“What? Oh no it’s just calculated for me. Gimme a second,” Ruby said as she made a minor adjustment after squinting at Maria’s eyes.
“Try it now,” Ruby offered.
“Oh that's much better. Thank you,” Maria said pleasantly surprised. She knew, objectively, how skilled Ruby was at this sort of thing but it was always something to see it in action, as she didn’t seem to realize just how good she was.
“What do we call ourselves anyway?” Cinder asked as Ruby’s weapon let off another round and a distant Grimm perished.
“Well I’d almost say two sexy bitches and a clown, but I’m sure that’d just get us yelled at...even if it’s true,” Maria said as she continued to look for more Grimm and dodged the stick Cinder threw her way.
“Ugh why are names always the hardest part? Either you just think of a great one and it takes no time or you spend years thinking of something halfway decent!” Cinder complained.
“I know right? It took me no time for Larry but almost an hour to settle on Baconator the third,” Ruby said as she scribbled in her notebook.
“Nice shot, Maria,” Ruby praised without looking up when she heard the gun fire once more.
“Ye weren’t even looking,” Maria said, and Cinder was almost sure she was pouting.
“Pff you’re perfect. I don’t have to look to know you got ‘em.”
Maria grumbled and Cinder could see a small smile and a bit of color on her dark cheeks.
“Damn that was smooth Little Red. Do you even realize what you do?” Cinder asked.
“Do what now?”
“That’s a no then.”
“It wouldn’t be as effective if she did it on purpose,” Maria chimed in.
“So we do an intro first or as a separate video. Then we start with cool shots and tips and tricks and maybe a few myths to try out. If it goes well we can do a question and answer section too!” Ruby said excitedly.
“You seem awfully excited about this,” Cinder said.
“I miss Weiss already, and I know Maria does too so this is a fun thing to do!” Ruby said excitedly. Maria didn’t say anything but her grumbling told Cinder that Ruby was right.
Willow smiled as she and Pyrrha along with Whitley watched videos of her other two daughters.
It had only been a few days but clearly they were suffering from withdrawal already.
“I’m Cinder Fall and I make stupid announcements on the radio knowing it’ll irritate my wife…I mean girlfriend!” Winter hastily corrected herself as she walked through the halls in an eye patch looking dejected.
A quick flick showed Weiss bundled up in one of Maria’s robes with Ruby’s cloak as she sat in her office doing paperwork.
“I’m Maria and if you eat my cashews I’ll punish you pew pew,” Weiss said as she flicked an errant piece of paper off her desk. “I drink milk every day cause I’m worried I’ll be short and don’t realize short things are great!”
Weiss smiled before going back to her paperwork inhaling the cloak and smiling wider.
Another flick showed Winter opening the fridge still wearing the eye patch. A mountain of food containers were on display as being left by Cinder for Winter to eat.
“Are you alright Miss Schnee?” Klein asked as she looked at a sad looking Winter at the table eating cold spaghetti.
“I miss my wife Klein…girlfriend I mean,” Winter corrected herself, too sad to even be embarrassed.
“That’s so precious,” Pyrrha said with a smile as they turned the feeds off.
“I suppose I can recall the others early. I wonder how they’re doing?” Willow asked aloud.
“Did you not call them?” Whitley asked his mother.
“Cinder turns her scroll off to avoid Winter calling her when she thinks she’s mad,” Willow informed them.
Pyrrha blinked as she received a message from Velvet. “Apparently they started a Huntertube channel."
“They did what?” Whitley asked as Pyrrha set her scroll to project the video into the air.
“Today we’re gonna show you the greatest tips, tricks, and other neat stuff for hunting Grimm. We’ll even test out a few myths you might have heard of so you don’t have to get hurt trying!” Ruby said excitedly.
“Now first…wait a minute lemme take this shot,” Ruby interrupted herself as she quickly pulled up her gun and a round cracked off as the sound of a dying Ursa reached the camera.
What followed was a bizarre but entertaining fifteen minute episode as the three sat enraptured at the madness happening on the display.
“And anyway it looks like Nevermores are not allergic to cookies,” Ruby said covered in what appeared to be gore, viscera, and bile. “I would also not advise crawling inside of a restrained one ‘for the lols’. Kinda gross like not as bad as Weiss’s room when she doesn’t clean for a week but still bad.”
The video ended there.
“We should probably never let Weiss or Winter find out if we want them back home,” Whitley offered.
“That would probably be best. I’ll make sure the first thing they do is shower before they come into the house,” Willow said wrinkling her nose and imagining the smell.
“We have an outdoor shower near the pool,” Whitley offered.
“Klein has a hose first. I don’t want that near our drains,” Willow said evenly. She loved her soon to be daughters dearly but sometimes they did the strangest things.
“Wait so your teeth really are sharp like that?” Ruby asked as she and Maria peered into Cinder’s mouth at her ‘fangs’.
“I had a phase when I was younger,” Cinder said with a light blush on her cheeks.
“I bet Winter loves them,” Maria said with a smirk before she squirmed, still a bit uncomfortable in the new clothes Klein had given them. They’d been ordered to be hosed and then given new clothes to change into so the others could be sanitized.
Based on the smell of the fire as they left, none of them assumed they’d be getting any of it back.
“Eh yes, and no. There’s apparently new procedures where they can slowly help grow back your enamel so that’s what I’ve been doing. Winter insisted on it as she didn’t want one to snap and I ended up choking on it or something,” Cinder explained.
“Does the binder say anything about us being recalled early and what it means?” Maria asked as Cinder perked up, eager to hear about it.
Ruby booted up the version she kept on her scroll and looked through it. "If we’re being recalled early either Willow is setting us up, or Weiss and Winter miss us more than they’re mad at us,” Ruby informed the others.
“Excellent,” Cinder said as she rubbed her hands together.
“Oh hey our video is trending,” Ruby said excitedly before she paled.
“Oh no,” Maria said, realizing what that meant. The odds of the others seeing the video decreased with every share as their ride began to descend.
“We pretend we know nothing about it until confronted,” Cinder said taking command of the situation. The other two nodded in agreement.
We are strong. We are sexy bitches. We don’t take nothing from no one!” Cinder spoke passionately.
Ruby and Maria nodded again, actually they hadn’t stopped but Cinder would take it.
Cinder turned her scroll on as the vehicle started landing.
“Hey babe,” Cinder said answering the scroll as soon as Winter called.
“YOU CRAWLED INTO A NEVERMORE'S MOUTH!”
Cinder hurriedly ripped the battery out of the scroll and turned to the cockpit. “TAKE US BACK!”
Klein merely arched an eyebrow and raised a finger to point out the window showing Winter flying with Weiss on Larry and Winter’s own summon Maria had named Killjoy.
The way Winter’s eyes shown took Cinder’s breath away for a split second before she realized the danger and bailed out of the landed craft and began sprinting.
“She’s gotten even faster,” Weiss commented as she landed and let Larry go snuggle her missing paramours.
“Hi Larry!” Ruby said as she let it nuzzle her hand allowed Maria to sit on his back.
“So Baconator has a key to the city now?” Weiss asked with a smirk.
“The third!” Maria corrected from her relaxed position on Weiss’s lap.
“Of course,” Weiss agreed easily as she carded her fingers through Maria’s hair. “We mustn’t besmirch his glorious lineage.”
Ruby beamed as she smooshed her face into Larry’s plumage. “I missed you Larry!” Ruby promised the Nevermore who trilled an almost question at her as Ruby nodded.
“Lots and lots,” Ruby promised. Larry was silent a few moments before it cawed another question.
Maria snorted at that. “It was being an asshole blame it.”
“You…actually understand him?” Weiss asked bemused.
“Well duh. He’s part of your soul, so we understand you, and therefore them!” Ruby said as it explained everything. Perhaps to Ruby it did. It only made Weiss fall more madly in love with them as a thought hit her.
“Does Cinder?”
“Oh yeah. She just pretends sometimes cause it annoys Winter, but I’ve seen her sneak them treats too,” Ruby confided as she leapt behind Weiss and hugged her around the middle.
“Even seen Pyrrha talking with your brother’s only summon. The tiny baby Nevermore about the size of a hand,” Maria chortled.
“Any name for that one?” Weiss asked as the three waved at Klein and took flight to head back home.
“Nah. He’s not gonna fight much so he may as well get to name the only one he’ll ever get.”
“Did you know he trained it to steal my pudding cups?” Weiss asked with a smirk.
“He did not!” Maria countered, barely holding in a cackle.
“He did. Best be careful he doesn’t go for your cashews soon,” Weiss jokingly warned her.
“He better not. I’ll show him,” Maria trailed off in a mumble that was lost to the wind.
“You know I don’t mind if you want to go a little more all out,” Whitley said to Pyrrha as they looked through various catalogues for their upcoming spring wedding.
“You and I are both more minimalist. Did you have any traditions to consider?” Pyrrha asked as she skimmed the brochure.
“Not really. Our father had plenty but he married into the family so he’s hardly the expert. I have been reading on your culture and while I’m not finished I believe there’s a few styles of dress we can incorporate or even turn it into an entire theme for it,” Whitley offered.
“Truly?” Pyrrha asked, her eyes shining brightly at her fiance caring so much as to make an entire wedding about her traditions.
“Of course. I truly don’t have anything I have strong opinions on save perhaps having pudding cups available,” Whitley teased as Pyrrha giggled and set her head on his shoulder.
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it. You tying yourself to me? Choosing me? When you had a world of interested parties? I should be thanking you, and I intend to do my best every day. Besides,” Whitley said whistling as he held up his finger and a tiny hand sized baby Nevermore perched on it.
“They adore you as do I,” Whitley said as the tiny summon flew and settled down in Pyrrha’s hair to her amusement.
“Did I ever tell you that’s the reason I accepted your date back in the day?” Pyrrha asked and Whitley shook his head looking entirely curious.
“You were right when you said you were a touch arrogant back then,” Pyrrha said kindly.
“I practically dripped smarm,” Whitley countered with a grin of his own as Pyrrha held her thumb and pointer finger an inch apart.
“Just a bit,” Pyrrha said as she lost herself to giggles.
“Was this after you’d turned me down?” Whitley asked as he leaned down on his fists and turned to look at his fiance.
“It was. Weiss found me. Said she saw how upset you seemed,” Pyrrha explained as Whitley’s expression became even more curious.
“Said that you were actually a really wonderful person deep down, but just needed the right person to bring that man out. Ruby agreed and said she thought I was that person. Then Maria dragged her off and left Weiss with me,” Pyrrha giggled.
“And them?” Whitley asked, nodding to the napping Nevermore.
“Weiss told me about how when you were a young child you found them. They were dying. You didn’t know that at the time of course,” Pyrrha said as she reached up to pet the small thing and then grabbed Whitley’s hands.
“You snuck it into the manor. Weiss said they did their best to make sure Jacques never found out. Left meat and things out they thought could help, but…they were weak.”
“Likely clipped by a bullet from a huntsman,” Whitley said sadly as he looked at the slumbering infant with a fond look.
“They died and Weiss told me all about how you held a funeral for it even though it disintegrated. I knew then she was right. No one would merely cry for such a thing and care for a small Grimm if there wasn’t a spark of that person Weiss told me you were. So I went back and found you sulking and accepted your invitation,” Pyrrha punctuated her statement with a soft kiss between them.
“And now they’re back with me as well. Who would have that?” Whitley said softly as he and Pyrrha went back to looking over the catalogues while Pyrrha caught him up on the customs he wasn’t aware of.
“So are we gonna talk about our day or are you just gonna yell at me the whole time?” Cinder asked.
Winter glared at her for several seconds as she hung from the talons of Winter’s own Nevermore.
“Come on babe what do I have to do?”
“Put on the maid outfit,” Winter demanded with red cheeks.
“Oh ho kinky. Let’s do it. Get me home…mistress,” Cinder teased as Winter instantly ordered her summon to take them home.
“Honestly I thought you’d be way more upset about this,” Ruby admitted as Weiss finished watching the upload.
“No. I’m slightly annoyed you crammed yourself down a Grimm’s throat among other things, but this could help a lot of huntsmen in the future,” Weiss said. “What are you planning on doing with the funds?”
“We were gonna take you out on surprise dates, spoil you rotten, that sort of thing,” Maria admitted freely still not having gotten up from either of their laps.
Weiss smiled, touched at the gesture as she pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads.
“I think you should keep doing it, but clearly you’re not leaving me out of this in the future,” Weiss demanded imperiously.
“We picked a winner,” Maria said from her position to Ruby.
“We sure did,” Ruby said as Weiss colored a bit but remained proud.
“What do you think of the name Grimm Busters?"
Winter's scream echoed through the manor keeping the other two from answering.
"GIVE ME BACK THE MAID OUTFIT BACONATOR!"
"The Third!" Cinder chirped as Winter's scream echoed again causing everyone else to laugh at her.