Author's Note: Happy (insert made up holiday) Day! I got a present for all y'all.

I hope you all enjoy. :)

"Ugh." Yang groaned as she closed her front door.

Normally she would classify herself as a morning person, some things just had a tendency to ruin her mornings. While Mr. Liard was a relatively pleasant man, and they got along better now, his visits were time consuming and draining. She dug her fingers under her hair and scratched her scalp vigorously in irritation.

Stepping away from the door, she made her way to head back into the kitchen, but was stopped in her tracks by three light knocks on the front door. Mr. Liard probably forgot to give her some information again. She turned and yanked the door open, letting her frustration get the better of her.

"What did you forget this ti-." Yang paused as she noticed the person standing on her porch was a little shorter than she expected. "Oh, hi Nora."

"Heya!" The redhead cheered in her normal, overly exuberant manner. "So… who was that guy?" She asked as she pointed her thumb back over her shoulder to a slowly retreating Mr. Liard.

Nora could definitely smirk with the best of them, and normally Yang would laugh at the insinuation, but not at the moment.

"In or out..." Yang grumbled as she stepped out of the doorway.

Continuing on her path back to the kitchen where a empty coffee cup was waiting for her. She had no doubt that Nora would follow her in. The sound of the door closing and the bouncing footsteps that followed her confirmed her prediction. Reaching up with her left arm, she fetched another coffee cup from the cupboard. Thankfully Nora was able to contain herself until Yang had finished pouring coffee for the both of them.

"Thanks!" Nora gleefully took the cup of coffee and promptly helped herself to a generous quantity of flavored creamer from the fridge to pour into the bitter beverage. "So…?"

"Although it is Friday, it's only 7am, Nora. And I am really not in the mood for teasing." Yang took the creamer from Nora after she had finished with it, pouring an equally generous amount into her own cup. "To answer your question from earlier, that was Mr. Liard. He's the Child Protection Services investigator assigned to me and Ruby. Apparently one of my neighbors doesn't think I should let Ruby ride on my motorcycle with me and called the CPS."

Nora froze at that comment. "Oohh.. Sorry. Didn't you already clear yourself through them years ago?"

"Yeah, I did." Yang took a long drink from her cup. The hot coffee burned on its way down, it wasn't as sweet as she liked it, but sipping it slowly gave her a chance to collect her thoughts. "Because of the original legal battle to become Ruby's legal guardian, I have a file open with the CPS labelled as 'high-risk'. So anytime someone files a complaint, they have to come out and investigate it. Thankfully, Mr. Liard has been my investigator long enough that he merely goes through the legally mandated steps and tries to reduce the stress of his visits. It's still draining and frustrating,though, I did learn that I store my power tools in a very child safe manner."

"I bet you do. You have always been so fas, faste…" Nora stuttered on the elusive word. "You've always put too much attention into keeping your workspace clean and safe."

"There's nothing wrong with being fastidious." Yang crossed her left arm over her body, letting her hand hook over the cap on her arm where her prosthetic was normally attached.

"That's the word!" The shorter woman exclaimed excitedly as she raised her coffee cup briefly before sipping from it again.

"Speaking of child safety, where's Ruby?"

The blonde shrugged. "Last I checked she was in her room, using watercolors to decorate my arm. She wanted it match my other one."

Silence fell in the kitchen as the two women continued to sip on their coffee. The sun was starting to filter in through the window on the east side, illuminating the room. It was a fairly simple kitchen with countertops that ran along two of the walls. An island was all that separated the kitchen from the living room. One side had a stove and sink built into it, while the other side, the part that was on the living room, was upraised a few inches and four barstools sat in front of it. The openness made the one story house feel a little bigger and more open.

"It's kind of weird seeing you without your arm on, though." Nora spoke up, breaking the silence. That woman never could handle silence very well, it was curious how she and her husband got along so well.

"Well, it was the easiest way to make Ruby happy." Yang stared forlornly into her now empty cup before setting it down. "She called Weiss early today to say good morning or something. I don't think Weiss is a morning person, and she was cranky. Needless to say, it upset Ruby."

"They're soulmates, right?" Nora chuckled. "Ain't it supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows?"

"Yeah, and Ruby is still an eight-year-old. Tantrums and hurt feelings come with the territory. Just give you daughter a few more years." Yang rubbed the stump that constituted her right arm. "My aunt and uncle loved each other with all their hearts, but they still had their spats. Being meant for each other doesn't mean you'll always get along."

As Nora set her empty coffee mug down, Yang took the initiative to move both of them to the sink and begin to rinse them out. Just as she put them in the dishwasher, another knock on the door resounded through the house. Yang turned the faucet off and grabbed a towel to dry her hand, but Nora reacted quicker and zipped over to the front door.

"I got it!" She called as she opened the door. "Oh. Hello, Pyrrha."

Yang facepalmed, before wiping the water off water that transferred from her still wet hand onto her face. She had forgotten that Pyrrha was dropping her kids off so Yang could bring them all to school.

"Hello, Nora." Pyrrha's voice lacked most of the warmth it normally carried.

"Come on in!" Nora's voice, however, didn't lose any of its friendliness.

The shorter woman was generally socially oblivious, and probably had never taken notice that Pyrrha wasn't overly fond of her. They would probably be best of friends if it weren't for the Soulstones. While Pyrrha was a big supporter of destiny, and was part of the majority that frowned on those that had relationships without matching Soulstones, Nora wasn't. That itself wouldn't be cause for too many issues, but Nora and her husband didn't have Soulstones. In fact, the only reason that Nora and Ren had a legally recognized marriage was because they had a child together. An adorable four-year-old girl named Thyra. The legal ramifications if one of them found a Soulstone that matched with someone else where vast, and would instantly cause their marriage to be annulled. However, Pyrrha normally conducted herself in a pleasant manner, and she probably wasn't much of a morning person either.

"Hey, Pyrrha!" Yang greeted her friend in a warm manner, having finally woken up a bit more thanks to the coffee. She walked up to Pyrrha just before bending down in front of the tired looking twin girls. "Hello to you two as well. Ruby's in her room, can you make sure she is getting ready for school?"

Selene and Luna both giggled before dropping their backpacks on the threshold and running down the hallway to where Ruby's room was, traces of their morning fatigue seeming to evaporate instantly.

"Thanks for offering to take them to school for me, Yang." Pyrrha said, as the warmth returned to her voice. "Sorry, for asking at the last minute too. I completely forgot I had scheduled a client early this morning."

"It's no problem. Care for some coffee?"

"No, thank you. However, I do have something I want to ask you about." Pyrrha motioned over to the couch.

Pyrrha sat in one of the chairs across from the couch that she had beckoned to as Yang sat in the indicated seat. Nora took the opportunity to crash onto the couch next to Yang. Pyrrha's eyes darted over to where the other woman sat, but only for a second before they refocused on Yang.

"I just noticed that you've been looking tired recently, and I wanted to check up on you." The older woman began as she interlaced her fingers and leaned forward in the chair. "Is something going on? I know you talked about having issues with one of your neighbors."

"Its…" Yang paused, while Pyrrha was always into the whole fate thing, there was no guarantee that she would believe or understand her. "Nothing. I just haven't been sleeping well."

"Is there any reason for that?" Pyrrha's voice was laced heavily with genuine concern.

Yang sat back and sighed, time for the half truth. "Between classes, work, and taking care of Ruby, I don't get a lot of down time." She inspected Pyrrha's face to see if the older woman would believe her.

"And those dreams got nothing to do with it?" Nora butted in, spilling the real reason even though Yang had specifically asked her not to.

Yang shot a quick darting glance over to Nora who didn't seem to notice. "What dreams?" Pyrrha's head tilted to the side with curiosity.

"She keeps dreaming of Miss Amitola's assistant's Soulstone!" Nora continued with a laugh.

Yang head snapped towards Nora, flabbergasted that she dare to betray secrets like that. Swinging across her body, she slugged Nora in the leg as hard as she could, eliciting gasps of pain that mixed in the redhead's chuckling. It only grew worse as Nora leaned forward to cradle her leg and ended up rolling off the couch and thudding on the floor.

Both of the other women watched in amazement as the short redhead began to wheeze as she struggled to intake enough air to sustain her manic giggling. Yang wished that Pyrrha would be distracted by the turn of events, or realize that she was now probably late for her appointment, but the older woman just calmly returned her attention to the blonde.

"Could you explain, Yang? I thought those were just myths."

Yang searched her friends eyes. How could she explain that every single night for the last month since she first met Blake she had been dreaming of that stone. How could she explain that it was keeping her awake at night because she was scared of sleeping, because it meant that she would have taunting visions of something she couldn't act upon. She had no way to prove herself to Blake, so it was better to keep quiet about it.

She had talked to Nora though, and it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Nora was generally trustworthy and kept secrets quite well. On top of that, Nora didn't care about fate, destiny, or the social stigma that came with going against it. Yang looked down at where Nora was laying on the ground as she finally started to control her outburst.

"I'm beginning to think they're possibly not just myths." Yang kept her eyes cast downwards. "Ever since I saw Blake's Soulstone I keep having dreams of it."

Pyrrha rubbed her temples with her index fingers, looking as though she was trying to solve a complex issue.

"That's great, Yang. It really is." The older woman let her hands drop and clasped them together on her lap. "What do you intend on doing about it?"

"Nothing." Yang shrugged.

"That's… not a bad course of action." Pyrrha spoke slowly as though she were trying to pick her words carefully. "It isn't necessarily the best though. Have you tried to at least talk to her? Maybe form a healthy friendship to see if these dreams are just some sort of infatuation?"

Yang squirmed in her seat a little bit as Nora finally stood up off the floor and once again joined her on the couch.

"That's what I said." Nora chipped in. "Or at least the part about actually talking to her. Which, Yang doesn't." She said as she put her hands on her hips and turned to face Yang, who responded by turning her own body to meet Nora's, giving her another sharp stare.

This caused Nora to stand up and move into one of the other chairs outside of Yang's striking range. Sticking her tongue out as Yang continued to glareat her.

"You don't talk to her?" Pyrrha asked, her green eyes glimmering with curiosity. "Don't you see her at the school?"

"Yes. I do see Miss Belladonna sometimes when I drop Ruby off or pick her up." Yang shrugged again. "After having work and classes all day I am pretty beat by the time I get Ruby from school, and usually I am either taking care of her or doing my own homework. My only free time I have, I spend with you two."

"I just realized something." Nora spoke up.

"I did too." Pyrrha exchanged a look with Nora.

For once it looked like the two women agreed with each other, and she was probably not going to like the outcome.

"Every time I have ever seen you, you have always had Ruby with you." Pyrrha elaborated. "Have you ever let someone else watch her?"

"Sure, she goes to school, doesn't she?" The blonde tried to deflect the question.

It was true. When Ruby wasn't at school, they went everywhere together. Ruby was a bundle of joy to be around and Yang was always worried that she would get injured or sick if she didn't have her older cousin around to watch over her.

"That's not what I meant, Yang."

"I know. I just… " Yang paused nervously running her fingers through her hair. She didn't finish her thought though as she heard the jingle of a cell phone alarm.

"Well, that solves it." Pyrrha stood up while she spoke. She checked the time on her phone and started to head towards the door. "Thanks for taking my kids to school. I will pick Ruby up today after school and she'll have a sleepover at my house with my girls."

"Wait, Pyrrha!" Yang called to the older woman as Pyrrha opened the front door again.

"I'm sorry, Yang." Pyrrha gave a smile that told her just how not sorry the redhead was. "This is for the best though. Go spend time with Nora tonight without Ruby there."

The door closed softly and Yang gave a huff of defeat. Looking at her own phone, she realized that she needed to go get her newly painted arm back from Ruby and make sure the girls were getting ready for school.

Bypassing the normal drop-off line, Yang parked her car. On the ride to the school, Ruby had insisted that Yang walk her into class today because she wasn't feeling well. Just by looking at her, Yang could tell that what happened this morning was still bothering her. It was understandable. While Ruby would have seen Weiss be rude or short with other kids, it was probably the first time she had done so to Ruby.

The three kids in the back seat groaned and complained about having to go to school on such a sunny day. Selene and Luna deftly slid out of the vehicle, bags in hand while Ruby took a few extra seconds to free herself from her booster seat and tripped over her own feet on her way out of the vehicle. It was a warm day outside already, but Yang still took care that her jacket was on securely as she also got out of the vehicle and grabbed the tiny red backpack that was still sitting on the seat as Ruby hopped out of the car.

"Not so fast there! Here you go, Squirt." She handed the bag to her cousin as the small girl pouted back at her.

Ruby had tried that ploy several times before. Last year, the first time she tried it, it worked, and Yang had to leave her own class early to bring the bag to school. Why a 1st-grader needed so many school supplies for was beyond her, but the school was insistent. Ever since then, Ruby tried to ditch her bag at home or in the car at least once a month.

"Uhhh…" Ruby groaned in her failed attempt. "Worth a shot…"

Walking towards the entrance of the school, Ruby holding onto her hand, Yang saw a familiar and welcome sight. A small white-haired 3rd grader stood by the school entrance, nervously rocking on her heels and watching the car line. Ruby said that she was still unhappy with Weiss and didn't want to see her, but Yang knew that both girls would be miserable all day if they didn't get a chance to make up.

She knew when her little cousin saw the heiress because she tightened her grip on Yang's hand and slowed her pace. It would have been easy enough to just drag Ruby over, but that probably wouldn't elicit the best reaction from the already anxious girl. Yang stopped walking and knelt down in front of her as Pyrrha's daughters rushed past to meet up with some of their own friends before school started.

"What's up?" Yang asked gently as she brushed Ruby's bangs to the side with her free hand.

"I don't wanna see Weiss." Ruby mumbled towards the pavement as she avoided Yang's eyes.

Using her free hand to curl a finger under Ruby's chin, she tilted the girls head up so she could see those pretty silver eyes.

"Why not? Are you still upset with her."

Ruby just shook her head and tried to avert her eyes back downwards.

"Then what's up?" Yang continued to probe.

"She doesn't like me anymore." Ruby responded glumly. "I made her mad at me and now she hates me."

"Aww, come on." Yang pulled Ruby in a close hug as she stroked the girl's hair. "She doesn't hate you."

"Yeah huh!"

"Ok, just peek over my shoulder. Does she look angry?"

The small girl poked her head up to look at Weiss standing by the entrance.

"No." She sighed.

"What does she look like?"

"She looks sad."

"That's right, and it's your job to cheer her up, ok?"

"Ok." Ruby nodded, and after a few seconds a smile appeared on her face.

Standing back up, she and Ruby walked side by side towards the entrance to the school. Weiss didn't notice them until they were only about ten feet away, since they were approaching from the side and the girl's attention was on the continually moving line of cars that were dropping kids off in front of her. When she turned and saw her friend approaching her, the small white-haired girl gave a small squeak before running up to Ruby.

"I'm sorry!" Weiss bawled, tears streaming down her face as she clutched Ruby in a tight hug. "I didn't mean to yell at you!"

Whatever Ruby wanted to say was lost as her voice was muffled by the fabric of bolero jacket that Weiss was wearing. When Ruby finally freed her face from the suffocating grasps of Weiss' shoulder, Yang could see tears on Ruby's face as well. She didn't have any fear of the two making up in short order and stood back to watch two patch things up. The first bell rang, startling both of them. As Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand to guide her inside, Ruby got up on her toes and gave the taller girl a quick kiss on the cheek. Both girls blushed and giggled before running into the school.

"I love you, Ruby!" Yang called as departed.

Ruby stopped, pulling Weiss to a halt with her as she turned around so she could call back.

"I love you too…" The girl paused uncharacteristically. "Yang!" She finished before letting Weiss pull on her again.

After Ruby disappeared into the school, Yang's heart wrenched at the realization that she would not only have to deal with not having Ruby with her all day, but she wasn't going to see her tonight either. Turning to head back towards her car as she started to swelter in the sun with her jacket on, she heard someone call for her.

"Miss Xiao Long?" Yang turned to see Miss Belladonna walking towards her. "Can I have a moment of your time?"

As Blake approached her, her eyes focused on chain peaking out from under the other woman's collar. On the end of that chain was that stone that haunted her dreams.

"Miss Xiao Long?" Blake's voice sounded inquisitive as the assistant stopped right in front of her.

As her eyes followed the chain down, she suddenly realized what it probably looked like she was doing and she quickly brought her eyes up to meet with Blake's.

"Uh… Yes!?" She flashed a nervous smile as her face grew red. "A moment, right? I think I can do a few moments for you." Her brain raced as she tried to recover from her embarrassing snafu.

"I was wondering if you could help the class out with something." The assistant stated simply before beckoning back towards the building. "It's a little warm out here. Do you mind if we take this indoors?"

"That'd be great." Was all that Yang could muster as she felt her brain scramble under the gaze of those glowing amber eyes.

Happy that their conversation was going to take place in a location that was out of the sun, and most likely had air conditioning, she let herself breathe a small sigh of relief. Wearing her jacket in the sun already was making her sweat. Being that close to Blake, and that stone, only exacerbated the situation. Plus the walk would give her time to clear her head and collect her thoughts. The second bell rang as they entered the building, leaving the hallways completely empty except for the two of them.

As Yang followed behind Blake, her eyes kept drifting to the woman's neckline where the chain of her necklace sat on her olive skin. It rested perfectly on her slender neck and… Yang shook her head to clear her thoughts again. She had more important things to do. She was just here to find out what Miss Belladonna needed from her to help Ruby's class. After that, she just needed an excuse to be able to persuade Pyrrha to not pick Ruby up and she was golden.

Blake opened a door and beckoned Yang in. As she stepped into the room, she was greeted by a cool draft, courtesy of the air vent that was by the door. It helped calm her as she took stock of the room. The refrigerators, sinks, cooking supplies, and various tables and chairs gave her the impression that she was in the teacher's lounge. As Blake sat at one of the tables, she produced a few folder pieces of paper from her bag and set them down on the table in front of her.

Despite the cooler temperature of the room, Yang was still sweltering in her jacket. She looked around the room again to make sure that no one else was in there before grabbing the zipper of her jacket.

"Do you mind?" She inquired as her hand hovered by her zipper, waiting for permission.

Blake looked her up and down real quick as if she was trying to determine if Yang was wearing something inappropriate under her jacket. "Go ahead." She said after a moment.

Quickly unzipping it, she slid the fabric off her shoulders and hung it on one of the chairs at the table where Blake was sitting. Pulling the front of her tank top, she fluttered it back and forth to try to circulate a little air.

"Nice arm." She heard Blake say a little awkwardly.

"Um… thanks?" Yang raised the prosthetic arm up so Blake could see it more clearly. While some of the paint that Ruby had applied to was already rubbing off, it still looked pretty good. Ruby wasn't the best of artists, but she had painted the different plates and segments in complementing colors and were no smudges or flecks of paint anywhere. "Ruby likes to paint on it with watercolors. It calms her down when she's stressed."

"Er…" Yang looked up to see Blake's face flush red with embarrassment. "I meant I think your tattoos are pretty." The black-haired woman finished quickly.

"Oh." Yang self-consciously looked at her prosthetic again before lowering it.

"Yeah…" Blake lowered her head as she pushed the papers across the table. Yang could see that her ears were still tinged pink from the misunderstanding.

She sat down in the chair opposite of Blake, so she could look at the papers that were given to her.

"Um…" Blake started. "So we need another chaperone for a field trip that Ruby's class is taking next month."

Quickly reading what Blake gave her, the field trip looked like a lot of fun. An all day trip to the zoo with a birds of prey demonstration. It was on a day that she didn't have class either, and calling off work shouldn't be an issue as she had plenty of PTO built up.

"Sure!" Yang smiled earnestly. "I'll do it."

Blake looked relieved at her remark, maybe Blake was hoping to spend time with her?

"Thanks. It's a big help. I dropped the ball on getting a chaperone and you were the first parent I saw." Blake admitted as she sat back in her chair.

Or not.

"However." She continued before pausing. "I am free tonight, if you want to meet up. If you have any questions or anything. I am new to this area and I could always use a friend. Plus, I'm sure your tattoos have a story behind them and I'd love to hear it."

Or maybe?

"I…" Yang stammered, taken aback by the development. While she wanted to get close to Blake, it would only end badly. Plus, she had Ruby to take care of. "I'll have to check, I have Ruby to take care of…"

"You can bring her along!" Blake offered with a smile. "Seriously, besides Ilia, you're the only person my age I know! She's great, but it would be nice to have a friend outside of work."

Blake was practically begging her now. She could hear Pyrrha and Nora's voices urging her to say yes.

"Why don't you give me your phone number, and I'll let you know?" She offered.

"Perfect!" Blake wrote down her number on the top paper. "Go ahead and take those with you!"

Stuffing the papers into her pocket and retrieving her jacket, they bid each other farewell and Blake showed her out of the building. The rest of the day was uneventful, but as the clock dwindled down to the time that she would normally leave to pick Ruby up, Yang found herself fidgeting with her phone. She should definitely send Pyrrha a text to call off the sleep over. She felt nervous at the thought of Ruby being away, even for only one night.

She started to write a message to Pyrrha, but paused and deleted it. Was Pyrrha right? Did she need some time without Ruby? She started to rewrite the message only to delete it again. Sighing, she flopped down on her couch and heard the crinkle of paper as she landed. Pulling the sheets of paper out from under her, she had forgotten that she had tossed them there when she got home. She stared at the number written on the top.

She put Blake's number into her phone and typed out a message to have her meet up at a nearby coffee shop within the next hour. It was going to be an interesting evening.

I admit it, I am bad with cute and fluffy. But Ruby and Weiss are adorable? Yes? OF course they are.

Big thumbs up to Zelindsay and XenonRaumzeit for helping me edit this into a readable story.

Let me know what you thought with a fav, follow, or my personally favorite, a review. I also accept PMs with Haikus. ;)

Have a great Friday and I'll see you next chapter.