Playground Affairs

Early release for high-pledging patrons!

Reward for the-heart-alchemist! They asked for some big sister romance between Yang and Winter (with a touch of younger Ruby and Weiss friendship on the side). There's a 5 year-age gap between each pair of sisters in this: Winter and Yang are 12 while Ruby and Weiss are 7.

'Affairs' in this sense means 'happenings' or 'occurrences'.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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												Chapter 59. Playground Affairs

Yang should've known better than to expect to sleep in on a warm Saturday morning.

It wasn't even 9AM yet when she heard Ruby's bed creaking above hers as her little sister shifted around and woke up. Yang groaned in protest, but that didn't stop Ruby from clambering down and jumping onto her.

"Yaaang, time to get up! You promised you'd take me to the playground today to play with Weiss!"

As if Ruby's loud, pining voice hadn't been enough, Zwei soon scampered in and started barking excitedly. Yang had no choice but to roll Ruby off herself, then roll herself out of bed.

"Fine... all right... I'm up..."

"Yaaaaay!"

And Ruby zipped off down the hall to start eating the breakfast her mother had prepared for her.

Yang moved infinitely more slowly, her eyes only half open as she changed and ate. Even when she and Ruby and Zwei were walking to the playground, Yang's eyes still couldn't open all the way.

Meanwhile, the second they reached the playground, Ruby was shrieking and squealing and darting off.

"There's Weiss! She's already heeeere!"

"Have fun," Yang called after her. "And be careful! I'll be sitting over here..."

With those words, she plopped down on a nearby bench as Zwei took off after Ruby.

Yang watched her little sister hurry over to her best friend Weiss. Rather than leggings or shorts, Weiss was wearing a little sundress, which prevented her from doing many playground activities. Yang knew the rather reserved girl wasn't one for roughhousing and the like, as Ruby was.

But in the weeks she'd seen Ruby and Weiss together on their little play dates like this, Yang had seen Weiss gradually breaking free of her shell.

Presently, she watched as Ruby threw her arms around the other girl, and Weiss smiled briefly and returned the hug before she complained and tried to paw her off. She then knelt down to greet Zwei, though she was careful not to get her hands dirty.

Yang watched the two girls affectionately as Ruby took Weiss' hand and led her over to the swings. She wondered who was supervising Weiss today.

Yang cast her gaze around the perimeter of the playground, where the guardians were sitting and watching their youngsters. It wasn't difficult to spot the person who was undoubtedly Weiss' older sister.

Yang didn't really know much about her, other than what she'd heard from Ruby and Weiss themselves, and that was essentially just that her name was Winter. Yang had seen her several times during their little sisters' play dates, but hadn't ever really gotten the chance to talk to her properly.

But maybe that was for the best, considering how beautiful she was.

Yang knew she was no good with talking to pretty girls, no matter how much she boasted and claimed to be.

But she didn't want to just stare and send glances at her like some kind of creep, either.

Yang alternated between watching the girls and stealing secret glances at Winter where she sat with her phone in her lap. Judging by the way she was scrolling, Yang guessed she was reading something. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun, and she was dressed much more professionally than Yang herself was. Rather than shorts and a tank-top, Winter adorned a pencil skirt and blouse.

Yang knew she herself must've looked like a bed-headed mess in comparison. Maybe it was for the best she didn't try to talk to her, especially today.

Maybe next time...

She was drawn from her reverie when a sudden high-pitched sound reached her ears. With a playground full of kids, of course there were shrieks and screams and the occasional sob here or there. But this wailing voice was one she knew.

"Yaaang! Yaaaang!"

Ruby was calling out for her in a panic, and her cries were accompanied by Zwei's frantic barking. When Yang looked up, she saw why.

Weiss was on her knees crying, clutching one of her hands to her chest as she hiccuped and wailed. Ruby was doing her best to hold onto her and help her to her feet, all whilst calling out to her big sister for help.

Yang was on her feet in seconds, sending up wood chips as she raced across the playground to reach them near the side of the swings. Ruby sniffled and looked up with relief in her eyes.

"Yang!"

"What happened?" she asked, crouching down beside them.

Weiss was crying too much to explain, so Ruby's babbling sufficed.

"W-We were on the swings a-and then someone else accidentally bumped their swing into Weiss' a-and she fell off a-and I think she's hurt! W-We should call the ambulance!"

Yang might have considered doing just that, but she wanted to assess the situation first.

"Okay. Are you all right, Ruby?"

She nodded. "Y-Yeah... only Weiss fell... I jumped off."

"Okay." Yang turned to gently hush Zwei, who stopped barking at her calm command. She then gave her full attention to Weiss.

The little girl was weeping, making heartbreaking sounds, and she only seemed to be staying on her feet thanks to Ruby's arms around her. Yang reached out to help hold her up, too.

"Hey, Weiss," she said softly. "I'm Yang, Ruby's big sister. Remember me?"

Weiss took a second to try and answer the question she'd been asked. She opened her eyes and looked up at Yang, the nodded once. Yang smiled.

"That's good. So can you tell me where it hurts? Did you hit your head or fall on your tummy?"

With the way she was clutching her chest, Yang was fearful she might've hurt herself there and have difficulty breathing.

But thankfully, Weiss shook her hand. Timidly, not unlike Zwei might have lifted his paw, Weiss lifted her right hand which appeared to be limp. Yang was a bit relieved to see it wasn't anything vital.

"Your wrist?" she clarified. "Only your wrist hurts? You sure, hun?"

Weiss sniffled and nodded again.

"Y-Yes..."

"Okay. That's good. Can I see it?" She offered out her hands and Weiss slowly slipped her injured one into them.

Ruby kept murmuring to her, promising her it would be okay. She helped keep Weiss on her feet and wiped her tears for her a little bit. Yang was proud of her little sister.

In the meantime, she herself got to gently rotating Weiss' wrist, running her fingers through hers, trying to bring the feeling back. At the same time, she helped Ruby distract the girl from her pain.

"So Weiss, where do you go to school? Are you in Ruby's class?"

And Weiss was such a good girl. When someone, especially an adult, asked her a question, she always did her best to answer.

"Vale Elementary. And yes... Ruby's in my class, e-even though I'm older."

"Only three months older!" Ruby reminded her.

"Okay," Yang said, continuing her motions. "And what's your favorite snack? Ruby likes peanut-butter and jelly."

"With strawberry slices!" she added.

Weiss thought for a moment as her tears came to a stop.

"I like salads. And apples."

"Wow!" Yang sounded impressed. "What a healthy girl, huh?"

She continued asking Weiss questions like that to keep her mind off the pain. All the while, Yang massaged her wrist carefully, rotating Weiss' little hand in hers to try and fight off the pain. Before long, Weiss had stopped crying. Yang just asked her one last question.

"So Weiss, do you have any siblings?" She already knew the answer, but she wanted to be sure.

Weiss nodded.

"Yes. There's my brother Whitely, and- Winter!" She cried out in a way that told Yang she wasn't just answering.

When she turned around, she saw that beautiful girl from the bench approaching them now. She seemed calm and reserved, but the second she caught Weiss' attention, worry swept across her face.

"Weiss, are you all right?" She knelt down right next to Yang, making the blonde's heart jump. Weiss slowly drew her hand away from Yang's and tried to move it on her own. When she felt no pain, she smiled a little.

"Yes. Ruby and Yang helped me."

"Oh, thank goodness," Winter sighed. "Come here." She opened her arms, and Weiss ran right into them, whimpering just a little.

Yang watched with relief in her eyes, admiring just how dearly Winter was hugging her little sister. Yang wondered if she looked that way when she hugged Ruby.

Her own little sister came to her side, and Yang pulled her in, kissing her forehead.

"You did great, Ruby. You were a big help in helping her stay calm and take deep breaths. I'm so proud of you."

Ruby giggled and hugged her around the neck.

"And you fixed her hand, Yang! Thank you!"

Yang could hear Winter murmuring to Weiss next to her.

"Are you sure you're all right? Do you want to go home? Should I take you to the doctor's?"

Weiss' replies were soft, but sure.

"No, we don't have to. I'm okay now. Ruby's big sister helped me. I feel better."

Winter let out a long sigh.

"Okay." She pulled away a bit and kissed Weiss' forehead, too. "Then do you want to stay here and play a little longer?"

Weiss nodded.

"All right. Just be extra careful. I'll be right over there."

Yang looked to her sister, too. "Wanna stay and play with Weiss a little longer?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, and Zwei barked.

"All right. Just be careful now. And if Weiss' wrist starts to hurt again, come find me right away."

"Got it!"

With that, Ruby reached out to take Weiss' unhurt left hand, and together they scampered off across the playground. Rather than something like the swings, Yang saw that this time they were going to play with the tic-tac-toe blocks.

With the fright over, Yang let out a long sigh. Only then did she realize who she was alone with.

"You're Yang, correct?"

Winter was looking straight at her now, and Yang nearly fell back on her haunches.

"Uh, y-yeah! I'm Ruby's sister."

"Winter. I'm Weiss' sister."

Winter stood, then offered Yang her hand. Yang swallowed hard before accepting.

Winter helped her up, and for a moment both girls dusted themselves off. Winter let out another sigh. Yang could tell she was trying to calm herself down from the panic. Gradually, her calm, cool demeanor returned, and she presented Yang with a grateful smile.

"Thank you so much for that just now. I'll admit I... wouldn't have known what to do. I probably would have just called for an ambulance. When it comes to Weiss, I tend to panic first and think second."

"Hey, that's only natural, isn't it? Especially being an older sibling. We can't help but worry about them. Especially a girl like Weiss. I mean, Ruby cries every day three times a day from even the tiniest paper cut, and then she's fine two seconds later. But I don't think I've ever seen Weiss cry before."

Winter crossed her arms, just to give her hands something to do.

"You're right. She doesn't cry often. So when she does, it frightens me. So thank you again. I'm sorry I didn't come over sooner. I got up as soon as I heard her crying, but... you were already there, and you had things under control. I apologize for letting you handle things, but you did it so well."

"No need to be sorry," Yang grinned. "I know you would've done the same for Ruby, or any of these kids, if you could've."

Winter nodded.

It was then they both realized they were standing in the middle of the playground. So Winter invited Yang back to the bench with her.

They sat together and watched their sisters, and easily got into the habit of telling stories about them. Yang wasn't even nervous. Talking about Ruby and Weiss, even to the girl she'd been crushing on from afar, just came so naturally and left no room for nervousness.

They talked for hours, until Ruby and Weiss came back to them, hand-in-hand and yawning. With their little sisters exhausted from the day of play, Winter and Yang said their goodbyes.

"Oh-" But Winter paused to tear a small page from her planner and scribbled something down. She handed it to Yang. "Here's my number. Keep it."

Yang limply accepted the paper, jaw agape.

"S...Sure thing... Thank you..."

Winter smiled and gave her a brief wink. She then scooped Weiss up into her arms.

Yang did the same for Ruby, and Zwei trotted at her ankles.

After that, Yang wouldn't mind waking up so early on Saturday mornings.

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A/N: Innocent little AUs like this are some of my favorites!