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Dia de Muertos is an important celebration for Maria Calavera, despite not being part of any of the countries that officially celebrate it, Maria always thought it was a very beautiful celebration, how could it not be when the intention of it is to celebrate with those who have passed away?
Not only to celebrate together, but to let them enjoy at least one day a year with their loved ones, it was honestly a very nice and wholesome idea, and so for almost a week Maria started to work for the celebration, and finally today, October 30th was ready, now it's just a matter of waiting carefully and-
"MARIA! HI!" A squeaky voice shouted from the hallway of the apartment complex where Maria Calavera lived, a retired Huntresss thanks to an injury that left her blind.
"Ruby! Not so loud! There are people trying to sleep here!" another voice scolded the first one, trying to keep her voice low but failing in the attempt thanks to the overwhelming silence that had fallen in that hallway (And also the fact that that hallway caused an echo that could be heard all the way to the next block), revealing the source of the squeaky voice as Ruby Rose, Heroine and Savior of the world.
Not that it was much of a secret to the old huntress either, having trained that Kid shortly after the fall of Atlas (Or well, what she can classify as training since it mostly consisted of the Veteran shouting vague instructions to her young apprentice), she was already used to the almost inexhaustible energy coming from the Young One.
Of course this inexhaustible energy was also usually (if not almost always) accompanied by a cold breeze in the form of Weiss Schnee (Or Rose, as they had both been married a week ago, being impossible to forget for the amount of Tears, Congratulations and Alcohol that was at that Wedding, although the Alcohol was mostly provided by a certain Black-Haired Crow, much to the displeasure of Taiyang, and the brides, and almost everyone, although Maria didn't really care, despite the horrible hangover everyone at the wedding suffered the morning after, except the same guy who provided the Alcohol).
Barely hearing the couple arguing outside, Maria went straight to the door of her apartment to open it for them thinking 'One of these days I'll get a Complaint from the neighbors because of these two... bah, I'm too old to care'.
Upon opening the door, Maria was greeted by the couple dressed quite formally for a day as normal as today, it was a surprise especially knowing the silver eyed hunter, who is more likely to take a dozen criminals out of a maximum security prison and face them hand to hand at the same time than even have the thought of putting on heels.
Apparently the day of the end had come because not only was she wearing heels, but she was wearing a rather elegant (and expensive, because every dress this woman wears is so expensive that Maria would probably be able to buy a furnished house with as much money as that dress was worth) red dress.
"Good evening Maria, have you been well since our last visit?" Weiss, by far the most diplomatic and formal of the duo, was the first to speak.
"Ugh, I've already repeated to you to stop that formal talk, I'll be your wife's Master but I'd rather you didn't talk to me like I have more money than I can spend."
"See Weiss? I told you!" Ruby responded to her wife, lightly tapping her Wife's arm with her Elbow, which got an eye roll in response accompanied by a small smile at the corner of her lips.
"Well, what brings you here? Did you finally decide to pass on all their possessions to this Elder and disappear again for a whole year?" The question, despite coming with a fair amount of humor from the old woman, was totally valid (despite not being said with bad intentions), since after the war and the defeat of Salem, Ruby and Weiss disappeared for a whole year, no one knew where they went and they themselves refuse to talk about it, although no one would deny that that adventure made them even closer than they already were (Even though they were already joined by the hip by the aftermath of the Fall of Atlas)
"Oh, no, We finished dinner for Ruby's birthday and as we passed nearby, we decided to give you a visit, or well, Ruby decided to give you a visit and before i could plead i was already in the middle of her Semblance rushing to your floor" Weiss explained, looking not at all amused at her wife
"Hey, I didn't hear you complaining when we got to the floor where Maria lives!" Ruby tried to defend herself, pointing a finger at Weiss' chest.
"Because I was trying not to throw up you Dolt! And don't point at other people, it's rude" And immediately Ruby raised her other hand and pointed another finger at the same spot in Weiss' chest, who simply grabbed them and gently lowered them to the ground
Maria couldn't help but let out a slight laugh at the little argument between the two women, despite what it seemed, neither of them harbored bad intentions towards the other, all this little fight was common between the two of them, it was amazing the ability of the two to argue over trifles like this to be the most disgustingly sweet and loving couple in all of Remnant.
"Well, I was just finishing up the Altar for Dia de Muertos, I haven't really done much else these past few weeks" The reply quickly got a extremely confused looks as response from the coupke
"Dia de Muertos? Is that some kind of celebration?" Ruby responded, while Weiss remained silent, no doubt trying to remember if she had ever heard of this celebration
"Yes, it's a celebration to spend time with those who have passed away, every 1st and 2nd of November an altar of the dead is set up with a picture of those deceased relatives and their favorite food, I found about it when I was young and have celebrated it almost constantly since those days, it's a constant reminder that even though the people I loved have passed away, they are still with me even if it is only one or two days a year" Maria explained, having a solemn and nostalgic expression, even though she was not a religious woman, this small celebration was a reminder that even though all those she knew have passed away, there is always a special day to spend with them.
"That sounds... honestly quite touching" Both women shared a glance, a silent conversation happening in this brief glance for both to look back at the Grimm Reaper "Care to tell us more? We have plenty of time."
"Hah! Interested in the stories of an Old Woman?" Maria laughed, but stepped aside to let the red and white duo pass "Sit on the couch and make yourselves comfortable, this is a long story."
And that's how both women learned about Día de Muertos
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Dia de muertos is a celebration that revolves around the belief that those who are no longer alive are still with us and that, two days a year, are able to interact and coexist with us, this celebration dates back almost 700 years, the country of origin is unknown, but it is known that its earliest celebrations were in Vale, with families gathering only to form their altars and spend those two days with each other, eventually with the passage of time the celebration became something global, with large altars placed in main squares, each one different thanks to the different cultural roots but keeping the main bases that distinguished the celebration.
Of course thanks to the fact that mankind could not stand still without wanting to strangle each other's necks constantly the celebrations in some countries were suspended for a few years due to some of the conflicts that happened, and when the great war came and the faunus were "donated " Menagerie, the celebration was practically forgotten thanks to the increasing menace of the Grimm after the War.
"But it practically doesn't mean totally! Come on Weiss, let's go make our altar!" Ruby, the constant ball of energy, stood up as soon as Maria finished explaining the backstory to the celebration, immediately grabbing Weiss's hand
"RUBY NO WAI-" And as they arrived they left, in a white and red whirlwind that practically dematerialized from the Ex-Huntress' apartment, who simply stared at the mess left behind thanks to the air streams caused by the miniature tornado in the form of the silver-eyed warrior's Semblance.
"I didn't even get to tell them about how the altar is made or what to put on it... Bah, they'll figure it out."
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"Well, according to this page, we must use a special flower called... uh... kenpasuchi" Ruby read from a page coming from her scroll as she was leaning against the wall, while Weiss was in the kitchen, both in their House in the Outskirts of Vale.
" Cempasúchil, and are you sure this is a good idea? We both know what happened the last time I tried to cook."
"Yeah, don't worry Weiss, everything will be fine!.... Probably."
"Ruby the last time you let me cook something we had to call the rangers because we burnt down half the forest we went to have a picnic in, at least can you have the firemen on call in case something bad happens?" Ah, certainly that day was a disaster, Ruby being the one who had to pay for the damages being that she had the idea to use concentrated Fire Dust for cooking and leave it in charge of Weiss, the person with the most and least patience in the world at the same time, yeah, maybe this whole thing might not be such a good idea....
"You're right..." Ruby replied, bowing her head and feeling less cheerful than before, Weiss did have a good point, besides, Maria had been working on this for weeks, and Ruby wanted to do it in just one day being that they didn't even know about this celebration until a few hours ago
Weiss, noticing the change of demeanor in her Wife, reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, lightly patting her head
"Don't be discouraged my love, just remember we are in this together, no matter however long it takes, we will have the altar ready, now, would you mind sending me that recipe for the Strawberry ShortCake?" Again, the younger woman's smile returned and without wasting any time, she sent her the recipe that her father had sent her a few days ago
Ruby was admittedly excited about this celebration that Maria had told them about a few hours ago as they were returning from their formal birthday celebratory dinner (even though it wasn't her birthday, but Weiss insisted and how could Ruby possibly resist the look on her wife's face when she asked her to please go to that fancy restaurant? Even if it did involve putting on some death traps of shoes instead of her oh-so-comfortable boots, although the dress was nice, Ruby enjoyed putting on a dress once in a while), although she hadn't heard the whole explanation, from the information Ruby gathered (And managed to translate, because most of the information was in a language neither she nor Weiss spoke and the translator didn't detect, which is odd considering Weiss spoke all languages, at least according to Ruby) the celebration consisted of placing the deceased's favorite food alongside the photos of the deceased, Sugar Skulls (Which left Ruby twice as excited, if anyone loved candy more than her, it was her mom) and a multitude of random objects (Ruby swore they had a purpose, but since she didn't understand the language she just couldn't fin it)
As soon as she noticed Weiss's presence move away from her and head to the kitchen, Ruby opened the notes app on her scroll and began writing down the necessary items on it, of course with the amount of information available Ruby had to use the pictures and analyze each of the items to write them down on the list (Not that it was that hard either, all the items were clearly presented in a very obious way in the pictures, and thankfully she did do her information gathering, even the difficult named flower was written down) and finalize her little list
"Weiss, I'm going out to get the stuff for the altar, do you need anything?" Ruby asked her wife as she headed to her room to change out of her dress into a more comfortable outfit, which she kept looking at the ingredients as if it were a formula for a new dust mixture
"Eh? Ah, no, I have everything I need right here" Weiss replied, finally coming out of her mental space "Anyway, I'll text you if I need anything."
"Okay" Ruby replied, walking out of her room wearing simple blue Jeans with a red jacket, grabbing the keys to the car they both bought (Because Ruby won't let Weiss buy a car alone and with her money, simply because it's a car they will both use and using it without having paid a penny for it would make her feel quite uncomfortable) and approaching Weiss in the kitchen to give her a kiss on the cheek and a quick "love you" before leaving the house, leaving the CEO to return to her position of 'Analyzing Ingredients as if they were a new Dust Formula'.
"Okay, this shouldn't be that hard, just follow the recipe and done, I've done it multiple times, I can do it one more time" Weiss sighed and set to work, putting her (non-existent) baking skills to make the best Strawberry Shortcake this world will ever see, because a Schnee (despite no longer having the last name, she still had the Pride! and also the almost two decades of trauma, psychological scars and emotional manipulation, but Pride more than anything!) only strives for perfection and won't settle for less.
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'Fuck perfection' Were Weiss Rose's exact thoughts on her 5th attempt at baking a Strawberry Shortcake, 2 hours had passed, Ruby hadn't returned (Although she had been sending constant messages about her current status, desperately looking for somewhere open where they sell wooden planks and wooden arches for the altar after she got the other items) and Weiss had lost patience when the 3rd attempt came out burnt because apparently using Fire Dust to speed up the process is not a good idea and ends up scorching the mixture, but she still decided to make a 4th, and eventually a 5th attempt when the 4th exploded from too much yeast.
To further add salt to the wound, the Eiskaffee (because she would rather die than to remember his father and spend even a nanosecond more on the same existential plane as him) came out excellent on the first try, following his grandfather Nicholas' old recipe (with a few tips from Klein in between) this one came out perfect, being right now carefully refrigerated in a special container with just the right amount of Dust ice to keep it cold and not freeze the drink.
Pulling out her failed 5th attempt, which was deflated because she now used too little yeast, Weiss dropped her head on the table with a loud THUD, groaning in sheer frustration at being unable to cook the favorite food of who would have been her mother (at least according to the law), Weiss was definitely feeling defeated and rather gloomy
'Summer... I'm sorry, I'm not able to bake you something decent, I'm such a failure....' ' Weiss thought, but then suddenly a phrase that her wife, that Ruby had said to her all those years ago when they were studying at Beacon 'You're not alone Weiss' echoed through his head, reminding him that she no longer had to carry everything by herself, it was no longer her against the world, she now had people to rely on, so opening his parchment, she quickly looked up a number and, checking the digital wrist watch she had, pressed the Dial button.
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"Ugh..." Was all that came out of Ruby Rose's mouth as she climbed back into the driver's seat of her car, leaning her forehead on the steering wheel, Ruby could only feel incredibly frustrated at the fact that no one in the entire Vale was selling wooden planks at 11:30 at night, it wasn't even midnight, how could they be closed?!
Putting on her seatbelt, Ruby started the car and headed straight to...to where? Ruby could no longer remember any other place that could sell her what she was looking for, the GPS on her scroll marked multiple places closed, the Silver Eyed Warrior was backed up against the corner.
'Yes, silver eyed warrior, Heroine who defeated Salem, Leader of the legendary Team RWBY, all those titles. What good are they if I can't find what I'm looking for?!' Ruby thought, bouncing her left leg in a display of the growing anxiety and desperation the huntress was suffering, she felt 16 again, thrown into a war solely for the color of her eyes against an immortal witch and enemies from all sides, Ruby again was against the corner, not knowing what to do, until she remembered the words that her wife, that Weiss kept repeating to her everytime she was like this 'Stop and analyze the situation calmly, don't try to rush things and remember, you don't have to carry everything by yourself.'
The words echoed in Ruby's head, smiling, she took out her Scroll and, finding the desired number, pressed Dial.
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The day had arrived, both women completed the altar, placing the objects in a very specific order, at the top were the photos, with a photo of Summer Rose on the left, a photo of Phyrra Nikos (who both women agreed to place there and even convinced the late warrior's mother to cook her favorite food for them to place on the altar) in the middle, and a photo of Nicholas Schnee on the right, each of the photos accompanied by a candle carefully placed near the photos, but not so close as to burn them.
Behind all the photos was a Red and Blue cross and an Arch with Cempasúchil flowers attached to it, adorned with Shredded Paper in the shape of Roses, Snowflakes and Lances hanging from the arch.
On the middle step, were the favorite foods of each deceased, on the left was a Strawberry shortcake, on the right an Eiskaffee and in the middle a Loukaniko (Neither of the two women knew what that was, but when Mrs. Nikos brought them each a piece to taste, they instantly loved it, both for different reasons of course).
And on the bottom step was a piece of Pan de Muerto, An Atlassian Wine, A Valean Tequila (Neither woman knew exactly why alcohol was on the Altar, but they just assumed it was the deceased's favorite alcoholic beverage) a glass of Agua (They knew Phyrra didn't like to drink alcohol, and was more than happy to drink natural or mineral water), another glass of water (The original photo had a glass of water as the base, so to play it safe they added one more glass), a sugar skull (Which they had to buy more of thanks to Ruby not being able to stop eating them, until she discovered the chocolate skulls and swore her true love on them and Weiss) and an incense.
All of these items are on a three colored cloth, White (representing Summer Rose and simulating her white cloak), Red (representing Phyrra Nikos and her fiery red hair) and Blue (representing Nicholas Schnee and his Semblanxe that he passed down from generation to generation), with shredded paper in the shape of Roses, Snowflakes and Spears at the bottom of each of the steps.
Both women sat on the sofa, admiring the work they had worked so hard to create.
"Honestly? You did an excellent job with the shredded paper My love" Weiss was the first to speak, leaning her head against the younger Woman's shoulder "And where did you find the wood? I meant to ask you yesterday, but with your birthday and the fact that we went to visit your dad to have lunch with him I totally forgot."
"Actually it was Dad who gave me the wood, he knows a guy who processes wood, so I just called him and asked him if I could ask this guy if he could make me some planks and a wooden Arch" Ruby explained, also laying her head on top of her partner's, interlocking their fingers.
"I imagine he wasn't particularly happy that you called him almost in the wee hours of the morning" Weiss chuckled lightly, remembering how early Tai usually went to sleep, and woe betide anyone who wakes him from his slumber, Weiss still gets chills every time she recalls the memory of Ruby and Yang waking the old hunter as Weiss and Blake tried to convince them otherwise, and this one proceeding to demonstrate why he was called "The Flaming Fist Dragon" back in the day, needless to say all four members of RWBY faced the real Terror that fateful night.
"Yeah, he gave me an earful when he answered and told me to call earlier next time or the next training session we have won't be fun for me" Ruby laughed nervously, monthly the four members of RWBY have a training session to keep them on top, these sessions usually involve Taiyang and Qrow (And occasionally Raven, who despite all her complaints keeps showing up and training the Huntress when she is available) and are known to be absolutely brutal
Both women sighed, again falling into the sound of the comfortable silence they both shared on the couch.
"Now that I realize, how did you make the shortcake? Last I remember you were complaining that it wasn't coming out and that you were probably going to need more ingredients, and when I got home you had already put it in the fridge" Now it was Ruby's turn to ask.
"Ah, I called Klein and asked him if he could help me bake it, it was just in time, it was 10 o'clock in the morning back in atlas and Klein had finished his morning chores, so he agreed to help me and helped me via video call" Klein had always been the most loyal butler to Weiss, since her childhood he has always been present in her life, basically being the father figure she never had, eventually helping her escape from the Schnee Mansion, even to this day the ever helpful butler will only need to be given the word and he will help Weiss with all his might.
"It looks so good, I'm sure mom will love it..." Ruby mentioned with longing and a hint of sadness, even though it has been over two decades since her passing, the scar that was Summer Rose's death at the hands of Salem is one that will never heal properly
"And so will you, come on, light the candles, I'll get the food and we can finally get the celebration started" Weiss rose from the couch, smiling at her wife as he headed for the kitchen
Ruby also got up from the couch just a few seconds after Weiss, going towards the altar and carefully lighting the candles with the lighter Yang gave her for her birthday, then standing there admiring the altar, despite it being her first time and having no idea how to celebrate this, she feels that everything went quite well
Eventually, Ruby returned to the couch
"Weissy! Come sit down!" Ruby called towards the kitchen, where his wife was carefully balancing both of their food towards the little table in front of the Sofa
"Coming!" Weiss replied with a giggle, carefully placing the food on the coffee table, pointing directly at the Altar
Both women began to consume the food that was cooked, thanks to sharing the same tastes as the deceased (with the most recent discovery being that of that oddly named food coming from the Nikos family that they loved at first bite) there was no need to cook other stuff, and with a cup of hot chocolate, both women sat down to enjoy a quiet meal, which felt even more special, neither of them knowing why
Without both knowing it, a woman in a white cloak, a man with a white beard and a girl with red hair watched them with big smiles on their face, the woman eating the shortcake without worry while drinking Valean Tequila, positioned on the white side of the altar, the girl carefully eating the Loukaniko, taking occasional sips of water, positioned on the red side of the altar and the man drinking the Eiskaffee in an elegant way, drinking Atlesian Wine while positioned on the blue side of the altar.
The trio ate the food on the altar, knowing that even if only in spirit, they are happy for the duo, Summer happy that her Daughter overcame where she failed and found someone to share her life with, Phyrra happy that her friends managed to overcome her death and find happiness and Nicholas happy that his Granddaughter is walking her own path and is not alone in it.
The trio was happy, and couldn't wait for the next year to see them again.