Chapter Text
The world of Remnant was a truly frightening place.
If one wasn’t a Huntsman or Huntress then life could be nasty, brutal, and short. There were very few places that were safe for humans to live. There were the great cities in the kingdoms of Vale, Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo, and the isolated island of Menagerie. But outside of those cities few places could be considered safe. The creatures of Grimm were always ready to pounce and destroy all human life it could find. Attracted by negative emotions, they could easily overwhelm an unprepared town or village. To make matters worse, roaming bands of bandits dotted the land, often preying on the small human settlements the Grimm didn’t destroy themselves.
Therefore, while many villages and towns outside the Kingdoms direct control prefer their independence, the vast majority keep lines of communication open for trade and security. This way Huntsman and Huntresses can be called for as soon as possible, whether it be to beef up security during Grimm attacks… or to investigate when a settlement becomes too quiet. It was a sad thing to say, but settlements go dark so often nowadays that even students were drafted to search for survivors. Every student team can claim to have done at least one of these missions, and now it was team RWBY’s turn… but they would be in for a surprise.
*
It was the beginning of their second year at Beacon Academy, and Team RWBY were having the time of their lives. After performing well at the Vytal festival - which went off without a hitch - the group of Huntresses in training were feeling on top of the world. Over their first year at Beacon, they had made new friends, faced down inner demons, fought hordes of Grimm, and forged a bond of true friendship as a team.
But while the life of a Huntress had incredible highs, there were just as many lows, and a Survivor’s Search mission was one of them. Despite the fact that it was their first unsupervised mission, the girls were a little sombre.
The team had just been deposited by airship to the closest location it could reach to their destination. The village that had gone quiet, ‘Pleasantville’, was deep in the wild forests on Vale’s easternmost border. No airship could get close and trader caravans to and from the village had always been scarce. Honestly it was no wonder that it eventually vanished from the grid.
As they trudged through the deep forest, keeping a wary out for Grimm, it was Yang, determined to lighten the mood, who broke the silence. “I should have brought my Bumblebee.”
Weiss, doing her best not to think about what the forest dirt was doing to her high-heels, raised an eyebrow. “And how do you propose we could have all ridden on that bike of yours?”
Yang ran a hand through her golden mane of hair. “Well… Ruby could have ridden in a side-car, Blake could squeeze behind me and hold on tight,” that remark earned an eyeroll from the cat Faunus in question, “and you my dear ice queen could be dragged behind us on a rope.”
Of course, as usual Yang’s joke fell flat and Weiss was about to unleash a blistering retort when their team leader Ruby stepped in to calm things down. “Hey there’s no need to start arguing now. This an important mission and we should be keeping our eyes peeled, not sniping at each other.”
“Humph. Very well, but your sister can be such a lout sometimes.”
The blonde brawler laughed. “Hey no need to be so sensitive! It was just a joke, Weiss-cream. Besides, we’d give you some roller skates first before we hooked you to the back of the bike.”
The imaginary though of Weiss skidding along on roller skates while hanging for dear life on a rope hooked up to Bumblebee was enough to make Ruby giggle despite herself.
Weiss moaned. “Oh, not you too!”
Blake, the only member of the team to remain professional during the team’s regular hijinks, held up a hand for silence, the cat ears hidden in her bow twitching. “Quiet. I hear something!” She crouches into a battle stance and drew her weapon, Gambol Shroud. To their credit, the rest of Team RWBY were quick to act, drawing their own weapons.
As one, the team trained their weapons in the direction the rustling noise coming from the forest. Each Huntress was prepared to unleash a salvo of dust-empowered fury on the Grimm they expected to rush out a them. Thankfully, instead of a horrible monster bent on death and destruction, a man stepped out from between the trees and into the forest path.
He was a tall and muscular man, dwarfing the girls in size, with wide shoulders, a lantern jaw and a thick mop of dark hair above sky-blue eyes. He was dressed in a button-up shirt with the sleeved rolled up to the elbows, sensible jeans and black working boots. Upon seeing the four Huntresses, he smiled bemusedly and slowly raised his hands in surrender.
“I don’t know whether I’m lucky or not.” Said the stranger in a deep voice, “Lucky that I’ve encountered such beautiful women, or unlucky that they’re all brandishing such fearsome weapons at me.”
With only a little embarrassment, Team RWBY lowered their weapons. Ruby spoke up first. “Who are you? Are you a survivor of Pleasantville?”
The man looked puzzled. “To answer you first question, the name’s Abel Alderwood. As for your second… survivor? Pleasantville is as safe as houses. We haven’t had a Grimm attack in a long, long time.”
Weiss put away her rapier and put her hands on her hips. “Then can you explain what you’re doing in the woods and why Pleasantville hasn’t sent out a communication in weeks?”
The newly named Abel shrugged. “I’m a carpenter. I was cutting down some trees for material myself, as it’s cheaper to do it that way. My axe is just behind me, I put it down so you girls wouldn’t blast me if you saw a weapon in my hand. As for the communications? We’d finally reached a point where we were pretty much self-sufficient. So we just didn’t have any need to contact anyone on the outside.”
The girls exchanged a meaningful glace among one another. Yang piped up this time. “That doesn’t make sense. Even if you think you don’t need any help, you should still tell people that you want to be left alone, not just cut yourself off.”
Abel frowned. “We’re private people. We keep to ourselves and we like it that way,” His expression softened, “We aren’t trying to be rude though. Judging from what you’ve just said we’ve put at least four lovely young ladies out of their way looking for us.”
He sketched a short bow. “Well while we prefer our own company, we give all visitors a warm welcome. Tell you what, since you travelled all the way from the Kingdom, why don’t I escort you to town? Show you that everything is all right.”
Blake threw in her two cents. “Well, we did come all this way.”
*
With Abel as a guide, it didn’t take long for the girls to reach Pleasantville. Being so deep in the forest and away from the cities, Team RWBY expected some frontier village made of logs with low technology. Instead they were led to a large town, a little bigger than Beacon Academy, surrounded on all sides by a high stone wall.
The girls were still staring when Abel led them through the front gate. And if they were impressed by the wall, then the town proper really raised their eyebrows. It was like a suburban paradise straight out of a picture book. There were dozens upon dozens of suburban stone houses, all complete with perfectly manicured gardens and white picket fences. Children played in the street happily without a care in the world, all the while watched over indulgently by supervising adults.
While one or two men could be seen going about their business, all of them sporting a similar muscular build to Abel, the vast majority of the people team RWBY could see were women. Every single one of them were beautiful in one way or another, wearing tight but otherwise conservative dresses. Some were sat on benches, holding onto prams or nursing pregnant bellies. Others were going about business of their own, kneeling in the gardens planting flowers or pruning plants, while keeping an eye on their children. Or baking in the house while watching out of open windows. All of them had beatific smiles on their faces as they watched the children at play.
Any further observation was put aside for now when the girls heard feminine cry of excitement. A woman rushed up to the team’s burly guide and embraced him lovingly. “Abel, dear you’re home!”
Hugging Abel for dear life was a gorgeous woman with long ashen-black hair, bright amber eyes, and a dazzling smile. She was wearing a red dress, with a skirt cut just below the knee. The upper dress clung tightly to her fit and curvy body… and also emphasised her large bust as well as the swell of her stomach showing off the early stages of pregnancy. High heels adorned her stockinged feet, and judging by how quickly she ran up to Abel, she was used to wearing them. But even with heels, the young woman only came up to the tall man’s chest, forcing her to look upwards at him, adoringly.
“Cindy! This is a wonderful surprise.” Abel, clearly thrilled, scooped the smaller woman off her feet into a bridal carry and spun her around joyfully. Suddenly, as if remembering the obvious baby bump, he placed her gently back onto her feet.
He turned to the huntresses in training. “Ladies, I would like to introduce you to Cindy Alderwood. My wife and in my opinion the prettiest girl in Pleasantville.”
The woman, who in another life Team RWBY would have known as the villainous Cinder Fall, blushed like a schoolgirl at her husband’s compliments. “Oh dear, you always know the perfect thing to say.”
Still facing the girls, Abel patted Cindy on the head affectionately, who preened at the attention.
“Hey, since you travelled all the way here, why don’t you spend the night? We have plenty of room at our home, since our first little one isn’t born yet. You can meet the Mayor in the morning too, so he can write up a letter or something to your Headmaster so he doesn’t worry about us anymore.”
The huntresses glanced at each other again, a little uncertainly. They had only been in the town for a few minutes, but all of them felt uneasy about how… perfect everything was. Especially considering it was essentially in the middle of nowhere. Not even in Vale’s capital city were things so ordered. This slice of ‘paradise’ in a place that should be swarming with Grimm was incongruous, unsettling.
However, it was also true that the girls were tired. And if they stayed the night here, they might learn more about how this place was so well protected from the Grimm.
Eventually as team leader Ruby spoke up. “Well like Blake said we’ve come a long way, and it’d take hours to walk back out of the forest. So, if you really don’t mind, we’d be honoured.”
Cindy beamed. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all! We haven’t entertained in ages. I’ll have to learn to cook for more than two soon anyway.”
*
Abel and Cindy’s home was just like every other house in the town. It was a beautifully crafted suburban townhouse with red brick facing and the ever-present white picket fence surrounding a perfectly manicured garden. And when escorted inside, the girls found the place to be just as clean and tidy as the rest of the town appeared to be.
It was strange. As soon as the girls walked into the house, their growing sense of unease at how utterly impossible this suburban paradise existed in what should have been a Grimm infested forest seemed to abate. The house, no this home had an aura about it, an atmosphere that wouldn’t brook unhappy thoughts. Slowly, almost unconsciously, Team RWBY began to relax, they untensed from their battle-ready mindset.
Carefully taking off her heels and placing them in the shoebox, Cindy motioned the four huntresses to follow her in. “Abel will set you up with some beds upstairs, so take off those shoes and relax a little. I’ll have snacks put out in the sitting room shortly, unless you want to explore our home a little first. Or even better yet, you could join me in the kitchen for some real fun.”
Weiss spoke up first. “I think we’ve been on our feet quite enough today. I will relax a little in your sitting room if you don’t mind.”
Wearily, Blake nodded her agreement. They had been walking all day, and a close observer would be able to see her Faunus cat ears drooping from behind her black bow.
Yang had other ideas. “Well we might be guests but I don’t want to put you out too much. I’ll go upstairs and help Abel set up the beds. It’ll be done faster with two people.”
The housewife looked at Yang like she had grown a second head. “Well… I don’t know why you would want to get involved with Man’s work when you could help out in the kitchen instead. But you are the guest, and an Out-of-Towner, so I’m sure Abel wouldn’t mind a second pair of hands.”
Cindy’s comments about ‘Man’s Work’ caused Yang’s hackles to rise, but the peaceable atmosphere of the house kept her from dressing the housewife down for her backwards thinking. This town obviously had their own virtues, and yelling at the friendly woman wouldn’t help anything. Instead she merely nodded and went up the wooden staircase to help Abel.
With Yang upstairs and Blake and Weiss in the sitting room, this left Ruby – alone – with the former Cinder Fall. The housewife looked at Ruby expectantly. While Cindy tried to hide it, Ruby could tell that she was clearly disappointed that her teammates hadn’t wanted to help with the cooking. Ruby never liked disappointing people.
“Hey, I don’t mind helping out a little.”
The warmth in Cindy’s eyes was enough to convince Ruby that she had said the right thing.
As soon as they reached the kitchen, the barefoot and pregnant housewife gave Ruby a look of pure excitement. “Oh thank you for agreeing to help me despite being a guest. Cooking dinner for four extra people was going to be a challenge with just little ol’ me.”
Ruby smiled back at Cindy’s enthusiasm. “It’s no problem. We’re the ones imposing on you after all. Besides I used to bake cookies all the time back at Beacon, how different could this be?”
“Well we’ll see what you know,” said Cindy as she put a sunflower-yellow apron over her dress, handing a frilly white apron to Ruby, “I’ll help you every step of the way. We can even make cookies for dessert today. Abel would be thrilled I’m sure!”
Soon the housewife and the huntress got to work. Despite Ruby’s experience in baking, it was clear she was a novice at preparing and cooking food. Cindy was always close at hand, patiently explaining and demonstrating anything Ruby needed to know. As they worked, they got to talking.
“So, Cindy have you always lived in Pleasantville?”
Continuing to chop up vegetables, Cindy answered. “Oh, good gracious no. Just like you I came across this place while I was travelling with my friends Mercury and Emerald. I met Abel shortly after arriving and I was just head over heels.”
Watching carefully how Cindy was chopping the vegetables and doing her best to imitate her, Ruby kept talking. “Travelling huh? What were you doing before you came here, and what happened to your friends?”
Upon asking that question, a flicker of uncertainty flashed across Cindy’s face, before she resumed her normal happy expression. “Before…? I don’t like thinking about before Pleasantville. I wasn’t a very nice person; I was positively mean. A mean little girl who wanted to feel powerful. I wasn’t even able to cook! Thankfully all that changed when I met Abel. So strong, so manly… the bad girl I was just couldn’t resist melting into his arms.”
Cindy rubbed her belly lovingly. “Luckily for me, Abel fell for me just as much as I fell for him. He made me the happiest girl in the world when he took me as his bride. Now I’m having his baby, the first of many, I hope! And I’ll love them all.”
She seemed to come back to herself. “Oh, and Mercury and Emerald? They’ve settled down too. After a little while in Pleasantville they realised they were perfect for each other and got married. I was even Emerald’s Maid of Honour! They live down the street a few doors away, I’ll introduce you to them tomorrow morning if you’d like.”
Ruby had the strong impression that something was missing from Cindy’s story, but couldn’t figure out what it was. Every time she tried to think about it, her suspicions became fuzzy in her mind. She tried to focus, and that only caused the beginnings a migraine to form. Only when Ruby resumed preparing vegetables did it go away, and a sense of peace washed over her instead.
Cindy continued talking, oblivious to Ruby’s mental struggle. “I’m going to get the chicken out of the fridge and wash it, which can be a little icky. You’ve been so helpful with the vegetables that I was able to prepare a cheese and cracker platter for your friends. Could you be a dear and take it to the front room?”
“Sure thing!”
Ruby couldn’t understand why, but she felt a bloom of happiness rise in her chest as she took the platter to her friends. For just a moment, she daydreamed that this lovely house was her home. That she was the perfect homemaker just like Cindy was. Entertaining her guests before her husband came home from work…
She shook her head rapidly, clearing her thoughts. What was going on with her?
*
Even the high-class daughter of the Schnee family could admit that the Alderwood’s front room was gorgeously decorated. With finely polished and crafted hand-made wooden furniture such as bookcases, mantle pieces and a coffee table. Not to mention the royal blue carpeting, a perfectly tended fireplace, and what had to be the most comfortable chairs in the world.
It was strange. Weiss knew she was tired, but as soon as she sat down in one of the front room’s plush chairs, she had to fight to keep her eyes open. It would be rude to just fall asleep after all, so both she and Blake fought off their respective drowsiness. They kept themselves awake by chatting with one another, and of course the topic of conversation drifted quite naturally to the room they were sitting in.
“It’s so clean. My family manor had a literal army of servants, but even then, I don’t think we had a room quite as clean as this one.”
Blake nodded along, staring at the book case in the corner of the room. “Interesting book collection though. About half of it is pretty serious reading. The other half though… romance novels, cookbooks, housekeeping guides, arts and crafts, fashion magazines, and parenting guides. Also, well… almost a whole shelf is devoted to ‘marital relations’ and ‘husband pleasing’ guides. Looks like Cindy is pretty devoted to Abel.”
That comment brought Weiss up short. Devotion. From what little she’s seen so far Abel and Cindy were a lovey-dovey couple; nothing like her own parents. While it may not have been that way in the beginning – maybe – her mother and father despise each other now. Weiss couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if her parents were like the families she had seen in Pleasantville so far. Maybe it was the warm domestic atmosphere of the house, but Weiss couldn’t stop herself from fantasising about it. Jacques Schnee coming home from a long day working as the head of the company, along with Whitley as he was showing him the ropes. Mom, Winter and her working in the kitchen together, as mothers and daughters should, making the perfect dinner for his return. He greets mom with a smile and a kiss, something she’d never seen him do. Then they’d all eat dinner together like a happy family…
She was shaken out of her daydreaming by Blake patting her on the shoulder. Her teammate was watching her with a wary expression. “Are you okay, Weiss? You completely spaced out there. What were you thinking about?”
Weiss fought down a blush of embarrassment. Why was she thinking like this? “I-It’s nothing. Just thinking about my parents.”
“Oh.” Blake was quiet at that; Weiss already knew what the cat Faunus thought her father.
Before things could get awkward, Ruby came into the room, carrying a platter of cheese and crackers. “Hey guys! Here’s the snacks, as promised!”
Weiss and Blake couldn’t help but stare. Without her low-heeled boots, Ruby was even shorter than usual (though Weiss was having the same problem). If you included her carrying that snack platter and wearing that frilly white apron over her usual huntress dress, their team leader looked like a cute little housewife in training.
Ruby carefully placed the platter down on the coffee table. But rather than perch herself on one of the other chairs in the room, she started fidgeting, glancing at the door.
Weiss raised an eyebrow. “Are we not good company anymore Ruby?”
The sheepish look on Ruby’s face was almost enough for Weiss to feel bad about calling her friend out. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but… I didn’t expect cooking with Cindy to be so much fun. And I feel bad about leaving her to cook everything on her own.”
Blake shrugged. “If you’re having fun, we’re not going to get in the way of it. Don’t feel the need to stay on our account. We’ll talk more at dinner.”
After a hasty but heartfelt thanks, Ruby was out the door, leaving Weiss and Blake alone with the snacks. Giving each other a meaningful look, the two selected some cheese and crackers and nibbled at them. Almost immediately the heiress and the Faunus moaned in culinary pleasure at the taste. It was just so good.
A thought arose in the back of their heads unbidden. How could they learn to make food this good?
*
Ruby rushed into the kitchen with as much speed as she could without using her Semblance. However even as fast as Ruby was, she was still too late to watch Cindy prepare the chicken. The housewife was already putting the washed and seasoned chicken into the oven to roast. What was surprising to the huntress-in-training was just how disappointed she felt that she’d missed it. She was having fun in the kitchen with Cindy, but she didn’t expect to feel so… crushed. Maybe she enjoyed cooking more than she thought.
As soon as the bird was in the oven, the pregnant housewife spun around and saw Ruby in the kitchen, her face making an ‘o’ of surprise. “You didn’t have to rush back so quickly. You could have enjoyed yourself with your friends.”
Bashfully, Ruby replied. “Well… I really wanted to see how you prepared the roast.”
Brushing a lock of her long dark hair out of her eyes, Cindy pouted. “Aww, I didn’t realise it was that important to you.” She took Ruby’s hands in hers. “I know what’ll cheer you up. Let’s make some cookie dough together! If we make it now it’ll be perfect for when we bake it later.”
The sheer delight at the thought of baking with Cindy brought a big smile to Ruby’s face.
*
Upstairs, Yang quickly found Abel in a large open-plan room. Compared to the lovingly decorated first floor, and even the other rooms on the second floor that she had seen like the spare room just opposite, this room was pretty bare, with unpainted walls and wooden floorboards. However, it stuffed with wooden furniture and carvings of all kinds. As soon as she entered the room a floorboard squeaked underneath her, and he quickly and turned around to face her.
“Oh, hello there. Does Cindy need my help with something?”
The man’s first thought was that his wife needed his help, interesting. “Uh, nope. I came to see if you needed any help moving the beds for us?”
For a moment Abel had the same puzzlement across his face that Cindy did, but it quickly morphed into a neutral expression. “You want to help? Are you sure?”
The faintest tone of amusem*nt in his voice set Yang’s teeth on edge. Apparently, the very idea of a woman helping a man with heavy lifting was seen as absurd around here. It was a lovely town, but they had some backwards ideas. Abel saw her as a weak little girl, just like his wife, she was determined to prove him wrong.
“Yeah, I want to help. Is that a problem?”
Abel stroked his chin in thought. “Well, I don’t see why not. But if you begin to feel tired or strained in any way stop and tell me, okay?”
Like that would happen, it was more likely he would be the one tired by the end of this. “Sure, no problem, where do we start?”
The man of the house gestured behind himself with his thumb. “As I mentioned earlier, I’m a carpenter by trade. I keep a lot of my creations in this empty room until I have space for them in my shop in the town market. Because Cindy and I have been expecting our child, our first of many children, I’ve been busy making cots and even bedframes for when they’re older. But I didn’t expect to actually need them yet, so they’re stuck in the back behind the cabinets and other pieces that’re going be put to Market soon.”
Yang caught on quickly. “So we need to move those out of the way and bring the bedframes into the spare room?”
“You got it. That room wasn’t really built for four people to sleep in, but it’ll fit.”
That was all the blonde brawler needed to hear. “Well what’re we waiting for? Let’s do this.”
The burly man and the huntress got to work. Abel made a lot of furniture, carved straight from the large trees in the forest. It was all beautifully crafted, lovingly polished, and heavy. At first Yang had no problems, using the muscles she had proudly built up from years of training to be a huntress. She was proud that she could keep up with the mountain of muscle beside her, moving cabinets and wardrobes easily. But every time she moved a piece furniture it became harder. It was as if they were getting heavier. Sweat beaded her brow and dripped down her face, her arms were becoming tired and shaky.
Puffing out a tired breath, Yang had to stop and take a break, rubbing her sore arms. She had to take off her weapons, Ember Celica, so she could rub some life back into her wrists. But while she was resting her poor arms, Abel was still going strong. Heck, he didn’t even look strained. It was as if what he was moving weren’t even heavy to him. While comfortably holding a cabinet that Yang felt was stupidly heavy when she tried to lift it earlier, Abel flashed her a kind smile.
“Thanks for the help, but maybe you would like to go downstairs with the rest of the girls. Perhaps you can help Cindy in the kitchen? I’m sure you’d both love that.”
Even if it was unintentional, his patronising words lit a fire in Yang. She would show him! She was just as tough as any man. Brushing the long blonde hair that had been plastered to her sweaty forehead out of her eyes, she gave him a smirk filled with confidence she didn’t quite feel.
“Sorry but I’m not interested in that stuff. I can still help, no problem.”
Abel shrugged in nonchalance, but there was a hint of concern on his face. “Suit yourself.”
Using her anger at his condescending opinion that she should ‘go back to the kitchen’ as fuel, Yang forges on. Gaining a second wind, she was able to move the furniture again, but it was never as easy as it was before, and she was soon panting for breath again. Soon she was relegated to moving the smaller pieces while Abel moved the larger things like wardrobes and bookcases out of the way. All the while he looked completely unfazed. It all came to a head when they had finally reached the bedframes at the back of the room. Yang, eager to prove once and for all that she was tough enough, grabbed hold of the first bedframe and heaved. She strained like she had never strained before, sweat running down shaking arms, and the frame didn’t even shift.
There was a quiet sigh from behind her, and Abel gently brushed her aside. “Careful girl, you’ll injure yourself. Let me.”
Abel gripped the bedframe with his strong hands and lifted it up as if it were a toy. Watching the man easily move what she couldn’t with all of her might shook Yang to the core. For the first time she realised just how much taller Abel was compared to her. Even if she went on tip-toes she would barely clear his chest. Compared to his biceps, the strong arms she was so proud of before were like matchsticks.
A thought popped into Yang’s mind, unbidden. Maybe these things aren’t heavy. Maybe you really are just a weak little girl.
Pushing the little voice in her head away, Yang tried to hide behind bravado as she watched Abel move the other three bedframes into the spare room. “W-well I bet you’re one of the strongest men in Pleasantville, huh?”
Abel continued to set up the frames while answering Yang’s question absentmindedly. “Hm? Oh, not really. Pretty much every guy in Pleasantville are around the same when it comes to size and strength. If anything, a few are a little stronger than me. It must be something in the water.”
He turned to her with a guileless expression on his face. “Could you grab the blankets and pillows from the linen closet? It’s in the second bathroom. I’ll deal with the mattresses as they might be a bit too heavy for you right now.”
A part of her wanted to feel indignation… but he was right. In her current state Yang really didn’t think she could even move some mattresses right now. Defeated, the huntress-in-training went to grab the blankets. As she did so, her mind wandered. She had always prided herself on her strength, she was stronger than most huntsman her age back home. But if Abel was right, and he had no reason to lie, then pretty much every man in Pleasantville was stronger than her. What a thought, in this town she really was a weak little girl, because every woman was weak compared to the men here.
Wouldn’t it be nice to find a nice strong man here to take care of a soft girl like you?
The thought had wormed into Yang’s mind, and this time she didn’t chase it away. It felt… right.
*
The clock had chimed six, and it was dinner time in the Alderwood household. Team RWBY were sat in the dining room with their hosts, who were smiling genially at them. Cindy and Ruby had already set the table and served out the plates, and now it was time to dig in.
On the surface it looked like a fairly standard roast chicken dinner, albeit with all of the trimmings, but looks weren’t everything. For one, it smelt heavenly, making the girls salivate even before they took a bite. But as soon as they started eating… well, nothing could compare. It was without a doubt some of the best food they had ever tasted. Even Weiss, who had grown up being served by gourmet chefs was impressed. Each bite was like ambrosia, and it took all of their willpower not to inhale it all and lick the plate clean in front of their hosts.
Abel for his part, kept eating as if this level of food was common. But then again, with Cindy as a wife it probably was. “Just wonderful dear. You really have come a long way since we got married. Marvellous food.”
The pure adoration in Cindy’s face was a testament to how much her husband’s words meant to her. “I’m so glad you like it dear; I’m always doing my best to improve for you. But I can’t take all the credit!” She slipped her hand into Ruby’s. “Ruby here helped quite a bit.”
The Man of the house gave Ruby a warm smile. “Then you’ve done well too Ruby. You’re going to make a lucky young man very happy someday.”
Ruby couldn’t help but blush at the comment. A small part in the back of her mind tried to whisper that it was kind of a sexist remark, but the thought dissipated quickly before it could properly form. Instead she smiled and shyly looked down at the remains of her dinner.
While this was going on, the other members of Team RWBY felt the faintest stirrings of envy for their team leader. If they had just helped out with making dinner then Abel would have praised them as well. Yang in particular was kicking herself for wasting her time helping Abel when she should have been helping in the kitchen instead. However, while Weiss and Yang were regretting it, Blake looked uncomfortable. Why was she feeling like this? It felt like Adam all over again, and wanting Abel’s praise didn’t sit well with her.
Cindy noticed Blake’s look of discomfort and smiled sweetly at her. The knowing amber eyes disturbing Blake even more.
“Now that we’ve had dinner, how about dessert? Ruby and I baked cookies for all of us!”
There was a chorus of agreements, and very quickly Cindy served everyone with a small plate of cookies each. Blake took a bite, and immediately shuddered with bliss. If dinner was marvellous then these cookies were sublime. It was the tastiest and sweetest dessert she had ever had the good fortune to eat. The moans of pleasure echoing throughout the dining hall proved she was not alone in her belief. Her discomfort faded, chased away by sweetness.
*
The sun had set, and the girls were turning in for the night. The huntresses-in-training had brought some camping gear as they expected to be roughing it in a burned-out town looking for survivors of the Grimm, but no change of clothes. Cindy was of course horrified at the thought of the girls sleeping in the same clothes they came in with. Soon each girl was outfitted with a nightie from Cindy’s own wardrobe. Red for Ruby, light blue for Weiss, black for Blake and sunflower yellow for Yang.
The nighties were actually a bit too big for them, especially around the bust considering Cindy’s developed figure. That may have been for the best though, as while Cindy dressed somewhat conservatively in dresses, her sleepwear was a bit risqué compared to her public clothing. All four of their nightgowns were cut the same way, leaving their shoulders completely bare save for two thin straps holding the whole thing up. The nightie also dipped just enough to give a hint of cleavage while cupping and supporting the breasts. Below that, the rest of the gown was sheer, providing only a hint of modesty for the rest of their sculpted, naked bodies, and it was cut to expose all of their leg up to mid-thigh. Thankfully, the matching panties that Cindy provided covered their most intimate parts. The whole dress was clearly designed to be easy on the eyes and could be slipped off in a moment’s notice, great for marital relations.
But while the teammates had given each other approving looks on how good they all looked wearing these, little was actually spoken between them. They were all tired after a long day and a big meal. The calming atmosphere the Alderwood household soon had the girls peacefully falling asleep.
As they slept, the dreaming began…
*
Softly humming to herself, Ruby pulled out a tray of freshly baked cookies from the oven. She was older now, a fully matured woman with her own home. As she placed the tray of cookies on the windowsill to cool, she sighed in contentment and marvelled at how wonderful her newly refurbished kitchen was. Why, it was probably even better than Cindy Alderwood’s next door!
“Mama! Mama!”
Ruby spun around and smiled in complete joy as her two perfect little children ran into the kitchen. Her little boy looking so smart and turned out in his dungarees, and her little girl looked just like an angel in her cute pink dress. Smoothing down the skirts of her red and black polka dot dress, Ruby bent down at the waist, palms on her knees, so she could get a better look at her darling children.
“What is it sweethearts?” The sugary tone in her more mature voice was so much like Cindy’s.
“Can we have a cookie now?” said her son what was his name?
“Please?” said her little girl what are their names?
“Oh mommy’s sorry, but they’ve only just been pulled out of the oven, wait for them to cool a little first okay?”
The twin ‘awws’ from her cute little children caused something inside Ruby to melt.
Suddenly, a man came in, his face was hidden in shadows but he wore a perfectly tailored three-piece suit. While she was still bent at the waist, he gave Ruby’s ass a playful spank across the rear, causing her to yelp in surprise, and arousal.
“Listen to your mother,” came a deep masculine voice that made Ruby’s knees weak.
She straightened up and went on tip toes to kiss the kiss her husband on the cheek. “It’s so wonderful to have you home, honey. Dinner will be ready in an hour.”
*
Wiping off the last speck of dust from her mantlepiece, Weiss’s eyes swept over the room with pride. It was the best decorated home in all of Pleasantville! It even won the competition for ‘best decorated’. Oh, the other housewives had pouted, but congratulated her all the same. Better luck next year! Indeed, her husband what is his name? had even given her a pat on the head when she showed him the first-place ribbon she had won. Weiss wondered if he would like the steak or the lamb for dinner…
But she was wool gathering, she had a guest. Willow Schnee, her mother sat with her legs crossed in her second-finest chair (the best belonged to the Man of the house). She sipped a cup of tea elegantly, then set the cup and saucer back on the side-table. She looked up at Weiss and gave her a proud motherly smile.
“Weiss, I have to apologise to you. I haven’t been the mother I should have been, but now that I’ve seen how happy you are here, I know you’ll be a better mother than I ever was. A proper Pleasantville mother.”
Weiss gushed at the compliment.
*
Yang was making sandwiches in her new kitchen, while wearing a lovely yellow dress her hubby bought for her just last week, with an apron to keep it clean of course. She was tapping her bare foot to the sound of the Pleasantville radio station at it played all the best hits from Vale. Except for the censored ones of course, with all that silly nonsense about female empowerment. Honestly, some of the musicians from the capital were so silly.
Finished buttering all the bread she needed for her husband and son’s sandwiches, Yang grabbed the jam jar and tried to open it. She gasped and strained, but the darn jar lid just wouldn’t come off. Sighing, she called out.
“Honey, could you help me?”
A large, muscular man, with a handsome face obscured in shadows stepped into the kitchen. “What’s wrong dear?” What’s your husband’s name?
She proffered the jam jar to him with a pout.
Needing no other explanation, her hunk of a husband took the jar gently in his large hands and popped the lid off with ease. The sight of him easily doing something she couldn’t had Yang all hot and bothered.
Her husband noticed immediately. “Forget the sandwiches.” He easily scooped her up and carried her bridal style in his large arms.
“Honey! What about our boy?” What was his name?
“He’s not going to starve; he’s just going to get his sandwich a little later. Say, twenty or thirty minutes or so?”
She giggled and let her Man carry her upstairs.
*
Blake lay on the couch, nursing her pregnant belly. It wouldn’t be long now, just another few weeks and she’ll be a proud Pleasantville mother. Of course, as happy as this made her, by this late stage of pregnancy she isn’t able to do very much now. Indeed, the only dark spot during this joyous time was the fact that she wasn’t able to clean her hubby’s home to her normal perfect standards. Still, her generous and loving husband what was his name? didn’t mind and forgave her for it considering her condition.
She stroked her gravid belly lovingly as she felt one of her babies kick while in the womb. Yes, one of them. She was carrying twins! The urban legend of Faunus carrying litters of children was exactly that, but knowing she was carrying two bundles of joy swelled her heart with happiness, and she very much knew it turned her husband on. What was his name?
He would be home from work soon! Dinner’s already been set up, but she couldn’t fully serve him like she usually would. Well Blake was sure he wouldn’t mind a blowj*b…
This isn’t right!
*
Blake awoke in a cold sweat. Her breath was ragged as she took several lungsful of air, breathing rapidly as she tried to quell the fear clutching her soul. What was that? What was that?
She looked around the room to find her teammates to sleeping soundly and peacefully, a small smile touching their faces as they dreamed the night away. Where they dreaming anything like what she was dreaming? Blake hoped not, she would hope that her teammates would be able to fight it off like she had.
Fight off… what? Blake clutched her head in discomfort. It was just a bad dream, right? But like all dreams it was already fading. She knew she hadn’t liked what she was dreaming, but couldn’t remember the particulars. Soon within a few minutes, it was already gone. With the memory gone, Blake’s fear began to fade with it. What was she so worried about anyway? This house was so calming, so peaceful, so domestic. Nothing bad could happen here.
With a wave of tiredness washing over her, Blake slipped back under the bedcovers and went back to sleep.
Everything would be fine in the morning, her sleepy brain reasoned before sleep – and another dream – overtook her.
After all, this was Pleasantville.
