The sunshafts of the early morning peered through the windows of the rented Mistral home, bathing every room in a warm amber glow. Lying together in their shared bed were Blake and Ilia, the latter of whom had awoken a few minutes prior and was lightly stroking the former's hair as she slept, watching her peaceful expression. Ilia always loved waking up before Blake. She always loved watching over her princess like a guardian angel.

Blake slowly stirred as the sun rose high enough to reach her eyes. Once they came into focus, she smiled at the chameleon Faunus staring back at her. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Morning," Ilia returned with a smile of her own. "Did you sleep well?"

"About... as well as one can when they're sleeping with their loved one," Blake yawned. "I'm not even sure I want to get up. Can't decide between morning sex or breakfast."

"Morning sex?" Ilia raised a brow. "With you?" Her perplexed look quickly turned playful as she continued. "I think that would make my day."

Blake let out a giggle and pulled Ilia in close, exchanging kisses with her lover. Their hands ran through their clothes in practiced motions between kisses, each garment becoming lost under the blanket until there was nothing but skin on skin. They let themselves become lost in the familiar territory of each other's bodies, while their kisses picked up in pace. Blake's thigh nuzzled in between Ilia's legs while Ilia snaked her hand between hers, and both could feel the other's heat as their heartbeats travelled south. With some slight rubbing, it didn't take long for either of them to become wet. Ilia removed her fingers from Blake's core and took her by the arms, pulling her on top of her as she moved to the middle of the bed. "I want you to top," she told her. "I like it better when you do."

Blake was about to kiss Ilia again when she remembered there was another bed in the room, and out of the corner of her eye she could tell it was still occupied. She put her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture before pointing across the room, to where Yang and Weiss were still sound asleep. Ilia nodded before wrapping her arms around Blake's neck. "Well, then... I guess we'll have to keep it quiet and take it slow," she whispered before pulling Blake down to kiss her again. Blake deepened the kiss while her hands travelled below to open Ilia's legs, wrapping her own around them as she gently set her core down onto hers.

Ilia gasped at the contact as Blake pressed down firmly, their heats melding together between their legs. She brought her arms up to touch Blake, only for Blake to lay them on either side of her head and intertwine their fingers. Blake leaned down to kiss Ilia as she began to move, the pair softly moaning into the kiss. The need for air separated their lips, though not for very long, and their kisses grew longer and deeper over time. The pleasure between them picked up; Blake found herself grinding a little harder against Ilia, but her lover didn't seem to mind, and was in fact welcoming the increased pace. Blake broke the long string of kisses to shower Ilia's neck with affection, letting the smaller girl pant and moan openly as she made love to her. "Oh, Blake..."

"Ilia," Blake sighed into her lover's ear. Her hot breath sent shivers down Ilia's spine, and the chameleon Faunus had to bite her lip not to moan any louder than she already was, lest she wake her sleeping roommates. Blake smiled before meeting lips with Ilia again, to shoulder some of her burden while she pressed deeper. Ilia broke the kiss with a pleading moan. "Ahh... don't stop... I love that..."

Blake chuckled and continued to grind on the girl beneath her, sharing pleasured moans with her. Every roll of her hips, every meeting of their clits, every shock or tingle up their spine amplified their ecstacy with each other, the bonds they shared. Every time they kissed felt like paradise; breath was torture. Their minds, fogged with sex, could only focus on each other and the building up of their shared climax.

"Blake," Ilia panted, "I'm gonna cum..."

"Do it," Blake sighed. "I'm right there with you."

"Oh, Blake... ah!..." Ilia's cries were muffled by Blake's lips as bliss washed over her body like a tidal wave, Blake feeling the same. The two rode it out until the end, after which Blake broke the kiss so that they could breathe in the post-coital haze. Blake let go of Ilia's hands so she could cup her cheeks, never wanting to let go of the smiling face before her. Ilia held Blake's arms, brushing her thumb over them. "I love you, Blake."

"I love you too, Ilia," Blake smiled back before kissing her once more. "Let's clean up."

As Blake got off of Ilia and helped her sit up, the pair froze. Sitting on the edge of the bed across from them was Yang, with her legs crossed and her arms folded across her chest. Weiss was sitting beside her, blushing fifty shades of scarlet.

"I'd tell you two to get a room," Yang smirked, "but I think I liked the show better."

Blake and Ilia chuckled sheepishly and looked elsewhere. Yang stood and stretched. "Well, I'm headed down to get breakfast," she said as she headed for the door. "I'd ask if you were coming, but it looks to me like you already have."

The door shut behind her as Yang made her exit, leaving Blake and Ilia alone with Weiss. The white-haired girl didn't look at them or say anything; shocked or embarrassed, it was hard to tell. Either way, she stood and went after Yang.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, Blake and Ilia went downstairs to join everyone for breakfast. It was a little weird, then, when they were all gathered around the table in the living room. Ren was coming out of the kitchen with two plates of pancakes and Oscar was nowhere to be seen. That's when they heard Ruby speak.

"We need to take the Relic to Atlas?"

"That's what Oz said," Qrow replied as Blake and Ilia joined them.

Weiss nearly choked on her pancakes. "You've got to be joking."

"I mean, bright side, we finally get out of this house!" Nora pointed out. Weiss sighed.

"Well, trust me, I'm not crazy about it either," Qrow told them. "And without the Spring Maiden to seal the Relic back in its Vault, its our best option."

"Atlas may be the safest Kingdom we have at the moment, but their borders are closed," Ren reminded him as he entered with two more plates, setting them down in front of Qrow and Ruby. "General Ironwood called everyone back."

"Eh, not everyone," Qrow said, showing the group a hologram on his Scroll. The city of Argus is a ways north of here, and it's the primary trading port between Anima and Solitas. They've got the largest Atlas military base outside of the Kingdom. There's no way they'd leave it abandoned, and if we play our cards right, I think there's a chance we could convince them to escort us straight to Ironwood."

"I mean, we do have the missing heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," Blake pointed out.

"Ex-heiress, actually," Weiss corrected.

"True, true," Yang smirked, placing her robotic arm around Weiss. "But if there's a chance for reward money, I say we go for it."

"Hopefully, the first option will suffice," came Oscar's voice as the farmhand came down the steps, supported on Ozpin's cane. No, this wasn't Oscar right now, was it? This was Ozpin. It had been nearly a week since the Battle of Haven, and Oscar had been bedridden that entire time. Jaune, Ruby, and Qrow occasionally went into his room to check on him, but this was the first time he'd been up and about since that night. And with Ozpin taking over, no less. It still bothered Ilia that this was the man responsible for Reina's life.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Qrow smirked.

"Likewise," Ozpin nodded," and while I'm sure we could all use more time to recover, I'm afraid time is of the essence." He sat beside Ruby, placing the Relic of Knowledge in his lap.

"Right, as long as that thing's out in the open, it's power could fall into the wrong hands," Blake said as Ren brought her and Ilia breakfast. Ruby had filled her in as best she could after the Battle of Haven, but this was really more of Oz's domain.

"Speaking of, what does it do, exactly?" Jaune asked. "Qrow never really told us."

In that moment, the group looked to Ozpin for answers. The reincarnated man smiled and nodded. "Of course." He placed the lamp on the table, letting it grow in size as he explained its function to the team. Nora nearly knocked over the plate Ren was bringing to Oscar as she bounced off the walls asking about more questions, but Ozpin told the group how he'd used up the questions before sealing it away in its vault.