"Thanks!" Ruby smiled brightly, waving at the cab as it drove off, leaving her and Blake standing on the sidewalk in a quiet, unassuming suburb of Vale.

"You could have had them drop us off right at our house you know." Blake felt eager to get home, she knew her girlfriend was too, yet she had the cab drop them off a short walk away.

"I know, but it's such a beautiful day out, I thought we could walk to the rest of the way." She grinned bashfully. "Come on, you know it sounds nice too!"

"Okay, I guess it doesn't sound so bad." Blake smiled with a resigned sigh as Ruby took up her side.

"Come on, let's go home." Ruby's ever present energy was as lively as ever as the two women walked side by side. At the same time they both took the other's hand into their own, entwining their fingers until their hands clasped together.

As they walked hand in hand down the familiar sidewalk, Blake looked up to the clear blue sky, the gentle summer's breeze hummed over her cat ears. Beside her, Ruby closed her eyes, letting the warm sunlight wash over her as she took a long deep breath, imbibing the scents of the city they lived in, for her it was deeply nostalgic and tranquil, a far cry from the Grimm infested forest they pair had spent most of the past two weeks in.

Their pace quickened just a little as they caught sight of the house they had both been longing to see again since they left for their mission. It wasn't anything fancy or grandiose, just a nice two story home, painted white with a strip of black, yellow and red painted across the perimeter. The lawn was well kept and it had a patio with a swinging chair that could comfortable hold the four of them. A garden with beautiful flowers was planted along the stone walkway that led to the patio and front door. It was their home, the home the four of them bought together, and they loved it.

Ruby's smile only grew brighter as they ascended the wooden steps, their hands still held together as they stopped at the door. Blake reached her hand out to the handle, but was stopped when Ruby squeezed her hand, shaking her head with a playful grin.

"Weiss is in the kitchen, she doesn't know we're here, wanna scare her?" To be doubly sure, she closed her left eye and looked back at the door before giving a satisfied giggle.

"As tempting as that sounds…"

Ding-dong!

Blake rung the doorbell, eliciting an indignant glare from her girlfriend, to which she rolled her eyes. I just can't say no to her when she's like that. Honestly, she's really cute when she's pouting. It's more fun to get a rise out of Ruby than it is to scare Weiss.

"Fine, you win." Blake surrendered, her cat ears twitching as she heard footsteps approaching to door from within the house. Immediately Ruby flattened herself as much as she could against the wall beside the door while Blake did the same on the opposite side. The doorknob rattled for a moment before turning and slowly the heavy wooden door swung open.

"Hello?" Weiss cocked an eyebrow as she stood at the threshold.

"Boo!"

"Eek!" Weiss yelped, whipping her head to the source of the sound. "Ruby?!"

"Boo." Blake had used her semblance to appear behind Weiss as she put her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders.

"Blake!?" Weiss' face turned bright red as she spun around but before she could really process what was going on, she felt Blake's arm wrap around her lower back just before she was pulled into a deep, silencing kiss. Her tense body relaxed in Blake's grasp as she leaned forward into her soft lips.

"We missed you." Ruby cooed as she came up behind Weiss who was still occupied by Blake's kiss. With a soft giggle Ruby wrapped both her arms around Weiss from behind, locking them around her waist before pressing her lips against her warm neck, kissing it softly up and down while Weiss stood there helplessly between her girlfriends. Through her lips she could feel Weiss' heartbeat growing ever faster. She's probably had enough.

As though sharing the same thought, at once both Blake and Ruby released Weiss, her breathing heavy and shaky as she was left reeling by the sudden and unexpected affection while her two girlfriend stood behind and in front of her looking extremely pleased with themselves.

"You two are the worst." Weiss finally sighed as she regained her composure. Stepping aside she let Ruby in, closing the door behind her as a warm smiled formed from her lips. "It's good to have you both back. I missed you."

"We missed you too." Blake leaned forward and gave Weiss a tender kiss on her forehead as she removed her boots at the door.

"You've been gone for a while, longer than you said. Honestly, Yang was beginning to worry." He smile turned more playful as the three of them walked into the living room. "I knew all along that you were fine of course."

"Sure you did." Again Blake rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of which, where is Yang? I don't see her anywhere." Ruby looked around the house from her position beside Blake, be she couldn't see a trace of her big sister.

"Oh she had to stay late, apparently a couple of her students were goofing off during her lecture so she forced them to stay after classes." Weiss shrugged.

"Still, she could be back soon. Until then, I'd love to hear all about your mission. I'll start some tea of coffee for us while you two shower, you really need it." Weiss laughed at the embarrassed faces her girlfriends made at her assertion, but honestly she didn't hate the smell, they'd been working hard out in the field, she found it attractive actually, and they knew that.

"Alright, come on Blake, we'll go take a nice hot shower together so the princess doesn't have to smell us!" Ruby huffed, turning away as she grabbed Blake's wrist before throwing her cape on the couch as she dragged her girlfriend deeper into the house where the bathroom awaited.

"Hey! Don't throw your dirty clothes on the couch!" Weiss yelled at them, but the only response she got was hearing the footsteps grow faster as they hurried away from her to avoid trouble.

"Honestly, my girlfriends are such a handful sometimes." Weiss sighed, but the smile on her face never faded as she grabbed Ruby's cape and folded it neatly in her hands. It was covered in dirt and soot from her battles and for a moment… she felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

"I should get the tea and coffee started." With a wistful and smile and a shake of her head, she banished the sadness before walking into the kitchen.

Weiss was proud of their home, it needed a bit of work and remodeling when the bought it, but that was precisely why the chose it, together, the four of them could put their time, energy and love into the home that they would share. Though she was particularly fond of the kitchen, she and Ruby designed it, picked out everything that would go into it from the appliances to the type of hardwood that covered the floors while Blake and Yang did a lot of the heavy lifting and she and Ruby did the detailed work. A lot of sweat went into it, but she loved it… even if she wasn't the best cook among them.

Humming a catchy tune Weiss opened the window the illuminated the kitchen with natural light just above the sink, the gentle summer's breeze wafted in the scents of the grass and flowers that surrounded their home. If she listened closely, she could hear the water of the shower running and the occasional giggle from Ruby as she bathed with Blake. Things felt nice and peaceful. It was days like today that made Weiss reflect on everything that happened to bring them together… and everything the had to give up.

It's been an amazing journey, my relationship with those three, and our relationship with each other. We've all grown so much by being together, both as a team and as lovers… but we've all had to make sacrifices to get here. Myself and Yang had to stop being Huntresses… at least full time like Ruby and Blake. Yang got herself a job teaching Grimm studies at Beacon while I took over the Schnee Dust Company and became head of the Vale branch so we wouldn't have to relocate and uproot our lives. Blake had to walk away from her past, and she stopped hiding the fact that she's a faunus… but none of the that compared to what Ruby had to sacrifice…

Weiss felt a cold chill grip her heart as she thought about her girlfriend and leader and what happened that night. She's lost so much… sensation on twenty percent of her body, her right eye and even though she doesn't want anyone to know, I can tell she tries to hide it, but we all know… she's still in pain. Sometimes she feels like she's being burned all over again. Then there's the nightmares… I don't blame her for being traumatized, but she never brings it up to us, we just have to watch her tremble in her sleep. Holding her helps but we worry. Still, she says she's thankful for her scars… because what happened to her that night is what brought us together as more than a team.

Ding-dong!

The sound of her doorbell ringing tore her from her thoughts. With a soft shake of her head Weiss composed herself turning the heat down on the stove underneath the kettle before she walked into the living room.

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!

"I'm coming!" Weiss growled in irritation as the bell went off rapid fire. Quickly she unlocked the door and swung it open, her arms folded across her chest as she glared at Yang.

"I kinda forgot my keys this morning." Yang smiled at her from the other side of the threshold, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. She wore tan, unbuttoned leather vest beneath which was a bright golden blouse. Her long blonde hair held in a ponytail with a black ribbon tied into a bow. She wore white which shorts held around her waist with a silver chain and at her ankle a red bandanna was tied above one of her black and white sneakers.

"Yes, I noticed." Weiss pulled a key-chain from her pocket and dangled them in front of her.

"Ah don't give me such a hard time, I've had a long day." Yang whined as she stepped inside the house, Weiss shutting the door behind her.

"Well I think I might be able to cheer you up." Weiss smiled as she wrapped her arms around Yang and pulled her close. "Guess who's home?"

"Wait, are you saying…" Yang looked down at the floor where she took her shoes off… and two very familiar pairs of boots were propped up against the wall.

"That's right, they came back." Weiss held Yang just a little tighter, smiling brightly as she felt Yang's warmth through her clothes. We're all together again. Now it's really, truly home.