Blake walked through the halls of the dormitory, humming to herself quietly. It was an odd habit she'd picked up lately, one that seemed to be indicative of her mood.
Which, much to her surprise, had been unprecedentedly positive over the last few days.
Ruby was her girlfriend.
She let a small smile creep across her face at the thought.
Ruby was her girlfriend.
True, she wasn't her only girlfriend… that honor was now shared with a certain tall and leggy redhead who lived across the hall. But, she and Pyrrha had come to an understanding. No, it was more than that, really… It felt like more of a pact. A bond, of sorts, that the two of them now shared over their mutual love for the diminutive brunette who had so effortlessly captured their hearts.
Her smile made another appearance as she reflected on how her internal conversations had become even more flowery and romantic than usual. And for her, that was saying something.
Nothing in the varied books she had read could have prepared her for the relationship she now found herself in. The Cat Faunus knew that questions still prevailed with her other teammates, with those from Team JNPR, and certainly their classmates who couldn't contain their stares when the three of them would walk through campus, Ruby in the middle and cheerfully bouncing along while holding her and Pyrrha's hands.
But other people's opinions didn't matter, which in and of itself was another remarkable mental shift for the Faunus who still wore a bow on the top of her head.
Blake stopped as she arrived at her room, composing her face back into her customary neutral mask in case they had company over. Though there was really only one person she was looking forward to seeing after having spent most of the evening finishing up her paper in the library.
The love of her life, her rose, her heart…
She snorted to herself softly. I really have become overly melodramatic.
With a slow push she let herself into her room, amber eyes flickering around. There were no guests inside, but neither was her girlfriend.
She felt her ears sag under her bow, which earned a chuckle from her unusually perceptive partner.
"Heya Blakey, looking for Rubes?"
She glanced up at the blonde bruiser currently sprawled out across her upper bunk bed, in her pajamas and catching up on some reading for their history class.
With a sigh she walked the rest of the way inside, dropping her books off on her desk. "Am I really that obvious now?" she asked wryly.
She caught the inelegant snort from Weiss, who was likewise ready for bed but seated at her desk and working on her own paper.
"Maybe only to us," Yang cheerfully replied. "Anyway, she told me to tell you, that she an' Pyrrha are watchin' a movie across the hall. The rest of Juniper are out doin' other stuff. You're supposed to get pj's on and join 'em when you can."
Well, that will be different.
So far the interactions of the trio were mostly confined to public spaces, or at the least with other friends around. This would be the first time they had some privacy to enjoy each other's company.
The thought caused her heart to flutter slightly
No, I am not nervous. Stop that, she directed at her body firmly.
In response, her body decided to release a small flock of butterflies through her stomach.
I truly hate you sometimes.
She gave Yang a nod as she walked over to her dresser to change into her yukata sleepwear. "How has your day been?" she asked cordially. One of the drawbacks of wanting to spend as much time as possible with Ruby was reduced time with her partner, aside from their usual training and sparring sessions.
"Eh, you know," Yang replied breezily. "Same ol', same ol'."
"No more food fights with Nora?" she smirked.
"Nope, I'm behaving myself, honest!"
Weiss let out a soft snicker. "That would be the day," the heiress murmured.
"Hey, Princess, I'll have you know-"
"Yang," the Faunus interrupted, wanting to make a break for it before the two got into it yet again. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"
"Okay, kitten! Don't stay out too late, now! Have fun!"
"Thank you, Yang. And stop calling me kitten."
"Yep, you bet, that's the last time, I swear!"
She rolled her eyes humorously as she closed the door behind her. Crossing the short hallway, she hesitantly knocked on Team JNPR's door.
"It's open!" she heard Pyrrha call out from within.
Blake quickly stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her, glancing around warily. Ruby, wearing her usual decorated black tank top and heart-dotted white pajama pants, and Pyrrha, in her long red nightshirt, were indeed the only occupants in the room, lounging on Pyrrha's bed. Well, to be more accurate, Pyrrha was sitting against her headboard and propped up among her pillows while Ruby was lying with her legs outstretched and her head cradled against Pyrrha's chest.
"Blake!" the small brunette cheered, her silver eyes sparkling. "You're just in time!"
"Just in time for what?" she smiled, her mood always brightened by her girlfriend's enthusiasm.
"To give me cuddles, of course!"
Laughing, Blake obliged, stretching out on the bed and resting her head in Ruby's lap. "Hello," she said warmly, looking up and into Ruby's laughing eyes.
"Hey, yourself," Ruby giggled. "We're watchin' Dust Warrior 5, that okay with you?"
Blake groaned good-naturedly. "Oh, I suppose. No romance movie, Pyrrha?"
"No," Pyrrha replied with a grin. "My choice was overruled. Hello, by the way."
Blake gave her a friendly smile. "Hello, Pyrrha. How were your days?"
It was odd, really, listening to their little group discuss such trivialities, so domestic in nature. Just like a normal couple would, but in this case there were the three of them.
I suppose all it takes is just a change in mindset to adjust.
Eventually they settled down to watch the movie being projected against the far wall. Blake found it difficult to concentrate, even though she'd seen the movie before (the series was a favorite of both Yang and Ruby's after all). After a while she was able to discern the feeling in the back of her head.
She was being watched.
Blake glanced upwards as nonchalantly as possible, hoping to catch Ruby in the act. Instead of silver eyes locked onto her own, however, it was a pair of emerald ones that guiltily looked away.
"Is there something wrong, Pyrrha?"
"Oh! No, no not at all…"
Ruby craned her neck to look between the two of them before her grin widened knowingly. "You know, Blakey," she began casually. "You don't need to wear your bow in here. Kinda like in our own room, right?"
Blake considered this carefully. While it was true all of JNPR knew and accepted the fact that she was a Faunus, only her own team had actually seen her second set of ears.
Pyrrha knows, and she trusts me with this relationship… I can trust her. And… the thought of it doesn't really bother me all that much.
Her eyebrows quirked in startlement at the revelation, but she supposed it shouldn't have been all that surprising, really. She and Pyrrha were friends, and had been growing ever closer over the last few days.
Wordlessly, she slowly pulled her bow off, giving her ears a flicker as she gave a soft sigh of relief. Ruby let out a happy squeal at the sight and planted a quick kiss in between her Faunus ears, making Blake blush brightly.
"Feels good, huh?" Ruby chirped, gently running her hand through Blake's hair.
"Mmm," she murmured happily, leaning into the touch while her eyes drifted closed.
"Blake?" the redhead above her began hesitantly. "May I…? That is, er, if it's not too forward of me…"
Her eyes opened again, seeing how Pyrrha was watching the top of her head avidly.
"Sure, Pyrrha, go ahead."
Ruby giggled as she guided Pyrrha's hand over. "Here, she really likes it like this…"
And then the base of both of her ears were being scratched, melting her into a gooey little puddle. Blake could tell that she was purring both involuntarily and loudly, but couldn't find it in herself to care overmuch as she curled up onto her side, head still in Ruby's lap, and gently stroked her girlfriend's thigh.
"Wow," she dimly heard Pyrrha murmur. "She… she really enjoys this, doesn't she?"
"Yep," Ruby whispered. "Though I don't think I've ever seen her enjoy it this much… What do you say, Blakey? You havin' fun?"
"What do you think?" she retorted with a smile in between purrs.
And then there was a click as the door began to open. She shot upright in a panic, her ears folded flat against her head. Fortunately, though, only Jaune, Nora, and Ren walked through, chatting idly.
She slowly lowered herself back down and into Ruby's lap. Fortunately neither of them resumed their scritching, though Ruby laid a comforting hand on her cheek that she leaned into in gratitude.
"Hey, guys," Jaune chuckled. "Sorry to interrupt your movie night…"
"Oh, it's okay," Ruby smiled in return. "Just about over with, actually."
Blake looked over in surprise to note that the credits were indeed just now beginning to roll by.
How long were they scratching my ears like that?
But then her Faunus ears flattened again as a piercing squeal shattered the calm of the room.
"OH MY OUM YOUR EARS ARE SOOO CUTE!" Nora shrieked, jumping onto the edge of the bed and peering at the top of Blake's head.
In a flash, Pyrrha had extracted herself from behind Ruby and tackled her orange-haired teammate around the waist to haul her backwards. "Personal space, Nora," she chided with an apologetic glance back. "We've talked about this."
"But- But- But-"
"We should get going, let you guys get some sleep," Ruby said, pulling Blake up by the hand. She quickly tied the bow back on the top of her head, much to Nora's chagrin, while Ruby gave Pyrrha a warm hug goodnight.
"Thank you for the movie, Pyrrha," Blake said. "And for… the company."
Pyrrha smiled at her in acknowledgement of the underlying meaning of her words. "Thank you as well, Blake," she replied softly.
Blake and Ruby headed back into their room, hand in hand. They paused outside the door, and Ruby peered up at her, silver eyes warm and caring.
"So, that was kinda nice," the brunette whispered.
"Yes, it was," Blake murmured in return.
"Thanks for trusting her enough to… you know…"
Blake blinked her eyes uncertainly. It had certainly been an unprecedented level of trust she'd granted to Pyrrha, the only one outside of her team that she'd let even touch her Faunus traits there at Beacon. And even with Weiss and Yang it had only been a brief contact.
"You know," she mused. "It wasn't actually all that big of a deal."
"Good," Ruby chirped quietly. "'Cause that bodes well for the future."
Blake quirked an eyebrow curiously, but Ruby just gave her a mysterious smile and opened the door to their room, leading her inside.
As she lay in her bed, quiet snores filling the room, Blake pondered what exactly Ruby had meant with those words.
In the end, though, she trusted the girl more than anyone on Remnant.
And, after tonight, she supposed Pyrrha now made that rather exclusive list right after Ruby.
A/N: Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr… Nope, still no regrets. Happy Blake is happy. And Ruby is scheming, but that should come as no surprise…
EDIT: Check it out, we have actual cover art! Woohoo! This Purruby amazingness is provided by mustachioedoctopus over on Tumblr! Huge hugs and thanks!
DarkbladerX666: The question concerning Ruby's first kiss should be handled… ohhh… around chapter 14 or 15. Hypothetically.
Pink Cat Glory: Happy to keep them short and sweet, makes the writing of chapters easier! Especially when I don't have to worry about silly things like plot or scene descriptions or the like…
THB4: Hmm, I hadn't really considered doing any sort of competition from the outside for one of the ladies… I don't think I shall, at least not in the near future. And nope, Ruby would not spy on Blake and Pyrrha hanging out. The three of them have a healthy respect now for each other and what they're trying to accomplish together. Same could be said for when Blake and Ruby or Pyrrha and Ruby go out on dates alone. And no, there will be no bad guys. That smells too much like plot, that that simply will not do. The only plot that exists here is to further the crack that is this relationship.
Martin Hooper1: So yeah, like I mentioned in the PM, Pearls on a String is still ongoing, just not as frantic a pace as it was before (I did just post up a new chapter before this one, though). Perhaps one chapter a week instead of every other day or so. Besides, I'm having entirely too much fun with this. Relationship crack is addictive.
Boarador: Ranting is not only permitted but encouraged. But I can definitively say that the threesome will remain a threesome, no other players. Weiss, well… I have a side thing for her, which I may or may not have bomb on her in order to try something else… Yes, I'm being vague. Sorry. It's still floating about in my head as to how that aspect of things will evolve outside of Purruby.
Stay shiny!