I don't know about you, but I'm feelin 22! (That's how the song goes right?) Yep. Today is my birthday, and I have no idea what to do today other than write and play video games. Nothing wrong with that! Time to conquer the galaxy again.

Also, saw Black Panther the day it came out. Great movie, but it still falls behind Winter Soldier and Avengers to be my third favorite in the MCU. Those two are hard to beat. Ten people left my theater before the credits ended... SHAME!

Oh, and there's this too.

Ruby wiped a hand across her head and looked down at her defeated opponent. "Not bad, Arya. Your strength and speed are there, and your form is great, but those aren't everything in a fight. If your opponent can see your attacks coming, it doesn't matter how fast or strong it is, or if your form is near perfect. They can counter it. In other words, right now, you're predictable." She collapsed Máni Bláto from sword to travel form and reached a hand down to the new Rider. "With that said, you could have bested me easily when I had a similar time with Cerise."

Arya took the offered hand and let Ruby pull her to her feet. "I will work on this, Master."

"I know you will." Ruby stepped back and faced her old masters, who were both standing by Oromis' hut. "She's all yours, Master Oromis."

The ancient Rider nodded and walked toward the young one. "Arya, there is another form I would like you to try…"

Ruby turned away and walked to her dragon's side. "Ready to get home?"

I still think we should have left at first light. Cerise knelt down and Ruby climbed up to the saddle. There are so many things that need to be done.

"The same could be said for here." Ruby looked over at Arya and Oromis, who were going through another complex form with their swords. "Now we don't need to make a trip back here to know that Arya's ready for her sword."

You have a point. Cerise turned her head to Glaedr. Master, we depart.

The golden dragon snorted at the red. May the wind be at your backs.

Cerise nodded and flew west. She angled toward a small lake not too far away. Master Umaroth, do we know that this spell will work this deep into Du Weldenvarden?

We have no way of knowing for sure, Umaroth said. The spells guarding this forest prevent things from magically transported in, but not necessarily out. I would not try it to get to Ellesméra from Remnant, but it could be possible to go in the opposite direction.

"Okay then. Stick my bionic arm with my Scroll through the portal with it recording, pull it back, and see what's on the other side. Simple… Probably should have done that yesterday." Ruby shook her head. "Me and my impulses."

I wouldn't have let you do that if I thought it was dangerous for you. Cerise dove for the lake. Now to go home. She landed beside the lake and knelt down.

Ruby slid off her dragon's back and knelt by the water. She cast the spell and the water swirled in front of her. At least that hadn't changed. She took her Scroll out of her pocket and set the recording. "Here goes nothing." She dipped her bionic arm into the portal, held it there for a few seconds, then pulled it out. Her whole arm was still intact and her Scroll was still recording. She played back the past few seconds and saw her house on Patch. "We're all good. Let's go." She remounted her dragon and Cerise dove through.

Cerise circled the house instead of diving for it. Do we tell Irolon or Nalia first?

"Yang's probably here, so that means Irolon is too. Let's start with him." Cerise nodded and nosed down. She glided into the yard and set down by the house. Ruby grabbed the now empty supply bag and binder and jumped off her dragon's back. She walked into her house and was about to call 'I'm home' when she noticed Yang, Viki, Jaune, and Pyrrha sitting in the living room. She thought the couple would be in Mistral for another few days. But… her head said there was another life force in the room... Probably a mouse or something. "Oh. Hi guys."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked over their shoulders. "Hey, Ruby," Jaune said. "How was your trip?"

"Uneventful." Ruby set her bag on the coffee table. "But I could do without the politics. One of these days I'm going to say one thing wrong, then I'll have the entire planet coming for my head." She paused and focused on Pyrrha. "How's your grandpa?"

Pyrrha's small smile disappeared. "He's… in a better place now."

Ruby slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"He was happy when he passed. He got his last wish." Pyrrha raised her left hand, a double banded ring wrapped around one of her fingers. "He got to see one of his grandchildren get married."

Ruby couldn't hold back a squeak and she held a hand over her heart. "I suppose I should say congratulations." As she continued to look at Pyrrha, the extra life force became more pronounced. It was no mouse. A huge smile broke out on Ruby's face. "Oh my gosh! Congratulations!" She launched herself forward and wrapped the married couple in a massive hug. "I'm so happy for you two!"

The other two returned the hug as best they could. "It just hit you?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah!" Ruby pulled back and looked between her two friends. "Do you know the due date?"

Both Jaune and Pyrrha blinked and looked at each other. "Umm, due date?" Pyrrha cocked her head.

"You mean a Vale reception?" Jaune asked.

Ruby took in a sharp breath and stepped back. "You didn't know, did you?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes. "Know what?" Pyrrha's eyes bulged and she looked down at herself. Ruby felt her surprise, but nothing of the sort from Jaune.

"Okay. Sorry I told you, but the cat's out of the bag." Ruby took a deep breath and looked into Pyrrha's eyes. "Pyrrha, I'm pretty sure you're pregnant."

All eyes in the room turned to Pyrrha. The champion still had her eyes on her belly. Jaune put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha looked up at Jaune, and her face outshone the sun. "I thought I felt a little woozy this morning… and that the pickles in the fridge here looked good." Jaune's face lit up as well and the newlyweds embraced.

Ruby backed away and let her friends have their moment. She sat next to her sister on the other couch. Yang leaned over to her. "Well that was fast," she whispered.

"Really?" Ruby elbowed Yang. "I don't need to think about that."

"Come on. Less than half a month after they get married and they're pregnant? That doesn't happen that often anymore. What were you thinking about?" Yang smirked. "Oh, Ruby, you dir-"

"Say one more word, I freeze your mouth shut for a week." Ruby made the temperature drop in and around Yang's mouth. Her sister pursed her lips together and shook her head. "Glad we understand each other." She looked past her sister at Viki. Her charge smiled at the newlyweds, but there was sadness in her eyes and head. "Viki, what's wrong?"

Viki's head dropped. "I don't know if I can do that anymore."

Ruby's heart stopped. Anymore? "You don't have a kid on the other side, do you?"

"No. My… owners," she spat out the word, "killed him after he was born, saying they couldn't afford to keep the bastard of a slave. Then they did something to me to make sure it didn't happen again." Tears dripped from her eyes. "This was three years ago."

Ruby clenched her fists. Now that was barbaric. But Viki didn't need angry Ruby. The Rider stood up then sat on the other side of her charge and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Viki. No mother or child deserves that. That will never happen here." She paused and contacted Umaroth. Can we do anything about this?

If this process is as it was before my and Vrael's predecessors originally outlawed slavery, Umaroth started, you can. It is a long spell, but the outcome is worth it for the target. He growled. You and I have a common belief on this topic. I will lend you any support you need for this.

Thank you. Ruby pulled back but kept her hands on Viki's shoulders. "When the time comes, and if you want, I can give you that ability back. I'm not saying now, but I'm laying the option on the table."

Viki's lower lip trembled. "Thank you. Maybe someday." She leaned her head forward and wrapped her arms around the Rider. Ruby returned the hug and rested her head on top of Viki's. Yang also hugged the poor girl from behind.

After a while, they separated. Ruby looked at Yang and touched her mind. Is Irolon listening?

Yang blinked. Yeah. Why?

Just listen in. Ruby faced everyone in the room. "I can't stay long. I've got to get to the hospital and tell Nalia what I'm going to tell you." She took a deep breath. "One of her eggs hatched."

The smiles in the room returned, but likely subdued from where they would have been without Viki's revelation. Irolon, however, roared as best as an Eldunarí could. Ruby thought he would be doing backflips in the air if he had a body. Really? Which one? Is my hatchling healthy?

Listen in. I'm sure others will ask the same. Or, at least Nalia will.

"That's good to hear," Pyrrha said. "I'm sure Nalia will be happy about it."

"Hopefully it will bring her away from the hospital for a little bit. Fírnen already has a strong opinion of her from what Oromis and Glaedr have told him and Arya. I'm sure they'd love to meet each other."

"Arya?" Yang asked. "The princess?"

"Technically she's not a princess, but yes, Queen Islanzadí's daughter. She's already a great swordsman, and I'm sure Oromis will mold her into a great spellcaster in no time. Now I've got to call Weiss about maybe getting some brightsteel down here so I can start forging Riders' weapons."

Fírnen, Irolon hummed. I like that name.

Ruby looked around the room once more. Seeing that no one was set to ask anything else, she stood up. "Well, I'm going to the hospital. Hopefully Nalia will listen to me." Those in the room wished her well, and she left the house. She climbed onto her dragon's back and they flew to Patch Central.

Less than a minute later, the relatively small hospital on Patch came into view, with Nalia sprawled out in the grass beside it and her head pressed up against the building. Cerise landed nearby, giving the still much larger dragon some space. Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked over to her boyfriend's. "Nalia?" No response came from the dragon. Ruby placed a hand on Aaron's dragon's side. "Nalia, one of your eggs hatched."

Nalia's head popped off the ground and she turned it to face Ruby. Her eyes were almost completely black. Hatched?

"Yeah." Ruby hoped Irolon was listening in, but she didn't check to make sure. "The green one from the citadel. He chose Arya, Islanzadí's daughter. His name is Fírnen. He would like to meet you."

Nalia continued to stare at Ruby. And I, him. She whimpered and returned to her former position. But I cannot leave Aaron. Fírnen is safe in Ellesméra. If I'm not here when Aaron wakes up… She pulled out of Ruby's head and said no more.

Ruby sighed and walked away. She was as close to being as worried about Aaron as someone who wasn't bonded to him could get. But over the course of a month with no changes, visiting every day turned into once or twice per week. She was just as worried, but she had other things to do. Aaron wouldn't want her to waste her life waiting for him to wake up… He'd probably have a word with Nalia about that as well. She shook her head and made her way to the visitor entrance to the hospital.

She walked through the halls to Aaron's room. As always since he was transferred from Vale General and the assassination attempt, a police officer stood outside, looking incredibly bored. Ruby passed the officer and pushed into the room. Again, nothing changed, except the bowl of rose petals she always left behind was empty. The nurses probably dumped the withered petals. Ruby made sure she had enough space, then activated her Semblance. She ran in a straight line back and forth, making enough rose petals for a field. When she had enough, she cast a spell that made all petals in the room group up and fall into the bowl by Aaron's bed. It wasn't as good as real flowers, but she thought it was more personal.

With decorating out of the way, Ruby pulled up the chair by Aaron's bed on the window side. She sat down and grabbed his hand. She thought her boyfriend regained a little bit of color, but not nearly enough. "Hey, Aaron. I'm back. Quite a bit's happened in this past week. On the business end, we now officially own a mountain just east of Vale, the one you and Nalia found on your first night on Remnant. It's unnamed right now because it's not a big one all things considered, but we can change that at any time. We're waiting for all Riders to get together to decide if we should do anything about it. Also, I have all the paperwork on setting up the Riders as a Huntsman organization. I spoke with Brom, Islanzadí, and Oromis yesterday and got all of their approval. I guess I should probably get that turned into city hall after I leave here.

"Yang took a mission near Armen a week ago, her first one without Halcyon. It wasn't much, just cleaning out a place near the walls with a lot of large Grimm. She said she just cast a spell and killed them all in ten seconds. She came back with a nice paycheck, but she's still depressed. She's trying to hide it, but I don't need to be telepathic to know what she's doing."

"On a more positive note…" Ruby couldn't hold back a smile and she felt tears forming in her eyes. "Viki's made another major improvement. I won't say what led up to it, but it sounds like she's disgusted about being owned. Sorry, but I don't think you'll recognize her. I think she's starting to think that she's just like the rest of us." Her smile fell. "At least, I hope so. I don't know whether she's really thinking that… or if she thinks that this is just another place she's enslaved. That she has to act a certain way or be punished. I don't want to hurt her like that. But that's how she's lived her entire life. I've only had a month. How could I have broken through to her in such short time? I'm not going into her head to find out her motivations. She's never had any privacy. I'm not going to take that one place away from her."

The floor vibrated with Nalia's hum. Ruby. The Rider faced the dragon. Nalia's visible pupil had constricted to a normal size. I do not believe you are causing any harm. From the few interactions I've had with her, I think Viki is genuinely happy.

"I'm sure being a slave and being happy aren't mutually exclusive, and she's always happy around dragons."

I know, but there is a spark to her that I didn't see or feel when we first found her. I believe you're making her a person. Nalia's eye shot forward and dilated again. Her head tilted down a few degrees and her ears raised. Something squeezed Ruby's hand.

Ruby snapped her head to the bed. Aaron had shifted his head to the right, and as she felt, he squeezed her hand. She looked between her hand and Aaron's face. "He's waking up. Nalia, he's waking up!"

I know! I knew it before you did! Move over! You're blocking my view!

"Sorry." Ruby stood up and moved her chair a few inches to the right while never letting go of Aaron's hand. She sat back down and scooted as close to the medical bed as possible.

Ever so slowly, Aaron showed more and more signs of life. He shifted around in his bed, groaning. His arms flexed and both hands clenched over and over. His eyes fluttered under his eyelids. After an unbearably long time, his eyes opened. They were hazy and not at all focused, but Aaron was awake for the first time in a month.

Nalia hummed high and long. The floor and walls shook from her moving around outside. "Naaaa…" Aaron's head lolled toward the window. His eyes were still unfocused, but undoubtedly aimed at his dragon.

Ruby sat silent, letting Aaron and his dragon catch up. Another thought came to her as she waited. Cerise, get Viki here as soon as you can.

On it. The floor shook a little from Cerise' take off.

Aaron's head drifted further to the right, and he locked eyes with Ruby, as best as he could anyway. "Morning, Aaron." Ruby smiled and didn't hold her eyes back from leaking. She gave Aaron's hand a squeeze. "Have a nice nap?"

"Rrruuu…" Aaron's head returned to its previous spot. "Wheerrree…"

"You're in Patch Central Hospital. You're safe here."

Aaron faced Ruby and blinked several times, his eyes clearing up with each repetition. "Wha…" He shook his head them relaxed back into his pillow. "Headache."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not surprised." Her good mood disappeared. She didn't know if Nalia told him what happened, so she would. "Aaron, something happened when you cast the spell to stabilize the link between here and Alagaësia." Aaron faced her, his eyes much clearer than before, but confused. "Something blocked any of us from sending you energy. If Weiss didn't have her glyph active at the same time, you… wouldn't be here at all."

"What?" Aaron looked at Nalia again. Ruby's heart fell. That wasn't a good sign. He grimaced. "Did work?"

"I… don't know." Ruby pulled out the disconnected Scroll from a pocket and checked the time. Her bionic eye was synched to the CCT, and her Scroll before she went to the other side. Any time difference would show there. Both clocks showed the same time, and the seconds changed simultaneously. "It looks like it did. I hope we didn't just mess things up for someone somewhere. There's probably an episode of Professor Who where something like this happened."

Aaron looked at Ruby again, but not her face. "Rrruuu… hair?"

"This?" Ruby ran her free hand through her hair. "I'm trying something new, growing it out. It's not as long as I want it yet, but it's getting there." She felt her cheeks burn and she sunk her head in between her shoulders. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, but…how long?"

Ruby looked away. Something told her he didn't mean her hair length. "A month."

"A month?" Aaron tried to sit up and pull his left hand back.

Ruby kept his hand in her left and used her right to push Aaron back onto the bed. "Don't move. Stay down. Save your strength."

"Stay down? I've… a month…" Aaron clenched his eyes and brought his right hand to his face. "Words… hard."

"Yeah… that happens when you're in a coma for so long." Ruby turned her head to the window. One of Nalia's eyes almost filled the whole thing. "I take it you're doing what you can to help?"

Of course, but mental injuries aren't easy. Nalia whimpered. There's… a lot wrong.

"Maybe…" Ruby bit her lip and faced Aaron. She had an idea, but she didn't know if he would be okay with it. "Aaron, you let me know your True Name in Alagaësia. Can I… say it? It might help you out."

"I…" Aaron held his head in his right hand again. "I did…" He looked at Ruby again. "Can you?"

Ruby got out of her chair and leaned over the bed, right by Aaron's ear, still not letting go of Aaron's hand. She whispered Aaron's true name directly into his ear. He shivered and his Aura flared green. Ruby finished and pulled away. Aaron's Aura still flared but it wasn't as intense. "Any better?"

"Much." Aaron sighed and his Aura became transparent again. "But… words still hard."

"Then why don't I do the talking and tell you everything you've missed?" Ruby sat back in her chair. Aaron just nodded. Ruby began with saying what happened directly after Aaron went into his coma. As much as Ozpin probably wanted to keep the relics a secret, Aaron was second in command of the Riders… and Ruby refused to keep that secret from him. Then she talked about how the team was forced to go their separate ways and as much of their separate stories as she could get.

As Ruby was describing her first mission since coming back, Cerise returned with Yang and Viki. When she finished her story, she squeezed Aaron's hand. "Aaron, Viki's here. She's been here almost as much as I have, and I'm sure she has a lot to say to you too."

Seconds later the door to the room opened and Yang stepped in. She held the door open and Viki entered the room. Aaron stared at the newcomers. "Yang, who's this?"

Viki's eyes watered. "Aaron, it's me. Viki."

Aaron's jaw dropped and he looked his sister up and down. "Viki?"

Ruby finally let go of Aaron's hand and stood up. "I'll give you two some time." She walked around the bed and past Yang. Her sister closed the door behind them.

"Well?" Yang leaned against the wall. "How is he?"

"Mixed." Ruby shook her head. "He's confused, he's having trouble speaking, and he has some memory loss… but he's awake. That's a huge improvement."

Aaron stared at his sister, unable to put words to what he was thinking, for multiple reasons. Viki did not look at all like she did in Ellesméra. Gone were the slave clothes and elven dress, replaced by jeans, a light long sleeve shirt, and a vest. Her hair was clean and shiny, almost as much as Weiss' typically was, and it now grazed her shoulders at its longest. Her face had gotten a lot of color too, and it looked like she gained a lot of weight. The straps of a backpack hung over her shoulders. Not that Aaron was complaining, but what happened?

Viki approached the right side of Aaron's bed and sat in a chair there, setting her backpack to the side. She reached out and grabbed the closest hand. "Hi, Aaron."

"Viki, you…" Aaron shook his head and looked out the window. His dragon's visible eye was locked on him. "Nalia, help?"

Of course. Nalia hummed and slowly blinked, sending waves of happiness into Aaron's head. When she opened her eye, she looked right at Viki. He means to say you look wonderful.

Viki smiled, and it wasn't forced like so many he had seen. It held real happiness, and it reached her eyes. That wasn't even there around the dragons before. "Thank you." She ran a hand over an ear, pushing her hair back. "I've had help. I didn't get this way on my own."

"Who?" Aaron looked Viki over again. "How?"

"Well, all my clothes came from Coco. Yang taught me how to take care of my hair, and... I think she called it personal hygiene. Really, everyone who lives in the house has helped in a big way. But Ruby…" Viki nodded and her smile grew, which wouldn't have been possible the last time Aaron saw his sister. "Ruby has done so much. She said that she was the one who got Coco and the others to help, and no one has said anything different. Every morning when she's in the house, she makes sure I'm feeling okay. She's actually made me breakfast most days.

"The first day I was here, I told Ruby I didn't know how to read or write. I don't even think she hesitated to offer to teach me how to do those. We were at Vacuo Roadhouse at the time. She read the whole menu for me, several times. So many books followed after that. I'm starting to read some of them by myself, without help. Whenever I make it through a page, she gets so happy and hugs me. I think Cerise once said that she's my personal cheerleader.

Viki's eyes watered. "Every time we're in the same room, she's right there, talking to me like she does with everyone else. She's so happy all the time, and I think she wants me to be like that too." She wiped an arm over her eyes. "I don't know what I did to deserve this, but… Is this what having a sister feels like?"

"It's what… she's like." Aaron said. He flicked his eyes toward Nalia. More help?

Nalia hummed. Ruby tries to help everyone she knows, in the best way she can. She may not know what you went through, but she knows better than most others.

Aaron stared at his dragon. "Ruby… knows?"

Yes. Nalia's eyes dilated and her ears fell. You know. Aaron just stared. The Nevermores? The North Sanus Mountains?

"What do you mean?"

Nalia whimpered. Aaron… She dove deep into Aaron's head. He felt her searching through everything, gently at first, but after a while it began to hurt. It has to be in here… It has to be in here… You have to remember that…

"Nalia, what…"

Aaron, her visible eye locked with her Rider's, Ruby and Cerise were kidnapped shortly after we met them. Ruby has bionic body parts because of what happened there… I'm trying to find anything else you can't remember.

"Memory… magic… hard." Aaron leaned back into his pillow, then faced Viki. "You…read?"

"I can," Viki said, "just not very well yet."

Aaron blinked. "Show me?"

Viki's smile almost broke off her face. "I can. I actually have a book with me." She unzipped the backpack and pulled out a book titled Go, Cat Go! "Just bear with me. I'm a little slow." She opened the book and started reading aloud. Her words were disjointed and she said several a few times before moving on, but Aaron could understand what she was saying. It was like hearing a child read aloud. And Viki was happy with it. Her smile never left her face.

It took a while, but Viki made it through the whole book. As soon as she closed the back cover, the door opened and Ruby stepped in. "I heard all that, Viki." She took a step forward and pounced on Viki, encasing her in a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

Viki returned the hug. "Thank you, Ruby."

The Rider pulled away, then walked to the other side of the bed. She sat down in her previous chair and grabbed Aaron's hand. "I guess I was telling you before you woke up. She is so much better, and she's getting better every day. She's…" Ruby trailed off and her eyes widened as Aaron lifted her hand.

Aaron's arm shook as he brought Ruby's hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Nalia, help with words. He looked Ruby in the eyes as Nalia flooded more of herself into her Rider's mind. "Thank you… for… taking… care of… Viki."

Ruby squeezed Aaron's hand. "Both of you are very welcome. I've done what I could, and I'll continue to do so."

Aaron stared into Ruby's eyes for a few more seconds, then he noticed the other person in the room. Yang leaned against the wall at the foot of the bed. The blonde Rider smirked. "I guess you can take the Alagaësian out of Alagaësia, but you can't take the Alagaësia out of the Alagaësian. How ya feeling, Aaron?"

"Bad." Aaron narrowed his eyes. Something was off about Yang. "You look… different."

"Probably the hair." Yang stroked the one silver streak. "I… decided to keep it… Wait, weren't you around when that happened?"

Aaron looked away. "Maybe."

He's lost some of his memories, Nalia said, some of them fairly important ones.

"Like what?" Ruby turned toward the window.

What really happened in the North Sanus Mountains, the Battle of Beacon… Everything from leaving Ellesméra to now.

Ruby faced Aaron again and her lower lip trembled. "Who won the two Vytal Festival Tournaments our team was a part of?"

"You… I don't know." Aaron shook his head. He knew he should know, but he couldn't think of it."

"Where did we go to school?"

"Beacon."

"Who is now King of Alagaësia?"

Aaron clenched his eyes and brought a hand to his head. The Traitor was dead. Ruby killed him. Who took his place? "Don't… know."

Ruby's gaze drifted to Aaron's right shoulder. She put a hand on his arm just below the sleeve. "What is under my hand and this sleeve?"

Aaron looked away. "Kills." He killed so many people… Why couldn't he forget any of that?

Ruby's hand trailed back down Aaron's arm to his hand. "I guess we'll have to help you remember as time goes on."

"Well, if the mood's swinging back," Yang pushed herself off the wall and picked something off the table on wheels. "Dad wanted you to get this as soon as possible." She handed over a small stack of paper. "It would be best to fill that out as soon as possible."

Aaron grabbed the stack and looked at the top page. The title read 'Application to date my daughter.' He stared at the rest of it. "What?" Things were strange on Remnant.

"Need help?" Ruby leaned over and looked at the paper. She tried and failed to hold back a laugh. "Well, that's a thing. Aaron, you don't really need to fill this out... unless you want the joke with this to continue." She flipped a page and her face turned as red as her cape. "Seriously, I'll recycle this right now if you don't want to worry about this."

Aaron stared at the paper. "Not… real?"

"What? No! No. This is not legally binding. It's a joke that started quite a few years ago. I think it started as a joke, anyway."

"Oh." Aaron shrugged then stared up at the ceiling. "What I… miss?"

"Quite a bit." Yang shook her head and leaned against the wall again. "This could take a while." For once, Yang did most of the talking. Ruby and Viki added things at some points, but they mostly sat quietly, each of them holding one of Aaron's hands. It was… a lot to take in. Aaron wasn't even sure if he remembered what was said at the beginning.

After the nurse came in and changed Aaron's IV, Ruby looked between her chair and Aaron's bed. She bit her lip and repeated the process several times. She shrugged and stood up. "I don't think the nurses would mind too much." She positioned herself at the side of the bed and… climbed over. Her side ended up laying right next to Aaron's left arm, and her head resting on his shoulder.

Aaron stiffened and stared straight ahead. This was... new, or at least he thought it was. Judging by the surprise that rolled off Nalia, at least she hadn't seen it. Yang laughed. "You better get used to this, Aaron. Ruby's a total cuddler. She'll do this whenever she gets the chance."

"And how do you know this?" Ruby shot back.

"I've known you your whole life, and…" Yang pointed at Viki, "I've seen you around her this past month."

"True." Ruby wiggled closer to Aaron.

"Uh, Ruuu?" Aaron groaned.

"Yeah?" Ruby lifted her head off Aaron's shoulder.

"Arm…" Aaron moved his arm as best as he could, but that wasn't saying much.

"Oh! Sorry." Ruby wiggled away till her back hit the railing. Aaron lifted his arm and brought it down behind his girlfriend. Ruby's face lit up, and she wriggled back to her previous position, only she nuzzled her head in closer. "I don't know about you, but I'm comfortable here."

Aaron let his head loll to the side and onto the top of Ruby's. "Same."

Yeah, Ruby's a total cuddler. Absolutely no one is surprised.