Michelle woke up in her dorm room the next morning and she saw that her girlfriend Ruby was still asleep so she just laid there in her bed as she thought to herself, "man, I'm glad I was able to protect Ruby and the others but to be honest I wasn't sure if I could face Salem alone because that was tough and I had to give it everything I had."

Then Ruby let out a cute little yawn as she slowly stirred from her sleep and she smiled at Michelle as she said, "Good morning Michelle, did you sleep well last night? My love?" and Michelle rolled onto her side as she gave Ruby a passionate kiss on her lips before she replied,

"I always have a nice sleep Ruby, because I have you next to me but...I'm sorry I made you worry about me."

Ruby wrapped her arms around Michelle and gave her a hug as she said to her with a beaming smile on her face, "Don't be, I admit I was worried about you Michelle...but at the same time I knew you were just doing what needed to be done and doing your job as a Maiden." Before she jumped off the bed as she continued, "I don't know about you, but I am starving and we should probably go and get some breakfast."

And Michelle sat up in her bed as she smiled at Ruby as she replied, "Yeah, we should think about getting some breakfast as I am pretty hungry Ruby." Before she then got out of her bed as she held Ruby's hand in her own as they walked down the hall together to get some breakfast.

Meanwhile...

Yang and the others woke up in their dorm room and stretched a little before Nora said, "I don't know about you guys but I could go for some breakfast as I am starving." And Ren smiled as he said to the others,

"Breakfast does seem like a good idea, and I wonder what General Ironwood has planned for us next."

Then Penny said to the group, "Actually, General Ironwood has granted you all take this time to relax and enjoy yourselves, isn't that great." And Weiss smiled as she replied, "Yeah, I guess that is pretty great of General Ironwood to give us some time to relax after what we did yesterday, maybe I'll see what my sister is up to or...I might hang out with Michelle and Ruby and see what those dolts are up to."

Jaune then sat there with a smile as he said, "Yeah, I agree with Weiss and that it's good that General Ironwood is giving us a break after what we did for Atlas Academy yesterday, but right now I could really use something to eat for breakfast because I am starving." As his stomach growled a little.

Nora then sat there with a beaming smile on her face as she said, "well what are we waiting for people, let's go and get some breakfast before we decide what we are going to do today." As she sprinted down the hall to get some breakfast with Ren chasing after her while Jaune and the others laughed a little before they soon followed them to get some breakfast.

After Breakfast...

Once everyone had breakfast Michelle and Ruby were sitting in their dorm room together when Michelle turned to Ruby and said, "so, now that we have had some breakfast Ruby, what do you want to do today? We could play some video games or we could see what the others are up to if you want?" and Ruby gave Michelle a passionate kiss on her lips which surprised her a little but was happy to return the kiss all the same before Ruby broke the kiss as she smiled at Michelle and said,

"Umm actually Michelle...I umm was thinking of us just spending some time together walking around Atlas or mantel and doing some shopping if that's ok with you?"

Michelle smiled back at Ruby as she pulled her into a loving embrace as she said, "I would love to spend some time with you and do some shopping together Ruby, it would be nice being just the two of us together walking around Atlas or Mantel."

Just then Michelle and Ruby heard a knock on their dorm room door and Michelle went to answer it and as she opened the door she saw Weiss standing outside and she smiled as she said to her, "Oh hey Weiss, I didn't expect to see you here, what can we do for you?" and Weiss stood there and smiled at Michelle as she replied,

"Hey Michelle, I...I was wondering what you and Ruby were up to today as your room is unusually quiet."

Ruby then walked up next to Michelle and she saw Weiss and smiled at her as she said, "Hey, me and Michelle were thinking of just walking around Mantel or Atlas and doing some shopping together, Weiss." And Weiss smiled at Ruby as she replied,

"Well...that sounds nice, maybe I could join you guys?"

And Michelle looked at Ruby before she looked back at Weiss as she said, "Oh...I'm sorry Weiss, but me and Ruby thought it would be nice of just the two of us shopping together." And Weiss looked a little sad as she replied,

"Oh...ok, that's fine...you and Ruby do deserve to spend some time together, just the two of you together...I'll just see what my sister is doing I guess."

So Weiss just slowly walked away from Michelle and Ruby and Michelle looked a little sad as she said to Ruby, "I feel a little bad not letting Weiss come with us Ruby, but...I did say we agreed it would just be the two of us." And Ruby wrapped her arms around Michelle's waist as she replied,

"Yeah, maybe next time if we decide to do some shopping we can invite Weiss and the others because...I feel kinda bad too leaving Weiss and the others behind, we should get ready as we are still in our pyjamas."

Michelle then closed their dorm room door as she looked down and said, "Yeah, we should get dressed and get ready to do some shopping together." Before they both decided to get dressed before heading out into Atlas to do some shopping together.

In Mantel...

Michelle's P.O.V

"It's been so long since I have done anything like this with anyone since I lost my ex girlfriend, I just hope I can make this fun for Ruby." I thought to myself as me and Ruby were walking through the streets of Mantel together before me and Ruby came to a dust shop called "from dust till dawn" and Ruby smiled at me as she said,

"Did you know this is the same shop in Vale I stopped Roman and his thugs from robbing?" and I smiled back at her as I replied,

"Really? I guess they must have expanded since then, as I don't think I have seen this shop in Mantel before, Ruby."

And as we entered the shop we took a few minutes to look around before Ruby said, "AH! I can be such an airhead sometimes, I totally forgot I ordered some parts for my lovely crescent rose and...I also ordered some parts for your arm as well Michelle." Before she went up to counter and said to the shop keep, "Hi there, I'm here to pick up a delivery for crescent rose and my friend's arm."

I thought to myself again as I watched the shop keep fetch a box from behind the counter that had fragile written on most of its sides "Ruby is so sweet and good to me, she didn't have to order anything for my arm as I could have done that myself when I had the chance, I should return the favour somehow? Can you even call this a favour? I mean it's not like I asked her to order any parts for my arm or anything." Ruby then went to pay for the package before I took out some lien from my Pocket and handed it to the shop keep as I said to Ruby, "Let me pay for this Ruby, it's the least I could do after you went to the trouble of ordering parts for me as well."

Ruby looked surprised at me as she said, "A-are you sure Michelle? I-I don't want you to spend all your lien on me." And I smiled at Ruby as I replied,

"I'm sure Ruby, and don't worry about the lien the parts weren't that expensive and it's not like I asked you to order anything for me but...it was very sweet of you to order some parts for my arm as well as your crescent rose."

Then Ruby blushed a little as I grabbed the box from the counter and we left the shop and I said to Ruby with a smile on my face, "So, where do you want to go now Ruby my little rose petal?"

And Ruby looked back and smiled at Michelle as she replied, "How about we go and get some lunch together, then we umm we could go to the book shop a-and we could pick up some comics or something." Then Michelle smiled at Ruby as she said,

"That sounds like a great idea Ruby, let's go." As Ruby took Michelle's left arm into her own and rested her head on her shoulder as they walked to a cafe together and Michelle set the box of parts down on the table as they started looking at the menu before the waitress came over to them and said,

"Hello ladies, are you ready to place your order?"

Both Michelle and Ruby looked at each other before they looked at the waitress as Ruby said, "yes, I'll have a cookies and cream latte please." And the waitress wrote it down on her notepad before she turned to Michelle as she said,

"And for you miss?"

Michelle smiled at the waitress as she simply said to her, "I'll have the same as Ruby, thank you." And the waitress nodded her head as she wrote it down on her notepad before she said to both Ruby and Michelle,

"Can I get you ladies anything else today? We are also doing a tropical lovers drink as well, I can get you one if you would like."

And Michelle blushed a little as she said to the waitress, "Oh...umm this isn't what you think, we aren't lovers." And Ruby had a beaming smile on her face as she said to waitress,

"Don't mind my friend here, we are lovers and we would love to try that tropical lovers drink thank you."

The waitress let out a small giggle before she went to get their order and Michelle looked at Ruby in embarrassment as she said, "Ruby...I love you, but why did you say that? You know I have a problem with alcohol." And Ruby giggled a little at her embarrassed girlfriend as she replied,

"You look cute when you are embarrassed Michelle, and relax that tropical lovers drink probably has some punch in it so I don't think it would be alcoholic, besides it's a free drink on top of the drinks we ordered so we could at least try it."

Ruby's P.O.V

After our drinks had arrived I couldn't help but giggle a little as I saw my girlfriend's cheeks were still as red as my cape before I placed my hands over hers on the table as I took a deep breath as I said, "So, Michelle do you think Salem would try and attack Atlas again at some point? Or do you think she would try to attack somewhere else instead?"

My girlfriend Michelle then smiled at me across the table as she replied, "Well, I don't think Salem would try another attack on Atlas just yet, after all she launched a full scale assault on Atlas and wasn't able to obtain the relic thanks to me...but we still don't know if professor Theodore is one of Salem's followers like professor Lionheart was or not and Ozpin said he lost contact with professor Theodore some time ago."

I sat there across the table from Michelle and I frowned slightly as I said, "Yeah...when you put it like that Michelle I guess you're right, but at least we were able to capture Cinder and Tyrion s-so at least we don't have to worry about them for the time being." Before I felt Michelle's hands gently squeeze mine as she shocked me when she muttered quietly but loud enough for me to hear, "I'm sorry Ruby..."

So I looked a little confused at her as I said, "W-why are you saying sorry for Michelle? You haven't done anything wrong, I don't understand." And Michelle looked at me with tears in her eyes as she replied while trying not to cry, "I...I'm saying sorry for thinking you were giving me the silent treatment when I thought I saw you in Mantel when I was travelling with Weiss but...I spoke with Winter before we left and she told me Cinder had told Neopolitan to act like us if she saw us as a way to try and drive us apart."

Then I tried to comfort my girlfriend as best I could as I looked her in her tear filled grey eyes and gently rubbed my hands over hers as I said, "It's not your fault Michelle, Neo's disguises are so convincing she can fool anyone, but hey Cinder's plan didn't work like she thought it would as we are still together aren't we? And if anything I think Cinder just brought us closer together as we have already proven to Cinder that our bond we share together is unbreakable."

Michelle then slightly smiled at me as she replied, "Y-yeah I guess you're right about that Ruby, sorry if I am ruining our day out together...it's been a while since I have done anything like this with anyone since I lost my ex girlfriend." So I smiled at Michelle as I giggled a little and said,

"You're not ruining anything Michelle as I like spending time with you, and the way you keep apologising for things that aren't your fault kinda reminds me of a friend I knew and...if she were still here then...then I think you two would be great friends, anyway we should split the bill and head to the bookshop and pick up some comics to read together.

After Michelle and Ruby had split the bill for the cafe they held hands with each other while Michelle was carrying their box of parts with one arm before they stopped just outside Tukson's bookshop and Ruby turned to face Michelle as she took her backpack off and said,

"Here, why don't you put the box of parts in my backpack Michelle? Saves you carrying it all the time."

Michelle smiled at Ruby as she replied, "I guess that's a good idea Ruby, as my arms were getting a little tired from carrying this for most of the day." Before she gently placed the box inside Ruby's backpack before they then walked inside the bookshop together.

Once they were inside the bookshop they were looking around the different shelves before they heard a voice from the back room saying, "Welcome to Tukson's bookshop, where we have every book under the sun." And Michelle and Ruby walked up to the counter and a woman stepped out from the back room as she smiled at them and said, "What can I do for you ladies today?"

Ruby then looked at the badge the woman was wearing before she said, "hello umm Anne, we were looking for some comics, do you have any recommendations?" and Anne smiled as she replied,

"Why certainly, I would recommend two comics that I feel you ladies would enjoy reading and they are Before the Dawn and After the Fall, anything else I can help you with?"

Then Michelle blushed a little as she said to Anne, "Umm yeah, do...do you have any copies of Ninja's of Love and a Man with Two souls? A-a friend recommended them to me." And Anne let out a small giggle as she replied,

"Of course, I'll just get them from the backroom for you, I won't be a moment." As Anne walked into the backroom leaving Ruby and Michelle by the counter as Ruby smiled at Michelle and said to her, "

"You know, you could always ask Blake if she would let you borrow her books Michelle, I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Michelle then gave Ruby a kiss on her lips before she broke away as she said with a smile on her face, "I know Ruby, but...I just figured I would get my own copies of Blake's books because then it would save me pestering her to borrow them all the time." before Anne then returned from the backroom as she placed the books on the counter along with the comics and Michelle went to pay for them before Ruby smiled at Michelle as she said,

"Let me pay for these Michelle, as you paid for the parts I ordered for us and...half of the cafe bill."

So Michelle let out a little sigh as she replied with a smile on her face, "Ok, I guess that is fair." Before Ruby then pulled out her purse and handed her lien she pulled from it to Anne before putting her purse back in her backpack and Michelle grabbed the comics and the books from the counter and put them into her backpack before they held hands with each other as they started walking out the shop together as Anne waved at them and said,

"Bye, come again soon."

Once they were outside the shop Michelle looked at Ruby as she said with a smile, "So, what do you want to do now Ruby?" and Ruby checked her scroll before she looked up at Michelle with an adorable smile as she replied,

"Well...the next airship to Atlas leaves in about an hour so we have time to look in one more shop before we leave, I-if you want to that is, we can just leave now if you have had enough Michelle?"

And Michelle gave Ruby another kiss on her lips before she broke away as she said, "Well...there is one thing I want to do before we leave Ruby, and that is I...I want to visit my mother's grave." And Ruby looked at her girlfriend in understanding and squeezed her hand gently as she replied,

"I understand Michelle, and umm I'll come with you seeing as you still don't have a new scroll just yet."

Michelle pulled Ruby into a loving embrace as she buried her head against her neck and let out a muffled, "Thank you...I'd like that Ruby." Before Ruby pulled away from the hug as she smiled at Michelle and took her left hand into her own as she said,

"Well, let's go Michelle we have about 50 minutes before we need to board the airship back to Atlas, plus you said you lived here so I want to be as supportive as I can for you." Before they then slowly walked towards where Michelle's mother's grave was.

At Michelle's mother's gravestone...

Michelle and Ruby eventually got a cliff by the beach and Michelle took a deep breath before she took a few small steps towards her mother's gravestone before she went to turn back but Ruby held Michelle's hand in her own as she looked at her and said,

"It's ok Michelle, we'll do this together if that makes you feel better."

And Michelle turned to face Ruby as she smiled and replied, "Again thank you for doing this with me Ruby, how did I end up with such an adorable and loving and caring person like you as my girlfriend?" and Ruby gave Michelle her most adorable smile she could muster before she said,

"Well, I know your mother must have been important to you Michelle because I can sometimes hear you talk about her in your sleep, and I know how it feels to miss someone because...I miss my mother too so...I just want to try and be as supportive as I can for you Michelle because I love you and you make me so happy."

So Michelle and Ruby walked up to the gravestone before Michelle took a deep breath and Ruby rubbed her thumb across the back of Michelle's hand which caused Michelle to look at her as she smiled at her and said, "Whenever you're ready Michelle, take your time."

Then Michelle looked at her mother's grave as tears started building in her eyes as she slowly said, "Hey mum...It's me again and this time I brought my friend...ok my girlfriend Ruby with me to see you and...I recently obtained the power of the Winter Maiden and I also discovered my full potential when I was facing Salem alone even though I was terrified, I just thought you would to know and I hope you are watching over me from heaven, anyway...I should probably get going now before I miss the airship back to Atlas but maybe next time me and Ruby visit you we will bring you some flowers."

Before Michelle then took another deep breath as she turned to Ruby and said, "We should probably start heading for the airship now Ruby, and I know I didn't say it earlier but...I enjoy hanging out and spending time with you too as I think it helps us grow closer to each other."

And Ruby nodded her head and smiled at Michelle before she stood on her tip toes to give her a kiss on her cheek as she replied, "I had fun today with you Michelle, and umm I would like to do this again sometime you know just the two of us together...but I do feel a little light headed after that tropical lovers drink we had earlier."

Then Michelle smiled at Ruby as she said, "Likewise, I had fun today with you too Ruby and I'm sure we can arrange to do something this again if we aren't busy hanging out with the others because this was...nice, and I told you those drinks usually have alcohol in them but...at least it was only a little bit and I could barely notice it." As they started walking towards the airship back to Atlas.