"Oh man, Yang is gonna flip..."

"Yes, well, maybe we leave out the part where I defile her injured sister in a cave."

Ruby laughed. "Oh, my chastity has been stolen! You are truly a beast! Now I'll never marry!"

Blake was laughing too, but couldn't help the touch of doubt in the back of her mind. Ruby was an adult, but still younger than her. Ruby was healing quickly, but she was still wounded. Yang would probably kill her.

"Hey."

She looked down, finding silver eyes staring back up her.

"You look pretty zoned out. Everything alright?"

"...Yeah, I'm fine."

"Alright. You, ah...you don't regret it, do you?"

"No, not at all. I was kind of worried you would, to be honest."

Ruby shook her head. "Not a second. Well, the claws hurt, but I would do it again if it meant another night with you."

Blake found herself blushing, and once again wondering when Ruby learned to flirt. Gently, she sat up and held her girlfriend close.

"The storm passed a while ago, we should start moving."

Ruby started to stretch, wincing at the pain from her back. She was flashing Blake pretty nonchalantly, but that was far from a bad thing.

"Man, I'm sore all over. Scratches, bruises, bit marks...oh wait, those were you."

Blake groaned as her cheeks flamed, and the reaper laughed. Ruby leaned in to give her a kiss, ignoring the morning breath. She wasn't wrong, as there were very visible hickies on the smaller girl's neck and collar.

"Yang's going to find out immediately, isn't she?"

Ruby giggled. "Don't worry, we can just say they're from a super awesome make-out session."

"Right." Blake quieted, eyes tracing her girlfriend's form. "Something's bugging me about yesterday, actually. The fight, that is."

"Oh, yeah?"

"You used your semblance to push me out of the way, but your aura had already shattered. Far earlier than normal, when I think about it."

Ruby nodded as she started gathering her gear from the cave floor. "Yeah, I don't really know what happened. My aura feels kinda fuzzy today, too."

"...And you didn't think to mention it?"

"It coulda just been afterglow!"

"Well, clearly it isn't. Good thing we were already going to the infirmary."

A whine. "I hate the infirmary."

"So do I, but you have a faulty aura and suffered a serious injury."

"My back feels fine..."

"I know baby, but the scarring is...intense. We need to be sure."

"...Okay. Keep calling me that?"

Blake smiled, and pulled her in to plant a kiss on her forehead. "Sure thing, baby."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The return trip felt long and tiring, and reuniting with their team doubled that.

Weiss was only there for a second, offering a warm (but slightly awkward) greeting before making an excuse and fleeing. Yang went in for a hug, but was stopped short when she realized that Ruby, having forgotten to bring spare clothes, had only Blake's jacket to cover her torso.

"Whoa, you two go for the mile high club or what?"

Oh Yang, if only you knew.

And despite Ruby's best efforts to escape her fate, the two older girls gave her only just enough time to get into undamaged underwear before dragging her off to the infirmary.

Surprisingly, she was cleared within an hour.

There wasn't anything they could do for her back, as her aura had worked so quickly. The scarring still looked rough, but that was out of their control. The medic did seem concerned about her aura acting up, but simply told her to report any further symptoms.

So, back to the dorm.

Blake left to find them some form of food, and Ruby headed in to get pajamas on. Yang followed, asking about the mission and pretending the scars didn't freak her out. That is, until Ruby made the mistake of facing her while half-dressed.

"Hickies, huh? Guess the hero got her reward."

The younger sister flushed red, eyes wide in surprise. "Don't make it weird! Hickies are a normal side effect of make-outs!"

"Sure, sure. And the ones on your thighs?"

Ruby froze, dread settling in her gut. "...Please don't kill my girlfriend."

Yang rolled her eyes, plopping down on Blake's bed and dragging her sister down next to her.

"Relax, sis. I'm not gonna kill Blake." A sigh. "Okay, I kinda want to. BUT, I'd like to think I'm beyond trying to kill my best friend for something she probably wasn't even the one to suggest."

"...She could have suggested it."

"Except that you already said you went straight from the bulkhead to the fight, and I know she wouldn't try to screw you when you had been minced like that. So, tell me what actually happened before I decide what to do."

"...There was a blizzard, after the fight. I was too out of it to do anything, but Blake got us shelter in the cave we drew the grimm out of. My clothes were ruined, and it was freezing, so she had to strip me and huddle up. When I was up again, I uh...sorta just..." Ruby trailed off, hands gesturing vaguely.

"...Propositioned her?" Yang offered.

"Yeah, that."

An appreciative whistle. "Man who'da thunk that Ruby 'Terrible-With-Girls' Rose would ever proposition Blake Belladonna for freaky cave sex."

"Oh my god, Yang."

"What? It's a fair point! I mean, what even made you go for it?"

"Well...I really like Blake. I know we haven't been together long, but we were friends for a long time and I know that I can trust her. The setting was kinda weird, but...exciting, I guess? I dunno."

"Huh. Did you enjoy it?"

"You're making it weird!"

Yang shoved her playfully. "Answer the question, dork."

"...It was great. She's great."

"You got it bad, huh?"

Ruby giggled, cheeks still flushed.

"You're gonna remember to put a sock on the door, right?"

"...Why would I do that?"

"To let us innocents know when you guys are gonna be playin' the southbound patty-cake."

"That might be the worst thing I've ever heard."

"I'll work on it. Still, sock the door. Talking about it is joke fuel, seeing it is trauma fuel."

Ruby rolled her eyes.

The door unlocked, opened, and Blake stepped in. She paused, looking at them oddly, then quirked an eyebrow.

"You know you're mostly naked, right?"

Yang laughed. "Funny you should say that, we were just talking about how much of my naked sister you've seen! Wanna join us?"

Blake paled, and they could see her bow strain as her ears tried to flatten. "...Oh."

Yang waved her off. "Messin' with ya, Blakey. Ruby came to your defense very valiantly."

"Ah. You're...okay, with this?"

The blonde shrugged. "Moreso that I trust you two to not be totally stupid."

"That's...fair. I didn't expect you to be this...lucid, to be honest."

"I know, right? I think I'm doing pretty well for someone who found out her best friend took her sister's virginity."

The awkward silence was palpable.

.

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Quick chapter, wanted to get something out after the long absence. Also means we can focus on stuff other than banging for a while.