Author's Note: Alright, Here's the next one, so I hope that you were looking forward to the spa trip, because here it is! In all seriousness though, I do hope that you enjoy, and please, leave your thoughts in the reviews, and fav/follow if you so desire. Have a nice day.
Mina let out a long, contented sigh. It was true enough that the spa trip had been intended as a diversion from Weiss' troubles, to help her loosen up and forget her troubles, but Mina was not about to deprive herself of certain fringe benefits of the plan… getting a massage, for example… Although in fairness, by this point the trip had become less about Weiss and more of an excuse for the whole of team RWBY and all of their female acquaintances to enjoy a day at the spa; They had to have Miss Xiao Long along – she did help with the first phase after all – which also meant that Miss Rose would naturally be coming. Miss Rose however, was a touch indiscreet, albeit fortuitously so; she had let the plan slip in idle conversation with Miss Nikos and with Miss Valkyrie also in attendance, well… word got around. Fortunately though, after Miss Nikos and Miss Valkyrie had also been invited, Miss Nikos offered a method to differ the expense of the whole affair; apparently, part of the championship prize for the Mistral Cup, of which Miss Nikos was a very modest four-time champion, were lifetime passes to any location of the world-renowned Mistralian-style hotel and spa, Cloud Nine. This taken into consideration, and with Weiss, Blake, Mina herself, Miss Xiao Long, Rose, Nikos Valkyrie, Scarletina, and now Clara, the eight passes Miss Nikos had won in her tournament career accounted for all but one of them, and Clara had insisted on paying her own way.
So yes, seeing as the trip was markedly less expensive than she had planned for, and all of her friends in attendance save Mr. Arc and Mr. Lie (both of whom had been invited, but had declined) Mina was in a very good mood, and Anton was an excellent masseur… It wasn't as though she had to make spa arrangements to get a massage – Mina was inclined to give Blake considerable credit in her own skills - but there was just something about a professional massage, and this way, Blake could have one at the same time… Weiss, Clara, and Miss Nikos had opted to join them for a massage as well, but as for what the others were doing with their time, Mina did not know, and at the moment, didn't care… Of course, it had taken some doing to convince both Weiss and Blake that disrobing in a public place and allowing themselves to be touched by strangers was worth it… but after Brigit and Nikolai had set about relieving the pair's respective tensions, they'd come around quickly enough, and they were most certainly glad to have agreed when the session was over and they were left to enjoy the spa beds.
"Mina…" Weiss let out her own contented sigh, "Thanks for arranging this… Waitressing was awful, but this... this was worth it…"
"Do not thank me," Mina half joked, "this trip mostly comes courtesy of Miss Nikos…"
"Well… in that case…" Weiss yawned, "...Thank you Pyrrha…"
"Don't mention it…" Pyrrha replied lazily, taking a deep breath of the incense that had been burning since the treatment had started.
"I have to admit…" Blake said, resting her head in the crook of her elbow, "That felt really good… I never realized that I was so… tense…"
Mina chuckled, "I did…"
Perhaps the only one among them that wasn't feeling somewhat… languid in her post-massage bliss was Clara, who seemed much more interested, as ever, in good gossip than anything else, and so was intent on asking Pyrrha for it, "So you're like, the Pyrrha Nikos?" She asked, awed, then turned Mina's way, "No fair Mina! You never told me you were friends with Pyrrha Nikos! My folks always rooted for you when we watched the tournament's so you're kind of like, a personal hero, I guess…."
"Oh my… well…" Pyrrha blushed, "I don't know about hero-,"
"Nonsense Pyrrha," Weiss waved off the redhead's humility, "Don't be so modest; if nothing else, you're my hero for putting me in touch with Nikolai…"
"Oh really?" Mina teased, "Have we found Mr. Right after all?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Weiss rolled her eyes, "He is however and exceedingly capable masseur…"
"As is Anton~"
"Mmmm… and Brigit…"
"Klaus too…"
"And Talia was amazing…"
As it turned out, while Weiss, Mina, Blake, Pyrrha and Clara had been enjoying their massages, Yang, Ruby, and Nora had all shanghaied Velvet into the mud-baths. At first, Ruby had been reluctant to believe that bathing in mud was actually a thing, but once the spa concierge described it to her, she was totally on board with Yang's "it's good for your skin! Or somethin like that…" rationalization, and naturally, they could hardly leave poor Velvet to her lonesome, could they? So it was that the four of them had all found themselves neck-deep in the best-smelling mud that Ruby Rose had ever seen.
"Whoa…" Ruby gaped as she slid into the mud bath, "I thought this would be gross, but…"
"Yeah; It actually ain't half bad…" Yang agreed, though she was slightly more suspicious, "Kinda slimy though… this better not screw with my hair…"
"Aww, you'll be fine!" Nora chirped, though visibly disappointed that the staff wouldn't let her cannonball into the vat of herbal mud, "Just slosh around! It'll be fun!"
"C'mon Velvet!" Yang urged their shyer companion, "The water's fine- well, the mud's fine…"
"W-well alright…" Velvet was plainly less enthusiastic about the prospect of being naked around other people, and so she made a point to submerge herself as quickly as possible, "It… it does feel nice…"
"'Course it does!" Yang cheered, her hair-related worries momentarily gone, "You have any idea how much we'd have to pay for this if we didn't know Pyrrha?"
"Yang…" Ruby piped up sheepishly, "I really don't think that you should say that too loud…"
"Oh… Yeah… you're probably right…"
"GAAAAH! HELP ME I'M SINKING!" Nora declared melodramatically as she reached her hand up as though to clutch at the heavens and lowered herself into the mud like a boarbatusk in a tar pit.
"Excuse me Miss…" one of the employees approached their particular mud bath, "But I'm afraid that I'll have to ask you to quiet down… You're… disturbing our other patrons…"
"…Sorry…" Nora replied, before submerging her head.
With a not particularly reassured sigh, the employee nodded and took his leave, once more leaving them to their herbal mud-soak.
"I guess they're real serious about relaxation…" Ruby commented nervously.
"Mmmm…" Yang nodded, "Kinda ironic when ya think about it…"
"Who cares!" Nora exclaimed as she burst forth from the mire again, "MUD WAR!"
Suffice to say, the staff took exception to that…
Blake let her few remaining tensions go as, after a nice, long, luxuriant day at Cloud Nine, she eased herself into the final treatment for the day; a nice, refreshing soak. She wasn't to be alone though – the entire group was to enjoy this particular treatment together – but she was the first to arrive; she wanted to enjoy it in peace and quiet for as long as possible, so she had made a point to arrive well ahead of the others, who were all still enjoying other treatments…
A plan swiftly shattered when Mina was second to walk into the room… without her towel…
"M-Mina!" Blake gaped as Mina casually strolled over to the rather large bath – it was almost a small swimming pool, really – and took her own seat beside Blake on the submerged bench protruding from the wall of the bath, "Where's you towel?"
Mina shrugged with a dismissive gesture in the direction from which she had come, "The changing room is just over there; I saw no reason to bother with one,"
"What about when it's time to get out and everyone else is here?" Blake pressed, exasperated.
"What of it?" Mina cocked her head, "They will see nothing that they do not see in the mirror…"
Blake chewed her lips; she supposed that Mina was technically right, but still… "Mina…"
Mina leaned over with a wry smile to gently caress Blake's cheek and give her a quick peck on the lips, "I think perhaps that Weiss is not the only one who needs to let herself relax…"
"Stop cheating…" Blake grumbled.
Mina raised an eyebrow, "Cheating? How?"
"I'm trying to lecture you on self-respect, and your kisses aren't making it easier…" Still, Blake couldn't help a little smile.
"Ah…" Mina's grin broadened as she moved in for another kiss, "Then perhaps I should not play fairly more often; I do not much like that lecture,"
"Mmmm…" Blake could smell the shampoo that Mina had used in the shower before coming in to soak; her hair smelled of lilac, and her lips tasted sweet…
Mina wove her fingers together behind Blake's neck and pulled in closer for an intimate little whisper, "The others still have twenty minutes left to their sauna time…"
Blake's heart nearly stopped then and there, "W-what are you getting at?"
Mina smirked, tracing one hand over the curve of Blake's spine, "You ought not play the fool, Dearest… It doesn't suit you…"
"But here? It's so…" Blake reddened, "Public…"
"Not in this room…" Mina cooed, straddling Blake on the bench, "as a group, we have this room reserved for the next eighty minutes, and we, as a pair have the next twenty or so minutes to ourselves…"
Blake let herself be mesmerized by the way the water ran in rivulets down Mina's chest after having been lifted from the surface of the water, and the way that Mina's damp hair, free of its usual ponytail, clung to her neck, reaching just down to her shoulders. And those pale blue eyes… It was a beautiful sight…
"I take it that you like what you see?" Mina teased before leaning in for a slightly more forceful kiss this time, and then added after pulling away once more, "Judging by your heartbeat, it is either that, or I have frightened you somehow…"
Blake thought about that for a moment. She definitely liked what she saw, but the idea of getting… involved under these circumstances was certainly also a touch risky… although that might be even more exciting… Blake gulped, "We really shouldn't…"
"Oh, what could it hurt? Hmmm?"
"Well, it could be very, very embarrassing if someone walks in on us…"
"I do not embarrass easily…" Mina replied smugly.
"So I've noticed…" Blake tried her best to muster dry wit in response, but Mina's hand at her waist was becoming very distracting… "What if Ruby walks in…? she's only…" Ruby was fifteen, right?
Mina chuckled, "Then her next entry in that sketchbook I keep hearing about will be very life-like…"
Blake sighed, about ready to give in, "Wilhelmina Carfax… What am I going to do with you?"
"Well, you could start by-,"
The moment was utterly shattered though, the instant that Nora Valkyrie burst through the door, flinging her towel aside shouting "CANNONBALL!" before launching herself full-tilt into the bath
Blake panicked, feeling her blush intensify. Fortunately for her dignity though, Mina was off of her in an instant, albeit also staring at the violently disturbed water with a pouty look on her face. All the same, Blake heaved a sigh of relief, as Nora seemed not to have noticed them, pre-occupied as she had been with her latest in what Blake was sure had to be a long line of stunts unsuitable for such a high-end establishment.
"Owww…" Nora groaned as she bubbled to the surface, "Too shallow…"
"Nora…" It was Pyrrha now, shaking her head, "This is not a swimming pool…"
"Aww… But it's so big…" Nora complained, before begrudgingly settling onto the bench herself, in the far corner of the tub.
"I'm sorry about that…" Pyrrha apologized on Nora's behalf as she lowered herself into the comfortably warm water., "Apparently she's been… hyper… all day…"
"Oh, come on Pyrrha!" Nora cheerfully objected, "I was just having a little fun…"
"So were we…" Mina muttered, but only Blake caught it, and while Pyrrha and Nora were arguing about why slinging mud-balls was inappropriate spa behavior, Blake whispered softly enough so that only Mina's extremely sensitive ears would hear, "I guess we didn't have twenty minutes…"
Mina continued to pout.
"I'll make it up to you later," Blake continued, under Nora's passionate insistence that it was only reasonable to start a mud war with that much mud just laying around, waiting to be thrown, "I promise…"
Mina's disappointment abated somewhat at this, just in time for the others to file in, starting with a certain Heiress for whom this had all ostensibly been planned, and a certain waitress and co-conspirator in the day's arrangements, both of whom were amidst a debate about the relative merits of Ludwig Sebastian Liszt and Hector Chopin where fine music was concerned. The two of them were followed by Yang, Ruby, and Velvet, rounding out their full group as all of them took their seats in the large and extravagant bath.
"What a day…" Yang commented, leaning back.
"Mmhmm…" Ruby agreed.
"T-thanks for having me along…" Velvet added.
"Ditto," Clara added after agreeing to disagree with Weiss about musical tastes, "I haven't had a spa day like this in… ever… actually…"
"Oh, don't mention it," Pyrrha smiled, "Truth is, I haven't either; I've had these passes for so long now, but this is the first time I've actually used them… Although from what I've been hearing from the staff, I doubt that any of us have… enjoyed ourselves quite so much as Nora..."
"What? I had fun!"
"Yes…" Pyrrha sighed, "But the manager would rather not see you again…"
Nora just shrugged and returned to blowing bubbles just under the surface of the water.
"I gotta say though…" Ruby spoke up gingerly, poking her fingers together, "It's just kinda…. Weird spending so much of the day naked…"
"It would be rather unfortunate to ruin that lovely cloak of yours in a mud bath," Mina pointed out, her mood having fully recovered by now, "And besides, no one here is going to judge you for it,"
"Maybe not," Blake countered, somewhat relieved that Mina had gotten over her disappointment, "But we can't all be as… immodest as you, Mina…"
Mina chuckled, "Oh? I have nothing to hide…"
"Yeah!" Yang cheered, slinging an arm over Mina's shoulder, "This girl's got the right idea! There's no shame in hotness ladies – if you got it-,"
"Miss Xiao Long…" Mina's smile took on a menacing quality and her eyes were shut, "Look all you like, but I would advise caution as to where you put your hands…"
Yang froze, withdrawing her hand back to Mina's shoulder, "Eheheh… woops… did I do that…?"
The threatening undertone vanished from Mina's expression as swiftly as it had arrived, "All is forgiven; just see that it does not happen again…"
"Jeez Mina… And I thought threatening to break grabby customers' fingers was just part of the act…" Clara remarked.
Mina pulled a surprised Blake into an awkward sideways hug, "Not at all; I only let my Dearest touch me that way,"
An Heiress, a Mistral Cup champion, two Faunus, and a Rose all blushed furiously, whilst a brawler and a waitress smirked, and Nora continued her re-enactment of a horrible fishing accident with a fancy bar of soap, utterly heedless.
"Oh really?" Yang prodded, "Then what about that one time at the club when-,"
"That was an unfortunate accident, Miss Xiao long, one for which, as you will surely remember, recompense has long since been made," Mina didn't quite seem angry, but there was that threatening smile again…
Yang was quiet again, so it was Pyrrha who spoke next, "Well… It's certainly nice to see that you two have such a um… committed relationship…" she sighed, "I just wish Jaune could be as sensitive sometimes…"
"You do realize that boy's never gonna ask you out, right?" Yang raised an eyebrow, "I mean, it's obvious the guy likes you, but he's got a massive inferiority complex…"
"I suppose that you could ask him out…" Weiss rolled her eyes, "but if you ask me, he's not worth it if he can't work up the spine to ask you,"
"I could lend you a maid outfit…" Clara teased, "Mine would probably be a bit tight on you… but that might be better~"
"Nah, I bet he goes more for teachers," Yang joked, "you should try dressing like Goodwitch…"
As Pyrrha furiously shook her head, Weiss rolled her eyes, "Ugh… honestly…" Whatever her exasperation though, the Heiress couldn't hide a slight smile on her lips.
Mission accomplished… Blake thought, only to have that line of thinking interrupted when Mina spoke again.
"If you really want his attention Miss Nikos," Mina said with a devious smile, "you should ask him for permission to kiss him…"
"WHAT!?" was more or less the unanimous response to the rather audacious proposal, albeit for differing reasons around the bath. Again, the sole exception was Nora, who was too busy testing how long that she could hold her breath under water to care.
"Oh yes," Mina insisted, "It is a very effective technique…"
Blake blanched, Oh God, please don't…
"R-really?" Pyrrha asked, her uncertainty not disguising her interest.
"Certainly," Mina affirmed, "Then of course the next logical step would be to ask if you may touch him-,"
"Okay, that's enough!" Blake interrupted, "I wouldn't suggest any of that Pyrrha; it might creep him out or something-,"
Mina cocked her head, "But why? It's what you did…"
Yang whistled, "Damn Blake… I didn't think you could be so bold…"
Blake facepalmed, "It was one time…"
"The first time…" Mina teased.
Clara leaned forward, "Oh come on now, you can't just leave it there! I need details!"
Blake mustered what was left of her dignity so that she could cleanly throw it all out the window, "It was Mina's sixteenth birthday…"
"Sounds like one hell of a birthday gift…" Yang commented wryly.
"It certainly was~" Mina cooed, resting her head on Blake's shoulder, "Come to think of it, that was a very interesting week as a whole…"
"I don't think I need to hear this…" Weiss made to get up, but Yang stopped her.
"Sit down Princess; we've got an hour in here, and we ain't gonna waste it – besides, this sort or thing is good for… uh… team bonding…"
Whether Yang had gotten to Weiss through her unwillingness to let perfectly good spa time go to waste or perverse curiosity, Blake couldn't tell, but reluctantly, Weiss sat back down, "Fine… but do try to keep the… explicit details to a minimum…"
"Oh fine…" Mina conceded, giving Blake a momentary flush of relief, only to pull it away again, "Well, the night after that Blake asked me if I wouldn't mind sleeping without a shirt-,"
"Mina!"