"We're not going to the Vale Grand Hotel again, are we?" Blake asked as she got up from her seat beside Mina on the airship from Beacon as it landed in Vale.

"Did you not enjoy that?" Mina queried somewhat sedately.

"Well yes but…" Blake blushed, "the others were kind of…"

"Your romance novels are more or less an open secret," Mina countered, "how is this different? Mina leaned in to whisper in Blake's ear as they walked out of the airship station, "You shouldn't let your pleasure embarrass you…"

"I can't help it…"

Mina cocked her head in response as she took Blake by the hand and led her now, "Does it trouble you that we did not marry first? If that is the case, then as adults before the law, we could easily rectify that today if-,"

"No, Mina, that isn't it…"

""Oh…" Blake could have sworn Mina's ears drooped a bit, but she dismissed the notion as Mina continued, "Well then, you needn't trouble yourself – simply allow yourself the indulgence of enjoying yourself. Don't worry about what else we could be doing or how much it costs. Relax, please? For me?"

"So it is the hotel-,"

"No it is not,"

Blake raised an eyebrow at this, and indeed noted that she was not being led in the direction of the aforementioned hotel, "Then where?"

"So impatient Dearest, wait and see…"

"Will you give me a hint?" Blake asked, deciding to play along.

"Hmm…" Mina put a finger to her chin in thought, "it overlooks the forest of Forever Fall…"

"Mina…" Blake gaped when they disembarked from the bus that they'd taken to their actual destination, "You never cease to amaze me… How do you keep finding these places?"

"I am a good listener…" Mina answered, "…And some of the fine gentlemen who patronize my place of work have been increasingly desperate of late…"

"Somebody tipped you reservations to a hot springs resort?" Blake asked in disbelief.

"No, no, nothing like that," Mina chuckled, "Although some poor sod did proposition Miss Borden for a weekend here – well, he tried…"

"I wouldn't have thought that a Maid Café would be such a uh… fountain of information…"

"Mmmm…" Mina nodded as she pulled Blake along toward the entrance, "Regrettably we are a few days later than I intended on account of my convalescence…"

Blake raised an eyebrow, "What about it? This is still… well frankly it's amazing…"

"Yes, but this past weekend the resort was hosting a book signing that I thought you might enjoy…"

"Hmmm?"

"Supposedly the author of the 'Ninja's of Love' series was here for a signing and handshake event…" Mina chortled, "It was about when he mentioned that part that the poor fool propositioning Lizzie got slapped..."

"Oh…" Blake's ears drooped a bit, even as she blushed; on the one hand, she didn't much like the idea of outing herself as a Ninjas of Love fan, but on the other, she really liked those books…

"So alas, we've missed the signing," Mina continued as they passed though the resort's revolving doors and approached the desk, "But I see no reason why we should not avail ourselves of the resort's other accommodations…" Leaving Blake to momentarily consider the implications of her sensual inflection, Mina turned to the concierge at the front desk somewhat taxed smile, "Excuse me, reservation for Wilhelmina Nachtschatten?"

The concierge smiled in return, producing two key-cards, "Of course Miss; your room is number seven, on the first floor. The women's bath is just up the hill from the door near your s –and might I say that it has a lovely view of the forest,"

"Thank you," Mina nodded with a close-eyed smile as she accepted the keys and resumed tugging Blake along, still slightly dazed, "Come along Dearest…"

"S-sure…"

The architecture inside the resort's main building was actually quite impressive – marble columns, drapes in warm autumnal tones, and the lobby floor even featured a mosaic representation of the mountainside on which the complex rested – and it was all so nice that Blake had to wonder what a place as plainly classy as this would host a book signing for a series such as, well, Ninjas of Love… Filing that particular question away for possible further inquiry at a later date though, after passing rooms eleven, thirteen, and fifteen, Blake supposed that she should probably help Mina find their room – this wasn't the Vale Grand Hotel after all, and Blake assumed that Mina hadn't made arrangements through a friend for this one.

"Mina…"

"Hmmm?" She turned back to face Blake, not letting go of her hand.

"Room Seven is… in the other direction…"

Mina blinked, "Oh…"

Room seven of the Ever Autumn hot spring resort was nothing so grand or spacious as the suite at the Vale Grand Hotel had been, but it had a soft carpet, a still rather luxuriant bathroom, and a single queen-sized bed. Perfect. On the wall hung a painting of the forest not dissimilar to the one that Weiss had brought with her to RWBY's dorm, lending the space a homey vibe that was actually quite nice – as wonderful as the Grand Hotel had been, it was a bit overwhelming, Blake had to admit in hindsight, and everything was somewhat alien in its elegance. This though, it felt just right – enough luxury to really appreciate, but not so much that one couldn't stop fretting over how much it all cost.

Sitting down on the bed, Blake squeezed the covers, just to feel how soft they were, and let out a sigh, "You know, one of these days I'm going to have to surprise you with something nice…"

Mina leaned in for a kiss, placing her hands on top of Blake's, "I take it that you like it?"

"The resort? Yes…" Blake made a sincere effort not to fixate on the rather low neckline of Mina's dark green tube-top, "Not sure how I feel about owing you two though…"

"Well…" Mina whispered into Blake's ear, "I am after all a woman of… simple taste…"

"That…" Blake blushed, "That hardly balances the score for all of this…"

Mina frowned, "You, Dearest, spend far too much time agonizing over something that should be very simple; I wanted to do something nice for you because I love you…" Mina walked two fingers up Blake's chest as she went on, "Along with certain other… ulterior motives…"

"So what you're saying is that you're trying to butter me up?" Blake raised an eyebrow with a wry smile.

Mina returned with a somewhat less confident smile than Blake had been expecting, "Is it working?"

"It might be…" Blake admitted, having given up averting her eyes, The gutter is so very nice once in a while…

"Good," Mina cupped Blake's cheek and kissed her again on the forehead before stepping back from a momentarily disappointed Blake and stripping off her shirt, "But just a little more patience Dearest; before we visit the springs, a bath is in order," She winked, "It is only polite…"

Mina eased herself down into the warm, steaming water of the women's bath overlooking both the resort and the forest. If she really wanted too, Mina could just sense the near edge of the building's roof, but right now she preferred to just let it slip entirely and simply exist in blissful isolation with her four natural senses. The spring had a subtle aroma of lilies and off to the right she could hear the quiet babbling of the water streaming down the hill from this particular wellspring. The air tasted heavy with steam, but in a pleasant sort of way, and the water felt simply wonderful on her bare skin. Only one thing was missing really – that was, until she heard Blake follow suit and immerse herself beside her.

"Ah… this is quite nice… no troubles… no stress… no Goodwitch…" Mina sighed contentedly, "While I do suppose that I understand the woman's position, she can be a bit of a moment-killer… Although I do rather appreciate her doing us the favor of pointing out our little spot…"

"I still wish you'd have let me wash your back…" Blake pouted, "We didn't have to rush up here…"

"Oh, don't fret so much Dearest," Mina chastised playfully, "We are here now; why not enjoy the view?"

"And what would you know about the view?" Blake teased with an equally playful shove, "Yeah, the forest is pretty, but how would you know?"

Mina shrugged, "Not to sound unduly immodest, but I was not referring to the forest… Although if the brevity of our bath disappoints you, we are in no hurry now; do feel free to touch me any way you like…"

"I think I will…" Blake answered the little challenge, turning where she sat to put an arm around Mina and rest her head on Mina's shoulder, before letting her other hand trace down over Mina's stomach under the water, "However I want?"

Mina closed her eyes and lolled her head back, letting out a little purr, "Anything you'd like to remind me that I'm yours…"

Blake wondered at this comment for a moment – a very brief moment – before she continued, moving her fingers to Mina's side, over her hips, and down to her knee just to enjoy the feeling of touching her before asking, "May I kiss you?"

Mina nodded eagerly – were it anyone else Blake might have thought too eagerly – before voicing her ascent, "Please…"

And Blake obliged. Gently, tenderly she pressed her lips to Mina's, tilting her head to the side just so to get a better angle. With one hand she reached up to hold the back of Mina's head, weaving her fingers through her hair as she did so. Blake met no resistance when she pressed her tongue past Mina's lips, but rather a slight moan of pleasure. With her free hand, Blake continued to explore the familiar curves of Mina's body, briefly wondering as she closed her eyes if this was anything like how Mina experienced the world in general, but ultimately deciding to allow herself the selfish little indulgence of not particularly caring as her fingers played over a breast and Mina made a sharp intake of breath.

We really don't do this enough… Blake thought hazily in her mildly lust-addled frame of mind, why is that again…?

Blake was snapped immediately back to her senses when Mina winced and recoiled. At once Blake broke off the kiss to ask what was wrong – well, she tried. As Blake withdrew her tongue though, Mina reached up to hold Blake's lips to hers, and Blake's eyes went wide when she realized that her hand had been squeezing Mina's right shoulder where a faint white line yet remained to mark the not quite totally recovered injury.

"Oh my God, Mina I am so sorry-,"

"No!" Mina cut her off, equal parts frustrated and apologetic – perplexingly enough, "Please… more… it does not hurt so bad… I was merely surprised…"

"If you're not feeling up to this-,"

"I am. Please…" she took Blake's hand from her shoulder and moved it to cup her breast, "More…"

"But Mina, you're in pain-,"

"This can be nothing next to what you go through when I bite…" Mina dismissed Blake's concerns, though she looked as though she felt guilty, "Yet you so often make that sacrifice for me anyway… let me make this one for you… "

"Mina no, I-,"

"She kissed me!" Mina choked out, bursting into tears.

"What?"

"It was after she blew up your building – I had her – but with everything exploding and in chaos-," Mina took a deep shaky breath, "She kissed me Blake! I need that gone!"

Blake blinked, not sure whether to be angry, jealous, or horrified, "M-mina, who did?"

Mina buried her face in Blake's chest, "Nadia Undine…"

After jealousy and anger took their turns, Blake settled on horrified – both at Mina's words, and at herself for not seeing any of it, "M-Mina… Oh my God… I… I… don't know what… I mean, here you are feeling violated, and all I can think of is-,"

"Please, stop!" Mina sobbed, "Just… keep going… I just want you to have me so much right now Dearest…" Mina begged, "Whatever it takes to erase that stain, take it." She embraced Blake tightly, "Yes, I feel violated – something I'd promised to you and you alone was taken from me - and for the past three bloody days I have had to live with that… So just please… make me whole again…"

For a long while, Blake just knelt before Mina, mouth agape, not sure what to do. Eventually though, she returned the embrace, "You have nothing to apologize for Mina. I love you, and that is not going to change because someone forced themselves on you. God, words can't even express how sorry I am that you had to go through that, but I'm here now, and there is nothing to forgive, okay?"

Mina didn't let go, "Still…"

Blake nodded, "okay…"

Gently, Blake returned her lips to Mina's and felt her heart skip a beat when Mina's eyes closed and her body relaxed. Blake didn't add her tongue though – she couldn't, she felt too guilty. Knowing what she'd just heard, how could she possibly indulge herself like this? It felt wrong – and so, so selfish – but no sooner had she thought that word than had she realized that she knew exactly what Mina would have said to that line of thinking if she heard it: Be selfish. Dimly, Blake reflected on what she was doing as her hands played over Mina's body again, Mina holding nothing back from her touch; Mina needed – was desperate for the simple wordless assurance that she wasn't damaged goods, and no matter how many times Blake could insist that she loved her, actions spoke louder.

As Mina continued to simply submit herself, Blake couldn't help but wonder if, in the same position, this would be what she herself would want, or indeed what sort of validation this meant for Mina. As if anything so shallow as having had a kiss stolen from her would make Blake love Mina any less. Maybe because she had never cared when people looked at her Mina placed an even greater value on the kissing, the feeling, the touching, and thus wanted to reserve that privilege exclusively for Blake, but whatever the case, Blake still felt conflicted; she couldn't help it, but to put Mina first here… didn't look a whole lot different from putting herself first… Blake let out a deep breath that she'd forgotten she'd been holding as their lips parted again. Pausing for one final moment's debate, she eventually decided, yes…

And she let it happen. First a kiss to Mina's cheek, then just under her chin, and her neck… However Blake's mind might agonize over whether this was right or wrong, her body knew what she wanted – what both of them wanted – and she allowed instinct to take over. For her part, Mina was putty in Blake's hands, her breathing growing heavier and faster at once as Blake took her time.

Blake came to a stop just above Mina's collarbone though, just long enough to leave a mark before breathing, "There… Now anyone who sees you will know you're mine…"

Mina nodded slightly, "Don't stop…"

Without another word, Blake obliged, moving her lips down to Mina's chest and weaving her fingers between Mina's under the surface of the water they'd all but utterly forgotten. Blake nuzzled affectionately against Mina's chest, her face just above the surface of the spring, "Do you feel like I still love you now?"

Mina nodded again, "Yes… but please… more…"

"Whatever you want…"

Author's Note: Okay, those of you her were expecting a nice and fluffy chapter, I have only one thing to say: So did I… Fortunately or unfortunately, as I wrote this it kind of morphed into what we've now arrived at, and I figured that it was a necessary step in the recovery process for Mina, so here we are. I'm still a little uncomfortable with the idea of writing straight up lemons, and limes like this still take a lot longer for me to write than anything else, but this felt kind of necessary, so I worked though it and carefully selected my language as best as I could so as for the scene to come off as romantic/emotional rather than just smutty. I hope it worked… In either case, I'll be first to admit that this probably wasn't a healthy decision on Blake or Mina's part… but then, the way I envision Blake, her biggest issues are resentment and – more to the point in this case – guilt, and in Mina's case well… she's never really been a paragon of mental stability has she? For now though, we've patched up the most immediate wounds and we can go forward with less angst in the immediate future, in fact, I feel like delivering on that fluff I promised with at least a short, due out by Wednesday, but until then, I hope that you enjoyed, and have a good one.