Blake closed her eyes and took a sharp breath as she felt Mina's fangs punch through her skin, but after her initial wince she let the adrenaline flush through her system as she gently stroked Mina's hair and held Mina close. The little points of pain, their special place by the pond, and the faint warmth of Mina's breath on her skin; it was good to have it all back… Just to be reminded of how much Mina needed her – two weeks reduced to storyteller at best and Blake had almost forgotten what it was like…

"Just… go ahead… Take as much as you need…"

Mina nodded gently, nuzzling against Blake's breast before lapping up the swell of blood.

She hadn't wasted any time after the General had let them take their leave of the infirmary ward; she'd told the others that they should go on ahead back to the dorm – that she and Mina had a lot to talk about. It was true of course, but when she had come to their place with Mina and sat down on the bench, the words all lost themselves as she threw her arms around Mina and let it all out. Mina was surprised at first, but it only took a moment for her to return the embrace and tear up herself. For a long time, they just sat there with their faces in each other's shoulders as Blake mumbled incoherently about how much she missed Mina and Mina trying to apologize for it all, but Blake wouldn't have it. She'd silenced Mina with a kiss and then pulled off her shirt, inviting Mina to take the next step – it had been over three weeks…

As Mina sated herself at her chest, Blake brushed one of her bra straps aside and out of Mina's way – a minor inconvenience true, but as long as she'd waited for this, Blake wasn't about to let anything get in the way. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath as she leaned down to brush her cheek into Mina's hair. She ran her fingers down to the small of Mina's back and with the other hand she held Mina's head close and gently caressed her ears. After two weeks of watching Weiss take care of Mina, Blake couldn't help but feel like she deserved this as her breath grew shaky, and Mina pulled away to look up, allowing Blake to press her lips to Mina's again.

It's okay now...

She could still taste her own blood on Mina's lips, but that was good; one more reminder that Mina was hers again. Not losing a second, Blake pushed her tongue past Mina's lips without resistance and pushed her back up against the bench to straddle her. She reached up to cup Mina's cheek and placed her other hand on Mina's shoulder slipping her fingers under Mina's collar – it needed to go… At least until Blake felt Mina's hands on her skin – her fingers were a little cold, but she could deal with that if it meant that she could have Mina's fingers sliding up her back and her stomach, moving back up to her breast.

Please… just let yourself have this…

As Mina's fingers slipped under her bra, Blake forced herself to relax and enjoy the sensation. She broke off the kiss as she felt Mina's other hand slip below the waist of her leggings. Next, she pulled Mina's head back to her chest, "You didn't finish…"

"But you-,"

"I want to," Mina fell quiet again and complied, once more nuzzling up before her fangs punched through the skin at the base of Blake's neck – that was better. The pain wasn't so rewarding in itself as what it represented. All the anxiety, all the baseless jealousy, they were pointless – She had Mina back now – and she couldn't think of a better way to make it up to Mina for being so selfish… Mina didn't seem to hold anything against her though, as even while she lapped up the crimson blood that welled up from the second minor wound as it healed as quickly as the first – minor injuries as they were – Mina continued to gently stroke Blake as she drank, eliciting the occasional gasp of pleasure amidst the pain that she set aside. Eventually though, Mina pulled away again.

"That is enough…" Mina said gingerly, "I… miss this… Thank you…"

"Thank you for remembering me…" Blake replied tearing up, "I just… I was so scared Mina – I knew you were going to snap out of it, but I was still… I couldn't help but… but…"

Mina was horrified – her eyes going wide and her hands froze, "I… I am sorry-,"

"But now you remember – and God, I can't express to you how relieved I am…" Blake continued, hugging Mina close, "And don't you dare apologize! Just… I know I don't usually do this… but Please… just let me have this for a while…"

"Dearest…"

Blake held her all the tighter, "Thank God…" She sniffed, "Maybe it's selfish, but I was worried that I would never hear that again…" She squeezed her eyes shut, "I almost lost you because I couldn't be bothered to help Clara do some shopping! I might as well have-,"

Abruptly, Mina grabbed Blake by the head and pulled her back into another kiss to silence her before speaking, "No…"

Blake took several long, slow breaths for calm, looking into Mina's eyes before she spoke, "I… I'm sorry…" another deep breath, "Can I make it up to you…?"

To Blake's surprise though, Mina shook her head, "No. If I do not get to apologize, then neither do you," As Blake mulled over this in a certain state of perplexity, Mina pulled her into a tight embrace, "I must have been such a bother… I remember how helpless I was…"

"N-no…" Blake reassured her, gently stroking Mina's hair, "You were adorable… Now that your back to normal, it's almost nostalgic… and besides, it was Weiss that took care of you mostly…"

"I need to thank her and apologize for the trouble…" Mina looked away, "And thank you for working so hard to try and help me…"

It was Blake's turn to look away now, "Well…" That was at least as much for yourself as Mina… "I still should have taken care of you instead…"

"Was that what you and Weiss were fighting about last week?" Mina asked, confused, "I do wonder about that…"

Blake hung her head in shame, "When it started… I wanted you back so much that I… I wasn't sure that I could control myself…"

Mina looked up at her coyly, "It was rather… puzzling at the time… But I would not say that I did not enjoy it…"

"You were a child-!"

Mina took hold of Blake's hand and placed it upon her breast, pressing Blake's hand to caress her softly through the thin, soft material of her blouse, "I am not a child…"

"No… You're not…" Blake admitted, "But It still wasn't right for me to do it…"

Mina slid her hands down Blake's back to caress the base of her hourglass with an inviting smile, "You can do it now…"

Blake nodded, eyes closed, "Yes please…" But then she hesitated, looking over Mina's smooth face, the pale stretch of her neck, and the swell of her chest beneath the thin material of the black blouse… and then she looked down at herself, half-naked already… "Do you… think I'm beautiful?"

Mina blinked, "What?"

Blake looked aside, blushing, "Well… You got to actually see me today…" She set her forehead gently to Mina's, "You aren't disappointed, are you?"

"N-no!" Mina hurriedly denied, "My only regret in my blindness has been that I couldn't see you… and now that I have… I could ask for nothing else…"

Blake leaned in to embrace Mina again, "Thank you…"

"It was… nice to see how you see me…" Mina elaborated, "You tell me that I am beautiful, and Mother used to tell me that I was pretty, but those things meant… little until now…"

"Your…" Blake's heart sank at the mention of Mina's Mother, "Mina…"

"Hmmm?" She looked puzzled – Mina could tell Blake's mood had shifted, but wasn't sure why.

"What happened to your Mother…?"

Mina froze, "Dearest-,"
"Please…" Blake interrupted, "I need to know this…"

Mina looked evasive, "Dearest, I would rather not-,"
"Undine said that your mother died because Faunus Rights protesters beat her with a glass bottle…"

Mina's expression took on a note of anger, "The wench-,"

"Is it true?" Blake pressed, pulling Mina into a hug to try and calm her down, "What happened?"

Mina's face fell, "It was a couple of weeks before we met…" Mina reluctantly explained, "She took me to a playground, and the only person who wanted to play with me was a little human boy…"

"And…?"

"Some local Faunus grown-ups took exception to my playing with a human…" Mina continued hesitantly, "They hit him – knocked him to the ground and he never got up – by that time my Mother had come to intervene…" She took a deep breath, "And they hit her too…" Blake was silent, "She wouldn't tell me why the boy wouldn't get up, and she wasn't well on our way home… She put me to bed early because she was tired, and when I woke up the next morning…" Mina squeezed her eyes shut, trying and failing to keep tears from welling up, "She did not…"

"Oh my God…" Blake gasped, "I am so-,"

"No," Mina silenced her, "You did not do it,"

"But I brought you into the White Fang of all things after that-,"

"I was starving and you saved my life…" Mina shook her head, "Perhaps I would not have found my way to the White Fang without you, but with you… I'm happy… and everything else is secondary…"

Blake was lost for words – even if she could think of what to say, she wouldn't have been able to get it past the lump in her throat, What do you even say to that? A pit formed in her stomach as she embraced Mina again, choking out the only words she could muster, "Still… I'm sorry…"

Mina shook her head, "Please just… I do not want to be a source of guilt in your heart Dearest, please, do not let this weigh on you…"

"But-,"

Mina shook her head for silence, tears starting to pour down her cheeks now, "I want you to love me… not pity me… Please…"

Blake took a deep breath, "I'll… I'll try… But… How can you just… forgive?"

"Were there even anything to forgive you for…" Mina even mustered a slight sad little smile as she said it, "I am afraid that I'm simply too selfish to let anger deprive me of what most makes me happy…"

"Mina…,"

"No more guilt and no more sadness," Mina shook her head, "I only want you…"

Validated, Blake nodded her acceptance and returned her lips to Mina's yet again, slipping her fingers beneath the hem of Mina's blouse. Slowly, she eased it up and over Mina's head. She laid an obliging Mina down on the bench and set aside the blouse, returning to the kiss as soon as possible, hands greedily grasping back for the smooth feeling of Mina's skin. In the back of her mind, Blake supposed that she could work around Mina's skirt, but she preferred to be rid of it, and so fumbled for the zipper at the side to remove it anyway. As she leaned in to kiss Mina's neck now, Blake was dimly aware that Mina was reaching for the clasp of her bra, but she was much too busy to care…

Blake drank in the sensation as Mina touched her and she settled her face into Mina's chest and inhaled deeply, just to take in the smell of lilacs. She felt the lace of Mina's bra on her chin and nuzzled closer, displacing the undergarment as she did so, and simply let herself enjoy it as Mina cupped her bare breast with one hand and slid the other down to push the waistband of Blake's leggings away. Mina wasn't wearing her front-clasp bra today, but that was a minor inconvenience, and Blake wasted little time in pulling it down to rest her head on the soft rise of Mina's breast, placing a few more kisses until Mina provoked her to a little gasp – at that point, she just let herself relax – and Mina did not disappoint.

"I've missed you so much…"

Mina stroked Blake's ears affectionately, "Then let me make up for lost time…"

Mina awoke form a comfrotable doze in the grass some hours later; the air was cooler – almost to a chill, and the first thing that she could hear were the crickets. The grass felt soft beneath her bare skin, and the rustling of the leaves in the trees surrounding the private little space was gentle in the background. The sweetest sound of them all though, was the gentle inhale and exhale of Blake's breathing. She was lying mostly on top of Mina, with her head nestled in the crook of Mina's shoulder, breathing softly as her chest rose and fell pressed to Mina's. Her hand rested on the small of Blake's back, and the fingers of her other were woven together with Blake's, and it just felt right.

Carefully, she moved her free hand up to feel Blake's hair, savoring the familiar silken feeling of it, imagining the ebony black which she'd briefly been able to see, and then Blake's fair complexion as her fingers moved up to her cheek and over her cheekbone before smoothly tracing up beside Blake's closed eyes. She remembered the tired smile Blake had given her, and she couldn't help but smile back at the memory; if nothing else, she was going to hold on to that forever.

Accommodating though it was, the present arrangement couldn't last – much as she loved to have her Dearest sleeping peacefully with her, and warm as she was, it was starting to get cold, so taking a deep breath and feeling Blake's weight rise on top of her, "Dearest…"

"Mmmm?" Blake fidgeted slightly but clung tightly to Mina, "What?"

"We should probably head back… We'll catch cold…"

Blake groaned slightly, "The last time I caught a cold was nice, actually…"

Mina smiled, "And what then if I also fall ill? Somehow I doubt that you would enjoy having Miss Xiao Long wait on us in a maid outfit…"

"I'm up!" And like that, Blake was propping herself up on her hands in the grass, "I don't want to think about how much mileage she'd get out of that…" Blake shook her head as she said it, nearly causing Mina to sneeze as her hair brushed across Mina's face, "Or why we never came back to the…" Blake slumped, "Actually we're pretty much busted either way…"

"Best to simply 'face the music' as they say," Mina smiled, leaning up on her elbows to steal a quick kiss on the cheek, "Now we really must dress…"

"Nice as the view is…" Blake lamented with a sigh, prompting a little giggle from Mina before she continued, "It does look late…"

Mina had shivered a bit when she got up to put her clothes back on, and made a mental note not to fall asleep without clothes in future – particularly what with autumn coming on – but it occurred to her as she tried to find her clothes that neither she nor Blake had been very… particular about where they had done with their clothes…

"Dearest… did you see where I left my bra…?"

It was nice letting Blake lead her back to RWBY's dorm by the hand, but despite their little nap that the two had indulged in, she was still feeling rather tired. As the lock came unlatched in response to Blake's key-card, Mina let out a little yawn and followed her Dearest in and toward the bed, only to freeze.

"You two enjoy yourselves…?"

Mina jumped, "W-Weiss…?"

"You two didn't think I'd turn in for the night before I knew Mina was okay, did you?" Weiss said with a chuckle, "Glad to see I had nothing to worry about,"

Blake was red in the face almost instantly, and no sooner had she realized that it was Weiss who had waited up for them was she immeasurably grateful that both Yang and Ruby were rather heavy sleepers, but what surprised her even more was Mina's reaction. Mina had frozen where she stood her head snapping Weiss's way with a mixed look of surprise and anxiety that Blake could not honestly have claimed to have seen her express previously. Is she embarrassed?

"W-Weiss…" Mina stammered out, "We… hadn't been expecting you to wait up…"

"And I hadn't been expecting you two to sneak off for eight hours, but here we are," The Heiress reposted in jest, "I get that you two are fond of each other – and I'm grateful that you had the courtesy to be… intimate somewhere private, but I'm not stupid…"

Mina hung her head a little bit in the most bizarrely uncharacteristic display of shame Blake had ever seen, "Well it's just that it's been more than two weeks since-,"

I can't believe it… she is...

"No, no, I don't need the details…" Weiss interrupted with a more typical look of embarrassment, "And besides, you two don't need to explain yourselves to me…" she sighed, "I've just… worked myself into Mom mode these last couple of weeks and haven't quite processed that out yet; I was worried is all – the last I saw you, you'd barely had your memory back for five minutes after all," and she shot Blake a wry look, "Though if I was her mother, I might have a few choice words for you about taking my little girl straight out of the hospital room to do God-only-knows what until the small hours of the morning…"

"Well…" Blake hadn't much to sat to that actually, When you put it like that…

"Still…" Weiss broke off with a yawn, "I suppose the over-protective reprimand can wait until tomorrow… I'm just too tired for it now… and besides; you're both alright, and that's what matters…"

Blake breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks Weiss… For everything…"

"Anytime," The white-haired girl replied as she settled into her bed with a yawn, "What are friends for?"

Mina looked tentatively to Blake, asking in whisper, "So we aren't in trouble…?"

Blake just stared at her, dumbfounded, "What?"

Mina twiddled her thumbs nervously, "Mother always said that I shouldn't let people touch me unless they loved me very much and I was old enough…"

Blake shook her head exasperatedly, but couldn't help a little smile at the absurdity of it – nervous Mina was cute after all, Now I see why the Doctor insisted on those counseling sessions... "You're not in trouble Mina, now come on; time for bed,"

Author's Note: Something of a breather – some feels, some fluff, you know – Next time, more plot, but for now, I hope that you enjoyed this, and until next time, have a good one. Oh - and because I forgot last time - Thank you all for the now 101st follow! You are all awesome!