Late nights, playing games, throwing pillows, eating more junk food than what one would consider healthy…such times had an air of simplicity to them.
Decorum forgotten for the sake of it, propriety dismantled piece by piece as immature sexual innuendo and puns ran rampant. No one bothered to be scandalized anymore, even as Nora and Yang attempted to do their worst. All of it happened so rarely anymore. The long overdue board game had caused a twinge of sadness in the normally imperious woman.
Adulthood was strange in how it shaped the mind. Common occurrences that Weiss had deemed herself too old for back at Beacon, were things she desperately sought after nowadays. Let it not be said that she was above catching potato chips in her mouth. Frankly, she wasn't been, even if she pretended she was.
Weiss was more attentive at the late hour than she'd usually be. All of the guests in her household instilled a sense of youthful vigor she'd long since forgotten, and, they'd given her plenty to think about too. Eventually though, it was actually time to go to sleep, and everyone went back to their rooms. Weiss could only let a tiny bit of mirth play on her lips as she took her shower. Indulging in the hot water and the feeling of being clean, recounting the day's events.
She had never really given thought to the way she and Blake shared everything. From hair care products, to body lotion, even their toothpaste. Weiss had always considered it an aspect of married life. Little more, little less.
But then, slowly, Weiss really got to thinking about it.
Even at Beacon, they all used the same laundry detergent. That still didn't stop Blake from misting some body spray into the fresh linens. Weiss had never questioned it, assuming it was a choice of fragrance…and in some aspect, that's exactly what it was…Weiss had just never connected it to any deeper meaning. Sharing basic things became so normal in the dorm out of convenience and lack of storage space...what else was she to think?
It wasn't until much, much later, that Weiss connected some of Blake's casual acts to Faunus scent marking.
It was easy to forget how prevalent the sense of smell could be…how it had pervaded their lives in ways that Weiss had never noticed. With a blush, she reminded herself that she probably smelled very strongly like her spouse. Not that any human would ever notice, or that any Faunus with half a brain would particularly care. Turning off the water, she wrapped a towel around her hair, and then did the same for her body.
One glance into the bedroom, and Blake was busy reading, very contently curled up in little more than the terrycloth bathrobe. Her left ear flicked a bit, as golden eyes engrossed themselves in what had to be a rather interesting piece of literature. The way she nipped on her lower lip, and dug her toes into the bed sheets indicated it was probably some sort of trashy romance...something that boarded the fine line between smut and finely crafted erotica.
It was the ease at which Blake enjoyed her chosen media that was the most telling...her disposition attentive, but unconcerned.
"There's no safer place to be…" Weiss thought to herself, recalling Blake's earlier words. "You really believe that, don't you?"
Somewhere along the line, Blake had marked all of team RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY as family in one way or another. Slotting them into a places in her life that had been empty...devoid of any comfort or solace. It had been methodical, slow, and ever so delicately done…as if cautiously, hopefully, Blake could have the security of never needing to be alone.
And of all of the slots Weiss had been chosen to fill, of all the places Blake had wished her to stand, it had been as a lover. As a spouse. Or, as Blake rarely coined the phrase…a mate…
Something about that was ever so humbling. Though, Weiss couldn't exactly explain why. She readied herself for bed, drying her hair, and brushing the tangles before they could become annoying. Forgoing her nightgown entirely, she stepped across the room, and pulled the sheets back to slip underneath. Like so many times before, the book was abandoned as they cuddled into one another. The all too comforting feel of skin upon skin was a lullaby that was not easily ignored.
It truly was the safest place to be.
Weiss was always an early riser, this morning was no different. There was a time for consideration and a time for action. Weiss firmly believed that the time for the latter was fast approaching. She merely needed to appeal to Blake's rational and inquiring mind.
"Beacon's big five will be making an appearance at the ball…"
"Mm." Blake protested, face buried in her pillow. She mumbled something in response.
"I know they do every year and it's nothing new…"
Blake sighed at length, some more jumbled sounds of protest sleepily issuing from her lips.
"All I'm saying is that it merits consideration." Weiss knew she was being difficult, the sun wasn't even up yet. She had been pacing around the room for the past hour, a nasty nervous tick she picked up from Yang and Ruby. She didn't know why, she just couldn't keep still. "I think we should consider formally asking Oobleck to oversee your pregnancy while we have the chance. See what he says about it."
Blake's ear flicked at the mention of the staff. Ozpin, Glynda, Oobleck, Port, and Peach. Or as the students called them, Beacon's big five. They were the people that sat above the rest. The faculty that no one wanted to be on the wrong side of. Highly respected, and exceptionally trained, they were the bread and butter of Beacon Academy. A first and last line of defense. It was strange to think of the handful of people as anything less than godlike...though, Blake didn't really enjoy thinking of anything other than sleeping so early in the morning.
"Would you come back here and lay down?" Blake asked groggily. "You're sleep deprived…and insane." Cracking an eye open, she grinned. "…and still naked. Weiss, you'll catch a cold you keep that up."
"I am not naked." She said, gesturing to the very thin white cloth draped over her shoulders. She let it fall where she stood. "Now, I'm naked." She resumed pacing.
"And impossible." Blake tacked on, rousing herself from the warmth of their bed. Padding over to her wife, hands grasped onto that small but shapely behind. With her strength, and Weiss's willingness, she lifted that slender fame into her warm embrace. Weiss wrapped her legs around Blake out of habit, both of them falling backwards into the too large bed. "Now this is much more what I'd expect to be woken up by."
"Only because you have an absolutely filthy mind." Weiss chided, though in truth, there wasn't a complaint to be had about their more nefarious bedroom frolics. "I can always make an appointment with someone else, you know." Weiss said quietly, getting lost in those eyes of molten gold. Sleepy, but no less beautiful. "It doesn't have to be Oobleck, if it makes you so uncomfortable. If it's because he's a man, there are plenty of women on Beacon's medical staff. We could always ask Goodwitch for a recommendation."
"Unlike you, I don't have an instant aversion to male doctors." She had an aversion to human ones she'd never met before, more often than not, but gender had never bothered her at all.
"Perhaps not, but it's still bothering you. Do you mind if I as why?"
"It's because he was my teacher." Blake said softly, thumbs brushing lovingly along Weiss's hips. "But, he's qualified. As mortifying as it might be to think about, I'm not opposed to letting him see me in that kind of capacity. He's a professional, and medical care has never exactly been kind to our modesty anyway."
"Yes, well, being a huntress comes with that, I suppose." Wises coughed, tingeing pink. Grimm were strong, and dust was truly a strange substance. Highly volatile, and always questionable. Between sparring matches, yearly physicals, and missions, there was more than a few times they'd been covered in bandages and forced to endure bed rest. Not their finest hours, surely, but hours that had indeed been survived through. "You're sure that you don't mind Oobleck?"
Blake only hesitated for a moment. She could trust him. "Yes, I'm sure." Blake murmured softly as Weiss leaned in for a kiss. "Can we go back to sleep now?"
"Keep me warm?"
"Always..."
If only everyone's ungodly early morning was so peaceful. Across the house, one very sleepy dark skinned man was trying to soothe one very upset young Faunus. It was a failing effort, but no one could fault his efforts.
He fumbled around, trying to find the security blanket that had somehow gone missing. He was color blind and nearsighted, so in the grey of early morning, it was all but impossible. Grumbling, he finally shrugged out of his night shirt. He wrapped it around the upset little girl, making sure to mind her ears as he guided her head to rest on his shoulder.
She fussed a bit, tiny little squeaks indicating that he was not the person she was looking for. He shushed her, as her strong feet dug into his belly, trying to push away from him. Finally, Velvet came to the rescue, one finger very lazily scratching her daughter behind the ear to quiet her. The girl leaned into the touch, inquisitive eyes peering well into the darkness, seeing her mother and twin brother resting nearby.
She shook her head a moment later, another soft cry protruding from her throat. She wanted to be with Coco, who was sleeping like a log on Fox's other side.
Finally a proper pout came along, followed promptly by all out crying, one of the few human sounds Faunus made before learning to talk. Sleepily, Coco sat upright, murderous green eyes scanning for a threat, and seeing only the crying toddler. Coco, never in a good mood after being abruptly woken up, took Sienna from the exasperated father. "Stop that." She scolded, harsh words softened only by the firm hug that made all of the upset slowly melt away like magic.
Coco lay back down on her side facing Fox, the child between them as she let Sienna nuzzle into the crook of her neck. The room went silent a short time later. Since all crisis were thankfully averted, Fox was just about to doze back off to sleep. Then, the door creaked open.
"Oh damn it." He muttered, knowing he should have expected it. It wasn't like the children stayed in new places very often, and they got worried easily enough besides.
'Language." Velvet warned as she held her youngest son to her own chest. Carefully, so as not to wake him, she sat upright, taking in the sight before her. Their four other children were standing by the door expectantly. She put a finger to her lips as she called them. "Do not wake up your mother." She warned just under her breath, knowing Coco would have a bad temper all day if she was woken up again before sunrise.
Ever so carefully, they all crawled in, making a happy little huddle in the corner of the bed, right by Velvet's feet. She rolled her eyes, a tiny little smile on her face as their only human child crept up then length of the bed. Velvet and Fox made room for her, letting her get between them before snuggling back down.
Fox prayed for a few more hours of shut-eye before Coco woke up and shat a brick.