Mate marking is the process where two faunus who have a deep connection with each other infuse their aura together in a mark on each other. In order for this mark to form the two parties must have trust.
It is common for two faunus to have these marks. However faunus and human mates also do happen as well, they are rare, but not as rare as you think. Having the human mark the faunus requires more extra steps in order for the other party to infuse their aura to start the mark. Under normal circumstances the other party (being a faunus) would be able to mark their partner and infuse their aura, however humans are unable to do the marking. This requires another faunus that they trust to start the mark while the human infuses their aura.
A small sigh left the faunus' lips as her eyes scanned the page one last time before she closed the book in her hand. Her eyes flicked up landing on the redheads back watching her talk to Weiss about the textbook in front of the two.
She looked back down at the book before sighing again.
"What's got you sighing kitten?"
Blake raised her eyebrow looking over to the blonde who was hanging down from her bed with her scroll in hand.
"Just this book I'm reading didn't quite have the ending I wished for." She said, slipping the book under her pillow before she swung her legs out to the side letting her feet rest flat on the floor.
"Well that sucks." Yang mused as she tapped away at her scroll before pumping her fist at her victory in whatever game she was playing.
"It's why I stopped reading books unless Ruby wanted me to, the endings always suck sometimes." The blonde said as she pulled herself back up before she got off the bed landing on her feet. "I just always made my own ending."
"Happy ever after?"
Yang hummed sitting down on Blake's bed next to her, the scroll in her hand as she bumped shoulders with the faunus. "Might not be how the world is, but sometimes just the little things like a happy ending is nice."
Blake nodded as she looked at the game that Yang was playing before shaking her head. "I didn't ask but how did the mission go for you and Weiss? I'm surprised you two got back so early."
The blonde smiled as she yet again succeeded in another victory before she looked over to her partner. "It was a piece of cake, just a simple escort, the people were nice and honestly we barely found any Grimm at all. It was getting quite boring."
A groan came from the redhead pulling their attention away, said woman let her face fall onto the desk making Weiss sigh as she shook her head.
Yang laughed a little as she pocketed her scroll before stretching her arms above her head. "Come on Ice queen, not even a day back and you are already drilling poor Rubles with questions, why don't we just enjoy the rest of the weekend?"
The heiress gave the blonde one look glaring at her for a few moments before sighing. She sat there for a second crossing her arms over her chest as Yang walked up to her putting her arm around her shoulder.
It wasn't long until the heiress shook her head again waving to the redhead mumbling something about how they would pick up later.
The redhead gave a small victory as she closed the books in front of her, Blake gave a small smile as Yang went to the middle of their dorm looking at all three of them. "All right ladies, well since it's Sunday and we have class tomorrow, also because I'm hungry, why don't we go to the Cafe for lunch today?"
The other three members looked at each other before giving small nods at the blonde.
Without saying much else the members of team RWBY got ready.
As the faunus got herself ready for the outing she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to what she was reading, her eyes landing on her pillow with a frown.
Due to the fact that Weiss and Yang got back early from their mission it left little time for the two to even talk more about their current situation. They only had enough time after they woke up to clean the room and do their own thing before Weiss and Yang came back.
She felt the tips of her ears heat up as she slipped her bow on, as she did she felt someone staring at her making her turn slightly, her amber eyes meeting silver. Thus causing the redhead to jump slightly as her hands fumbled to tug on the cloak.
She knew at some point they would have to talk.
"If you think I'm scared… or would be scared of you for any of that then you're wrong. We all make mistakes in life or do things we didn't mean to do, you want to change and honestly I think that's brave of you. It takes a lot of courage to decide that. Dust, we barely know each other… but I want to learn more about you… I mean that's what dating is for right?"
The heat traveled down her ears to her face as she sighed grabbing her jacket.
Ruby felt a smile tug at her lips as she ran her hand along the cat as a soft purr rumbled through the creature.
Weiss sat next to the redhead letting her finger scratch the cat's chin as she took a small sip from her mug.
All three members of team RWBY were listening to Yang go on about the mission they were just on, the heiress putting her few cents in every once in a while.
"You two are due to go on your mission soon." The blonde said as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand, stirring her drink with the straw.
Ruby bit her lip as she looked up to her sister before giving her a smile. "That's true, hoping we get a better mission than these two." She said as she glanced over at the faunus, their eyes meeting for a quick moment before the redhead went back to the cat in her lap.
"I agree, it sounds like you two had a boring time. Then again when it comes to Grimm, boring is better."
Ruby pout shaking her head. "Yeah but I don't want to be bored the whole time, I'd rather watch paint dry at that point."
"If you were tasked with watching paint dry you wouldn't succeed." Weiss muttered, bringing the mug to her lips again. "Well all know you have boundless energy."
"Which is why I'm saying I want something fun, a few Grimm we can handle. Maybe a few Beowolves… or maybe a nevermore." She said, getting a sigh from the heiress.
"After fighting with you against a nevermore once I will never do that again, have fun with that Blake."
Blake gave a small laugh watching Ruby in defeat rest her forehead on the table. "That was one time." She muttered.
"One time is enough for me to never do that again."
"Well not every day you get to experience something new ice queen."
Weiss paused for a moment, her eyes shooting over to Yang glaring at the blonde. "Is it your goal today to just annoy me?"
"Isn't that an everyday thing?" Blake asked not looking up from her book as she turned the page.
Weiss' mouth opened and closed a few times before she sighed, shaking her head not bothering to fight back.
It wasn't long until they got their food did they fall into a comfortable silence as they ate.
The redhead gave a hum as she took a bite from her breakfast sandwich, her eyes going back to the now sleeping cat in her lap, watching as the tail wiggled for a few moments.
Watching the cat on her lap reminded her so much of Blake.
At that thought she felt her cheeks burn as she grabbed her cup taking a long sip from the straw.
She found herself this morning waking up next to the faunus yet again, thankfully this time she had clothes on, but it still came as a shock to her when she found herself in Blake's bed with the woman.
Due to where she was on the bed she wasn't able to get out, her other option would be to wake the faunus up but as that thought had occurred to her she found herself staring at the woman's face as she slept.
The peaceful look on face swelled the heat in her chest. It was nice to see Blake content even for just a moment.
She felt something lightly tap her foot pulling her attention away from her thoughts, she glanced up at the table noticing that everyone was occupied with their own things until she looked over to Blake, silver meeting amber.
Ruby tilted her head to the side raising her eyebrow a little as Blake quickly glanced at the other two before her eyes met back with hers. The faunus raised an eyebrow before mouthing 'are you okay?' to her.
Right… I have to remember she can feel what I'm feeling. I probably made her worry. She gave the faunus a smile before nodding. She could see Blake hesitate for a moment as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand before giving a small nod to herself looking back down at her book.
Ruby let her eyes linger on the faunus for a few moments before she looked over to Yang watching her talk to Weiss about what else they should do before they go back to classes tomorrow.
"I have a lot of weight on my shoulders I still carry around with me… I'm afraid my feelings… will scare you, hurt you. I have things of the past I'm still running from… I just, it's hard for me to forget it all."
Does she feel like this all the time? She smiled, biting the inside of her cheek as she pretended to listen to the current table conversation. What is she thinking about? When she feels what I'm feeling, what does she think about?
Blake let out a sigh absent-mindedly skimming through various clothing in front of her as her eyes flicked up landing on the redheads back.
To say she was tired of today was an understatement. Under any normal circumstances being around people was something she was indifferent to, hanging around her teammates however she did enjoy.
But between the last few days and the constant looks between her and their resident leader she just wanted to crawl back into bed and read whatever novel she could get her hands on.
Like Ruby she was glad that Yang and Weiss were safe, back early and everything. But the timing couldn't have been better.
"What about this one?" Yang asked, peaking around the corner holding a shirt up pulling Blake away.
The faunus hummed for a few moments looking at the shirt. "What is it with you and showing your cleavage so much?" She said, bringing her attention back to the clothing rack in front of her before pulling off a shirt herself.
"That's because she's got nothing else to show." Weiss said as she walked up next to them sorting through a rack before finding what she was looking for.
"You're just jealous that I have something to show in this area." The blonde said, forming a box with her fingers over her chest before resting her hand on her hip.
Weiss rolled her eyes, a small blush forming on her cheeks as she turned away muttering a few things before walking over to what Blake assumed was the dressing room.
"What is with you two today?" Blake asked her eyes lingering on where Weiss had walked off to before looking back at her partner. "I've never seen Weiss back down this much, also you two are at each other's throats it feels like."
Yang gave a small shrug as she flicked through another rack behind Blake. "You know me, I just love to push her buttons."
The faunus frowned pausing for a short moment before turning to look at Yang. "I'm honestly surprised she hasn't torn your head off by now, I'd be careful if I were you."
"I appreciate it Blakey but Weiss knows I'm just messing with her, she needs to lighten up a little, have some fun every once in a while…. Now besides me, what about you?"
She raised an eyebrow as Yang pulled another shirt resting it in her hand. "What about me?"
The blonde hummed as she pulled the faunus to another dressing room on their side of the store. "I mean you've been quiet today, more quiet than usual. Both you and Ruby actually," Yang paused as she pulled off her shirt she was wearing before grabbing one from the pile. "Did you two have a fight about something?"
Of course she would notice something.
She leaned back against the wall across from Yang's room tapping her fingers against the book in her hand. "Well I'm normally not talkative, Ruby I haven't noticed anything. She seems fine to me."
The door to the dressing room open as Yang walked out doing a quick spin holding her arms out. "Like I said cleavage, it's a nice shirt all in all however."
The blonde snorted rolling her eyes as she walked over to the mirror before doing another spin. "I'm just saying, when you grow up and practically raise someone it's easy to tell when something is bothering them."
Blake nodded looking down to the book. "Why not just ask Ruby yourself? I mean nothing against talking with you, but wouldn't it be better to go to her?"
"It would be, but she probably won't tell me what's going on. Out of all of us Weiss would probably know best, I just didn't know if something happened while we were gone."
The faunus bit the inside of her cheek as she shook her head giving the blonde a shrug. "Ruby and I don't talk often, and if we do it's mainly about books or maybe something to do with our classes."
She watched as Yang spun around again for the umpteenth time facing her, her eyes narrowing for a moment as she looked at the faunus. It sent a bubble of panic in her stomach catching in her throat as she stared into her partners eyes.
Does she know? Surely she couldn't, she's only been back less then a whole day… did Nora say anything to them before they came back? A billion thoughts ran through her head before Yang walked towards her dressing room before patting Blake's shoulder.
"Honestly you two should talk more, you two are more alike than you think… I mean besides Ruby's boundless energy."
Before she could say anything to that the blonde had already closed her door humming to herself as she tried on another shirt.
The thought of telling Yang what exactly happened between the two sent a shiver down her spine, the hairs on her neck rising. In a previous conversation with her partner she knew just how much her sister meant to her, it was no secret to anyone. She had also seen firsthand the anger if anyone crossed the wrong path with the redhead… and that was not something she wanted to be on the receiving end.
She frowned, gripping the book a little tighter as her eyes went to the floor.
What would Yang think?
During all this time that was one thing she barely thought about, what would Yang think? Yet another door of worry opened causing her to groan lightly as she pinched the bridge of her nose. If they were to continue whatever this was they would have to tell Weiss and Yang eventually.
The faunus scratched her cheek keeping her eyes down at the book in her hand, she flipped through a few pages before slipping it into the basket on her arm.
She heard a yawn come from her right as Ruby walked around the corner a few comics in hand.
"Tired?" Blake asked, slipping out another book from the shelf before quickly skimming through it.
Ruby rubbed the back of her neck leaning up against one of the shelf's next to where Blake was. "A little, nothing to worry about. Did you find what you needed?"
Blake hummed, closing the book in her hand before slipping it into the basket. "Just about." She said as they walked up to the counter.
"You know you didn't have to come with me."
The redhead waved her hand, setting down the few comics she picked up. "I wanted to get something from here anyway."
The faunus nodded watching as the shopkeeper scanned the books before smiling at the two. She gave the woman a smile before handing her the correct lien for the books.
"More comics I see?"
Ruby scratched her cheek as she said thank you to the shopkeep grabbing one of the plastic bags from the counter. "Just a few extra ones that came out since I started Beacon, what about you? What did you get?"
Blake hummed fidgeting with the bag as they walked down the street towards the airships. "Just a few more that came out, I haven't had time as well to get them."
The redhead nodded tugging on her cloak giving the faunus a smile. "Anything good?"
"Well, remember the series Magic bites? They finally came out with the sixth book, so I grabbed the fifth and sixth."
"I'll have to borrow those then, I love them." The faunus smiled at the redhead stuffing her free hand into her jacket.
"Any time you want to borrow them you're free to do so…" She paused for a moment, biting her lip looking away from Ruby. "Or if you're caught up we can read them together?" As soon as she said it she could feel the burn on surprise in her chest, she felt the blush spread through her face, she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk feeling Ruby stop next to her.
"I'm sorry if that… I just figured since we were reading princess bride… we could do the same-" Blake felt her breath get caught in her throat feeling Ruby's hand nudge hers a little.
"I'd like that… if we read it together. As long as this time I don't fall asleep."
Both laughed at that as their eyes met for a moment before looking away.
Blake bit the inside of her cheek, switching the bag to her other hand before taking the redhead's hand into hers, she could see from her angle red start to tint her cheeks. "Before we head back… can we talk?"
Ruby gave a slow nod looking down at their hands together before she tugged on her cloak covering her bottom half of her face more. "We should probably talk before heading back…shouldn't we?"
"Unless we want Yang and Weiss asking questions."
"Probably best then, why don't we find somewhere quiet?"
Blake nodded as Ruby led the way, neither one of them breaking the hand lightly holding them together. It didn't take them long to find a bench in the park off to the side.
Ruby looked out into the park smiling as children ran circles around the playground playing tag with one another. She let her eyes pull away before they fell on their hands resting on the bench in between them the warmth sending a shiver down her spine.
"I'm sorry these last few days have been kind of stressful." The faunus whispered, feeling the redhead squeeze her hand.
"Nothing to be sorry for, a lot has happened. I'm glad we got at least a little alone time, I did not expect Yang and Weiss to come back today."
The faunus gave a hum leaning back into the bench. "Well we better come back sooner than them when we go out for our mission, or else Yang will constantly remind us of how they are better than us." She paused, laughing a little, feeling her ears twitch slightly as Ruby laughed as well.
The laugh sending shivers up her spine causing the air in her throat to get caught.
"You're right, Yang would do that."
Their eyes met once again before they looked away making Blake sigh a little. She knew herself, talking wasn't her strongest if she didn't say what she needed to say she wouldn't say it.
"I'm sorry, not exactly the greatest when it comes to conversations." She muttered, scratching her cheek.
"It's okay, you're not the only one." Ruby fiddled with her cloak for a second before taking a deep breath. "Well it's about the mark and us right?"
She received a nod. "Okay well that's a start." Another nod made her smile.
"You're right about it… dating… I'm just scared. I know you said everything will be fine, that I won't scare you… I just can't help but feel that way."
"You're allowed to feel that way, loving someone, it's a hard thing. I can't really say much in regards to relationships. I'll be honest, I've only ever had one girlfriend… even then we were younger and it wasn't serious."
"I had a relationship once as well, we really didn't end well. It was one of the reasons I left the White Fang, not the main reason… but one of them." Blake said the last bit coming out as a whisper, the reassuring squeeze to her hand making the knot in her stomach slowly unwind.
Ruby nodded slowly looking down at her boots biting her lip. "Was it bad with them?"
"At first it was nice, she was great. We had each other and it was nice to have someone during my time with the group. After a little while things slowly started to change as the White Fang changed as well… I can't give the exact day but it was noticeable. We eventually grew apart from girlfriend's and soon we were no longer friends either. I think she resented me for wanting to leave the White Fang."
"Do you still care for her?"
"Part of me does, as a friend. I think us staying friends would've had the same outcome and feeling, I love her, but it…" Blake paused feeling the bow slightly fold, she looked over to Ruby staring into her eyes.
"It wasn't like the love I feel for you… it's like the love I feel for Weiss and Yang. You are all my friends, more like family to me, with you however it feels different. I know it feels different because I've never felt like this. I'm scared to show people who I used to be, scared of showing people I'm a faunus. With you I was more than scared, I was terrified. But you barely bat an eye at any of it…"
"Because it doesn't matter who you used to be, what matters is you're changing." The redhead whispered, turning in her seat more to face the faunus. "I told you before and I meant it, you are changing yourself for the better and you are very brave to do that. You will never scare me Blake, no matter how many times you repeat it, no matter how many times you say it in another way, I see you for who you are… Blake Belladonna, member of the best team in Beacon… and someone I've come to care about greatly."
Blake felt a smile tug at her lips as she turned to look at Ruby, she bit the inside of her cheek as she leaned forward resting her hand on the redhead's face.
Like magnets the two grew closer together, their foreheads bumping together. The scent of strawberry scented shampoo burning through her nose causing a shaky sigh to leave her mouth. It wasn't until their lips lightly touching did she pull away turning her head away.
"I'm sorry… that was rude of me." She whispered feeling a slight tug of agitation in her chest. A few seconds went by before she heard a soft sigh behind her making her ears twitch. "Blake."
"Right I know I'm sorr-" She turned to look back at Ruby ready to apologize again only to be stopped by soft lips on hers causing her to tense up for a moment, unsure of what was happening.
The tight knot in her stomach ached as she rest her hand on the redheads lower back pulling her closer as she returned the kiss. That kiss only lasted a few moments before both pulled away their eyes opening meeting each other's.
"No need to be sorry." Ruby said lightly pulling her hand away from the faunus' face giving her a smile. "I guess that's our first sober kiss… if we did kiss that night I don't remember it." The redhead said rubbing her hands together as she looked out into the playground. "First and hopefully not last."
"I… hope that wasn't the last." Blake said stuffing her hands into her jacket. "Speaking of that… we should talk about a few more things. The mark."
"I want to keep it." Ruby said without hesitation not even looking towards Blake. "If you want to of course… I'm sorry I should've let you finish."
Blake shook her head. "I'm glad you want to keep it, happy beyond anything you feel that way. I… there's one thing however." She paused leaning forward. "I know this is kind of selfish of me, but I've been thinking about it since last night… and if you feel any differently because of this you can tell me." She said looking over at Ruby who nodded her head.
"Currently I'm doing more studying regarding mate marks and such, for me it's easy to finish the mark for you. However, in order for me to receive a mark of my own… another faunus would have to help."
She watched Ruby seeing the gears turn in her head for a moment. "So would you… have to you know…" The faunus tilted her head as the redhead made a few hand movements sputtering a little before she finally understood what Ruby was trying to say.
A blush spread across her face as she rubbed the back of her neck shaking her head. "No oh no dust no, that was just a heat of the moment. Many couples do mark each other during that, but in our case no."
"Okay… I mean I can see why some wouldn't like it. So… Do you know someone who could help you?"
"I know one, but I'd have to ask her another day. Out of everyone I know currently I trust her the most."
Ruby smiled, giving another nod as the scroll in her pocket dinged indicating she had received a message. She quickly pulled the device out opening it up reading whatever message she just got.
"Yang asked if we were going to be out any longer if we could get dinner… didn't we just have lunch not that long ago?" She muttered exiting the messenger app looking at the time before she froze.
"What?" Blake asked quickly, pulling out her own scroll looking at the time seeing why the redhead stopped.
It was 7:03.
"Oh my goodness we've been out here for almost three hours?" Blake said resting her hand on her forehead as she pocketed the device.
Surprised when the redhead started to laugh a little holding the back of her hand to her mouth as she did. "I'm sorry, it's just really funny." She said, wiping her eyes. "As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun right?"
Blake smiled at that nodding. "Guess you're right." She said as the two got up from the bench quickly gathering the bags they had before she stopped Ruby with a hand on her shoulder.
"One more thing… before we go. What are we going to tell Weiss and Yang?"
Ruby hummed, adjusting her cloak. "Why don't we wait until after the Vytal Festival? Talk to… whoever is going to help us…"
"Velvet."
The redhead paused for a moment before smiling as she got up. "Alright, after we talk to Velvet and work on us more and the Vytal Festival we can tell them." She turned to Blake holding her hand out.
The faunus nodded, feeling the warmth spread in her chest as she grabbed the redhead's hand. "Okay, after the Vytal Festival then."
Gahhh I have so many ideas for these two ;-; so many ideas only so much time. Thank you to those who have stayed with me so far in my journey for the unexpected series! I appreciate it a lot!
For those interested in joining a ladybug discord I have started! Here is the link! Type this into the Discord invite box and you can get in! Fanfiction does not like links. RRgtbxFTnD
Happy New Year's everyone!