"And thus Kuriki was defeated, turned to stone by the gaze of the woman he loved."

Blake closed the book, rubbing her throat slightly. She wasn't used to talking so much in one sitting—and she frankly needed a drink of water. Though, despite the book ending, she didn't feel Ruby move.

She looked down, gently nudging Ruby's head, only to have it roll over to the side. Curious, Blake grabbed Ruby's chin, pulling her back around so she could see her face.

She gave a warm smile as she saw Ruby's sleeping expression, her breathing even. She went to rise, only to feel Ruby's arms snake around her, her head nuzzling against her chest. How long have you been asleep? What time is it, anyway?

Blake looked at her scroll, letting out a small sigh of relief as she saw it was only nine. While the library they were in was closed, the one at Beacon was still open. Not only that, but Beacon's airships wouldn't stop running for another hour—giving her and Ruby plenty of time to get back.

Well, once they got out of the building, of course.

Blake wrapped an arm under Ruby's legs, the other gently cradling her back as she stood. It oddly pained her to try waking such a peaceful sleeper, but she knew they had to get back eventually. Yang would be worried sick and suspicious, otherwise.

"Ruby…Ruby, come on, get up."

Despite her efforts, Ruby didn't budge.

"Ruby! We need to go!"

While there was no movement, Blake saw the flicker of a smile run across Ruby's face.

Blake frowned, staring down at her for a second. Then, an idea struck her. She reached forward, gently moving the part of Ruby's combat skirt where the skirt met the shirt. Doing so exposed just a bit of Ruby's milk-white skin, along with the upper waistband of her underwear.

Blake ignored this, gently trailing her hands up and stopping on Ruby's hips. She gave a faint smirk as she began trailing up and down, gently tickling her.

Ruby's eyes shot open. "Okay, okay! Don't tickle me!"

Blake smirked at her. "Why were you pretending to sleep?"

"I wasn't! I just…wasn't in as heavy a sleep as I made you think."

Blake started moving her fingers, Ruby shivering as little giggles came from her mouth, hands reaching down and grabbing at Blake's wrists. "Please, no! It's true! It's true!"

Blake moved her fingers faster.

"Okay! Okay! I wanted you to carry me! Please, stop!"

Blake pulled back, Ruby immediately tucking into a ball and grabbing at her hips. Her breaths were uneven, face bright red as she glared at Blake. "I thought you were the cool one in the group! That wasn't cool!"

Blake smirked, rising and stretching slightly before holding out her hand. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here without the security guard finding out."

Ruby's face paled. "Wait, what?"

"The library's closed. We need to sneak out."

Ruby gulped as she stood, grabbing her scroll, her weapon, and quickly reattaching the skirt and shirt part of her combat skirt. She followed Blake out into the back, both looking outside to reveal that most of the lights were off, the place abandoned to Blake's night-vision.

"So, umm…how do we get out without getting spotted?"

"Follow my lead."

The two made their way toward the ladder, Blake going down first as Ruby rapidly followed. They made their way into the crawlspace, easily finding the spot they came in thanks to Yang's bike helmet.

Blake handed the helmet back to Ruby, said girl laying it in her hood as Blake gently pulled the books back, effortlessly rising from within and motioning for Ruby to do the same.

As Ruby went to move out, she stumbled a bit, Blake dashing forward to catch her before she could hit the ground.

Though, she couldn't stop the helmet from doing just that.

The two were frozen in place as the loud thud echoed across the building—a gunshot in the silent room. Blake scooped it up in seconds, pulling it over her head before shoving the book's back into place—barring the largest one. She looked around, eyes widening as she saw a security guard making his way toward them.

She lifted Ruby in a bridal carry, silently dashing across the building as the guard examined the area. She pulled Ruby's hood over her face before dashing out the front door, making her way through a few alleys before coming to a stop six blocks away from the building.

Blake leaned back against the nearby alley wall, panting slightly as she looked through the tinted visor of the helmet. Her eyes trailed down the alley, expecting guards or police to rush down at any second more out of habit than fear. Either we got out before they noticed or they fell for the book distraction. Need to be more careful about time.

She looked down, seeing Ruby gingerly pulling her hood back, eyes gazing at the blank visor. "Sorry…"

Blake sighed, pulling off the helmet and laying it in Ruby's lap, making her way toward the Beacon airships. She looked back at Ruby, a faint smile on her face. "It's fine, just don't let me stay over next time."

Ruby's eyes widened, a bright smile on her face. "Next time?"

Blake had a bad feeling she'd regret saying that.

"Yeah, next time."

Though, not bad enough to make her say no.

Ruby gave a little trill of joy, wrapping her arms around Blake and squeezing as tight as she could. "Thank you so much! I promise I won't almost get us caught again!"

Blake rolled her eyes, unable to hide the smile on her face. As much as she liked her time alone, reading with—or in this case to—someone else was…refreshing, in a weird way. Feeling Ruby laying on her, cuddling against her chest gave her a strange, fuzzy feeling. She wasn't sure what it was, but…she wouldn't lie, she quite liked it.

A similar feeling was in her as she carried Ruby toward the airship, showing no signs of putting her down. The girl was oddly warm, despite the chill in the evening air. It could've been her imagination, but Blake swore she could hear the girl's heartbeat. Steady, strong, unaffected by the world around it.

Much like the girl it belonged to, she supposed.

After about five minutes of walking, Ruby cleared her throat. "Uh…Blake? You can let me down now."

"Why?"

Ruby shrugged. "I mean, we're far enough away they won't come after us…"

Her face tinted red as she lowered her voice, holding up a hand to shield her mouth. "Plus people are starting to stare."

Blake looked up to see Ruby was right, the few people out on the street casting odd glances at the two. To their credit, it wasn't exactly something you'd normally see in Vale: A black-haired woman carrying a red-clad girl in a bridal carry—who held a yellow bike helmet and a rather large weapon, at that.

Blake looked down, a faint smirk on her face. "You wanted me to carry you, and I intend to."

Ruby slowly nodded, face tinting pink. "Okay, but, can you at least carry me on your back?"

"Why?"

Ruby moved her hands lower, squeezing her legs together and gesturing to her skirt.

Blake's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, right."

Blake shifted Ruby slightly, pulling her onto her back as Ruby pulled Yang's helmet back into her hood. She rested against Blake's back, staring ahead between the two parts of her bow. Her eyes flicked to the bow after a second, smiling as she saw Blake's ears twitch behind it.

Hard to see, but impossible to miss once you knew they were there. The little, black things twitched at every noise, exposing a small bit of pink felt on the inside each time they did so. Each time, Ruby resisted the urge to pull her hand back and scratch them.

After five minutes of walking, she slowly pulled her hand back, about to give in to the temptation.

"Touch my ears and I drop you."

Her hand shot back down, her face tinting red. "I can't help it—you've got such cute little kitty ears! Do they feel more like fur or hair? Are they sensitive? Do they—"

"Ruby!"

Ruby clamped her mouth shut as Blake turned to glare at her.

The older girl shook her head, letting out a sigh as she held up one finger. "Once. You can touch them once."

Ruby got the biggest smile she ever had. "Thank you!"

Her hand pulled back, slowly reaching down and pushing back her bow. She was gentle—more gentle than she was with even Zwei—gently scratching behind Blake's ear with one finger. Her fingers trailed along the soft, warm surface that indeed felt more like fur than hair.

Blake stopped in her tracks, eyes widening a bit.

"Oh, sorry! Am I hurting you?"

Blake took a few deep breaths before shaking her head. "Just…that's enough."

Ruby slowly nodded, leaning her head to Blake's side to ensure she was nowhere near her ears. Guilt dripped in her gut as her eyes trailed back to her ears. Please tell me I didn't hurt her! I don't know how sensitive faunus parts are! I mean for all I know I just did some irreparable damage!

Blake was thinking deeply as well…though, on very different grounds.

Her face was tinged a faint magenta in the light, her breathing slightly uneven. It's Ruby doing it. It's Ruby doing it. It's just Ruby. It isn't him…it isn't him, he's not here. He can't hurt me…dust she does it just like he did, though.

The two were silent for a few minutes, Blake at last bringing them to the airships. "Alright, we're here. Hop off."

Ruby did so, clutching Yang's helmet between white fingers as she stared down, a solemn expression on her face. She didn't speak as the two boarded the first airship, Blake taking a seat as Ruby took one a few down from her.

Blake took notice, turning to see Ruby still staring at Yang's helmet, unspilled tears gathering in her eyes. Her eyes widened a bit, concern flooding her features as she stood, walking to her. "Ruby?"

Ruby looked up, expression a strange cross between pleading and apologizing. "Did I hurt you?"

Blake stared for a moment, stunned into silence.

Ruby stood, concern flooding her features as well. "Blake? Are you okay?"

Blake nodded, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I just…it's been a long time since…I just…"

Ruby walked forward, wrapping her up in a hug. She looked up, silver eyes sparkling in the cabin's lighting. "You're not okay, are you? If I brought up something bad by touching your ears, just tell me—I swear I won't ever do it again! Just…" she took a breath. "I'm your friend, Blake. If you need to talk about something…I want you to know I'm here."

Blake looked away, biting the inside of her cheek as images flashed through her mind. A flash of red, a rough grasp at her hair—a ghostly finger trailing across her collar. "I'm…I'm not ready."

Ruby nodded, pulling Blake back toward her seat and sitting next to Yang's helmet. She leaned over, brushing her hair against Blake's chest. "I may not have kitty ears, but, if it helps…go ahead."

Blake chuckled, letting her hand rest on top of Ruby's head. "Sometimes I think Weiss is right about you."

"The insults or the rare compliments?"

"A bit of both."

Ruby frowned at her for a moment, only to smile once more as Blake ran her hand through her hair. Her eyes slipped shut as Blake's hand caressed her scalp, rubbing against her teammate almost unconsciously. See, this is the way Yang should do it! Nice and easy—no rough ruffling or nasty noogies!

Blake, meanwhile, simply stared down at the girl who'd—with a little nudge from her other hand—migrated into her lap. While Ruby had no faunus ears to speak of, her hair was just as soft as said appendages. Blake vaguely wondered what shampoo she used to get it to feel this way.

She leaned back slightly, letting her other arm encircle Ruby's shoulders as the younger girl wrapped her arms around her, nuzzling against her chest. Between the faint smile, the soft hair, and the content look on Ruby's face, Blake couldn't help herself.

Ruby's eyes opened when she heard a faint rumbling against her ear.

She looked up, seeing Blake's eyes closed, one hand still holding her close while the other continued to pet her head. Though, when she noticed a faint movement near her throat, Ruby bit back a gasp. Is she…purring?

Sure enough, when she leaned her head back against Blake's chest, she could feel the vibration growing stronger. Despite its gentleness, she could feel it flowing through her being, soothing her to her core. She smiled a bit wider, nuzzling against her chest once again.

Wonder if she'd mind if I just…yeah.

Ruby let Blake's purring and petting lull her to sleep.