Chapter 37

After heading to a restaurant off campus for lunch, Blake and Ruby returned to relax in Blake's room, snuggling up to read and browse random videos on their scrolls. It occurred to Ruby that they had not discussed their experiences under the influence. Ruby was more than a little troubled by her own, which dredged up her doubts, fears and flaws, throwing them in her face, and in the process leaving Ruby with a lot of formerly repressed guilt, bubbling beneath the surface of her mind like an upset stomach.

On top of that, Blake had clearly been on the way to a bad trip herself, at least at the outset, from which she had become incredibly possessive, in an almost primal fashion. The memory of her words, pleading to Weiss, Winter and Ruby, apologizing, begging them not to leave - she sounded so pained - made Ruby's eyes sting. These fears could become toxic if not brought into the open and properly discussed. Blake and Ruby needed to be honest with one another.

"What did you see?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm?" Blake perked up.

"In your trip." Ruby clarified. She felt Blake tense behind her.

"It...was...harsh." Blake sighed and put her book down.

Ruby moved to straddle Blake, meeting her troubled gaze. "Do you wanna' talk about it?"

Blake swallowed, drawing strength from Ruby's care. She nodded, linking their hands together. "A...a monster, collared me...chained me to a stake...it gloated, threatened the people I love. You, Weiss, Winter, even Summer, Yang and Pyrrha, anyone I considered family." Blake choked, words thick with emotion. Ruby leaned in, bumping their heads together, nuzzling her mate in a show of comfort. It worked. Blake found the strength to continue. "It said I was worthless, that I would lose everything and everyone I cared for, because I don't deserve to happy or be loved, that I was fated to be abandoned along with the scum of the world...and then I saw you, and Weiss and Winter, in the distance."

Blake shook, clutching Ruby's hands like valuable lifelines. Ruby planted sweet kisses across her cheeks, tears disappearing beneath her lips. "I called out, struggled, but you all turned away." Blake continued. "The chains sunk into my skin, pulling me down into the ground. It was so cold, and it hurt so much. The monster said I was a liar, that I deserved my fate...I'm sorry Ruby, I'm so sorry, I don't wanna' lie, the truth just hurts, it hurts so much!" Blake collapsed, burying her face in Ruby's shoulder and wrapping her in a desperate embrace, sobbing.

All Ruby could do was hold her, squeezing her tight, letting her own tears soak into Blake's shirt, as she had many times before. "I know it does Blakey. I'm not gonna' force you, I'm never gonna' force you. When you're ready, if you're ready, you'll tell me, but not a minute before, okay? I'll never force you."

Blake nodded into Ruby's neck, sniffling, clinging ever closer. Still, she seemed to calm, if only a little. "Then you turned back, took Weiss and Winter's hands, dragging them to their senses. The chains faded away when you arrived, you were saying all these beautiful things and all I could think about was how much I wanted you in that moment...I might have gotten a little carried away." She managed a chuckle. Though muffled and teary, it was progress.

"I didn't mind." Ruby soothed. "I had a cute kitty person smooching me. It was awesome!"

"Soft kitty." Blake remembered.

"You had fur and whiskers, and your tongue felt rougher than normal, I loved it!" Ruby cheered.

"So you want me to be a real cat-woman?" Blake smirked.

"You were really cute." Ruby blushed.

Blake giggled, pulling Ruby into a gentle, loving kiss. "What else did you see?" Blake asked. Ruby let out a deep exhale, falling back onto the bed. Blake laughed. "That bad huh?"

"Not really bad." Ruby shrugged. "Just...interesting, and revealing, and a little...Blake...how do you feel about Yang?"

Blake tilted her head, intrigued. "She's a lovely woman, whom I enjoyed being around, and given more time together, could be as close to me as you are to her."

Ruby bit her lip, staring up at the ceiling. "I saw the Maidens, Spring wearing Nora's face, Summer wearing Yang's, Fall wearing Pyrrha's. Spring told me not to worry about death, for new life always followed. Summer and Fall made me feel more comfortable, called me beautiful, I didn't feel beautiful looking at them...I never have. Yang and Pyrrha really are goddesses Blake, I feel so plain and small beside them."

Blake moved to lay her head on Ruby's stomach, feeling her mate's fingers slide into her hair, gently massaging her ears. "You're beautiful in your own unique way Ruby. Yang is...buxom, she glows in the sunlight. Pyrrha is carved from marble, firm and strong. You...you're comely, soft, gentle, impossible sweet, and your eyes...they should write songs about your eyes." Blake felt Ruby's fingers hit the perfect spot at the base of her ears. She could not suppress a purr, not that she wanted to.

"I love you Blakey, you make me tall." Ruby declared.

"I don't mind being your footstool." Blake joked.

"I thought that was my fetish." Ruby grinned, giggling.

"Eh, I've lost track." Blake chuckled.

"I could write a list." Ruby offered.

"Just get back to the story Ruby." Blake insisted.

"Right...well, the Winter Maiden showed up, but she was different." Ruby continued. "She was nude and wearing Weiss' face but was all...angry, sick and rough, like she'd gone through hell. Then she started talking about my fears, all the bad things that have happened, what I'm afraid will happen in the future, and how I've never been good at handling them. How whenever something goes wrong I just...hide, break down, rely on others to help me, especially Yang."

Ruby's fingers almost stilled, gently tracing the edge of one ear. Blake felt Ruby take a shaky breath. "We've been through a lot together." Ruby went on. "When dad left, it was hard for all of us, for a while Yang sorta' became a second mother to me. Mum wasn't in a good place, Raven and Glynda helped when they could, Yang and I just tried to get through it...we could always count on each other...even...Blakey, I know I'm into some pretty weird stuff, but something happened, something kinda' big, and I've never told anyone before because it was kinda' an accident and we didn't want anyone to think less of us."

Blake reached up to grasp Ruby's hands in her own, pulling them down to rest on her collar. "I could never think less of you Ruby."

Ruby squeezed, taking a deep breath. "You know Nora and Yang used to date right?"

"Hmm." Blake hummed in confirmation.

"Well, it was...a test, kinda'." Ruby explained. "Ren and Nora, they'd only ever been with each other, they wanted to be sure they were right. Most couples go on a break sometimes, they have troubles, meet other people. But they never did, so they decided to do it on purpose. Ren asked Pyrrha out, and Nora asked Yang. They'd been best friends for years, Nora felt they would work best. And they did, for the most part. They got up to a lot of crazy stuff together, some of it too crazy, but they loved each other, they were happy...it's just that Nora and Ren, they were pretty much destined to be together. As much as Nora loved Yang, she loved Ren more, and eventually that got to be too much for them. Yang wanted Nora to be as happy as she could be, even if it meant breaking up. I did my best to make Yang feel better. She tried to hide how much it hurt, started hanging out with Pyrrha a lot, drinking and coming home late. We got a little distant, it hurt...and then Penny moved away. That hurt more."

"You don't talk about Penny much." Blake observed.

Ruby shrugged. "You never asked, and it's kinda' rude to talk about an ex around your new girlfriend."

"I don't mind." Blake noted. "You speak fondly of her, so I assume she treated you well."

"She did, she really did." Ruby sighed. "We shared all our firsts, and before that we were pretty much the only friends we had our age...but then out of nowhere her father got some big career opportunity and had to move, and a week later Penny was gone. They moved here actually, something to do with the military. Penny didn't know, we didn't care, she was leaving and we hated it."

"You didn't keep in touch?" Blake asked. She felt Ruby's hands clench in her own.

"We...we decided to make a clean break." Ruby replied. "We thought it would be easier. We could cherish the memories we had, but move on without any doubts...stupid. We were stupid, and it hurt more than anything that she was gone, and Yang was still in pain and I didn't want to vent to mum or Raven...I took a page out of Yang's book. She came home one night to find me half-drunk in my room."

"You got drunk?" Blake gasped.

"I only had some wine...mum was spending the night with Raven and Glynda, I had the house to myself so I just...tried to make the pain go away." Ruby explained. "I had sad music on, so Yang came to check on me, and I just lost it. I was angry, at Penny for leaving, at myself for letting her go so easily, and at Yang, for not being there when I needed her."

"That's...harsh." Blake managed.

"I was terrible." Ruby groaned. "Yang didn't deserve it, but I was drunk and angry, and Yang was drunk and sad. Then I was drunk and sad, then we were drunk and hugging and crying a-and...then we were drunk...and kissing." Ruby tensed, sensing Blake's ears twitch, standing on end.

"Kissing you say?" Blake asked.

"Yeah…" Ruby admitted.

"And?" Blake pressed.

"W-Well, kissing turned into making out, making out turned into petting...and...well...we...we banged, Yang and I banged." Ruby blurted out. "I had sex with my sister."

"Hot." Blake declared.

"What?!" Ruby spluttered.

"Hot." Blake repeated. "Yang's hot, you're hot, you two together is hot. I don't see the big deal."

"I'm tripping again." Ruby deadpanned.

"Ruby, I live with two, very attractive sisters." Blake noted. "You don't think my fantasies have strayed a few times?"

"It's just...the whole incest thing is a really big taboo, and I really do love Yang and I love you and I'm with you, and we've always been afraid that if people find out everyone will hate us." Ruby rambled. "It's stupid and scary and-"

"Ruby." Blake flipped over, crawling atop her mate to claim a kiss, and stare into those silver eyes she so adored. "Thank you for trusting me." Tears welled in those eyes.

"Blakey." Ruby sniffed.

"Your relationship with Yang is beautiful to me." Blake declared. "I don't care what the world might think, I don't judge you. I love you, no matter who you've been with...just, if you've got any other surprise bangs, tell me?"

"No." Ruby giggled. "My sex life has been pretty boring, aside from the BDSM and incest. What about you?"

Blake's smirk twitched. "Just the harem, but I got bored when they started wearing tail plugs and ear headbands."

"Aw, but that was gonna' be your birthday present." Ruby pouted.

"I won't object my love." Blake grinned. "You would look adorable with a tail."

"Reow." Ruby faux growled.

Blake giggled before kissing Ruby again, flopping to the side and nuzzling into Ruby's arms. "So what happened next?"

"Well, we woke up the next morning and...well we agreed it was fun, but we should probably never do it again." Ruby answered. "On the upside, it did kinda' help. Everything didn't seem so bad afterwards, for either of us."

"I meant your trip, Ruby." Blake chuckled.

"Ah, oh, right." Ruby sighed. "The Winter Maiden was yelling at me, asking what would happen if everyone found out, and I kinda' snapped back and yelled a bunch, and I think I impressed her or something because she stopped and sort of...shattered. Like, all the bad skin cracked and fell off, and the bad hair floated away, and she was just normal looking, naked Weiss, and she said I did good. Then all the Maidens told me to help you...and...well, that was the trip."

"Why was Weiss the naked one?" Blake asked.

"Probably because she's the only one I haven't seen naked." Ruby surmised.

"You've seen Pyrrha naked?" Blake's eyebrows shot upward.

"Yeah!" Ruby exclaimed. "It was kinda' cute. She didn't know what to get Ren for his birthday, so she asked if I could paint her in a way that made her look beautiful."

"But she's always beautiful." Blake noted.

"That's what I said!" Ruby cheered. "She got so flustered."

"Please tell me you have a copy somewhere." Blake beseeched.

"Maaaaaaybe." Ruby teased. "But you have to ask Pyrrha first."

"Pass me the phone." Blake demanded.

"Oh God." Ruby groaned.

Blake reached as Ruby did her best to play keep-away. "Gimmie!"

Fresh from a trip to the gym showers, Yang strolled into the break room, a towel draped over her shoulders to keep her still wet hair from dampening her clean tank top. Pyrrha was already there, tying her shoes after having changed her clothes. "Ready to go?" Yang asked. "I'm all done."

"Yep." Pyrrha nodded. Just then both her and Yang's scrolls buzzed.

Pulling out their scrolls, they found a group message from Nora. [Mistrali! Vale! Now!]

"Do you have any idea what she's talking about?" Pyrrha asked.

"Not a clue." Yang shook her head.

Ren arrived just in time to clarify. "You got Nora's text?" He asked, appearing in the doorway.

"What does it mean?" Yang asked.

"She wants to go to that Mistrali restaurant in Vale the two of you visited for the Solstice Festival." Ren replied. "Apparently she's been craving it."

"We went once, years ago." Yang noted. "How can she crave it?"

"You know Nora...throw in pregnancy…" Ren trailed off.

"She's completely nuts, got it." Yang chuckled. "Pyr, you game?"

"I'd love to go." Pyrrha agreed. "Will Jaune be coming as well?"

"Probably." Ren replied. "We may as well turn it into a shopping trip too. No sense going all the way there just to eat."

"Alright, Yang and I will head home to change." Pyrrha declared. "Do you want us to pick you up?"

"No, I'll drive." Ren answered. "I'll pick up Nora and Jaune, then swing by the house."

"Sounds good." Pyrrha smiled. Ren nodded and ducked out, no doubt heading home. "So, how's the food there?"

"Mediocre at best." Yang admitted. "I'm honestly surprised they're still in business. Why Nora would want to eat there is a mystery to me."

Pyrrha sighed. "Good thing I ate a big lunch."

"Being pregnant is such a drag." Nora complained. She shoveled another forkful of food into her mouth, swallowing almost without chewing. "God, thish food tastes so good." She said with her mouth still partly full. With one more big gulp she emptied it. "I know this stuff is awful, low-quality, unhealthy garbage, but I just can't help myself."

Nora took in another forkful and was about to speak, but Ren stepped in. "Take it easy." He advised. Nora pouted but obeyed, chewing thoroughly.

"At least the end result should be awesome." Yang encouraged. "Your own kid, getting married to your soul mate."

"Yeah, but it sucks." Nora whined. "My boobs are swollen and sore. I needed to get new bras because my old ones don't fit anymore. My back always hurts, my ankles hurt, it's hard to sleep. It's a good thing Ren is so good at massages or I'd go nuts!"

"He is quite talented." Pyrrha agreed. "When we were dating I pulled a muscle in my side, and it was like his hands sucked the pain out."

"The offer for a foursome is still on the table!" Nora cheered. "Ooh, no, fivesome! Right Jauney?" She elbowed Jaune, who had been eating slowly and silently. He just gave a half-hearted laugh and returned to his food.

"I don't think I'm ready just yet." Pyrrha refused. "Yang and I still need to work out a few of the one-on-one kinks before we complicate things."

"Well, if kinks are the issue, Yang is going to be a problem." Nora joked.

"Says the person who asked me to use her boobs as punching bags, and got off on it." Yang countered.

"Pfft, hey Ren, does Pyrrha have any weird kinks?" Nora asked.

"None of which I'm aware." Ren replied.

"I'm very vanilla." Pyrrha added.

"There has to be something." Nora insisted.

"I haven't even come up with anything weird." Yang admitted.

"Not even butt stuff?" Nora pressed.

"We tried once, but her anus is like a fortress." Ren deadpanned. Pyrrha nearly spit out her food. Jaune barely raised an eyebrow.

"So, we know Ren like dressing up like a lady, what about Jaune?" Yang asked. "You into anything strange?"

"Not really, just a normal bisexual." Jaune sighed. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Please." Pyrrha seconded.

"Fine." Yang huffed. "So have you guys decided on a name yet?"

"We're down to a short list." Nora replied.

"It has 37 options." Ren noted.

"Well, do you know the gender?" Pyrrha asked.

"We do, but it's a secret!" Nora squealed.

"It's a girl." Jaune rolled his eyes.

"But...how...we didn't even tell you?" Nora struggled.

"I took you to your last ultrasound." Jaune reminded him. "In the car on the way home you kept suggesting names, all female."

"Oh...whoops." Nora giggled.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Jaune asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"We just wanted it to be a surprise for everyone." Nora answered. "Sorry if-"

"It's okay." Jaune cut her off. "Let's just finish eating already."

"Well...congratulations?" Yang said. "Hmm...how about you name her after me?"

"Not a chance." Nora shook her head. "I'm not naming my kid after anyone I've banged."

"Then name her after me." Pyrrha suggested.

"That fivesome is happening." Nora declared. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it's happening. Anyway, I don't really want to name her after someone. I want it to be a unique name. Hmm...maybe something Mistrali."

"You're just saying that because of the food." Yang smirked.

Nora shrugged. "Probably."