Blake sighed softly from where she perched by the window in Pyrrha's room. She stared out the glass, for all the good it did her. She could perhaps make out the end of the yard, even with her enhanced vision, but everything else was obscured by the downpour currently underway.

And then, in the blink of an eye, the deluge intensified further, and she could no longer see anything past the window pane.

"Well, I don't see this letting up anytime soon," she murmured.

The Cat Faunus turned her head with a slight smile as she heard Ruby's happy chatter approaching up the stairs. The brunette was deep into one of her favorite topics, weapon enhancements, though this time she was expounding on all of the creative upgrades possible for Pyrrha's shield. The redhead had apologized earlier at not having any games or the like to entertain them, but they were all content enough to simply lounge together in her bedroom and watch movies during the inclement weather.

"...And if you add just a small compartment inside, you could trigger it, and then boom!" As the petite girl came through the room, she flung her arms upwards, narrowly missing the tray of hot cocoa that Pyrrha was carrying. Fortunately, the leggy redhead was well versed in her girlfriend's antics by now and deftly dodged the flailing about. "Next time it gets hit, they'll eat a faceful of red dust!"

"But Ruby, what would prevent me from being affected as well?" Pyrrha asked with an indulgent smile. She set the tray down on top of her desk, giving Blake a wink.

"Well, we'd have to reinforce it somewhat," the brunette replied, her brow furrowed in concentration. Ruby's fingers flexed slightly, as if she were aching for a pencil and draft paper to start designing upon. "Maybe increase the circumference?"

"And then what would happen when she throws Akouo?" Blake asked gently, before giving Pyrrha a quick kiss in thanks for the steaming mug.

"Oh," the brunette said, momentarily perplexed. "Um… bigger boom?"

"I appreciate the thought, little rose," Pyrrha laughed gently, leaning over to give her a kiss on the crown of her red-tipped crown of hair. "But I do not need my weapons to spontaneously explode on me. It sort of defeats the purpose of my fighting style."

"Oh, well," Ruby sighed, downcast. She stared into the depths of her hot chocolate as if for inspiration. "What about… Ohhh, got it!" The brunette hopped excitedly onto Pyrrha's bed to sit cross-legged, miraculously not spilling a drop. "How about a caliber upgrade for Milo? Make it hit harder?"

"That does sound grand," Pyrrha replied easily as she folded herself down next to her. "The kickback is relatively gentle right now, I could certainly handle more… But I have to ask, though, why the sudden concern regarding my weaponry?"

"Well, you know…" Ruby shifted uncomfortably before taking a sip of her drink. Her eyes watered slightly as her tongue scalded. "You got a birthday coming up soon, right?"

Blake smiled as she gracefully dropped down to her feet and sauntered over to the bed. She let her fingers trail along Ruby's arm as she moved around her to sit on the other side. "I suspect there is more to it than that…" the Cat Faunus murmured.

"Ruby…" the redhead prompted warmly when it didn't seem as if the reluctant brunette would be forthcoming. "Please talk to us, something is obviously bothering you."

"I just…" Ruby sighed, staring out the window, and swallowed. "I had this really… weird… dream last night…" Blake watched the silver-eyed girl's fingers tighten around her mug, the liquid rippling. "I guess it was more like a nightmare, really," she finally whispered.

Pyrrha and Blake shared a quick glance, and as one they placed their mugs on the endtable closest to them before wrapping their diminutive girlfriend up in a warm hug. "Do you want to talk about it?" Blake murmured.

To her surprise, Ruby actually began trembling, her breath hitching slightly. Pyrrha reached across to pluck the mug out of the brunette's hands and place it next to hers, returning her arm to rub gently on the smaller girl's back.

I've never seen a dream affect her like this, not while still awake, Blake thought to herself worriedly.

Ruby sniffed slightly before she began, her voice so quiet and withdrawn that the redhead had to duck her head slightly to hear.

"We were all fighting something… well, lots of things, Grimm and White Fang and… other stuff. And we all got split up… And P- Pyrrha, you were all a- alone, and…" Her breath hitched as she choked back a sob. "And I tried to g- get to you, but I was t- too late…"

"Shhh," Pyrrha murmured, rocking back and forth in time with Blake as the two girls tried to console their distraught girlfriend. "It's okay, little rose, I'm right here…"

"I don't wanna lose you, Pyrrha," Ruby whispered desperately. "You or Blakey, I don't ever wanna lose you guys, I don't… I don't know what I'd do if… if…"

Blake rested her chin on the top of Ruby's head, her cheek pressed against Pyrrha's forehead as they encircled the brunette in their love. She wondered how she could possibly reassure her, when the profession they were training for was so inherently dangerous.

Finally Ruby's trembling stopped, and she let out a shaky breath. "I don't… I feel really bad to ask… Can you guys promise me something?"

"What is it, little rose?" Pyrrha asked gently.

Ruby sat up, and both of the others leaned away though still keeping their arms around them all.

"Please…" Ruby murmured, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. "Please don't ever throw your lives away, okay? I mean… Together we can handle anything, right?"

"Absolutely," Blake replied firmly, giving the both of them a squeeze. "I have no intention of losing what we three have together."

Pyrrha nodded firmly. "I would never willingly leave the two of you," she stated with conviction. "I love you far too much to ever do that to you."

"Okay," Ruby sighed, her eyes closed as she nodded slowly. "Okay. Thanks, guys." She wiggled her way free of their embrace, wiping her face with the shoulder of her short sleeved shirt. "Um, I'm gonna go wash up real quick, alright?"

Blake watched her go, letting out a soft sigh of her own. "That must have been some nightmare," she whispered sadly.

"Indeed," Pyrrha murmured. She shifted over to wrap her arms around Blake, resting her head upon the Cat Faunus' shoulder. "I suppose I can understand her fears, though."

"Yes," Blake murmured. "I, for one, can recognize from my past actions, how reckless I might have become without the two of you."

"And I suppose I might have, were the circumstances to present themselves, felt the need to…" Pyrrha paused, searching for the right word. "...sacrifice myself for the greater good."

"But not now?" the raven-haired girl probed.

"No," Pyrrha shook her head gently. "You both are my greater good. I would do so in a heartbeat to protect either of you, but Ruby was correct. Together, the three of us can handle anything that comes our way."

Blake smiled, nuzzling her cheek against Pyrrha's hair and smelling her shared scent of lavender. "I agree."

They sat like that for a few minutes, waiting for Ruby to return.

And then, with a loud crack of thunder, the lights went out.

"Fuckwaffles!" they heard squawked from the hallway, before a loud thump sounded against the door, followed by, "...Ow."

Blake giggled lightly, giving Pyrrha's hand a squeeze. "Sit tight, I'll go retrieve her."

Her eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, the very dim light from the window enough to illuminate her way. She opened the door carefully so as not to bump into Ruby.

Who was currently sitting on the ground and rubbing her head irritably.

"Oh, hey Blakey," the brunette murmured as Blake crouched next to her and grasped her arm gently. "Um… I tripped."

"We heard," Blake chuckled. "Come on, let's get you to the bed."

The Cat Faunus helped her over, settling both Ruby and Pyrrha together. She then took off after getting directions as to where candles and matches might be. Pyrrha's parents were still at work, and likely due much later if the rain did not let up anytime soon.

She returned soon enough with several bulky candles and proceed to place them around the room, lighting them as she went. She placed one on each endtable before curling up next to where Ruby and Pyrrha snuggled together.

"So, it would appear movies are out," Blake murmured. "Unless we want to watch from one of our scrolls?"

"Actually," Ruby interjected, blushing lightly. "I was wondering if… um… Could you read to us, kitty cat?" she finally blurted out bashfully.

"Really?" she replied, somewhat taken aback.

"Oh, that would be grand," Pyrrha quickly agreed with a wide smile. "I do enjoy listening to your voice, love."

"Oh." Blake blinked uncertainly, gazing across at the silver and emerald green eyes looking back at her with warm certainty. The both of them gave her eager nods. "Well, alright then."

She retrieved one of her favorite books from her luggage and then ensconced herself in between her girlfriends, the three of them resting with their backs to Pyrrha's headboard, propped up on several pillows. Blake opened the book up to the first page, glancing down at the long red hair spilling out on her right, and the short red-tipped hair resting against her left shoulder.

She was momentarily struck speechless by the overwhelming love she felt for the both of them. Any uncertainly of her feelings for them, of their future together, had long since been banished, but it was further cemented in her mind how utterly complete her life now was.

Soon, she thought to herself firmly. When we return to Beacon, perhaps… That's when I will sit down with them and talk about Mating. Because I want nothing more than to be bound, permanently and evermore, to these two wonderful, incredible women.

"Anything wrong, kitty cat?" Ruby murmured inquisitively.

Blake smiled, pressing her lips against first Ruby's forehead, and then Pyrrha's. "Absolutely nothing at all," she sighed happily.

Her amber eyes focused on the book in front of her as she began to read.

"Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much…"

A/N: What prompted the bit about Ruby's nightmare was that I finally got to listen to the Season 3 soundtrack on Youtube ('cause fuck iTunes), and I got to Cold… and bawled my eyes out. Fuck that, there's no way I'm losing Pyrrha in my 'verse in any of my stories. Ain't happening. Take that, RT. (Though she's still gonna have a rough time of it in Ember Legacy… shhh, spoilers…) That said, the soundtrack overall is brilliant.

Fuckwaffles is one of my new favorite curses, all credit goes to the fabulous NobleMETA. And I'm sure everyone can guess what Blake's favorite book series is. I can see her relating somewhat to it. Next chapter brings Mistral to a close!

So it would seem that FF is screwing up with the reviews again, none of mine from the latter part of last week are showing up on the site. I get the email notifications, though, so I can at least thank you for leaving them, even if I cannot respond to them yet. Boombox94, nytestorms, DeamonHunter, l OmegaInfinity l (my fellow Faunus-lovin' buddy), Gorsouul, ExKage, Demonic Angel C, ILikeHotDogs, MakaS0ul, kaiju62 (in my best Edna Mode voice: NO PLOTS!), THB4, Jack Inqu, Reaper Whisper, Imagine Exorcist, Marauderby ( :3 ), SamuraiShippo, DschingisKhan, Guest21 (sorry, no, that's a little too crackship even for me, and I despise Cinder). Anyways, love you all!

Stay shiny!