Ruby was completely and utterly exhausted by the time that she arrived home in Vale. She had just been on a mission to Kynareth's Bounty to remove an infestation of some gigantic eight-legged wildlife. Wildlife with far too many eyes to be comfortable around, and spins enough webbing to thoroughly tangle her hair in sticky strings.

Ordinarily, she would have turned down such a mission or given it to another member of the Fighters' Guild that was present on that planet. But the farming consortium on that planet had insisted that they had asked for assistance before, to no avail; and when Ruby checked the guildmember rosters, every last one of the Guild members there had been booked solid for the next two months.

And for good reason. With the Reaper War having concluded just two weeks ago, the Legion's ranks were severely depleted. Ruby frowned as she recalled when the hastily-formed Remnant First Legion was drafted in to fight for the Empire. No, for the right of the entire galaxy to survive. Men and women, young and old; man, elf, beastfolk or faunus, they were all conscripted into the Legion. Almost a third of the population of the Empire had been pressed into the military to fight for all that was right. Those who were able to fight were directed to the front lines; teenaged boys and girls, barely old enough to join a Huntsman Academy (or the Fighters' Guild) were sent to assist with scouting, being small enough and fast enough to sneak around where adults could not. Old veterans of previous wars were recalled to service, performing police duties so that more able-bodied troops could be sent forward. Ruby and Weiss, being the heads of Remnant's local chapters of the Fighters' Guild and the Mages' Guild respectively, had thankfully been spared from the call to arms.

Of those that went, however, only a very small fraction of them ever returned. Many of them glassy-eyed and twitchy, having seen things that no living person should ever have to see. They were, of course, only still trickling in. From what rumours she had heard, the destruction of the Reapers had caused the Mass Relays – the devices enabling faster-than-light travel across the galaxy – to simultaneously explode.

At first Ruby scoffed at the news, thinking that it was some sort of elaborate joke played by those coming back. But when the Elder Council and the Imperial Senate announced that Valeria would be absent for the better part of the next five years to fix galactic traffic issues, it was clear that was certainly not the case.

Empress-Consort Serana Volkihar-Septim would be acting regent during this time, and that declaration drew some raised eyebrows from everyone that had heard the news on Remnant.

That alone meant that something serious had really happened out there to those Relays, at least, and Valeria was forced for the time being to help repair the damage. Or, more likely, create an alternative, as Ruby knew just how technologically inept she actually was when it came to anything that wasn't possible to manipulate through magicka.

"Auntie Ruby!" squealed numerous high-pitched voices, followed by the stamping of dozens of tiny feet. A horde of little children tumbled out of a side room, with a few attendants hurriedly chasing after them. She smiled and knelt down, before they all bowled her over with hugs.

Almost all of them were children whose parents had been conscripted into the Legion. Khajiit, elf, man, or faunus, there was at least one of each in the gaggle of tiny children. After Valeria had left the Imperial City to coordinate the Legion's effort, Serana had invoked an ancient law to ensure that the children of those who fought would be looked after. Namely, communal upbringing, as invoked after the Oblivion Crisis. Ruby was only too happy to collect as many as Weiss would allow her to.

"Ysmir, you've gotten a lot bigger since I've last seen you. And Gortwog, you haven't been taking too many cookies out of my cookie jar, have you...?" she cooed, giving the children in question a gentle rub on their head. "J'Rakha, have you been minding these two?"

"This one has been making sure they haven't been in trouble..." purred the giant Khajiit kitten with a wry grin. No sooner had Ruby returned that smile with her own, the Khajiit added, "...too much,"

Ruby's smile gave way to a horror. "They didn't smash any of Auntie Weiss' expensive glassware, did they?"

"No. But this one must admit that the cookie jar is...empty,"

Empty. Cookie jar. Ruby's brain immediately froze. "Empty? EMPTY!?" she yelped loudly, jumping up and zooming off to the kitchen. Sure enough, there was the porcelain cookie jar, crumbs scattered all over the tabletop in front of it. She picked it up and upended it, causing a single ant carrying the last crumbs to fall out. "Nooooo! I waited all week for this moment. Goodbye, my delicious treats..."

"Look what you did, you made Auntie Ruby sad," chimed one of them, echoed by a chorus of agreements from the rest of the kids. Knowing that Gortwog had a temper almost matching Yang's own, Ruby quickly looked up and forced a smile to her lips. Breaking up a fight between kids was definitely not high on her list of things to do that day.

"That's uh...okay...I guess I can always make some more," she sniffed, glancing around to see if there were supplies still left over. A frost-enchanted rack still had several blocks of butter on it. A bag of sugar sat in the corner of the walk-in pantry, and she was certain that the carton of eggs on the marble countertop still had an egg or two in it. "Yeah. I'll make some more. Anyone want to help me?"

"Ooh, me!" a little cat Faunus girl cried out, waving a hand in the air. Several others also waved their hands in the air, bouncing up and down on the balls of their feet as they tried to get Ruby's attention.

"Alright, alright. Sable, you can help me today. And...uh...geez, that's too many of you. Alright, J'Rakha, could you take the others down to the living room? I'll get this batch of cookies done in no time. You can all have one,"

"But this one wanted to help today," J'Rakha whined, her ears drooping.

"You can have a moonsugar biscuit if you'll be a good girl and keep the others out of trouble-"

No sooner had Ruby mentioned the moonsugar biscuit than J'Rakha jumped up and began to herd the protesting horde of little kids to the living room. Well, all except the cat Faunus girl that she had singled out before.

"Well, that never fails," giggled Ruby.

"But you're like that when Auntie Weiss holds up a cookie too," Sable pointed out with a cheeky grin on her face.

"I guess I do, don't I?" Ruby replied, blushing slightly. She picked up the little girl and put her up on a barstool near the counter. "Okay. So let's get started. I need you to measure out three cups of sugar and three cups of flour. I'm going to beat the eggs while you do that,"

"Okay,"

Ruby used her Semblance to beat the eggs very, very quickly to a white foam, while Sable reached into the bag of sugar with a measuring cup. "And here's the flour," Ruby called out, sliding the bag of flour across the countertop where her tiny assistant could catch it. Between the two of them, the cookie dough was mixed in just a few minutes and was quickly cut to circles and placed on a tray.

"You did really well, Sable," Ruby praised the little cat Faunus, noting happily how little sugar and flour she had spilled. Tapping her finger on her chin, however, Ruby muttered, "It's still missing something, though,"

"Chocolate!" Sable cried out happily, waving a bag of chocolate chips that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Ruby gasped, her eyes wide. The very first thing that Weiss had done when they had moved into their home was to put an enchantment on the front door that would literally erase chocolate from existence if someone attempted to bring some through. And so far, she had not been able to find any way of getting around it. Magic resistant boxes, hidden pockets, lead crates, steel capsules. She had even tried bribing one of Weiss' apprentices to try and bring some through under the guise of alchemical ingredients. Not a single method worked; the chocolate simply vanished the moment it even so much as moved an inch past the doorway.

"H-how?" stammered Ruby, reaching into the bag of chocolate and taking a chocolate chip. She looked at it under the light; it was definitely the normal rich, glossy dark brown that she normally associated with high-quality chocolate. A tentative lick, and she let out a truly blissful moan. It had been months since she had even gotten her hands on any chocolate. The fact that this was some truly delicious chocolate – perfectly tempered, with an even, crisp snap, smooth texture and taste-

"Auntie Ruby, you're going to finish the whole bag," Sable pouted, pulling the bag away from Ruby. One lick had turned into two, and she had shovelled an entire fistful into her mouth before she realised what had happened.

"Ahem,"

Ruby paled as she heard that voice.

There was Weiss in the threshold of the kitchen with a disappointed scowl on her face. Her eyes were locked on Ruby's chocolate-stained fingers – and then to a decidedly guilty Sable, who tried vainly to hide the bag of chocolate chips.

"Um...sorry?"

"A 'sorry' isn't going to work," Weiss snarled, marching up to Ruby and plucking a chocolate chip stuck to her cheek. "You've arrived home for the first time in a week, and the first thing you do is to...bake some cookies? Have you no idea how worried I was, when you didn't write or call me for the whole time?"

"Wait, so you're not mad about the chocolate?"

If it was even possible, Weiss' thin lips grew even thinner. She gave Sable an apologetic glance before seizing Ruby by her ear and dragging her out of the kitchen, ranting about priorities all the while.

"Auntie Weiss is scary when she's upset," muttered Sable. The little cat Faunus jumped when she heard the oven beep loudly; she scurried off and opened it, sliding in the tray of unbaked cookies. No sooner had she done that than she heard a loud whump from somewhere inside the kitchen, and the faint sound of rushing air coming past her ears. A portal!

"Well, that was certainly amusing!" cackled an raspy voice. "Who would have thought that chocolate would have made for such a fine prank? Wait – that would be...ME!"

Sable's ears pricked up, and her eyes lit up with glee. She spun around and leapt into the waiting arms of an gigantic white Khajiit, who was all too familiar to the little cat faunus.

"Auntie Ra'shamarra!" Sable cried out happily as the ancient Khajiit purred and nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "Is mum back yet? You keep saying that she'll be back, but she's not back yet,"

"Well, my miserly daughter did say that your mother had to wait her turn when it came to coming back home. Which was to say, her position in the queue was...something in the high billions?" replied Ra'shamarra, setting Sable down. "But I say, to Oblivion with that! Quite literally, I might add. Your mother's in my realm, getting an express ticket back home. As is your other mother!"

"So they're back!?"

"It really depends on what you mean by that, little munchkin. Malacath would be proud of the ashpit that the other humans called Earth. And I say that neither of your parents are Malacath's followers! So I took them back from there,"

"Auntie..."

"Oh, don't give me that kicked puppy look. Yes, yes, your parents are back,"

"Really? But...where are they?"

"Right here, sweetheart," Blake murmured exhaustedly, limping in through the same portal that Ra'shamarra had used. Yang walked in closely behind her, steadying her wife as the two walked into Ruby and Weiss' kitchen. Sable cried out in delight and zoomed past Ra'shamarra, very nearly knocking Blake off her feet when the little cat faunus tackled her around the midriff. "Wow. You really have grown since I last saw you,"

Sable simply purred contentedly in response.

"Has Ruby been taking good care of you? And Weiss?"

Another purr.

"Good to know. Uh...why do I smell cookies on you? Don't tell me that Ruby's been...feeding you...cookies..."

"Mmmph! Cookies are tasty. Cookies and milk too!" replied Sable.

Blake's jaw dropped in horror. "You mean she actually only fed you cookies?!"

"Yep!"

Blake's horrified expression grew. "For the last six years?!"

"...But Auntie Weiss makes me eat my veggies,"

She let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay. Okay. That's better. I'll have to thank Weiss later,"

Yang, unable to contain herself any longer, broke into giggles and ruffled Sable's hair. "Now that's just cruel. You know mummy likes eating healthy things. Like fish!"

Which was, apparently, the wrong thing to say, as the three feline females in the room immediately turned to face her, drooling. "Fish!?" all three of them exclaimed, stars in their eyes. Blake's stomach rumbled loudly – and so did Sable's, followed by a truly earth-shaking tremor from Ra'shamarra. "You're paying, right?" Blake grinned, licking her lips.

Yang reached into her pockets – and pulled up wads of lint. "Yeah. Sure, if we're going to a place that accepts dust as payment," she groaned, "Come to think of it, we haven't collected our pay, have we?"

Blake shook her head. "Well, maybe we could borrow some money from Weiss or Ruby for the time being," she suggested, eyeing the tray of cookies in the oven longingly, "Ohh, that really smells delicious now,"

"Careful now, Ruby might get jealous if she heard that," chuckled Yang.

"I'll take that risk. I mean, when was the last time we even had cooked food? I can't remember what anything tastes like except...tasteless protein paste,"

"Good point. Sable, where's Auntie Ruby? Or Auntie Weiss? Could you get them for us?"

The little child nodded and scurried out of the kitchen to find Ruby and Weiss. "Well now. If a grilled fish isn't going to come around anytime soon, I think I'm going to be mad. And I'm a madgod! You really don't want to see what a madgod does when she's mad," exclaimed Ra'shamarra. "Or maybe you do. Do you?"

"I think we see that all the time. But can't you just summon some fish in your palace? I mean, you've got all those servants running around..."

"How inspired! Ordering my servants to do the deed? Perhaps I might just do that,"

And with that, the madgod disappeared with a thunderous crack and a puff of purple smoke. The portal likewise vanished, leaving the black and yellow couple behind in the kitchen.

Blake took in her surroundings. The kitchen was as spotless as she recalled it to be; everything in the right place, everything neatly stored away in sealed jars and boxes. Nothing was broken. Nothing was ruined. Everything looked perfectly normal. No nooks and crannies for enemies to hide in – Grimm, human, Reaper or otherwise. No holes in walls and ceilings to let artillery fire rain down on them, or for snipers to shoot through.

"A septim for your thoughts, kittycat?" Yang murmured, wrapping her arms around Blake and nibbling on her earlobe. Blake purred in contentment, melting into Yang's embrace.

"Right now? It's just...relief,"

"Relief? That's it?"

"I still can't believe we made it back in one piece," Blake sighed. "I mean, sure, I've got a break in my leg that's still healing, but that's better than everyone else. Nora, Ren, Pyrrha and Jaune...I wonder how they're doing? I didn't see them when we made our attack on Earth. What if they got shot? What if they didn't make it? What if-"

She was silenced by warm lips upon her own.

"Shh. I'm sure they're fine. Leave the worrying to the Ice Queen," Yang said, waving her off.

Blake nodded slowly, smiling at Yang's positive outlook even after everything that had happened. They survived a war that engulfed an entire galaxy. They made it through mostly unscathed, even when billions of others died on the battlefields. Now peace reigned throughout a united galaxy, and for the first time in years, Blake could finally settle down and enjoy some time with her friends and family.

And her child – no, their child. A happy and healthy girl that she could raise with her partner and wife. On a planet free from Grimm, in a galaxy free from the threat of annihilation. That was all that she could have ever asked for.

A/N:

Just a little something to tie up Blake and Yang's storyline now. Not much to say here.