"I think it's a good idea to do it, Blake. And your mom said so too."

"I'm glad to know that you and my mom are kindred spirits and chat so often nowadays."

"She actually called me this time. For your information." The annoyance in Yang's voice is nothing compared to your own.

You've been lugging boxes of files and office equipment around all day. And the last thing you want to hear about when you finally get to leave work is how your mom and best friend are in cahoots about your totally incomplete proposal plans.

You haven't made virtually any decisions regarding time, plan or how. Work was crazy. Moving to the new office space was insane. It was in the same building, but four floors higher. So you had taken it upon yourself to move your personal files and oversee the setup of the work space and equipment. Big mistake.

"And we just think you need a game plan. You can't be just winging it."

"Why? Because it's something you would do?" Yang easily detects the slight bite in your tone. And you instantly regret it.

"I can tell you're having a stressful day at work, so I'm gonna let that one slide. And I'm also gonna let you get back to whatever it is that you're doing. I'll talk to you later, happy pants."

"Fine. I'll talk to you later." Letting the phone slide from your grip down your arm into the box in front of you, you set it down on top of your new desk.

No more cubicle. You had an office. There weren't any cubicles on your floor, actually. You had requested that they be removed and that you maintain a smaller team. This allowed everyone to have their own office space, with a communal space in the center. And it was much more functional for the work you would be doing.

Once you got all of the boxes that were on your desk unpacked and your desk organized, you felt much butter. And you were ready to call it a day and head home.

There was one more phone call you need to make along your way though.

"Hello?" A cheerful voice greets you on the other end of the line.

"Hey Pyrrha, it's Blake."

"Oh what a surprise."

"You have no idea." You suck in a deep breath before continuing. "But I was actually calling to see if there was an evening or afternoon any time soon that you were free to have dinner or a coffee or something. Just wanted to talk about something with you."

"Sure. Are you free tomorrow any time? Jaune is on some kind of field trip with the school. And I know Weiss isn't getting back in from that conference until the evening, right?"

"Not until around 8:30 tomorrow night, I believe. Tomorrow should work great for me. Just let me know a time and stuff and we can figure out somewhere to meet."

"Sounds lovely. But unfortunately I think I've got to go. Nora is yelling and it smells like something may be on fire. Talk tomorrow."

Honestly, you can't say you envy Pyrrha in the least most days.

—

"I am so ready to come home." You can tell she's stretching by the straining in her voice.

"How tiring can a literature conference be?"

"I was a guest speaker. My role was very important. And lest we not forget the creepy middle aged man that kept trying to hit on me by telling me how much he admired the sight of a successful women." She makes a gagging sound and you can't help but start laughing.

"Well what did you tell him?"

"I told him that if he admired me, he would be overwhelmed by my girlfriend."

"Overwhelming. Ha. Not really a word I'd ever use to describe myself. What did he say?"

"He just looked at me in total disbelief as I just kept talking about how amazing you are. How you are a doctor and that you are the head of a department at a university and so on. He kindly vacated my presence. Which was the preferable solution to the problem of his presence."

"I'm sure that was a sight to behold. It is unfortunate though that you didn't get a chance to relax or something. Go to the spa, something like that, you know?"

"The thought really never crossed my mind, to be honest."

"You should take some time to do more for yourself every now and then."

"And maybe you should take some of that advice you're giving me and use it on yourself. I'm sure in the week I've been gone you've been at that office at least sixty hours."

"The law states that I have the right not to self incriminate." You smile when you hear her laughing through the phone.

"Maybe if I can wake up early enough I can find some time to hit the spa before my flight tomorrow."

"Good."

"Will you still be able to come pick me up from the airport?"

"Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Flipping the little grey box over and over in your hand, you occasionally flip the lid open and close it back.

Weiss lets out another heavy sigh.

"I miss you."

"Good news is that you only have to miss me for one more night."

"True. I guess I'll go to bed so that I can make that time seem as short as possible. I will see you tomorrow."

"Text me when you get on the plane and let me know when you land so I know you're safe."

"You better be there at baggage claim."

"You know it. Ready and waiting. Get some sleep. I love you."

"I love you too."

—

You had arranged for Pyrrha to meet you at some Vacuoan taco place that you knew she liked. You remembered it being one of the places her and Weiss would go for their girl night dinners.

You got there ten minutes early, only to find that Pyrrha was already there and waiting for a table.

"Sorry to make you wait."

"Oh it's really no problem, I was very early after all." She gives you a quick hug.

Once the two of you get seated, she turns to the waiter and immediately orders a strawberry margarita.

"I don't know why, but you just don't really strike me as the drinking type."

"Usually I'm not, but I really like the strawberry margaritas here and like you said, I typically don't drink so I figured why not?" She shrugs her shoulders slightly and takes a sip through her straw.

"It's good to just do something for yourself every now and then, I get it." She nods in agreement. "I told Weiss that she needed to do something during her time away for herself. But you know how that can be. Never thought it would be like pulling teeth to get someone to go to the spa for the afternoon."

"I know. She called me when she was on her way down there this morning. She is in a class all her own sometimes when it comes to stubbornness. I don't know how you do it."

"She's worth it."

"I'm always just beside myself whenever you say things like that about Weiss."

"What for?" Generally curious, you don't get to spend too much time talking with Pyrrha by yourself.

"She's never really been one to attach to someone. Or let anyone into the world of Weiss. You know Weiss doesn't really speak to her family. I think that's partly the reason for her behavior. They treat each other like business partners instead of family members. I mean, she's not even my sister but I could never imagine treating Nora the way Winter treats Weiss." You notice the sadness in Pyrrha's eyes when she takes a deep breath and continues. "And when she decided she didn't want to stay in on the family business, it was almost like she just disappeared to them. And she has always just been incredibly independent and self driven ever since."

"Sounds completely like her. I wish she had a better relationship with her family. But I also understand how hard of a time it's been for her and I respect her choice to keep that distance."

"I think she's truly grateful to have you and your parents as well. She went on and on about how lovely they had been to her during your trip to Menagerie."

"Ha, yeah they love her completely. She got the parental stamp of approval pretty fast."

"Most parents usually just want to see their children be happy. I'm sure they're so happy for you." You swallow your bite of food, feeling it stick to your throat uncomfortably.

"Which is also kind of the reason I asked you to have lunch with me today."

"Your mom and dad want to meet me too?" She tries to cover her laugh with the napkin in her hands, but it still manages to bring a smile to your face.

"No, not exactly. I just have something that I wanted to ask you. Well I guess of you, really."

"And what exactly could I possibly be able to offer you this afternoon, Blake Belladonna?"

"Well I, um." You're gripping the napkin that's sitting on your lap so hard that your knuckles are turning white. "Like you said, Weiss doesn't necessarily have the best relationship with her family. She considers you to be family. And I know your opinion is very important to her. So I wanted to ask you this, as her best friend, if I could," your hands are now shaking like leaves under the table as your knee bounces with nerves, "if you would give me your blessing to ask her to marry me."

It takes a second for your request to register in Pyrrha's brain. But as soon as it hits, her mouth falls open slightly and she brings her hands up to cover her mouth in shock.

"Oh my gosh." Tears start to well up in her eyes and she begins to fan herself with her hand. Now you're unsure if this was the right thing to do. "I don't know how that little troll got so lucky with someone like you. Of course! Absolutely you have my blessing!"

"Okay. Because if you said no I was prepared to die at this table."

"No, no. I don't know how I would ever say no. I've been telling Weiss for well over six months that you had to be the one or I was going to strangle her to death myself. But you know Weiss, always brushing everyone off, pretending like she knows what she's doing when she's really just winging it."

You huff out the deep breath you've been holding in your chest for the entire meal.

"I'm glad this went a lot smoother than I had planned."

"Really?"

"Mentally I may have prepared to debate and even fight to the death for her, if necessary."

"While completely not needed, I'm glad you were ready nonetheless. You two are fantastic together."

"I've very relieved that you feel that way."

"So, forgive me for being nosy, but do you have any plans on when you may ask her? Or a ring or anything like that yet? Or is this like first steps?"

"Um, I actually brought the ring in case you wanted to see it." Pulling the little grey box from your pocket, you hand it to Pyrrha. "And I have some ideas for how I plan on asking her. I'd like to do it during a certain time in the late spring."

"Oh Blake, this ring is gorgeous. Very good choice. It's fancy, but with a subtle, sentimental touch. Very Weiss."

"Thank you." She hands it back to you and you immediately bury it back in your pocket.

"Care to share any of those ideas? If you don't mind, that is."

"How much do you know about the language of flowers?"

—

After your lunch with Pyrrha, you feel pretty confident in moving forward with your proposal plans. As you step through the sliding doors at the airport, you make a mental note to call Yang tomorrow and apologize for your behavior yesterday.

As soon as you get to baggage claim, you check the huge board with the listings of flights and what station the baggage will be sent to. Finding Weiss' flight, you make a mental note of the number and start your way towards the terminal entrance.

It's only been a week, but it feels like she's been gone a lifetime. You felt like life had been moving forward, but you weren't moving with it. Like you were still sitting at the station, watching all the trains go by. It was weird to describe.

Spotting her white hair easily as she steps off the moving sidewalk towards you, you begin to make your way to help her with the carry on luggage she was struggling with.

"You look like you could use some help." She jumps slightly when you reach out and take her bag from her. Only relaxing when she looks up and sees your face.

"Please, if you don't mind." Giving you a pathetic look as you begin to pull the suitcase behind you as the two of you continue the walk back to baggage claim.

"So, how was your trip?"

"Absolutely boring as hell. It was like being stuck in a hotel full of librarians and old people for a week. If you hadn't suggested, and sneakily paid for my trip to the spa today, it would've been a complete waste."

"See? Told you."

"Would've been better if you had been there."

"I fear my presence would've been more counterproductive than anything."

"Which is why I wish you would've been there." She gives you an overdramatic wink. Making you huff lightly, unable to hide the smirk from your face.

You see her bag come tumbling down the conveyor belt and grab a hold of it and lift it up and pull it off the line.

"Here, let me take one of those." She reaches out to take the bag from your hand and you quickly dismiss it by swatting at her with your free hand.

"It's fine. I got it. You've had a busy and tiring week. I can carry your bags to the car for you." She leans up on her tip toes and presses a kiss to your cheek.

"Oh how I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. I don't think I've had a reason to cook anything to eat better than chicken nuggets and instant noodles for the entire week."

"Most likely because you've done nothing but overwork yourself in my absence."

"While I cannot confirm or deny that fact, I will say that I have everything moved upstairs into the new office. And I got my desk set up. Including all my things that you got for me for my desk. It looks very nice."

"See? It's good to let me buy you something every now and then."

"Debatable. Now, which apartment are we headed to?"

"Do you care if I stay with you tonight?"

"You know that is an offer I will never refuse. We could sleep on the sidewalk right over there if you wanted. As long as you're there with me. I don't care."

"Flatterer. I've just slept alone for a week. And I kind of miss being the little spoon."

"Alright. Let's go home."

You reach over the center console of your car and grab her hand. Pulling it to your face, you press a kiss to the back of her hand.