"Blake?" Her name feels like it rings hollow through the hallway in the space between them. But Weiss doesn't care.
The other woman stirs at the sound of her name, having fallen asleep in her place sitting propped up against Weiss' front door.
After Blake quickly rubs the sleepiness from her eyes, she looks up toward Weiss. The same softness staring back at her with amber eyes. It makes a breath catch in Weiss' chest.
"Are you alright?" Weiss quickly looks over her, making sure she appears to be unharmed. "When you didn't show up at the party, I was worried. And you didn't answer my messages or calls. So I went to the hospital. But they said you'd left."
Pulling herself up to stand a few feet in from of Weiss, Blake reaches into the pocket of her jacket and pulls out what looks like it used to be a phone.
"I got stuck late at work and my patient got irate and broke my phone." She mumbles, the tiredness still weighing heavily in her voice.
"Oh." Weiss looks away from her, not exactly sure what to say. The next few seconds of silence make her heart beating in her chest sound like thunder in her ears.
"You went to my party?" When she hears the hint of hopefulness in Blake's voice, she looks back up to meet her gaze.
"I did." She gives a small nod.
"I didn't think you would since we are on a… you know." This time, Blake is the one to look away. The feeling of shame still runs through her any time she thinks about her causing them to take this break. A heavy sigh leaves Blake's chest before she looks back to Weiss and the ache returns to her chest. "You look absolutely lovely. I'm sorry I wasted your evening by not showing up to my own party. I'm sorry for a lot of things."
"Blake-"
"No. Weiss, I owe you an apology. I owe you a lot more than just that. But I need to at least start with that."
"I was wrong."
Weiss' uncharacteristic confession is enough to stop Blake from speaking for a moment.
"That doesn't mean that I was right, either." There is a sadness in Blake's eyes that Weiss wishes she never had to see. Looking around them, when she hears the shuffles and ambient noise of their other neighbors, Weiss motions to the door behind Blake.
"We can talk about this inside, if you prefer?" Blake instantly steps to the side so that Weiss can unlock and open the door.
Once they are both inside, Blake sits down carefully on the couch, almost like she is unsure if she still even belongs here, and it renews the ache in Weiss' chest.
"Weiss, I don't know what to do, or how to say how sorry I am for not telling you about the Vacuo interview. I-"
"I made a mistake by assuming and not listening to you. Then I made a rash decision based on what I thought was best for me, for us, and it wasn't."
"But I still never even told you about it in the first place. And I made a promise to you, and I betrayed your trust by breaking it." Blake looks away, the shame flooding back. And Weiss instinctually reaches out for her hand.
It feels oddly comforting, like a relief washes over her that she's been unable to find for weeks, and Blake feels the tension fall from her shoulders as she looks back up to meet blue eyes. "I'm sorry."
"I think we both know that it's me that owes and apology to you, and not the other way around." Weiss sighs deeply, looking up before looking back to Blake. "I went looking for you after you didn't show up for the party and weren't answering your calls, and I ended up at the hospital because I had already gone everywhere else. One of the nurses talked to me. I realized that if I had just listened to you, this whole thing never would've happened. And we wouldn't have missed out on these last few weeks that we could've spent together."
"We missed out on a lot of things, didn't we? Studying for exams together. Our typical post exam date nights. White coat ceremony. Nap time. I think I missed that the most. Other than literally everything about you, in a general sense."
"I didn't miss it." Her voice is quiet, and Weiss realize what she said only after a look of total defeat falls over Blake's face. "Oh no, I didn't mean that I didn't miss you. Because I did. Nearly every second of every day. Even times where I wanted to be furious with you. I don't think I could ever find it in myself to be. I meant the white coat ceremony."
"W-what do you mean?"
"I went. To the ceremony. I stood in the very back, off to the side. And I left as soon as you had finished reciting your oath."
"You did?" For the first time since they started talking, Weiss sees a light return to Blake's eyes.
"I wanted so badly to run up to you. And to kiss you. And tell you how proud of you I am. But I couldn't. Because I was ashamed of myself. It felt like all I would do is hurt you, and I've already hurt you more than I would like to for a lifetime."
She sees Blake reach up towards her cheek but pull back hesitantly for a second, unsure if it was okay, before she reaches out again. This time she runs her thumb over Weiss' cheek, wiping the tears away softly as she slides over closer to her.
"May I try again?"
"Try what?"
"I would like to make you another promise. One that I would rather die than break."
"You don't have to-"
"I promise that I will do whatever I can to never hurt you again. And I know I won't be perfect. But I will try in any way possible. Because these last few weeks I've learned something. I learned that no matter how much I achieve and how successful I may become, it would never matter if you aren't there to share it with. Without you, nothing feels as important. And I l-"
Weiss quickly presses her index finger to Blake's lips to silence her.
"Wait here." She quickly stands, leaving Blake in her seat on the couch, and takes a few strides towards her bedroom.
"Weiss, where are you-"
"Just give me one minute, I have to find something." She yells out to her as she opens a drawer in her room and finds what she's looking for.
When she returns, Blake looks at her strangely, with clear confusion on her face.
"Why do you have that old stethoscope?"
"Just hush and put it in your ears." She waits while Blake situates the pieces in her ears. "I will only accept your promise under one condition."
"Anything."
"I will only allow you to make me that promise, if you allow me to make you the same one. Because you basically make my world spin. You've made me believe in a life I didn't know could exist. So put this over my heart. Since you actually know where it is, and I don't." She hears a small giggle from Blake before handing the other end of the stethoscope to her, and Blake immediately move it to rest near the center her chest. "Because I want you to hear the sound of my heart beating when I tell you that I love you."
When she sees that soft smile tug at the corner of Blake's mouth, Weiss can't help but reach out and pull her in and kiss her. She feels the smile on her own face when Blake pulls back just enough to speak into the space between them.
"You love me?"
"I do." Weiss nods, her forehead rubbing against Blake's before giving her another short kiss.
"Good. Because I love you too."
"Promise?" Blake leans forward and presses a kiss to the end of her nose.
"I promise."