Chapter 8

It's been almost five years.

Their anniversary is next week.

That's what Blake thinks as she walks through the door of her apartment, tossing her keys into the bowl by the doorway.

"I'm home!" She yells out as she takes her jacket off and hangs it up on the coat hanger near the front door.

She follows the sounds of light humming down the hallway towards the extra bedroom. Where she can see the light is on.

Once she steps into the doorway, she stops and leans against the frame. She watches as Weiss sits at her desk, headphones in one ear. Working as hard as ever. Probably listening to the playback of whatever forms or article she needs to clear for submission. Helping her family run a company right after graduation hadn't always been easy for Weiss.

"Hey." Blake says again so that Weiss knows she's there. Weiss gives a small wave to say she heard Blake, and reaches out for the recorder, pressing pause.

"I ordered us some takeout for dinner. It should be here any minute. But I'm almost done with work, I promise. Maybe five more minutes."

"Okay. Take your time. I'm going to go change out of my work clothes and I'll grab the food when it gets here."

"Thank you." Weiss mumbles, returning to her recording.

Blake heads to their bedroom and changes into some comfortable clothes and runs to the door when the bell rings to grab the food and takes it into the kitchen.

After a few more minutes Weiss strolls into the kitchen, in similar clothing. Just as always, she finds Blake and walks up behind her, wrapping her arms around Blake's waist, placing a light kiss to the back of Blake's shoulder.

Blake turns in place and kisses Weiss' cheek just below her eye. Right over her scar.

"You seem anxious." Weiss says. It always amazes Blake how much Weiss can know without being able to see. She laughs softly.

"I just had a busy day at work and I'm probably just hungry." She shrugs, carrying their plates into the living room to eat, with Weiss a few steps behind.

Ever since college, they've always had takeout food while sitting on the living room floor when it rains.

But now they've long since graduated. Weiss works for her family's company. And Blake does technical and medical writing for a biomedical engineering company.

As Blake watches Weiss eat noodles from her bowl, the rain lightly taps against the windows of the apartment.

Everything just feels perfect. Like this is as good as it can be, but she knows that it's no where near the end. So she asks Weiss the question because it just feels like the right moment.

"Marry me?" Weiss stops chewing and sets her chopsticks down on the plate in front of her.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Blake can see the shock on Weiss' face.

"Marry me." Blake moves to slide a little closer to her on the floor. "I love you. I love the way you twirl a pencil between your fingers while you listen to dictations for work. The way you run your hand over the furniture as you walk by. How the burnt toast you make me for breakfast tastes. When you almost always used to nearly poke my eye out every time you tried to hold my face in your hands before you would kiss me." Blake reaches out to hold onto Weiss' hands, which are shaking, and her breath is shallow. And there are tears forming in her eyes. She grabs onto Blake's hands hard once she feels them. "I love every second of life that I get to spend with you. And I'm asking if you would like to stay with me for just a little longer. If you would like to spend the rest of your life with me."

Blake sits in silence, searching Weiss' face for an answer. Anything. But she is just holding onto Blake's hands, tears filling her eyes.

"Weiss?"

The sound of Blake's voice seems to shake her back into the present, and she reaches out, letting her hands follow from Blake's hands up her arms until she can reach Blake's cheeks. Holding there, Weiss' eyes search Blake's face. She can smell the light flowery scent of her shampoo. She closes her eyes as she pulls Blake's face down to her own. Pressing a kiss to her lips before pulling back.

"Only if it means that I get to walk in the rain with you, even when you don't have an umbrella. And listen to the sound of your voice. I will absolutely love you forever and marry you. As long as I can stay with you for the rest of my life. There is nothing that could make me happier."

By this point, Blake is crying as she starts to laugh, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears from Weiss' face. Placing a kiss to her forehead.

"Wait, how could I forget?" Blake separates herself from Weiss. "Wait here for a second. I have to go get something."

Running over to her jacket she pulls a small box from the pocket and runs back over, sitting down in front of Weiss once again. Blake's hands shake as she pries the small box open, revealing the platinum ring. It has a diamond in the center with two smaller stones on each side down the band, five stones in total. One for each year she's gotten to spend with Weiss. She places it in the palm of her hand, so that Weiss can feel it before she places it on her finger.

"Wouldn't be a very great proposal if I forgot the ring, right?"

"I don't need a ring, Blake. Just you." Blake still holds her hand as she slides the ring onto Weiss' finger before she places a soft kiss to the top of her hand.

"Well, I don't think I can return it, so do you mind wearing it a little bit? Like for forever?"

"I suppose I can make a concession or two." Blake's giggle brings an indescribable warmth to Weiss' chest.

"I love you. And I'm so excited that you want to spend the rest of your life with me. But I would also love to finish eating these noodles, if that's okay with you?" Now it's Weiss' turn to laugh.

Weiss grabs a hold of some noodles with her chopsticks and Blake leans forward, biting them off the end before Weiss can eat them herself.

"Oops." Blake says with her mouth full.

"It doesn't sound like a sincere oops to me, Blake Belladonna."

"Here. You can have a bite of my chicken."

"What if I don't want a bite of chicken?"

"Then you must be ill. Because not once in the last five years have you ever turned down the opportunity to eat food off of my plate."

"That is somewhat true. I would in fact like a bite of your chicken. I just didn't want to ask."

"You can be so stubborn sometimes."

"It is truly my best quality. Though one of many. Must be what attracted you to me."

"It's right up there with your modesty. I think somewhere in Remnant I can hear Yang screaming out in rage at that statement."

"Probably also true, but my stubbornness has only ever been matched by her inappropriateness."

"Not to mention her puns are often times atrocious."

"Your sense of humor isn't much better, I'm afraid." Weiss' puppy dog eyes become her saving grace.

"Would you just take a bite of this chicken, and take your time chewing it, with your mouth fully closed."

"I love you." Weiss' smirk isn't lost on Blake, who can only roll her eyes.

"And I love you too." Blake says as she stretches out her arm to hold out a bite of chicken for Weiss to take.

They continue eating dinner and laughing. Finishing one more night of forever, as the rain falls outside. Lightly rapping against the windows of their home.