Thank you to everyone who's read this story that I started half-assed writing in March with no clear objective other than getting Blake and Weiss together. Thank you to everyone that's left feedback, that's favorited the story on , that's followed the story all this time.

Something that I've gleaned from my creative activity, in music and in writing, is that we do these things because we want to put them out into the world. Even if no one else knows it, at least we know it's there, and we can almost be happy with that. But if just one other person takes interest, or says something about it, or just reads or listens to it, then that makes us feel even better.

So thank you, dear reader, for giving me a taste of that with this story.

An Undeterminable Number of Months Later...

Tromping up the stairs, Blake removed her winter jacket so as to let the space heaters do their job. She draped the heavy jacket over her arm and cupped her hands together, holding them close up to her mouth and breathing into them. Her fingers prickled at the warm air and she rubbed them together vigorously. Exams had come and gone, and most of the campus population had vacationed home to be with their families for the winter break. Blake was planning to stay on campus, not having much of a home to go to in the first place.

It had taken a long time, but Weiss had eventually decided to go home to Atlas to be with her family the next week. Apparently to Weiss, it had been a tough decision made tougher by the fact that Blake's birthday was on the Thursday of the week she would be away. Blake was much cooler about that particular factor of the decision, as she generally wasn't one for grand parties, and definitely not when she would be the centre of attention.

Meanwhile, Blake didn't quite know what she would do with the increased free time, other than work, but that aspect of her life was somewhat up in the air; competition for shifts at the V Bar was increasing, with new juniors looking for openings behind the bar. Velvet, in her position, was able to guarantee her continued service, but the matter of how much work that would be on offer wasn't up to her. The library, on the other hand, didn't present any problems for her, given the hours she worked there, so she at least still had that on her side.

She knocked on the door of Room 10, on the third floor. Within seconds, the door opened and Ruby stood in the entrance, grinning at her visitor.

"Hey, Blake! Come in!" she greeted, in that moment, the embodiment of high spirits.

"Ruby," Blake said, smiling. She stepped through the entrance and found her spot sitting on Weiss's bed "How are you? All packed and ready to go?"

Ruby nodded. "Tomorrow's coming up quick. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty excited to meet Yang's dad."

"Well, that might just be because she's been talking him up to you for the last three weeks, in a bid to convince you to fly to back to Patch with her," Blake pointed out. "Speaking of which, I never asked: are you going to see your uncle while you're out there?"

"No," Ruby said, joining her on Weiss's bed. "Even if I made plans with him, he'd probably call me 30 minutes before the meeting saying that he can't make it. And besides, what would I say to him? It's not like we were really close, even before I came here. Look, the only reason I'm going back there is because of Yang. If it wasn't for her, then I wouldn't be going back there any time soon."

"Fair enough."

"Ruby?!" came Weiss's disembodied voice through the walls. "Is Blake here yet?!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Excuse me a second," she said to Blake.

"Of course," Blake said, granting permission with a wave of her hand. Ruby got up, and shuffled over to the bathroom door. "You don't have to yell, you know. And yes, she's here," Blake heard her say. Then she heard hushed whispers, but couldn't make them out. Then an arm popped out of the doorway and waved in her direction.

"I'll be out in a second!" Weiss called out to her.

"I'm not going anywhere," Blake replied, amused by her girlfriend's rare moment of goofiness.

Ruby turned back to her, and smiled awkwardly. "She'll be out in a second," she said.

Blake nodded. "Got it." In a lower voice, she asked, "Are you and Yang ready for tonight, though?"

"Yep! Everything's ready to go."

"Excellent," Blake said, under her breath.

"Did you manage to get your hands on what you were looking for?"

"I did," said Blake triumphantly. "It took me two months of hunting online and calling strange people with accents, but I got it. I actually just came here from doing the mail pickup."

Ruby thumped her on the back excitedly. "That's great, then! I'm sure she'll love it!"

"Who shall love what?" Weiss asked, strolling out of the bathroom. Upon noticing her, Blake accepted a quick kiss, and then she opened her arms to accommodate Weiss, who promptly jumped into her lap.

"We were just talking about Yang," Blake said. "I went and got her a present for her father."

Weiss pulled some wet locks of hair out of her collar. "Really? That's sweet of you."

"Thank you. Hey, are you still free for tonight?"

"Of course I am. You know, you've been harping on about tonight for the past seven days or so. What's so special about tonight?"

"There is plenty special about tonight, Weiss. We're celebrating our success this past semester, and we're sending off our good friends and roommates with a group dinner at a nice restaurant that does reservations ten days in advance. So please, understand the reasons for my harping."

"Okay okay, I get it."

Blake noticed Ruby watching them with delighted intent. "What is it?" she asked.

Ruby stopped staring, and looked at her. "Nothing. You two are just... I don't know how to describe it. It's like you're cute together, but a different kind of cute."

"We are?"

"It's just as sugary as normal cuteness, don't worry."

"Oh, I'm glad," Weiss retorted sarcastically. "Because I really want people to think of this me as this short, huggy kid. That's great for business negotiations."

Blake nudged her arm. "You remember that you're still sitting on my lap, Miss Power-Suit Schnee?"

"Do you want me to sit somewhere else?" Weiss said, mock-warningly.

"I didn't say that I didn't want you to sit on my lap, no."

"Good," Weiss huffed. "Because, as it turns out, I'm not moving."

"Will I have to put up with this tonight?" Ruby asked.

"Only if you're lucky," Weiss said with a straight face. Blake couldn't help but snort with laughter.

"Hey," she said eventually. "Your flights are all booked for next week?"

"Yeah, I sorted it all out this morning," Weiss said. "I want you to know that I booked those tickets with a sad face. I feel really bad about leaving you here by yourself for a week."

Blake squeezed her arms around Weiss's body. "You want to go home to Atlas to be with your family, and that's okay. I'll miss you, but I understand."

"I know, and I'll miss you too. But that doesn't make it any easier, and I don't like the thought of missing your birthday. We're both still in agreement that it's too soon for you to spend a holiday with them, right?"

"Right," Blake agreed. "We might be able to try early next year, but right now, I think they still need time. That, and you've already booked your flights. It would be incongruous of me to ask you to cancel and re-book."

"Okay then," Weiss said, nodding. Then her face contorted and she buried it in her hands. "I feel guilty," she muffled.

"That's okay, that's okay," Blake soothed. "Hey, maybe after tonight, you'll feel better about it."

"What? At dinner?"

Blake winked at Ruby, who smiled. Weiss didn't notice either of them. "You'll see."

When Blake had called the restaurant "nice", she'd been understating by a long way. When they pulled up outside, Weiss could tell immediately that it smacked of "high-class", the sort of restaurant where semi-celebrities would congregate for a business lunch in the hopes that it would end up in the tabloids the next day.

Perhaps she should have realized that they were headed for such a place when Blake told her that they had to dress up for it a little. It was unusual for her to see someone like Yang wearing mascara and heels, and Weiss could tell that she hated it from the way she kept muttering to Ruby and pointing at her feet. Weiss was bewildered at how her friend was able to put up with Yang's constant whining. If heels bothered Blake, then she wasn't saying anything about it. She was, however, paying close attention to the contents of her sizable purse, so maybe she was simply distracting herself.

Thinking about Blake again brought a curious question to Weiss's mind, so she turned to her girlfriend. "No offense, Blake, but how did you manage to get a reservation here?"

"Oh, well, I wasn't the one who made the call," Blake said, smiling wryly.

Weiss frowned, and said, "What?" but Blake wasn't saying anything further.

The interior of the restaurant was nothing to scoff at either, Weiss noted. It appeared to be of a "modernized" style, with blacks, whites, grays and the occasional red dominating the color palette. The furnishing all seemed very slick and sharp; glass-top tables covered by blindingly white tablecloths, and chairs that looked like they would be more at home in the "for example" section of a furniture store, the ones that would always be displayed in the windows, but at the same time were too exorbitantly expensive for any sane person to justify purchasing. A roped-off staircase at the back led to somewhere even fancier, Weiss assumed.

The maître d'hôtel was a young, clean-shaven man with slicked-back hair and an easy smile, behind a black podium that appeared to just be a rectangular block standing up.

Blake was the one that went up to him. "Hello," she said politely, "we're with the Schnee party. Table for six."

Weiss frowned again.

"Certainly. Right this way, ma'am."

The group started following him, and Weiss tugged on Blake's arm. "Six? The Schnee party? What's going on? Who's joining us?"

The man took walked up the staircase to the upper level, and they followed him. Blake patted Weiss's hand.

"You'll see," was all she said.

If Weiss was going to pick any moment since meeting Blake for an appropriate moment to strangle her, then she would have done so at the top of the staircase. If she hadn't seen her mother and father sitting at one of the larger tables on the upper floor, that is. She froze, slack-jawed, upon seeing them, not quite sure if she was hallucinating or not.

"Hello, ladies," was her mother's greeting.

Blake pushed Weiss towards the table, and into a chair. "I think this was all a little unexpected for her," she said to Mrs Schnee.

"I see."

"Enough fooling around now, Weiss," said Mr Schnee. He snapped his fingers, and Weiss jumped in her seat. She shook her head with disbelief, as her group also sat down around the table.

"What are you two even doing here? What happened to, 'It's too busy in Atlas, dear, I'm afraid we can't get away'?"

"It is indeed very busy in Atlas, Weiss," Mr Schnee confirmed. "But Blake called me last week at the office, and made a case for us to take a two-day sojourn."

"I was on the phone for an hour, total," Blake lamented. "Those overseas calls..."

"I told you to send the bill my way, and I would take care of it," Mr Schnee said.

"And I told you not to worry about it," Blake said defensively.

"Very well."

"Good evening, everyone," said a young woman who had appeared next to the maître d'. "I'll be your waitress for the night. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

The flow of conversation was okay, Weiss surmised. The topic of inviting Blake to Atlas for the holidays didn't come up; her parents were definitely not ready for such a step, and Weiss told herself she would have to be okay with that. The time would come.

Meanwhile, her parents were being kept in the conversation by Yang, who didn't look at all intimidated by their status or demeanor, regaling them with stories of her childhood. Any breaks in conversation were punctuated by the enjoyment of the food, which had all been brought out ten minutes prior.

"Ruby, this would be your first time meeting Yang's father, correct?" asked her mother at one point.

Ruby nodded. "That's right."

"And Yang, does he know that you... that you're..."

"Gay?" Yang finished.

"Mm. Yes. Gay."

"Ruby is my first girlfriend in a couple of years or so. During that time I was just having meaningless flings with guys. I wouldn't really call myself bisexual though. I'm very much with Ruby... wait, what was your question again?"

"I-"

"Oh right! Yeah, he knows. He's cool with it," Yang said. Mrs Schnee looked perplexed. Weiss rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the conversation taking place between her father and Blake.

"Do you have any plans for this break, Blake?"

"It's up in the air," Blake said with a shrug. "I don't really have anyone to 'go home' to, and I still have jobs to go to, even if I lose work at the bar to juniors. Your daughter, on the other hand, is about ready to up and leave me," she said jokingly, planting a hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"Is this true, Weiss?"

"Wha- no. At least, not the way she makes it sound," Weiss said with a frown, hitting Blake on the arm. "Don't even try and joke about something like that."

Before long, the meal was over, with everyone sated. The Schnee parents picked up the bill without so much as a glance at the expense incurred, and no one batted an eyelash at it. Without further ado, the party of six tromped downstairs to the waiting area at the front of the restaurant.

"Thank you for coming," Blake said to Weiss's parents. Ruby and Yang nodded in agreement.

"Oh, you're welcome," said Mrs Schnee. "We're glad we could be here to celebrate the semester's end."

"Weiss, we shall see you next week," her father said. "Have a good night, ladies." He and his wife turned to the exit and walked out, but after a moment, Weiss followed them through the door. Through the glass, Blake watched as Weiss called out to her parents. They turned around, somewhat surprised. Then came a brief exchange between parents and daughter that Blake could not hear.

"Should we head out?" Yang asked.

Blake shook her head. "Wait for Weiss to come back. I want us to head out together. And I want to intrude on whatever's going on out there," she said, gesturing to the window, through which Weiss gave each of her parents a brief hug before parting with them. They continued down the street, and Weiss walked back into the restaurant, a placid expression on her face.

"All good?" asked Blake. Weiss nodded. "Now, we can leave," Blake said to Yang.

"You were waiting for me?" Weiss asked as the group of four departed the restaurant.

"Of course. After all, the night's not over yet."

"You have more surprises planned?"

"Just one," Blake said, reaching into her purse and producing a rectangular box wrapped in tissue paper. She handed it to Weiss, smiling meekly. "Sorry about the wrapping," she said. "It just came in the mail today."

Weiss slid the paper off, and opened the box. She stared at the contents of it for a long moment, and when she looked at Blake, it was with a consuming intensity that unnerved her.

"Blake..." she whispered. "I don't believe it."

"Do... you like it?" Blake asked, suddenly uncertain. Weiss broke out into a beaming smile, and ran at her. Letting out an uncharacteristic whoop of delight she leapt into a surprised Blake's arms, who barely managed to catch her.

"I! Don't! Believe! It!" Weiss repeated ecstatically, all the while peppering Blake's face with kisses. She tossed the empty packaging into a nearby trash can, and held the book aloft to the glow of the streetlight. "I love it!"

"I'm glad," Blake said, chuckling with embarrassment. "Can I put you down now? I'm not that strong to carry you back to campus from here."

"Oh! Sorry," Weiss said, jumping down, clutching the book with a one-handed vise-grip. She threw her arms around her girlfriend in her best impression of a bear hug. "Thank you, so much!" she exclaimed. "How in the world did you find it?"

"It's a long, boring story that transcends the concept of a 24-hour day," said Blake, scratching her head. "Seriously, it's better if you don't know how I went about tracking that book down."

Weiss smiled gratefully, and pressed another long kiss to Blake's cheek. "Well, I appreciate it. You didn't have to go hunting this book down."

"Of course I did. I know how important it is to you, and you know how important you are to me. I would have done almost anything to get it for you."

Weiss blushed and rested her head against Blake's shoulder. "I love you, you know."

Blake closed her eyes. "I know. I love you too."

"Aw, well aren't you two just the sweetest things?" came Yang's unsubtle, teasing voice. Blake's eyes snapped open, and she flicked her head towards her roommate, who was holding her phone up, with the camera pointed straight at them. She was grinning at what she saw on the screen, and beside her, Ruby was doing the same.

"How... how long have you been recording?" Blake asked, still holding Weiss to her, who hadn't moved.

"Oh... only since she took a running jump into your arms," Yang said.

Blake's face immediately flushed red. "Y-you... I will... I'm going t-to-"

"Don't worry about them," Weiss said quietly, still smiling. "Besides, that video is now another example of how you're the best girlfriend I could ask for."

On Monday morning, Blake accompanied Weiss to the airport, and farewelled her at the check-in line. They did their best not to get too emotional, despite the fact that they would only be separated for eight days. Weiss promised to call her as soon she landed in Atlas.

Blake stuffed her hands in her pockets as she walked out. But when she looked back through the glass sliding doors, Weiss was smiling and waving at her. She smiled and waved back.

On Thursday morning, Blake decided to sleep in for an extra 30 minutes, and slipped further under her thick comforter. She figured that she earned it, for seeing yet another year of her young life through on a consistent high note.

She would have liked to sleep for longer, but she was eventually awoken by her open laptop chiming, telling her that someone was trying to video-call her. "Someone" most likely being Weiss. She was glad that Yang was sleeping with Ruby, mainly because she didn't want to deal with the fallout of her roommate being woken up early.

She pulled the comforter off her bed as she got up, and wrapped the warmth around herself from the neck down as she shuffled to her desk and accepted the call. Instantaneously, a window popped up, and the screen was filled with Weiss's face.

Blake smiled sleepily at her. "Morning, Babe."

"Good morning," Weiss replied. "And happy birthday! I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"What? No," Blake said. "Of course you didn't. And thank you very much for the good wishes."

"Anything exciting planned?"

Blake shrugged. "No. I think Ruby's going to try and take me out at some stage. Other than that, I'm just going to chill-ax."

"'Chill-ax'?"

"Chill out, slash relax."

"Ah."

"How about you?"

"I'm sitting in on the end-of-calendar-year meeting at the company."

"Sounds fun."

"Excuse you, miss. I'm actually looking forward to it. It's a great opportunity."

"Are you going to call any shots?"

Weiss gave considerable pause in her reply. "Maybe. We'll see how the mood of the room is."

"I'm so proud of you."

"Just because of this?"

"No, in general. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you very much." In the distance, there was what appeared to be a knock on Weiss's door. "Ah! It's that time already. Sorry about this, Blake, but I have to start getting ready now."

Blake waved at her. "It's fine. Go. Be the best power-suit you can be."

Weiss chuckled. "Thank you. I'll call you after, okay?"

"Okay."

Weiss smiled at her. "Okay then. I love you."

"I love you too."

The call ended, and Blake fell back into bed. She closed her eyes, smiling to herself. It didn't matter if Ruby came and dragged her out of bed now; as far as she was concerned, the rest of her birthday could ride out this high.

She whispered into her pillow, "Here's to what the future brings."

Again, thank you.

Truly Yours, Kalico.