Hey everyone! I wanted to write a Christmas-themed oneshot, and polled some people on what story they'd like to see it in. What Defines Us won, so I wrote this. Revisiting this story was a lot of fun, and I really hope you enjoy this peek back into their lives.

And happy holidays to everyone!

Howls filled the air, raising goosebumps along Ruby's arms and boosting her adrenaline in turn. Refusing to be intimidated by the sound, she focused on the group of Beowolves charging towards her and rotated her grip on Crescent Rose.

They rushed her with reckless abandon, sprinting between the trees with an unquenchable thirst to end her life. As soon as she was within - immediately after they left the cover of the woods behind - they leapt towards her. With their long, slender bodies outstretched, their giant white claws extended, and their blood-red eyes hungry for death, they were monsters to be feared and cowered before.

Not by her.

Three quick swipes of Crescent Rose - three less Beowolves to worry about, but her work wasn't done yet. Sensing motion on her left, she ducked another claw, spun, and slashed her weapon through the Grimm sneaking up from that side. No sooner had the Beowolf disappeared, however, before another large group emerged from the depths of the forest.

The battle felt never-ending, but there wasn't time to complain. There wasn't time to do anything other than react.

Drawing Crescent Rose back, she picked her aim and launched her weapon into the newest arrivals. The blade cut through them one-by-one and, as soon as it ended their short lives, turned on a dime and rushed back to her gloved hand.

In that brief moment of vulnerability, a presence raced towards her from behind. She was cutting it close, but she still had time -

As soon as Crescent Rose touched her fingertips, she spun around and watched the Beowolf disappear in a shower of silver sparkles. Weiss stood in its place, with Myrtenaster in hand and a hint of a smile on her lips.

There was no time to dwell on that moment, however, as their warm-up ended and the simulation kicked into high gear. Weiss' gaze flitted to Ruby's right, so Ruby took off to the left - the two of them maintaining boundaries on both sides of the forest while the Beowolves spawned in groups of ten, then twenty, then thirty. The pace grew frenzied as she whipped in and out of the trees, slicing at everything that moved.

It was chaos, but never felt out of control. Her breathing was steady. Her pulse was steady. Her mind was at ease. And her grip, aided by Thorn, never failed her.

A glyph appeared in her path, and she didn't hesitate in taking it. She spun her feet, planted them on the swirling lines of white, and rocketed the other direction.

Weiss was right - Weiss was always right. Ruby needed to be on the other side of the room now, where close to a hundred Beowolves threatened to overtake their small clearing.

With her semblance firing at full speed, she shot towards the Grimm with Crescent Rose leading the way, and didn't slow down as she cleaved a straight line through the group. Now split in two, half of them turned towards her while the other half turned towards Ronnie, who loomed above them and readied his sword.

It might not be advisable to re-engage with Ronnie swinging that giant blade across the field of combat, but Ruby dove back into the fray. A split second before his sword reached her, she dropped to her side, slid across the snowy ground, and watched it pass right above her - taking out a dozen Beowolves in the process. Catching a glimpse of Weiss catapulting over the battle, shooting down streams of Dust-enhanced fire that destroyed Grimm-after-Grimm, Ruby popped to her feet and took out several more with two quick combinations.

In the miniscule lull that followed, she spun Crescent Rose in her hands and placed it against her shoulder. Setting her sights down the barrel, she found her first target and squeezed the trigger. The first loud pop added a new candor to the room, but it was quickly followed by another, and another. One shot followed the other in rapid succession as she dispatched every Grimm at Weiss' back - the ones Weiss sensed but left for Ruby to take care of.

Time was impossible to keep track of in these moments, but it didn't feel like much had passed before the Beowolves dwindled in number and excitement replaced her adrenaline. First came the feeling of making progress against the hordes. Then the realization that the end was in sight.

As soon as the last simulated Beowolf burst into a shower of silver sparkles, she burst over to the brain controlling the room. When she saw the number flashing on the screen, she squealed with joy.

"New record!" she exclaimed before flying back to the clearing and hugging Weiss. "We're so awesome," she added while nuzzling Weiss' neck to celebrate their most recent accomplishment.

"Ruby, I'm all sweaty -" Weiss complained, but when she tried to push Ruby away, Ruby clung tighter.

"Like I'm not?"

"No, you're not. You hardly broke a sweat and still smell like roses."

"Which means you should want me close!" Ruby pointed out before giggling at Weiss' pretend struggles. Eventually, Weiss gave up with a sigh that sounded nothing like her frustrated sighs. And when she met Ruby's gaze, it was with clear blue eyes that sparkled with humor.

"Sometimes, I don't know what to do with you," she teased while running her fingers through Ruby's hair. When she tucked several strands behind Ruby's ear and they immediately fell back out of place, a smile settled upon her lips.

Ruby's heart, which beat so steadily during battle, did strange things whenever Weiss made such casual gestures of intimacy. It raced, it jumped, it cartwheeled, and - the moment Weiss' hand rested behind her neck and drew her closer - it burst into butterflies.

As soon as their lips touched, excitement and adoration flowed through Ruby's veins. In these instances, with their auras still blazing from battle, she thought she could feel Weiss' reaching out to her. It beckoned to her like a long-lost friend and encouraged her to move even closer, so that their auras might meld together as one.

She couldn't explain these moments, where everything felt exciting and new but comforting and familiar at the same time. All she knew was that she was happy - that's why she couldn't keep the smile off her lips. And Weiss was happy - that's why her lips carried a smile of her own while she kissed Ruby in return.

Unfortunately, sometimes these moments ended a little too soon for their liking - like today, when the sound of ringing interrupted them. When Ruby broke away from the kiss and turned towards the noise, Weiss immediately sighed.

"Don't answer it."

"But it's probably Yang!"

"Exactly."

When Ruby giggled, Weiss' unamused expression eased into a smile. That smile was a sign that Weiss wasn't being serious, so Ruby flashed over to the edge of the room and grabbed her scroll.

"It is! See?" Even though Weiss probably couldn't see the screen, Ruby held up the scroll as proof before accepting the call. "Hey Yang!" she said. "Guess what Weiss and I just did?"

"If this is how you're going to answer, I'm not calling anymore..."

"What?" After a second of confusion, Ruby realized that she was slightly out of breath from practice - and the kiss that followed practice. "No," she said, shaking her head and blushing even though Yang couldn't see her. "That's not - just...we beat another record!"

"Oh." Figuring out the misunderstanding, Yang chuckled. "That's awesome! Which one?"

"Beowolves!"

"You and your Beowolves...but hey! Blake and I were just wondering about Christmas - what's the plan?"

"Christmas?" When Ruby looked at Weiss with the question, she shrugged and put Myrtenaster away. "Uh...I don't think we have plans."

"But...you guys are like...the queens of Christmas."

"We are?" Having never heard the phrase before, Ruby gave Weiss a confused look, which only made her confused in return.

"Oh." Several long seconds of silence extended their call before Yang spoke again. "Uh, why don't you talk to Weiss about it then let us know!"

"...ok?"

"Or just forget I said anything," she added. "But - shoot, I gotta go. Blake needs me, or something - talk later!"

When the call abruptly ended, Ruby stared at the blank screen for several seconds before looking up at Weiss.

"Are we the queens of Christmas?"

As soon as Ruby asked the question, Weiss froze. She didn't stay that way for long, however, before sighing and reaching for Ruby's hand.

"We used to decorate and invite Blake and Yang over every Christmas. Yang started calling us the 'queens of Christmas' because of that."

"Oh. But...why aren't we doing anything this year?"

"Because that's what we used to do," Weiss explained. "Not necessarily what we want to do now."

That made sense. A lot of things had changed in the past few years, why wouldn't Christmas be one of them?

"I didn't even think about it since last year was kind of bleh," Ruby explained, but stopped talking when Weiss' gaze unfocused at the memory. She knew what that look meant...but was pleasantly surprised when Weiss quickly refocused and smiled.

"Last year was kind of 'bleh,"' she agreed, and Ruby immediately decided that this Christmas had to be better than the last.

No more treating it like a regular day. She was healthy. She felt fantastic. Yang and Blake no longer had to take care of her. And, most importantly, she had Weiss in her life.

They were a team again. They were a family again. And what better time to celebrate? Plus, decorating sounded like fun. Having Blake and Yang over sounded like fun. Learning about what they used to do sounded extra fun.

"I think we should be the queens of Christmas again!" she proclaimed, and Weiss blinked in surprise.

"Do you really?"

"Yeah! Unless you don't want to - do you not want to?" When Weiss numbly shook her head, Ruby squeezed her hands and hopped once. "Then you'll teach me, right? Teach me the ways of Christmas, oh wise one." When Weiss scoffed at the phrase, Ruby grinned. "Or just teach me, please. I want to know!"

"You really want to know?" Weiss asked a second time.

"Yes!" Ruby replied as emphatically as possible. She had no qualms about it, and she hoped that Weiss didn't either.

Thankfully, Weiss didn't look concerned about the ghosts of Christmases past. Instead, she looked thoughtful and determined. She looked...not at all scared about the trip down memory lane.

"We have three days until Christmas?" she asked instead, and Ruby checked her mental calendar before nodding.

"Yup."

"Then we have a lot to do."

The Decor

"Is that the last of them?"

"I think so." After dropping yet another box in the upstairs hallway, Ruby wiped her brow. "Jeez, that's a lot of boxes!"

"And these are just for inside," Weiss replied before pointing to the nearest one. "They're broken down by room, so we should deliver each box to the appropriate room first, then we can unpack everything."

"This sounds like something you organized," Ruby teased while picking up a box labeled 'Xmas, living room.'

"Actually, you did." When Ruby's brow rose at the response, Weiss laughed and nodded. "Believe me, I was surprised too," she added while grabbing a box for the entryway and leading them downstairs. "Although, I guess you can be hyper-organized about other things...like taking care of Crescent Rose or fine-tuning strategies...but I never expected Christmas."

"You're saying I treated Christmas the same as taking care of Crescent Rose?" Even though Weiss nodded, Ruby found that hard to believe. "I mean, I like Christmas," she added while following Weiss into the entryway. "But I wouldn't say I go overboard about it or anything."

"That's what you think now," Weiss replied with another light laugh. "You might feel differently in a few days."

"Maybe…" Right now, Ruby had no idea what to expect but would keep her mind open to whatever the future had in store. By now, she'd learned that some of the best things came in unexpected boxes - or in unexpected knocks by unexpected strangers at the door.

"It'll be fun to spend time together," she added, and watched Weiss set her box down in the entryway before turning around with a smile that made her eyes sparkle. That look sent a flurry of butterflies through Ruby's chest, and she couldn't help but smile in return.

"There's nothing better than spending time with family," Weiss replied and, in a single sentence, increased Ruby's desire to pull off a great Christmas by a factor of ten.

Weiss was part of her family now - or part of her family again. This was their first Christmas back together as teammates, partners, and a couple. This was another first that Ruby would experience for the second time around, and she loved every one she'd experienced so far.

"Then we've got some decorating to do!" After setting her box just inside the doorway to the living room, she dusted off her hands. "What next?"

"Open it up."

When Weiss nodded towards the box, it was with a hint of a smile that Ruby didn't quite understand. Instead of asking, however, she did as instructed and found Christmas decorations neatly packed inside. Laying right on top, however, was a drawing that looked an awful lot like their living room.

"Did you make this?" she asked while grabbing the piece of paper, but quickly realized it wasn't Weiss' handwriting. It wasn't hers either...but it also kind of was?

"No, that would be you." Standing by Ruby's side, close enough that Ruby could smell her shampoo, Weiss looked at the diagram and laughed. "I told you..."

"Ok, but this isn't hyper-organized," Ruby argued. "This is...meticulous!"

"Uh huh..." With a playful roll of her eyes, Weiss pulled the first decoration from the box - a strand of garlands that, according to the drawing, were to be draped over the windows.

"We have boxes for every room?" Ruby didn't want to say that she was in disbelief, but...she was in disbelief. Who owned that many Christmas decorations?

"Yes, we do," Weiss teased, and sent an amused look over her shoulder. "And you'd better follow the instructions exactly, or you'll be upset at you."

Still a little stunned at just how meticulous she'd been, Ruby took one last look at the diagram before dropping it on top of the box and hurrying to help Weiss. Personally, she didn't see the point in so much planning - couldn't they just put the decorations wherever they looked best? Apparently, the past version of herself disagreed.

This process might feel weird now, but she should show a little faith in who she once was. Besides, Weiss wouldn't let her get away with anything too crazy, right?

The Front Yard

"Last box done!" After turning the box upside down and shaking it, Ruby grinned while Weiss smiled at her.

"That's what you think."

Grin destroyed.

"But...there aren't any more boxes. We emptied them all!" To prove her point, she gestured around their kitchen, which was now more decked out in more Christmas gear than a lot of stores.

"There are no more boxes in here," Weiss corrected. Sensing Ruby's obvious confusion, she smiled, grabbed Ruby's hand, and led her into the garage. After turning on the light, she pulled down the ladder to the attic and pointed up. "But what do you call those?"

Definitely boxes - some extra large, some extra small, some just right. And, if Ruby had to guess, all of them had to come downstairs.

"Uh...would you believe me if I said I forgot?" When she attempted her best innocent look, Weiss tried not to laugh.

It didn't work.

"No," she replied with a scoff and a smile. "Those are the decorations for outside."

"But we already created a winter wonderland!"

"Inside, yes, but outside…" Weiss let the sentence trail off as if Ruby should understand what would happen if they left the exterior of their home undecorated for the holidays. The Christmas police showed up and arrested them? Their neighbors silently judged them for lack of holiday spirit? Or, the most likely answer, the past version of herself shook her head at their dismal effort?

Considering that part of the reason for doing this was not to let the past version of herself down, she was all in on Christmas cheer this year. Which meant more boxes for her.

"If I get those down here in under three minutes…" Setting her foot on the bottom rung of the ladder, she gave Weiss a sly look. "Will you kiss me?"

"No," Weiss replied with a scoff, though her cheeks grew the cutest shade of pink (Weiss pink). "I'll kiss you if you get them down here without hurting yourself."

"Deal!"

That was the type of bargain Ruby always accepted, so she flashed up the steps to the attic without complaint. Once there, she surveyed the space and found neat stacks of boxes labeled 'Christmas - front yard.' Beside them were more stacks labeled 'Christmas- backyard,' but...she wouldn't worry about those just yet.

After grabbing the first box, she carefully descended the steps and dropped it near the garage door.

"Do you want help?" Weiss asked while she raced back into the attic for the next one.

"Do you usually help?" she asked in return, and noted Weiss' furrowed brow while returning to the garage door with box number two.

"Well, no, not usually, but -"

"Then nope! No help needed!" Before heading into the attic a third time, she paused and kissed Weiss' cheek. "Down payment," she said before jogging upstairs. "Thank you though!"

If Past Ruby didn't want Weiss to help, there must be a reason.

By the sixth box, the present version of Ruby knew why.

"That's a lot of stairs," she huffed, dropping the final box on the floor before leaning over to catch her breath. Her legs were burning, not at all helped by the leg workout she foolishly decided to do yesterday. What was she thinking doing a leg workout right before Christmas?

That's right - she didn't know they had special Christmas plans. And she really didn't know that those special Christmas plans included a special Christmas workout.

"But you handled them marvelously."

The compliment made her forget all about her sore legs, and she turned towards Weiss with a growing smile.

"So about that kiss..?"

Even though Weiss rolled her eyes at the question, she showed no hesitation leaning forward and kissing Ruby on the lips. The touch, like always, sent a surge of excitement through Ruby's veins, but she had hardly a second to enjoy it before Weiss pulled away.

The look in Weiss' eyes suggested that she was proud of what Ruby just accomplished...and maybe that was why she insisted on the leg workout from hell.

"Thank you for being safe," Weiss added with a bonus kiss on Ruby's nose.

"Thank you for rewarding me for being safe," she replied with a grin. Honestly, she didn't need any rewards for being safe, but it was pretty awesome to earn kisses for doing things that she would most likely do anyway.

Although, it seemed like she earned kisses for pretty much anything these days...

"So…" she said with a wave towards the boxes. "What do we do with these? Follow more diagrams?"

"You guessed it." After opening the garage door, which let in a blast of cold air, Weiss went over to the boxes and opened them one-by-one. "You divided the yard into quadrants, then packed each box by the quadrant it goes in."

While that sounded like a good - and meticulous - idea, Ruby still wasn't quite grasping the reason for putting so much effort into Christmas decorations. But if the previous version of her thought this was a good idea...

"Is that fake snow?" she asked when Weiss pulled out several bags of fluffy, white powder and set them aside. "But there's already snow," she added with a gesture towards their front yard, which was currently covered in snow.

"You never left it up to chance," Weiss replied with a shrug - somehow, not at all concerned by the clear display of overzealousness. "Can't have Christmas without snow, can we?"

"I mean...I guess not...but why was I so uptight about this?" Reaching into one of the boxes and pulling out a package, Ruby turned it over in her hands to find that it was a giant inflatable snowman with cat ears. "Alright, this is pretty cool."

"You had that custom made," Weiss explained while grabbing a few packages of her own and motioning Ruby outside. "You said it didn't seem right that there weren't any to buy in stores."

"For...Blake?"

"You would never admit it." With one of those loving smiles meant every bit for this Ruby as well as the past version of her, Weiss turned over the packages she held - revealing a snowman with antlers and a snowman with a monkey's tail. "That's why you had these made too."

Giving the collection of Faunus-inspired snowmen a long look, Ruby felt her resistance to decorating outside melt away. Just thinking about putting these up where all of their neighbors would see made her heart unmistakably happy. And past her was right - there wasn't enough Faunus stuff to buy in stores. Just look at that cute little monkey tail...who didn't want a snowman with a monkey tail?

Maybe she was on to something with this whole Christmas thing...

The Backyard

"Can I just say -" Ruby huffed as she dropped yet another box near the trees at the far end of their backyard. "That I hate boxes."

Apparently, storing an entire Christmas-themed department store in their attic required the entire world's supply of boxes. The only thing they didn't have was a set of robotic legs to help bring them down come Christmas-time…

Noticing the way Weiss was smiling at her, however, she forgot all about her burning legs and smiled back.

"What?"

"You always say that," Weiss pointed out with a laugh.

"I do?" Imagining this situation playing out year after year, during which she always got sore legs and always complained about getting sore legs, Ruby chuckled to herself. "And then you say, 'It's not the boxes, it's the stairs.'"

Just thinking about the phrase, she could practically hear Weiss' no-nonsense tone combined with the hint of a smile. When Weiss' brow furrowed, however, that voice faded away.

"What?" she asked, only for Weiss to shake her head and look momentarily at a loss for words.

"That's...exactly what I say," she finally got out before tilting her head. "How did you know that?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know, it just kind of...felt right?"

The more Ruby tried to figure out where she came up with the phrase, the murkier her memory of the situation became. Was that just a really good guess? Or did she know Weiss' humor and mannerisms that well? So well that she could also hear Weiss' voice in her head?

She couldn't figure it out, and Weiss couldn't seem to either. So, after staring at each other for another few seconds, she motioned towards the boxes.

"These aren't going to hang themselves," she said while kneeling down and removing the lid from the first box. "I hope they still work…"

The first box held...strings upon strings of Christmas lights. The second box was the same. As was the third, and the fourth…

"Weiss…" Lifting up one of the meticulously coiled strands, Ruby gave Weiss a concerned look. "This is like ten million miles of lights. What're we going to do with them all?"

"What do you think?" When Weiss nodded towards the trees towering above them, Ruby's disbelief grew.

"Are you...serious?"

"That's exactly what I asked the first time." With the lids removed from all of the boxes, Weiss went back through each one and connected the end of one strand to the beginning of the other. "But you were very serious, and I'm glad you talked me into it - it's one of my favorite parts of Christmas."

Well, that settled it. If this was one of Weiss' favorite parts of Christmas, then no way was Ruby putting up a fight. Instead, she took a step back and looked up at the trees, most of which were at least fifty feet tall.

"How am I supposed to get up there?"

"How do you think?" When Weiss handed the strand of lights to Ruby, she took it and furrowed her brow.

"Do we have a ladder or something?" she asked, only to grow more confused when Weiss laughed.

"When's the last time you used a ladder?"

"I dunno...when's the last time I climbed a tree this tall?" A ladder seemed like a reasonable way to get up there, but that was only part of the problem. After a glance at each box, she noticed the conspicuous lack of anything other than lights. "There aren't any instructions..."

"That's because we don't need instructions," Weiss replied while shooing Ruby away from the boxes and closer to the trees. "You're not in charge of this anyway - you're just the tool."

"I'm the tool?" Ruby asked with a laugh, only to earn a nod.

"Think of it like a seamstress weaving a new pattern." While Ruby's brow at the thought, Weiss set her hand on her heart and said, "Seamstress." She then motioned towards the thread of lights and said, "thread," before smiling at Ruby.

"Needle."

That was a pretty convincing analogy, and one Ruby understood even more clearly when Weiss gestured towards the glyph on the ground beside them. With one last glance at the strand of lights in her hands, a smile tugged at Ruby's lips while her excitement spurred into high gear.

"Use me as you see fit," she said before stepping onto the glyph without hesitation. Upon launching herself upward, she easily reached the top of the trees and had just begun her descent when she spotted another glyph nearby. Then another, and another.

Soon, she was whizzing between and around the trees with her string of lights in tow, thinking that this might just be her favorite part of Christmas too.

The Tree

"Phew!" Making a show of brushing off her hands, as if she did something more difficult than playing human pinball with Weiss' glyphs, Ruby looked up at the trees and smiled. That hadn't taken long at all, and now the trees were wrapped in miles and miles of Christmas lights.

"They look awesome!" she added before turning towards Weiss. "You make a great seamstress."

"And you make a great needle," Weiss replied with a soft laugh before leaning against Ruby's shoulder and smiling at their work. Since it was still daytime, they couldn't see the full effect yet, but Ruby had an inkling that Weiss just created something incredible.

"So…" Ruby began when she realized that she didn't know what came next. Wrapping her arm around Weiss' shoulders, she waited for clear blue eyes to meet hers before continuing with a smile. "Now that that's finished, are we done outside?"

"Not quite."

"Please tell me there's no more boxes," she immediately said, and Weiss laughed while reaching into her jacket for her scroll.

"No more boxes," she assured Ruby before calmly pulling out her scroll, tapping a few buttons, and waiting. Several seconds later, a weapon locker covered in painted roses plunged into the ground in front of them.

"Uh…" was all she got out while Weiss opened the locker and pressed Crescent Rose into her hands. "What do I need this for?"

"We need to get the tree."

"The tree for inside?" When Weiss nodded and walked into the forest, Ruby hurried to follow. "We get that from here?" she added while looking at the trees she routinely dodged for practice.

"Every year." The response gave Ruby reason to pause, but Weiss gently held her hand and pulled her along. "You liked finding your own tree," Weiss explained. "Plus, you insisted on planting even more - that way, the forest would never run out."

When Weiss waved towards the quiet, tranquil forest filled with trees of all different shapes and sizes, Ruby looked around with a smile. Now that she thought about it, she liked the idea of finding a Christmas tree in their own backyard. She also liked the idea of planting more trees in return - giving back to the forest that gave so much to her.

"That sounds nice," she finally whispered, and Weiss hummed in return.

Spotting the content smile on Weiss' lips, Ruby felt a soothing wave of happiness wash over her. The longer she lived here, the more she loved every little piece of the place she called home. The house had everything she could ask for. The backyard was amazing. The woods were a hidden gem that kept giving. And, most importantly, being here transformed Weiss in indescribable ways.

This was Weiss' happy place. She had a lot of good memories here, some of which she appeared to be reminiscing on right now. And, now that she allowed herself to remember the good without bringing up the bad, their home put her at ease. She accepted the daily reminders of their past, and often shared the stories for Ruby's amusement or entertainment.

Ruby didn't have as many memories here, but she made new ones every day - like right now. She would always remember the time Weiss taught her how they used to do Christmas. She would always remember the first time Weiss spun her around the trees to hang Christmas lights. And now, she would remember the first Christmas tree they picked out together.

"There's all different kinds of trees in here," she brought up. "What kind do we want? A tall one? A wide one? A short, fat one?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask," Weiss replied with a small smile. "Fortunately for us, you already wrote down exactly what we're looking for."

"Of course I did…" Ruby mumbled, and added an eyeroll for her previous self while Weiss searched through her jacket pockets. Eventually, she pulled out a printed checklist and handed it to Ruby, whose eyes widened the moment it was in her hands.

"I laminated it." Flipping the form over in her hands, she looked up when Weiss laughed at her disbelief.

"You did," Weiss replied with a happy nod. "You had to rewrite it once when it got left out here by accident. You were determined to never let that happen again."

While that sounded like a good idea if the information was vital, Ruby couldn't fathom that it was necessary for a list on how to pick out a Christmas tree. That was, until she read through the notes written on the small sheet of paper.

Apparently, she'd done extensive research on how to find the perfect tree and wrote it all down for future use. The preferred species, the ideal size, the right shape, the best color, as well as typical locations to find them. Everything she could possibly want to know - already written down for her to relearn.

"I'm a genius," she said, and hardly heard Weiss' laugh before squeezing her hand and leading them further into the forest.

Using this list, they could find the perfect tree in no time.

While they scanned the forest around them, however, her gratitude towards her past self grew. Not only for leaving so many notes behind, but also for creating this space with Weiss, to begin with. The time, effort, and love that went into building this home, with these traditions, hadn't been wasted.

She still didn't quite understand why she put so much thought into it, but that extra effort led to this moment - her and Weiss going on a scavenger hunt for trees in the woods. Another new memory for her to treasure, which she fully intended to do.

The Food

Christmas morning arrived with a fresh blanket of snow, a chill in the air, and an early-than-expected wake-up time. 'Unless you don't want to have Christmas dinner,' Weiss had said while prodding Ruby out of bed.

Considering the fun she had with the decorations, putting up the lights, and finding their perfect tree, she didn't complain for long. If anything, her excitement to see the culmination of their efforts grew by the minute. Something good would come out of this - she could feel it. But first, they had more work to do.

"I'll make breakfast for you first," Weiss said while leading Ruby into the kitchen. After softly kissing Ruby's cheek, she smiled and headed over to the fridge.

"I'll help?" Ruby offered, only to be waved away like she usually was.

"You know I like cooking breakfast for you," was all Weiss said while pulling out ingredients and motioning Ruby to one of the seats at the island. Having already lost this argument dozens of times, she willingly sat down and watched Weiss instead.

Secretly, watching Weiss cook was a guilty pleasure of Ruby's. Not only did she look so calm and content in the kitchen, but she sometimes hummed or sang to herself while mixing ingredients or waiting for something to finish on the stove.

She had the voice of an angel...and she was a really good cook. And a great baker. And incredibly smart, funny, kind-hearted...plus, she could kill Beowolves with an efficiency unmatched by anyone Ruby had ever seen.

Basically, she was the perfect woman.

"You're daydreaming again."

Started out of those thoughts, Ruby felt a blush grow when she noticed Weiss smiling at her. In moments like these, it seemed like Weiss knew her better than she knew herself, and she kind of loved that feeling. Especially when it meant Weiss looked at her like that, because that look made her heart go all kinds of crazy.

"So…" she began before clearing her throat, which only made Weiss laugh - which only made Ruby's blush grow even hotter. "So, uh...what're you making for dinner?" she got out and, thankfully, Weiss let her off the hook.

"A few of our favorite recipes," she replied before pausing and turning around. "I mean, they used to be our favorites, but we'll see what you think this year." After setting some mixing bowls on the island, she went back to the cupboards for ingredients. "We can always make changes," she added while pulling out the flour. "We can't get rid of the tuna though, or Blake will riot."

While Ruby giggled at the thought of Blake staging a protest over their Christmas menu, Weiss smiled and continued her work.

"But when do I help?" Ruby asked after only a second had passed.

"You're not going to help. You're going to sit there and watch me make dinner."

"I just...sit here?"

"Yes, sit there and…" Suddenly, Weiss was the one suffering from a mild blush, but she cleared her throat and regained her composure quickly. "You usually sit there and...tell me how much you love me, but -"

"But that sounds like the best job ever!" Ruby interrupted with a big smile. "You look really pretty today, by the way."

For a second, Weiss just stared at Ruby while her cheeks grew pinker and pinker. Then she lowered her gaze to her hands and muttered a quiet "Thank you" before going back to work.

The shy response made Ruby giggle, and she decided that this was her favorite part of Christmas so far. As much as she liked to help, she liked complimenting Weiss even more.

"We did this every year?" she asked while Weiss poured some eggs into a skillet for breakfast.

"Yes, we did, but it grew every year. It didn't start out so...extensive." When Weiss waved towards the red and green decorations that had overtaken their kitchen, Ruby looked around and smiled.

"I can see why Yang called us the queens of Christmas," she said with a nod, and Weiss laughed while pulling a plate from the cupboard.

"I'd say you were the queen. I was just...along for the ride."

"I dunno about that...you looked pretty happy to be whipping me around those trees."

"I'll admit that's rather fun," Weiss replied with a small laugh and smile sent Ruby's way. "But I believe you were having fun too."

"Definitely!" As soon as a thought popped into Ruby's mind, her eyes widened. "Is that how we get them down too?"

"Unless you can think of an easier way to do it…" Weiss began, only to laugh when Ruby shook her head. "I didn't think so."

"Pretty sure we already know the fastest and most efficient way to do it," Ruby replied with a big smile. "Oh! That reminds me - what do you think about taking the next Beowolf contract that pops up? I want to test our new moves now that we've got them nailed down."

"Is that hunt talk I hear?" Weiss replied, glancing over her shoulder while sliding an omelet out of the skillet.

"Uh...yes?"

"No hunt talk allowed on Christmas." When Ruby's jaw dropped, Weiss set the omelet in front of her and kissed her cheek. "You made the rules - I just follow them."

"But..." Ruby began, but stopped when she saw the smile lighting Weiss' eyes with happiness. That smile filled her with a feeling she couldn't quite describe. All she knew was that it was one of the reasons she knew, deep in her heart, that Weiss was special.

"You're right." Thinking about how special Weiss was, and how happy Weiss made her, was enough to make her heart swell with love. "I have better things to talk about - like how amazing you are."

"Now you're catching on." With a blush returning to her cheeks, Weiss went back to the stove and continued their Christmas menu. Ruby, meanwhile, picked up a fork and felt her smile grow.

Maybe she was finally catching on.

The Outfits

"What's wrong with what we're wearing?" Ruby asked while Weiss led her by the hand into their bedroom.

After spending the entire morning lavishing Weiss with compliments while Weiss prepared dinner, she thought they were done with the Christmas preparations. Apparently, she was wrong.

That seemed to be happening a lot recently...

"Do you think that's Christmas-y enough?"

"What makes clothes 'Christmas-y?'" As soon as Ruby asked the question and spotted the sparkle in Weiss' eyes, her excitement rose to match.

But "You'll see..." was all Weiss said before guiding Ruby over to their bed. "Wait here, and I'll find it."

"We have Christmas outfits?" Ruby guessed, and curiosity joined her excitement when Weiss' laughter filtered out of the closet.

"We certainly do," she replied while walking into the room with a box in her hands and a...smug?...smile on her lips. "Before you open this, I want you to know that you can only blame yourself. You picked it out, and you insisted upon wearing it."

Ruby's brow rose at the comment, and rose even further when Weiss lifted the lid off the box to reveal an outfit that was almost entirely...green. Thankfully, there were red and white accents everywhere, but...the only thing it lacked was the green hat and pointed shoes.

"Um…" After glancing at Weiss, who was barely keeping herself from laughing, Ruby stared at the outfit in shock. "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"But..." Lifting one of the sleeves, she gave Weiss a dubious look. "This looks like something an elf would wear."

That did it - Weiss couldn't hold back her laughter anymore, and burst into giggles.

"It does," she agreed in the midst of giggling. "Like something a really cute little elf would wear."

Weiss' response was so hopelessly adorable, Ruby's resistance to the green faded substantially. But still...her favorite color was red. Her name was almost literally red. So for Christmas...she decided to dress like an elf?

"You wouldn't take advantage of a girl with amnesia, would you?" she finally asked, only for Weiss to laugh harder and shake her head.

"Of course not. You know I wouldn't."

That was true - Weiss would never make up a lie about their past. She was too honest for that. Which meant that this really was Ruby's Christmas attire…

"Ok, I'll wear it." Accepting the outfit, Ruby looked it over and sighed. So much green…but she wouldn't complain. If she ever got to have a conversation with her previous self, however, she would ask what the heck she was thinking. Although Weiss' giggles and bright smile gave her a clue as to what her thought process might have been…

"So I'm the elf," she said, laying the clothes out on the bed before turning back to Weiss. "But what about you? Are you a little green elf too?"

The question hardly left her lips before her heart sped up at the thought of Weiss dressed in such a cute outfit. The green would go really well with her hair...and she would be the most adorable elf in existence, that was for sure.

"No, you picked out something else for me." Motioning for Ruby to wait, Weiss walked back into the closet before reappearing with another box. After setting it on the bed, she removed the lid and pulled out a similar outfit, but this one was white and light blue. The color scheme was better than Ruby's, but it was going to make her look like a cute little snowflake.

Having seen what Weiss could do to a Death Stalker in high heels, Ruby found it a little difficult to imagine her wearing something so...sweet and dainty.

"You're really going to wear that?" she asked, and Weiss gave the outfit some serious consideration before smiling.

"Of course I will," she said before leaning forward and kissing Ruby's forehead. Before moving away, she looked into Ruby's eyes and smiled. "Because I love you."

When Weiss moved away and looked at the outfit with something close to fondness in her eyes, Ruby's heart fluttered in her chest.

Weiss didn't say what her love meant, but she didn't have to - Ruby knew exactly what it meant to love someone so much that she was willing to do anything for them. That included putting her life in danger to keep them safe and, apparently, wearing a goofy outfit just to make them laugh.

"Do you ever think about how different our lives were last year?" she asked as soon as the thought popped into her head. Weiss' smile faded at the question, but she didn't shy away from Ruby's gaze while nodding.

"All the time," she whispered.

As soon as Ruby sensed the seriousness behind the answer, she jumped to her feet and pulled Weiss into a hug. Last year, she hardly stopped to celebrate Christmas because she was too focused on training and rehabbing. This year...she had more to be grateful for than she would have ever imagined.

"I'm really glad you're in my life," she told Weiss before chuckling to herself. "Or back in my life," she corrected. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm happy to be back too..." Wrapping her arms around Ruby's neck, Weiss pulled her closer and sighed into her shoulder.

After everything they went through, both together and apart, they found the importance in taking these small moments to pause, reflect, and share gratitude for where they were. Or, in this case, maybe to reflect their mutual embarrassment for the outfits they were about to wear.

Christmas

"Are you ready?"

Before answering the question, Ruby looked from the entryway into the living room, then into the kitchen. Over the past few days, their house had transformed into a winter wonderland, and she had to admit that it looked pretty incredible.

Garlands and ornaments hung everywhere. Fake snow was piled in little drifts near the corners and on the banisters. The windows were frosted, and everything shone with happiness and good cheer - including themselves, in the outfits which actually weren't so bad once they put them on. Every direction she turned, she found a reminder that today was Christmas, and those reminders filled her heart with excitement and joy.

"I think so…" she answered with one last look around. When her gaze roved over the living room, however, she pinpointed one of her remaining sources of confusion. "But what about the tree?" she asked while motioning towards the tree they'd lugged inside, which looked bereft of Christmas cheer when compared to the rest of the house.

"You'll see," was Weiss' reply as her eyes swept the decorations around them. In typical Weiss fashion, her gaze was intent and analytical - inspecting and evaluating every inch of the room before giving an approving nod.

"Is it like you remember?" Ruby finally asked, bringing those light blue eyes to hers. And, when Weiss smiled, her excitement grew.

"It's exactly like I remember," Weiss whispered before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Ruby's lips. After lingering long enough to savor the closeness they shared, she backed away and smiled. "Thank you…" she added, but Ruby shook her head.

"I should be the one thanking you - for showing me how to set everything up again."

It looked like Weiss wanted to argue the statement, but the doorbell ended any opportunity to do so. Instead, she turned in that direction, took a deep breath, and ran her hands down the front of her shirt. Recognizing the subtle display of nerves, Ruby skipped towards the door first.

"I'll answer it," she added with a smile, and brushed aside any nerves of her own while grabbing the handle and pulling it open to welcome their guests.

"Merry -!" was all Yang got out before bursting into giggles - lots and lots of giggles. So many happy, infectious giggles that Ruby immediately beamed at Weiss.

The outfits were definitely worth it. Because when was the last time she heard her sister laugh like that?

"Oh Grimm," Yang eventually got out once she got her giggles under control, though she still clutched her sides while Blake's ears twitched merrily. "I forgot you had those."

"And people call me the forgetful one," Ruby joked before waving them inside and closing the door behind them. "What's wrong with my Christmas outfit?"

"Nothing!" Yang replied, rapidly waving her hand through the air while another few laughs slipped out. "Nothing, nothing. You just...look like Christmas Ruby."

"And Christmas Weiss," Blake added before giving Weiss a hug. "I think you guys look cute."

"Oh definitely," Yang agreed. "Like cute little elves - where's the workshop?"

"Don't listen to her," Blake interrupted when Weiss opened her mouth to respond. "Someone at the store yesterday called her funny, now she thinks she actually is."

"Ouch!" Unperturbed by the tease, which Blake delivered with such an innocent expression, Yang broke into a big smile. "I'll have you know," she added. "That he said I'm the funniest person he's ever met."

When Weiss and Blake rolled their eyes in unison, Ruby giggled and shook her head at her sister.

Christmas had only just begun, but she was already having a great time. Although, that wasn't too surprising since she always had a great time when the four of them were together...

"It smells fantastic in here," Blake added with a sniff of the air.

"I'm sure it's the tuna you're referring to," Weiss replied, and shared a smile with Blake before noticing the small box in her hands. "Are those…?" she asked, and Blake nodded before turning towards Ruby.

"These are for you." When Blake extended the box, Ruby took it and opened the lid to reveal rows upon rows of small, round, powdered-sugar covered cookies.

"Christmas cookies?" she asked, and her excitement grew when Blake nodded.

"You called them 'snowballs.'"

"Snowballs!" Ruby repeated with a laugh before popping one in her mouth - they were sweet, soft, and wonderful. "These are so good!" she said before grabbing another one, and only then realized the way everyone seemed to sigh in relief.

"See?" Yang said with a light nudge of Blake's side. "And you were worried she wouldn't like them anymore...they're balls of sugar - how could she not like them?"

"You never know…"

"Oh." Her expression suddenly falling, Yang sighed and shook her head. "Because of snakerdoodles. That was my bad…"

"It was nobody's 'bad,'" Weiss replied before smiling at Ruby. "Our tastes change all the time, and that's just fine."

Finally understanding what they were talking about, Ruby met Weiss' gaze and nodded. There was no reason to feel bad about a simple change like that because it would have been impossible for her to be the same in every single way. If liking different kinds of cookies was the biggest change she'd undergone...she would gladly take it.

"But these cookies are incredible!" she added before hopping over to Blake and giving her a one-armed hug for the gift. "Thank you for making them."

"You're welcome." When Ruby pulled away, Blake patted her shoulder and smiled. "It's tradition, after all."

"And we're all about the traditions this year," Yang added before motioning for them to wait and hurrying back to the front door. After opening it and ducking outside, she returned with a giant box in her arms. "So we brought the ornaments!"

When Yang lowered the box and Blake opened it for them to see, Ruby leaned forward and found hundreds of ornaments tucked safely inside. Some homemade, some store-bought. Some souvenirs, some expensive and jeweled. Just looking at them sent a flurry of emotions through her chest - warmth, fondness, and happiness.

"We're decorating the tree together," she whispered, and looked up to find her teammates smiling at her.

"We do it every year," Weiss explained while sliding her hand into Ruby's.

"I always put the star on top," Yang added with a grin. "Since I'm the only one who can reach the top of the tree."

"With help," Blake teased before motioning for Yang to carry the box into the living room. "And you realize any of us could put up the star if we wanted to -"

"Then why don't you want to?"

"Because it would hurt your ego."

When Yang laughed at the response, Weiss shook her head but still smiled. Seeing that smile made Ruby smile, and that smile only grew when Weiss looked up at her and squeezed her hand.

"Let's help them."

Needing no more encouragement than that, Ruby followed Weiss into the living room and watched Yang set the box on the coffee table.

"That's a pretty tree," Blake said while looking at the evergreen Ruby and Weiss picked out the other day. When she turned around, however, there was a bit of a smirk on her lips. "How far did you have to walk to find it?"

While Ruby giggled at the question, Weiss blew a puff of air through her lips. "Far," she added before letting go of Ruby's hand and walking over to the box of ornaments.

"But it was worth it!" Ruby quickly added, earning a smile from Weiss that silently said she'd enjoyed the time together too. She then removed the first two ornaments from the box and motioned Ruby over to take them.

"There are no diagrams here," she explained, her eyes filled with joy while she carefully set the ornaments in Ruby's hands. "So you can hang them wherever you want."

The lack of direction seemed strange considering how planned out the rest of Christmas was, but Ruby accepted the instructions and ornaments with a smile and nod. Upon turning towards the tree, she found a blank canvas just waiting to be decorated in any way they chose. And with no specific locations marked for each ornament, it was bound to be different every time. Maybe that was the point?

Noticing that the room's attention had fallen upon her, she smiled at her friends - her family - and walked over to put the first two ornaments on the tree. Once they were set and secure, she backed away and nodded.

"Good call, Ruby," Yang finally said, and patted Ruby's shoulder before adding two ornaments of her own. "Gonna cover this tree in no time."

"Speed isn't the point," Blake pointed out while hanging her first ornaments on the other side of the tree.

"You're right - emptying the box is!"

While Blake rolled her eyes and returned to the box for more decorations, Weiss appeared by Ruby's side and hung her first ornaments near Ruby's. Once those were set, she took a few seconds to appreciate their work before reaching over and squeezing Ruby's hand.

"There's a lot more," she whispered before moving away, spurring Ruby back into motion. There were a lot of ornaments to hang, but Blake was right - speed wasn't the point.

"We should tell Ruby how we got some of these." With Blake looking over a small red ornament dusted in gold, Yang caught Ruby's gaze and smiled.

"Maybe once we get them all on the tree, we can go through them?" she offered, and Ruby nodded.

"I'd love to hear about them!" she added, and they exchanged smiles of their own before returning to the tree.

"Can you guess which ones you made?" Weiss asked while holding up two red ornaments painted with intricate white roses.

"I made those?"

With a smile and nod, Weiss took them over to the tree. And, now that Ruby knew there were stories behind some of the ornaments, she wanted to know more. Then again, she always wanted to know more about who she once was, even if those memories didn't feel very attached to her.

Standing in this room filled with memories, however...she didn't exactly feel out of place.

"Wow, look at the lights." Yang motioned Blake over to the window, where they looked at the lights decorating the trees in the backyard. The pattern would be even more exquisite when night fell, but even now they could see the intricately woven set of lights moving from tree to tree. Somehow, Weiss had created one large snowflake composed of smaller snowflakes, with each little light also being a snowflake of its own.

Ruby already knew she wouldn't want to take it down...

"They're beautiful," Blake murmured before turning around. "Good job, Weiss."

"Ruby helped," Weiss was quick to point out, and Ruby grinned.

"I was just the needle."

"You told her the seamstress thing?" Yang asked Weiss with a smile.

"It's a good analogy."

"Of course you think so. I still don't know how I feel about you using my sister like that."

"She seemed to enjoy it," Weiss teased, and Yang made a face while Blake squeezed her arm to bring her attention back outside. Weiss, meanwhile, caught Ruby's gaze and smiled.

She was happy. Anyone could see that she was happy right now, and her happiness made Ruby feel like she could levitate right off the ground. Everything about the room right now made her feel like levitating off the ground - from Yang's jokes to Blake's muted teasing to Weiss' uninhibited, joyful participation in all of it.

From the lights outside to the tree inside to the stockings hung above the mantle - something about this moment was...special. Whether it was the colors, the smells, the day, or a combination of everything, she didn't know. All she knew was that the feeling in the air right now was like Christmas only...better. Brighter.

With a smile that wouldn't leave her lips anytime soon, she sat on the sofa and reached into the box for more ornaments to hang. When she found several homemade ornaments staring up at her, however, she paused.

After glancing around the room to see if anyone noticed her brief surprise, but finding everyone chatting happily by the window, she reached into the box and gently pulled out a stack of flat, wooden ornaments that each featured a picture in the middle - a picture of the four of them.

As soon as she held those photographs in her hands, a strange emotion appeared in her chest - something along the lines of longing and comfort rolled into one. These were pictures of her - of them - from the Christmases they'd shared, and they looked so happy together. Standing in front of the decorated tree, sitting on the sofa...just content to share the day together.

By looking at the outfits and the decorations in the room, she could tell which photographs were the oldest, and she could see how their time together had grown. In the most recent photo - the one that must have been taken the Christmas prior to her accident - everything looked exactly the same. And, the longer she stared at it, the more she felt as if she actually remembered. The laughter, the smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen, the warmth in the air. She felt connected to that moment...because it was the same moment she was living right now.

"Be careful," Weiss warned while Yang tried not to giggle, drawing Ruby's attention across the room.

"Don't worry - we do this all the time." Yang hardly got out the words before giggling again, and Blake shook her head from her position sitting on top of Yang's shoulders.

"If you don't want me to fall, stop laughing so much."

"I can't help it!" Yang replied with more giggles, and moved closer to the tree only to step away right when Blake reached out to put the star ornament on top. "Maybe I should do it," she added while Blake sighed.

"Actually -" Giving up on the tree, Blake set the star on Yang's head instead. "There - we're done."

When Yang laughed even harder, Blake held out only a few seconds before joining in. A warm, fuzzy feeling appeared in Ruby's chest at the sound, and she couldn't help but smile.

They were happy now, just like they were then.

Feeling a presence by her side, she looked up and felt her smile grow when Weiss sat on the sofa beside her.

"How're you doing?" Weiss asked in a soft voice, and her worry showed in her eyes when she noticed what Ruby held in her hands.

"I'm fine." When Weiss raised her brow at the response, Ruby recognized the request to explain what was on her mind. And, as always, she was more than willing to explain her thoughts to Weiss. "I was just looking at these," she explained while motioning with the photo ornaments. "We'll take another picture this year, right?"

"We will," Weiss replied with a nod, though her eyes said she knew there was more to Ruby's thoughts than that. As always...she knew Ruby almost better than Ruby knew herself.

"And I think...I finally understand why I was so obsessed with Christmas."

"Do you?" When Weiss leaned into Ruby's side, ready to hear the rest of the explanation, Ruby put an arm around Weiss' shoulders and hugged her close. "And why's that?"

"Because...I love all of you so much. And I love creating something that we can enjoy together - a day that's only about us."

She wrote everything down and created diagrams to make it easier on herself, but the perfect Christmas wasn't about the decorations being in the right place, or finding the perfect tree, or having the perfect food. The perfect Christmas was showing how much she cared for the people closest to her, and how much they were in her thoughts.

Because when Christmas day arrived, this was all about the time spent together. The memories they created. The happiness and love filling her heart right now - that's why she did it.

Feeling Weiss shift under her arm, she looked over and found Weiss smiling at her.

"We love you too, Ruby. But you know you don't have to go through all this effort for us to love spending time with you."

"I know." If she ever questioned that they loved her, all she had to do was remember how much each of them sacrificed for her - and how much she would sacrifice for them in return. "But...I think we should keep doing this every year."

"You do?" Weiss asked, and a smile eased onto her lips when Ruby nodded.

"I do! It's actually a lot of fun. Plus, there's something...magical...about it. I can't quite explain, but...it's special."

Thankfully, she didn't need to explain more than that because, when she looked in Weiss' eyes, she knew that Weiss felt the same. They both felt it - they probably all felt it - which was why Christmas was so important to them.

After leaning forward to kiss Ruby on the lips, Weiss pulled away with a smile filled with love.

"Then that's what we'll do," she whispered before intertwining her fingers with Ruby's and motioning for the ornaments in Ruby's other hand. "Let me see those," she said and, upon seeing the photo on top of the stack - a photo from a time long past - her smile brightened.

While Weiss looked over the ornaments, Ruby found herself exceedingly thankful to the past version of herself - the version smiling in those photographs. The effort she put into today was clear, and Ruby was grateful to be a part of it again, and grateful to have something to carry on from here.

Because when she looked at the lights, the decorations, and the Christmas tree, she felt closer to that version of her than she had in a long time. This day kept that previous version of her alive in a visible way. This was the past version of Ruby - in the lights, in the traditions, in the food and silly outfits. And she liked the idea of keeping that version of Ruby around...as a reminder that even though so much had changed, not all was lost.

They still had each other. They still loved each other. In the end, that was all that mattered.