Ruby sat outside on the bench swing, bundled up in her jacket. It was cold, but she didn't want to be inside at the moment. She needed something to make her feel better, and she usually felt better after a good swing. It wasn't working this time, though. She just felt cold and helpless beneath the constant anguish that was the Schnee family.

Hearing the back door open, she looked up to find Yang staring at her with concern. She crunched through the snow and stood in front of Ruby without a word. Sighing, Ruby stopped the swing and scooted to the side to allow Yang to sit down. That meant she was gonna have to talk about what was getting her so down.

"So, things didn't go too well with Weiss's dad?" Ruby shook her head, clutching the bench chain tightly. "Do you wanna talk about it?" She shook her head again, making Yang become the one to sigh. "You can talk to me about these kinda things, Rubes. You'd always tell me about things that were getting you down."

"I know…" Ruby kicked her feet back and forth, displacing the snow beneath her boots. She didn't want to hide things from her sister, but this was a private matter involving Weiss. It felt like a breach of trust revealing what had happened to anyone: even Yang. "I don't think Weiss would like me telling other people, though."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." She'd probably feel the same way if she was in Weiss's four inch heels. It meant that she couldn't properly help Ruby, though, and that was frustrating to her. She was used to having something she could say or do make things better, but not this time. Love and family were complicated things sometimes. "Her family's really messed up, huh?"

"Yeah…" She had felt that she was ready for whatever might happen at Weiss's house, and she admittedly hadn't been surprised when Weiss finally told her about her father's staunch disapproval. That had been an outcome they'd both expected. Still, to see how miserable it made Weiss broke her heart. It wasn't fair that her family was so disapproving. She didn't like it one bit.

"So, uh, did she break up with you because of something her dad said?"

"No! No, we're still good. She said that she still wanted to be with me. That's why she invited me over in the first place, even if her dad didn't end up approving of us." Which he hadn't. She was trying not to reveal everything that had happened to Yang, but with how downtrodden she looked, it was pretty easy to guess what had happened. "I'm just upset that she doesn't get to have a good relationship with her family. I don't even know them… and they're jerks," she crossly muttered, kicking at the snow again.

"What are you gonna do, then?" Ruby looked up from the ground, confused by Yang's question. "If you two are still dating, then I know you'll want to do something for her. What is it that you're gonna do, Rubes?" She smiled and laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I'll help you with whatever you need."

"Really?" Yang nodded and gave her a thumbs up. That made Ruby smile brightly, wrapping up Yang in a big hug. "Thanks Yang! I know what I wanna do to make her feel better! Kind of." She laughed sheepishly, standing up from the swing. "It's the holidays, right? And if her family isn't going to make her feel loved, then I want our family to do that for her. To show her that she isn't alone."

"That sounds like a Ruby idea." Yang stood up as well, grinning. "Well, just let me know what you need me to do, and I'll drag Blake along with me." Ruby laughed, knowing that Blake likely wasn't going to be interested in helping out with her little project. At least, not as much as herself. Hopefully it'd be okay, though. She really wanted whatever her plan ended up becoming to work out.

"I will! Thanks again, Yang!" She hugged her sister again, then went back into the warmth of their home. Her creative juices were flowing, and she wasn't feeling so down anymore. Now that she had something to focus her energy on, she was ready to put her all into it. She wouldn't let Weiss be sad on Christmas.

Everything had fallen into place rather quickly. Since she wanted to show Weiss that she wouldn't be alone on the holidays, it would work best to just invite her over for said holidays. Before continuing on with any planning, she had to make sure that Weiss would be able to even come over on Christmas. Maybe she was going to be vacationing on some tropical island, which seemed like a rich thing to do. It also sounded like a thing that birds did, but that was besides the point. Who would want to retreat to warmth when there was perfectly good snow to play with anyway?

Thankfully, Weiss said she'd be able to come over on that afternoon. She initially expressed reluctance because she felt that Ruby would want to spend that day with her family, but she insisted that she wanted to spend time with her lovely new girlfriend. That worked wonders in getting Weiss to accept. Now she had to start planning.

She made sure that everyone knew what she was planning, except for Weiss, of course. There wasn't a lot of people in her life, but she wanted them all to be there to show Weiss support. Not all of them knew of Weiss's home situation, so she had to be careful not to give too much away. Her dad and Jaune were the ones who knew the least, so it took a bit of effort to work around that little issue, specifically with Jaune. She had to practically beg him to show support for someone who had treated him so poorly. He ended up agreeing, but only for her: not for Weiss. That was something, at least.

Though they didn't have money in spades, they always decorated their house for the Christmas season. This time it had to be extra special, though. She definitely wanted a snowflake or three in the front yard, since she felt they represented Weiss well. Also, the normal red, yellow, and green Christmas lights they had could do with a dash of white. She made Yang go buy them after she teasingly mentioned how having red and white lights together really would let the neighborhood know that she and Weiss were dating.

All the while, she was working on her present for Weiss. She wanted to make her something rather than buy it. Weiss was filthy stinkin' rich, after all. What was she supposed to get a girl who had everything? Hopefully something handmade would be okay. There was still that inkling of doubt in the back of her mind that something from the heart wouldn't be good enough, but she felt it was her best option. Maybe an enjoyable Christmas afternoon surrounded by friends that she wasn't paying to be there would make her more amenable to it.

She was nervous, but also excited. It seemed that she was in the clear when it came to Weiss's family ending her relationship just as it began. Despite the blowback that there had clearly been, Weiss had been resolute through her tears: she wanted their relationship to work. That resolve kept her going just as it surely did for Weiss. This would be the best Christmas that Weiss ever had! 72.5% guaranteed!

"You know, we wouldn't have to do this if you hadn't teased Ruby about the lights." Yang and Blake were at the mall buying Christmas lights, as Ruby had requested. Well, requested was a light word. More like 'forced because of Yang's teasing', as Blake was pointing out again. "We could've been at home doing anything but this." She shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling less than enthusiastic about being dragged along with Yang to do something for Weiss. Even if she'd done things for Weiss previously. That was during business hours.

"It was worth it. All my jokes are." Yang looked through the boxes of lights, looking for ones that were a mixture of white and red. "I know you're still down on Weiss, but play nice, okay? It'll be Christmas, after all. Everybody's supposed to be nice to each other or whatever- Aha!" She picked up a small box of lights, smiling triumphantly. "Here we go! She probably wants more than a small box, though. Is it worth it?"

"No, but I'll pay for it." Blake made Yang put down the smaller box of lights, grabbing the larger one instead. "I hope you realize the sacrifices I make for you."

"You're a real saint." Yang smirked, casting her eyes around the store once more. "Ooh, that'll be perfect!" She dashed over towards another rack, picking up a three-pack of mistletoe and holding it out in front of her. "We gotta get this too."

"Dare I ask why?" Blake walked over to Yang, quirking an eyebrow. "You don't have to go to such extremes to get a kiss from me, you know?"

"Oh I know. It's not for us. It's for Ruby and Weiss. I guarantee you that at the end of our little Christmas day get together, those two will end up underneath this here mistletoe, and it's gonna be romantic and shit." Yang tossed it onto the box of lights Blake was holding. "Might as well get three to make the odds a bit better."

"Alright, but you're going to be the one paying for them." She picked the mistletoe up and tossed it back to Yang. "My generosity only goes so far."

"Alriiight." Yang rolled her eyes, but quickly recovered her good mood as the two of them went over to the counter to pay for the items.

"I'm curious about something." Blake had held onto the question until they left the store, but now she had to know. "How come you're willing now to help those two kiss? With the mistletoe. I thought you didn't like the thought of them kissing."

"It's just because she's my little sister. I dunno if it'll ever be normal to imagine her kissing anyone, regardless of if they're Weiss or not. I'm just trying to be supportive, and I'm positive this is a good idea." She chuckled quietly. "And also I just try to focus on anything else but that."

"Well, maybe you should focus on kissing me instead." Blake halted next to Yang, giving her a somewhat seductive look. Yang stopped in her tracks, liking what she was hearing. Grinning, she held up the mistletoe between them, shaking it a bit.

"I think that's a great idea." She closed the distance, happily forgetting about Ruby and Weiss kissing and instead filling her mind with her and Blake kissing instead. It was real damn nice, especially because Blake liked to use her tongue. When they separated, she was only a little disappointed that they hadn't graduated to having Blake's tongue shoved down her throat. "You know, I don't think anyone would see us behind that tree."

"Yeah, I think you can wait until we get home." Blake laughed at the crestfallen expression on Yang's face. She knew it wasn't serious, though. Yang was always willing to try, no matter how unlikely the chances were. That seemed to be a family trait. "You're a good sister, Yang. You really are."

"Aww, thanks Blake!" Yang hugged her tightly, smiling as she buried her face in Blake's hair. "Is that still a no to behind-the-tree sex?"

"Yup."

"Worth a shot."

"Hey Ruby, I've got a request."

"Hmm? What is it, Yang?"

"Can you steal Weiss's phone for me?"

"No?" The two sisters were in the living room, racing each other in Mario Kart. Weiss was supposed to be over soon, but that left enough time for the two of them to get some quality kart racing in. "Why do you need Weiss's phone?"

"Because it'll help out with the little party you want to throw for her." Ruby glanced over at her in disbelief. "You know she has a sister, right?"

"She didn't tell me she had one." So Weiss did have a sister. That jived with the room in the Schnee Manor that belonged to a 'Miss Winter'. She'd had her suspicions, but this was making all the puzzle pieces fall into place. Why would Weiss tell Yang about Winter and not her, though? "Anyway, what about her?" She tried to pretend that she wasn't a tad jealous that Weiss would share that information with Yang and not her.

"I think it'd be nice if she and Weiss got to talkin' at the party, so I want to call her and invite her. Since I don't know her number, or her name, come to think of it, I gotta get it from her phone. If she knows about it, she may say no because she doesn't know this is totally a good idea." She grunted as her kart was hit with a red shell. "So you gotta take her phone and look for that number without her knowing."

"Yang, no! That's so invasive!" Ruby pouted, more from being kept out of the loop than the fact that she was also just hit with a red shell. "I don't think this is a good idea, and why do you know about her having a sister anyway? She didn't tell me that." She was getting a bit too sulky: enough to where it was easy enough to pick up on.

"Rubes…" Yang sighed, crossing the finish line in first place. She dropped the controller in her lap and turned towards Ruby, who was still staring at the screen. "Come on, what's up? Are you jealous that Weiss told me about her sister?" Ruby crossed the finish line in third place, but she didn't look towards Yang. Bingo. "It's not a big deal, sis. Remember when she got really upset trying to make friends with Blake and I?"

"Yeah…"

"I took her outside and she just mentioned her sister while we were having an emotional bonding moment. It's not anything major, really." Ruby finally looked her way, which was a good sign. "She has a bit of a complicated relationship with her sister, but I think it'll make her happy if she happened to be there on Christmas. And I know that her being happy will make you happy."

"Yeah, of course it would." Ruby put down her controller as well, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be jealous."

"It's okay, Rubes." Smiling, Yang started up another race. "So, you gonna steal her phone for me?"

"Still no! I don't feel comfortable doing that." She frowned at Yang, picking up her controller as the next race started. "Why don't you get Blake to do it?" She wasn't sure about all the details, but she was aware that Blake had what they called 'sticky fingers'.

"You just want to be an accessory to the crime? That's cool. Yeah, I can get her to do that." Just before the race was about to begin, Yang paused the game so she could grab her phone and ring up Blake. Holding the phone up to her ear by her shoulder, she unpaused and got back to the race. "Hey Blake, it's your boo."

"Please don't call yourself that."

"Yeah, I'm doing great. Listen, can you come over and use those magical fingers of yours to swipe Weiss's phone so we can look up her sister's phone number and try to get her over here on Christmas to make Weiss feel better?"

"... Uh huh. I'm a bit busy at the minute, so-"

"No you're not. I know you're in your room reading a book right now. Come on, Blake. Help a sistah out. This is important to Ruby, so it's important to me. Pleeease?"

"... Alright, fine. I'll come over."

"Awesome! See ya over here, babe!" She would've pumped her fist, but she was a bit busy with the race. "Hey, so I'm still racing Rubes in Mario Kart. Why don't you stay on the phone and keep me company until we finish?"

"How about I just see you over there?" She hung up, leaving the sound of silence in Yang's ear.

"Blake? Aww man…"

"Wow, smooth." Ruby giggled, playfully leaning over to nudge Yang's side. "Have you thought about teaching a class on romance?"

"Don't you start with me, missy." The two of them traded off playful banter until Blake came over, and then their concentration turned to successfully swiping Weiss's phone. Blake seemed calm about the whole situation, claiming that it wouldn't be a problem for her. Ruby wasn't sure if she should be relieved about that or not.

Weiss came over soon after Blake, and Ruby basically disappeared from the couch to the door in an instant. She opened the door and quickly enveloped Weiss in a tight hug, which initially caught Weiss off guard. The two of them hadn't seen each other outside of school since the incident with Weiss's dad, so Ruby was just happy to see her at the house again.

They hugged so long that Yang had to intervene, since they were standing in front of the open door and letting cold air in. The two of them fully entered the house, where Weiss was further surprised by a hug from Blake. It only lasted ten seconds, but it was ten seconds more than any hug Weiss expected to get from Blake. Which was none. The surprise paralyzed her, and she didn't even attempt to hug her back. No words were said between them, but there likely wasn't anything either of them had to say to the other.

She was still in a bit of a confused daze when Ruby grabbed her hand and took her into her room. Once the door was shut, Blake pulled Weiss's phone out of her back pocket, showing it off for a clearly impressed Yang. "I'm both impressed and slightly concerned."

"That's probably for the best." Blake pushed the home button on Weiss's phone, but frowned when she was met with a passcode screen. "Ah… I expected as much." Pocketing the phone again, she headed for the front door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Yang hurried after Blake, who had opened the front door again and looked like she was about to leave with Weiss's phone. She stopped on the porch, however, pulling a small roll of tape from her pocket. Just something you could buy on the cheap at a store. She ripped off a piece of it and stuck it on the doorknob, then pulled it off and looked at it. "The hell?"

"We need Weiss's fingerprint, unless you know her passcode." She didn't, but she also didn't think of using tape to pick up Weiss's fingerprint. That was some true crime shit right there. Blake gently placed the tape on the home button, getting it just right to where the phone opened up.

"You gonna be a detective when you grow up?" Yang whistled in appreciation, stepping back so the two could be in the house's warmth again. Blake pulled up Weiss's contacts, scrolling through to find the specific woman they were looking for. While waiting for Weiss to show up, Ruby had mentioned that her sister's name must be Winter. It was something she'd found out in the Schnee household, though she hadn't gone into specifics on how she'd come across that information. So if she was in Weiss's contacts, she'd be at the bottom.

"She doesn't have a lot of contacts in here, huh?" It didn't take her long to scroll to the bottom of her contacts, as there were only a handful of them. Not that she had a lot of them in her own phone, but this was the supposed queen of the school. She would've expected everyone who's anyone to be in her contacts. There was a temptation to leave the contacts app and look around for what other secrets might be hiding there, but she resisted. Maybe next time. "Here we go. Winter Schnee." She touched the contact, where a phone number came up. "Write this down so we can get this back to Weiss."

"On it." She wrote it down, technically. By writing it down, she was actually calling the number right away. "You sneak that back to her, alright? I'm gonna call her and get things squared away." She hit the call button and turned before Blake could argue about how it wasn't the right time to call. To Yang, the right time to call was now, and she was heading into the backyard before anyone could stop her.

She initially got her voicemail, but that didn't deter her. It was probably just a case of Winter not picking up the phone for an unknown number. She'd make her pick up, though. Another call or two should make her realize that this was something she needed to answer. So she called back and waited. After three rings, she figured this time wasn't going to work either, but then the ringing stopped. Success!

"Who is this?" Straight to the point with a voice that sounded perpetually annoyed. Even without knowing this was Weiss's sister, Yang could've guessed that they were related somehow. She would have to approach this carefully if Winter was anything like her little sister. Did she even know how to approach something carefully?

"Hey, my name is Yang. I'm a friend of Weiss's. Well, I mean I'm a friend of- What I mean is, I wanted to call you on Weiss's behalf." Whoops, that was close. She'd almost said outright that Weiss and Ruby were dating. It wasn't her place to mention that to Winter if Weiss hadn't told her yet, and she had a feeling that she hadn't.

"You're calling me on Weiss's behalf? Why wouldn't she call me herself, then?" There was a slight pause, then she continued. "I don't know who you are, but you'd better reassure me that she's alright, or I'll call the police on your location immediately."

"Woah woah woah! She's fine, I swear! Don't call the fuzz!" Wow, this chick was crazy. Who held conversations like that?! "Look, she doesn't know I'm calling you, okay? But she's fine. She's hanging out with my sister right now."

"Alright… How did you get this number?"

"Uh… that's not important. Look, I wanted to ask you to come to our Christmas get together."

"You want me to come to a party that you, a person I've never met before, are hosting?"

"Okay, you're just trying to make this real negative right now." Ugh, this was so frustrating. Who would've guessed that going behind someone's back would be such a chore? "Look, the get together is for Weiss. I just thought it'd be a nice surprise for her if her sister showed up to wish her a Merry Christmas."

"I send her a text every Christmas." Wow, who said this family wasn't close?

"Yeah, real great. Come on! She's dealing with a lot of shit right now and it would mean a lot for her to see you!" This whole family was the most aggravating group of people she'd ever dealt with. First there was Weiss and all her baggage, which involved her jerk-ass dad. Now there was her sister, who was like a mega Weiss. She'd have lost her damn mind if she had to grow up in that household.

"What exactly is she dealing with? I haven't heard that anything was wrong with her."

"Oh, uh… I, uh… dunno if I'm supposed to say…" Shit, she'd stuck her foot in her mouth, hadn't she? It wasn't on purpose! She'd just wanted to get Winter to understand why this was important, but it all predicated on information that Weiss obviously hadn't shared. They didn't seem all that close, though Weiss had confided that she wished Winter was still there.

"If Weiss wants to reveal what this 'shit' that she's dealing with is, she can call me herself. Don't call this number again, or there will be consequences." She then hung up. Yang pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it, having to physically see the home screen to believe that she'd been hung up on. That… didn't go well at all.

"Rrrgh!" She angrily kicked out at the fallen snow in front of her, then stomped her shoes down on the ground. Why was every Schnee like that?! Their family crest was imprinted in the dictionary next to the word 'frustrate'. Shoving her phone back in her pocket, she bent down and started to roll up snowball after snowball. Then she picked each one up and hurled it as hard as she could at the fence.

She stayed outside and threw snowballs at the fence until her arm was tired, but the fires of her anger still burned inside her. How come trying to help Weiss was so difficult? It'd be easier if she was still the same old queen bitch, because then she wouldn't even be bothering to do this. Though she'd still be angry, likely. Stupid Winter. And maybe stupid herself, for thinking that plan would work.

Hopefully, if Winter did end up calling Weiss, she'd forget Yang's name.

Aesthetically, Christmas was a different day than the others. The house looked festive, to the point where one might believe it was a normal household. Weiss did appreciate that it was something her mother did while sober, though it was one of the only things she did while sober. It looked nice, at least. With the big tree and the tinsel and all. That's all it was, though: aesthetics. Without those decorative trappings, it was just a normal day for the most part.

The Schnees weren't really a festive family, despite what the wintery names and crest might lead one to believe. They celebrated the holidays like most families, but it felt so hollow. The family didn't spend a lot of time together on that day: not that it was any more fun when they did. Winter was the one person in her family that she'd really want to spend the holidays with, but they hadn't celebrated Christmas together - outside of a yearly text wishing each other a Merry Christmas - in four years. It didn't feel like Christmas, and her feelings on the season itself had soured over the years. At this point, she dreaded the pretend attempts at acting like a normal family.

At least she had something to look forward to this year. She was grateful that Ruby wanted to spend some time with her that Christmas, though she had initially believed that Ruby would've rather spent the day with her family. It was a nice family in the aggregate, so she figured they had nice, regular Christmases. The fact that she was being invited over despite not being a family member felt nice, even though she had a feeling that she'd feel like an intruder regardless.

That afternoon, she drove up to Ruby's house. She still had no idea whether to call it the Rose or Xiao Long household, and she wasn't about to say both names every time. It was Ruby's house, and that was that. Anyway, she showed up, and the first thing she noticed were the big plastic snowflakes planted in the yard. Those hadn't been there the last time she'd come over. They looked nice, though.

The second thing she noticed was the two other cars parked by the house. Were there other family members there too? Oh God, she'd be so out of place. This was a family-based holiday, and she'd be a complete intruder. If they were all spending quality time together, would Blake be the only person she could start a full conversation with? That would not be ideal.

Well, she was already there, and she'd told Ruby that she'd come over. It was time to face the Christmas music. Walking to the door, she knocked on it and waited to be let inside. She wasn't sure what the social protocol was for this situation. How long was she expected to stay, and was she supposed to make small talk with any other family members besides the ones she knew? She'd better put on her best business face for this one.

She could hear a light rustling from behind the door, but no one was opening it. Was she expected to wait out in the cold? She tapped her foot on the porch. Any day now… The door then opened, and she found Ruby standing there with a smile on her face. She stepped back, allowing Weiss to enter and shut the door before she pulled her into a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Weiss." Leaning back, Weiss was able to see Ruby more clearly. She was standing there with a warm smile and a very garish red and green Christmas sweater that had a bad and honestly concerning pun stitched on it - 'It's knife to meet you', along with a few little knives surrounding the word - with sleeves that covered most of her hands. 'Tis the season, apparently.

"Merry Christmas, Ruby." She liked it, though. It was like leaving the tundra of her own house and entering an irrepressible warmth that she didn't know her body was craving. Ruby's smile was contagious, and she found herself smiling as well as she leaned in to sneak a kiss from her girlfriend. "That's a terrible pun, by the way."

"Aww, but Yang made it for me!"

"That explains a lot. I didn't even know she could sew."

"It took her two years." Ruby giggled before pulling away from Weiss, taking a hold of her hand. "Come on, come see the tree!" She tugged on Weiss's hand to get her to follow her into the living room. Of course, the tree was indeed there, but that wasn't the real reason she wanted to bring Weiss over. In the living room, everyone was waiting for the two of them to come around the corner.

"Merry Christmas, Weiss!" Stopping in her tracks, Weiss stared with wide eyes at the small gathering of people in the living room. As it turned out, this was not a family meeting like she'd expected. Taiyang and Yang were there, of course, but Blake, Pyrrha, and Jaune were there as well. It was a sort of mixed reception, as she could tell that neither Blake nor Jaune seemed incredibly enthusiastic about the proceedings. At least everyone else seemed happy.

"Wha… Ruby?" She turned to Ruby, completely baffled. "What is this?" She'd been expecting to spend a little time with Ruby, not a small gathering of their friends. This was certainly a surprise.

"I know you've been sad about what happened with your dad, and I didn't want you to have to spend Christmas alone." She lowered her voice to avoid letting the others hear about that particular detail. "So I got everyone to be here to let you know that even if your family's a bunch of jerks, you still have us." She grabbed both of Weiss's hands, smiling at her. "We may not be perfect, but we'll be your family for the holidays."

"Ruby…" Had she really done all of this for her? They had all come together just so she'd have some semblance of a normal Christmas? That was… That was incredibly sweet. She couldn't think of anything her family or her friends had done that was anywhere close to this thoughtful. "Thank you… Uh, to all of you, I mean. Thank you. This…" She had to hold herself back, afraid that she was going to start crying in front of everyone. That still would never do. "This is really sweet."

"Did you see the lights outside? I got white ones because that's your color, and they're next to the red ones! My color." She tried to pull Weiss back outside, in case she hadn't noticed the lights. At that point, the rest of the gathered decided they could mill around now that Weiss had been properly greeted. Yang and Blake went off to Yang's room, while Pyrrha and Jaune hung around the edge of the kitchen and conversed with Taiyang.

"The lights are very nice, Ruby." She'd noticed them, but she hadn't connected the dots initially, which meant Ruby successfully pulled her outside to take another look. Standing next to Ruby, she didn't really mind the cold as much as she had when she was stuck waiting on the porch. "You didn't have to do all this for me. It looks like it was quite the effort."

"It was a worthwhile effort, because you're worth it." Ruby leaned against Weiss, looking fondly up at the lights. They weren't on, since it was the middle of the day and all, but she could still appreciate the way the red and white sat next to each other. She wanted to have Weiss here at night to get the full effect those lights would bring. "I couldn't stand the thought of you being cooped up in your mansion with your family not bothering to really celebrate the spirit of Christmas. I wanted you to know that no matter what, you'll always have us here." She turned to Weiss, smiling warmly. "You'll always have me."

"Where did you learn how to be this romantic? Because I'm positive Yang didn't teach you." They both laughed, slipping into each other's arms again.

"Nope! That's a hundred percent Ruby Rose!" She laid her head on Weiss's shoulder, closing her eyes and smiling. "But you know, Yang has a romantic side. I mean, Blake seems to dig her, right?"

"Apparently." They were still together, so that meant they were doing something right. What it was, she wasn't sure. "Someday we're going to be more of a functional pair than those two, and I will make sure to rub it in their faces."

"I guess that's our current goal then." Ruby shook her head and laughed. Weiss really was a different breed, but she couldn't help but be tugged towards her all the same. "Let's go back inside. I wanna give you the gift I got you!"

"Let me go to my car first. I, uh, got you a gift too." Weiss walked back to her car, leaving Ruby to wait in the yard as she unlocked the door and pulled out a small wrapped present from the glovebox. She held it to her chest nervously, worried that her choice would be too flashy for someone like Ruby, who was more down-to-earth. It was what she wanted to get her, though, so she just hoped it would be accepted. What happened last time involving more expensive gifts was still fresh in her mind, and honestly it wasn't likely to ever leave her memory.

The two of them returned to the house, with Ruby occasionally trying to sneak glances of whatever present Weiss had. It was clearly in her hands, but small enough that she wasn't able to get any glimpses of it. That made her nervous, because a gift that small from Weiss likely was expensive. Her own gift was handmade, and there was no way it could stand up to the rich world that Weiss could unlock. If she didn't take the occasional deep breath, she would've crumbled under her own nerves.

Her own gift was in her room, hidden safely in her desk. Not that she expected anyone to steal it, but she wasn't taking any chances. Weiss waited at the door while Ruby grabbed the gift from the bottom drawer. She'd wrapped it by herself, which explained the somewhat haphazard way it was covered. Hey, she didn't have a degree in wrapping presents or whatever.

"I hope you like it." She handed Weiss the gift, nervousness written all over her face. It was on a whim that she handed Weiss her gift first, but that was probably for the best. If she opened Weiss's present and it was something awesomely extravagant, she'd lose all her confidence in her own present. She needed to hold onto that confidence enough to actually give it to Weiss.

"I hope you like mine too." Weiss handed over her own present to Ruby so she could take on the box being offered to her. It was the complete opposite of her own small gift. Whatever was in the box was big, considering how long the box was. It wasn't heavy, though, as she could easily hold it up without any trouble. She was legitimately stumped as to the identity of the contents.

She opened hers up first, since Ruby was still determined to go second. Carefully unwrapping the haphazardly wrapped paper, she found herself holding two long, thin cardboard boxes. They appeared to have been glued together to make a super box, explaining the length. Now her curiosity was piqued. What was in the boxes?

The tops of the boxes had been glued together too, which seemed like a pretty extra way of doing things. She could appreciate that, being the queen of extra behavior. She pulled off the top and stared down into the box. Inside was a… sword? She let the top fall to the ground as she pulled out the weapon, staring at it curiously. Now it made sense why the boxes had to be glued together, as the sword was pretty long. It was cool to the touch, with four gray protrusions extending from the guard. She considered touching the tip to see if it was as sharp as it looked, but she thankfully realized that was a potential mistake she did not want to make.

"I don't think weapons are really your thing, but I wanted to make you something handmade. I mean, what do you get for the girl who has everything?" She laughed nervously, coughing into her fist. "I mean, not that you have everything literally. You could buy everything, though. I mean, probably. Maybe not an island… Wait, how much are islands?" She noticed that Weiss was just staring at her. "Oh God, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Yes, but… it's cute." Weiss smiled at the blush that appeared on Ruby's face. She'd sort of missed being able to do that. Sometimes it seemed like it was always the other way around, or a mutual embarrassment. She held the sword up for another inspection, being careful not to stab herself or Ruby with it. "So you wanted to make me a gift because you felt a purchased gift would more than likely be trivial to someone born to my family's wealth?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda?" She wasn't sure if that sounded good or bad.

"Well, I appreciate the thought. I'm also impressed by the craftsmanship." She wouldn't consider this to be an ornate sword, but she would never expect that something this well made to have been crafted by a sixteen year old high school student. "This must have taken an incredible amount of work. How did you do this?"

"I've been working on it all month in shop after school. There really are how to videos for everything online." She held Weiss's present tightly in her hands, still having not opened it. "So, you… like it?"

"I do. While I'm not exactly proficient in utilizing swords, I appreciate the present nonetheless. It comes from the heart, and… I haven't gotten one of those in quite awhile." She lowered the sword and smiled at Ruby. "Next time we're exchanging gifts, I'll ask you to teach me how to use it."

"I can do that!" Ruby beamed, flush with relief that her present had gone over well. That made all the hours making sure the sword was made perfectly, and the near slicing off of her fingers worth it. "Okay, let me open yours now." With that, the onus of nervousness shifted from Ruby to Weiss as she watched Ruby open up her gift with worried anticipation.

Ruby had less reserve than Weiss did when unwrapping her own present. She tore the wrapping off with two tears, letting it fall to the floor. Unlike her own glued together cardboard boxes, the box that Weiss's present came in was black and smooth to the touch. There was no doubt that it had to be jewelry. Ruby had worried that would be the case, as she'd felt her own gift couldn't compare to that. However, Weiss had seemed to genuinely liked it, particularly because it was handmade. She was also watching Ruby, waiting for her to open up the box. There wasn't any more time to delay.

She popped open the box and gasped. Inside was a necklace, a rose gold chain linking around to a rose emblem. She gently picked it up, worried that she might drop it. It shined even without the light on in her room. She was in awe of it. It definitely looked expensive, but it was also incredibly beautiful.

"A rose… like my last name." She ran her finger over the emblem, letting out a tiny laugh at how obvious that sounded. No duh it was her last name. There was little doubt that was the reason why Weiss bought it. "It's… It's really beautiful." Her voice came out in a squeaky whisper.

"Just like you." Suddenly smooth Schnee was back at it again. "Do you want me to put it on for you?" She nodded, holding onto the box as Weiss took the necklace from her. A chill ran down her spine as Weiss stepped behind her, placing the rose on her collarbone and linking the chain together around her neck. She lifted the rose up with her fingers, gazing at it in amazement as Weiss came back around to stand in front of her. "So, do you like it?"

"Of course! It's so lovely!" She considered asking how much it cost, but maybe that was best left as a mystery. Looking at Weiss, she could see the same nervousness that she felt, just more guarded. They were in the same boat, then. "Weiss, it's beautiful. I love it. Thank you, really. Thank you so much." She wrapped up Weiss in a tight hug, not wanting to let go. They didn't have to if they didn't want to. Nobody was likely expecting them anytime soon, so if they wanted, they could take their time and just hug it out.

Except for the knocking on the front door that startled the two of them. Pulling away from the hug, Ruby stepped around Weiss and headed for the front door. Everybody she'd invited was already there, so she wasn't sure who it could be.

Standing on the porch was a woman that Ruby had never seen before. She was standing there in a military uniform, her body at attention as she stared down at Ruby. Though she'd never seen this woman before, there was something eminently familiar about her. Her attire and the way she stood made her look so proper, plus there was her shock-white hair and piercing blue eyes. It was like looking at a taller Weiss, if she'd put her hair up.

"Are you Yang?"

"Uh, no. I'm Ruby, Yang's sister. Did you want me to get her for you?" Did Yang have her own Weiss in her life? Was Blake going to be happy about that?

"That won't be necessary. I'm here to see my sister, actually." She stared down at Ruby, waiting. What was she doing? Oh, she probably wanted to be let inside. Apologizing, Ruby stepped back and let her inside, closing the door behind her. "Do you know where she is?"

"Winter?" Ruby turned to find Weiss standing in the hall, eyes wide and directed right at the woman behind her. Winter, was it? She looked back at the woman, whose expression hadn't changed, but she was now looking at Weiss instead of her. Winter… That's when it clicked. The room that she'd stumbled into had been 'Miss Winter's' room. This was her: Weiss's sister. What was she doing here, though? Yang had told her that the phone call to Winter hadn't gone well. She'd been under the impression that she wasn't coming.

"Weiss." She stepped around Ruby and came to stand in front of Weiss, who still looked completely confused. Her eyes went over towards Ruby, as if trying to get an explanation from her. All she could do was shrug, having no idea how this had happened. Yang would know, though. She needed to get her own sister to explain what exactly was going on.

"What are you doing here? How did you know I would be here?" Weiss gulped nervously, resuming eye contact with her sister. Ever since Winter had abdicated the title of heir to join the military, the two of them had very little contact. Besides the occasional text, Winter didn't like coming home to visit her family. There were a lot of issues between her and their father, which was familiar territory. That didn't mean she had to like not having her sister in her life.

"I was called by someone named Yang, who claimed that you needed to see me today." That plan had been dead in the water after Winter had hung up, but she'd let the reasons percolate in her mind for several days afterwards. That was when she'd decided to get into contact once more with this 'Yang', and figure out where she needed to be on that day. "So here I am."

"I… didn't expect this." So Yang was the culprit here. She remembered mentioning that she had a sister to her, but she hadn't even said her name. How had she taken that and found out her phone number to call as well? Each new piece of information was bringing about more questions than answers. "I…" She found it hard to vocalize anything she wanted to say. This whole day - the gathering of friends, Ruby's present, and now her sister showing up - was becoming incredibly overwhelming. "I missed you…"

"I missed you too." To Ruby's ears, it sounded really stiff, like she didn't really mean it. It seemed to satisfy Weiss though, who smiled before she was taken into a hug with her older sister. Maybe all Schnee sincerity was hidden behind disinterest. They just had really different families.

She allowed the two of them to talk together in private in her room, letting herself wander around the rest of the house while waiting for Weiss. Yang and Blake had returned, so she chatted with them, along with helping her dad in the kitchen. She wasn't all that great with cooking, though, so she mostly stood around and watched. Her dad wasn't actually an incredible cook either, but he managed. It was Yang who was their best in the kitchen.

Weiss and Winter spent half an hour just talking. It was mostly innocuous topics, though Weiss did end up admitting that she missed having Winter around in her life in more detail. She admittedly glossed over the fact that she was dating Ruby, as she didn't want to bring up that conversation yet. Out of everyone in her family, she expected Winter to be the one who'd be most likely to approve, but this wasn't the right setting to reveal that information. That would come later, especially since she was given an open invitation to come to the apartment Winter was staying at if she wanted. Which she planned on doing.

There was still a Christmas gathering to join in on, though. Though she asked Winter if she wanted to stay, she decided to head back to her hotel room instead. The offer to spend more time together was still open, though, and Weiss felt a lot closer to her sister during their goodbye hug than she had during their 'hello' hug. She felt rather invigorated.

"So, things go well with your sister?" Ruby sidled up next to her, all smiles once she saw that Weiss looked to be in good spirits. She'd been able to wrangle the truth out of Yang, but she wasn't frustrated with her. Now, if it had gone badly, she probably would have been, but things going right tended to help gloss over those calculated risks.

"Yes. It went well enough that I won't strangle Yang for somehow getting my sister's phone number." The whole thing had been too shocking for her to be mad at Yang, and now that it had gone well, there was no reason to be mad. She might have to try and get the truth on exactly where she'd gotten Winter's phone number, though. "This has been a really good day, Ruby. I really appreciate it. You're…" She blushed and smiled. "You're quite something, Ruby Rose."

"Well, you're quite something too, Weiss Schnee." She giggled, her saying Weiss's full name sounding funny coming from her. It was so formal. That was Weiss's thing.

"Hmm…" Weiss's concentration was taken by something she suddenly noticed above her. The two of them were in the hall right by the door, and a chance glance above her let her realize that something was amiss. Specifically, there was something green hanging from the light source above them. "Is that..."

"Huh?" Ruby looked up, the groaned upon recognition. "Mistletoe… Darnit Yang…" It couldn't be anyone else. How'd she even get up there? She looked back at Weiss, who was both blushing and looking at her curiously. If she didn't know any better, it appeared that Weiss was specifically looking at her lips. "Weiss?"

"Well, mistletoe is a festive tradition, is it not? It would be appropriate to partake in such traditions, considering what day it is." She wanted those lips, huh? Well, who was she to deny such a long-standing tradition? Taking Weiss's hands in her own, she leaned in and captured Weiss's lips with her own. She smiled when she felt her reciprocate, and the two of them allowed themselves to again lose themselves in their own little world. That was just the power of their kisses: everything else didn't stand a chance. Being with Weiss turned out to be the best place she could possibly be.

"See? Told ya that'd work." It seemed to be a theme now that their perfect 'just the two of us' kisses would be interrupted by a certain rascally blonde. Ruby pulled away from Weiss very reluctantly and looked over her shoulder. As expected, there were Yang and Blake, watching them. Blake was as impassive as always - perhaps a distant Schnee relative? - while Yang was clearly reveling in being right. "If you're gonna do it, please lock your door first."

"Yang!" With her face now matching the red of her sweater, she stomped towards Yang, who distanced herself from her embarrassed sister. Ruby then chased her around the house, making for an amusing scene. Weiss couldn't help but laugh, feeling a warmth in her heart as she watched her girlfriend run after her sister. She really had gone quite a distance in her life, since she could still remember a time when she would've been horribly embarrassed at having a partner who engaged in such childish antics. Ruby really had changed her perspective on things, and it was absolutely to her benefit.

So this was going to be her family, then? She watched as Ruby caught up to Yang, though at that point they were both laughing, meaning any potential crisis was averted. Then she looked Weiss's way, and they made eye contact. They both smiled, not needing to say anything at the moment to let the other know what they were thinking.

If this was to be her new family, then she was fine with that. As long as she had Ruby, she felt that everything was going to be alright. Love was just illogical like that, and that was totally okay.

Author's Note: So this is it: the final chapter. This was originally supposed to be a one shot, then only six chapters. And now it's ending at fourteen. So close. Hope y'all enjoyed!