On the next wintery morning, Team RWBY was up bright and early, setting off to go to the store for their tree decorating mission. Weiss had declined the invitation to come along which put Ruby at unease.

"Why do you think Weiss didn't want to come with us?" Ruby kicked a small rock down the sidewalk as she sulked beside her teammates.

"Well, we know Weiss doesn't really like this stuff," Yang shrugged. "I still can't believe she gave us those gifts."

Blake nodded her head in agreement, "It was a really kind gesture. She must have put a lot of thought into it."

Ruby brightened as she remember how joyous she had felt holding that striking red rose ornament. She loved knowing that she had been in her girlfriend's thoughts and Weiss's stunning taste had left Ruby breathless.

"You're right, Blake. She's being so great this year about everything. I wonder if maybe… Maybe she's starting to like the holidays?" Ruby sounded optimistic as usual.

Blake nodded. "I think she's really trying to."

"Well, let's hope we can decorate this tree up to her standards," Yang said playfully.

"Hmm, I think we need to do something special for her too!" Ruby punched a fist into the air with conviction.

Yang smiled at her sister and slipped her hand into Blake's as she chuckled at her sister's enthusiasm.

"Okay, sis, any fancy pants ideas in your head?" Yang knew that her sister could be quite the romantic and although the blonde had not gotten used to the idea of Ruby having a girlfriend, she still loved the fact that the younger girl had a penchant creating perfect surprises. The sisters shared a flair for impressing their respective girlfriends.

Ruby just grinned.

"Okay, this is the doorway, are you ready?" Ruby led Weiss to the threshold of their dorm, her hands planted firmly over her girlfriend's eyes.

Weiss had found that her partner often pushed on the boundaries of her patience, but somehow that disarmingly sweet demeanor would cause her shell to crack, leaving the heiress willing to be uncomfortable in the name of pleasing Ruby. She typically disliked surprises, but she appreciated and allowed the brunette's caring actions to usually proceed with minimal interference. To date, she had never once regretted letting Ruby in.

"Of course, she is," Yang said impatiently from behind them.

"I can speak for myself, Yang," Weiss asserted with mild annoyance at the blonde rushing the moment. "Yes, Ruby, I'm ready."

"Okay, here we go," Ruby's voice quivered with an edge of excitement as she removed her hands.

The pine tree had been decorated by her team while Weiss had been studying in the library. The result was beautiful. Crimson ornaments adorned the body of the tree as a golden garland wound itself around the outer foliage from top to trunk. Silken black bows had been carefully tied around the tips of many of the branches. The three unique ornaments that Weiss had given her friends stood out in the uniformity of the decor. Weiss felt her breathe involuntarily suck in as she took in the image of the tree. It was just so… them. She felt water well up in her eyes for a moment as she felt a wave of gratitude for her friends. Weiss quickly blinked it away.

"You three did a marvelous job with the tree," the heiress praised with a smile on her lips. Weiss approached the tree and nodded with approval at her teammates. A shiver ran up her neck as she felt Ruby come up behind her and place her hand gently on the small of her back, prompting her to turn around. To her surprise, Ruby was holding a sizable white box in her hands, presenting it to the heiress with a lovely intensity in her silver eyes.

"We… um, we got this for you, Weiss." Ruby shyly averted her eyes as Weiss accepted the box.

Weiss looked over at Blake and Yang who were watching intently. The blonde had her arm around her girlfriend and was beaming at Weiss. And for her part, Blake's cat ears were standing at attention, twitching as they excitedly awaited the unwrapping. After returning her gaze to Ruby for a moment, who was now blushing fervently, Weiss began to pull at the red ribbon that bound the gift shut.

"I hope… I hope it makes you as happy as you made us," Ruby said with a simplistic beauty in her words.

And as Weiss took off the lid to the box, she thought there was a good chance that she was much more happy than she deserved to be. Inside of the box on a pad of scarlet fabric was a large snowflake made from frosted glass. Veins of icy blue color traced through the snowflake adding dimension and definition to its already intricate design. It was one of the most beautiful things that Weiss had seen in her life. It hadn't occurred to her that she was the only one that had remained unrepresented on the tree. As the realization about her teammates' desire to include her hit home, Weiss felt her throat begin to close and her eyes stung as they teared up.

For what felt like an eternity, complete with onlookers watching her freeze, Weiss lost her words.

Yang attempted to cut into the awkwardness. "We just figured, you know, since, you didn't get an ornament, we could get you something flashier, to match your personality."

Weiss felt a release of tension as she laughed at Yang's ludicrous statement. As if she could ever be considered flashy while in the same room as the blonde.

"Yes, of course," Weiss returned her focus to her girlfriend who was looking like she might explode from trying to contain her reaction.

"Oh, Weiss! Do you like it?" Ruby was searching Weiss's face for any clue to surface.

"I-I love it," Weiss felt her heart racing as she tried to formulate her gratitude. "This is really… this is the best present I've ever gotten."

"You're an heiress, I -so- doubt that," Yang winked as she remained unconvinced.

Ruby threw her arms around Weiss and kissed her on the cheek leaving a flush as her lips departed. "I believe you, Weiss! I'm so happy that you love it."

Blake snickered. "Can you tell that this was Ruby's idea yet?"

And Weiss could tell. She wondered if it was possible to fall for her partner any faster than she already was. Something about that girl and her sincerity made the prospect less frightening than the heiress ever imagined it could be. She looked at the three wonderful people that she had in her life as they stood around her. How did she end up so lucky, so loved? Holidays… maybe there was something to them. If this is how traditions and bonding worked, perhaps this was something that Weiss could get used to.

"How about a nice dinner at Je Pierre's? My treat," Weiss asked hopefully with an intent to take some of the attention off of herself.

"Ooh, let's get some pie!" Ruby looked ravenous as visions of sweets dancing in her mind.

"I second that," Yang offered, "Ohh, and Blake that's the place with that tuna tartar that you love!"

Blake's ears fluttered in response. "That would be really nice of you, Weiss, thank you."

Feeling satisfied, Weiss turned her mind to more important things as her friends began to get ready for their fancy dinner. She used her glyphs to reach the top of the tree with ease to place the snowflake. As it caught the light from the lamps of their room, the glass caused ripples of mellow ochre to dance along their walls. She dismounted the glyph effortlessly and admired the team's handiwork. Her heart swelled as she looked onto it.

Ruby came up behind her. That girl… she had a sixth sense about feeling anything that Weiss was. Strong arms wrapped around her and Ruby whispered in her ear, "It's almost as beautiful as you are." She nuzzled her neck gently.

Weiss smiled. It was a good day be the luckiest girl in the world. As she looked on at the tree and thought of her team and her partner, she felt a peace that she hadn't known was possible. She no longer felt like she was alone. And that was the best gift she had ever received.