This one is a few hours late, but it's still Day 6! Therefore, I call this challenge a success still. Fun fact: Ladybug was the first RWBY pairing I shipped. Blake stepping in to divert Weiss's attention from Ruby and the later conversation over her book had me wondering if they'd end up together. It likely won't happen, but the idea is still cute. Enjoy!

The sound of rustling from Ruby and Weiss's side of the room caused Blake to look up from her book. Ruby was slipping a pair of boots and an extra sweater on. "It's a bit dark to be going out, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Ruby blinked at Blake in surprise. She hadn't expected her teammate to emerge from her book for at least a few hours. "I was going to walk around town and look at the lights. They look better at night."

"By yourself?" Blake's brows furrowed. Despite the holiday season, she was still wary. The White Fang never slept, not even during supposedly-happy times. She knew that firsthand.

Ruby shrugged. "Well, Weiss is studying, Yang is working out, and I didn't want to disturb you, so…"

Blake closed her book and sat up. "I could use some air, if you don't mind me joining you." Though she knew her leader was more than capable of taking care of herself, there was no point in taking unnecessary risks. Also, a relaxing walk sounded nice now that she thought about it.

"Sure!" Ruby smiled excitedly. "It's way more fun to look with other people." She sat on the bed and waited for her teammate to put on some warmer clothes.

A light snowfall greeted the two as they stepped outside. The streetlights reflected off of the flakes, making them shimmer as they fell to the ground. Ruby's eyes sparkled in a similar fashion as she looked at the light dusting of white that covered everything.

"Wow, the weather is so perfect! This was definitely the best night to do this." A large snowflake drifted near her face and she immediately caught it on her tongue.

How is she so effortlessly cute? Blake wondered for what was probably the thousandth time since the beginning of the year, watching her leader with fond smile. She had to quickly rein in her expression when Ruby turned to look up at her.

"So, should we check out the houses or downtown?"

"Downtown sounds good," Blake immediately replied. There would be more people walking around and the streets would be better-lit.

"Okay. Ooh, that means we can check out the shop windows too!" Ruby grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her down the sidewalk.

Blake's ears twitched under her ribbon and her face flushed a little, but she returned the grip and allowed herself to be led to town. Walking slowly down the sidewalks, she realized for the first time just how pretty Vale looked during the winter. She was so used to walking briskly from place to place with a destination in mind, she had never really stopped to look around

Windows were framed with lights of every color. Some were white and twinkling, others were rainbow, and some contained the bright blue LED lights that seemed to stab right into her eyes in the best possible way. Illuminated reindeer, owls, and white foxes sat in front of doors and snowflakes and stars hung from the streetlights. They passed a large tree near the center of town that was completely covered with rainbow lights and bore a star at the very top.

Of course, all of the stores had made their window displays as festive as possible. The bakeries held gingerbread men and star-shaped sugar cookies. The toy stores had tiny model trains running across little tracks. Even the hardware and Dust stores had found ways to arrange their products with lights and stars and reindeer in the mix.

"This is so awesome!" Ruby said, her smile changing colors with the lights they passed. "Thanks for coming with me, Blake. It's way more fun looking with people. Dad and Yang used to go with me when I was younger." She noticed that their hands were still intertwined and was glad that Blake didn't seem to mind at all.

"I haven't really looked at the holiday lights like this since I was little," Blake admitted. "As the White Fang changed, its members took on a less…festive mood."

Ruby made a sympathetic noise in her throat as she hugged Blake's arm. "Well, you can always look at them with me. I-If you want, I mean." She blushed, thankful that the lights nearby were red and would therefore hide it.

Blake felt her chest grow warm at the timid proposal and turned to give Ruby a hug with her free arm. Her smile widened at the surprised noise her friend made. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you."

"N-No problem," Ruby muttered as she shyly returned the hug. She snuggled closer, enough so that she could hear the increased tempo of Blake's heartbeat for a few seconds before pulling back. Her hand slipped effortlessly back into Blake's as they started walking again.

The two didn't talk much after that, but the silence was a comfortable one. Blake was content to simply watch the lights and the falling snow, gently holding Ruby's warm hand in hers.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to get the next one uploaded on time. See you guys then. Peace out.