"You're sure you'll be okay on your own?"
Ruby resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'll be fine, Yang," she reassured. She stood with her sister as she lingered outside the communal airship. All around them, students were climbing aboard various ships to journey home for the winter break. Blake and Weiss had already said their goodbyes.
"Alright, I'm just worried about you," she said, and tugged on the strap of her bag. "I'm honestly surprised that you opted to stay at Beacon over the break. Did your boyfriend tell you to do that?"
She pursed her lips. "Actually, he thought I should go home with you. I decided this for myself."
She nodded, glancing down at the ground. "You won't be lonely?"
"It's not like I'm the only one staying at Beacon. There's others, plus all the teachers who have to supervise us."
"Last call for leaving Beacon!" an attendant on the airship called.
The two sisters exchanged looks, and then hugs. "I'll be back soon," Yang promised.
"I'll see you then," Ruby agreed. She waved as Yang walked away. "And try to relax! You've been so stressed lately!"
She stuck her tongue out at her. "I could say the same to you!" She stepped aboard, and the door slid shut behind her. Ruby continued to stand and watch as the airships took off, leaving behind the school and becoming dots on the horizon.
She turned on heel and started walking back to the school. "Well, at least now things'll be quiet. At least for a little while." The snow had been cleared from the paths and piled on the grass to either side. Ruby shivered appreciatively as she stepped into the warmth of inside. Somehow, with practically everyone gone, the school looked different. Dusty corridors and otherwise hidden graffiti made themselves known. Her footsteps echoed through the halls, her pace meandering as she took the time to observe what little changes there were.
She soon reached Ozpin's office, and let herself in. "Hey Clark," she greeted.
He glanced up from some documents he was looking over. "Good morning, Ruby," he returned, then went back to work.
"Sheesh, you still got that much left to do?" She sauntered over, eyeing the pile of paperwork.
"A lot goes into running a school." He adjusted his glasses, signing off on something before moving on to the next form. "I'll be done soon. Just be patient."
"Kay." She turned for the side-door, and climbed the stairs to his apartment. Stepping inside, she frowned. It looked the same as always, with the same tasteful décor and well-lit spaces. But that simply wouldn't do. "C'mon Clark, I expect better." She thought for a moment, then shrugged and smiled. "'Tis the season."
She started opening and closing all of the doors. In this way she found the downstairs closet and bathroom, a utilities and linen closet along the stairwell, a laundry room, a largely empty room that only had an old map hanging from the wall, and his bedroom. She lingered for perhaps a little longer than necessary there, curiosity getting the better of her as she noted what common items he kept on the nightstand, and how the garbage can would soon need to be emptied. She was stunned to find shades other than green in his closet, and he had his own private bathroom with a shower. On the wall behind his bed was a large window cut in a curious, almost spiraling shape.
She left his room, and continued upstairs to a final trapdoor waiting at the end. Pushing it open, she climbed into the attic. A skylight provided the only illumination in the room. She almost felt the need to tip-toe in such a quiet, dark place. "If they're not here, I'm officially calling Clark a scrooge," she murmured to herself. There were many boxes and crates, all with various labels, some in languages Ruby didn't understand, some in numerals. But then, her eyes fell upon two medium-sized boxes, labeled in faded marker: Natiuiteo Decorations. She beamed, and grabbed both boxes. "Bingo."
She maneuvered her way back downstairs to the first floor. She opened up both boxes, and promptly pushed one off to the side as she saw it it was filled mostly with Natiuiteo tree ornaments and trappings. She lay her hands on the contents of the other box.
With a satisfied sigh, Ozpin put away another document. He sat back in his chair, sipping at his hot chocolate. It was enough for the day. He'd be able to tackle what little there was left tomorrow. He pushed himself to his feet, and collected his cane. He made the short walk out of his office and up to his apartment, and opened the door. He immediately halted, his eyes widening a fraction in surprise. Strung all over the place were colorful streamers. On the table, funny knick knacks of fancy gnomes were arranged. Natiuiteo lights had been hung around the kitchen and living room, held up with egregious amounts of tape. Paper snowflakes and snowmen had been cut out and stuck to the glass doors of the balcony.
He barely had a moment to take it all in when Ruby leaped out in front of him. "Surprise!" she cheered, doing jazz-hands. "Your apartment was looking remarkably un-festive, so I took the liberty of fixing that for you."
He spotted the two boxes labeled Natiuiteo Decorations, then moved his attention towards her. "You went through my apartment?" he accused.
Her face fell. "No, I mean, it wasn't like I was snooping. I didn't go through your stuff or touch anything, I was just looking for something that was obviously Natiuiteo decorations, and I found it in the attic."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "You didn't touch or read anything you weren't supposed to?"
"No, I promise." She held up her hand as if to swear.
He studied her for a moment longer before deciding that she was probably telling the truth, and that she hadn't come across anything important. He relaxed his stance. "Next time, just ask me where something is. Don't just go shuffling through my apartment to try and find it."
"Right, sorry." She nodded. She whirled on the spot, gesturing at the decorations. "I've taken care of the house decorations, as you can see. All that's left is the tree stuff. But, you haven't even gotten a tree yet."
"You don't always need to follow certain tropes to celebrate a holiday, Ruby."
"Okay I know but like, the tree is kind of a major thing. How can you have Natiuiteo without a tree, I ask you? It's iconic." She gestured for emphasis. "I saw some pretty good ones just right here on school grounds, we could just chop one off, drag it up here, and we'd be set."
"You want me to chop a tree down from one my own courtyards?"
"Oh you won't have to do it, I could do it myself with Crescent Rose." She fixed him with a pleading look, eyes watery. "Pretty please? We can do it some where nobody will notice. It's just one tree. Or we could even go down to the forest, and get a tree from there, if you like. That's actually a way better idea than the courtyard. C'mon, please? Pretty please with sugar on top?"
He sighed as she rattled off an ever expanding buffet of 'pleases.' "Fine," he interrupted. "We can get one from the forest."
"Yay!" She bounded past him out of the apartment. "I just gotta put on some mittens and grab Crescent Rose, and we can go!" He rolled his eyes, and gathered his own winter gear and tree-related supplies before exiting the apartment himself.
They soon found themselves crunching a path through the snow. Ruby carried Crescent Rose in its uncollapsed form over her shoulder. "What about that one?" she asked, pointing out a tree to the side.
"Too big," Ozpin dismissed, not even pausing.
"No way, your apartment could totally hold that!" She trotted to keep up with him.
"It has to be able to fit through the door, Ruby."
"Oh. Right." They kept going.
"That one could work." He nodded at a smaller one, just a little bit taller than him.
"You kidding me? It's so bare. You need a fuller one than that." And on it went between the two of them, until they came across a tree that they could compromise on.
"Wouldn't you rather get an ax, rather than use Crescent Rose for such a mundane task?" he asked as she walked up beside the pine.
"Nope. Besides, I use Crescent for all kinds of things, like hanging curtains and stuff." She lined the blade up against the trunk. Clark rolled his eyes. She pulled the trigger, and the scythe sliced clean through the tree from the kickback. "Alright, now we just gotta drag this thing all the way back with us."
"I brought rope for that." So saying, he pulled it tightly coiled out of his pocket.
"You think of everything, don't you?" She watched as he tied it around the trunk and looped it around for a handle.
"I try to." He held out a section of the rope to her. "Help me pull, would you?"
"Of course." With each of them holding onto the handle, they counted down, and began to pull. But Ruby looked back at the tree and then up to Clark in surprise as she felt much less strain than she was expecting on her arm. "You're kinda strong, aren't you?"
"I was a hunter too, once." She smiled at that, and they retraced their steps.
Glynda double-checked the schedules as she walked through school grounds, swiping through them on her scroll. As she went, she heard some giggling off to her left. She looked up from her scroll, stopping for a moment to watch. Across the way, Ruby and Professor Ozpin were dragging a pine tree across the courtyard. She quirked an eyebrow, and saw that Ruby had been the one who laughed, presumably at something witty Ozpin had said. She watched them until they disappeared from her sight beyond another building. She shrugged, then turned her attention back to her scroll, and continued walking.
Somehow, the two managed to get the tree all the way up to his apartment. They quickly settled on a clear spot near the den, and set the tree on its stand. "Good thing we shook off most of the loose needles by dragging it up here, huh?" Ruby commented.
"Yes. Set this around the stand, would you?" Clark requested, and tossed a floor blanket to her from out of the decorations box. She crouched down, wrapping the blanket around the bottom and smoothing it out as best she could. By the time she got out from under the tree, Clark had brought the box closer to them, and they began work on the tree. They had a brief argument on whether or not the ornaments or the tinsel should be put on first, which Ruby eventually won when Clark ran out of patience on the matter and gave up.
When the box was empty, they both sat back on the floor and admired their work. Dust-infused ornaments glowed gently, making the tinsel glitter and the crystal ornaments throw little spots of light around the room. Glass baubles reflected back a warped view of all they saw, in varying colors. Funny little sweet-smelling wicker dolls sat among the branches, and silver bells dangled in the gaps the other ornaments couldn't reach.
"When you decorate the tree, with your family," Ozpin spoke softly, "is that your favorite part of Natiuiteo?"
She studied his profile. "No. But it's pretty far up there." She looked back at the tree. She shifted her weight, leaning over onto him, her head slipping into the crook of his neck. "But I've spent Natiuiteo and decorated the tree with my family every year. I think it's time that I spent one with my soulmate."
He almost opened his mouth to argue that, then thought better of it. In the end, he knew there would be no point. His eyes jumped from point to point on the tree. It was already starting to grow dim outside, those short winter days turning things from white to gray. With the world so quiet and empty, Clark tilted his head to rest on top of hers.