There was always a reason that the glorious sight of the city nightlife was viewed as such a spectacle to those lucky enough to capture such a scene, and a white blanket of frozen powder covering every square inch made it just that much better. Even with the sun set, everything one could hope to see was still within eyesight. Especially at this time of year, there was hardly a building in sight that didn't have some sort of lights on them, whether they be decked out from the bottom of the ground up to the tippy-top of a skyscraper, or a simple, plug-in snowman out by the sidewalk.

Yes, this was exactly what she lived for! The city she had walked through since she was just a small puppy—the very place that she was once timid to even begin to explore, now her own personal territory that she knew just as well as the back of her paw. Who needed whoever the mayor was these days when she knew full well that she was the one and only ruler of these streets?

Nonetheless, everything around the Dachshund was covered from head to toe in colorful lights, all screaming festivity as the snowflakes in the sky danced to the sweet melody of carols. People were out singing songs without a care in the world and dancing with the loved ones that they held closest during the holidays, kids were setting out milk and cookies for the man himself, some were even trying to ice skate—and admittedly, most were failing horribly. Oh well, humans were durable, they could handle a fall or two.

The entire world felt like it was as alive and well as it ever could've been, not a single frown as far as her eyes could see. That was what this time of year was about, wasn't it? The joys of family, friends, loved ones, anyone that was deemed special to someone, being cuddled up by the fireplace with warm treats, stockings hung above the chimney, and the perfect story that could fit any and every tradition's needs. Quite frankly, it didn't matter too much what it was you were doing, just who you were doing it with.

That's what this sacred time of the year was supposed to be, after all, a time when all the worries of everyday life could just be buried away under the snow—where they were laid to rest for a limited time only (unless you were one of the unlucky few to procrastinate Christmas shopping, if that was the case, you kind of did that to yourself).

And yet...to put it in simple terms, for Liberty, it didn't quite feel as high and mighty as the Christmases that had come before. All things considered, not too much was different, in theory, she was spending her Christmas Eve the way she always would: enjoying the beautiful sights that the city had to offer until she either got too tired or too cold to keep going.

In fact, there shouldn't have been a reason for this year not to be better, now she actually had a place to stay since Ryder had oh so kindly given her full access to the Adventure City lookout. She had to admit, having a home with more luxuries than she could count on her paw at the tips of her claws was never something she would turn down, it was a lot better than having to curl up into a little ball with a dirty blanket inside the depths of the grimy city alleyways.

But in a strange sense, she almost felt less enthusiastic about this one. A roof over her head was great and all, sure, to some that would be considered the best Christmas miracle in the world. But as far as the whole Christmas spirit thing went, that was pretty much down the drain. Don't get her wrong, she still loved the holiday in itself, but the entire point of it was meant to be spent with family and all of those she held near and dear to her heart.

Once upon a time, she was okay with that, she had accepted her place and actually kind of liked her independence of the holidays—she could never miss what she had never known, never to the extent where it would weigh her down. But nowadays, she did know that there were other options, dogs and humans out there in this harsh world that truly did appreciate her and view her as a friend: an equal.

However, the famous PAW Patrol was probably out saving lives, or with a little bit of luck, spending their night with each other; their family, just like they should be. And that's what she was doing, the only family she had ever known was her and the thoughts in her head for company. After all, one couldn't spend the holidays with family if they, well, never really had any to begin with.

"Welp, looks like I got the place to myself this year," she muttered to herself, softly smiling at the glorious sights outside of the comfort of her rising elevator before the doors opened and revealed the deathly quiet, dark, cold home that she called her own. Alone or not, it was still a holiday, and she had every resource that she could possibly want to make the perfect product for her every festive desire. Might as well have a little fun now that she could.

She finally had full reign over what she wanted her life to be filled with, that was not something she intended on leaving out in the cold. Decorative lights were strung everywhere she could reach, one of those fake light-up trees that was for some reason laying around in the storage room was placed in the living room, the lights of the lookout tower were turned on, and she even set out a plate of treats and milk—and yes, she did plan on coming back for those.

Also, purely for the sake of her own personal amusement, she tossed up a thing of mistletoe. The best case scenario for that was that she'd forget to take it down tomorrow and later in life she'd be able to snag a quick laugh at her friends' expense.

Maybe it was a bit much considering that, well, no one was here to see it except for herself. But hey, this was the first time she had been given the chance to decorate with flashy lights and set out treats that she didn't find on the side of the road, she was going to make the most of it. Besides, she had always dreamt of how fun it would be to decorate a Christmas tree, time and time again she was forced to look into windows while walking by the homes she could only dream of having and seeing all those happy families surrounding their bright and beautiful tree.

Once her work was all said and done for the night, she opened the doors to the balcony and sat down—overlooking the city that had practically raised her, the roots that she never would fully leave behind. She could feel the cold breeze blowing against her, the small snowflakes landing against her fur and slowly piling up against her shoulders (not that she really minded, it was company, she supposed).

Even if it was isolating, she could admit, it was calming to look down on everyone having the merriest times of their lives. The sweet sounds of the wind soaring through the skyscrapers that surrounded her, the distant music of songs and laughter throughout the festivities. Of course, there were still car horns and all those city noises that she would honestly be more concerned not to be hearing, and then not to mention an...elevator chime?

"Oh what the...?" she thought out loud to herself, turning around as she pushed through the glass doors, rolling her eyes at the mere thought of having to spend her holidays fighting off intruders. But nonetheless, she had her teeth bared and ready, her tail up in the air as a more than fair warning to whoever dared to rob this monument of a tower.

What dreadful life forms would go out and decide to target the home of famous saviors on Christmas Eve of all days was beyond her, if anything, it should've just struck more fear into her opponents—for now, it was no longer just a defense of her home, but a personal means in retaliation against their lack of common decency. Was honor among thieves truly dead?

"Who do you think you...wha...what the heck are y'all doin' here?" she called out to the human stepping foot into these sacred grounds, one that, believe it or not, turned out not to be a robber. Their presence, however, was still incredibly confusing, not to mention the fact that they weren't alone in the slightest; being followed by a crowd large enough to trample her if they really wanted to.

"Well, would you rather us leave?" Ryder asked just as quickly, smiling as he pet her head and threw his backpack onto the couch—it looked heavy, she could only imagine how nice it probably felt to rid himself of such weight. Liberty took a step back in surprise, taking a few seconds to simply process the number of eyes on her before her tail finally got a read on the mood and started wagging while a small, disbelieving laugh left her mouth.

"N-no, no not at all, I just wasn't expecting anyone to show up. I ain't gonna complain at all," she happily proclaimed, hugging just about any of the dogs that came close to her. Yes, that meant just about all of them, and no, she wasn't actually waiting for them to be the ones to approach her. "I already decorated and all that stuff, had nothing better to do, but yall can go ahead and make yourselves at home."

"Thanks, hope you don't mind us showing up unannounced, we kinda thought it would be fun to surprise you," Skye explained, giggling softly as her tail intertwined with Chase's—finally, someone to use the mistletoe on!

Liberty just laughed it off and playfully rolled her eyes, if only they had realized how much of a blessing this company really was—even if she knew deep down that Skye and Chase would be spending most of the time with each other, as would Marshall and Everest if things went the way they usually did. Perks of having a partner, she supposed, third-wheeling was never really her thing anyway.

"Oh trust me, I don't mind at all. Just glad I'm not alone this year." The Cockapoo smiled as brightly as the lights around them while she nodded, giving the brown dog one last quick hug before she and her mate up to the windows to look out at the snowfall overtaking the festive lights of the city.

The Dachshund couldn't help but smile at how much fun they all seemed to be having, and by all means, she was finally getting into that rumored Christmas spirit she had heard so much about. This was what she had wanted, the only family she had ever known by her side to raise a glass to and to dance through this night without a care in the world—whether that meant a calm night by the fireplace, or a party that lasted until the sun came up in the morning.

As far as she was concerned, nothing could ruin this for her. And while it never was exactly ruined, per se, nothing came without a few road bumps. After the initial excitement from all the greetings and catching up had all died down, most of them scattered like mice to do their own things, a pretty even split between some of them setting up their bags by their beds while others ran off to look at the admittedly breathtaking view of the city below.

By all means, this was not at all her saying that she wasn't thankful for the company, she absolutely was, but now she had been left alone with the dog this famous team of heroes had most recently managed to befriend through some story she never really got the full details of.

She was never sure what it quite was that they saw, and it was entirely possible that she just wasn't looking hard enough or in the right places. After the past singular time the two of them had met, she...wasn't really sure what her final verdict on this new member was, her heart had yet to commit to any kind of decision.

"Sweetie," she half-heartedly greeted, the one in question slightly jumping as her name was called (which also interrupted her messing with her fur) before she scrambled to get herself back into the spitting image she demanded that everyone who didn't know her personally had to see—a calm and collected West Highland Terrier sitting perfectly upright, simply nodding and raising her eyebrows as a greeting. Liberty silently sighed to herself, already feeling the awkward silence drifting into the air as they sat there in this agonizing creation of theirs. "What? You expecting me to bow or somethin'?"

"Oh please, I expect nothing of the sort from a street dog," the terrier scoffed, brushing her fur out of her face as she stepped into the room and looked around the tower—a blank stare as her eyes shimmered with the glow of the lights around her. "Though I will at least give you this, this lookout seems a lot more...spacious than the one the others usually stay at, the decorations aren't bad either, I suppose."

"Yeah, thanks for the compliments," Liberty sarcastically muttered, rolling her eyes as Sweetie marched passed her without a single glance in her direction. Odds were she was looking around at every fine detail of the lookout, and the brown dog swore that if she heard a single complaint about her decorating, she would kick her out, royalty or not. But, oh well, things could be so, so much worse, she wouldn't let one weak link ruin her Christmas. "Alright, who wants something to do?"

Just as anyone would've expected, every being with a soul in their body looked in her direction with heads tilted in curiosity. The spotlight was all hers now, and she had no intention to let one of her seven minutes of fame slip out of her fingertips. They were on her turf now, her home, and there was no better way to welcome someone to her home than a tour. And besides, that way she had an excuse to actually get out and see the city tonight.

"The city looks awesome at night, especially at this time of year. If you guys want, I could totally take yall on a tour and show you all the best Christmassy stuff." Naturally, the mere thought of having something new and interesting to do was more than enough to get the reactions she needed for this to all work out—some excited, some probably indifferent, and one just seemed like some weird mix between annoyed and nervous.

"I'll probably just stay here, but you guys should all go ahead, that sounds like fun," Ryder added, followed by the rest of the team looking around at each other before signing up and pledging their devoted attention to their ring leader for the night.

Liberty smiled to herself, putting on a brown hat and the warmest jacket known to mankind (Ryder was kind enough to give her the money for a new one, the one that she had been... borrowing, for years was nearly falling apart).

And even though the others had just now gotten here, it became a sudden scramble for everyone to be ready for their big night out. Scarves were snuggled wrapped around their necks, hats rested on top of their heads, and jackets were wrapped around them as their shield against the snow. Sweetie had a purse with her, but other than that, there was nothing flashy about their whole get-together.

The four of them lucky enough to hold the title of being a partner in a relationship were nuzzled against their one and only for that extra pinch of warmth—the ultimate chef's kiss to all the preparations. After saying their final goodbyes to the human, they all got their final touches together before lining up at the elevator. For a painfully awkward moment, they all just stood there as they wondered how they would actually fit, the awkwardness only ending when one of them decided to bite the bullet and be the first one to take a step inside.

"This sucks," Sweetie eventually muttered once they had all crammed inside, mostly because she and Liberty were unlucky and were forced against each other for room. And as much as the latter kind of wanted to tell her off for insulting her home, it, unfortunately, was a valid argument to be made, enough so that it actually managed to get a small chuckle out of her—one that was immediately covered up as she turned away Though from the looks of it, the terrier got a sufficient glimpse to notice, and she had the audacity to smirk at it too. "Oh don't get so worked up, be glad that I remembered to put on perfume before we left."

"Great, you want a gold star or somethin'? Perfume is strong anyway, I tried it one time and that stupid stuff felt like it was on me for days," the brown dog complained, shuddering at the thought—she knew back then her usual smell probably wasn't pleasant, but at least then she could breathe.

And to think, back when she only had the streets as her home, she had spent all day snagging unclaimed dollar bills that had been laying around the city to earn herself a days worth of work, only for her to spend it on an attempt to freshen up in a cloud of poisonous gas. As far as she was concerned, a decent shower was all she could ever need. Hot, clean water was an upgrade from just shaking her fur in rainwater anyway.

"Huh, maybe you just didn't get a good brand. If we all go shopping or something along those lines, I suppose I could show you what to buy. I am an expert, after all," The Daschund turned her head to the side, eyeing the white dog as if this was some coverup plan to kidnap her—and apparently, such curiosity wasn't allowed by the terrier's standards. Real ironic considering who it was coming from. "Don't you dare let that get into your head, I'm simply having mercy on a poor soul and protecting them from the mistakes I once made."

Before Liberty was able to voice her response—considering this seemed like a fairly kind offer for Sweetie's standards, maybe it was best that she was never given the chance to open her mouth—the elevator doors opened and they were all finally free from their chains of such little room. After messing with her jacket a bit more to get it back to where she wanted it, she marched up in front of the pack of dogs, nodding for them to follow their furry GPS for their free, once in a lifetime tour.

"Alright, anyone got any special requests?" she asked, turning her head around as snowflakes slowly began to cover their fur. In all honesty, she wasn't expecting anything, no one else knew this city the way that she did—it was more of a courtesy than anything else, a good tour guide always need to keep their audience entertained. But without any regard for her expectations, Everest stepped up to the plate, innocently tilting her head with a guilty smile that could mean millions of different things.

"Please don't take this the wrong way or anything, we'll definitely all be back for everything back at the lookout, but me, Marshall, Chase, and Skye kinda all wanted to go on a double date. Do you mind showing us a good restaurant?" the husky sheepishly asked, from the bottom of her heart feeling horrible for essentially ditching her friend. Of course, even though the Daschund would miss their presence way more than she had any plans on letting on, she had no business getting in the way of their love life. If they were happy, so was she!

"Uh...o-of course, I know a great one just down the road." And by just down the road, she very clearly wasn't kidding, it only took a few minutes for them to walk down to where they needed to be.

As anyone would've expected, the entire time, the couples were just dying with excitement—sparkles in their eyes as they all looked forward to the big moment when they would be with their most cherished partners, and in the process, leaving her all alone again.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, they had only the best intentions, they wanted to spend their Christmas with their loved ones, just like they should. The dread and excitement only increased as they got closer to a small, locally owned pizza place, and the four of them were practically drooling at the mouth as they stood outside the door. "Alright, you guys have fun, tell 'em you're my friends and maybe you'll get a free drink or somethin'."

"Thanks, Liberty, we owe you one!" Chase called back, wrapping his foreleg around Skye as the four of them disappeared behind the door—a small chime echoing out of the bell over the doorframe. The Dachshund quietly laughed to herself, honestly not remembering if this was the pizza place where she kind of knew the owner or not, so either she was fulfilling her promise of getting them free drinks, or she was giving them a good story to come home with.

Either way, It truly was a shame that they were gone, but she still had some of them with her, and that was more than enough to make her night worthwhile. She wasn't going to let that alone mess up her night, it would take more than that to faze her.

"Hey, Libewty, dudette, can I ask you something?" Zuma suddenly questioned, running up in front of her with Rubble and Rocky eagerly waiting behind them while their tails wagged in anticipation. Although now Liberty had a feeling she knew where this was going, she nodded, and at this rate it was just a wish upon a star not to lose what little of her friends she had left. "The thwee of us have been wanting to see this movie for a while, and appawently it's playing here. You cool if we go see it?"

"Y-yeah...y-yeah, no, totally, you guys have fun!" she told them all, softly waving as the three of them ran off in a storm of excitement and laughter—all having so much fun with the family that wasn't her. Oh well, that was...fine, yes, completely fine. Sure, the ones she thought were here to be with her had all left her in the dust...but they were happy with each other, and that was what mattered. She wanted them to be happy, even if that meant sacrificing herself.

It would have been selfish to hold herself on such a high pedestal and claim that she was more important than all of them, it was they who had made the sacrifice to come all the way out here in the first place. And besides, she knew she had some dogs left over—though as she turned around, most of her emotions just turned into plain annoyance. "Alright, looks like it's just...oh...just us."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me, I'm the only one without plans?!" Sweetie exclaimed, looking around her for the support of the group that was no longer by her side—so much for them "having her back" like she assumed they would. Liberty sighed to herself, gently pinching her forehead in frustration until she simply raised her eyebrow at the terrier, silently waiting for her to make the next move. "Uhm...is the tour still an option?"

"Ugh, fine. Come on, Snow White, don't expect some fancy chariot to come pick you up," the Dachshund muttered, rolling her eyes as she pulled her hat further down against her head—sort of wishing she could pull it over her eyes to get herself out of this situation. It was probably better than being alone, but there was a part of her wondering if clicking her heels together and asking to be sent home would be a better option.

"What did you just call me?!" Liberty let out a long, (exaggerated if she was being honest) sigh before she turn around, and even though these were two completely different things, she couldn't tell Sweetie was offended or panicked. In what was definitely not considered the class of royalty, the white dog quickly wiped whatever her expression was off and replaced it with a desperate-to-appear-as-confident smirk. "Is it because of my unmatched beauty?"

"No, it's because you have white fur and you're so convinced that you're oh-so beautiful," she mused, hoping that it would be enough to get the terrier to quiet down for a little bit, she really didn't want to stoop down to using her hat as a pair of earmuffs for some peace at mind. And while it did buy her some silence, she also saw an even less helpful smirk working its way onto that face of hers, and clearing up any possible confusion was certainly worth losing the quiet. "That ain't a compliment, you know."

"Hey, you said it, not me. There's no harm in knowing your place, is there?" Sweetie proudly asked in return, holding her head up with confidence—though, in all honesty, the complete and utter silence that followed was worse than any other insult one could've shot in her direction.

For a split second, she was concerned that she had pushed her boundaries and actually offended the Dachshund, and by no means was that what she intended, it was all just harmless fun! Or so she hoped, but the other dog did have a weirdly scary smirk, so...she wasn't really sure how to handle that.

"Guess that also means that there's no harm in knowin' that you just like to hear me call you beautiful, right?" Liberty taunted with her eyebrows raised, not exactly sure what she was expecting—as far as she knew, the terrier could either laugh or order for her head to be placed into a guillotine.

"W-what?! No, nonsense! I require no such compliments from you," she demanded, stomping her paw against the ground like an innocent toddler pouting after their mom told them it was time to leave the park. Liberty couldn't help herself but let out a small laugh, but she ended up laying off it when noticing the obvious hesitation in the eyes of the white dog.

"Don't worry, I'm just messin' with you, you're all good. You look fine, don't sweat over that either." The Dachshund smiled to herself as she turned back over and looked ahead to map out their path, already sensing the expected presence of the terrier stepping up next to her.

"Really?" she asked, sounding so genuine and curious that it almost hurt—of course, the white dog seemed to realize that too and wiped those hopeful eyes off her face the moment she regained that power. "Ahem, I mean, of course I do. I suppose if I was feeling generous, I could say the same about you."

"Yeah, I'm sure you could. C'mon, there's a pretty fancy store nearby here if you wanna check it out." With a difference like night and day, Sweetie smiled and followed along. While trusting her tour guide to let her know if she was going the wrong way, she looked around the city with sparkles in her eyes as they walked through the city, her paw gripping onto her purse to keep it from constantly bobbing around and smacking into her.

Even if Liberty felt like she was supposed to still be upset about the situation that life had dealt her into, she had to admit, so far they were off to a pretty good start—and it was Christmas, after all, she might as well make do with what she had.

"Ohh, is this the place?" the terrier eventually questioned, looking up at the glamorous, shining lights on the store sign that had without a doubt already caught plenty of passing eyes tonight. Liberty lightly chuckled to herself, nodding along—she only assumed it was fancy because of the decor that was thrown up in the windows.

Considering she once considered the bare necessities luxuries, these riches were something that she would only hear about in fairytales. But, this wasn't really for her satisfaction. A happy Sweetie meant (hopefully) her sanity would continue to survive the night.

"Yeah, sure is, go check it out or whatever it is you plan on doin', I can just wait out here," she explained, simply not wanting to have the discussion of the terrier "not wanting her reputation ruined by a city dog". The bar was set low and that was just about all she expected, but before she had much of a choice, the white dog rolled her eyes and yanked her paw over to the door. Odds were she could have pulled herself away if she so wished, but for one, she was caught by surprise. Two, she was admittedly curious.

"Nonsense, you're coming with me. Any company is better than nothing." Even if Liberty probably would've just gone along for the fun of it, Sweetie never even gave her the chance to say yes before she was shoved into the store alongside her.

Thankfully, none of the employees batted an eye. Then again, they were working on Christmas Eve, and odds were they were preoccupied with imagining the perfect way to tell their boss off for such a decision.

The Dachshund looked around the white, clean walls of the building, each shelf lined with pricetags that, well, only royalty could afford (go figures). Yes, Ryder had given her some money, enough that she could probably buy a few things if she really wanted to, but she along with the one funding her figured out quickly that she apparently had a habit of storing the money away for necessities only. Her idea of a shopping spree was a hot dog and maybe a new hat if she was feeling fancy.

But even then, she could at least humor herself by looking around and admiring the sights, she could always laugh at the thought of her wearing one of those fancy dresses—not that she would even if she did buy it, she could just imagine the discomfort. The mere thought of spending all this money felt like a joke to her, but hey, there were a few things here and there that didn't look too bad.

"Hey, look at this," Sweetie called out, grabbing the brown dog's attention over to the terrier holding up a small, pink bottle. Liberty cracked a smile as she stepped over and took the small capsule to examine it closer, she didn't feel like she had much of a choice given the proud grin on the white dog's face, one that was just begging to be noticed and appreciated for her efforts. "This is the good type of perfume, not that crappy stuff that makes you gag all day."

"Yeah, I ain't spending a hundred bucks on scented air. I'm sure it's nice and all, but some of us aren't fortunate enough to have cash to blow at every little thing we see," she uttered, about to turn away and keep browsing until she heard the terrier scoff—it did poke at her temper, but not enough for her to actually let it show. She was willing to let all be forgiven if the next few words were redeeming.

"Well, if you're stealthy enough to sneak it out of here, I won't bat an eye," the white dog whispered, smirking as she let out a small laugh—only to cover it up as if it wasn't something she was supposed to be laughing at, and admittedly, it did sort of depend on the crowd. That or she was just trying to hide the quiet snort that she probably thought she successfully blocked from leaving her mouth.

But, thankfully for her, the only concerns came from the minimal amount of seconds where the Dachshund only eyed her carefully. As much as the brown dog may not have wanted to admit it to anyone, it did get a smile out of her, and according to the rumors, even a small laugh at the joke. They certainly had their differences, but she could always appreciate it when someone had a decent sense of humor.

"Nah, this place is already suspicious of me, I steal something again and they'll finally know that it's been me all along. Can't let the police catch onto me, don't think Chase would love the idea of a thief on the team." Even if it wasn't what Liberty would've considered her best quip (and a risky one in public too), it did get a laugh out of the terrier, and that was more than she had been expecting tonight—though it was all after an eye roll. Now that she thought about it, yeah, Chase clearly did make an exception for some occasional thieves, it's not like the terrier was innocent herself. "Yeah, I'm good though, I don't steal anymore."

"Anymore?" The joking tone said it all, obviously, the terrier was still smiling and playing around. And while by all means, Liberty was still playing around, the brown dog turned over and just shrugged—smirking to herself as she set the bottle back down on the shelf. She couldn't lie, though, it was a tempting offer.

"You heard me," she openly stated, deadpan as could be. Sweetie laughed again for just a short second, only stopping once she registered the blank expression she was dealing with—if it was meant to be a joke, usually one would be quick to confirm that it was. On one hand, she wasn't too sure how she was supposed to react to a crime admission, but on the other, she...probably wasn't allowed to talk. "Look, back then, it was that or starve. I ain't proud of it, but I don't regret it either, it was what I had to do."

"Oh...well, in that case, I suppose I'll buy this for you," the terrier decided, quickly grabbing the bottle and turning over to the cash register. She paused for a moment, only to turn back to Liberty who was standing there without a care in the world as if she were expecting a punchline. "Well? Hurry up before I change my mind."

"Oh, wait, you were serious? I wasn't tryin' to get you to spend your money, you know," Liberty hesitantly asked, taking someone else's money was something that she always kept herself away from doing—and no, dollar bills off the ground didn't count, no one comes back to a cold city for a single dollar. But despite her morale code, Sweetie shrugged, handing the bottle over to the human at the register and whatever money was needed to purchase it.

"As you said, I have money to spare. If you hadn't gotten to experience any of these luxuries before, you might as well start somewhere, right? Besides, it is Christmas, it's the least I can do." Letting go of the fact that she still generally wasn't a huge fan of perfume as a concept itself, Liberty softly smiled and nodded. She could never have the heart to turn down such a genuine gesture, as much as she usually denied charity.

She appreciated it, and yes, if she was being honest, it was surprising, but it seemed to break the ice between them, and it was just a simple, nice thing to do. Hopefully, that trend of less awkwardness would continue for the rest of the night, maybe longer with a bit of luck.

"Well, thanks, I owe you one. You mind holdin' onto it until we're back home?" Sweetie nodded and dropped the bottle into her purse, alongside the cash given back to her as the two of them stepped back into the outside world.

A strong gust of wind immediately blew against them and gave their hats a good test for how committed they were to staying on top of their heads, and the freshly fallen snowflakes began pilling against their fur with the coldness really pushing the limits on how much protection their fluff had—the elements really did seem against them. Now, however, a little less of the tension was cloudling their night. If they didn't know any better, both of them might just have been enjoying themselves.

"Well...if you don't mind, is it too soon to take you up on that favor you owe me?" Maybe it was a bit soon to already be playing that card, but now Liberty couldn't really take it back, so maybe that was all part of the plan. She just nodded along and hoped that it wasn't too big of a request, she really didn't want to be the dog that didn't honor her word. "I've always wanted to see the center of a city on Christmas Eve, I've always heard that it's fun and colorful, but I've never actually been able to since I always have plans. Would...you show me?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, we're pretty close anyway. C'mon, I'll show ya," she offered, extending her paw with a grin while Sweetie looked at her like as if she had just given the most insane proclamation known to mankind—an awkward smile on her face as if she was flustered by something as simple as a paw. The Dachshund raised her eyebrow, almost disappointed until the terrier laughed nervously and grabbed onto her paw, her eyes refusing to make eye contact while Liberty was left alone to fill in the blanks. "Do...you not know what a handshake is?"

"Oh. U-uhm, yes, of course I do," she proclaimed, shaking her paw and firmly planting hers back onto the sidewalk while looking like she wanted to bury her face into her scarf and stay there for a long, long time. Liberty—not sure if she was supposed to laugh, roll her eyes, or be a little charmed—simply decided to let that remark just disappear along with the breeze.

Now that their conversations had been killed, it was nothing but silence between them until they were about to turn the final corner until they were in the promised center of the city; evidenced by the consistent increase of distorted human mumbles.

"Welp, here ya go, your highness. Whatcha think?" Sweetie stepped off the corner of the sidewalk, standing in the road—that was thankfully closed in favor of all the festivities taking place—with her head up and her eyes reflecting all the shining lights around her.

There was a large tree that rivaled some of the smaller buildings in the center of the emptied-out block, covered from head to toe with lights, and a bright, burning star on top that the whole world could probably see. And not only that, trucks were serving the most delicious of warm, homemade cookies and hot chocolates. There were plenty of small stands selling freshly sewn hats and gloves, and everything she could see was covered in a thin blanket of snow.

"Wow...it's...beautiful," she muttered, looking around her in awe as she clutched onto her scarf. Liberty cracked a smile, stepping out under the reign of the snowflakes in the sky and next to the terrier who was still taking in their surroundings with an expression of a puppy waking up to see that Santa really did leave presents under the tree. At first, she was merely enjoying the sign of royalty being so captivated by the simple life, but her priorities changed when her paw was gripped and she was suddenly dragged over to the center of the area. "They have ice skating?! Liberty, we have to try!"

"Heh, what, you got private lessons at the castle or somethin'?" the Dachshund asked, genuinely curious instead of trying to poke more at her status. Whether she had even picked up on how it could have sounded or not, Sweetie turned back to her with a wagging tail and glimmering eyes that would make the most innocent of beings jealous—if it did come off as insulting, she clearly didn't notice.

"Oh no, not at all. The Princess and I would go into the city if the weather was cold enough and try it. She was...honestly, kind of bad at it, but it was amusing, she was never too pleased with me for laughing whenever she fell. I, however, taught myself over the years, and I must say, I'd like to think I've grown to be pretty good at it," she explained, grinning at such old and joyous memories.

As much as Liberty wasn't expecting the white dog to willingly go outside of the walls of her castle and into the simpler world at her own leisure, she was certainly not one to avoid giving credit where it was due. Of course, that didn't mean she was letting her pride fall easy, she would just be putting up a fight with more respect.

"You think you're better than me at it?" she proudly challenged, holding her head up with confidence to back her up as Sweetie raised an eyebrow—half curious and half seemingly asking if she was really daring enough to make such a foolish bet. "Hey, I've lived in this city for my whole life, things get boring real quickly. Everyone needs a few hobbies."

"I could say the same about living in a castle for your whole life. If you truly think you could possibly outmatch my skills, then by all means, shall we, street dog?" Liberty raised her head up, narrowing her eyes at the smirking dog looking down at her. She was never one to back down from an honest challenge, and she dreamed of how amazing it would be to savor such a sweet, sweet victory.

"We shall, Snow White. Don't think I'm gonna take it easy on ya." From the looks of it, Sweetie would've never dreamed of it going any other way—not that either of them really expected that from her. It wasn't like Liberty had any plans on letting her off the hook, and besides, she had the house advantage, not to mention being a regular meant she could probably spare a bit of cash too.

"Would you like me to pay?" Sweetie offered, digging through her purse as they walked up to the small stand with the rental skates. Liberty smiled, the offer was nice and she really did appreciate it, but she brushed it off and shook her head. Hopefully, her charisma would be enough to win this one.

"Hey, dude, you mind letting me and my friend borrow some skates for a bit?" she simply asked the man at the stand. For the record, they did know each other. Kind of. It was a purely business relationship, there was nothing other than the occasional favors for one another, perks of being a stray meant that there were very few strangers in her part of town. As hesitant as he was, the human caved, gave them their skates, and sent them on their way, making it clear that they were permanently banned if they ratted him out.

"Alright then, your move," the terrier urged, nodding out to the ice rink. Liberty was almost surprised that someone always proclaiming themselves as a superior lifeform was letting her hold the honor of the first move, but she never bothered to argue about it. Deeply hoping that she still had it in her (she hadn't done this in nearly a year, after all, she was limited by the curse of the seasons), she pushed herself out onto the ice, thankfully not hitting any innocent families on the way.

"Well? I ain't waitin' on you forever, if you're just gonna keep standin' there then I win by default!" she called out, waiting to see if Sweetie had the skills to back up her mouth. By all means, she wanted to see her succeed, it would certainly be more entertaining. But on the flip side...it would've been kinda funny if she was all bark and no bite.

But alas, the terrier simply smirked and glided over with ease, even having the audacity to wink once the two of them were back together. Liberty narrowed her eyes, getting a good look at the environment they had to work with before turning back to what was either her opponent or partner, honestly, she wasn't completely sure.

"You ready?" she asked, holding her paw out as Sweetie looked at her in confusion—the brown dog could've sworn her tail wagged for a split second, but she wasn't confident enough to call her out on it. Not that she would've cared, of course.

"W-we're going with each other? Y-you are aware that most competitions have the contestants by themselves, right?" Admittedly, that was a pretty good argument, and it just might have saved her the trouble if Liberty had a fluster-able bone in her body...ahem, not that it mattered at all, it was just...a courtesy to think of that. Yeah, that was it, just a courtesy.

"Okay, well, yeah, but this stuff needs coordination and all that jazz. This makes sure the playing field is even." Sweetie nervously laughed and did what she could to keep her balance while gripping the other's paw—her skates slipping a little more as she tried to collect herself.

If this was all an attempt to hurt her skills, it was working. As much as she could respect the determination and mind games, she didn't want to go down without a fight—her honor was far too important to her for that.

With a deep breath, she let herself smile as they began gliding across the ice, the tempo slow and steady as they worked themselves into getting used to this position and getting their rusty skills back to where they needed to be.

At first, it was simple and relaxing, just carefully swaying against the frozen floor, both more focused on getting used to all of this. Of course, after a minute or so, they did begin to turn into the direction they set out to have, with one purely focusing on proving herself as the one and only victor (that was what she told people, at least), and one doing absolutely everything to keep her cool.

"Alright, I think we've warmed up enough. You ready to turn it up?" The Dachshund asked, hardly even giving Sweetie a chance before she bent the terrier over her leg, holding her lower as she let out a soft, almost whimpering snippet of laughter—hopefully, whatever that was was an agreement, because that's what the brown dog was taking it as.

Within the blink of an eye, Liberty grinned and sort of pushed Sweetie away, letting her spin until she was pulled back against her chest—and by some miracle, was regifted a small sense of confidence as she and the Dachshund locked eyes and paws, holding one of their front legs out while the other was wrapped around the other. Don't get her wrong, she was still more than determined to keep up and hold her title, but she could also say with certainty that it was enjoyable above just a mere competition.

And now that the bar was set up to a more reasonable height given the skills they already had, the two of them looked forward and marched onwards, their legs just barely able to keep up with the rest of their movements. Even their balance was something that, while normally second nature, was thrown into a gamble.

The twists and turns they both sprang onto one another were nothing to be underestimated, especially not with the small lifts occasionally thrown into the mix—and that was without the occasional thoughts that drove them a little extra crazy. As hard as they both tried, neither ever let themselves fall, and it only ever ended once the two stood up with their paws interlocked while they panted and tried to catch their breath.

"W-well...you had the home advantage, so if this alone was a tie, that would mean I would win, right?" Sweetie asked, their shaky breaths filling the silence as Liberty rolled her eyes and smiled. The brown dog playfully punched her shoulder, letting go of her paw as she took a careful step back away from her. It almost felt...lonely to not be that close to her anymore? Strange, but, perhaps she was just a little too used to such loneliness.

"Shut up and take the tie, I'm too tired to argue anyway. C'mon, you wanna grab some snacks and chill for a bit?" she offered, and a tired terrier slowly nodded her head in agreement as they glided back to the edge of the rink. After taking their annoyingly tight skates off and handing them back over to the guy running the rental stand, the two of them caught their breath and made one last dash before they could let their bones rest for a few minutes.

A few purchases later, the two of them were armed with warm (dog-safe) hot chocolates and the finest baked treats the city had to offer while they walked up to a bench in front of the bright, giant Christmas tree.

They each jumped up next to each other, clanking their styrofoam cups together and taking slow a sip before leaning back against the bench and looking out at the snowy, colorful city all around them—visible breaths leaving their mouths due to the temperature.

Sweetie softly smiled to herself as she leaned back against the bench, yawning quietly as she shifted her scarf around for as much warmth as it could give. It was cold, honestly, she felt like her fur might freeze up, but it was still strangely comforting being out here. At her core, she truly thought it was mutual. She was no expert when it came to reading emotions, even though she always thought that she should be, but with what guidance she had, Liberty really did look happy, albeit a little dazed off as she stared out at the tree.

"Something got your mind?" she called out, confirming her theory as the Dachshund shook herself back to reality. The brown dog, once she had gotten herself back to this plain of existence, smiled and nodded, leaning back as she took another sip of her drink.

"Just thinkin', that's all. It's just...this is kinda my first Christmas where I wasn't living out here. This one I actually have food, and a roof over my head, I'm not lonely like all the other ones. It's weird, but I like it. Guess this is what I've been missing all this time." Although the future version of herself would probably forever hate herself for how this may have looked, Sweetie hesitated to answer. She almost expected her to say something else, to make a joke or something along those lines to bring the mood back up. But she never did.

"Oh...I see. Well, I suppose if it makes you feel any better, living in the castle was always sort of the same. I love the Princess, but she's often busy doing whatever it is princesses have to do, most of the time it's just me and the guards that I could occasionally talk into playing with me," the terrier explained. Liberty was admittedly surprised, both by the fact that the terrier was very much willing to give into a deeper conversation, and simply by what she had said—she always thought the life of royalty would have people all over you.

"No Princes catchin' your eyes?" As genuine as the question was, Sweetie rolled her eyes and scoffed, glancing over—and thankfully, Liberty took it in a good light and grinned, clearly getting the hint.

"Yeah, no, definitely no Princes, I will tell you that much. But...well, yeah, I suppose my love life has always been in shambles, as fortunate as I am. Most of the time, royalty is just forced into a relationship. The Princess is incredibly supportive, she told me that whoever it was that my heart fell for, she would have my side, and I truly am grateful for that. It's complicated, to say the least," she elaborated, softly laughing at her sad excuse of a romantic life that the Dachshund appeared more confused by than anything (understandably, royalty was always confusing, and that was coming from someone directly involved with it every second of her life).

"Really? Given your position, I thought you'd have Princes or Princesses or whoever lining up at your door." Sweetie scoffed, and as contradicting as it was, still nodded along as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. For whatever the reason may have been, either she just took too big of a sip or she had forgotten how hot it was, she coughed after barely managing to swallow it and glared at her cup—the audacity for such an assassination attempt.

"Well, you aren't entirely wrong. There were plenty that were after my hand, but for starters, I was never fond of their desperation," she stated, brushing off the light laughter that came from Liberty in the process. "But I also don't think they truly loved me, I mean, half the time we would only ever share a single introduction and maybe a dance if I felt pity on them. As far as I was concerned, they loved the position, never me."

"If it means anything, I kinda get it. I mean, not the whole royalty position thing, but desperation is definitely not flattering. Cheers to that," the Dachshund exclaimed, grinning as she raised her styrofoam cup up and lightly tapped that of the white dog's—she thought it was funny, but the terrier never moved so much as an inch to return the favor.

"I-I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, I mean, I'm aware of what most of the public thinks about me. The rumors that paint me as some vicious tyrant only after the throne, that's the image that just about everyone holds to me, after all." The Dachshund's smile slowly faded out of her expression, as did her oath to keep whatever this conversation was into the fullness of the Christmas spirit. She could've sworn that she saw...tears? "T-the only ones who could ever look past that were some at the castle and the PAW Patrol, and while I am grateful for them...I...nevermind, I apologize, I did not intend on going on this whole rant. You do not deserve to have to listen to me go on about all this."

"Well...I ain't gonna lie to you, I've heard a handful of those rumors myself," Liberty admitted, feeling a bit bad for speaking out on such harshness—the cold, bitter truth usually did hurt, after all. Sweetie lowered her head and gently nodded as if she had expected nothing less, rubbing her eyes and sniffing as the brown dog took a deep breath and swallowed a little bit of her pride—leaning against the other dog and gently nuzzling her. If she had more energy, the terrier would've been losing her mind a lot more than she actually was. "But, for what it's worth, I never believed them."

"You...didn't? Y-you better not be saying that just to make me feel better. I'm sure that counts as treason or something like that, I could have you executed for that," the terrier muttered, somehow still managing to get a small laugh out of the Dachshund.

"Nah, if I listened to every stupid conspiracy theorist around here, I'd be insane and yelling that birds weren't real or something along those lines. I mean, when I first met you, I was a bit worried that you'd be a bit stuck up, but, you're actually pretty cool. And hey, it's Christmas, I'm sure you'll find whoever it is you're looking for, someone out there's gotta be the one. Maybe that Santa dude will bring you a love letter or somethin' like that." The terrier looked down at her with her eyes narrowed and a little giggle escaping her cold lips, holding her expression still before eventually smiling and wrapping her leg around Liberty—who was more than willing to tolerate the hug.

"T-thank you, Liberty, I truly do mean that, and I do apologize for how I may have acted when we first met. And...you never know, part of me wonders if I already have found that someone," she pondered, almost immediately regretting it as she once again saw the smirk sliding back onto Liberty's face. She had a feeling that at one point or another she'd say something that she shouldn't have.

"Ohhh, the Princess's pup's got a crush, huh?" she egged on, nudging her victim with her head—who refused to make eye contact and held her own head up high, ironic for someone being torn down from their grace.

"That is none of your business, don't even bother trying to drag that one out of me," Sweetie demanded, planting her paw firmly on the bench while taking a sip of her hot chocolate (thankfully not burning her tongue alive this time). Liberty narrowed her eyes and shrugged, turning away—just enough so that it looked like she had held up the white flag. Of course, it was a foolish mistake for anyone to have believed that, anyone with common sense should've known better. A rookie mistake like that could not go unpunished.

"So...does that mean it's none of my business that there's mistletoe above us?" she calmly asked, getting oh so much joy as she watched the terrier's eyes widen as she nearly spat out her drink.

"What?!" the white dog cried out, raising her head up to the heavens only to see snowflakes slowly falling down onto her face. As if she couldn't have figured it out by herself, she brought her eyes back down to see the Dachshund simply dying with laughter, even clutching her chest just so she wouldn't run out of air. Naturally, the terrier huffed and sharply turned her head away. "Shut up, street dog, that was cheap."

"I-it was, b-but I'm sorry, you should've seen your face. Oh, I wish I got a picture of that," she exclaimed, wiping her eyes as she somewhat pulled herself together—and thankfully, she wasn't thrown into an electric chair when the terrier let herself react. It was a small laugh that the rest of the world would unfortunately never get to know the context behind. "C'mon, it's gettin' pretty late, we should head back to the lookout. I hung up a thing of mistletoe there if you really wanna hold me to it."

"Haha, very funny." Sweetie rolled her eyes playfully as she stepped off the bench, readjusting her purse and scarf before readying herself for the trek back home. Of course, she was still just willing to brush it off until she saw the blank, kind of scary face looking back at her that she had only seen on the few times Liberty was actually trying to be serious. "That...was a joke, right?"

"Eh, I'll let you be the judge of that one," she simply answered, doing the terrier absolutely no favors as the white dog awkwardly laughed—not exactly sure if she should be dying of embarrassment or swooning. To make matters worse, Liberty smirked and held out her paw, not giving her much of a choice but to sigh and grip onto hers. The Princess's pup was not kidding when she had this thought, if this turned out to be another failed attempt at a handshake she would never set foot in this city again. "Alright, Snow White, I'm ready when you are."

"Heh, are you still using that as an insult or are you finally admitting my unmatched beauty?" Sweetie asked in return, willing to test the waters just a little bit—in all fairness, whatever she was saying was definitely better than the previous comments made tonight. Liberty narrowed her eyes, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked away and softly laughed it off (Sweetie could admit, it was very nice to see the tables turn in her favor).

The terrier lightly chuckled to herself, neither of them saying much of a word as she got herself and leaned against the brown dog. After Liberty apparently decided not to fight back against such an act—even returning the favor herself, so the rumors said. It was just for the sake of keeping warm through the harsh cold, that's what they'd tell anyone who asked for the time being.

They both looked around at the festive lights and snow around them. Such a beautiful sight, one that only got better when it wasn't being seen huddled up in a blanket to keep warm for the night, or looking out into a whole different city that you never really got to appreciate from a home above them all.

Actually, now that the idea was in the air, huddling up in a blanket with each other for the remainder of the night didn't sound like a bad idea at all. At the very least, it would be funny to see everyone else struggle to piece together whatever was going on between them, that alone should be endless joy for both of them.

Whether that was what fate had in store for them or not was a question for another day, for the time being, both of them were content with what they had. The worst-case scenario was still a joyous time spent with one another for the rest of the night. And as far as the best-case scenario went, there could be a lot more of whatever weird mix between teasing and flirting that they had found (and the mistletoe thing if Liberty wasn't kidding, that suspense wasn't leaving her alone anytime soon). Either way, they were just happy to be a little less lonely, that was more for Christmas than they were expecting to get.

"Oh really, now you're asking me if I think you're beautiful? Well...I-I'll...also let you be the judge of that one."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

Phoenix_647

Hellooo, hope you all have enjoyed the one shots so far, decided to try a new ship for this one lol. But that aside, have a happy holidays and enjoy spending what you celebrate with your family and friends!