Chapter Text
Connections
It was a surprisingly somber moment when he explained that they’d be going back home the next day, with Taiyang being the one to take Yang back to summer camp come Monday. “But…” And Ruby’s large eyes filled with tears as she latched onto his leg, “Uncle Qwow, we didn’t get to do everything I wanted together.”
The wobble of her voice broke his heart. He easily scooped the girl up into his arms and sat her down onto his kitchen island, helping Yang join her a moment later. Smiling fondly at the two girls, he murmured, “Your dad missed you a ton. And I’ll always be here, right? You can come visit anytime.”
“Monday,” Ruby pouted.
Qrow laughed, ruffling her hair. “How’s this- I’ll tell your dad I’m picking you up and taking you for ice cream after daycare, and I’ll bring you home. How’s that?”
After a moment of hesitation, the thought of ice cream seemed to win, and Ruby gave him a tiny, sweet smile. “Okay Uncle Qwow.”
To Yang, who was looking decidedly aghast at the news, Qrow said simply, “Did you like the cookies I made?”
Instantly, her face lit up. “Yeah, they were super good!”
He grinned, holding out a hand for her to high-five. “You’re helping me make them next time okay?”
And Yang’s face split into a dazzling smile as she did so, her tiny hand against his, and in that moment he knew he’d done the right thing by baking them for her earlier that week. They’d keep the cookie-baking tradition alive for Summer.
There was little left to do but pack and enjoy the last day they had together. He happily took the two girls to the playground by Arc ABC House, watching them giggle and play with all the energy in the world.
The next 24 hours passed by in a blur. He had thought his apartment to be small, but it had never been as achingly empty as when Taiyang finally came and collected the girls, his best friend collapsing into blubbering tears the moment he was reunited with his daughters once more. It had taken forever to get Taiyang to stop crying and finally head home, but after he had, Qrow almost regretted saying goodbye.
But time moved on. Soon enough, it was nearly noon on Monday, and Qrow’s patience was wearing dangerously thin. “Jimmy, I swear to God-“
“It’s Doctor Ironwood-“
“I’ll call you Jimothy if I want, so shut your mouth and listen-“
“You two,” Professor Ozpin sighed, breaking up their petty argument, “let’s calm down a bit.”
With that, Professor Ozpin shooed the two grown men off to cool down before they got back to discussing things that certainly did not demand that level of anger. Qrow couldn’t help it though- it never felt right to be physically back at Beacon.
To his surprise, as he walked out of the department building to take a short walk, Winter Schnee caught him, stopping him in his tracks. “You’re welcome,” she muttered with pink cheeks before scurrying off just as quickly, leaving Qrow absolutely baffled.
The explanation came just a few short steps later, in green eyes that narrowed and creased happily in the corners when he saw Qrow. “I brought lunch,” Clover explained, holding up a bag of what was presumably takeout.
Qrow cocked his head to the side in utter disbelief. “…Tai told you?”
Shaking his head, Clover held up a cup of coffee for Qrow to take, just as always. “Winter,” he explained wryly. “She said you’d be coming to Beacon today, then said that she was repaying the favour for the birthday.” In a stage whisper, he added, “I think she’s onto us.”
The elder sighed, taking in the image of the built man before him idly as he drank his coffee. It immediately felt soothing, warding off the creeping headache left after arguing with James. “Come sit in my office,” he murmured at last. “I’m not yet done my meeting.”
Clover raised a brow. “Um… then you’re outside, why?”
Qrow groaned, gesturing for the other to follow him. “Don’t worry about it,” he grumbled. “I’ll be done soon.”
Clover jogged to join him, his smile carefree but his eyes weighted as he suggested, “We can finally have a drink together when you’re done.”
Gods, a drink sounded amazing for after the meeting.
It seemed that Clover read his mind, lightly pecking the corner of Qrow’s mouth as the elder unlocked his personal office for him to wait within. “Here to please, princess,” he teased.
The rest of the department probably heard the annoyed groan that slipped out of Qrow’s mouth in response.
The meeting passed without further incident, with Professor Ozpin’s tiny quip that Qrow looked “surprisingly calm” after the short recess enough to make Qrow want to curl up into a hole and die from embarrassment. Qrow had to fight to keep the smile off his face every time he thought of who was waiting for him.
And later that day, when lunch was had and glasses were clinked and 2pm rolled around, Clover decided to stick around to go pick up Ruby.
When they arrived at the daycare, they found the little girl sitting with Marrow and an unfamiliar woman with Marrow’s colouring on the swings. “Elm, thanks for waiting with Ruby,” Clover said, bumping his fist against the woman’s.
“I didn’t mind,” Marrow’s mother- the famous Elm, it seemed- replied airily, waving off his words. “Always happy to hang out with one of my favourite girls.”
Ruby smiled widely at Elm, all tiny teeth and chubby cheeks. “Auntie Elm,” she asked, “were Uncle Qwow and Clover really all kissy-“
“What did you tell her?!” Clover cried just as Qrow scooped Ruby up, muttering, “And that’s enough of that, we’re going home-“
“She’s not wrong, was she?” Elm asked, raising a thin brow with a knowing smile. Looking at Qrow pointedly, she added, “Also, you- if you hurt Clover, you’ll be seeing me again really soon.”
Qrow rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the sight of Ruby making kissy faces back-and-forth with Marrow teasingly. Still, as his eyes fell onto Elm’s figure, the tall woman’s muscles straining through her light cardigan, Qrow filed away that threat rather than disregarding it completely. She looked like she could do some serious damage if she put her mind to it, and the slightly unhinged, laissez-faire tinge to her smile matched that assessment.
Okay, that’s it. Lightly flicking Ruby’s nose to get her to stop, he gestured to Clover to head back to his car. “I’ll drop you off at home,” he said to the younger as he strapped Ruby into the backseat. “Whereabouts do you live?”
Clover slid into the front seat and Qrow’s breath hitched as the younger laid a hand on top of Qrow’s, resting atop the gear shift. “Or… we could drop Ruby off first,” Clover murmured, thumb brushing against the back of Qrow’s hand, green looking up at him through thick, ruddy lashes.
The meaning behind those words made Qrow flush beet red. He dropped his face onto the steering wheel, willing composure back into himself- breathing slow, trying to calm himself and his racing mind down. He took so long that Ruby began to whine in the back, startling him upright again. When he finally pulled the car out of the parking lot, Clover’s smile was triumphant and knowing, Qrow’s exhausted and defeated, Ruby’s blissfully unaware. The car trundled along the road, carrying them to their first destination: the ice cream shop on the way home. Taiyang’s home.
This brat… Still, as they drove along, Qrow could feel Clover’s gratitude and adoration focused on his face, and Qrow found that he didn’t regret a thing about the past few weeks. Maybe the whole babysitting-dad-uncle gig was suited for him, after all.
-fin-