Chapter Text
Dinner has been made, and Qrow leaves the kids to eat together in favor of spending some time with the mysterious Maria Calavera. The old woman huffs as she ladles the corn and bean soup that Blake and Oscar have prepared into a bowl, takes one of the spoons that are laid out on the counter, and makes her way to the overstuffed armchair opposite of where Qrow is sprawled out on the couch. Qrow doesn’t realize that he’s been staring until she glares at him, “Are you going to say something, or are you just going to keep ogling me like a brain dead buffoon?”
Qrow snorts. From what he has gathered, this seems to be very in-character for Calavera. “Just wondering who you are,” he says truthfully. “What kind of person is this calm throughout everything we’ve just been through? Are you trained? Ex-Huntress?”
Maria just chuckles softly, taking a spoonful of soup and blowing on it until it cools enough to not burn her tongue. “Oh, yes. I was quite popular in my time. People called me the Grimm Reaper.”
Qrow feels his eyes practically burst out of his skull, hunger forgotten. “Y- you’re the Grimm Reaper?!”
“Don’t sound so surprised,” Maria - the Grimm Reaper - mutters. It’s lost in the crashing torrent of Qrow’s thoughts and words.
“You’re a legend!” She had famously been able to slay any Grimm that came her way, an unstoppable force. “When you dropped off the map, we all figured you’d died, but, well,” he gesticulates wildly at her. “I can’t believe this is real! I looked up to you when I was training y’know. You were a great inspiration to plenty of us students.” Maria embarrassedly tries to shush him, but Qrow is on a roll, making the most of being able to fangirl over his idol. “I don’t even know what to say!”
“Nothing,” Maria grumbles, and something that appears suspiciously similar to guilt crosses her face.
“...W- why?” Qrow asks, scooching back from where he has moved to the edge of his seat in excitement. Maria’s face twists in a way that suggests she has just bitten into something sour.
“I’m… not proud of many things I have done.” Qrow makes a perplexed noise, but like with Yang, opts not to interrupt. He seems to be the ideal dumping ground for feelings today. “After Salem stole my silver eyes-” Qrow makes a surprised noise, but Maria barrels on. “-I wasn’t the same. Even after I got my prosthetic eyes,” she taps them as they make a strange whirring noise, “I still was scared. Of Salem, of the hunters and huntresses… I don’t know. I think it was a combination of many things that led me to retreat. Retreat in cowardice.” She shakes her head, “I’m not a legend or a person that you should look up to. Because I’m just that. A person. People make mistakes.”
A heavy silence permeates the air as Qrow tries to figure out what to say to this woman who is twice as old as him, twice as experienced. “You’re right. People make mistakes.” Qrow hangs his head, elbow resting on knees. “Hell, I left my kid.”
Maria hmms, “And will you ever be able to forgive yourself completely?”
There is a pause before Qrow replies, firmly, “No. I- I don’t think it’s possible to just wash away everything- everyone I’ve hurt.”
Maria just grunts, but Qrow waits for a minute or two for her to respond. He’s done a lot of damage, yes, and he’ll never be able to forgive himself, but he can’t bring himself to regret most of his decisions, even if he would have done things a bit differently, given the chance. Everything he did? It was for Ruby. Qrow, Summer interrupts, trying to stop his train of thought from speeding off its tracks and down into a ravine. Qrow, you need to calm down. He takes a deep breath, not willing to spiral now, not with so many people around him that are relying on him to be strong, to know what he is doing. As his heart slows down, he is brought back to the present. No, he’ll never quite forgive himself, but- oh. Oh. “I guess we’re in the same boat, in a sense.”
“I guess you’re right.”
From the doorway, there comes a little cough, and Qrow whips around, noticing how Maria seems unperturbed. Standing there, looking somewhat nervous, is Oscar. “Uh,” he holds up his bowl of soup, “May- may I join you?” He bites his lip, seeming prepared for the possibility that they will turn him down.
Qrow jerks his head to the spot next to him on the couch. “Sure kid, what’s up?” Oscar eyes him warily, and Qrow remembers how he had slugged him the last time Ozpin had taken over. “I only bite sometimes.”
Oscar blushes profusely, and goes to sit next to Qrow. “I just, uh, don’t really know what to do with myself.” The couch shifts a little at his added weight, and some of the beans on Qrow’s spoon fall back to his bowl. Qrow observes how Oscar scratches at his neck, the bandages shifting slightly to reveal the edge of a scar before he adjusts his collar, and it is all hidden from view. “Before I had Ozpin,” Qrow clenches his teeth, “but now- I’m just a kid who barely knows how to fight.”
Maria gets up and leaves the room, providing some offhand comment about getting more soup, despite her bowl being nearly full still. Qrow scrunches his eyebrows together, “If you’re worried about being dead weight, I can help you train.”
Oscar appears to be surprised, but he just nods slowly. “Uh, yeah. That- that’d be amazing.” He offers Qrow a small smile, “Thanks.”
Qrow reclines a little further, stretching his legs out. “Sure, kid.”
They eat their soup for a time until Oscar breaks the silence, “You haven’t really talked to Ruby yet.” It’s more of a statement than a question.
“No, just Yang,” Qrow rubs his eyes as he recalls that emotionally draining conversation. “I guess I should.” Why does it all have to be so complicated?
Oscar sticks his spoon into his mouth, taking a moment to swallow. “She and I were talking,” Qrow raises his eyebrows, “I know she seems fine, but… well, you just turned her whole world upside down. I honestly don’t know how she’s been coping so far. I mean, what would you do if Raven suddenly wasn’t your sister and you found out that you weren't actually born into the Branwen tribe?”
Qrow frowns, this kid may not be Ozpin, but he sure talks like him. “I’d have questions,” Qrow replies simply, honestly. Gods, Ruby must have so many questions, the poor kid. “I’ll have a chat with her after dinner.”
They fall back into on-and-off conversation for the rest of their meal, vaguely listening in on the chatter coming from the kid’s table in the other room. After dinner, Weiss commandeers the dishwashing operation, directing soap, dry towels, and silverware in a flurry blue and white. When all the action finally settles down, Maria suggests that they all try to get some rest, and everyone goes off to their separate sleeping bags. Qrow is starting to set up on the couch when there comes a tap on his shoulder.
“Un- um, Qrow?” Ruby is standing there, decked out in the underclothes of her usual outfit, a simple white blouse, her skirt, stockings, and on her forehead, a sleep mask that she carries around in that little backpack of hers. Ruby yawns and it causes Qrow to follow suit, feeling his back crack as he stretches his arms up over his head.
“What’s up, kiddo?” he asks, turning to look down into Ruby’s striking silver eyes. She’s so strong and beautiful, Short Stack comments, and Qrow can hear the pride in her voice, similar to his own whenever he talks about his daughter.
Ruby bites her bottom lip, awkward teenage vibes radiating out in every direction. “Oscar said you wanted to talk to me?” Qrow glares over where Oscar is leaning against the wall, trying to seem inconspicuous. That little bastard. Qrow would get him back later. Under his moderately menacing gaze, Oscar quickly scampers out of the room, no doubt heading for his own warm sleeping bag by the fire.
Qrow turns back to Ruby, releasing a heavy sigh that he hadn’t even known he was holding in. “Uh, yeah,” Qrow reaches a hand to scratch an itch behind his ear. He’s never been great at this whole ‘adulting’ thing. “Look, I uh, I know this must be really hard on you, all of this, and I was just wondering if you wanted to ask me anything? Anything at all?” He knows what she’s going to ask about- the same things that Tai always did and still does: Why do you blame yourself? Why did you leave? When did you plan on telling me?
Ruby stares up at him for a moment, apparently trying to judge how serious Qrow is about his offer. Instead of asking the questions he’s heard a million times, she gets this spark in her eyes. “Tell me about my mother,” Ruby says definitively, “Tai never talked about her, and I guess no one knew her better than you anyway.”
Qrow squeezes his eyes shut- this is going to dig up some memories that have been buried for a long time. “Sure,” he nods, voice tight, “You might want to sit down for this.” After they get comfortably situated on the couch, Qrow perching rather like a bird (what? It’s comfortable), he pauses. “Where do you want to start?” Already an onslaught of happier times have begun to consume Qrow, overwhelming him with the feeling of laughing so hard it hurts, contentedly sipping hot chocolate, and love. Love, love, love, love, love. For Summer, for Ruby, for Team STRQ and his niece, and for everyone in between. He had nearly forgotten what it was like to think that the world must be more good than bad. I mean, how could it not be with all of the wonderful people in it?
Ruby shrugs, “At the beginning I guess. How did you meet?”
Qrow smiles, a younger Ozpin’s words echoing in his head, The first person that you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years. “Guess we just kinda had an eye out for each other from the beginning,” he chuckles. “Oz threw us off the cliff- I ended up with Summer, and Raven ended up with Tai. Gods, she was so pissed at first.” The nostalgia was starting to set in, something he had staved off for quite a while. “We were an interesting group of kids. Strong? Sure! Compatible? Well… not at first.” Qrow remembered the fights they would have. He, Raven, and Tai always getting into some sort of argument or trouble while Summer attempted to mediate. “Your mom, she was the leader of Team STRQ. She was everything a leader should be: courageous, empathetic, and steadfast; Kinda like you, Squirt.” He reaches over to ruffle her hair and her nose scrunches just like Summer’s always used to, sending a sharp pang through his stomach that he is pretty well versed in ignoring.
“Daaad,” Ruby grumbles, scrambling away.
Time seems to stop for a moment while Qrow chokes, “Uh.” He goes kind of still. Ruby hasn’t called him that since… well, since she was two years old.
The red-haired girl gives him a confused look, not seeming to realize what she had said. “You okay there?” her voice is laced with concern.
Qrow shakes his head, not unlike a dog, trying to dislodge the image of toddler Ruby from his brain. “Hm? Oh, yeah. I-I’m fine.” He still reaches into his shirt for a drink.
Qrow closes his eyes, tipping his head back in preparation for the relief of the alcohol to burn its way down his throat, when he feels a gentle but insistent weight pin down his arm, preventing him from lifting the flask to his lips. He grunts at the unexpected hand gripping his wrist before he meets his daughter’s intense gaze and gives her a questioning look. “Uh,” she blushes, pulling her arm back, “Can you… not do that while I’m around? I- I just- I can’t watch you do that to yourself anymore. Especially now that I know it’s because of her.”
Qrow screws back on the cap of the flask and tucks it into his shirt. Hell, he’ll never drink again if it makes her happy. He sure has a soft spot for these Roses. “You talked to Yang then?”
“Huh? Um, no. Why do you ask?” she looks genuinely puzzled.
Qrow blinks. “Oh. Nevermind then, I guess.” Ruby was one smart cookie, just like her mother had been. The girl didn’t press any further, just shrugging and gesturing for him to get on with the story. “Like I said, Team STRQ had issues all our own. We were a good team, but we never would’ve been great without Short Stack there to lead us and help us work together. Eventually Raven began to see that Tai was a really caring type of guy under his little-shit exterior that annoyed her so much, and she also finally realized that he had feelings for her,” Qrow smirks, “I think she was the last to know honestly, Tai never was very subtle. They were really good together. She mellowed him out, and he gave her a bit of life.” Qrow’s lips pinch into a hard line, “She was always so goal-driven, she never stopped to just live in the moment or take some time for herself.”
He takes a deep breath, preparing to admit to Ruby something that very few people knew. “We - Raven and I - came to Beacon for a different reason than most other kids. We wanted not to be hunters, but to destroy hunters.” Qrow waits for her response, but all he gets is a furrowed brow. “The Branwen tribe needed a way to defend against any hunters that tried to attack them, and they decided that the best way to do that was to send us to learn how to become hunters ourselves. We were the most capable young warriors our tribe had seen in years. Raven and I passed the entrance exam easily, and we ended up on the same team despite not becoming partners right away. Ultimately, your mom made me see that it was better that I use my skills to help rather than hurt, and I thought that Tai did the same for Raven…” Qrow just shakes his head as if to say, Obviously not.
“We became pretty famous, broke a lot of records and stuff. Tai and Raven were dating, and meanwhile, I was just sitting on my ass with a giant crush that I didn’t think Summer would ever reciprocate. She was so witty and brave… kind and beautiful. My semblance- it had always been a curse to everyone around me, but she didn’t care. She used to tell me that she didn’t see me for what I was, but who I was.” A tear slips down Qrow’s face, unbidden, but Ruby simply reaches up and wipes it from his cheek with her sleeve.
“By our last year at Beacon, Raven was pregnant with Yang, and I still hadn’t even said anything to Summer yet. I don’t know what exactly convinced me to get out of my own head and take a fucking leap, but whatever it was made me ask her to the school dance our last year at Beacon.” Qrow scrubs his eyes in a somewhat successful attempt to compose himself. At least he’s not crying anymore; Now he just looks very hungover. “She never really said yes, and she had to be all sassy about it of course.” Qrow grins a bit wetly. “Just went, Finally! as if I should have known that she was waiting for me to ask her all along. I guess I should’ve. I was so caught up in my thoughts that whole week before the dance- I didn’t even know that she had turned down three other guys before me. That night was our first kiss, and we got together after that. She was the one to ask me on our first date because I supposedly ‘take no initiative.’”
Qrow playfully elbows the carbon copy of Summer Rose sitting next to him, “She was always just a touch cheeky, like you, but I guess I brought it out in her. We graduated and Yang was born, but Tai and Raven’s relationship became shaky, and one day it crumbled. That’s not really for me to tell you about, but in the end, Raven went back to the Branwen tribe and Tai was left to raise Yang by himself. Summer and I decided to move into a house nearby, to help take care of Yang, which is probably why Yang remembers her better than her own mom. A couple months later we got engaged.” Qrow smiles, but it’s bittersweet, tainted by the sadness and regret he’ll always feel when she comes to mind. “When we found out about you, we were ecstatic, and the day you were born was the happiest of my life, followed closely by our wedding day that fall. For about a year I was a stay-at-home dad with you until Oz sent us on one of his highly confidential missions and- well, you know the rest.”
Ruby nudged underneath his arm to snuggle up into Qrow’s warm embrace. “Sometimes I just can’t believe how alike you two are, it’s astounding to see the similarities. Both of you have fire in your veins, and I’ve experienced first hand how feisty you two can get. She used to make shadow puppets in the projector when Port wasn’t looking; It irritated Raven to no end, but Tai thought it was hilarious, and I was secretly laughing too. Even though Short Stack was something of a middle ground in all of our major arguments, we all just had a tendency to drive each other straight up the walls. We got better, but I’m still not sure how the professors survived us that first year.”
Qrow takes Ruby’s hand, tracing the lines of her palm with the tip of his calloused index finger. They sit there for a few moments, wrapped up in each other’s warmth, neither wanting to move. When Ruby’s eyelids begin to droop, Qrow shakes her awake. “You should get to bed, kiddo, we’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” He knows that they’ll need to talk more later, but for now, he hopes this is enough to satisfy the young Rose’s burning curiosity.
“Mmmm,” Ruby gets to her feet a little unsteadily, drowsy and unaccustomed to the cold outside of the human cocoon that she had made out of Qrow. She presses a quick kiss to his forehead, “‘Night Dad,” she yawns, “Love you,” and okay, Ruby is going to call him Dad from now on, which is totally fine by Qrow, just a little abrupt.
He ruffles her hair, “Love you too, Squirt.” Qrow had much to think on, but as he slowly got ready for bed, he made a silent promise to Ruby and to himself. Then, he grabbed his flask and dumped it out in the sink, refilling it with water and storing it back in his bag.