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Qrow stood in front of the mirror, picking at his clothes with nervous attention. He was wearing his best, which wasn’t saying much, but it was nicer than his usual garb. His suit was more or less put together – cheap but not ratty or over-used. His shoes had been shined, no loose threads that he hadn’t already picked away. The only thing missing were his cuff-links which had mysteriously vanished.
Qrow glanced at the clock and groaned. There still seemed to be too much time before he was obligated to get to dinner, but he hadn’t been sure what to do and had just gotten changed to pass the time. Now he was really bored and unsure of what to do with his remaining free time.
A few halls down, he knew his girls were getting ready for the party. He knew that Ruby had found a dress skirt she was comfortable in and Yang was rocking a two-piece suit. He would go bother them, but he knew they’d be too busy getting ready. Girls tended to take longer, with more pieces to fit together to complete their outfits, not to mention their hair and potential make-up. Qrow ran a hand through his own hair, unsure if he should do anything with it. He had a bit of gel he could put in… but maybe that would make it look like he was trying too hard. He was always trying to exude an air of confidence and laziness all in one, not that he’d let you know that.
A knock on his door startled him out of his thoughts. Brow scrunching in confusion, Qrow made his way to the door, completely unaware as to who could possible be knocking. Maybe Ruby or Yang needed his help with something, it would pass the time at least.
He opened the door without much thought, and almost slammed it shut again before he remembered himself. “Oh.” The exhale came out soft, breathless. Clover.
“You clean up nice,” Clover smiled at him.
Qrow flushed, hand immediately coming up to rub his hair. “Thanks…” He moved to lean against the door jam, hoping that would help him seem a bit less out of breath and more put together. “Not too bad yourself.”
‘Not too bad’ was putting it lightly. Qrow unconsciously bit his lip as he checked Clover out. His outfit out… not… ugh. Qrow reigned his thoughts in before they got too out of hand. The leader of the ace-ops was wearing a forest green suit with an unbuttoned white shirt underneath. He looked ridiculously good. It wasn’t fair. No one should be allowed to look that good.
Jerking out of his thoughts, Qrow glanced back up to meet Clover’s amused gaze. “What brings you here, Lucky Charm?”
Clover shrugged, “Just checking to make sure you were still coming to the Christmas Party tonight.” He said, “Glad to see I didn’t have to worry.”
“I got changed too early,” Qrow shrugged while looking down at his outfit, “I’m not sure what to do with the rest of my time.” He admitted.
“Me too,” Clover laughed lightly, “What are the chances of that?”
Oh, Qrow thought. This was both good and bad. Good because that meant maybe Clover wanted to spend some time with him, bad because that meant he was going to be spending time with Clover. Spending their down time together was both the easiest and hardest thing Qrow had ever done, both unbelievably happy around the ace-op, and ultimately fluttery and nervous the entire time. Clover made it easy, filling in the awkward silences, but that didn’t leave Qrow any less… tingly. It was starting to annoy him, how he couldn’t control his reactions in the ace-ops presence.
“Anything you had in mind?”
Clover shrugged, “Hmm, up for a game of cards?”
Qrow snorted, his shoulders releasing some of the built-up tensions there. “Is our deck still in the rec room?”
Clover nodded, tilting his head in that direction. “Want to head out?”
“Yeah, that would be nice…” He agreed before he paused, suddenly remembering something was. “Wait, I can’t go yet. I don’t know where my cufflinks are.”
“Ah, a predicament…” Clover said thoughtfully, “You can borrow some of mine, we’ll stop by my room on our way.”
Qrow hesitated for just a moment before nodding, moving to grab his jacket off the back of the door before making his way out of his room, Clover just a step ahead of him. Before long, they were walking shoulder to shoulder in a comfortable silence on their way to Clover’s room. Qrow had been there once or twice but had never stepped inside. Part of him desperately wanted to see what it looked like – whether it was military bare or filled with life and colour.
He didn’t have long to wait, as they arrived rather quickly, their rooms only being a hallway or so apart. Before he knew it, Clover was opening the door and gesturing him inside, and Qrow was gaping in surprise. To say the room was decorated for Christmas would be putting it lightly, decorations were hanging off almost every surface. “I didn’t know you were so big on the holidays.” Qrow said softly, admiring the different sparkly garlands and ornaments.
“My mom always decorated for the holidays,” Clover said, “This makes it feel a bit more like home.”
“Do you…” Qrow started nervously. “Do you get to go home much anymore?”
Clover tilted his head, his eyes a bit sad. “No,” He said, “Not as much as I’d like.”
“That’s a shame,” he responded softly, smiling back in a way he hoped was sympathetic.
“That’s okay,” Clover said, “They understand.”
“Is it just your mom?”
“No, I have four brothers, and a sister as well.”
Qrow blinked in surprise, “Big family.”
Clover laughed, “Christmas was always a loud affair.”
“I can’t imagine,” The huntsman shook his head, “I’m sure you’re looking forward to this party then.”
“Mhm,” He replied, moving at last to get the cufflinks. He found them quickly, and brought them to where Qrow was standing, admiring the lights. Qrow held out his hand, expecting to be handed them, and jolted in surprise when he felt Clover’s fingers encircle his wrist.
“Um,” Qrow looked down at where they were making contact and flushed, Clover’s hand looked so big around his small wrist. The silence that washed over them was tense, anticipatory.
“What, no four-leaf clover? Horseshoes?” Qrow joked, trying to break the tension before he did something stupid.
Clover chuckled lowly, “I have those too – do you want them? I figured you’d appreciate the… less obvious ones.”
“No!” Qrow said hastily, “No, this is fine.”
Qrow looked down, wondering what was taking so long. The longer the two remained in contact, the less control Qrow had over his reactions. Clover was taking his sweet time, the warmth of his hand seeping through his sleeve. He didn’t seem to be struggling with it, he was just lingering. Before he moved to the next one, he shifted Qrow’s sleeve a bit and thumbed over his wrist.
Qrow closed his eyes and tried to repress the shudder that wracked through his body at the touch.
Clover moved onto the next cufflink, taking his sweet time with this one too. The two men’s breaths were evening out, the air in the room becoming thick and syrupy. Once he heard a distinct click, Qrow dared open his eyes again, watching as Clover’s fingers danced over his wrist again, thumbing over the pulse point.
Gulping, Qrow opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally manage to breathe out, “We should get to the rec room before there isn’t enough time for a game…”
“Okay,” Clover drew away, taking his warmth with him. The air between them remained thick with something, but at least Qrow could breathe again. “Let’s get going, then.”
Qrow left with what he hoped was some semblance of dignity. His hands were shaking as he opened the door and got into the hallway and he let them, unable to stop the full body shiver wracking his body. He started walking towards the rec room without waiting for Clover, knowing that the ace-op would be close behind.
He felt, rather than heard, Clover behind him before long. A warmth at his back that could only be coming from one source. He thought he may have felt fingertips at the small of his back but they were gone before he could be sure.
With the rec room in sight, Qrow slowed down rather than sped up, suddenly unsure if they should be in an empty room together after… that. Qrow couldn’t be imagining it, right? There was a tension between them that could only be… that, right? Maybe he was making this up. Maybe he was just imaging the air between them getting thick, imagining the fingertips brushing softly at his wrists or the hands that seemed to linger at his back. Maybe…
Clover grabbed his shoulder lightly, spinning him around, with his mouth open to ask him something, but Qrow didn’t hesitate any longer. He couldn’t control himself. He pushed Clover up against the wall, mouth capturing his before any words could come out. Qrow groaned against his will, eyes sliding shut as their lips fit together just so. Clover’s hand came up and before Qow could draw away in horror, ashamed of himself, the green-eyed man brought them closer together. A soft noise came out of Clover’s chest, sending even more shivers through Qrow.
Qrow pulled away, needing the air all of a sudden, but Clover didn’t let him get far, his two hands at Qrow’s neck and waist. He let the other man release his lips, but he was far from ready to release Qrow.
“I…” Qrow stuttered, “Uh…”
Clover pressed forward again, capturing Qrow’s lips in another searing kiss before he could make more of a fool out of himself. Qrow let it happen, feeling Clover nudge and nip gently at his lips. Clover’s back was pressed up against the wall, and Qrow was plastered to him, unable to extract himself fully. Slowly, Clover took over the kiss, demanding dominance as he pushed and pulled. Qrow brought his hands up to Clover’s hair and tugged – Clover growled at the mild pain, lips pressing more firmly at Qrow’s, prying them open and dipping inside before Qrow could draw a breath. Before one moment and the next, Clover spun them around so that Qrow was pressed up against the wall instead, Qrow’s hips twitching upwards at the press of their bodies.
“Oh, gods.” Qrow whispered, having dragged his mouth away from the attack so that he could breathe.
Clover dove back in once Qrow looked like he was able to draw breath again, just as insistent as before. Damn, Qrow thought, why haven’t we been doing this the entire time? Qrow’s hips twitched up again, desperate for some pressure. Clover gave it, working his way closer and moving his lips down, down, onto Qrow’s neck where he peppered kisses. He didn’t sink his teeth in, no bruises were made, but the intention was there, leaving the huntsman groaning low in his chest. “No marks,” Qrow agreed, understanding. Clover nodded before nuzzling closer, kisses moving back up his throat before he was being kissed senselessly again, the air knocking out of his chest. Qrow whined, his hands tugging at Clover’s hair in desperation.
Despite the heat, overwhelming want and desire, the two slowed gradually – both seemingly understanding that they had somewhere they were supposed to be going.
They drew apart breathlessly, reluctantly. Qrow leaned his head back against the wall, his breaths coming out in short pants. Clover was moving towards his neck again, though this time he just nuzzled his face in. Qrow gripped at Clover’s hair, his other hand curled against the wall in unreleased tension.
“We should,” Qrow gulped, his whole body shuddering from the sensation of Clover pressed up against him. “We should probably get going. I don’t… don’t think we have time for a game of cards anymore.”
Clover chucked against his skin, nose brushing up and down Qrow’s neck. Shivering, Qrow slowly released his hold on Clover’s hair, smoothing the mused hairs as best he could. “I guess…”
“You guess?” Qrow laughed, still breathy and weak. “You’re the one obsessed with Christmas. I thought you’d be the last to skip out.”
“I might,” Clover said, his deep, rumbling voice going straight to Qrow’s crotch. “If something came up…”
Qrow groaned, his hips rolling forward in a jolt before he reluctantly extracted himself from Clover’s grip. He patted the green-eyed ace-op on the shoulder. “We should definitely go.” He said, very reluctantly. “As much as I’d love to rut up against the wall-”
Clover growled, growled for gods sake, and pulled Qrow back in to his body, hands drifting to his waist to give it a quick squeeze. The hands lingered there, but Clover was slowly moving away from Qrow a moment later despite the display, seeming to realize that they needed to separate if they were going to go anywhere tonight.
“Next time,” He whispered into Qrow’s ear, lips grazing the shell, before he stepped away fully, taking his body heat with him. “Next time, no interruptions.”
Qrow shuddered, his body slumping against the wall as Clover walked away, leaving Qrow to clean himself up before he walked into the party himself. Next time.