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“Alright, that’s it. Hand it over,” Qrow demanded, holding his hand out to Clover.
“What?”
“You heard me. Badge, now.”
“Ugh,” Clover moaned, giving an over-the-top eye roll. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“Yes, yes I do,” replied the dark-haired man, sporting a toothy grin. Clover sighed before reluctantly removing the shamrock pin from the collar of his shirt and placing it in his husband’s outstretched hand.
“Thanks, babe,” said Qrow, before leaning in to leave a quick kiss on the brunet’s cheek, causing the man to blush at the sensation. “And don’t think I won’t notice the next time you just so happen to win six hands in a row.”
“Ugh, finally, you called it out,” whined Yang. “I was expecting you to just let him keep winning so he could keep making that stupid smirk.”
“Hey, I happen to like that stupid smirk,” Qrow rebutted, offended.
“We know,” Ruby and Yang replied in unison. This was how their trips to Patch always went. Whenever the pair thought that Atlas would survive a week without their General and Headmaster, they always took to visiting their nieces and brother-in-law. And every time, they made sure to be overly lovey-dovey, just because they could.
“Alright, fine, how about I shuffle now,” Qrow said, taking the deck of cards from Clover. “So this time he can’t end up with a magically lucky hand again.” He split the deck and made to shuffle them, but a quick slip of his left hand sent half the cards flying every which way across the table, earning raucous laughter from everyone. “Alright, Yang, you shuffle now.”
“Well, while you clean all that up, I’m gonna go make some more popcorn,” Ruby said, before rising from her seat on the sofa. She grabbed the large bowl from the table, removing a few stray cards from it, before making her way to the kitchen.
Yang started gathering the rest of the cards, organizing them back into a deck. “So how long are you staying in Patch this time?”
“Only a few days,” replied Qrow. “But, Clover and I were thinking we could all head out to the beach tomorrow. It’s supposed to be nice out.”
“Ooh, I get to see Uncle Clover in beach mode?” The blonde inquired, her face perking up at the thought. “That oughta be interesting.”
“Yang, I told you, you don’t have to call me that. Just Clover is fine.”
“And I told you that if you didn’t want me calling you Uncle Clover then you shouldn’t have married my uncle,” Yang retorted, sporting a wide grin as she shuffled the cards.
“Oh it would’ve taken a lot more than that for me not to marry him,” Clover said as he turned to his husband, whose face was nearly as red as his eyes.
A loud bang interrupted them from the kitchen, followed by the fire alarm blaring and Ruby screaming. “AAH! *cough* It’s not my fault! It’s the *hack* microwave’s stupid—”
“I’ll go check on her,” Yang smiled, rolling her eyes as she rose from her spot on the sofa and jogged out of the room.
Clover waited until she was out of earshot before leaning in towards Qrow. “‘Beach mode?’ What is that supposed to mean?”
“Oh they’re always curious to see big military types in full vacation mode,” Qrow chuckled. “You should’ve seen their reaction to Beach Mode Jimmy.”
“Oh Gods,” Clover returned with a chuckle. “Do I want to know?”
“Let’s just say that you shouldn’t wear a speedo when your right half is made entirely of metal.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“I wish I was,” Qrow said with a shudder. “Yeah, he’s not allowed back at that beach anymore, vacationing or not.”
Clover huffed out a laugh, but his smile faded after a moment as he turned away.
“That’s not the only thing on your mind, is it?”
The brunet let out a sigh before turning back to his husband. “Are they ever gonna stop calling me Uncle Clover? It just…” he scratched at the back of his neck. “I don’t know, it just feels a little weird still.”
“Sorry Cloves. It’s a title for life, now,” Qrow replied with a smirk. “Believe me, I didn’t exactly care to be called Uncle Qrow in the beginning, either. But give it time, it’ll grow on you. You’re a part of this family now. They just want you to know that they love you.”
“It’s not just that. I know they love me, and I love them too,” Clover continued. “But I just don’t feel like an ‘Uncle’ yet. Like I really earned that title.”
“Hey,” Qrow placed a hand on Clover’s shoulder, offering him a soft smile to match his calm maroon eyes. “You were there to help them once they became licensed huntresses. You guided them better than most could. And we never would’ve made it out of Atlas without you. You’ve already proved yourself to them. And to me.”
Clover felt a blush creeping across his face, threatening to travel down his neck, before a loud thud of metal snapped the pair out of their shared gaze. Yang returned in the doorway to the kitchen wearing a look of mild panic underneath her forced smile.
“Hey, so the, uh, microwave is, uh, no longer attached to the wall, and, um—”
“Oh, Gods,” Qrow returned, rising from his seat. “Come on Cloves, let’s see if we can’t fix it before Tai comes home.”
—
“Are you sure you can’t stay another night?”
“We probably shouldn’t,” Qrow traded a glance with Clover before returning to face Ruby. “Atlas won’t exactly fall apart without us there, but it’s probably best not to stretch the council for too long.”
“Alright,” Ruby answered, trying to mask her downtrodden tone with her smile. “Well, drive safe, you two.”
“Will do, kiddo,” said Qrow, making his way to the driver’s seat of their car. Clover went to turn away as well, but was interrupted by a hand around his wrist.
“Uh, Uncle Clover?”
Clover turned around to see Ruby standing there, head turned towards the ground.
“What is it, Ruby?”
“I just,” Ruby began, fiddling with the fabric of her sleeves. “I just wanted to thank you again. For everything. I don’t think I ever properly thanked you a first time. You… you really were there for us when we needed someone. And you were there for Uncle Qrow when he needed someone too, and I just…”
Ruby rushed into Clover’s waist, hugging him tightly, catching the tall man by surprise. But before long, he found himself returning the embrace, smiling as he placed a hand on Ruby’s head.
“Thank you.”
“Of course, kiddo.”
After another moment they broke apart their embrace, and Clover turned back to the car to catch Qrow staring at them through the window, sporting a tender smile. Clover waved a final goodbye to Ruby before walking to the passenger side of the car and stepping in.
“‘Uncle Clover,’” Clover hummed as he closed the door. “It does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does.”