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Clover was awoken late at night to a call he never wanted to get. It was about two close friends, they were both part of his team back in his academy days. He had kept in contact with them through the years but the last time he saw them was before he joined the Ace Ops, the three had just completed a mission when Clover got the call from Ironwood about the Ace Ops being started. Their names were Mako, a vicious lad on the battlefield but a sweetheart off it, and Olive, an overall sweetheart and quite the looker, of course she wasn’t Clover’s type at all due to the big factor of Olive identifying as a female and anyways Mako and Olive were like his little siblings and they cherished each other. Qrow even called them friends, they met during their academy days back during the Vytal Festival and then again over call after him and Clover got together. He was hoping with Salem gone, he could see Mako and Olive again but now that wouldn’t be happening.
Clover could feel his throat beginning to close as he listened, he was barely keeping it together. “We have no idea what they were hunting but it was gruesome, I have pictures of the scene but… they’re bad,” the voice says, it was Mako’s boyfriend.
“I want them, I want to see what happened to my friends… how are you doing?” Clover asks, he was concerned for him. His name was Collin, him and Mako had been together since the year of the teams graduation or the year before, but the two were insanely close. There were no secrets in that relationship, everything was on the table and fights/arguments were rare. They had an amazing relationship.
“I-I’ll be fine, me and Nala are going to be on our way to Atlas soon,” he replies. He was clearly shaking and crying but it relaxed Clover a bit to know that he has Nala, Olive’s girlfriend. “I sent the pictures, I should go now. I have to pack.”
“Alright, take care. Message me when you’re about to land and I’ll greet you at the dock,” Clover says before hanging up. Tears were falling, he barely noticed them right now as he saw the pictures. He really shouldn’t have asked for them but he had to know what happened to his friends. They looked to have been torn apart by something, teeth and claws which meant it was Grimm but there were no cases of a Grimm attack this vicious. The bloody carnage was left on the southern shore of Vacuo and found by a local who was out for a late night beach walk. As he stared at the pictures he felt sick, if there was anything in his stomach it would no longer be there. He felt like he couldn’t breathe as the tears burned at his eyes now. He shut off his Scroll and threw it across the couch. His eyes were wide with panic as a sob tore free from his lips, he hoped he wouldn’t wake Qrow. He started to shake as he covered his face with his hands, his nails digging into his hairline. Before he could stop it, a broken, grief filled scream escaped him, that would for sure wake Qrow.
A gentle hand touched his shaking shoulder and a leg brushed with his as Qrow sat down. He pulled Clover’s hands away from his face, taking one in his hand while his other arm draped over his shoulders. He hooked a leg around one of Clover’s. “It’s okay, Charms, it’s okay,” he says as Clover leaned into him. He pressed a kiss to the top of his head before leaning his head against his. “Just let it out.”
Minutes passed before Clover’s sobs quieted and were replaced by shaky breathing and sniffling. The ambient noise of the rain was calming to him as he sat with Qrow. “Mako and Olive were found dead on the southern shore of Vacuo… torn apart by a Grimm,” Clover says, his voice shaky and on the verge of breaking. Qrow’s hand froze, his hand was drawing circles on the back of his hand. His brain processed the information before he squeezed his partner a little tighter. He had no words, they were his friends too. He remembered meeting them during the Vytal Festival and then reconnecting with them a few time over the past few months. Grief threatened to attack his stable mentality but he quickly locked it away to be dealt with later, Clover needed his comfort right now. Unfortunately for him, Clover caught on. “You’re allowed to grieve too.”
“I want to make sure you’re okay before I heal,” Qrow replies.
“We can heal together, at the same time,” he murmurs pressing the scarred knuckles of Qrow’s hand to his lips. Despite the way he was feeling, he still managed to be tender and caring towards his boyfriend. He just wanted him to be okay as well. He lifted his head up to look Qrow in the eyes and saw tears silently falling down his face. He pressed his lips to his cheek squeezed him a bit. The two were there to support each other, as they always will be. They pressed their foreheads together and let the tears silently fall.
Their tears stopped falling soon and Clover resumed snuggling as closely as he could to Qrow. Fatigue from crying was setting in, he was comfortable and safe in Qrow’s arms so he allowed himself to slip into the peaceful bliss of sleep. It wouldn’t last long but he needed it, it was a short lived but welcome distraction. He also just needed sleep, sleep was scarce when the whole Salem thing was going down. You slept when you can but even then it was never enough.
Qrow didn’t let himself sleep, he knew Clover would awake at some point soon and he needed to be awake and ready for when that happened. In the meantime he took this time to stare out one of the windows and watch the rain fall, the sound of his hitting the window was calming and he allowed himself to daydream.
Fifteen minutes of calm and quiet passed before Clover suddenly sat up. His breathing was heavy and he was shaking, a cold sweat covered him as he looked around. Qrow was ripped from his daydreams the second Clover woke. He quickly wrapped his arms around the panicked huntsmen, grounding him. “I-I was on the beach… I had to w-watch what happened,” Clover cried as he turned fully, burying his face in Qrow’s chest. Loud cries escaped from his lips as Qrow rubbed his back.
“It’s okay, you’re with me now,” he whispers closing his eyes. Clover’s crying subsided after a few minutes, his breathing was still shaking but he forced himself to pull free of Qrow’s safe and comforting embrace to retrieve his Scroll since it was going off. He glanced at the message.
“Nala and Collin are here,” he says, his voice hoarse and strained.
“Alright, lets go grab them,” Qrow replies standing up. He held out a hand to his partner and pulled him up. He kept their hands together, lacing their fingers. Once shoes were on, they headed to the dock number they were given.
Qrow stepped to the side so Collin and Nala could hug Clover but was soon dragged into it. They stood there for a few moments, it was a much needed few moments. They reluctantly pulled away from each other. Few words were shared on the walk back, they both took the guest room since they didn’t want to be alone which was understandable. Sleep would be restless and filled with nightmares and the hours spent awake would be just as bad. The other two retired to their room with no plan of sleep.
Clover sat with his back against the side of their bed as he stared out the wall, which was a massive window, and watched the rain. Qrow leaned against him and whispered sweet nothings into his ear occasionally to keep him calm as he held his hand tightly, their fingers laced together. These next few days would be rough but at least he had Qrow and Qrow had him. He turned his head slightly and pressed their lips together as his eyes closed. Qrow returned the kiss, he would be here for his partner, in both love and hunting, till the end of the line as Clover would be for him.