Work Text:
“Are you almost done with patrol? ” The message from Qrow made Clover’s scroll vibrate, although Clover already had the scroll open; he’d been typing his own message to the other man. Clover had finished with his patrol a few minutes ago and was just now getting back to his room. He and Qrow had exchanged contact information when they’d first started partnering up together, but their messages had become more frequent as well as more casual. Now, Clover found that talking to Qrow was the highlight of his day. Everytime his scroll buzzed, he found himself grinning like an idiot; something that the Ace Ops loved to point out and tease him with.
“Yeah, I’m finished with it! It was pretty uneventful, thankfully. ” Clover replied to the other man’s message.
“Can we talk? In person, I mean. ” Clover’s heart skipped a beat at Qrow’s response and with shaking fingers, he suggested Qrow come by his apartment so they could speak in person. It wasn’t until after Clover had already clicked ‘send’ that he realized an invitation to his apartment late at night might be taken the wrong way. However, if Qrow noticed, the message he replied with didn’t give any indication.
“Sounds good. ” The following notification came through a moment later. “Leave your window open, okay? ”
“Qrow, please please PLEASE do not come through the window. ” A couple moments passed and there was no reply. Clover typed another message, his fingers trembling. “Qrow!!! Please, I’m serious! Just walk up here please. ” He paused briefly, considering, before sending the next message. “I don’t want you to get hurt .” Still no reply from the other man.
“Damn it.” Clover swore out loud. Reluctantly, he went to open up his window and, almost immediately, a black bird came flying in. “Woah there, buddy!” The brunette held up his hands, staring at it’s dark red eyes as the bird circled briefly before landing on the couch. “Uh, hey, I’m actually waiting for a different crow, I think this is a case of mistaken identity.”
Clover chuckled nervously while internally debating how the hell he was going to get this bird out of his apartment when it seemed to be making itself quite comfortable on his couch already. The bird squawked loudly while fluttering its wings..
“Okay, okay, you can stay!” Clover gave in over the noise. The crow stopped cawing although it moved from the cushion onto the armrest and let out a series of chirps instead. “Uh, okay?” Clover slowly stepped over to it, keeping his hands in a neutral position so as not to alarm it any further. He sat down on the cushion farther away from the armrest the bird was perched on when it hopped back onto the cushion and...turned into the familiar dark-haired man that made Clover’s heart feel as if it was about to burst out of his chest.
“Uh, hey, Clover.” Qrow’s hands rested on his knees, his fingers twitching nervously. He avoided Clover’s eyes almost sheepishly.
“So, uh, I have some questions.” Clover said after what felt like an hour of silence. “Starting with: what the heck was that?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you about that?” Qrow’s mouth twitched upward in a smirk, although he was still shifting nervously--he was clearly nervous about how the other man would react. Clover felt his heart soften as he watched the anxious movements that the dark-haired man made. “I could have sworn that I’d told you already…” Qrow raised a hand to his chin, pretending to stroke it in deep contemplation. “Yup, I’m pretty sure I told you.”
Clover couldn’t hide the grin that rose to his face. The shapeshifter was obviously trying to cover up his anxiety over the situation with this joke, but Clover knew how much trust Qrow must have in him to reveal what must be one of his biggest secrets with the Ace Operative. Oh Qrow, I’m glad you know you can trust me.
“Sorry, I must have forgotten, it just seemed like an unimportant detail at the time.” Laughter burst out of Qrow at Clover’s response so suddenly that the brunette started briefly before relaxing. Clover watched, mesmerized, as the other man gripped his sides and a gleeful flush overtook his usually pale face.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I thought that was so funny.” Qrow sat up a moment later, wiping his eyes.
“Don’t apologise, I like hearing you laugh.” Clover insisted, a slight smile creasing his face as he reached over to place his hand on top of the other man’s. Qrow’s garnet-red eyes darted over to meet Clover’s teal ones to see genuine affection reflected back in them. Qrow opened up his palm so their fingers could lace together and the brunette’s smile grew, making Qrow’s heart sing. “By the way, I didn’t know you snorted when you laughed.” Clover felt Qrow tense up after he said this and ran his thumb over Qrow’s hand reassuringly. “I like it.”
“Yeah, well you seem to like everything about me.” Qrow replied jokingly, punctuating the end of his sentence with a half-hearted chuckle. Clover chewed his lip pensively, his aquamarine eyes sweeping briefly over the shorter man’s form.
“I’d have to agree with you on that.” Qrow raised his eyebrows in surprise as Clover continued. “I mean, I keep looking, but there’s nothing not to like about you...you know that, right?” His tone was serious.
“What am I supposed to say to that? I...” The shapeshifter muttered, half to himself. Clover’s brow furrowed slightly in concern.
“Say ‘thank you’ and take the compliment.” When Qrow hesitated, the brunette added on. “Please? For me?” The shorter man ducked his head slightly, his mouth twitching upwards.
“In that case, thank you.” The ensuing smile on Clover’s face was like a bright beam of light breaking through the stormy clouds of a rainy day. and Qrow could even feel warmth blossoming in his chest as he met the other man’s beautiful aquamarine eyes.
“Was that so hard?” Clover tossed his typical cocky wink at Qrow, who felt his face heat up in response. Unable to maintain the intense eye contact, he lowered his line of sight to Clover’s hand; it was still entwined with his own and this gave him courage. Swallowing heavily, the shapeshifter gathered his strength and prepared himself. Here I go, about to lay my feelings out in the open.
“Clover…” Qrow started, flicking his gaze from their joined hands up to Clover’s bright teal eyes. The taller man took his other hand and gently cupped the side of Qrow’s face with it, moving in slightly.
“Qrow,” Clover breathed. “Can I-” Before Clover could even finish the question, Qrow had closed the gap between them, his free hand gripping the collar of the brunette’s shirt. Clover leaned into the kiss, relishing the feeling of it. He wished he could freeze this moment in time forever. It may have lasted only a single heartbeat or several moments but eventually they broke apart, both of their faces flushed.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” Qrow admitted. Clover leaned in so their foreheads touched, close enough so he could feel the warmth of Qrow’s exhales.
“Me too.” The brunette gently stroked his thumb over the shapeshifter’s cheekbone.
“I want...I want us to…” Qrow broke off, his eyes darting away and he drew back just enough so that although their faces no longer touched, their hands were still entwined and they were only a few inches apart. “There’s something else I want to tell you.”
“Hm?” Clover felt his brow furrow slightly in concern for his partner and he squeezed their enjoined hands slightly in what he hoped was a nonverbal message to Qrow that he was and would be there for him. “If it helps, I can’t imagine it being anything more shocking than being able to shapeshift.”
“I wish I could agree, but with some people it...this other thing has been a dealbreaker so I’d rather just get this out in the open first before we go any further with this. I mean, assuming you want to.”
“There’s nothing I want more.” Clover reassured him. “I really can’t think of anything that would be a dealbreaker with you, Qrow. I don’t expect there’s anything that would make me care about you less.” Qrow squeezed the brunette’s hand in response as he gave himself one moment to prepare before speaking the words that, even now, were hard to say out loud.
“Clover, I don’t have...I’m transgender.” The fear in Qrow’s garnet red eyes and his defensive posture caused Clover’s heart to squeeze in sympathy as the other man delivered the news.
“Qrow, that doesn’t mat--I mean, that doesn’t make a difference. Not in how I feel about you, anyway.” Clover gave a slight tug on the shorter man’s hand, signaling that Clover wanted him to come closer. Qrow hesitated briefly before scooching over so he was even closer to the brunette. Clover wrapped his arm around the other man and kissed his temple. “That shouldn’t have mattered to anyone else.” He told the shapeshifter. “I’m sorry that they hurt you.” Qrow didn’t reply verbally although he did place his head in the crook of Clover’s neck, letting out a soft trill. The two were content to bask in a few moments of peaceful silence and enjoying the closeness of one another before Qrow broke the silence.
“Thank you.” The dark-haired man felt like a large weight had been lifted off his chest.
“You don’t have to thank me.” Clover said softly, rubbing the other man’s shoulder reassuringly.
“I just never thought I’d find someone who…” Qrow broke off, swallowing. “I didn’t think there’d be someone who accepts me for me.”
“You’ll never have to worry about that.” Clover promised, squeezing their enjoined hands. “Because I’m here for you and I’m not going anywhere.”