Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Clover was young but mature for his age. And some time during his mid 20s, he had some very memorable times in the woods.

Clover loved the woods. Growing up in Argus was nice, as he loved fishing but he also loved his visits outside the wall to the forest just south of Argus.

The first time he had traveled through the woods, he was a little worried that a grim would appear from behind any tree or bush at any time. But as he continued to visit, he became more and more aware of how much life there was in the forest. It occurred to him that grim attached animals too but not as often when humans were around. Human emotions tend to be much stronger and have more negative tendencies than small brained animals that rely primarily on instinct. With all of the animals around that signified that grim sightings were few and far between.

So once he realized this, he decided to visit more often. He enjoyed walking through the trees and just enjoyed the life that was all around him, outside all the brick and mortar or the hustle and bustle of Argus.

After many months of his excursions into the woods, as he is passing out some stale bread to all sorts of forest creatures, a friendly crow shows up. The crow didn’t seem interested in the bread that Clover was passing out. In fact the crow ignored the bread entirely and came to follow alongside Clover, seemingly more interested in what Clover was saying than anything else.

Clover knows the crow is not from Argus, as there have never been any crows in the forest or Argus previously, but has yet to figure out where the bird came from. The bird doesn’t say much, so it is hard to figure out.

The two of them repeated this routine for a number of weeks, walking through the woods and just being with each other. Then one fateful day, Clover decided to bring a book with him, deciding that after spending so much time together that he was ready to read a story with the crow. Despite his eagerness to read, he had not spoken about the idea to anyone, concerned about what others would think. He was not sure what would happen when he proposed the idea to the crow. But he planned ahead, picked out the most comfortable and perfect spot in the forest and took a picnic basket with lunch and a blanket for them so that they could be comfortable.

The crow seemed surprised, although the crow was hard to read, regarding how prepared Clover was and by the nice spread of food that came from the picnic basket. Clover had decidedly put some extra thought into it considering what he had planned for later. After their nice lunch, Clover pulled the book out and proposed to the crow that Clover would read to him or maybe they could read together.

The crow was unresponsive and seemed stunned at first, as the crow didn’t move. Clover was concerned that the crow was not ready to read with Clover just yet, so he started to put the book away. But after a moment the crow grabbed the book and inspected the cover, not sure of what to expect. Then it became very clear that the crow liked what he saw, as he slowly opened the book.

Clover could not be happier to see the crow enjoy the cover of the book and then decide to open it so that they could read together. It just felt so right to share this with the crow. They read slowly and then faster as they went along. After a while they finished the book. Both of them content and happy and a little worn out from reading so intensely.

The crow made to leave but Clover enticed him to stay with some sooth petting. So they spent the rest of the afternoon laying together on the blanket in the woods enjoying each other’s presence and company.

Clover returned to the wood every few days with another picnic basket and a new book to read. They didn’t always read, sometimes they just enjoyed the cover and summary on the back, relaxing together in the afternoon sun. This continued for about a month. But it was not meant to last.

Clover was sad to learn that he was being reassigned to Atlas. He was going to miss his trips into the woods and reading with the crow. Clover visited the woods, the day before he was to depart, one last time with his picnic basket and one last book, much to his own chagrin. After the crow and Clover enjoyed their lunch, Clover shared with the crow that this would be the last book that they would read together due to Clover leaving Argus. The crow seemed sad, but again it was hard to tell. Clover decided to put his book away, deciding that this may not be the best way to leave things. To Clover’s surprise, the crow dragged a different book from behind a tree as well as some wild berries to share. Clover was so surprised to see the crow show such kindness. As Clover inspected the book and savored the cover and handsome design, as well as all of the creases, mares and everything that it could offer. Clover opened the book and decided to read one last time with the crow.

It was slow and savory. It was sensual and focused. It was worth every second that Clover was able to spend and enjoy reading with the crow one last time. After they finished the book, the crow fell asleep on the blanket before Clover. Clover just stared at his dear friend and reading companion and tried to take in every detail and lock it away in his memory. He was going to miss this place and this forest. Their special place. Clover made a personal vow to return here as soon as he could when he had scheduled leave from his assignment in Atlas.

The next day was bitter sweet as Clover mindlessly packed and then met the transport vessel that would take him to Argus. His only companion was his memories with the crow in the woods. He re-lived them in his memory, many times over on the long trip to Atlas, as a way to pass the time.

After working nearly nonstop for a month in Atlas, Clover finally got some extended leave. Clover booked his trip to Argus without second thought, looking forward to another meeting in the woods.

Clover arrived in Argus and without delay, Clover quickly packed a simple picnic basket, blanket and a new book that he had found in a quint bookstore in Atlas. After enjoying his walk from the Argus wall to the forest, he realized that it felt like forever since he had been here. Clover smiled to himself, relishing in the fact that he was going to see the crow again.

But it was not meant to be. The crow didn’t appear when Clover set up the picnic like usual. Clover returned every day for the next week during his leave and not once did the crow appear. Disheartened and disappointed, Clover returned to Atlas and made a conscious choice not to go back to Argus for his time off in the future.

But despite his disappointment, the time that Clover spent when he first met the crow until the day of their last picnic, would be some of the most memorable memories of his life.

Chapter Text

Qrow was a loner in his youth and many in his tribe did not appreciate his skills despite his bad luck. And some time during his early 30s, after leaving the tribe and gaining some special abilities from a mentor, he chose to wander the woods and live carefree by himself for a while. He had some very memorable times in the woods.

Qrow loved the woods. Growing up in Mistral was nice, despite being in the tribe. And after leaving his tribe to go to school in Vale, he never returned to the tribe, instead becoming part of a family that stemmed from his team. He loved his life with his family but he needed some time to himself to figure out what he wanted. And if he could help by taking some grim out while he traveled, all the better.

The first time he traveled through the woods south of Argus, there had been quite a few grim, for which he was more than happy to dispatch. It was on his second round through the area, a few months later, he found some stunning clover. He was drawn to the clover in ways that were indescribable. And for a number of weeks, he would visit the spot where the clover was in the forest nearly every day.

Qrow had seen plants and flowers all over Mistral but none of it was as intriguing and enticing as this clover. It was beautiful in so many simple yet perfect ways. Eventually, Qrow took to eating lunch while visiting the clover, as the nourishment that was provided was excellent. But during this first time doing so, Qrow was presented with the opportunity to read while he was there. This opportunity took him completely by surprise and stunned by the proposal, having not read in a while. Qrow laid among the clover and gently grazed his hands over the clover and it felt so comfortable among the forest that it beckoned him to stay. And so after careful consideration, Qrow slowly took to reading among the clover.

The reading was gentle and pleasant, reading faster as he went along. It felt so right to be reading among the clover. After Qrow finished reading among the clover, he was content, happy and a little worn out from reading so intensely.

Qrow made to leave but the soft clover convinced him to stay. So he spent the rest of the afternoon laying among the clover, cuddling it between his fingers, enjoying the feel all along his skin.

Qrow began returning to this spot in the woods every day to enjoy the clover. Some days he would just lay there and enjoy the sunshine together. Other times Qrow would eat and read among the clover. This continued for about a month. But it was not meant to last.

Qrow had been contacted by his mentor about some missions that only he could accomplish and despite how much Qrow was enjoying his time in this forest and with the clover, he felt compelled to take on these tasks and to return to help protect his family. So Qrow goes back to visit the clover one last time. He was going to miss his time in the woods with the clover. So he prepared himself to make it special, by bringing berries and an old worn out but beloved book. After enjoying his lunch sitting with the clover, he shared that he would need to leave for a while and that as much as he enjoyed the comfort, relaxation and pleasure the clover provided, that he would not be returning for a while and possibly not even again.

Qrow felt sad but he also knew that nothing lasts forever, especially in his life. The clover seemed to respond in kind to his sadness and Qrow felt that maybe he would not share his book to read after all. But then as he gazed longingly at the clover, he noticed something. He carefully approached and found flowers that grew among the clover, like they were there just for him. They were breathtaking. Just drawing him in more and more, so that he could caress and fondle them in all of their beauty. At this point reading was inevitable. Qrow shared his special book with the clover and for one last time they read together.

It was gentle and palatable. It was passionate and deliberate. It was worth every moment that Qrow was able to spend and enjoy reading among the clover one last time. Qrow fell asleep among the clover shortly after the reading. Qrow dreamed about the clover looking over him as he slept and how the clover might be lonely without his future company. Then his dream shifted to a grim fight on a street with his nieces, looking a lot older than they do now, followed by being knocked to the ground. He gets the strange feeling of someone looking down at him, which triggers him awake. He wakes up feeling a little strange with only a vague recollection of his dreams and someone watching him. He shrugs off the feeling and stands up to get ready to leave.

He was going to miss this place and the forests in general. But this unique place among the clover would always have a special place in his heart. He takes another long look at the clover and the surrounding area, committing as much of it to memory as possible. Qrow decided to make it a goal to try and visit here again, anytime that he was in the vicinity.

Qrow left the next day to head back to Vale. It was one of the more sorrowful trips that he had ever made but it was necessary. His memories, during his trip, filled of the days spent in the forest and how he felt strangely connected to the clover. He re-lived his time among the clover to make the time go by faster.

Qrow spent nearly a year working before he had time to return to the forest, while on a mission in Argus. He made plans to spend a little of his time, without drinking beforehand, to go visit the clover in the woods. Despite some of his tragedies of his past, he was strangely optimistic about this visit and the special place in the woods.

But it was not meant to be. The clover was no longer there. The beautiful petals and flowers were gone. He searched nearby to see if the clover had moved locations due to season or weather changes. After searching for hours over multiple days, Qrow realized that the clover was gone.

He thought a great deal about returning to that spot in the future to see if the clover had returned but felt it would be a waste of time especially considering his bad luck.

But despite his disappointment, Qrow would never forget the time that he spent appreciating the clover and the flowers in the woods and the last day he spent there would be some of the most memorable memories of his life.

Chapter Text

Clover was busy with his military assignments, as per the usual. But one afternoon, his CO approached him and made a not so subtle comment about his lack of requests for personal leave. His leave time has been building over the past few years, since he stopped taking trips back to Argus, with the rare exception or for any other purposes. His CO politely encouraged or rather, voluntold him to take some time to himself, concerned that Clover would burn out, so Clover promised to make plans to request leave.

Clover didn’t really complain about anything but when he did, he needed someone to listen so that he could work through his own issues. In this case, taking time off when he didn’t want to was one of them. So he called up one of his former teammates from the Academy. Elm was blunt but she knew how to help him feel better about all sorts of things. Sometimes her direct and overly enthusiastic approach was just what he needed.

“Long time no see. What’s up?” Elm said in her most enthusiastic voice, as he looked at her on his scroll.

“Nothing much, just wanted to see what you were up to nowadays.”

“You don’t give a shit what I’m up to. You just want to rant about something that has pissed you off. Okay, I’ll bite. What happened this time?”

Clover sighs. Of course Elm would do that to him. She was always very direct and without meeting up with her and doing something, she would always be suspicious. He also supposed that he was a bit predictable. So instead of making small talk, he decides to get right to the point.

“So my CO is bugging me about not taking enough time off. And I really don’t like the idea that she is butting into my life and telling me what is best for me, concerned that I might ‘burn out.’ ”

“Dude. You’re an idiot. As lucky as you are, she was probably hitting on you and didn’t even notice because of how gay you are.”

“What? No. There’s no way. She knows I’m gay.”

“Does she?”

Clover thinks for a moment and tries to go back through all the conversations with her that they have had during the past few years, and now that he thinks about it, he isn’t certain that they had talked about it.

“Now that you mention it, I’m not sure she knows.” He scoffs. “Fine, so she might have been flirting with me, but she’s my CO. She really should know better. Besides, we are way off topic from my original concern.”

“You mean you complaining about being forced to take time off. Whatever happened to your trips to Argus. Thought that was something that always made you happy.”

Clover thought for a moment and remembered his time in the woods with the crow and his disappointment when he returned and the crow didn’t. Despite his love of fishing in Argus, the place was never really the same after that. “Not really a place I want to go back to, at least for the time being.”

“Really!?! What are you hiding, wildcat? You know that you can’t keep it from me for long.”

“Perhaps I’ll tell you about it some other time. For now, I need to figure out what I’m going to do to get my CO off my back.”

Elm puts her finger on her chin and thinks for a moment, and then has an ‘ah ha’ moment. “How about taking a trip down to Menagerie. I have been hearing from some of my team that there is a special event that only happens for a few weeks during late summer that is pretty special to see. The Faunus talk about it like it is magical. Not sure what that’s all about. But it is clearly not Argus and it helps you use more than just a day, which should make your CO happy.”

Clover considered this for a moment. Menagerie. That was not a place he had ever visited and despite the long trip to and from, it would be nice to get away from the snow for a while.

Elm interjects his thinking. “And perhaps you can find an exotic man while you're there.”

Clover cringes at her suggestion, especially coming from her. If they had been in the same room versus on their scrolls, he would have punched her. Instead, he ignores the comment so that she can’t drag it out. “What special event? I don’t really know much about Menagerie to even know where to look.”

Elm frowns at his lack of engagement and sighs but then replies, “I will have to ask, because I don’t know the name of the event. I’ll send the information to you tomorrow.”

“Thanks Elm. Talk to you later.” And he ends the call, since he doesn’t want to give her a chance to rib him again about meeting someone. He knows that she is probably fuming, but he doesn’t care.

The next day, he gets a snarky message from Elm. ‘Hey there sex kittn, here’s the info about Menagerie. Good luck finding Mr. Exotic.’ He rolls his eyes, as he opens the attachment. He will have to do some more research but finds out that the celebration is called Glow Menagerie and it happens for only three weeks during the month of August. So he picks the last week of the event and requests time off, just as his CO requested.

Qrow is laying on the couch, exhausted. The girls have run him ragged. People would think that as an active licensed huntsman, that he couldn’t be so worn out by a couple of children, both under the age of 10. Then again, most people haven’t met his nieces.

After finally catching his breath and hearing the girls quietly playing outside, at least quiet for them, he reaches over to the table and grabs the remote and flicks on the screen. He isn’t looking for anything in particular, just something to help relax him, if at all possible.

He doesn’t find much but settles on a nature show covering special creatures in Menagerie, from the desert to the oceans that surround them. The narrator’s voice is calm and soothing and is just loud enough to help smooth out the sounds coming from outside. Luckily, since the girls aren’t so young any more, they don’t have to be watched like hawks constantly. So he has no qualm with taking a quick nap before they crash inside and wake him up because they need him for something. Sleep takes him quickly and he is grateful.

Then Qrow hears noises, and they are slowly getting louder but not overbearing. And at first he can’t tell what the noise is. As he slowly begins to become more aware, he realizes that he is hearing crunching. To be more precise, he is hearing someone eating some chips. And as he slowly opens his eyes, he finds the girls sitting on the floor in front of him eating chips out of a bag, with their eyes glued to the program on the screen.

He blinks a few times and then turns to watch the screen. It is still on the nature show that he had turned on previously. But now it is covering a special event that goes on in Menagerie.

As he watches for just a moment, Ruby moves the bag over to him and asks, “Want some?”

He almost jumps, not realizing that she knew he was awake. “No thanks.” He then slowly sits up and rubs his head. He feels less exhausted but now he feels more sore. Of course he couldn’t just feel better, something always had to hurt.

He shifts to sit up properly against the couch and realizes he is hungry. So he stands and heads to the kitchen. He finds sandwich fixings in the fridge and hollers, “I’m making a sandwich. Want one?”

Responses of “Hell yes.” “Sandwich, yum.” come from the living room.

“Language Yang.” He scolds.

“Sorry.” Despite the fact that she is eight, she still doesn’t understand what not to say sometimes. So much like her mom.

So Qrow makes sandwiches for all three of them. He takes them into the living room and leaves the plate on the table for the girls to grab their own. They are all eating their sandwiches, as both Qrow and Ruby wiggle in their seats. A strange habit he has had since he was young that Ruby has picked up. As they eat in front of the screen, an advertisement comes on for ‘Glow Menagerie.’ And it shows all kinds of festival style events, beach time, rides and food. Both girls stop eating as the joy in their eyes grows. Qrow realizes that this can’t be good.

Before the last part of the advertisement is over, both girls are screaming that they want to go to ‘Glow Menagerie’ as part of their end of summer trip. Each year Tai and Qrow take the girls somewhere to celebrate the end of summer and the last hurrah before they go back to school. Usually it is just a camping trip or going to a carnival and even one year they went boating. But this, this was a bit much.

“I don’t know about that. This is a pretty big step up from the local carnival. And Menagerie isn’t really close by, so it would require a lot more planning and money. And I doubt your dad would agree to do something so spectacular.”

Both girls bemoaned at his indirect refusal. Then Ruby replied, “I’m asking dad anyway.” She grabs her sandwich and finishes it in three bites and then runs upstairs, most likely to call Tai.

“Please chew first Ruby.” That girl was going to be the end of him one day. She choked all too often when she was in a hurry to do something besides eat.

“If she didn’t ask, I sure as hel….hoped..uh...that she would. But I planned to ask too,” He glared at her, as she stumbled over the word but recovered as best she could.

“Fine but don’t come complaining to me when he says no.”

“Of course not, because we are going to get him to say yes.”

By the end of the week, Tai had given in to their pleas to go to Menagerie for their trip. The girls had taken on extra choirs around the house and found small odd and end jobs around town that helped them earn money to help cover the cost of the trip to Menagerie. But despite Tai’s agreement, they still had to keep working on both the house and earn some extra cash so that they could have enough to cover some of the expenses and have some spending money too.

Then the girls learned that Qrow didn’t want to go. And now they had a problem.

“Uncle Qrow, come on. It’s a family tradition.”

“It won’t be the same without you.”

They were both using their cute faces and puppy dog eyes, but Qrow wasn’t going to fall for it and he was keeping his eyes shut. “I’m not going. Look, I know that you have both worked really hard and you deserve to go. But it is just not my thing. Me and the sun and all of those mosquitoes just don’t mix.”

Qrow had been there once before and he didn’t have any inclination to go back, even if it was on the opposite side of the island. As much as he liked the heat over the cold any day, as the feeling of flying with the birds in those places was amazing, but this was not that kind of trip. There would likely be no ‘flying’ this time and that was the worst part.

After the girls finally gave up bugging him for what felt like hours, Qrow headed towards the kitchen to grab a snack. He was actually impressed with himself that he didn’t cave to the girls. He wandered into the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled out his scroll. A few minutes later, Tai came in and sat down next to him.

“So I hear that you turned the girls down?”

“Yup.” Qrow frowns for a moment. “I know that they worked hard for it but I really don’t want to go to a place where there is so much sand or where I would get burned and eaten alive. And staying inside the whole time is not an option with the girls. And I wouldn’t likely be allowed to ‘spread my wings’ considering we would be with the girls the whole time.”

“True on all points. But you forgot one important thing.”

“And what might that be?”

“You promised Summer.”

Qrow groans. He hadn’t thought about that promise in years. Back when Summer was pregnant with Ruby, Qrow avoided being around her, just like he had around Raven. The idea that his bad luck would interfere with their pregnancies terrified him. But Summer had called grimmshit on that, and told him that he better stick around because someone was going to have to help take care of her when she went into labor, because it sure as hell wasn’t going to be Tai, after how he behaved during Raven’s delivery. He argued about how so many things could go terribly wrong just by being there, at a hospital. And Summer wouldn’t hear of it. So she made him promise that no matter what, that he would be there for her and their family, then and in the future, regardless of his personal feelings, if that is what the family wanted.

Despite the vague connection to this promise, he did feel like this qualified as being there for the family, even if it was for recreational purposes. But he could almost hear Summer whining about semantics and giving him a look.

“You should tell them later that you changed your mind or that they convinced you after you had time to think about it. They don’t need to know about the promise. At least not yet.”

“Gee, thanks Tai.” Qrow stands ups and starts to head upstairs. “Guess I need to start packing a tone of bug spray and sunscreen so I can at least attempt to enjoy myself.”

“That's the spirit.”

Qrow just grumbles as he trudges up the stairs.

Chapter Text

A few weeks pass and Clover is packed and ready to leave on the next transport out of Atlas. Lucky for him, he snagged one of the last seats on a direct transport to Menagerie. He is waiting as the rest of the passengers are seated and put away their personal items for the trip. Finding the idle time aggravating, he connects his ear communicator to his scroll and turns on a movie from his long list of ‘watch later,’ considering he so rarely sits still long enough to watch anything, preferring to be active by training and sparring over sitting still. Maybe this was why he didn’t want to take vacation, all of that idle time. Hopefully, the event in Menagerie would live up to the hype. He doubted it but there was always the possibility.

Qrow grumbled as they had to wait at their layover in south Anima. Despite Tai’s best effort to find a more direct transport, they were stuck with not one but two stops on their way from Vale to Menagerie. And that didn’t include the shuttle flight from Kuo Kuanna to Zanzara Bay. But for the first time in years he didn’t blame his luck for this problem, considering Tai had bought all four passes before Qrow agreed to go, but he decided that not complaining was enough of a silent admission and avoided the topic.

Qrow was leaning back, his head just dangling over the edge of one of the chairs. Tai was sitting next to him. And the girls had just run to grab some food, having not been to South Anima before, they wanted to try some of the food that they didn’t normally see at home. Qrow was a little worried that Tai let the girls run off by themselves, despite being 6 and 9, as Yang just had a birthday at the end of last month. But Tai had his eye on them the whole time, as this port was fairly small and mostly just a transfer point for Menagerie in the first place. Not many people visited for fun and most of the people here were faunus, either on their way in or way out.

“How much longer?”

Tai rolled his eyes. “For someone who was determined not to come sure seems impatient about getting there.”

“I’m just tired of traveling. I just want to be there not in between. Besides these damn chairs are so uncomfortable.”

“Language.”

“They didn’t hear me, so stop worrying about it.”

“Yeah but if you are like this now…”

“Tai, I promise to keep my drinking to a bare minimum. Even if I am uncomfortable.”

“Good. I wish you would keep your bad language to a bare minimum. Yang is picking up some really bad habits.”

“I know. But I don’t think it is all from me.”

“No, I suppose not.”

Ruby and Yang come back from picking up one to many Mistrial foods to try and share with them. “There were so many options. We couldn’t agree on anything so we got a variety to share.” Yang hands a dish to Tai. “Here Uncle Qrow, I think you will like this one.” Ruby passes Qrow a curry style dish that he can smell before he takes it from her.

“Thanks kiddo.” In some ways the smell is nostalgic, but unfortunately the memories associated with the smell stem from his not so pleasant childhood. But he quickly brushes them away to replace them with this memory of good food and happy kids. Or at least he is going to try.

“Let me have a bite of that.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it Tai. It’s very spicy.”

“Whatever. I can handle it.” And as he shoved a bit of the curry into his mouth, it was clear to all of them that he could not in fact handle it. He shoved the wrap in his hand back at Yang and ran to the nearest water fountain to douse his mouth in water. Yang, Ruby and Qrow were left laughing hysterically at how much a fool Tai was making of himself.

Once they stopped laughing, the girls sat down on either side of Qrow. They each ate and shared the meals that the girl had picked out. Even Yang took a nibble of the curry and mixed it with her rice dish to help lower the spice level a bit. Tai returned and joined in on the sharing of the meals after a few more giggles and jabs from the girls.

It wasn’t long after they had finished that they were on their next transport to Menagerie. Qrow was feeling surprisingly optimistic. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad afterall.

Clover arrived at Kuo Kuana in the late afternoon. The transport to Zanzara Bay wasn’t until tomorrow morning, so he had ample time to enjoy the sights and sounds and environment that is Menagerie. Having never been here before, he is surprisingly eager and a touch excited to see the sights in person via scroll or pictures, despite being pushed to take time off. Something about this trip just feels so right and he can’t place why. Instead of questioning it, he heads to the first thing that peaks his interest, a stall off to the left and starts sampling the local cuisine.

Qrow, Tai and the girls arrive in Kuo Kuana by late evening, they are exhausted from their day long adventure to just get to Menagerie. Tai and Qrow have to physically carry Yang and Ruby off the plan. Yang actually questioned why they wanted to come here after feeling so exhausted from the trip. Tai reminded her that the best part has yet to come and she begrudgingly agreed, despite being half asleep on Tai’s shoulder.

Since their transport to Zanzura Bay was not until morning, they headed straight to their lodging for the night. Qrow and Tai put the girls down, leaving them in their clothes. Then they both laid down on their shared bed for the night, talking about the girls and the crazy long day.

“I told you I didn’t want to come.”

Tai yawns. “Yeah, but you would have never heard the end of it and they,” he yawns again, “would have been bugging you on your scroll constantly, just so that they could feel like you were here.”

Qrow yawned too. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” And Tai yawns again.

Then Qrow responds, “Yawwwhhhnning,” while yawning. “Every time you do that, then I do it.”

Tai yawns yet again, followed by Qrow. Tai closes his eyes as he kicks off his shoes. “Then maybe we should go to sleep.”

“Probably a good idea.” As Qrow also kicks off his shoes.

“We have... a... long day... tomorrow.” Clearly yawning is not the only thing that Tai is doing.

“Yup, probably need to set an alarm so we don’t miss the transport.”

Tai doesn’t say anything for a moment and then. “Already...done.”

Qrow glances over at Tai, who is lightly snoring. He lightly chuckles to himself, having remembered what Tai sounded like while he sleepy brings back all sorts of memories of Beacon and the like. Qrow gets up and changes clothing, grabs his scroll and sets his alarm, just in case. Then he crawls into bed too tired to do anything else.

Chapter Text

Clover had not really experienced beaches with sand and the activities spent playing in it. Argus didn’t really have any, as all of the coast line was rock or the port. And the few trips that his family made to other parts of Mistral that had them were mostly observed from afar. He knew that he loved the water, so he was looking forward to jumping in, or in this case walking in. But he also considered just lounging and watching all the handsome men without shirts, considering Atlas’s cold weather prevented this particular fashion. Maybe Elm was right. He might just meet Mr. Exotic while enjoying himself on the beach.

Qrow is happy that they are finally at their destination. A full week ahead of them before they have to make the dreadful reverse trip home. Maybe they can sleep through it more on the way home than they did on the way here. The transport to Zanzura Bay was thankfully, uneventful. It took about half an hour for the small airship to make its trip across the island. And now Qrow was laying face down in the bed, in their room dreading the next thing that the girls would surely ask him to do: go to the beach.

Qrow groaned just thinking about it and hoped that he could hide here for a bit longer. He didn’t mind the sun and even liked the water to a degree. But he absolutely hated sand. It got everywhere and in places he didn’t want to think about. 

But he was prepared with some things to help mitigate his dislike of the particle. He brought a pair of sandals to prevent getting sand in his shoes and all of his clothing was loose fitted t-shirts and shorts, with a couple of long-sleeved shirts and pants in case the nights got cold. The only thing he couldn’t prevent was sand in his hair. So he would just have to live with that during the day until he was able to wash it out at night.

And another precaution that he absolutely had to follow through on, was his copious amounts of sunscreen and bug spray. He did notice that this area didn’t seem to have many bugs that bothered him when they first arrived but he could never be too careful.

So with the knowledge that he was going to have to go outside eventually, he grabbed his bottle of sunscreen and began to apply it. He would have to ask one of them to help with the spot on his back that he couldn’t reach. Then he took the bug spray and coated himself in it and then stuck the mini-bottle of both in his pocket. Then he laid back down on the bed.

It wasn’t but a few seconds later that Ruby walked in and dragged him out of the room to go play on the beach. Just like he predicted.

Clover plans to attend the event tonight but while enjoying his dinner at one of the many different venues in this remote tourist town, he finds out from his waiter, a very handsome faunus man with leopard printed skin, that the event happens on every night but the first night of the week is always the most crowded and it is less crowded later nights. 

“And if you go after the scheduled event, there are even less people.”

“Well that is very helpful information. I will be sure to keep that in mind.” Clover decided to take a shot at flirting with the man. “Any suggestions about what else I could do to occupy my evening?”

The leopard faunus man’s eyes nearly hit his eyebrows. “Ah...I will have to check on that.” It was clear that he knew he was being flirted with, as even Clover could see the little bit of a blush that showed up on his cheeks. He wandered off to check on his other tables but he would be back. Clover was intrigued by his leopard skin and kind of wondered how far it went under his clothes. He caught himself off guard as he had not thought like that in a long time. Maybe he was a little deprived in that area of his life. It had been years since he was last with someone, in a special part of the forest just south of Argus.

Qrow, Tai and the girls were back in the room after dinner, taking a break from a very long day on the beach. And the day wasn’t over yet. They were only here for a short break, so that they could get ready for their main event. The Glow Menagerie event occurred only at night. So they were told to wear long sleeves and pants to avoid the bugs and mosquitoes, as well as the chill that occurred as the temperatures changed drastically in these parts. Zanzuara was just a small settlement on the coast and far edge of a desert. 

As the sun began to set, they headed to an alcove off the bay that is nearly a perfect half circle around a portion of the Zanzara Bay proper. Tai does his best to rangle the girls from just taking off into the crowd to get a good view. Qrow grabs Ruby so that Tai can keep up with Yang. Ruby whines but he picks her up and tosses her onto his shoulders and she yelps in surprise but stops fighting to take off. Qrow catches up with Tai, who has Yang’s hand, but Yang has a pouty look on her face. 

“I want to get closer!” Yang spouts.

“We will but not by pushing our way past people.”

“I can’t help that they are too slow.”

Tai doesn’t bother engaging, as he knows that Yang will likely remain angry until she sees the event. Ruby, still on Qrow’s shoulders, seems oblivious to all of this as she stares out at the water.

They walk with the crowd and follow the directions of the guides who instruct them to keep moving along the outside of the alcove. As they get closer, Yang shouts, “Look at that! The water is glowing!”

And sure enough, as Qrow and Tai stand on the edge of the bay, with nothing but a few feet of sand between them and the water, they see it glowing. It isn’t glowing everywhere. All across the shoreline, where the tiny waves crash and ebb against the beach and up against the couple of small boats that are floating in the alcove.

One of the guides speaks. “Welcome everyone to Glow Menagerie here at Zanzara Bay.” This faunus apparently has a semblance that lets them speak loudly to everyone but not sound like they are shouting. “As you can see the water is glowing in certain areas. There are bioluminescent bacteria in the water that when agitated, glow. Please check in with the guides as they will have buckets of water for you to put your hands in and experience it up close. The bacteria and their natural environment are sensitive so we don’t want any dust, sunscreen or bug repellent to get into the bay, so please stay out of the bay, as it is prohibited to be in the water in this area. This event will end in our hour. Please take your time and enjoy in the view.”

Ruby bounces up and down on Qrow’s shoulders. “I want to touch it. Let’s find a guide.” Yang doesn’t say a word, as it seems the glow from the bay has captured her attention.

Qrow is intrigued and would like to see it up close too, so he heads over to where a guide is holding a bucket. He takes Ruby off his shoulders and she rushes up to the woman with the bucket, who lets her put her hand in. The water around her hand, fingers and wrist all glow. She takes her hand out and the glow lingers. “Uncle Qrow, look. It looks like stars on my hand.”

Yang comes up next to them and looks at Ruby’s hand. “Yeah it does.” She dips her hand in the bucket that the guide is holding and spends a little more time swishing her hand around, watching as the bacteria nearly light up the whole bucket. She then takes her hand out and holds it up to compare it to the sky above them. “Not far off. Like little balls of fire on my hand verse way out in space.”

Qrow and Tai watch the girls intently. Despite wanting to keep his eye on the girls, he turns and looks at the bay and then at the sky and wonders what it would be like to see it from a crow’s eyes.

The girls play a bit more and start dipping both of their hands in the bucket and rubbing it all over their bodies and clothes. It doesn’t take long for the two of them to look like they are glowing. It doesn’t last forever, as it clearly dims on their clothes much faster, but it was good enough for Tai to take a picture on his scroll. But it is getting late and the girls are up past their normal bedtime for this event, and Ruby has started to yawn. Tai gives them their last thing warning, so that they can pick one last thing to do and then they head back to their room.

Clover goes home alone that night, disappointed to find out that the sexy leopard faunus waiter is taken. But he was polite enough to direct Clover to some of the other events that happen around town, including a play about a historical pirate that used to show up every seven years. And how the theory that he buried treasure somewhere in the desert still lingers today. It was fun, even going by himself. That was one of the biggest reasons he didn’t like taking a vacation because he rarely had anyone to share it with. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow would be more promising, since he would get to go see the Glow Menagerie event.

The next day repeats like the first, except this time the girls are so exhausted after dinner that they both fall asleep after their later dinner. Tai feels a little tired too, but tells Qrow to go for a walk since they clearly won’t know and he deserves some free time.

Qrow thanks Tai and takes off. He looks forward to taking a flight over that water, as it was pretty amazing to see. And he is curious how the crow's eyes will perceive it. After enjoying the view and his flight, he lands near the shore and transforms behind a rock and then starts making his way through the trees back to the small town. 

Clover took the advice to go to the Glow Menagerie event late. So he heads to the alcove more than halfway through the event. But as he gets closer to the alcove he sees the glow in the water and is awed by its natural beauty. He finds one of the guides and learns about the bioluminescent bacteria that live here and she suggests that he put his hands in the bucket to see it up close for himself. 

He does and he is amazed at the glow on and around his hand. This is clearly worth the hype. He is actually a little surprised that this event isn’t bigger because he has never heard or seen anything like this ever before. He asks if he is allowed to go into the water and he is told that they don’t let people into this part of the bay. But the guide tells him that there are more of the bacteria that live around other parts of the coast that are not protected like this one. And that he would be free to go swimming with the bacteria there. He thanks her for the suggestion. 

He spends some time enjoying the view of the tiny waves lapping against the shore and glowing like tiny starts all over the place. After about 15 minutes of watching the shore and the other tourists, he decides to take his leave and head for a different section of the coast. He is really looking forward to being in the water and experiencing it that way.

Qrow only goes a few yards into the forest, when he walks directly into someone. Qrow steps back. Having not given his eyes much chance to adjust to the dark, he isn’t really surprised. Better than a tree he supposed.

“Sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s okay. I don’t hurt easily.” Clover says but then realizes that the voice sounds familiar. 

Qrow freezes, as Clover speaks. I would know that voice anywhere. Can it really be him? He quints in the dark, trying to use what measly light to see the stranger properly in the dark. “Wait...Is that you? Clover?”

Clover then suddenly realizes that he does recognize the voice. “Qrow?” And as his own eyes adjust to the darkness, he can see his long spiky hair almost as clear as day.

“Uh, yeah. Unless you know another Qrow?”

“No, just you.”

“How long has it been? I mean since Argus.”

“About seven years.”

“Really? It doesn’t feel like it has been that long.”

“I feel like it has been longer.”

“Why?”

Clover then goes on to tell Qrow about how he visited their special place a few times later and couldn't’ find him, while walking toward the north coast of the island. Qrow then tells a similar story of looking for Clover and not finding him. 

They also talk about what has happened to each other since then, as they go for a walk on the beach farther up the coastline, where the beach becomes a small outcropping of rocks a few feet above the water. Clover talks about his military assignments and Qrow tells him about Tai, Raven, Summer and the girls, at least up to an extent. They both leave out things, but enjoy spending time catching up.

As they are talking, they are getting more and more comfortable with each other, to the point that Clover starts making sarcastic remarks. Qrow jabs Clover for one of them, causing Clover to lose his balance as he starts to look like he is going to fall into the bay. Qrow reaches out and catches him. But then the ground breaks loose under Qrow, causing them both to tumble into the water. As they disturb the water, both of them look like they are coated in a speckled glow. Hair, clothes and all.

The water isn’t deep, as they both can stand and touch bottom, but it is up to their shoulders. They head for shore, heading in the direction they were walking, as Clover sees a beach from where they are. But as they make their way, they both start playing in the water along the way, splashing and dunking each other. Then in the middle of playing, they both stop as they catch the other's eye, as they both know that they are dancing around the obvious, considering their history, it’s just a matter of time. 

Clover stares when Qrow pushes his hair back from his eyes, noting how every part of Qrow is glowing like starlight. It makes it look like he was plucked from the sky. Clover glances at his lips, which are glowing too. Qrow half swims closer to Clover in the water, which is closer to belly height now as they have gotten closer to shore. Qrow stands up and notices how Clover’s attention is distracted. Clover reaches over and pulls Qrow to him and neither of them waste any time, as they dive in for a kiss. The glow grows around and between them as they disturb the bacteria.

Qrow pulls away first, with an idea in mind. “How about we head back to shore?”

“Really? I thought it was pretty nice right here.”

“I didn’t peg you for the type to want to read in the water.” 

Clover laughs at the language but then smirks. “But you did peg me in the woods, as we read almost daily towards the end.”

Qrow is shocked by the confidence in this guy. He was not like that in Argus. “Shut up. You talk too much.”

Clover just keeps smirking. “And yet how else do you expect me to read well if I don’t open my mouth.”

At this point Qrow is so turned on by this snarky and sexy man that he can think of nothing else but wanting to kiss the man at that very moment. With Clover only a couple of feet away, he grabs on to Clover and kisses him deeply, while slowly pushing Clover up against the outcropping, which is about ten feet over their heads now. Qrow missed reading with this man and he was not about to let the opportunity pass him up.

After they finished reading in the water, something that Clover had never done before, they followed the outcropping and walked up to the shore, on a different beach than the alcove or the one that was open during the day to swim and play in. Luckily there was no one around to see them, since Clover couldn’t let go of this man and it seemed that Qrow didn’t want him to. Kissing and holding onto each other like a couple of hormonal teenagers. 

Eventually Qrow pulled away and pulled off his shirt and began wringing out the water. Clover just stared as Qrow glowed from head to toe. And Qrow’s muscles seemed so much more defined than they had been when they first met. How was this man so beautiful?

“I probably should wait until I get back to my room to do that with my pants.”

“Considering how private this place is you could probably get away with it here.”

Qrow just smirked at Clover. “You just want to see me take my pants off.” 

“There’s that too.” Then Clover moved to take off his own shirt and repeat what Qrow did. This time it was Qrow’s turn to stare, for which Clover just smiled to himself. “I must be quite the distraction?”

Qrow blinked and smiled “With pecs and abs like those, yes, yes you are.” He then looked up the beach to try and distract himself a little. There was a small wooded area. And since he didn’t want to let the night end here, he decided that finding a new cozy place to read would be nice and give their clothes a chance to dry off. As Qrow headed up the beach, Clover followed.

As they wander further into this small wooded area, the fireflies are everywhere and there are other bioluminescent creatures and plants all over the place. The glow is so strong that it feels like someone has turned on dim lighting under the forest floor, except the glow isn’t stable as it is constantly fluctuating. 

“Wow” Clover says in a hushed tone, as he steps beside Qrow, who is also looking around astonished at the beauty of this little grove. He sees a low level branch and tosses his shirt onto it. “Let’s take a look around.” As he reaches down and grabs Qrows hand.

Qrow tosses his shirt on the branch as well and then they let their feet lead them through the grove. They wander for only a few minutes before coming to a small round clearing, about ten feet in diameter. 

Qrow pipes up. “This reminds me…”

“...Of our place near Argus.” Clover and Qrow say this last line together.

Clover lets go of Qrow’s hand and steps forward and sits down and stretches his legs out in front of him and puts his hands on the ground behind him and leans back. He looks up at the sky, since there are no trees to block it and then looks back at Qrow. “Would like to make some more memories and read here too?”

“I thought you would never ask.”