Archive of Our Own

Snow fell silently through the evening air, coating the Mantle streets slowly but steadily. It fell straight down, not even a breath of wind disturbing it. Thankfully that lack of wind meant that Clover didn't have to activate his aura too much in order to stay warm. He enjoyed this type of weather, in fact; the eerie silence, broken only by the soft crunch of snow under his boots, was peaceful. The umber cast of the street lights gave the unblemished path of snow ahead of Clover an ethereal look. In Atlas, the uniform slabs of stone that made up the pedestrian walkways were inlaid with dust that instantly melted any snow to maintain the pristine image of the city. But here in Mantle, the snow was able to linger. It reminded Clover of Argus, running down snow-lined streets with his siblings. 

Clover reached an intersection and took a left, heading down a smaller side street. It went on for some distance, and up ahead he noticed some patches of the road where the snow had already melted away. Orange heating coils glowed from the tops of the adjacent buildings. Clover frowned. Of course, the only reason the snow was able to stick to so many of the streets in Mantle was because their heating grid was still malfunctioning. Something Atlas should have helped with the repair of months ago. He sighed, shoulders dropping slightly, and continued on his path.

After a long stretch of residential houses, the street opened into a small town square. A worn down fountain, bracketed by four benches, sat at the centre. Decorating the space between the benches were a handful of stone planters, packed with hardy shrubs. A row of shops lined the opposite side of the square, only a few still open at this hour.

Clover strode forward, passing by the benches and fountain, heading for a small shop with a forest green fabric awning. A black sign with white lettering to the left of the door read The Busy Bee Flower Shop. All but the most sturdy of flowers had to be imported to Atlas, usually in huge shipments that could be artificially preserved. Clover had visited this shop a handful of times in the past, since an old friend of his from Argus started working there. He hoped she was working this evening, he hadn’t seen her in a while.

It was Clover's first night off in a week. He’d been told -- ordered, really -- to take a break from extra missions since Qrow was now able to return to duty. It had been five days since the Deathstalker incident, and with lots of rest and Jaune's excellent healing, his partner was back in fighting shape. They had spoken frequently while Qrow was recovering. Quiet conversations, over dinner, over tea, over a game of cards, and sometimes over nothing but each other's comforting presence. With a bit of gentle coaxing from Clover, Qrow had spoken about his fears. At times it was simple worries , but a few times it seemed like Qrow was releasing deep-seated troubles that had been built up over decades. There was a lot to work through, things Qrow had never spoken of to anyone else. But the huntsman seemed determined to keep sharing.

And Clover was so proud of him; he wanted to get Qrow a little gift to acknowledge his recovery. Hence, the flowers. But as Clover approached the flower shop, he saw that the interior was dark, and a somber sign hung in the blank window.

A lack of inventory has forced us to close until further notice.

Clover let out a sigh, mentally cursing Salem and the Grimm. Some caravans had managed to get through to Mantle, but he supposed flowers were low on the list of priorities for the city. He briefly wondered why the shop went out of stock so quickly, until he spotted the date printed at the bottom of the notice. 

The shop had closed months ago. It wasn't due to the Grimm. It was the embargo of dust exports, and the rippling effect it had on the rest of the market. Clover's hand slipped limply off the handle. Had his friend been out of a job for that long? How many other businesses had been forced to do the same because of the military's embargo?

Your military's embargo, he reminded himself. One he could have, no, should have pushed James more on. 

Clover shook his head; that kind of thinking wasn't going to get him anywhere. It was done, in the past. He turned away from the shop and began his trek back to the Happy Huntress base. The base would be pretty empty, with two teams out on missions, but Clover decided he could just get some work done. Qrow’s team wasn’t due back for a couple of hours, so it would be a good way to pass the time. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked, thinking about the allocation work that would soon lay before him.

By the time Qrow returned the base, Clover was hunched over a table in an office just off the main room, poring over maps of Mantle. With their resources stretched so thin, allocating time and materials strategically to try and repair the walls was an arduous convoluted task. The lines on the maps had almost started to blur together in Clover's vision, and the weak but persistent twist in his stomach at the thought of Mantle's wall being left in disrepair for so long wasn't helping things. 

The feeling quickly disappeared when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, and a rough voice in his ear, "Hey you."

Clover grinned, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of jet black hair and rose red eyes. He hadn't even heard Qrow come in. "Hello to you too. Mission went alright? Ribs not bothering you?"

"Yep." Qrow pressed a soft kiss to Clover's temple before leaning back up and pulling another chair over to the table. "Not much activity today, from the Grimm or Atlas." Clover felt his brow furrow unconsciously at that, but continued listening to Qrow. "I feel right as rain. Jaune's semblance really works wonders."

Feeling his mood lighten, Clover smiled. "I'm glad. It's good to see you out on missions again."

"How are you doing?" Qrow asked as he sat down. He leaned back in the chair and linked his hands behind his head. "Thought you had this cycle off?"

"Oh, yeah, I did." He ran a hand over the map on the table, smoothing out some of the wrinkles. "I wanted to stop by a store that an old friend works at, but it was closed, unfortunately. Decided to just get some planning done instead."

"Ah, I'm sorry. But hey, Ruby's group also just got back and she's planning a video game tournament. You wanna join in, get back to your break? And, I'm sure I'll win, but just in case, you can give me a bit of good luck?" Qrow winked.

"Are you asking me to help you cheat?" Clover asked, attempting to sound serious but knowing his grin was giving him away.

"Hey, a little extra luck isn't cheating," Qrow quipped. He stood and offered a hand to Clover. "Come on. Let's enjoy the rest of the evening." 

Clover grasped Qrow's hand, and at least for a little while, all thoughts of embargos and walls and the past fled to the recesses of his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"There was an increase in scouting from Atlas this morning. Almost ran into one of our patrols, thankfully Penny noticed them and was able to contact Blake." Robyn's clear, authoritative voice filled the briefing room. All combat-ready members of their resistance group were huddled around the briefing table. "We'll need another team to go out and finish the scouting that Blake's group had to abort. The wall on that side of the city is bad, and we have no idea how many of Salem's Grimm might be coming through. There have been reports of some Grimm hiding out in abandoned buildings."

"That's strategic behaviour," Ren remarked. "The Grimm coming directly from Salem seem much more intelligent than those found in the wild." 

“All the more reason for us to keep up the scouting,” Joanna said.

Clover stared down at the report on his scroll, a hollow feeling in his chest. They couldn't risk getting slowed down by Atlas at a time like this. "I'll go with the team today," he declared, looking up at Robyn. "I know military protocols the best, I'll be able to handle anything if we run into another scouting party."

Robyn nodded. "Alright then. Clover, Nora, Ren, and May will handle this. Sorry for the extra mission, but we've got to keep Mantle clear of Grimm. For everyone else, business as usual, no changes to the schedule.

The group dispersed, leaving only Clover's current teammates, as well as Qrow. He caught a glint of worry in his partner's eyes as Qrow asked, "You sure about this Cloves? You did a lot of extra work while I was recovering." 

Clover felt his cheeks warm a bit at Qrow's concern, but he smiled and shook his head. "I'm sure, yesterday was a good rest. And I should really be there in case those Atlesian scouts come back."

Qrow's gaze, a piercing mix of uncertainty and worry, stayed on him for a few moments longer, before Ruby's voice called out from another room. "Uncle Qrow! I had a modification idea for Crescent Rose, could you come here?"

"Uhh sure thing Ruby," Qrow called back, "Just a minute!" He leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to Clover's lips. "Be safe out there."

"I will," Clover promised, giving Qrow a reassuring smile. 

Despite his projected confidence, Qrow's words lingered in Clover’s head as he geared up. He wasn't tired of course; he would never knowingly jeopardize a mission like that. But he just had the feeling in his gut that he had to go out and help with this one. Give the people of Mantle the protection they deserved, the protection they weren't getting from Atlas. He had to make it right. Guilt clawed at him, from not pushing James on the embargo hard enough, to not immediately siding with Mantle on the fateful night. With a sigh, he shut his locker and led his team to the surface.

Six hours and one patrol later, Clover pulled the hidden door to the base open with a sigh, ushering his younger teammates inside. There had been Grimm hiding in the abandoned buildings near the most decayed parts of Mantle's outer wall. A lot of Grimm. The team had taken care of it, and no one had been injured, but Clover had pushed his semblance a lot more than usual. Not for his own sake, but for his teammates. A little burst of fortune for May's invisibility to last a second longer. A stroke of good luck for Ren and Nora's team attack to land. Straining his semblance to its limits to keep them hidden from Atlesian drones. He wasn't physically exhausted -- the mission had gone off without a hitch -- but his aura felt particularly drained. 

But the job was done. That's what mattered.

"Hey, you're back."

Clover glanced up at Qrow. Qrow, who was leaning out of the door to his bedroom. He had been so caught up in his thoughts, he must have been on autopilot. "Oh, yeah, hey." Clover ran a hand up through his hair and let out a sigh. "Big Grimm nest. Everyone was fine though, and it's good we got it cleared away."

"Yeah, that's good...." Qrow trailed off. He looked deep in thought for a moment, before asking, "You feeling alright? You look a little tired."

"I'm fine," Clover assured him. He was a little tired, but no more than after any other typical mission. "Feel pretty good actually, I'm glad we were able to clear that nest away today. Keep more of Mantle protected."

Protected just from the Grimm, or also from your military? The stray thought picked at the tangled web of thoughts in Clover's mind. He pushed it down, and away. Not useful, he reminded himself.

He focused instead on his partner's smile. Qrow spoke again, "They're pretty lucky to have a protector like you. You know that, right?"

Clover felt a flush rise to his cheeks. "I...yeah. Thank you, Qrow."

"Any time. And you're sure you're not too tired?"

"No more than normal after a mission. Why, what's up?"

Qrow smirked, slid one hand under the folded-down lapel of his vest, and pulled Clover into a long kiss. When he pulled back slightly, he whispered, "I missed you."

Oh! Clover hummed, then replied, "I've missed you too. And I'm definitely not tired right now." 

“Good,” Qrow murmured, before pulling him into the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clover snapped awake, eyes wide, breath constricted in his chest, skin clammy, and heart pounding. He felt frozen, like his body was made of ice that would shatter at the tiniest impact. Shadows played at the edges of his vision. Wait, where was he-

A muffled snort, followed by a quiet grumble and some shuffling, snapped him out of his panicked state. Right. He was at the Huntresses base in Mantle. Not out on the streets with hundreds of Grimm terrorizing the city. Not in Mantle, arguing with an immovable, uncompromising James Ironwood. And not out on the ice sheets of Solitas, clutching at wounds and helplessly watching Tyrian attack Qrow.

Clover glanced to his right to get some extra assurance on the last part. Qrow was on his side, half of his face smushed into a pillow, looking both adorable and somehow charming. Quietly, as to not wake his partner, Clover let out the breath that had seized in his chest.

It had been a long time since he had a nightmare like that. He squeezed his hands together to try and stop their trembling, and took another deep, quiet breath. 

Once Clover felt his heart rate slow to a normal pace, he shifted onto his side and looked at Qrow once more, thankful that he hadn't disturbed his partner's rest. His gaze slowly tracked over the huntsman's features, his admiration allowing him a quick moment of reprieve. But as always, his gaze was eventually drawn down to Qrow's right arm, where a small but still prominent scar sat near the crook of his elbow.

Clover felt an ache in his heart. Would that scar be there if he hadn't argued with Qrow on the Manta? It was a question that stirred in his mind more often that he'd like to admit. 

Tearing his eyes away from the scar, Clover rolled over and picked his scroll up off the nightstand. He needed to get his mind off the nightmare. Making sure the low-light mode was active, he turned it on and checked for any mission updates. There was a report from the squads that had been patrolling overnight, but a message from an encrypted sender that had gone to the entire group grabbed Clover's attention. He brought up the message and waited for his scroll to decrypt it.

Winter had been sending along short updates to the resistance group, in order to keep everyone apprised of how the situation in Atlas was evolving. The most useful information was always the schedules of scouting missions, but, as he usually did, Clover skimmed straight past that to the end of the message.

"General Ironwood's disposition has not changed significantly. He is still steadfast in his belief that securing the escape of the city of Atlas is the only path. I've stopped attempting to convince him otherwise, in order to maintain our secrecy."

Guilt twisted viciously in his stomach. Part of him desperately wished he had abandoned James' cause more quickly, possibly saving Qrow and himself from any further nightmares about Tyrian. But he also thought of James Ironwood, a man he had trusted with his life, alone and afraid, thinking he had to hold the entire world on his shoulders, with no one there to help him. 

Winter always did her best, of course, but she hadn't been in the military nearly as long as Clover had. Clover had been at James' side through thick and thin. But then the moment came where his commander and friend - or at least Clover liked to think they were also friends - needed him the most. And Clover betrayed him.

It was a decision he would make again in a heartbeat. Clover would always choose Qrow. But that thought did little to quell his guilt. 

He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder.

"Cloves?"

Clover turned his head to look at Qrow, who squinted at him with bleary eyes. Of course he would have woken up, having been accustomed to sleeping in the wilds and waking at the slightest disturbance. Another pinprick of guilt jabbed at Clover. "Hey, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"S'alright," Qrow murmured. He suppressed a yawn, then asked, "Are you ok?"

"I'm...yeah." Clover swallowed. "Just had a bit of trouble sleeping, figured I'd check in on a few things. I'm fine."

Qrow's eyes crinkled and his lips twisted into a wry smile. "You've been working too much lately, you know that?" Clover must have looked distressed at that, as Qrow's expression softened. "...you know you can talk to me, right?" 

Again, Clover felt torn. He...cared about Qrow. Deeply. And he felt like Qrow had the same feelings for him. Clover wanted to talk to him. But he couldn't burden Qrow with his tangle of emotions about his job, his past mistakes, his guilty feelings. Not now.

"I know," Clover responded, speaking past the weight in his chest. "I will if I need to. But I'm alright, Qrow, just couldn't sleep."

There was a beat, a moment where Clover wasn't sure if Qrow believed him, but his partner simply shifted closer to him, plucking the scroll from his hands and stretching over him to put it back on the table. "C'mere," Qrow mumbled, another yawn overtaking him. He settled down, head on Clover's shoulder and arm stretched across his chest. "This help?"

"Yeah." Clover slid an arm around Qrow's waist, and let out a slow breath. It felt comforting, and he was again able to push the last vestiges of guilt back into the recesses of his mind. 

It was fine. He was fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clover flung Kingfisher's hook out, sending it slicing through a pair of Sabyrs. As he pulled the line back, a crossbow bolt flew past him. He followed its trajectory and watched it strike a Beowolf that had been approaching him. With a wave of thanks to Robyn, stationed on a nearby roof, Clover took off further down the snowy street. 

Fiona and Jaune were finishing off the last of the pack; there were only a handful of Grimm left. Fiona was dispatching the last of the Sabyrs. But as Jaune held up his shield to block a fireball from a Manticore, he slid backwards and came to a stop on a patch of ice. 

Without even thinking, Clover's hand snapped up to his vest and flicked his pin. He felt the familiar brush of energy, the slight pull on his aura, and watched as Jaune got a solid grip on the ice with his boot. The young huntsman launched himself forward, slammed his shield into the Manticore, and followed up with a heavy slash of his sword, scattering the final Grimm to ash. 

Clover breathed out a little sigh of relief. He normally wouldn't use his semblance so much, but the constant battles against the invading Grimm were wearing everyone down. They didn't have room for random chance to mess things up. Mantle needed all of them fighting the Grimm to the best of their capabilities, and for Clover, that meant supporting his team with his semblance as much as possible. He pulled out his scroll and checked his aura. It was a little past half -- low for him, but not surprising given his semblance usage. 

"Good job everyone," Robyn called out. She leapt down from her sniper's perch on the roof and walked towards the rest of the group. "That should have been the last of them. We can head back now. Everyone alright?"

With three affirmative replies, the group began heading down the street in the direction of the Happy Huntresses base. Fiona and Jaune chatted while Robyn called back to the base to report their success. Clover stifled a yawn. He had been going all out for days, taking extra missions, and he realized it was started to wear on him. The idea of taking a break when the citizens of Mantle were desperate for help, help they'd never receive from Atlas, made Clover's guilt surge again. But...maybe-

A chorus of growls interrupted his thoughts. At the next crossroads, a swarm of Grimm flooded onto the street from the left street, the direction of the wall. It was a sizable pack of Sabyrs. The group split, the majority surging further down the road, but a pair broke off and headed down the smaller street to the right. 

"Damn!" Robyn swore as she took off into a run. The others followed closely behind her. "We're too far from the base, we won't be able to request backup in time. Both streets lead to residential areas."

"You three go after the main group," Clover said between heavy breaths. "I'll go after the pair!"

Robyn glanced back at him, concern evident in her eyes. "Ebi wait, you're-"

"No time!" They had reached the crossroads. If they didn't take down all the Grimm quickly, innocents were going to be harmed. Clover took a sharp right. "I'll catch up with you!"

He caught a glimpse of the Sabyrs as they took another sharp turn further down the road. Clover ran as fast as he could, boots pounding into the snow-covered streets. 

Fortunately he didn't have to run very far. As he reached the turn the Grimm had taken, he spotted the Sabyrs trying to scramble up the side of an abandoned warehouse. One had just managed to reach the roof while the other, noticing Clover's approach, gave up and darted through the broken doors of the warehouse.

"That wasn't smart," Clover muttered to himself. Most warehouses in Mantle had wide open ground floors with extensive rafters. No place to hide for the Sabyr, and a perfect environment for his weapon. 

Sure enough, as Clover pushed through the warehouse door with his weapon in hand, the Sabyr was frantically clawing at a huge pile of wooden debris in the corner of the space. It barely had time to turn around before Clover had Kingfisher's line wrapped around it's torso. With a solid yank, it exploded into ashes. 

Clover spared a quick glance at the pile of detritus -- had the Sabyr really been looking for a way to hide in it? -- before he surveyed the rest of the room. Thankfully the warehouse was only one story tall, and a portion of the ceiling near the rubble had caved in. That would be a good way to ambush the other Sabyr. 

As Clover jogged towards it, he felt a sudden twist of worry. What if he hadn't been fast enough? What if the Sabyr was already gone, and had snuck further into the residential area? Clover grimaced and shook his head. No time for that. 

With a flick of Kingfisher, Clover wrapped the line around some sturdy-looking rafters and leapt up, kicking off the wall for leverage. He grabbed the edge of the roof with his hand and hauled himself up onto it. The Sabyr was mere feet from him, and leapt backward with surprise. But Clover brought Kingfisher around, aimed the harpoon, and fired. It shot straight through the Grimm and clattered onto the far edge of the roof.

Clover felt the adrenaline drain out of his body, and he took a moment to catch his breath. It was quiet, other than the faint creaking coming from below; he must have knocked a few pieces of wood loose in his ascent. His muscles ached, and his mind felt clouded. He really should get back to the base and get some rest. 

However, more thoughts tugged at him as he walked over to retrieve the launched weapon. He needed to catch up to Robyn and the others, and see if they needed help with the rest of the swarm. He had a duty to protect the people of Mantle.

But couldn't that wait until he rested?

As he kneeled down and grasped the cold metal of the harpoon, he frowned. Clover was used to ignoring or pushing away unwanted thoughts. It was a discipline he was proud of.

Perhaps one of the only things he could be proud of learning from serving with Atlas. The Atlas that was abandoning Mantle. 

Clover swallowed, guilt forming a lump in his throat. He stood back up and slotted the harpoon back into Kingfisher. His nightmare from the other night came back to him. Could he have stopped James? Clover didn't know. The only thing he could do was fight to protect the innocent people he had nearly betrayed. As hard as he possibly could.

But his usual mettle felt thin and brittle. He was just so... tired.

Clover let out a frustrated huff, and turned around. 

And found himself face to face with searing red, pupil-less eyes framed by a bone white skull and a jittering, distended jaw.

He felt his stomach drop and the blood freeze in his veins. His instincts screamed at him to run, but his every movement felt sluggish. 

The Apathy in front of him moved with lightning speed, surprising for its frail frame. It lashed out, a thin, clawed hand with too-long fingers slashing across and up Clover's midsection. 

His aura gave out halfway through the attack. Pain erupted across his collarbone and left shoulder as the claw sliced into him, and the impact sent him tumbling backwards towards the edge of the roof.

He instinctively tried to activate his semblance to help him hold on, but nothing happened. Clover fell backwards through a shower of teal sparks, and felt his heel slip off the edge of the roof. He just caught sight of the Apathy crouching down, ready to lunge after him, and strangely heard the sound of flapping wings, before he fell past the edge of the roof.

Before Clover could even try to flip over and land safely, a solid object bumped into him and a strong arm wrapped around his chest, pushing him off his back. A familiar sound of grinding gears echoed in the tight alleyway they had fallen into. Harbinger's blade slammed into the wall in front of Clover, and the arm around him tightened. Their descent slowed. The impact onto the ground made Clover's knees ache, but it was a much softer landing than if he had landed on his back. 

Clover took in a heaving breath, belatedly realizing he was shaking like a leaf. "Q-Qrow, how did-"

His question was cut off by a horrifying scream. The noise was sharp like a knife, stabbing into Clover's soul and draining the energy straight out of him. He swayed in Qrow's grip, and then looked up. 

Qrow had Harbinger held above them in it's tonfa form. The Apathy had just crested the edge of the roof in it's leap and was barreling down towards them. It screamed again. Clover felt Qrow's arm tighten around him, before he heard a short growl and a flurry of moving gears. Harbinger's guns tilted up, pointed directly at the Apathy. Qrow fired. The blast obliterated the Grimm, sending a cascade of ashes down onto the huntsmen and the snow around them.

It was quiet, then, save for Clover's heaving breaths. Qrow lowered Harbinger and moved around Clover. His pale red eyes were wide and his brows were pinched with a worry Clover hated to see.

"Gods, Cloves, are you alright? Are you..." he trailed off as his eyes drifted down to Clover's shoulder, and the blood seeping through his uniform. "Your aura's gone."

"Yeah," Clover rasped, his throat suddenly dry. He felt terribly cold without his aura.

"Here, here, sit down for a second." Qrow directed Clover towards a crate in the alleyway, hands never leaving his side. "I'm gonna get your aura back up, at least a bit, and then we can go back." After Clover mutely nodded, he asked, "What happened?"

Clover took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. He felt Qrow's aura gently interacting with the scraps left of his own, letting a bit of energy flow between them. "There was a large Grimm swarm, but two of the Sabyr's took off down here. I followed to take them out. That was fine, but the Apathy got the drop on me. It must have been hiding in the warehouse." 

"Yeah, they do that." Qrow brought a hand up to cup Clover's jaw, his thumb gently grazing over his cheek. "Robyn put the call in just as I was getting back with my group. Said you went by yourself. I flew out here as fast as I could." He let out a shaky sigh. "Almost wasn't fast enough." 

"Thank you, Qrow." Clover reached up and covered Qrow's hand with his own. He tried to find more words, but sighed and simply repeated, "Thank you."

"S'alright, Cloves. I've got you."

He felt his aura flicker back to life moments later. It was still dangerously low, but at least he had some form of protection. The wound on his shoulder slowly began to heal.

"We should get back," Qrow said. "In case there are more. We can get another squad to check the area out."

Clover hesitated, but at Qrow's insistent look, he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, ok, let's get back." 

Qrow held onto Clover for the entire journey, uncharacteristically quiet, but constantly suffusing his aura through Clover’s own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clover stretched his left arm out, feeling the gentle pull in his shoulder. By the time they had arrived in Pietro's medical bay, the wound was nearly closed. He'd need to let it rest for a day, but it seemed to be healing quite nicely. He leaned back against the pillows on his bed, letting out a long sigh. 

The doorknob turning pulled Clover out of his endless thoughts. Qrow came into the room, quietly pushing the door closed behind him. "Hey," he said as he approached the bed. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Clover assured him. "Shoulder is a little sore, but I'm sure it'll be fine tomorrow." 

Qrow slid onto the bed, shifting some of the pillows so he could comfortably face Clover.

Clover turned on his side as well, and couldn't help a wry smile from spreading across his face. "This feels familiar."

"Hah!" Qrow laughed and nodded. "Yeah it is, isn't it? Though I think you're in a bit better shape than I was."

"True." Clover took a deep breath, which caused Qrow's expression to morph to a nervous anticipation. Oh, he must have been expecting this. Clover pressed on anyway. "Are you ok? I know that your last experience with Apathy was...difficult. I'm sure that must have brought up bad memories."

Qrow blinked owlishly. "I...y-yeah I'm alright. I-ah no, wait." He rubbed his forehead for a short moment, before reaching out and taking Clover's hand in his own. "Look I'm not very good at this sort of thing. Seeing an Apathy again was hard. But I'd face a thousand of them for you." Clover didn't even have time to process the magnitude of that promise before Qrow continued. "But also, Clover, I've been worried lately. And I know going after the Grimm was the right thing to do, I would've done the same. But..." His brow pinched with worry, "Cloves, why was your aura so low? Robyn didn't mention you had taken any hits."

Clover held Qrow's gaze until the shame boiling up in him made him glance away. "I...you're right, I didn't take any major hits in the previous fight." He let out a long sigh. "We should probably talk about the last few days, yeah?"

"Yeah." 

Clover couldn't help but wince at the concern in Qrow's voice, and the way his partner's hand tightened around his own. He had been worrying Qrow, and for what?

He was still looking down, so he didn't notice Qrow's hand approach until he felt the soft tap on his forehead, right between his eyes. "That right there," Qrow said, his voice hushed. "Been seeing that a lot the past few days. What's going on?"

Feeling an inexorable pull, Clover finally looked back to Qrow. He let his gaze linger on soft red eyes, so beautiful and soothing compared to the harsh red of the Grimm. But as much as he usually found comfort in Qrow's eyes, right now he felt too seen. Clover shuffled forward, bringing himself towards his partner. Qrow's arms immediately wrapped around Clover's torso, and he rested his head in the crook of Qrow's neck. He allowed himself, just for a moment, to sink into the warm feeling of Qrow's body against him. Then he spoke.

"I'm not used to talking about my problems. I've never found it...useful, I guess, to indulge in unhelpful thoughts by talking about them." He let out a short, mirthless laugh. "That's probably a mistake. And I usually have my command, my usual job, to help me cope...to take my mind off of things. But that's gone now. And the job here... is saturated with everything that's bothering me. I feel guilty, Qrow."

One of Qrow's hands slid up Clover's shoulder and threaded through the short hairs on the back of his neck. He slowly glided his fingers back and forth as he asked, "About what?"

Clover frowned, trying to figure out what to talk about first. There was just too much. "….everything? The embargo, the state of Mantle, everything about Tyrian." He squeezed Qrow a little tighter after that one. "I feel guilty that I didn’t pick you right away. I’m the only person here who didn’t side with Mantle right away. And..." he trailed off, a shameful slice of fear gripping his next words.

But Qrow whispered, "It's ok, Cloves," with such softness and compassion, that Clover felt his fear melt away.

"I feel awful that I left James up there. What he’s doing is wrong, but...he needs help. I trust him, he’s my friend, and I left him at his darkest point-" He pulled back quickly to look Qrow straight in the eye. "And I would have chosen you no matter what. I’ll always choose you."

"Hey, hey, I know," Qrow hushed, letting his hand slide around to Clover's jaw. He looked so compassionate, so understanding, it was almost incomprehensible to Clover. "It’s ok, Clover. You have no idea how it makes me feel to say that...you'd choose me. But you still had to leave your home. I..." He sighed, glancing away for a moment. "...I want to help James too. Really. I know I’ve been...maybe a bit cold about everything. But he’s still my friend. I know the two of us can get through to him."

Clover felt a sigh of relief flood out of him. He knew Qrow's relationship with James had become extremely strained, even more than his own. But it gave Clover hope that Qrow wanted to get through to him. He knew that Qrow meant a lot to James. "Thank you, Qrow."

"No problem. I mean, I care about the big idiot too." Qrow smiled as Clover chuckled, but there was a slight downturn in the corner of the huntsman's lip. "But...Clover. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but that’s a lot of guilt to be carrying around. You’ve been running yourself into the ground lately, trying to hold the world up by yourself. Is that why?"

Clover winced. "...yeah. I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you about this before. I think it's how I try to cope. But taking a few extra missions in Atlas when things are normal, or as normal as they can be, is a lot different than right now. And I need to make sure that no one else gets hurt. So I've been running my semblance more than usual. It's why my aura was low when the Apathy attacked me. It was stupid, and irresponsible, but...it's what I thought was best. What I thought I needed to do, to make up for even considering abandoning Mantle." He let out a long sigh. "I feel better now, though. After talking to you."

"That's good." Qrow absently brushed a few loose strands of hair from Clover's forehead back into place. "I can't really relate to how you feel about your semblance. But I relate to the guilt. I know it can be crippling. And some of my ways of dealing with that have been...unproductive, to say the least. But one of the most important things I've had to learn is recognizing what isn't actually my fault. Recognizing the things I can change. And you've been a big part of that. I don't know if I'll have all the answers for you right now, but...I want to help, Cloves. In any way I can, even if for now it's just giving you a space where you can let go of some of that weight. We're going to get through all of this together."

Clover swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. When was the last time someone had actively made space for him? Probably before he had stopped talking about his problems. He felt like a valve had opened inside his brain, letting out some of the immense pressure that had been building up. Maybe he could really start to work through this, with Qrow at his side. "Qrow...thank you."

Qrow hummed before pulling Clover back into an embrace. "Any time, lucky charm." He pressed a soft kiss to Clover's jawline, before whispering, "Anything else left to confess?"

He could sense the playfulness behind Qrow's words, and it made him chuckle, but the question shifted something in Clover's mind. A single thought solidified, so clear and obvious he wondered why he hadn't noticed it sooner. Despite all of his other worries, he knew this one was true. He knew it in his heart.

"I love you."

The hands that had curled into his hair and around the curve of his hip suddenly splayed, and he heard a sharp intake of breath. Clover waited, heart suddenly pounding in his ears, as Qrow slowly pulled back to look at him. His partner's expression was shocked for a handful of agonizingly long seconds. And then he grinned, earnest and bewildered and overjoyed all at once, eyes wide and watering slightly. 

"I love you too, Clover." 

Qrow kissed him, and Clover felt his heart soar. He tangled his fingers in feathery black strands of hair, letting Qrow lean further into his space. He was content to let the kiss go on forever, at least until Qrow leaned a little too far onto Clover's shoulder, and he let out an undignified grunt.

"Oh shit sorry, sorry Cloves," Qrow panicked. "Did I hurt anything? I forgot about-"

"Shhhh," Clover pressed a finger against Qrow's lips, trying and failing to contain his own laughing. "It's fine, Qrow, I'm fine. Here." He gently pushed Qrow onto his back and leaned over him. "Just in case, to ensure no further shoulder damage." Qrow winced, so Clover gave him a quick wink that had his partner smiling again quickly enough. He took a moment to gaze down at his partner. The man he loved. The man he was in love with. The burden in his mind felt a little lighter. They hadn't gone away -- Clover knew he had a lot to work through. But knowing he had Qrow at his side made him feel like he could work through it. 

Clover felt safe.

He leaned down for another kiss, splaying his hand over Qrow's chest, and took comfort in feeling the soft cadence of his heart.