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James tried to keep his calm as he entered his locked office with the intent to prepare for his meeting with Qrow only to find the man somehow already sitting at his desk, feet propped up on the expensive oak and eating a green apple that had probably been swiped from the kitchens. He pursed his lips in disapproval, shoulders hitching with tension, but said nothing as he walked into his office and locked the door again. Qrow smirked between bites, pale red glittering with mirth.
Bastard knew exactly how much James hated having to call on him for help.
Unlike the other kingdoms, Atlas did not use Sanctioned Pirates and didn’t approve of their permitted existence. The advanced kingdom preferred the use of it’s military forces and the navy was no exception. Unfortunately the smugglers that were currently a threat to the people of Remnant were operating heavily in Solitas and either they had someone who could predict the navy’s movements or there was a mole feeding them information because the Atlas ships had yet to come even close to catching them. Depressingly enough, he knew which one was more likely and it hurt him to know that someone inside his own military may be helping the vile people behind these crimes. It also meant that the number of people he could freely trust was severely limited.
Which was why James found himself calling on Qrow Branwen, one of Remnant’s best Sanctioned Pirates, for help in catching the bastards despite his own opinions of them. Right now what mattered most was stopping the pirates and for that Qrow was going to be their best choice. He was also the only Sanctioned Pirate who would agree to help, if only because he and James had once been a fling before James had joined the military and Qrow had become Sanctioned. They had drifted apart and though James couldn’t speak for Qrow he knew he missed the other man. He’d only managed one serious relationship since their break-up and that had gone down in flames years ago. He was grateful that Qrow at least had enough affection left for him to answer his call for help, regardless of his vocal, sometimes scathing, opinions of Sanctioned Pirates.
However, just because he was willing to ask the rogue for aid in protecting Atlas waters, didn’t mean he was going to give the wild raven free reign. He remembered Qrow too well to be that foolish.
The fight he was tensed for, that he was expecting, would come from Qrow not wanting James’s soldiers on his ship. And James understood why, especially if there was a mole, but he needed someone to keep Qrow in line while he was out there. And really there was only one man he trusted that he also believed would be able to get along with Qrow peacefully. Or as peacefully as anyone from Atlas could get along with the man. Hopefully the reverse would also be true.
James stood by his desk, staring down at Qrow expectantly. The pirate rolled his eyes before he made a show of getting up, going to the far side of the desk while James took his place just so he could sit on the edge of it instead of making use of one of the two very comfortable chairs James had for just such occasions. The teasing smile tossed at him brought back so many memories and James had to pause for breath as he fought against the tide. He had thought he was over Qrow. But of course he’d realize now that he wasn’t.
He should have realized it back when his relationship with Arthur had failed. It had been a pretty clear indicator that he missed the roguish male as more than just a trusted friend and dependable ally. Of course he’d missed the signs. Just like he’d missed the signs he was in love with Qrow until after he’d lost him. Just like he’d missed the signs that things with Arthur were going sour until it was too late to repair the damage and salvage even friendship with tha man.
He was always too late when it came to matters of the heart.
And it was the man currently perched on his desk who had called him out on that flaw most often. Too bad he hadn’t listened when it had mattered.
“So, what leash are you sticking me on?” Qrow leaned back on the desk, one foot propped up as he tossed the core over his shoulder, smirking when he heard it land in the can.
James tore his eyes away from the sight, logging in so he could pull up Clover’s image for Qrow. “This is Clover, he is the only one that will be coming with you and he will be the one to deal with any of our ships should you come across them.”
“Hmm…. Pretty boy. Just the one Jimmy? Thought you’d sic a whole team on me.” Qrow tipped his head, remembering the control issues that had often come up while they were sort of a thing. He’d figured out (later, after they’d split up) that James’s need for control was not strictly for control itself, but from the need to protect and take care of those he cared for. In an overbearing and nearly domineering way. He’d been far too free spirited to allow someone to take care of him back then, though, and James had not known how to back off at the time. They’d changed a bit over the years, as people did, and it had crossed his mind to wonder if they’d stand another chance. Provided the Atlesian was even still interested in him. He wasn’t sure he was brave enough to ask though. He’d go up against a whole fleet with a single ship if he had to but bearing his heart only to be shot down? Not something he thought he could do again.
He got a wry smile out of James, beautiful deep blue looking over at him. “No. It would be too much chaos for one thing and secondly…” The grimace on the handsome face looked out of place and Qrow immediately wanted it gone. “I very firmly believe I have a mole feeding these bastards information. I don’t know who it is but I do have a few I know aren’t the mole. Clover is one of them.”
“Shit. A mole? Really?” That… was not what Qrow had expected honestly. He’d thought that the smugglers were using Atlas’s own tech against them to evade, not that someone was helping them from the inside. Qrow could only imagine how much it hurt James to know that his own people were working against him. The man had only ever wanted to take care of his people and his kingdom. He sat up straight, concern in his eyes, as he came to the one question James had refused to answer unless it was in person. “Jimmy, why wouldn’t you tell me what is being taken by these guys over the scroll?”
“Faunus.” James sat back, face solemn as he waited for the information to sink in.
The body on his desk froze, eyes locked on him. There was a fine tremor that started, growing more pronounced as the eyes dilated in anger, every muscle clenching in preparation to fight an enemy that wasn’t even there. The lips he’d once claimed peeled back, revealing grit teeth and he closed his eyes, readying himself for what was coming. It was rare for Qrow to reach this level of rage and hate but he had seen it once back when they were younger. A shrill whistle sounded through the room, followed by a series of trills and croaks and calls that no human vocal cords could ever mimic.
He’d known of Qrow’s faunus trait long before they’d started their fling and he’d always been more drawn to it than repelled but he really wished he’d get to hear it for more than just when the pirate was too angry for human words to convey his rage. Maybe if he’d asked back then, he could have gotten the bird to sing for him, but now he wondered if he had the right to ask for such a thing anymore. The silence rang in his ears when Qrow was finally finished and he blinked his eyes open to see the other had gotten up to pace in front of his desk.
“They’re taking faunus.”
“Yes. From Vacuo and bringing them here from what we can tell. I believe I know what is happening to them once they reach Atlas but I need the slavers apprehended to prove it.”
Qrow turned mid-step, leveling a burning glare of James. “Someone in Atlas is buying them?”
James sighed heavily, nodding. “The Schnee Dust Company runs mostly on faunus labor working the mines but Jacques is hardly an honorable man. The faunus working for him have been trying to get better pay and safer working conditions for a while now. I believe he’s been buying the faunus so that he can eliminate the more problematic employees without his workforce suffering and affecting his profits.”
“Hmm. You don’t need to pay slaves either.” Qrow mused, dropping heavily into one of the chairs and throwing his legs over one arm. James could already see the wheels turning as Qrow plotted, thinking through what would be the best moves to take to win the battles ahead.
“Precisely.”
“So you need me to nab the assholes so you can nail him to the wall.” Well, that was one way of putting it, though perhaps not the way James would have worded it.
“If you wouldn’t mind.” The smile James received was far too sharp with teeth to be called a proper smile.
“My pleasure.”
~*~
Clover watched as Qrow paced the length of his cabin, face thoughtful while he tossed an apple between his hands. He didn’t know exactly what the other was thinking but he was willing to bet it was related to the slavers in some way. Probably trying to figure out which route would be best to catch them. He didn’t know much about Sanctioned Pirates honestly, mostly because Atlas’s stance against them meant that they were really taught what the difference was between Sanctioned and Unsanctioned Pirates were. He wanted to ask, to learn more about the topic that was practically forbidden in Atlas, but he also didn’t want to disturb the man while he was clearly thinking.
The pirate stopped next to the table, pulling the maps closer and marking down on them. Clover watched, more than a little interested at the method. Atlas ran almost entirely on electronics so meeting someone who preferred having physical copies of paper was something of a new experience for him. However, learning that there was a mole within their ranks also meant that someone used to paper was going to have a better chance at catching their targets. Teal eyes watched curiously as Qrow went to the door and opened it, leaning out to let out a series of whistles and chirps before he closed it again. It took him a few seconds to realize.
Qrow was a faunus.
A bird one, with the vocal cords as his trait apparently and now Clover had a whole new set of questions he wanted to ask but couldn’t.
Qrow plopped down in the chair on the other side of the table, throwing one leg over an arm while he leaned against the other side. “We’ve got a few paths to check but I think I’ve been able to narrow down which route these bastards are using. The hard part will be taking them without too much of a fight. I don’t want to risk harming any captives if we cross them with a ‘shipment’ in transport…” White teeth chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip as he tried to figure out how to take the ship peacefully when they found them. There were a few possibilities but he’d need more time to plan it out and part of it would depend on where the ship was when they took it.
It took him some time but eventually he noticed the other watching him intently and he would have bristled, his mind jumping to the conclusion that the Atlesian was judging him for being faunus, but he knew Jimmy would have never put a racist on his ship. Not when he knew Qrow wouldn’t hesitate to throw the bastard overboard. Which meant that there was something else that had caught the other man’s attention. He waited for a few beats, waited to see if the soldier would speak up before he dropped his chin in his hand and sighed. “Whatever is on your mind, spit it out. I don’t have time for mind games right now.”
Clover blushed at being caught and called out, though he supposed he hadn’t exactly been subtle. He was just grateful that he hadn’t been accused of racism. “Not mind games, just… Curiosity. I don’t know much about Sanctioned Pirates because Atlas… Well…”
“Yea. You don’t have to finish that sentence.” Qrow rolled his eyes, at least willing to grant Atlas (or at least James) the credit that he was willing to ask a Sanctioned Pirate for help no matter his personal opinion. Because honestly if James had allowed this to continue just because he refused to ask for help, Qrow would have climbed all the way up to the floating city just to break his nose with one solid hit. “Sanctioned Pirates work for the kingdoms. We target the Unsanctioned ones because we get to keep a share of whatever the value of what we return is on top of getting the bounty for the pirate we catch.”
“So kind of like bounty hunters?” He knew those operated in some kingdoms, mostly in Mistral where bandits were most common.
“In a way. But with a whole ship. And since we’re Pirates as well, we don’t have as many restrictions and rules as the military has. Best of both worlds.”
Clover nodded, able to see the benefit from that arrangement but he was also sure that Qrow wasn’t doing it so much for the profit as for the ability to help people without being controlled. He had only known the man for a few days while they got ready to sail but it was easy to see that he was a strong free-spirited individual. It drew Clover in and he took a steadying breath as he steered the conversation to what possibly ways they could take the slavers with as little fighting as possible. James had spoken highly of Qrow, likely more highly than he realized, and Clover wasn’t blind. He could see that his General was smitten with the pirate and he could see why. It was just a question of whether Qrow was interested in the caring and compassionate General that Clover served, though he couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t be. Clover certainly was, though he’d never said anything. And now that he knew James’s heart was with another, he was grateful he had kept his silence. Rejection would have been awkward when he still worked for the man after all.
~*~
James let out a sigh of relief when he received a message that Qrow’s ship was docked, the slavers in tow, and that the two unharmed men were on their way to meet him. He had been worried that Qrow would pull some stunt that would get him hurt in order to stop the slavers, or that Clover would do something to protect the faunus being held and get injured in the process. Hearing that they were both well was a blessing he hadn’t known he needed so badly. That relief only built higher when they both entered his office, Clover looking professional and Qrow looking murderously pleased. He motioned for them to take a seat, not at all surprised that Qrow sat on his desk (again) and dropped some things in front of him.
“So, your mole wasn’t a mole on purpose.”
James arched a brow, sorting through the loose papers and setting the electronic devices to the side for later inspection where they wouldn’t risk contaminating the files around them. “You’re absolutely sure of this?”
“Well, unless Winter suddenly hates you and has decided to join her father’s quest for an empire to rule, yea.” Qrow leaned back on his hands, throwing both legs up on the desk so he was stretched across the front length of it. “Turns out you got a really bitchy ex who’s good with computers that’s working for her dad and he’d been hacking her communications.” Qrow shook his head as James paused to process the information. “You really know how to pick ‘em don’t you.”
“I would hardly dare to put the two of you in the same category, particularly since I never got over you but I was never in love with him.” James sighed absently, reading through the evidence he needed and completely missing the way Qrow froze and Clover hunched his shoulder.
Qrow cleared his throat, trying to regain his balance. “Shouldn’t break your soldier’s heart like that Jimmy. It’s not nice.”
“Hm? Ah!” James’s eyes flicked up before going back to the papers. “Yes. I had noticed but considering how badly things went with you and Arthur I was not willing to risk ruining the friendship we had. I was hoping that the two of you might make each other happy though…” He trailed off, offering a small smile to the two of them. He had, in fact, noticed Clover’s interest previously but given how awful he was with romantic endeavors, he felt it was better to not get involved.
Qrow sat up straight on the desk, glaring down at him. “Wait. Are you telling me you tried to set us up cause your in love with both of us but think you’re going to fuck things up?”
James sighed as a pale hand slammed down to pin the papers he’d been leafing through, turning his full attention to the man on his deck. “Essentially? Yes.”
“That’s…” Clover huffed, both of the older men turning to look at him as he scowled. “Look, why don’t we try this. You weren’t wrong, not on my part. I do love you, and I do like Qrow and if you’d let me I’d date you both. And maybe with both of us, you won’t have to worry about things going wrong as much?”
James looked from the hopeful brunette to the expectant raven, considering the offer. If Qrow was okay with it, he had no reason to object. After all, it was Qrow who had been the one to call him out back when they were younger and he doubted Qrow would stay quiet now. Clover would likely do the same, though perhaps a bit more quietly or tactfully. It… it would be worth trying, wouldn’t it?
James sat back, giving them both a real smile. “We can try.” They both smiled back at him and he held up a hand. “After this is dealt with.”
Qrow’s smile turned a little nasty. “Oh of course.”
James was reminded of why crossing Qrow was a bad thing to do but perhaps making an example of these men would prevent it from happening again in the future. If that’s what it took then he had no qualms about releasing the man on the criminals. And then they could move one and try building a relationship just like he promised.