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Ruby can tell her uncle is putting on a front.
He’s all dazzling smiles that don’t reach his eyes, exaggerated gestures to hide the way he shakes, and forced laughs with no real heart behind them. Ruby sees right through the performance; it's the same one he put on after Summer disappeared and dad shut down. Based on the looks being sent her way, Yang has noticed too. Ruby can’t tell if the others have realized anything is off. No one has said anything to her, at the very least.
Much like the first time Qrow tried to play the part of a stable, functional adult all those years ago, the act will crumble eventually. Ruby doesn’t remember the progression of the first breakdown very clearly; just that one morning the three of them were laughing and playing like their little world hadn’t ended with Summer’s, then three short days later Ruby and Yang returned from school to find their uncle, drunker than either of them had seen before, crying his heart out curled up next to mom’s wilting rose bushes. Neither of them ever admitted to bearing witness to his… moment. Ruby, even at such a young age, knew Qrow would never forgive himself for worrying them like that.
He was never quite the same after that night. It was a bit like a ghost had taken the place of her beloved uncle; simply going through the motions, mimicking what he had done in life. He still did his best to take care of them, making sure they ate, got to school safely, and got to bed at a reasonable time. He still loved them with everything he had, there just wasn’t much of him left to give.
So, when Ruby sees the first crack in Qrow’s facade, she braces for the worst. He’s been sober for nearly a month. She wonders if he’ll reach the full thirty days before crumbling. Regardless of what happens, she’s proud of him for making it this far, even if it doesn’t last.
Team RWBY, Jaune, Oscar, General Ironwood, Winter, Vine, and Captain Ebi are settling in for their routine end-of-week debrief. They’re still waiting on Ren, Nora, Qrow and the rest of the Ace Ops before getting things started.
Ruby is going over her notes when Yang jabs an elbow into her ribs. Before she can retaliate, the younger huntress catches her sister’s expression. Her brow is furrowed, lips pressed into a worried line. Ruby follows her gaze until her own lands on her uncle through the glass wall of the meeting room.
Qrow looks terrible.
He has a mug clutched in one visibly shaking hand, she prays it’s only coffee. What little color his skin has gained during their time in Atlas has drained away, leaving him sickly pale aside from the dark circles under his eyes. Even from this distance she can see the emptiness in his stare.
Qrow pushes the door open with his shoulder and drops into his seat closer to the General, not even a glance towards the other end of the table where the kids are. After a few slow, deep breaths, Qrow lifts the steaming mug to take a sip.
Except the porcelain cracks clean down the middle. The loose half hits the floor and shatters entirely while the contents spill down Qrow’s front and into his lap. He clenches his jaw and screws his eyes shut, not making a sound. Despite his silence, everyone in the room still looks towards the initial clattering. Qrow gently places the intact half of the mug on the table and stands.
“Qrow—” Ironwood starts, but he is quickly cut off by a glare that might have had the potential to kill if it wasn’t filled with such a deep sadness.
Ruby’s chest constricts as she watches her uncle turn to leave. He grabs the door handle and—
Krshh!
The glass panel shatters, leaving him with the detached handle clutched in a white-knuckle grip.
The lights overhead flicker.
“Godsdamnit—” Qrow growls, chucking the handle down into the remains of the door. He doesn’t bother avoiding the glass as he storms out.
For a long, tense moment, no one moves. Then, without a word, the General hurries out after him. Ruby looks to the others still in the room. Clover’s mouth is agape, gaze flicking between the remains of the door and the broken coffee mug. Oscar looks much more devastated than Ruby would have expected, she wonders if it’s a bit of Oz showing through. Even Winter is looking at the spot Qrow was just standing with something resembling sympathy.
“Um,” Clover breaks the silence, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant. “I’m going to…”
“Yes,” Winter chimes in as Clover’s sentence tapers out. “That may be a good idea.”
Clover makes brief eye contact with Ruby, then over the young huntress’ shoulder to Yang, before making his own exit. Despite not looking at the floor as he goes, the Ace Op doesn’t step on a single bit of glass.
Yang stands, fists clenched tight.
“Let’s go, Ruby.” The blonde says, not checking to see if her sister is following before she starts moving. Blake reaches out to stop her, but the attempt is ignored entirely. Ruby gets up to follow, avoiding looking at her friends as she goes. Ruby hates how, despite everything she has been through since the Fall, something can still make her feel so small and helpless.
Yang marches along, tensed up like she’s ready for a fight. Ruby follows a pace behind, fighting the urge to stare at the ground.
The pair emerge from the meeting room just in time to see Clover disappear through a door towards the end of the hall. Yang’s determination fizzles out as the pair march down the corridor and approach the closed door. The keypad by the handle is blinking red, indicating the door has been locked.
Yang taps her scroll on the scanner, it buzzes.
Access Denied
Clearance Requirement Not Met
A10
There are three people with that clearance level in Atlas; two of them are in that room currently, and Ruby doubts Winter would be all too willing to help them from the outside.
Yang huffs and presses her ear to the door. After a moment she gestures for Ruby to do the same.
The metal is cold against her ear but it warms quickly. It takes a lot of concentration, but she can just barely make out most of what’s being said.
“—can easily be replaced.” Ironwood says.
“I don’t give a shit about the door, Jimmy.” Qrow’s voice is tight, like he’s doing his best to hold back tears.
“Is it—” The waver in Ironwood’s voice betrays him. “Are— Are you drinking again?”
“No,” Qrow snaps. “I’m not.”
“Qrow, please talk to us.” Clover pleads. “Whatever it is, we can help. You don’t have to figure it out on your own.”
“I just got myself worked up over something stupid and I couldn’t sleep, that’s all. I’m not going to relapse or whatever, okay?” Ruby can imagine the way Qrow is probably curling in on himself, arms folded and shoulders shrugged.
“This has been going on for longer than just this morning, Qrow.”
Oh, so Clover noticed something was going on too.
“Okay, fine, I’ve been a little fucked up recently.” Qrow admits, voice raising. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, so will you please leave me alone now?”
“You know I can’t do that.” Ironwood says. He sounds genuinely apologetic.
Qrow barks out a laugh, or he tries to. It ends up sounding much more like a sob, but maybe that’s just the material of the door distorting it.
“It’s the kids.” Her uncle admits.
Ruby locks eyes with Yang, a silent moment of confusion passes between them.
“The kids?” Ironwood says.
“I told you, it’s stupid.”
“Nothing that’s affecting you this much can be ‘stupid’, Qrow.” Clover reassures. “Whatever it is, however minor, we’re here to listen.”
The silence stretches long enough that Ruby is sure he isn’t going to give in. Just when she’s ready to throw in the towel Qrow clears his throat and starts talking.
“I started thinking about why I got sober, y’know? The final straw that really pushed me to make it stick this time. Was it Brunswick? Argus? I’ve done plenty of dumb shit over the years. I’ve upset the girls with my drinking more times than I could ever count. What makes it different now?”
None of them— Ruby, Yang, or their dad— have ever been subtle about their disapproval of Qrow’s habits. He’s been an alcoholic for most of Ruby’s life. She wasn’t old enough to fully form any memories of the time before he progressed to his state of near permanent inebriation. She does, however, have plenty of memories of burning disappointments born from his drinking.
Her twelfth birthday, for example, when he stumbled upstairs just as dad was sticking the candles in the cake. They waited for him to return at Ruby’s insistence. After a few minutes dad went up to check on him. He returned sans Qrow a minute later and lit the candles, despite her continued protest, without any explanation.
“I thought if I got sober, my girls might look at me like when they were little again.” My girls. Not the girls; my girls. “They weren’t tolerant of my existence, they were happy when I came around. I was more than a problem to solve or a liability to account for. No one had looked at me like that for a long time, except maybe their mother.”
Despite his flaws and countless screw ups, Ruby was always legitimately excited when Qrow came home after weeks or months away on missions. She got used to the smell of whiskey and the hard lump of the flask in his shirt pocket when they hugged. She grew to expect nothing from him so anything more was a pleasant surprise.
“I always knew they would outgrow me one day, I just didn’t expect it would be so soon. I thought I would have more time to be ‘Uncle Qrow’ instead of just ‘Qrow’.”
Ruby roots through her memory of the last couple months, digging for the last time she called him ‘uncle’ aloud. She comes up empty handed.
“My relationship with my sister has been hostile at best for over a decade. Tai, their dad, hasn’t been genuinely happy to see me for almost as long. Frankly, I’m shocked he let me keep the house key after he pulled out of his slump. Those two kids are the only family I have left, I can’t lose them. But— But they don’t need me anymore. They’re licensed huntresses working with the best Atlas has to offer and friends who would do anything for them. What’s the use of keeping the drunk around?”
Even if she doesn’t need him to make dinner and scare away the monsters under her bed anymore, that doesn’t mean she’ll leave him. Ruby knows what it’s like to be abandoned. She knows her uncle is no stranger to the feeling either. Does he really think she would do that to him? That Yang would?
“I’ve already missed so much of their lives. I wasn’t there for their first steps, their first words, their first days of school. I can barely remember a lot of the stuff I was around for. I don’t want to miss any more, but I’m terrified I’m too late.”
He’s crying for real now. She can hear the hiccups and the way words catch in his throat.
“That’s… not nothing, Qrow.” Clover says. “It’s a lot, actually.”
“Sorry.” Qrow chokes out. “I’m sorry.”
“No! Do not apologize.”
Yang straightens up, moving back from the door. There are tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She looks haunted. Ruby is certain she doesn’t look much better herself. The blonde jerks her head back in the direction of the meeting room.
Once again, Ruby doesn’t think twice about following her.
—
The rest of the group arrived in their absence, they’re all sitting in confused silence. General Ironwood returns shortly after Ruby and Yang with an AK at his heels that begins sweeping up the pile of glass.
“Apologies for the delay, everyone.” He clears his throat. “I’ll do my best to keep this short.”
Ruby does not listen to the meeting. Her list of notes goes unread. She catches Weiss’ suggestion about shifting wall patrol assignments and Harriet’s complaints about said changes when the General agrees to try Weiss’ ideas.
Jaune raises his hand slowly, like he isn’t sure he wants to follow through.
“You still don’t need to raise your hand to speak, Mr. Arc.” Ironwood smiles. “But please, go on.”
“Um, is Qrow okay?” Jaune rubs the back of his neck. “He just didn’t come back to the room and neither did Clover.”
Ironwood visibly hesitates.
“They’re both quite alright. Captain Ebi accompanied Huntsman Branwen to medical to make sure he wasn’t injured during the… incident earlier.”
Lie.
Ironwood doesn’t call Qrow ‘Huntsman Branwen’ ever, at least not in a setting like this.
Jaune doesn’t seem particularly satisfied by the answer either, but he doesn’t press any further.
“Anyone else? No?” The General shifts a few documents, stuffing them back into a folder. “I suppose that will be all for this morning. Things are quiet right now and daily routes are covered by military patrol at the moment, so you can all take the day for yourselves. If you need anything I will be in my office, come find me any time. You’re all dismissed.”
—
Ruby stops by Qrow’s room on the way back to the dorms. Yang didn’t want to join her, saying she needs a bit more time to think.
It’s empty anyway.
She calls him twice with no answer.
She dials Clover instead.
“Miss Rose?” He answers on the second ring.
“Hi, Clover. Have you seen Qr— my uncle?”
“I’m with him right now, actually. Is everything alright?”
“Yeah!” She tries to sound normal but misses the mark. “He didn’t come back to the meeting earlier and he isn’t in his room or answering his scroll. Just making sure he’s okay.”
“He’s doing alright, just needed a breather. We’re in my quarters since they were the closest. Apologies for worrying you.”
“It’s alright! Can I stop in to see him?”
“One moment, Miss Rose.” There’s a rustling as he covers the speaker and a few muffled words are exchanged.
“Come by any time. I have a meeting in an hour but I can add you to the whitelist on the door.”
“Thank you! I’ll be over in a minute!”
—
Ruby holds her scroll up to the keypad and feels a little queasy as the door opens. The main living space is empty and the lights are off, but she can see a light under the bedroom door. She assumes it’s the bedroom, the layout seems to be the same as Qrow’s at first glance.
“Hello?” She calls. It only takes a moment for the bedroom door to open and Clover steps out to greet her.
“Hello, Ruby.” Clover presses a button on his scroll and the lights in the main room turn on. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”
“Thanks, Clover.”
The captain nods and takes a seat on the couch. Ruby closes the door softly behind her as she enters the bedroom. If she had to guess what Clover’s bedroom would look like, this is pretty much exactly it. Nearly spotless with a few homey touches and nicknacks spread around.
She may have expected more green, though.
She looks to the bed where Qrow is laying on top of the covers. His eyes are open but he’s staring blankly at the ceiling. He isn’t crying anymore but the remnants of it are still on his cheeks.
“Hi, Uncle Qrow.”
He flinches like she struck him.
She takes a seat on the end of the bed, her feet don’t reach the floor.
“Just wanted to make sure you’re okay. You didn’t come back.”
“Sorry, kiddo.” He swallows, his voice is rougher than usual. She presumes it’s from crying earlier. “I’m not having a great morning.”
She frowns.
Ruby makes a decision. She tugs off her boots, dropping them next to the bed, and crawls her way up next to him, situating herself so her head is resting on his shoulder and her arm is slung across his chest. He’s quick to accommodate.
“Do you wanna hang out later? The General gave us the day off. We could watch a movie and eat way too much sugar.”
The rumble of his laughter against her is soothing in a way she had almost forgotten. It’s like being ten in a pillowfort on a drizzly summer night. She’s listening to the rain against the roof and feeling the vibrations of his voice as he speaks softly. It’s one of the books he’s read so many times he has the story memorized. Yang is asleep nearby, snoring softly. Ruby is warm, safe, and content. She was always begging him to read to her or tell one of his many tales, no matter how clearly fabricated they were. Gods, when did she start rolling her eyes at his absurdities instead of listening with rapt attention?
“Where’s this coming from kid? Not that I’ll say no to spending time with you.”
“We haven’t gotten to hang out one-on-one much recently, I miss you.”
“Miss me?” He wraps her up in his arms, pulling her closer. “You see me every day, I figured you’d be sick of me by now.”
“I could never get sick of you.” She murmurs. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She hears him swallow again, feels the way he trembles like he’s doing his best not to start crying anew.
“I love you.” Ruby says, putting everything else she can’t say into those three little words.
“Love you too, pipsqueak.”