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There’s a boxed pastry with a folded note in the staff breakroom. The front of the paper is marked “QROW” in big scratchy letters. It takes an absurd amount of self control for Yang to not open it herself.
RWBYJNOR have settled in around a pair of tables they pushed together, eating breakfast and watching Nora armwrestle unsuspecting staff for the prize of nice coffee from the vending machine. The group cheers as she once again defeats her opponent, but Yang’s attention has wandered back to the box on the counter.
Who could it be from? General Ironwood? He and Qrow are old friends, and she can imagine the General doing something like that. Maybe Clover? The Ace Operative and her uncle have been growing very close since their arrival to Atlas. The better question, she supposes, is what the hell is it for? He isn’t hitting any sobriety milestones today. He hasn’t been on a particularly challenging mission in recent days.
Yang has finished her meal by the time Qrow ambles into the break room. His hair is damp and he’s squinting against the harsh lighting. Her uncle makes his way to the coffee maker and pours a full mug with no room for cream or sugar (or whiskey). She sees the exact moment he notices the writing, watches him do a triple take before approaching the baked good like it might bite back.
Qrow places the mug on the counter and picks up the note. He turns if over a few times like a secret will appear before finally unfolding it. Yang can’t make out the contents from her seat, but she can tell it's nearly half a page of handwriting. Qrow leans his hip against the counter and reads in silence, a smile slipping onto his face as he goes. He folds the note back up, sticks it in his pocket, and grabs the delicious offering along with his coffee. He doesn’t join them at the table, likely not awake enough for the level of energy they have this early in the morning.
Her eyes follow him as he leaves the breakroom.
—
She and Ruby are heading to the training rooms to meet up with their friends when it hits her. Yang yanks her scroll from her pocket and checks the date.
Fuck, it’s his birthday.
She stops in the middle of the hallway, Ruby collides into her back.
“Hey! What gives?” Her sister pouts.
“We are terrible nieces.”
“Huh?” She tilts her head in confusion.
“It’s Qrow’s birthday! We completely forgot!”
Ruby checks the date on her own scroll and gasps.
“Oh no! We’ve been so busy I didn’t even realize what month it was!”
“What can we do?” Yang asks.
Qrow had managed to pull together something for them on their birthdays during the journey to Solitas; just a small but thoughtful gift, a fancy treat and a soft ‘happy birthday’ during a quiet moment. It wasn’t much, but it was a bright spot in the arduous trek and the memory still brings a smile to her face. Yang fiddles with one of the little golden dragonscale hoop earrings, she hasn’t taken them out since he gave them to her. She knows Ruby always wears her rose petal necklace under her gear.
They hadn’t celebrated his birthday last year either, there was so much going on even he didn’t notice when the date came and went. Truthfully, they had never really celebrated for him. He wasn’t usually around for it, probably by design if she was honest. When he did make an appearance on the day, Yang and Ruby would make him a card and try to bake a cake without burning the kitchen down. Dad made the same joke every time, saying his gift to Qrow was not charging him rent for another year.
This time should be different, Yang decides. Her relationship with him has been rocky as of late, but he’s still trying. He got sober for them and has been sticking to it since the group arrived in Atlas.
Yang opens her scroll and sends a message to one of the pinned group chats.
RWBYJNORP
Y XIAOLONG: hey guys don’t wait on us to get started. we need to take care of something quick
J ARC: alright! everything ok?
P POLENDINA: Do you require any assistance?
Y XIAOLONG: we just realized today is qrow’s bday
N VALKYRIE: TEAM DAD BIRTHDAY!!!
B BELLADONNA: Let us know if you need any help! :)
“Okay, we have three hours until patrol assignments. We can figure something out by then, right?” Yang says.
“Yeah!” Ruby cheers. “Operation Uncle Qrow’s Birthday Surprise is a go!”
—
Shopping for Qrow is much harder than she expects it to be.
Money isn’t a problem, they both receive a generous paycheck from the missions they go on and it’s not like they’re paying for housing or anything. He simply isn’t very vocal about his interests or hobbies. Ruby goes as far as zooming in on pictures of him to see if his ears are pierced. He doesn’t wear any earrings currently, but there’s a non-zero chance he used to. Qrow wears a lot of other jewelry so it would only make sense. He plays games with them all the time but she’s never seen him do it independently. Is he a book guy? He used to read to them all the time when they were little, but she can’t think of a time he picked up a book for his own entertainment. As terrible as it sounds, the only things either of them can recall him doing in his free time is sleeping or drinking more than average.
Oddly enough, they find the answer to their dilemma in a toystore. Ruby suggests they go in mostly as a joke, but hey, what do they have to lose?
There are piles of stuffed animals, a wall of puzzles, prank gifts and basic party magic tricks. Still nothing that catches either of their attention. Yang is ready to move on to the next shop when Ruby calls out.
“Ooh! Ooh!” She points at a lone display by the checkout. “That’s perfect!”
She zips over, picks up a few items, and returns to Yang’s side. Her sister holds out the spoils of her discovery.
There are three little boxes in her hands; a set of three black rings, a silvery rectangle engraved to look like a playing card, and a set of four dark red stress balls with various textures. Yang takes them from her to read the packaging.
Magnetic fidgeting rings! Discreet and Portable. Perfect for Work or Travel!
QuietTime Magnet Slider. Smooth, Satisfying, Simple.
BusyHands Stress Balls. Sensory Relief for Anxiety and Focus.
Since he gave up drinking Qrow has taken apart and destroyed countless pens, picked his nails bloody again and again, and pulled more than one button off of his vest from messing with it. Anything to keep his hands and mind occupied from what’s missing, to stop him from reaching into his now empty shirt pocket.
“You’re right, they are kind of perfect.” Yang grins.
Ruby bounces in celebration.
—
By the end of their search they have the three items from the toy store, a bag of tea candies; he got one with the check at a restaurant and enjoyed it enough to pocket a couple extras from the takeout counter (Yang was very proud of herself for recognizing them), and a card that reads ‘A little birdy told me it was your birthday, and I was like “Holy shit, it’s a talking bird!”’ with an illustration of a scraggly little finch.
They come up with a simple note to write inside the card and sign it, it’s nothing too sappy but he’ll probably tear up anyway.
Finally, the haul goes in a small gift bag covered in glittery balloons, marking Operation Uncle Qrow’s Birthday Surprise a success.
—
They are only slightly late to patrol assignments. Like, barely even five minutes. They sneak in as quietly as possible while Ironwood speaks and feign innocence when Clover raises an eyebrow at them from his place next to the General. They didn’t even miss their turn!
So the pair stand at the back of the room, the gift bag hidden behind them, accept their assignments, and wait oh so patiently for the meeting to end.
When General Ironwood dismisses the group, everyone but Ironwood, Clover, Winter, and Qrow file out. Their friends send them knowing looks on their way but make no comments. Finally, now that the room is mostly empty, the pair of sisters can’t help but grin as they sneak up behind Qrow’s chair. Clover, now perched on the table next to where their uncle sits, is once again eyeing them curiously. Yang raises a finger to her lips in a shushing motion, Clover unsuccessfully fights back a smirk.
“What are you on about over there, boy scout?” Qrow questions.
“Oh, nothing.” Clover responds, giving his best innocent smile and batting his eyelashes. Man, Yang likes this guy more everyday. If only he’d get his shit together and ask Qrow out.
“I do not believe that for a sec—”
“Happy Birthday!” Ruby and Yang shout in unison, Yang grabs the back of his chair and spins it around to face them. Qrow’s expression is absolutely priceless; eyes wide, brows raised. With a dramatic flourish, Ruby presents the bag to him.
“You little scamps!” Qrow laughs as he takes the offered gift. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Yes we did.” Ruby rocks on her heels, hands are clasped behind her back. “Now go on, open it.”
Qrow rolls his eyes affectionately but does as he’s told. The card is laid across the top. He untucks the flap of the envelope and turns it over to read the front. He laughs so hard his eyes water.
“That’s incredible!” Qrow swivels his seat around. “Jimmy, get a load of this!”
The General turns to his name and leans forward, squinting to read from a distance. It gets a good chuckle out of him.
“Very clever.” He says before returning to his previous task.
He reads the inside and, as she anticipated, a new wave of tears prickle in the corner of his eyes.
“Awe, thank you.” Qrow looks up at them with a watery smile, he wipes at his eyes with the heel of his hand before the tears can fall. He tucks the card safely back into the envelope and sits it on the table behind him.
Qrow balls up a bit of tissue paper and throws it over his shoulder in Clover’s direction, it bounces harmlessly off of the Ace Op’s chest and onto the floor.
He pulls the bag of candies out first and immediately rips into it, popping one into his mouth.
“So fucking good.” He mutters, making Ruby giggle. Clover jokingly reaches for one and Qrow swats his hand away, clutching the bag to his chest. He stashes the rest safely in his lap.
The rings come out next. He angles the packaging to get better lighting so he can read the description.
“Hold on, this is brilliant.” He pulls the other two packages out and reads over them as well. “You two are geniuses.
Qrow turns back to look at Clover, “Hey, Cloves—” He mimics a scissor cutting motion with his fingers.
“No please?” The Ace Op teases, but gets up to grab a pair anyway. “Terrible manners on this one, it’s like he was raised in the woods or something.”
“Pretty please and thank you Mister-Captain-Ebi-Sir?” Qrow says, words dripping with sarcasm.
Clover scoffs but hands over the scissors before settling back on to his seat on the table. Qrow cuts the first packaging open, stuffing the trash back into the giftbag. Two of the rings slide perfectly onto his fingers, the third stays attached magnetically so it can be spun and flicked around. He experiments with them for a few moments before finding a good rhythm.
“Ha!” His eyes glitter with mischief. “Good luck getting me to pay attention to anything ever again.”
“They’re supposed to help you focus, aren’t they?” Clover asks.
“I’ve decided to be a menace about it.”
“I expect a trick showcase when you get good.” Ruby says.
“That can absolutely be arranged.” Qrow sets everything on his lap aside and stands up. He pulls the pair of them into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the tops of their heads. “Thank you both, so much.”
“You’re welcome, Uncle Qrow.” Ruby responds, squeezing him back.
“You deserve it, old man.” Yang teases.
“Hey!” Qrow retaliates. “I’m not old.”
“Sure!” Ruby giggles. “Do you wanna watch a movie together tonight?”
“Hmm.” Qrow appears to ponder it for a second, like there’s any chance he’ll say no. “I’m sure I can fit it into my busy schedule.”