A/N: Because I'm apparently not writing enough QroWin fics, a friend and I had a "what if team RWBY went to the beach and invited Winter and Qrow?" discussion. The idea would not leave my head, so here we are.
This fic is not connected with my other one, "Reunion." The two are completely separate. As it says in the summary, this takes place a year or two after the last episode of Season 3 of RWBY. I try not to speculate on what might happen in the series, so a few liberties will be taken (this is fanfiction after all).
This is also my first time writing team RWBY, so bear with me a bit as I try and find their voices. I hope you enjoy this fic as much as my others!
"Winter! There you are!"
Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last time, Winter wondered why she accepted her sister's invitation to join her and her teammates at the beach.
In a rare act of generosity, the Schnee family patriarch allowed Weiss to invite her friends to stay at the family beach house on Atlas' coastline. Luckily for Winter, the beach house had limited rooms, so she opted to stay at a nearby hotel for the week. With school out for the summer, and Winter on a rare leave from her military duties, it was the perfect opportunity to see her sister.
As she carefully made her way across the hot sand and through the clusters of beach goers, Winter spotted her sister waving at her in an attempt to get her attention.
Adjusting her large sun hat and sunglasses, Winter finally caught up to her sister, glad that the house they were staying in had a private beach area. She could finally relax a bit, now that she was away from the crowds and noise. Normally Winter didn't spend much time at the coast for, as her name implied, she preferred cooler weather. But, she hardly got the chance to spend a lot of time with her sister, and if that meant spending time with Weiss' teammates as well, then so be it.
"Hello Weiss." Winter gave her sister a smile, set her bag down, and leaned in to give her a hug. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Oh yes! I'm so glad you could make it!" Weiss returned the hug, glad to see Winter again. "My friends will also be glad to see you. We have so much planned!"
Winter crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at Weiss. "I hope all of your time won't be spent in idle activities. This will be the perfect time for me to work with all of you. I know you've learned a lot in the past two years, but all of you still have a ways to go."
"Training?" Winter turned to see Weiss' friend and teammate Ruby standing next to them. "But we're on vacation! We're supposed to be having fun and relaxing!"
Winter looked at the younger girl over her sunglasses and raised an eyebrow. "When you become a huntress you will not have much time for resting and vacations."
"But this is why we need to do it now!"
Winter sighed. "I promise I will not work with all of you the entire time. However, a change in scenery gives you the perfect opportunity to train on a new terrain."
Ruby groaned. "Oh fine. Uncle Qrow can help us out when he gets here."
"Qrow?" Winter blinked, wondering if she heard Ruby correctly. "What do you mean, 'when he gets here?'"
"Oh yeah! Uncle Qrow said he had some business here in Atlas, so he would come see us when he was done," Yang said, joining in on the conversation. "He can help us out with our training."
Winter swallowed at the mention of Qrow, her heart speeding up just a bit. It had been at least six months since she had last seen the man, and was curious as to how he would react upon seeing her.
"Y-yes," Winter stammered, her throat suddenly dry. "Qrow is an experienced huntsman, so he will make an excellent sparring partner."
"Just make sure you don't tear up the beach this time. Glynda isn't here to put it back together again," Ruby pointed out, giving her a smile.
Winter sighed and picked up her bag. "Just make sure your uncle doesn't antagonize me again, and I will be fine."
Walking next to her, Weiss accompanied Winter to the area where the other girls set up their chairs and towels. "Winter? Are you all right? You got kind of pale all of a sudden."
Shaking her head a bit to clear it, Winter gave her a small smile. "I'm fine. I have a lot of things on my mind at the moment." She glanced around and spotted an empty beach chair next to a dark-haired girl with her nose buried in a book, a large umbrella covering the area. Winter placed her bag next to it and removed her hat as she sat down, then pulled her own book out.
With a shrug, Weiss walked off to join Ruby and Yang on their errand to the local grocery store. If Winter didn't want to tell her what was wrong, then fine. Weiss figured she could pry it out of her later on anyway.
The words on the smooth white pages blended together as Winter attempted to make sense of the book she was reading. The idea of seeing Qrow again made her nervous, and her thoughts soon turned to the last time they parted ways.
"Six months?! What the hell mission has you gone for six months?!"
"It's classified."
Annoyed at her response, Qrow ran a hand through his hair and turned away from Winter, not wanting to look at her. "Will I be able to see you during that time?"
Winter was quiet for a moment before she answered. "No. My location is classified. I can't even tell my family where I will be."
Qrow let out a sharp exhale at her response and turned around again, eyes flashing. "These damn missions of yours keep getting longer and longer. You need a life outside the military Winter."
"The military is my life." Winter glared at Qrow, a hand at her side clenched into a fist. "Like how being a huntsman is your life. You don't hear me complaining about how often you're gone."
"At least I try to see you! Everything you do is 'classified this' and 'classified that!'" Qrow yelled, throwing his arms up in frustration. Taking a few steps away from her, he brought a hand up to his head and rubbed at his temples. "Maybe this isn't going to work out."
Biting her lip, Winter looked down at the floor, not wanting him to see the sadness in her eyes. "If that is what you want, then so be it."
Qrow's eyes grew wide at her reply, as if he expected her to disagree with him. Without saying another word, he turned on a heel and stalked out of her apartment, slamming the door behind him.
"Blaaaaaaaaaaake!" Winter jumped a bit at the sound of Ruby's voice calling out her friend's name. A drink bottle flew past her nose and was caught by her neighbor without even looking up from her book. A moment later, three sets of feet came running up to them, a small spray of sand showering her when they stopped. "Sorry Winter, didn't see you there."
"Be careful where you..." Winter's voice trailed off when she looked up to scold Ruby and froze when she spotted the figure walking up behind the girls. Her hands suddenly started to tremble a bit and she felt her face grow hot at the sight of the newcomer. Weiss and Yang exchanged an amused look, but Winter was too busy staring at Qrow to notice.
"Long time no see, Ice Queen."