V.E.: Stupid college Wi Fi, I swear the cabin we went to this summer where I had allergies had better reception and it didn't cut into to my phone….

Oh hello there. As it turns out, my college decided to redo their Wi Fi over the summer so that left me without much internet access which meant my next Paradox chapter is on hold. For the moment, I can at least work on some one shots without needing to consistently check on something. On the one, I get stretch my creative juices. On the other hand, my Star Wars readers are not going to be happy. At least I update more than once a year…

Anyway, this was inspired by a certain song from Steven Universe. After the first few times I heard it, I couldn't help but think that this sounded kind of like how I saw Qrow from my oneshot Their Girls. And from that thought, this little story was born. This will take place a couple of years after that, probably shortly after the Vytal Tournament incident if we're doing canon specifics.

This might be a bit longer than that since Qrow isn't the only person talking in this one, but I think Winter share an interesting dynamic that would bring a lot of depth to this certain conversation.

Again, if this is proven wrong by later canon I won't be angry.

Well, that's enough for the specifics. Let's get thing rolling.

Quote/Song: "It's over, isn't it? Isn't it?

Isn't it over?

It's over, isn't it? Isn't it?

Isn't it over?

You won and she chose you

And she loved you and she's gone

It's over, isn't it?

Why can't I move on?"- Pearl, Steven Universe

Winter Schnee was no stranger to alcohol.

Having been born into a life of privilege that many could not even dream of, it was only natural she would be familiar with the finest of spirits money could buy. After joining the Atlas military, she had the chance to expand those horizons further by sampling alcoholic beverages that were more common while getting to know her fellow comrades (who were much open with her under such settings though had to be gently reminded at times she wasn't interested in anything beyond friendship).

Even so, she had never been a heavy drinker. Usually a glass or two and then she would retire for the evening. As such, she never experienced the severe hangovers some her fellow soldiers would get and after meeting a certain individual (as well as some personal history in the matter), Winter knew that no person with any common sense would want to drink themselves to that point.

At the moment however, common sense could throw itself out the window for all she cared as she slammed the glass she had been holding into the bar, smashing it in the process. "Another!"

The poor old bartender (bless his soul for having to deal with a Schnee in a foul mood) cringed at the sound of his glass smashing as he tried reason with her. "Umm…. Miss….are you sure about that?"

It didn't work as the icy blue eyes glared at him with the intensity of a week-long blizzard. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

The bartender gulped in fear as he did as she asked. Once the glass was in front of her, she downed it just as quickly, smashing it down along with the others that had been offered to her.

Her head slightly bussed, she glared at the shards of glass that they were the reason for her mood. She knew she'd have to pay for them later, but she just didn't care. She needed to clear her head, distract herself, anything! Anything to keep her from thinking back to….

The strand of blonde hair glinted on the white suit she was holding, the hint of a floral perfume tingled in her nose….

No….NO….STOP!

With that, she smacked her cheeks with her hands, banishing the image and returning back to the relatively empty bar. The bartender wisely didn't ask (probably having heard all the sob stories one could in this profession) as the white haired young woman returned to the present and called out another order. "Another!"

The old man only nodded, but just before the shot could be placed in front of her, a very familiar voice of disbelief disturbed. "Wow, I didn't know I could get drunk enough for a scene like this."

Winter slowly and deliberate turned her head to find Qrow Branwen standing there; trademark disheveled appearance, cocky grin, and all. But at the same time his blood red eyes weren't looking so arrogant. As a matter of fact, they looked almost concerned.

Now Winter was sure the alcohol was starting to affect her.

She gave an unladylike huff, giving him the stink eye before turning back to her drink. "Qrow Branwen, of all the bars in all of Remnant, can't you walk into somewhere else?"

Qrow gave a sarcastic smile as he answered. "Ah, but you're here. That must say something about this place's…. quality."

Her tone was dry as she answered. "Not in the mood right now, Qrow."

"Well, tough. I'm not actually here to drink, I'm here to find you. Nice choice in hiding spot though."

Winter gave a short laugh as she wished her drink. "Schnees don't hide from anything."

Qrow's look seemed to say Are you kidding me? as he folded his arms.

"Really? Then how come Jimmy called me up earlier saying you practically ran out of his office with no explanation?"

Every muscle in Winter tensed as she set down her glass (that surprisingly did not break) with a definite "THUD!"

Qrow didn't even flinch. "So what happened, Ice Queen?"

Winter spoke in deceptively calm tone. "Just personal issues Qrow. I'll be fine in the morning."

"Yeah, I said that after I punched my future brother in law at the time in the face and it sure took me more than just an evening for me to be "fine" with it. Now, what really happened?"

Venom creeped into her voice as she gripped the glass. "Like you care."

"Of course I do."

An incredulous silver blue gaze had him clarify as he sat down at the bar beside her. "Listen, after all the times we've met and fought, I'd say we're more than just acquaintances if not somewhat friends. We may not agree all the time, but if it comes down to us and a horde of Grimm, I trust you to have my back. I'd do the same for you."

That stunned Winter to silence, not used to Qrow saying such things without a sarcastic tone. Once the black-haired man saw her attention was on him and not the glass, he nodded his head to the bartender (who took the opportunity to get the hell out of Dodge) before continuing. "And when Ironwood is the one that calls me, it usually means he needs something big or something that is out of his comfort zone and that includes emotional stuff. He's much more likely to reason things than try to emotionally connect, which I have a lot more experience with believe it or not. Frankly, he might be less emotional than those robots he's working on."

Winter gave a silent huff. "You'd think."

One of the man's eyebrows raised as he motioned for her to continue. "Okay, there's something there."

Winter thought for a moment in which she questioned her sanity. "You promise not to tell anyone of this discussion?"

The mans red eyes twinkled. "If there's something I am good at other than holding my liquor and killing Grimm, it's keeping secrets. Go ahead."

She took a deep breath before she continued. "I…. went into the General's office earlier to drop off some paperwork. He wasn't there, he was in a meeting and I noticed his spare jacket was on the floor next to his chair, it probably just fell off.

"I went to pick it off the ground and then I noticed it smelled a little strange. I turned it over, thinking it must need to get sent and then…. I…. saw a glint of yellow. Blonde hair. And that's what I realized I was smelling women's perfume."

Qrow simply let out a 'huh.' "So him and Glynda really are at it again. Great, now I owe Ozpin two pounds of his favorite coffee beans."

Winter sat up straighter. "Wait, you knew?!"

"They've been off and on for years. One time, I saw them come out of an elevator….I think you can put the rest of it together. It's kind of an open secret in our little group. So, once you realized your huge crush since before you joined the military was utterly hopeless and seeing him return to his office at that exact moment, you ran out before you did something you would probably regret and to clear your head."

Winter's face flushed red. BINGO.

Finally, she took in a deep breath as her posture slumped. "Stupid, isn't it? All this time and I didn't have a chance from the start. And now I'm turning to alcohol to make it go away. Just like Mother."

Now that piqued Qrow's interest as his eyebrows rose which she cut off quickly. "You having one embarrassing confidence of mine is enough for one evening. Let's just say there's a reason the only person smiling in our family portrait is my little brother. Now aren't you going to laugh and say you saw this coming? That I should have known better?"

Qrow's look at her was utterly serious. "I'm not going to kick you when you're down Winter. Love isn't something you should ever be ashamed off, even if it doesn't work out."

She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her tone as she responded. "Like you are capable of caring for someone like that."

That kept him quiet for a long time. For a few minutes, the two of them were silent as the grave that they might as well be in a cemetery rather than an otherwise deserted bar.

Finally, Qrow took his personal flask from his jacket (knowing that he was going to need it) and spoke. "It was my first day of Beacon. I was running from my sister who was chasing after me with her sword. Can't remember what it was for, probably something stupid. It always was back then.

"Anyway, I was running and laughing like an idiot l when I suddenly ran into something white and fell on top of it. Closed my eyes at the impact as stuff scattered on the ground and when I opened them I was staring at the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen…."

Qrow seemed to drift off at that, Winter sitting up as she saw his red eyes glaze a little bit at the memory. His head shakes a bit as he comes back. "Then I remembered my manners and helped her up."

One of her eyebrows raised in disbelief as he answered her silent question. "Hey, I can act like a gentleman. Her name was Summer Rose. Turns out I was the second person to nearly run over her that day, but I was the one to stop and help her. We managed to pick everything up, exchange names before we realized we were going to be late to the opening ceremony. I didn't see her again until the Initiation the next day when we became partners. At the end, she was made leader of our team which consisted of me, my sister Raven, and her partner Taiyang. I always wondered how Tai got through the Initiation without her punching him for flirting every five minutes. But anyway, fighting together with her was just…. amazing."

He then took a sip of his flask before he turned back to Winter with one of the most genuine smiles she had ever seen on him. "Ten days. That's all it took for me to fall completely, hopelessly, and irrevocably in love with Summer Rose. About third year, my sister and Tai finally got things together and became a couple and by graduation Team STRQ was top of the class."

Winter nodded, trying to put the pieces together. "So…. bad break up after graduation?"

Qrow gave off a short little laugh. "That would require us having dated."

Her ice blue eyes widened incredulously. "Wait, you were in love with her and you never asked her out?"

"Nope, flirted constantly but it pretty much went over her head. I got the impression she had something of a sheltered upbringing, kind of made her a little socially awkward. Part of it was I didn't want to mess up what we had. I've seen more than a few partnerships during my school years crumble because they didn't work out romantically. Believe it or not, I never actually dated during my years at Beacon. Summer went on a few though."

"And that didn't bother you?"

"No. I was fine with it because I knew in the end, that they didn't really matter. She'd go on a date with some guy, occasionally there'd be a second date, but it never went anywhere beyond that. As leader, there never seemed to be anything more important than our team. Though I suppose that was a problem I just didn't see at the time. She always put us first that she kind of neglected herself.

"Right after graduation, the four of us stayed in touch, often taking jobs together. Summer and I were working together constantly that I was starting to think maybe it was time I make a move now that we were adults and could handle it if the relationship didn't work out. My sister and Taiyang got hitched and I was uncle to the cutest niece in the world. Yang Xiao Long. And for one brief shining moment, everything was perfect…."

Then Qrow took a few long gulps from his flask, his blood red eyes hardening. "…. And then that moment ended."

Winter leaned closer, the still empty glass practically forgotten during this story. "So what happened?"

He fixed her with a very dark and serious look. "That is a long story I have never told anyone in its entirety. The majority of it isn't relevant to this story anyway. Long story short, not too long after Yang was born, my sister disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"She's not dead, if that's what you're wondering. I may not see her that often, but we keep in touch... when it suits her. Anyway, that left Tai to look after Yang on his own. He may never acknowledge it, but I don't think he ever got over her leaving him. Summer and I would stop by and help when we could. Summer practically adopted Yang that first visit. It was like it was natural to her….and I wasn't the only one that saw that."

Another long sip from the flask and Winter was almost apprehensive of what was coming next.

Finally, he came back from the drink to the story, his tone almost hysterical. "After I came back from a solo mission, the two told me they were a thing. I couldn't say a word, only nod. I got out of the house as I fast I could. I was angry, hurt, jealous, and betrayed all at once. The woman I loved was with my brother in law in a rebound relationship. That was the night I started drinking. I think it actually hurt less when she was declared dead on a mission a few years later."

He turned to look Winter in the eye, his smile humorless as his eyes seemed almost filled with the tears like he didn't know whether to cry, laugh, or scream. "And you want to know what the most pathetic part of it all is? It's over, isn't it? She was never mine, she's gone. It's over and I still can't move on."

He turned away from her, hunched over the bar. Winter silently sat there for a few moments before she got up. The old huntsman didn't seem to notice her absence as he took another drink, finally emptying his flask.

Qrow took in a deep breath until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Winter was standing there holding out a damp paper towel to him.

He took it with a nod. "Thanks."

She shrugged. "Don't mention it. I…misjudged you."

His smile was a little wry, but his face looked better as he patted the damp towel over it. "You're not the first and you won't be the last. Besides, it was nice to let some of it out."

"I think what you're describing is catharsis."

That prompted a confused expression on Qrow's face. "Ca-what now?"

She shook her head sighing. "Never mind. I'm sorry for your loss though."

"It's alright. These days I'm so busy worrying after the two girls she left behind. Looking at Ruby sometimes hurts though."

Suddenly some things clicked into place in Winter's mind. "Ruby, as in Ruby Rose? My sister's partner?"

"Yep. Looking her after her and Yang have basically kept me going aside from the alcohol and the missions. Those two are the reason Tai and I are on speaking terms."

Winter smiled a little. "Sounds less messed up than my family."

"I'm almost scared to ask about your home life then. Well, since the bartender left, do you want to go find somewhere else to drink?"

She shook her head, turning her body in the direction of the door. "No. I may not be completely fine tomorrow, but I'll get there."

He quirked a smile at her. "Then I'll see you around. Just to be clear, if you tell anyone about this conversation, I'll deny it."

He didn't seem her smile as she walked away. "What conversation?"

Now that prompted a grin off the huntsman as he saw her leave. Once he was alone, he went out pulled out a picture. It was his old one of Team STRQ and he smiled at it, both happy and sad. I'll never be completely over it, but right now all I can do is just live through it, day by day.

Keep watch over us, Summer.

Love you.

V.E.: Well, that took longer than I thought it would. Volume 4 has started up (which added some details to Winter's side of things) and I am probably going to end up spoiling myself because I can't wait for the episodes to be posted to the public.

Again, very interesting dynamics I was trying to explore here. At least, some of my followers now I'm alive.

Please review and next up is Persona Double Wild Card.

Hope to see you guys again!