Qrow and Winter were Commanders of a joint Vale and Atlas task force that was entrusted with the task to raid and clear out a compound belonging to a dangerous crime lord that based themselves in the respective kingdoms.
The operation finished without many problems. However, three Valean soldiers were injured, two Atlesian soldiers were in critical condition and 4 Atlesian Knights were scrapped. This caused a mountain of paperwork to do.
And that is what Qrow Branwen was doing, paperwork.
He was stone cold sober, not even his flask was in sight. He was writing reports for injuries when the elevator dinged and he looked up. Coming through was Winter Schnee, dressed as impeccably and finely as always. The woman seems to never let her hair down.
He gave her a curt nod before continuing to write. "Schnee."
She gave him a nod in return, her pose blank of emotions. "Branwen."
He winced at the mention of his last name as it brought back so many bad memories of his connections to Raven, but he didn't let it deter him from the paperwork.
Meanwhile Winter studied the man and was honestly surprised that he wasn't drunk and that his flask was nowhere to be seen. This man must've had an intervention or he puts missions before his own inebriation.
He stopped for a moments and kicked back in his chair, balancing on the two hind legs. His signature sword was on the side of his desk unattended, meanwhile her hand was casually on the pommel of her sabre.
He steepled his fingers and looked at the cold beauty in front of him. "We need to talk about your performance as Commander."
Her face turned into a noticeable frown when he said that. "Meaning?"
He sighed. "This mission, while successful, was honestly the most poorly executed piece of shit I have ever witnessed."
His cavalier attitude with his language somewhat stunned her before she placed a scowl on her face. "Am I to believe that you are to give me an accurate report on my abilities to command while you drink and whore yourself in your spare time?"
He stiffened noticeably, the whoring he didn't mind. But the drinking, that was personal only to him. "Schnee, you are out of line!"
She pressed the attack, seeing his outrage as weakness. "You, an old shadow of a warrior who spends nothing but drinking himself to oblivion and finding himself fucking whichever woman is desperate enough to have him, or sleeps on the nearest bench. Like a bum."
He stood up, shaking with anger. His red orbs burned fires into her ocean blues. "Schnee! Enough!"
"Is that why last time we met with Ozpin you said you wouldn't want to be partnered with me, is it because I won't fuck you? Like some silly whore who gets down on her knees at the slightest provocation?"
He grabbed his blade, the shaking turning into a trembling. "Winter Schnee! You are out of line and out of order!"
She responded by drawing her sabre. "And you are nothing!"
"Are you even capable of feeling love!? Was the last woman you loved, a slut!?"
That was the last straw for him.
He pressed the lever on his sword. The blade bent on itself and exposed razor sharp edges that were blood red. The whole blade and handle itself extended to a large proportion, revealing his weapon's scythe form. He hefted it easily, like it weighed nothing.
That struck a little fear into Winter. Never has she seen such imposing weaponry, and Ironwood had talked about Qrow's power in a fight, how he is reckless but controlled, how he can go all out but still be reserved.
But that fear was fleeting. She narrowed her eyes and she blasted herself at him.
Qrow was shaking, but still in control. So when he saw her head towards him, he swung with all of his might and a roar of rage. The impact sent Winter flying across the room however she used her glyphs to slow herself down and blasted at Qrow again, forcing him to go on the defensive.
The exchanged blows. Winter was out of her league in terms of combat, but she's closed in on him and was using the length of his scythe to her advantage. She worked the blade around to his neck before he blocked it with his arm and shoved her away.
He spun the scythe around menacingly, the red teeth creating an afterimage in her vision. He was still breathing hard. She had to finish this quickly. She used a large glyph behind her and twisted her body around.
"Come after me, and everything you hate about me. Ice Queen."
She yelled like a warrior and shot herself towards him, blade poised to pierce his neck. However he reacted faster than a drunk man should've, slapping the blade away and grabbed her by the throat and held her there.
She started to choke before he slammed her into the ground and kicked her blade away. She tried to rise but a quick burial of the scythe head a ruler length near her head made her think otherwise.
"How fucking dare, you stupid bitch of the Schnee name."
She was about to get up when Qrow shoved her onto the floor.
She glared daggers at him, expecting him to kick and punch. "What now? You still made sure that you humiliated me in front of Ozpin. He gave you the opportunity to work with me yet you declined, why? Am I not good enough you for? Am I not slutty enough for you? Fuck off."
"How fucking dare you believe that you are in a position to lecture ME! ABOUT MY FUCKING LIFE HABITS!?"
She stared up in fear, he was emotionally unbalanced.
"DON'T YOU REALISE HOW MUCH PAIN I AM IN!? EVERY DAY! EVERY DAY I SEE RUBY'S FACE, I AM REMINDED OF HER!"
She was ultimately confused, who was he talking about? Every time he saw Ruby…? Oh no.
He collapsed onto his knees, effectively straddling her. This brought outrage and a little bit of blush to her face. "Get off me Branwen! Got off me now!"
He placed his hand over her mouth. His eyes had soften immensely and he was no longer huffing like a coal train. "P-please, stop." His voice was sad and tinged with something else…
She was having none of it. "Why did you say no!? Why!? I would've enjoyed working with someone as competent as you, looking past the drinking problem. What made you say no!?"
He slammed his fist into the ground right next to her face. "BECAUSE YOU WILL DIE!" His voice had broken halfway through the sentence.
"Y-you will die. Alright!?"
She was perplexed and a little concerned at how close his fist was. "What are you talking about?"
He steadied himself, but in his eyes there was fear, not for him but for her. "My Semblance isn't like most… I bring misfortune, Winter. I'm a living bad luck charm."
Winter scowled half heartedly. "Qrow, you're being ridiculous, there is no way your-"
"I-I.. We were on a mission together, given to us by Oz, and… Something happened, we had to leave. We got to the boat quick enough but an Ursa Major came out of nowhere and swiped me into a nearby rock. My Aura was gone at this moment and I couldn't fight back. Then Summer came along and dispatched it and helped me into the boat. But there was too many coming, so she shoved the boat away and smiled at me while waving. She said something but I couldn't hear her over my screaming. The boat got hooked onto something, I don't know what, and proceeded to pull me away. She turned away and continued fighting, while I screamed. The portal that we took to go there opened and closed on me…"
"I thought I heard her screams as she was torn apart in front of me, but the screams still continued when the portal closed. Apparently it wasn't her who was screaming, but me."
He choked as his throat tightened. The scene started to overlay his vision and he felt abject horror as it played out.
"Glynda was there and all she saw was this veteran huntsman who never flinched or showed emotion in battle, she said she could see the tears stream down my face. My face was of absolute terror that she felt afraid. I had lost the one bright spark in my life! I LOST MY ROSE! MY ROSE PETAL!"
There were tears running down his cheeks. He growled in frustration. "I'M THE REASON WHY RUBY DOESN'T HAVE A MOTHER ANYMORE, WINTER! I'M THE REASON WHY SUMMER IS DEAD! SHE LOST A MOTHER, I LOST THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN MY NIGHT!" He yelled at her, his anger directed at everything but her. He pounded the floor again in emphasis, his fist bleeding from the abuse.
"I still have nightmares, every sleeping moment keeps replaying that time of my life. The time where I wish I died, instead of her. I would've gladly given my life so she could return home. She had a daughter to go home to, I had nothing."
He pounded the floor again, the bleeding worsened. "GODDAMNIT OZ! WHY DID YOU ONLY SEND ME AND HER!? SHE COULD'VE BEEN SAVED IF YOU JUST SENT ANOTHER P-PERSON! WHY DID MY ROSE PETAL HAVE TO DIE!? I-I just wanted someone who could b-be there for me."
"E-everyone I dare to love, dies. It doesn't matter if they're f-friends or f-family or lovers. They die, all because of me, because of my Semblance. I'm afraid to love people, Winter. I am so afraid to reach out and make a connection with someone, because that's what I did with Summer Rose, and look what happened to her."
He crumpled like a tin can, burying his face into her chest. He began to cry, keening with every breath. Over the sobs, Winter could hear him whisper things like, "I am so sorry Summer, forgive me. Tai, I couldn't have known, I tried so hard, please forgive me. Ruby, please don't hate me, I didn't mean for your mother to die."
He rambled on like this for a few more minutes. His keening had become unbearable, how could one man feel so much sorrow in his heart that he made such ungodly noises? This made Winter cry her own tears as Qrow's grief and keening were very heartfelt, and extremely effective.
He was a broken man. He had never told anyone his insecurities before, but Winter's misunderstanding had opened up those wounds and they bled freely. Right now, he was at his most vulnerable. And if any type of relationship was going to form between them, it would all depend on her next actions.
She reached up with a gloved hand and began to stroke the back of his head, ruffling the hair in between her fingers. He flinched immensely at the touch but receded into it. "It was never your fault Qrow. Summer made a choice and she thought that you were worth the sacrifice. I-I'm sure that she would be proud at how you've come so far and how well you've looked after Ruby. It was never your fault… And I'm sure she knew how you felt, and I'm sure she felt the same way. It was never your fault Qrow, it was never your fault."
She breathed in his scent. It was oak with a hint of berries and vanilla. Was this what he smelt like when he was sober? She buried her face into his neck and breathed softly. "It's okay Qrow, I'm here for you. I'm not going to leave you."
Qrow was wracked with guilt, but Winter's soothing words and touch were working on him. He noticed that she smelt like lilacs and gooseberries. He loved that smell, it was comfort. It contrasted harshly to the smell of blood, sweat, tears, alcohol and steel. He subconsciously buried his face deeper into her chest and neck, finding the coolness and softness of her skin the ultimate comforter.
They stayed like that for a few minutes. Qrow began to calm down slowly and his breathing calmed. He realised that his face was buried into her bosom, but neither of them cared. This was a tender moment for the two and honestly… Winter felt privileged that he would entrust her with his deepest internal conflicts.
Qrow coughed before drying his eyes. "Miss Schnee, thank you. I'm sorry for attacking you. I appreciate that you listened to my problems" He meant it, truthfully.
She gave him a rare smile before drawing him closer to her embrace, his nose gracing underneath her jawline. "Please, call me Winter… Or Ice Queen, if you'd like."
This drew a chuckle from him as he disengaged somewhat to look into her beautiful eyes.
His red orbs had softened to a rusty red, much more comforting than the glowing coals they were ten minutes ago. There was something else as well… The way he looked at her, and the way she looked at him.
She placed both hands on the sides of his face and drew him in. They shared a gradual, deep and passionate kiss before separating. None of them felt lust for each other, only a newfound respect.
"Qrow… I-I know that this is the last question you'd want to answer b-but. Do you still want to work with me?"
He had only one answer to that, and that was to kiss her again, earning a radiant smile from the Winter Goddess as she wrapped her arms around his neck.