I do not own RWBY.
This is kinda AU-ish and it was made because I ship Winter and Qrow so bad already... XD
Anyway, enjoy~! =)
Winter was inexplicably tired and she wanted nothing more than to sleep in her own room. But the figure on the bed made her frown deeply.
"Hey, Ice Queen…" Qrow drawled as he raised a hand in form of a greeting. "Didn't expect you to be here early." His usual flask of liquor laid forgotten beside him and it seemed empty. "Don't open the lights."
To spite him, she reached beside the door and switches the light on. The man on the bed cursed and Winter saw that her small bed had been replaced by a… monstrosity of two beds atop one another, with a ladder at the side.
"What is your reason for being here?" She asked. "This is my assigned quarters. I would appreciate it if you didn't stay here without purpose." She tried to keep the exhaustion from seeping in her tone, but it was evident in the slight slouch of her posture and the weary look in her eyes.
"Yeah well," Qrow started lazily. "This is my room now too. The rooms aren't enough for most of the refugees."
Winter gestured at the… bed and asked, "And this, I assume, is the new bed?"
He turned to her briefly and answered, "Yeah. Bunk bed saves space… and blah blah…" Trailing off, he yawned and she nodded in understanding.
"I see. This does seem to… save space." She nodded to herself. "Very well. Vacate the lower bed. I shall be sleeping there."
"What?" Qrow sat up with an incredulous look on his face. "No way, Ice Queen. I'm staying here."
"I'd ask that you won't be so difficult, Qrow," her words had an edge to them and she meant it. She was tired and she wanted nothing more than to relax and sleep.
"What, can't climb to the upper bed?" He teased. "Come on, Ice Queen. I'm sure you're familiar with climbing ladders. Jimmy doesn't always serve you grand stairs, does he?"
She looked away and remembered Weiss saying something about bunk beds like this. Winter can't possibly imagine Weiss sleeping in one of these… monstrosities. Being reminded of her sister made Winter experience bittersweet emotions. She was glad that her sister was in Atlas, along with the first of the refugees and that meant that she was safe. On the other hand, she was sad that there was no certainty that she will ever see the younger Schnee.
Clearing her throat, Winter amended, "That ladder hardly looks safe to step on. I would rather remain uninjured until the citizens of Vale are secured."
He shot her an amused look and it made her blood boil. On General Ironwood's orders, her task was to stay in Vale and help with the evacuation of the non-Huntsmen and Huntresses. Unfortunately, that meant that she was stuck with Qrow in one refugee camp. For the sake of the Kingdom of Vale, she let bygones be bygones, but there are times when he just tests her patience.
"Looks to me that you're scared of climbing that ladder," he smirked confidently. Winter glared at him and his smirk only deepened. "Come on, Ice Queen. It's just a couple of steps."
She refused to give him any form of satisfaction, but in this case, whatever she did will lead to that effect. Qrow waited for her to move, keeping his eyes on her debating form. The Huntress stood there for a while before he sighed and took out a stool from under the bed. "I'll help you up."
Blinking, she obliged, taking off her boots and placing them neatly inside her cabinet. The Hunter all but rolled his eyes at the action and impatiently tapped his foot on the floor. "I don't got all day, Schnee."
Winter glared at him. "You will keep silent. Before your untimely arrival, this was my quarters and I shall not stand for such a rude manner of addressing me."
Qrow rolled his eyes at her again in annoyance. It was hard to imagine the next few days he'd spend in this room with her. She took off her clothes and hung them carefully in the cabinet provided for her. Her hair was loose and she sighed heavily. The Hunter cleared his throat and gestured at the stool with exasperation clear in his eyes.
Sighing, Winter obliged.
"Finally," Qrow drawled lazily. She could smell the alcohol in his breath as it fanned her nape. "Now put your hand on the… uh…" holding her wrist, he guided her hand on the rails of the upper bed. "There," he said triumphantly. "I'm guessing the Schnee family doesn't let its little girls go up bunk beds."
"I will pretend I didn't hear that," she snapped. She'd seen one of these beds before and she never wanted to sleep on it. "I've seen plenty of these before, but I never had the desire to get on one."
"Yeah sure," he said dismissively. "Just climb those steps like you climb a ladder."
Winter stared at the metal ladder. It didn't seem safe and she felt uneasy just by staring at it. "Are you certain this is safe, Qrow? I know for one that you will be more than willing to see me embarrass myself before you. If this is some ploy," he rolled his eyes "for me to embarrass myself before you then be warned: I will not take this likely."
Qrow groaned and grabbed her by the hips, forcefully pushing her up the bed just so he could sleep. "Just climb the damn thing. I wanna sleep."
She suppressed a surprised squeak and for that she commended herself. His grip on her waist was tight and secure. Numbly, the Huntress climbed the ladder and found herself flat on the bed. It was vastly different from the bed she used to have here, but it gave her somewhere to rest her back and that was enough.
He turned the light off and the bed creaks as he unceremoniously flopped down on the bed. The silence was almost suffocating and the smell of metal and humus wasn't helping at all. Winter stared at the ceiling before her and it occurred to her how high she was from the ground. "Qrow," she called with a hint of urgency.
"What is it now?" He complained in reply.
"Are you certain this kind of… bed is safe?"
"Unless you roll over a lot," he shrugged. "Go to sleep, Winter."
"I am still quite convicted about this sleeping arrangement," she insisted stubbornly. "I could easily injure myself if I fall."
"You won't so get some damn sleep," his words slurred and he hoped to every deity there was that Winter Schnee would shut up about the dangers of sleeping on the upper bed of a bunk bed.
The bed squeaked a bit before he heard an exhale. Qrow finally allowed himself to relax on the bed, closing his eyes and starting to drift off to oblivion.
"Qrow?"
He sighed heavily and asked, "What do you want, Ice Queen?"
"Good night."
His eyes widened and he immediately stood up to check that the Huntress he helped on the upper bed was the same one who had just bidden him good night. To his surprise, Winter is fast asleep: her eyes were closed and her breathing became soft and relaxed.
Rubbing the back of his head, Qrow said, "Yeah, g'night Winter."
Glynda started for the room where she'd just reassigned Qrow. It had slipped her mind that the room where she reassigned him was Winter's room. There hadn't been any complains, but she still thought she'd check to be sure.
She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Not being a patient person, she opened the door and was greeted by silence. Both of them were still asleep: Winter on the upper bed and Qrow on the lower one. After a quick survey of the room's condition, she immediately closed the door.
"Did you find, Qrow?" Ozpin's voice came from her left and she turned to him immediately.
"Yes," she answered succinctly.
"And he's still in one piece?"
"Yes, sir. It would seem that there is no need to relocate him to a different room."
A knowing smile crossed Ozpin's features. "I see. Well then, we should get going. I received a distress call from somewhere in the east."
"Do you want me to wake the two of them up to collect them?" She asked and he shook his head.
"No. I believe I will be enough for this retrieval," Ozpin said as he sipped the last of his coffee from the mug that Glynda hardly noticed. "Would you like accompany me?"
She nodded and put her scroll in her pocket. "Of course, sir."
I really don't know what I did here, but it was mostly inspired by the way Winter reacted to the bunk beds that Weiss mentioned... XD
Please do leave a REVIEW as it makes me feel better... Thanks... =)
chquine_harvinellisse