AN:
I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/whatever holiday you celebrate/a good day if you don't celebrate any or you're reading this any time other than the day I published it!
One brief comment on this chapter: Qrow is a bit OOC. I've decided to opt out of the drunk uncle as he's supposed to be the model cop. This is more of a real-world AU, and while I'm sure Cop Qrow drinks on his downtime, you'll find him to be a bit more of the "goofy uncle" than the "drunk uncle".
I've found myself really enjoying this story. I've got quite a few ideas on how I want to take it, but at the same time, I'm thinking about adjusting certain things about my writing style midway. So, if things start to change in tiny ways, you know what's going on!
I can't thank you all enough for the support. Writing (and publishing) fanfics is still fairly new to me. I used to write years ago but I only started to publish about a month ago. Two of my stories got a pretty decent response, but this fic in particular has been overwhelmingly positive to someone who really only got into this world about a month ago!
I'll stop rambling now. Thank you all so much!
Blake could not believe she'd let herself get roped into this.
It was a cool afternoon in late summer, so close to early fall that it almost felt like the leaves would start to decay from the trees any moment. Yang and Blake were sitting outside of a café, quietly sipping coffee and tea while waiting for Yang's uncle to finally show up.
The raven-haired girl had just been sitting in the dorm room when Yang got back from her last class of the day and presented Blake with the idea of meeting the blonde's uncle. Blake hadn't been too into it. She didn't like to talk about family, and she didn't like cops. So, what did Yang suggest? Blake meeting (one of) Yang's cop family members.
Yet, here Blake was, sitting at this café, waiting with Yang for her uncle to show up. The blonde had assured her it was just some parental thing. Something about her uncle wanting Blake to have a "friendly face" on the campus police force who she could trust just in case anything ever happened.
Trust a cop? Yeah right.
Blake found herself looking a huge construction fence across the street from the café. The trademark construction fences that surrounded all construction on campus were plastered in the school's name and repeated images of students enjoying their lives at Beacon University in obviously staged moments. Most of the construction projects around campus also had the name of the project plastered on the plastic that blocked people from seeing what was inside. Yet, this construction project had no indication of its intentions.
"Do you know what they're building there?" Blake asked her roommate, thinking out loud as she played with the string of her teabag.
Yang almost spit out her coffee when Blake finally said something. They'd been sitting in dead silence for almost fifteen minutes, on top of a silent ten-minute walk to the café. Uncle Qrow had been late, as always. This silence was practically unbearable, but Yang was trying to convince herself that letting Blake get comfortable first was probably the best course of action.
Yang looked over to the construction site and blinked. She'd been prepared to read the fence and inform Blake, but no actual information was anywhere to be found. Yang had prided herself in learning as much about campus pop culture as possible, but she'd never even noticed that this site had no information. "I… don't know," she stammered, furrowing her brow in confusion.
"That, girls, is the BU Crater." The voice of an old man suddenly spoke behind Blake, causing the black-haired girl to jump.
"Uncle Qrow!" Yang said excitedly, smiling very widely at the source of the voice, who stood behind Blake.
Blake turned around to see a tall, middle aged man in a campus police uniform smiling behind them with a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other. His carefully combed black hair was only a shade or two lighter than Blake's, but his slightly scruffy beard showed signs of greying hair. A similar goofy grin that Blake had grown accustomed to seeing on Yang was spread across his face.
The man sat down with a chuckle. "There used to be dorms there, called BU Commons. It was honors housing, mostly singles. Great for introverted nerds. Two years ago the school demolished it for a new recreation center, but some financial problems came up, so they halted the project. There's still a giant crater in the Earth, from when they demolished it, so most students and staff call it BU Crater nowadays. There's even some talk of renaming this café to Crater Café. Although, rumors are just that. Rumors." He offered a shrug as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Do you think they'll ever complete it?" Yang asked, placing down her coffee.
Qrow shrugged again. "Not sure. Some of the boys at the station don't think it'll happen with the current administration. I think they'll make a political push for more funds and get it through. But enough of that."
The man directed his attention to a silent, staring Blake. "I'm Qrow Branwen. It's nice to finally get to meet you." Qrow held his hand out to the quiet girl.
"Blake Belladonna," the girl said with a nod and a slightly-forced soft smile as she shook the cop's hand. This might have been the first time in her life a cop actually shook her hand.
Qrow gave a smirk to the black-haired girl, glancing momentarily at Yang before turning back to Blake. "I've got this secret hidden skill, I can totally guess what your major is."
Yang let out a small groan, causing Blake to glance between the two as she rose an eyebrow. "Oh?"
The cop closed his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows together. He rubbed his temple and hummed slightly. Blake glanced at Yang, who mouthed Just go with it to her roommate.
"I'm getting… College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Am I right?" One of Qrow's eyes opened as he looked towards Blake.
The black-haired girl chuckled slightly. "You're right."
Qrow's eye snapped back shut as he continued his theatrics. "Humanities. Must be one of the humanities."
"Correct again." Blake took a sip of her tea and rose another eyebrow at Yang, who simply rolled her eyes and grinned slightly at her uncle.
"Hmm… English?"
"That would be my major. But can you guess my concentration?"
"Concentration?" Qrow's eyes shot open to look at a smirking Blake, who was sipping her tea carefully through a grinning mouth.
"English majors have to have a concentration in some area of literature or writing. It'd be too broad of a curriculum otherwise."
"Alright, alright. American literature?" Qrow took a wild guess.
Yang chuckled, stirring her coffee with small stirrer. "You've stumped the all mighty Qrow. Congratulations!"
Qrow's face fell. "I was wrong?"
Blake gave a small chuckle herself. "Creative writing. You almost had all of it though."
"Aha, an author! You certainly give an author vibe." Qrow lifted his coffee to his lips, giving the black-haired girl a smirk.
"I get that a lot." Blake shrugged, forcing a small smile as she placed her tea down on the table.
"So, Uncle Qrow, anything exciting happen so far this semester?" Yang asked.
The cop gave a shrug. "It's been a bit calmer this year. Less of a party scene, all in all. I haven't been on many party stings, but the new Captain is really trying to crack down on it all. I'm especially glad to hear no one picked my niece up on one of those stings." Two red eyes flashed towards the blonde.
Yang dramatically placed a hand over her heart. "Me? Little Yang? A partier? Why, I never! I don't know where on Earth you would get that idea, my dearest Uncle Qrow."
The two family members burst out laughing, momentarily forgetting about Blake's presence at the table.
"You know I told you I was taking this seriously. No more parties. Shockingly, there's a ton of ways to have fun without them." The blonde flipped her long hair over her shoulder.
"Almost like me and your old man have been telling you that for years."
Yang scoffed at her uncle's remark. "Puh-lease. Dad was practically encouraging me to get it all out in high school when he could still get me off the hook as a minor."
"What about you, Blake? Much of a partier? I promise I won't tell anyone if the answer is yes." Qrow let out a chuckle as he pushed back his cropped back hair.
Blake shook her head. "Not in the slightest. I'd much rather read a book than go out to a party."
"Author vibes, I'm telling you," Qrow said to his niece with a smirk. "Glad to hear, Blake. I know far too many students who let partying take control. There is a balance. Unfortunately, most 18 year olds can't really figure out how to achieve that balance."
The walkie-talkie on Qrow's vest blurted out. "72 on Academy Avenue. 72 on Academy Avenue. Any available units report."
Qrow rose his hand and tapped the button on the device. "Branwen reporting in. Heading over."
"10-4."
Qrow stood up from the table. "Well, unfortunately girls, duty calls. I'll catch up with you two another time. It was a pleasure to meet you, Blake."
The black-haired girl gave a small smile. "It was very nice to meet you too."
"Stay out of trouble, kiddo," Qrow said to his niece with a smirk, ruffling her hair very briefly before dashing away.
"Don't worry about me, Uncle Qrow! Stay safe!" Yang called out after her uncle. Once he had disappeared, she tried to fix her now messed-up hair.
"He was nice," Blake shrugged, sipping her tea some more.
"He can be a bit much at times, but he means well." Yang gave a gentle shrug as she stirred her coffee a bit more.
"I won't lie, I can't say I've ever enjoyed talking to a cop before." Blake placed down her tea. Did I just say that?
"Really?" Yang rose an eyebrow.
Blake felt a bunch of regret in her heart. Why'd she say that? Yang didn't need to know about her cop problem. Yang was studying to become a cop. Yet, she'd already said it. She had to go through with it.
Break out of your shell. You can do it. You'll be fine.
Blake nodded, taking another sip from her tea. "I can't really say I've ever had a positive experience with one."
Yang furrowed her brow. "I've heard stories about the cops in the capital, but the cops in my hometown are pretty chill. Guess it's more of a small-town thing."
"Yeah, that's where I grew up. The capital. Cops there weren't the nicest in the world." Blake's heart was beating so fast. You don't have to tell her everything, but it doesn't hurt to open up a little.
"You grew up in the capital?" Yang tilted her head.
Blake nodded slowly. "My whole life, until Beacon. Things are really different here. A lot quieter. But it's nice to get away from the city for a couple years."
Yang looked at her roommate for a long moment. She was anxious, spinning her teabag in her cup, her leg bouncing. In the brief time Yang had known the raven-haired girl, she'd never been one to ever talk about her past. Yang had brought up her family and her hometown a few times, but Blake never spoke of any of those things.
Yang wanted to be her friend, not make her anxious. Yang now had a small mental list of her roommate's off-limits topics: the past, family, and cops. Considering two of the three were extremely important in Yang's life, it was kind of hard to come up with other stuff to talk about. Yet, the blonde still wanted to give the black-haired girl a chance.
Yang sipped her coffee, thinking about this situation. She'd never really been a person to hint around things. Most people would describe her as blunt, in the nicest sense.
"Blake?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm gonna ask you a question. It's pretty personal, and you don't have to answer it if you want, but I'm just curious."
Blake rose an eyebrow at her roommate. "Curiosity killed the cat, Yang."
"But satisfaction brought it back," Yang shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee.
Blake thought for a moment, before coming to a decision. "Shoot."
"Have you... ever had a friend?"
Blake put her tea down on the table and looked at Yang. She felt like she should be a little bit offended. Yet, Yang had sounded… Concerned.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I don't know. Forget I asked," Yang flushed bright red, staring down at her coffee.
"I've had one friend, but that ended a while ago. He ended up not being all that great of a friend in the end. Other than that, no, I haven't." Blake put down her tea.
Yang glanced up at the black-haired girl. "I know you aren't the most open person, Blake, but I'd like to try and be your friend."
Silence.
Blake looked at Yang, very carefully. The blonde girl had not dropped her gaze, but instead, amber eyes met lilac. "You… want to be my friend?"
Yang nodded. "We aren't extremely alike, I know that. But I do think we'd make good friends if we gave it a shot."
"Don't friends normally just like… happen? Instead of someone asking permission to be someone's friend?" Blake rose an eyebrow at her roommate.
"I tried that. You shut me out."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
The two roommates sat, staring at each other in continued silence.
"You really don't party anymore?" Blake asked.
Yang shook her head. "I'm studying criminal justice. If I got caught at a party, I'd get kicked out of the CJ program. I got it all out of me this summer. The cops back home would never arrest the sheriff's daughter. Here, it's different. I'm not Yang Xiao Long, emphasis on the Xiao Long. I'm Yang Xiao Long, emphasis on nothing. I'm an adult, and I have to be responsible for myself."
"I won't lie. That's probably the last thing I'd ever expected to hear you say."
Yang smirked at her roommate. "Oh, come on. I'm not that bad."
Blake sighed. "I was a little quick to judge, I will admit. But… I think we got started on the wrong foot. I think I'd like to be friends, Yang. I think I'd really like that."
Blake smiled at her roommate. Not a forced smile, but a genuine smile.
Someone legitimately wants to be my friend. She wants to be my friend.