There were no words and there were infinite words that could describe morning once it came around.

For James Ironwood, the ones that immediately came to mind were awkward, uncomfortable, and daunting. He would have rather it not have been that way, but the fact that Qrow Branwen was spread out across his couch and snoring was the main contributing factor. James liked his privacy, quite a bit. And that had multiplied somewhat after the accident.

Groggy and tired-eyed, James managed to limp his way down the stairs to the kitchen where he could make himself a cup of coffee to kickstart his morning and his daily routine that helped him hold things together, wearing nothing more than an old white t shirt and the sweat pants that he'd put on the night before. Mentally, he ran through his morning checklist, oblivious to everything else.

Coffee.

Pills.

News.

Email.

He made his way into the kitchen quietly, turning on his coffee maker and preparing a filter with a hazelnut coffee that he'd bought the week before while getting his groceries James rubbed at his eyes, feeling the way that the cool metal of his right hand soothed them before reaching up to get his medication from the cabinet. Over on the couch, he could hear Qrow roll, but didn't pay it too much mind.

Qrow was an adult, he could handle himself.

James unscrewed the lid of the bottle that held his pain medication, pouring two tabs out into his metallic hand before swallowing them dry and grimacing at the chalky flavor. With a low groan, he leaned against the counter, watching coffee drip into the pot slowly. Soon he'd be able to get his morning underway.

Eventually.

From the living room, he heard Qrow stir again, a blanket half-falling off of the thinner man's body to reveal his exposed back. For a moment, James thinks, wondering whether he'd offered Qrow a shirt or not before his eyes fell on one of his old shirts, sitting on the coffee table in his living room.

Well, that explained that.

A quiet beeping sound turned James' attention away from Qrow and back to his coffee. He absentmindedly reached up to the cupboard above the coffee maker, pulling down a pair of mugs for himself and Qrow. He didn't know if Qrow liked coffee or not, but he figured it didn't hurt to make the offer.

James pours the black liquid into one of his favorite mugs, which bore a logo that was an advertisement for motor oil that a friend had given him when he was still in the army. With that, he went into the living room and sat down on an old chair, setting his coffee down on the table beside him before clicking on the television and turning the volume most of the way down so that he could follow the news without waking up Qrow.

He crosses one leg over the other, listening quietly to the weather report for the upcoming week and picking up his mug of coffee, sipping it as he let his mind wander for a minute. James closes his eyes, tilting his head back and lets the sounds of the morning overtake him as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do that day.

A sigh escapes his lips and he turns his head, looking over at Qrow. Messy, unorganized Qrow. Unreliable Qrow. Probable alcoholic Qrow Branwen.

For a moment, James wonders. Was he being too hard on Qrow? Or was he letting his pain and other stress build up and taking it out on Qrow? Or was Qrow legitimately just the worst?

He didn't want to discredit any of those theories. He had a feeling that the truth was probably a mixture of the three, which didn't make him feel great about the whole thing.

Over on the couch, Qrow shifted again and James snaps his head back forward.

Behind him, Qrow sat up on the couch, rubbing at a drowsy red eye and looking at the tv, then James, then back to the tv. "Weather?"

"Coffee's in the kitchen." James answers, sipping his coffee instead of answering Qrow's question. "And yeah, weather."

Qrow gets up, scratching at the hair on his chest and walking slowly towards the kitchen. James watches him out of the corner of his eye, realizing that there was next to no way that his pants were going to manage to stay on Qrow. The other man was simply too thin compared to him.

In the kitchen, James hears the sound of Qrow pouring himself a coffee. Followed closely by the sound of Qrow getting himself a plate of leftovers and putting it in the microwave.

"Thanks for the coffee." Qrow calls from the kitchen. "I think it's the nicest thing you've done for me."

James sighs. "I need coffee to be able to function in the mornings. Figured it didn't hurt to make extra."

"Do you have sugar?" Qrow calls, opening and closing two or three cabinets. "And milk?"

James gets up, figuring that he should probably get himself food as well. He walks into the kitchen, joining Qrow and reaching out for a black ceramic container with a silver latch. "Milk is in the fridge." James mumbles as he gets himself a plate of food, spooning rice and some chicken onto a clean dish.

The latch of the black jar comes open, and at James' side Qrow began spooning an absurd amount of sugar into his coffee, followed by the open and close of the fridge. Qrow prepares his coffee, leaning against the counter behind him with a Beacon Institute mug in his hand.

He didn't even realize for a moment that Qrow was staring at him.

When the realization hit James stiffened, trying to manuever his way out of the kitchen without showing too much of his right side. Why had he chosen to wear a t-shirt to bed that night? Why did sweaters have to be so warm?

"Sorry, I can-" James doesn't even think about what he was saying before he disappeared out of the kitchen, heart pounding in his chest, somehow the only thing that he was able to hear. He didn't like that he'd just mistepped that way, not at all. James took the stairs up to his bedroom, trying to hide the unevenness of his steps from Qrow on the way up.

He reaches the bedroom and closes the door carefully before sliding down against the wall, seating himself on the floor to try and calm himself down. James knew, deep down, that Qrow wasn't the worst person out there. He wasn't the worst person that could have seen his arm, but he was sure that Qrow was probably going to be speculating on more than just that.

Why did this have to happen?

How could he have been so stupid?

James gets up, crossing the room to put on a pair of jeans and a sweater that was just thick enough to hide everything. Just as he was about to put the glove on to hide away everything completely for the day, he heard Qrow's voice on the other side of the door.

"Jim?"

He could smell over-sweetened coffee on the other side of the door.

He doesn't say anything.

Qrow's voice appears again. "I'm not going to tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about." It sounded like Qrow was leaning against the wall. James looks between the glove and the door, and sighs, slipping the glove back on over his metal hand, pulling and tugging in certain places so that it would fit properly.

Qrow's voice again. "Jim, talk to me." There was a quiet thump that James couldn't quite identify. "Please."

James goes to the door, hesitates. Speaks instead of reaching for the handle. "I don't want to."

A sigh. "You're going to have to talk to someone about it eventually, you know that, right?"

Qrow was right. Qrow was a lot of things, James reminded himself, but probably the last thing that he would have wanted Qrow to be able to be was right. "I know."

"Come out and drink your coffee, Jim. I'm not going to force you to talk. But this isn't healthy." Silence for a moment. "I would know."

James squeezes his eyes shut.

Recomposes himself.

Schools his features.

Breathes in.

Exhales.

Hesitates.

James turned to the door, reaching out to open it with a gloved hand and sighing. He couldn't smell Qrow's coffee on the other side anymore, and it sounded like he was alone now. He was grateful for that. With a turn of the knob, the door came open, James coming out and dressed like he could be ready to take on the world.

He wasn't.

He walks down the stairs, trying his best to hide any differences in his gait from Qrow. The fact that the smaller man knew about the arm was more than enough for James. He didn't need Qrow knowing anything else about what his body was like after the incident.

Downstairs, Qrow was sitting on the couch, cross-legged with his plate of leftovers in his lap. The TV no longer played news and weather reports, those having been replaced by some sort of brightly colored cartoon. On the coffee table, sat a second plate of food beside the mug of coffee that James had gotten for himself. Apparently Qrow had taken the time to get James' things out into the living room instead of leaving it in the microwave to go cold.

James steps into the living room awkwardly, and seats himself. He reaches over to the small stand that held his normal phone and unplugs it, going to check his messages and his email because at least it was a way for him to avoid talking to Qrow about what had just happened. As he began scrolling through his messages on his phone, James reached over with his right hand to get his mug of coffee. He idly sips from it, concentrated on the text displayed on the screen in his hand.

"What's the agenda look like for the day, General?" Qrow's voice comes from the couch, as raspy and sleep-laden as it ever was. Qrow leans forward slightly, still shirtless and watches as James sets his mug down with a low sigh. "Because I imagine Roman and all of them probably want to have a status meeting or something."

"I haven't heard anything from him." James answers, voice tight. He was glad for the change in topic, but it wasn't necessarily enough. It didn't shake away the feeling that Qrow probably thought he was a freak because of how he looked. Deep down, James knew that there was probably nothing that could shake that feeling. "If we don't hear anything from them by one I'll drive you back to Vale. I'm sure your nieces miss you."

Qrow opens his mouth to say something, but decides not to. "Thanks for the offer." Qrow mumbles the words into his overly sugared coffee. "I'm pretty sure Tai is working today anyways, so I could use the drive." He piles a bit of his rice up on his plate with his fork, content. "...Are you sure you're ok with driving me all the way out to Vale?"

There's silence from James. Qrow hears the sound of James clicking his phone off and setting it back down on the small table beside his chair with a sigh. In his chair, James looked down as his mug of coffee, and the gloved hand that held it. "I don't mind." James mumbles the words. "You need to get back home sometime anyways, and I'd like my apartment back to myself sometime."

"Right." Qrow stares into the depths of his coffee for a moment, pensive. After a minute he sets the plate of leftovers down on the table and grabs his mug of coffee. "This needs whiskey."

"No." James' voice is hard. "I'd rather deal with you sober."

"Why?" Qrow laughs the word out. "Do you like me better this way or something?"

The chair that James was in creaked, and Qrow wondered for a moment what the man's face looked like right now. He had a feeling that James wasn't going to look at him directly, which he was ok with. He had the feeling that James probably wasn't comfortable with him around anymore. Qrow knew James' little secret after all. "You're somewhat bearable when you're sober."

"Oh." Qrow chuckles. "So that's how it is."

"Qrow-"

"Oh shush, Jimmy."

"It's James."

Qrow waves James' complaint away. "I get it. You don't want to deal with me because I know what's under that glove of yours." He sips his coffee, drinking in its warmth. "I don't see the big deal, but clearly you have a complex about the whole thing that you aren't going to be shaking anytime soon." He goes quiet for a moment, thinking of the best way to follow up on that statement. "...You know the others are going to find out about it eventually, right?"

"...I'd rather they not know." James' voice is quiet. "It's not any of their business what my body is like."

"Jim." Qrow stands up, stepping into a position so that he could look at James directly. "What happened."

"Ask them." James nearly snaps at Qrow. "They'll be able to tell you."

Qrow's eyes narrow and he zeroes in on James. "What do you mean?"

James is silent for a moment. His mouth opens for him to speak, but he soon closes it again, not sure how he was supposed to explain the truth. But he knew that he would have to do that eventually, whether he liked it or not. "There are a lot of things that happened that I don't... I blacked out for most of it, alright?"

"Oh." Qrow's voice softens. "That makes sense." For a moment, the red eyed man closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, I just don't see how you're living like this, Jim."

James sighs, picking up the plate of food that was on the table next to the chair and eating it, bit by bit. He wasn't sure that he was hungry anymore, and whether that was a result of his exhaustion or a result of nerves wasn't so easy for him to tell. He closes his eyes, trying to block out his feelings before he speaks up. "You should get dressed soon. Day ahead of us and all of that."

"Why?" Qrow asks, crossing his legs and stirring his coffee. "If you don't hear from Roman by one you're just driving me back to Vale, right? Why do I need to get dressed?"

"My pants, my rules." James answers, his voice hard. "And-"

"You've said enough already." Qrow laughs, standing up and getting his clothes. "I'll go get out of your pants, alright big guy?"

"Don't."

James can hear the sound of Qrow's laughter down the hall. Frustration made his face burn, but he pushed the feeling back and instead ate what little he could for the morning. James managed to make his way through the plate before going into the kitchen to clean up the emptied out containers and dispose of any trash. He took his time, going through the paces and making sure that his kitchen was spotless. It was a nice break, it gave him a chance to pay attention to something other than the fact that there were several parts of him that screamed to put Qrow through a wall.

It's several minutes, but soon Qrow was coming into the kitchen, fully dressed. James sighs, hearing Qrow climbing into one of the tall chairs on the other side of the median counter. "Hear anything from Roman?"

"No." James mutters as he puts a plate into the dishwasher with his left hand, careful not to touch anything that was dirty with his right hand since he didn't know whether he had another clean glove upstairs or not. "What did you do with my clothes?"

"I put it all in the hamper in the bathroom." The man's voice goes quiet for a moment, like he was trying to figure out whether he'd done something wrong or not. "I figured that was what I should do."

James blinks. Once. Twice. His blue eyes flick between Qrow and the dishes that he was doing for a moment before James managed to speak up again. "Yeah, you're fine."

"I think that's the first time you've ever said that to me." Qrow laughs. "I'll treasure that."

James chuckles lowly, though he isn't sure why. "Right." He straightens up, closing the dishwasher beside him and slips the glove off so that he could at least wash his hands of anything that had gotten on them.

Slowly, James shifts his body so that he put most of his back between Qrow's view of his hand and the sink. He runs the water, squirting a bit of dish soap into his left hand and beginning to wash them carefully. Once he was done, James began toweling off his hands, his left drying first and then beginning to work into the grooves of his prosthetic hand so that they wouldn't rust or be more uncomfortable. After a minute of drying, James turned back to Qrow, sliding his glove back into place.

He could feel Qrow's eyes on him as he adjusted the glove on his hand.

"Does it rust?"

"No." James mumbles. "I don't think it-... I don't know." His voice is resigned.

"Got it." Qrow mumbles, standing up straight and stretching. He leans forward, stretching over James' counter and watching James. "So, should we start going back to Vale soon or..."

James sighs. Thinks. He blinks a few times before looking up and catching Qrow's eyes. "Yeah, probably." James stands up straight, walking to the living room and getting his keys and his phones. From the high chair at the kitchen counter, Qrow is able to watch everything that James did, as the man flicked through emails and checked that he hadn't heard anything from Roman, Junior, Glynda, or Winter. During this, James doesn't stay in one place, instead deciding to pace about and try to figure out what he was doing.

After a long moment, James pocketed the phones, getting his keys from the bowl where he'd put them the night before. The man fixed his hair quickly, using only his reflection in the mirror before standing upright, back rod-straight and looking over at Qrow with a sigh. "Get your things, Qrow. We'll head out in a few minutes."

"Right." Qrow hops down from the high chair and crosses the room, going to the coffee table and beginning to shove his things back into his pockets like they had been the night before when he got home. He pauses on the last of the things that were on the table, finding the paper placemat that he'd been using as a distraction the night before. "Hey, Jim, I'm curious."

The room goes silent for a moment. James looks over his shoulder to see Qrow. "Do I want to know?"

Qrow waves the placemat, drawing James' eyes to it. There was an expression across Qrow's face that could only be described as mischievous, and it left James feeling deeply unsure whether he wanted to know what it was that Qrow was getting his attention from. "I mean... you might, Jim."

James turns to face Qrow and steps up to the shorter man's side. He reaches up, pushing his hair back out of his face with a single gloved hand. He could feel that he was nothing but tension, pent up like a wire ready to snap. "Fine, Qrow. What is it, and is it important?"

Qrow holds the placemat out in front of him, looking somewhat triumphant as he looked over the text on it. "I want to make this partnership work. I know you don't like me or whatever, but you're the one always saying that we have to get along out in the field. So we're going to get to know each other, Jimmy."

"Firstly, it's James." James' blue eyes hold a bored expression, James moving about the living room and picking up the few things that he figured he'd need for the day that weren't his phone. He walked into the kitchen, going to the cabinet there and pulling down a bottle of weak painkillers, emptying four tabs into a plastic bag that he'd just leave in the car for the duration of the day in all likelihood. "And how do you propose to do that, Qrow?"

Qrow blinks, looking at the placemat, then back to Qrow. "I was thinking you and I do a back and forth. I ask you a question, you answer, and vice versa. How's that sound?"

With a pinch of his fingers against plastic, James sealed the bag of medicine, setting it down and reaching up to his cabinet so that he could get a bottle of water down. Qrow watched as James went to the fridge, filling the wide opening of the bottle with ice before filling it up with chilled water from a dispenser on the side of the fridge. He was reluctant to answer Qrow, since he wasn't sure exactly what sorts of questions Qrow was going to be asking him, but he figured that it probably wasn't too hard. "I reserve the right to not answer questions that I consider to be invasive."

"Deal." Qrow answers, looking back down at the placemat that he'd taken from the restaurant the night before. "What's your zodiac."

"Is this a roundabout way of asking how old I am, Qrow?" James' eyebrow raises and he leans against the back counter of his kitchen, eyes on Qrow. "I'm thirty-five. You should be able to do the math yourself."

"No shit, really?" Qrow's eyes widened as he looked over the placemat, bringing his finger up two from it's starting position. "I thought you were older."

A low groan of frustration leaves James' lips. "It's the grey hair, isn't it?"

"I mean, I didn't want to say it." Qrow chuckles. "But yeah, it is. So that makes you an Ox person." Qrow's red eyes narrow, moving between James and the piece of paper that he was holding onto in front of him. "Ox fits you. Surprisingly well." Qrow doesn't need to look up to know that James was rolling his eyes at the comment. "You're stubborn and all."

"What are you then, Qrow?"

"Dragon." Qrow says with a wide grin. "Me, Tai, and Summer. We're all 32."

"Funny." James deadpans. "I thought you were older."

Qrow goes to the trashcan, disposing of the placemat so that he didn't have to worry about it later on in the day. "Yeah, yeah. Your turn, Jimmy."

"Don't." James nearly snaps at Qrow for the use of the nickname. "Why do you live with your brother in law?"

"Bad with money." Qrow shrugs, looking away from James. It left James feeling like there was the possibility that Qrow was lying to him, but he didn't want to question it too much. Some people just weren't good at handling their finances. And Qrow definitely fit the profile for the type. "My turn. Any family?"

"Only Penny." James answers with a shrug as he walked towards the apartment door, ready to go out to the car so that they could begin the drive out to Vale. "She's the only family that matters at least." James knows that his voice had probably softened some at that, but that's just what talking about Penny did to him. She was the light of his world, after all. He shakes his head, trying to shake the feeling and get to a good question to ask Qrow, but only fell on one solution. "What about you?"

Qrow sighs, scratching at the beard that covered his chin. "Tai and Summer, the girls. I've got a sister but I don't hear from her much." The shorter of the two men kept his eyes away from James, like he was afraid that he would end up on the receiving end of the scrutiny for once.

James doesn't move to say anything. He doesn't want to. "I'm sorry." He doesn't know what he's apologizing for.

"Thanks." Qrow straightens up slightly, and James can hear the sound of him fidgeting with that flask he'd had the night before. "How'd you end up working for the Wizard?"

Now that was an interesting question, James thought to himself. He figured there were a lot of ways that he could technically answer, but decided quickly on one. "Glynda found me." James mutters. "They wanted someone with certain technical know-how, and I was ex-military and fit the bill. Started working with them not long after." James' jaw clenches, and he turns his eyes on Qrow as the two reached the car, opening up the driver's side door and climbing in. "And what about you, Qrow?"

"You know the reason, Jim." Qrow shrugs. "I mean, kind of."

"So?"

Qrow climbs into the passenger's seat, closing the door behind him and making himself comfortable, adjusting the seat settings once again to make himself comfortable. "I uh... I dunno. I guess they just wanted someone since there was a gap in the team." Qrow shrugs. "I don't really know how they found me, other than that I knew Junior beforehand. I wouldn't be surprised if he suggested me to fill in the gaps. I think he just knew I was down on my luck."

"That sounds like Junior." James mumbles. "He cares about everyone. Even when it's detrimental."

"Yeah." Qrow mumbles. "But that's basically it. I wasn't the most... interesting recruitment. In fact-" Qrow shifts in his seat, making a point to make eye contact with James. "I'm pretty sure the most interesting part of my recruitment, is what you won't tell me, Jimbo."

"My name is James."

"I know." Qrow chuckles. "I just like messing with you."

James rolls his eyes, the pair rolling out of James' small driveway, and James beginning the drive to Vale, with Qrow and him shooting back and forth questions all the while. Mundane things. Where they grew up, favorite colors, last meals of choice. Once they hit the highway, Qrow drifted off to sleep.

James didn't bother him again until they were entering Vale's city limits. Groggily, Qrow managed to guide him through the city for a dropoff at Taiyang's house.

There's an awkward silence as Qrow got out of the car. James hesitates, looking for the right words to say, but when he was unable to find them, he pulled his eyes away. "I suppose I'll be seeing you soon."

"Right." Qrow answers, deciding to try and lighten the mood between them. "You won't be one of the guys that don't call back, right Jim?"

"Goodbye Qrow."

With that, James took off, back to Atlas so that he could get something productive done that day and try to relax slightly after that morning's debacle. The next time James would see Qrow, he figured it would probably be the last meeting before the job went down. Which at least meant some peace and quiet for him.

Hopefully.