Things We Said

…as the dust settled

The space between them had never felt so wide.

His knees could have knocked into Qrow's if he sat forward on the bench of the tiny prison transport carrier. His hands could've reached out for Qrow's. His lips could have found their counterparts, just as they had only a few minutes, hours, days before.

The space lingered on.

Tyrian chattered and snickered by his side, threatening them and trying to rile up the trio who had taken him down. The impact was only felt on Robyn, the young woman growing more and more agitated with every word. Nothing affected Clover, though- not when his eyes were transfixed on Qrow's hands reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small photograph.

He knew it was Team STRQ. He also knew that in his bedroom lay a gift he had bought for Qrow weeks earlier, having been unable to find a moment to give it to the man. It wasn't anything special, after all- just a small photo carrier, big enough to protect the aged, creased picture that perpetually lived in Qrow's pocket. The carrier unfolded, too, holding space for another image.

Ruby had smiled and given him her blessings when she gave him a picture of herself and Yang on either side of Qrow to put into that extra space. "You better be good to him, Clover," she had said, all sage smiles and sparkling silver eyes, just like her mother.

It was uncanny how much camaraderie Clover felt for Ruby in that moment, thanks to her channeling a woman Clover had never actually met. It felt like Summer, the one woman who Qrow had always quietly loved, had given him her blessings, too.

But then, their journey was interrupted by a call from Ruby, his Scroll beeped, and those same faces Clover had grown to cherish over the course of the past months flashed onscreen underneath a giant WANTED sign.

Qrow was now a fugitive, and James' worst fears were coming true.

The amount of heartache and betrayal in Qrow's eyes made him want to vomit. Tyrian and Robyn be damned- if he could have, he would've launched himself at Qrow, gathering the man up in his arms and holding him, promising nothing but his undying fealty to the one creature who had stolen his heart since he was a boy.

But in the face of orders from James, Clover had no choice.

"Clover…" Qrow breathed, gripping the hilt of Harbinger as Clover stood.

"Qrow," he began keeping his voice steady, "you should know that I've been asked to bring you in."

Tyrian cackled, clapping despite his bound hands, "A free ride and a show!"

Clover sighed, hanging his head. "There's also an alert out for Team RWBY's arrest."

That was the trigger- the moment when everything fell apart. When Clover brought himself to look into Qrow's eyes, all he saw was absolute horror, shame… betrayal. "What? Has James lost his mind!?"

Clover swallowed.

Qrow Branwen was a man of undying loyalty to his team. Despite losing his comrades, despite all of the trauma and the heartbreak and the loneliness, he had always upheld his duty by them. But Qrow had never promised to stand by Clover's side; the ones who Qrow had always sworn to protect in Atlas had always been Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.

We're allies.

They weren't.

It was clear where their loyalties lay.

And as a fight between them all broke out in the carbo bay of that tiny transport vessel, Clover had to wonder whether those blissful nights spent in Qrow's arms had been nothing more than a hallucination- nothing more than the delusions of a man who, in the face of the one person he had loved unequivocally all his life, could never, ever be enough.