Legal Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Red vs. Blue, or any of the shows' characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Chapter Seven:
News spread quickly of the party's return from the site where they'd gone to restore the barrier, though Qrow was already well-aware of their arrival thanks to a few Atlas patrols in bird form. Things as they were, the spy and the other responsible "adults" of their group, if one could technically call Sarge that, had to beg the younger Huntsmen and Huntresses in their midst to give them some time to approach Ironwood and check on Clover's status before they all rushed in to see him. Last thing the Inheritor needed was a bunch of people crowding his personal space, especially since some of those people were hyperactive and had a tendency to ignore personal space bubbles.
"I guess that's fair." Donut said surprisingly as he worried his bottom lip with his teeth, "We'll just check in with Doc and the others in the meanwhile."
"That's the spirit, son!" Sarge exclaimed, clapping the pink-wearing young man on the back before turning to his automated son, "Now, Lopez, you'll just have to be a bit patient on that father-son bonding time we talked about having earlier, you hear?"
"... De alguna manera me las arreglaré para vivir." {"...I'll somehow manage to live."}
So, later on, that was why it was just Qrow, Sarge, and Robyn who followed Winter Schnee into the Grand Palace, Qrow pacing impatiently as they waited for the white-haired woman to knock on the door to Ironwood's office. The black-haired man's natural instinct to kick the door open with his foot and waltz in like he owned the place would probably not have endeared the Ice Queen to him. She already only partially tolerated his presence as it was.
"Sir, it's Winter." The white-haired woman called out when a muffled voice came through the door, "Miss Hill and Huntsman Branwen would like to see you." She didn't mention Sarge, but seeing as how the older man in red was pretty much a package deal when it came to Robyn Hill as he was essentially her self-declared bodyguard, that was to be expected.
"Come in." Ironwood's voice said slightly more clearly not a moment later, perhaps a bit more resigned for Qrow's liking. The Huntsman guessed it was his presence the General King was objecting to. Fuck it though, if Ironwood didn't want Qrow hanging around, then he shouldn't have tasked him with being Clover's partner, a damn difficult job to do when there was so much secrecy going on in Atlas!
They'd just stepped inside the General King's office proper as Qrow readied himself to speak when Robyn surprisingly beat him to it, stepping in front of both himself and Winter as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Where's Clover?" She demanded, not at all intimidated by the towering frame of the standing Ironwood behind his desk. It occurred to Qrow just then that of course she'd be worried about Clover, given their history of having grown up together. Regardless of the tense relations between Atlas and Mantle currently, Robyn and Clover still shared that childhood bond.
Ironwood raised an eyebrow at the tan-skinned blonde's abruptness, "Captain Ebi is resting in his quarters currently." He explained, "The process of restoring the barrier around the wastelands drained him considerably."
"But he's all right?" Qrow asked gruffly, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.
"Of course." Ironwood was quick to assure them all, his blue eyes widening in surprise at the indication that the captain of the Ace Ops wouldn't be.
Winter let out a small breath of relief, smiling slightly towards Robyn, the blonde returning the gesture momentarily before turning back to Ironwood once more, "When can we go and see him?" The leader of Mantle asked, already focusing back on making sure they got concrete answers.
"You should wait until tonight or even tomorrow." The General King answered, tapping a finger on his desk in thought, "Clover was fairly exhausted."
Qrow wanted to protest the suggestion, but Ironwood's tone made it clear it wasn't a topic necessarily up for debate. Sarge placed a hand on his shoulder then, "I'm sure a strapping fella such as yourself can find all sorts of ways to pass the time 'til then!" He quickly assured the younger Huntsman, "You always were pretty well known around the bars."
"Sarge!" Winter exclaimed, raising a white-haired eyebrow in disapproval, "It isn't appropriate to encourage that kind of behavior!"
"Thanks," Qrow was quick to reply to Sarge's offer, wanting to diffuse the situation before the Ice Queen went full on morality police, "But I'm pretty good."
From behind his desk, Ironwood raised a dark eyebrow, "It's unlike you to refuse a chance to bar hop, Qrow." He said, his surprise evident in his tone.
Robyn and Sarge were both regarding Qrow curiously, no doubt remembering his past excursions in the bars of both Atlas and Mantle. Winter, who had admittedly seen him at some of his worst moments while inebriated, was looking at him as though he had suddenly grown a second head. Damn, Qrow realized he obviously had left maybe not the best impression back then.
"Yeah," he said as his face began to heat up at the attention being thrown his way and he ran a hand through the back of his hair, "I don't do that. Not anymore." Qrow shakily admitted, wanting to make that clear to the group.
"Huh. It's probably for the best." Sarge told him, "You never could hold your liquor very well."
"That's your takeaway from this, Sarge?" Robyn asked, her eyebrows having shot up incredulously.
Winter was still gaping at him in open disbelief, but Ironwood was smiling slightly, "That's good, Qrow." He finally got out, "For how long?"
Red eyes squinted in memory, "Been about a year, I guess. Give or take." He finally said, remembering the exact moment when his dumb drunk ass almost ruined everything for the tribe. His nieces and helping to raise Oscar had been a major part of him wanting to get better, of his wanting to do better. It was odd bringing it up at all now though, especially in front of people who clearly remembered him during a very different time in his life.
"So no bar visits then." Robyn finally said at length when the silence lingered in the space following his admission, "Looks like you'll have to find some other way to pass the time then, Sarge!"
Sarge snapped his fingers together and hummed appreciatively, "Looks like it is father-son bonding after all! I'll just go and find Lopez then." The older man exclaimed enthusiastically, though Qrow was fairly certain the young man in question would be less than ecstatic.
"Since I know you're here and all, General King," the violet-eyed Robyn said as she smirked and stared down Ironwood, her arms still crossed over her chest, "I have some bones I'd like to pick with you about supply runs to Mantle running late, Your Majesty."
Ironwood sighed in resignation, offering the woman a seat across from his desk as he took his.
Of course, that just left Winter and Qrow with nothing to do, their presences clearly forgotten. The red-eyed man shifted awkwardly on his feet, "Do you have work you need to do or something?" He prompted, praying she said yes.
Winter frowned and shook her head, "Unfortunately no, but I was on my way to meet Weiss and some of her friends." She said, eyes looking towards the door with a clearly conflicted expression.
"I see." Qrow said, trying to think of how the hell he can leave before this conversation got even more awkward.
"I can't believe I'm suggesting this," the younger woman said as she rolled her eyes and turned fully to face him, "But I suppose you can tag along if you wish. I certainly doubt they'll mind since you can provide them with new information on Captain Ebi."
The spy stared at her contemplatively. He knew this was definitely the Ice Queen's way of offering a slight olive branch, and in the past he never would have gotten one. Since it would be a while before he could visit Clover, Qrow decided to take the branch.
Winter paused in the doorway of the restaurant, her eyes momentarily widening as she saw the group that was seated there, "Oh," she finally murmured at Qrow's questioning gaze, "Ilia is here too."
Sure enough, the chameleon Faunus was sitting in-between Blake and Weiss at one of the tables, Weiss delicately laughing at something the brunette had said while a slight, almost shy, smile graced the other girl's face at Weiss' reaction. Now that Qrow was regarding the pair more carefully, they did seem to be pretty close. Kai was actually pretty observant to have noticed it before he did.
Qrow raised an eyebrow at Winter's hesitant expression, "Don't tell me you're one of those judgmental types when it comes to Faunus?" He'd never seen any indication of that from the Ice Queen before, but it wouldn't be surprising considering she was from Atlas.
Winter bristled at the implication of his words, "Of course not!" She shot out quickly.
"Then what's the problem?" He asked, tilting his head curiously to the side.
Winter sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in a movement that clearly indicated she'd definitely been hanging around Ironwood too much, "There is no problem exactly. I'm thrilled that my sister has someone she's getting so well along with." There was a distant look in her blue eyes then as she bit her lower lip, "Our father on the other hand?"
Understanding flooded Qrow then, and he felt something akin to sympathy for the younger white-haired woman, "You're worried about how he'll react when he finds out." He said knowingly, noting that it was a valid concern for the oldest Schnee sibling to have.
"He isn't a very tolerant man, and he will find out eventually if they're seen together so often like this." Winter said, her brows furrowed together in consternation, "If only he wasn't so fixated on Weiss being his heir now."
Qrow instantly recognized the unspoken guilt lacing her words. Winter had left her family years ago, and while she never looked back on the decision per se, its effects were still lingering over her worry for those who remained within her jackass of a father's grasp. Weiss no doubt felt freer in these past months than she had ever felt before, being away from that stifling household and that was saying something given that she was currently conscripted into the service of Atlas.
"Hey, it's best to just let them be kids currently and enjoy themselves, you know?" Qrow told Winter, placing an awkward hand on her shoulder, "Your dad can go fuck himself. I doubt he'd do anything while they're both under Jimmy's supervision."
Winter relaxed and nodded slightly, though her eyes narrowed at Qrow's lack of respect for her beloved General King, "That's His Majesty to you, Qrow." She informed him, back to being prim and proper.
"Yeah. Not gonna happen, Ice Queen." He said, grinning as he patted her shoulder in a friendly gesture.
Before Winter could let out so much as a growl in protest, and from the way her lip started snarling upwards it was obvious she wanted to, the adults were spotted by Qrow's sharp-eyed eldest niece. "Qrow! Winter!" Yang called out from her spot next to Blake, her artificial hand waving them over while the dark-haired man noticed that the blonde's other hand rested gently on the black-haired girl's thigh and neither seemed to have an issue with it, "You finally got here!"
"Sorry for the sudden tag-along." Qrow muttered as they made their way over to the table, Winter sliding in next to her little sister with a rare smile on her face, "Didn't exactly have much to do."
"That's fine." Blake told him assuredly, her golden eyes looking rather thoughtful, "I take it Captain Ebi is still resting?"
"Of course he is." Yang said conspiratorially, playfully winking in her uncle's direction, "Otherwise Qrow wouldn't be wasting his time here with us!"
"Brat." Qrow said under his breath as he reached over and flicked Yang's forehead with his finger, though the blonde annoyingly continued to grin as she ignored the gesture.
"So Captain Ebi's going to be okay?" Simmons asked nervously from his spot next to Grif.
"Yeah, he should be." Qrow muttered, hopefully sounding more confident than he felt currently, "I'm going to check in on him later just to be sure."
"Of course you are." Yang replied with her continued knowing smirk, causing her uncle to roll his red eyes to try to downplay the heat suddenly blooming in his cheeks.
"You should bring him some food from here when you do." Grif said in his usual apathetic voice, though the topic of food apparently brought a jolt of excitement to the heavyset Faunus as he added next, "The noodles here are really good!"
Simmons rolled his green eyes, "Of course you'd focus on food first, Grif." He said, face frowning in disapproval.
The tan-skinned Faunus shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a man of simple means, Simmons." He smirked, brown eyes flashing, "You were quick to want to come here when the noodles were mentioned too."
Simmons spluttered, his freckled face going red in embarrassment to the point it almost matched the shade of his hair, "Th-that's beside the point!" He managed to exclaim in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.
"Uh-huh," Grif sounded like the cat who got the cream just then, "Keep telling yourself that, Simmons."
The redhead groaned and let his head slip into his hands, "Why did I ever agree to come here with you?" He asked, clearly mortified as Grif slurped his noodles.
"It's one of life's greatest mysteries, isn't it?" Grif intoned in a pseudo-sage voice when he'd finished his noodles, causing Simmons to groan even more.
Qrow glanced from the duo over to a rather amused-looking Yang and Blake, his niece simply shrugging her shoulders indifferently, "It's a whole routine with them." She said in way of explanation.
"I see." Qrow replied, as a waiter handed him and Winter menus to peruse.
As he read the menu, Weiss raised an eyebrow in Winter's direction, "Robyn isn't with you?" She inquired, sounding surprised to see her older sibling without the blonde from Mantle by her side.
Winter smiled apologetically and shook her head, "She had something she wanted to discuss with the General King." She exclaimed, eyes roaming the menu options.
"Aw, that's too bad." Yang murmured, "She's good company. You too, of course."
"Thank you." Winter said, her cheeks slightly reddening, "I'll be sure to tell her that."
As the older of the two Schnee sisters began talking conversationally to Weiss and Ilia, and the pairings of Blake and Yang as well as Grif and Simmons started getting into lively debates, Qrow couldn't help but feel like something of a third wheel just then. Still, he couldn't help but smile all the same at the happy energy in the room. He glanced over the restaurant's specials to try and figure out which one Clover might like the most.
Qrow moved quickly through the myriad dark hallways of the Grand Palace at night, carrying the food for Clover he'd brought back with him. If there was a lightness to his step at the thought of finally getting the chance to check in on his partner again, well, no one had to know, right? The kids and adults had all gone their separate ways following eating at the restaurant: Blake and Yang went to visit a book store that the feline Faunus had wanted to check out; Ilia and Weiss decided to be nice and warn Lopez about Sarge possibly trying to track him down for that "father-son" bonding time that the young man most certainly didn't want to have; while Simmons and Grif went to talk to Jaune and Donut, of all people, about something that they said had come up; Winter decided that it was probably best to check in on Ironwood and Robyn to make sure they hadn't strangled one another yet.
That parting of ways had provided Qrow with the perfect opportunity to check up on his partner. He had to admit, a rather large part of him had been anxious to do just that the moment they'd gotten word of the group's arrival back in Atlas. Qrow was just about at the door to Clover's apartment in the Grand Palace when it opened from the opposite side, and a dark-haired woman with an eyepatch moved out into the hall. The Huntsman froze, instantly recognizing Cinder Fall.
The young woman in question also seemed to notice his presence just then, smirking with a slight mocking bow of her dark-haired head, "Pardon the intrusion, Huntsman Branwen." She said in as insincerely a manner as possible.
"What are you...?" Before he even got the words out, however, another figure moved to exit the space and Qrow couldn't help but freeze once again at the sight of Malcolm Hargrove standing next to Cinder in the hallway outside of Clover's apartment.
"Huntsman Branwen." The older man said in way of cold greeting, "Are you here to check up on my son's health too?"
"Like fuck you'd be concerned with that now." Qrow snarled as he stepped forward.
Cinder tutted and held up her visible hand, flames dancing above the fingers, "Temper, temper now." She chided him, although her eyes gleamed with mirth.
Hargrove pursed his lips, "I have the right to check up on my son, Huntsman Branwen." He informed Qrow as though speaking to a particularly stubborn child, "More than you do, I might add."
"You just want to make sure he's still capable of doing the work you need him for as Salem's Inheritor." Qrow managed to ground out through clenched teeth, hands clenching at his side, the food bag momentarily forgotten.
Hargrove and Cinder began walking past the red-eyed man, "That is important for the sake of Remnant itself, yes," the bald man noted, "Do keep that in mind before throwing accusations around."
Qrow snarled, but the second that the two Charon representatives had turned a corner in the corridor he raced into Clover's apartment without a second thought, "Clover!" He shouted, looking around the darkened room for the Ace Op captain.
The younger man in question was sitting in a chair by the window, a troubled expression looming over his features before teal eyes regarded Qrow standing flustered in his doorway in surprise. "Qrow?" He blinked, "What are you doing here?"
His bewildered tone caused Qrow to roll his red eyes slightly, "I came to check up on you. What does it look like, shamrock?" He informed him, gesturing over his shoulder, "What were they doing here?"
Clover's face fell into a troubled expression again at the reminder of his previous visitors, "My fa—Hargrove wanted to run some tests to make sure I was recovering quickly enough." He explained weakly, his eyes momentarily downcast as if he was admitting a large weakness.
Qrow raised a dark-haired eyebrow, "And you didn't tell him to go fuck off?" He asked, bewildered.
"Well," Clover said as he smiled sadly, "It's not like it isn't important that I recover as soon as possible..." he began before trailing off.
"But you shouldn't have to put up with that man any more than you need to," the older Huntsman argued, frowning, "Even Jimmy would agree with that." In fact, he was certain that Ironwood would be pretty pissed off to know that Hargrove had used this opportunity to gain entry into the Grand Palace without his realizing it, especially given how he'd been trying to keep Clover away from his father as often as possible.
"I know," The brown-haired man replied, still smiling sadly, "But I'm fine, Qrow."
The older man scoffed as his red eyes narrowed in inspection, "You don't look all that fine, Cloves." He finally said, noticing the sickly pallor to Clover's skin.
"No, but restoring a barrier takes a lot out of someone." Clover's tone was a bit more light-hearted following Qrow's observation, as if he was trying to reassure both himself and Qrow at the same time, "I'll be back to fighting strength in no time though."
"I'll hold you to that." Qrow said seriously, although he couldn't help but smirk right back in reply.
Clover's trepidations over his encounter with his father were momentarily forgotten just then as his gaze fell to the food bag that Qrow was still holding, "What's that?" He asked curiously, teal eyes alight with interest.
Qrow looked down, his face flushing pink as he remembered what he'd initially come here for, "Oh! Um, just some noodle dish from this restaurant the kids were singing the praises of." He mumbled, "Figured you might be hungry."
A noise of agreement ripped from Clover's throat just then, "Starving actually." Salem's Inheritor informed him, a sincere look flashing across his eyes, "Thanks, Qrow."
"No problem." Qrow replied, handing the brunette the food and sat down in the chair across from him, looking out the window himself.
He was glad to see that Clover was back in good spirits despite whatever Inheritor nonsense his asshole of a father had probably dredged up before he'd gotten there, and he was glad in general to simply have the younger man back with him in Atlas. Qrow decided not to dwell too much on why that might be, since it wasn't really typical for him to get hung up on job assignments and it really had been a long time since he had a partner for work. The Huntsman simply enjoyed being in the other's company for the time being, running his hand through his black-and-peppered-grey strands as Clover started to eat the food he'd brought back for him.
Author's Notes: The character interactions in this story are a blast to write, so naturally I had fun with this chapter! :D Thank you so much for reading, as always!