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 Ten:
Clover woke up to a splitting headache. He groaned, the light spilling through the curtains of his bedroom window was definitely not helping the sharp pain currently threatening to split his skull. He just wanted to crawl under the covers and stay there, but it seemed his luck really was failing him.
"Morning, sunshine." Clover paused at the sound of Qrow's voice off to the side, shocked to find the elder Huntsman sitting in the one chair he had in the space. There was mild amusement lacing Qrow's words and face, but the older man's tone was strained all the same.
"Q-Qrow?" The brunette asked, feeling his face heat up somewhat at the situation and praying that it wasn't as noticeable since he had drawn the covers up, "Were you here the whole time?"
Qrow leaned forward with a glass of water in his hands that Clover gratefully took and hastily drank down in two large gulps, "Wasn't sure I should leave you alone after," he paused with a frown on his face, "After what happened."
Shame pooled in the Atlas soldier's gut, and he glanced down at the now empty glass in his hands, "I screwed up, huh?" He finally brought himself to ask, already knowing the answer.
Qrow grimaced, running a hand over his stubbled chin, "I wouldn't necessarily say that." He murmured, as if remembering his own drunken escapades. If what Ironwood told him was true, Qrow had quite a few of them.
"I was so upset I got drunk and you had to take care of me again!" Clover let out in an emphatic declaration as he let out a harsh laugh, "If that isn't screwed up, I don't know what is."
"Hey," Qrow tried assuring him, "We all mess up sometimes."
Clover knew what Qrow was saying was technically true, but he was the captain of the Ace Ops and an Inheritor. He was supposed to be setting an example for people, not screwing things up. His fingers clenched even tighter around the glass in his hands, "Yeah, but it wasn't fair to you." He mumbled, "I'm sorry, Qrow."
"It's fine, boy scout." Qrow replied, standing up from the chair to stretch as Clover heard the older huntsman's joints pop.
Clover watched him ruefully, "I'm supposed to be watching out for you too, you know." He couldn't help but murmur under his breath, his eyes going back to the glass in his hand as if it was the most fascinating thing in the room instead of Qrow.
Dark eyebrows raised over red eyes at the obviously overheard comment, "What was that?" Qrow asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation.
Clover's face heated up even more, "It-it's nothing!" He managed to get out, his face definitely burning.
Qrow regarded him carefully, taking a step closer towards the bed, "Listen, Cloves, I—" The spy was cut off from whatever he was going to say by a knock on the door leading to outside the apartment, both Qrow and Clover turning to stare in that direction, "You expecting anyone?" Qrow asked, his hands clenching into a fist as if he wanted to fight whoever was on the other side of the entrance.
Clover shook his head in response, bracing himself as he got up despite the headache still lingering in his skull. Qrow looked as though he wanted to walk over and support him as the younger man headed out of the bedroom and towards the door, but thankfully he didn't. Clover was grateful because he wasn't quite sure what would happen if Qrow had actually attempted to do so.
The knock repeated on the door just as Clover was about to open it, as if the person behind the door was growing increasingly impatient. Salem's Inheritor opened the door only to immediately straighten his posture when he saw that it was the General King himself standing on the other side. Clover spotted the silent Neopolitan waving from behind Ironwood, clearly amused. "Sir?" The Ace Op asked tentatively, "What's going on?"
"Clover." The General King greeted, a small, relieved smile falling across Ironwood's face at the sight of the captain being up and about, "How are you feeling?"
Clover's face felt hot once again at the thought that he'd caused the other man to worry about him, "I'm fine, sir," he replied, glancing over at Qrow who was now standing just a few feet behind him, "Thanks to Qrow."
Ironwood's blue eyes landed on the man in question briefly before he shifted awkwardly where he stood, "I'm glad to hear it." He muttered, although his tone didn't sound particularly pleased at Qrow being in Clover's quarters.
Qrow raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest, "Something tells me this isn't just a social visit, Jimmy." He gritted out, seemingly annoyed at the General King's presence.
From behind the imposing stature of Atlas' ruler, Neopolitan's knowing smirk only widened as Ironwood cleared his throat, "You're right, Qrow." He answered truthfully.
Clover tensed at the serious expression clouding over the bearded man's face, "Did something happen, sir?" He questioned, anxiety pooling in his gut that while he'd been drunk off his ass something terrible had occurred.
Ironwood was quick to shake his head reassuringly, "Nothing that drastic, no. It's just..." he trailed off, frowning once more before continuing, "Hargrove would like your assistance in activating a new batch of Golems, Clover."
"Of course he does," Qrow scoffed "Can't even give Lucky Charm here a moment's rest, huh?"
Ironwood's blue eyes flashed like steel as they landed on his friend, "Normally, I'd agree," the General King finally answered, "But there were some issues on the border of Menagerie following the breach incident."
"No need to say more, sir." Clover said, nodding his head as his mouth set into a grim, determined line, "Of course I'd be glad to help." He'd messed up quite a bit yesterday, so helping with it was the least he could do to make up for that.
"I don't get how you can fucking work for that asshole after finding that shit out!" Tucker's voice carried loudly as they made their way through the streets of Atlas, Qrow grateful that Ironwood had decided to stick around the Grand Palace to take care of some last minute items there given what he knew was the reason for the young man's shouting.
"Tucker." David Washington's exasperated tone explained, "It's complicated."
The teal-wearing Huntsman scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "Complicated is just a code word for bullshit if you ask me." Tucker responded, clearly not backing down from the disagreement.
"That's funny, because I'm pretty sure no one did." Was the feline Faunus' terse reply, and it was obvious by the way his steel-colored eyes narrowed he wasn't remotely amused by the conversation at hand.
"Listen, you son of a b—!"
Washington stepped towards the shorter young man, reaching out and gripping his arm to quiet him, the other's back pressing against the wall of a nearby building as he did so, "I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling the way you do, Tucker." He informed him succinctly, "But the three of us? Me, Carolina, and Caboose? We had nowhere to turn to after..." he trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with his own memories.
Tucker raised an eyebrow, "After what?" The dark-skinned man in teal prompted, clearly wanting to understand even if he was perturbed by the Charon agent's actions.
"It's nothing." Washington murmured in a voice that said it was pretty much anything but.
"Yeah, see?" Tucker asked, ripping his arm out of Washington's grip, "I still call bullshit."
"Tucker!" Washington called out before suddenly realizing they weren't alone anymore. The pair, having finally noticed Qrow, Clover, and Neopolitan approaching, stepped away from one another as Washington hastily threw a salute towards Clover's direction, "Captain Ebi! Huntsman Branwen!" He called out, glancing behind them, "And Neo too?"
"And I thought Simmons was a suck-up." Tucker murmured, causing the blonde to glare at him with flustered heat on his freckled cheeks.
Qrow raised an eyebrow as he noticed Tucker gingerly holding his arm where Washington had been gripping it moments before, "Everything all right?" He asked quietly, hand moving to where Harbinger was tucked away upon his belt.
Washington glanced from the older Huntsman over to Tucker as an apologetic look entered his gray eyes, "Everything's fine." He managed to say, clearly embarrassed by his temperamental display.
Qrow looked over at the young man from his tribe, wanting him to confirm that he was okay, "Tucker?" He asked, hand still at the ready.
Tucker grimaced slightly but met Washington's hesitant gaze before letting out a sigh of his own, "Yeah, everything's just fucking dandy." He muttered before looking sharply away to avoid seeing the relieved look in the other young man's eyes only seconds after.
Clover and Qrow both glanced at one another. It seemed like neither boy wanted to talk about what had just transpired any further as they were staunchly refusing to make eye contact with one another at that point. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut through, and Qrow wasn't sure what to do exactly to break it. Neopolitan quickly stepped closer to Clover then, poking one of his bare arms with a delicate finger as if to indicate that he should be hurrying up.
Washington looked over at her, taking the chance to focus on something other than the awkwardness between him and Tucker just then, "If Neo's with you, then does that mean...?" He began before trailing off, probably noticing Qrow's new red-eyed glare directed his way. To be fair, he wasn't really mad at Washington so much as what he'd just reminded him of.
"It means that Clover should be at headquarters already instead of dawdling in the streets."
The group froze at the sound of Malcolm Hargrove's imperious voice, turning to see the man in question standing not a few feet away by a side-street with a white-haired man who seemed to be regarding them all with keen, scrutinizing interest. Qrow's red eyes narrowed as he recognized Jacques Schnee. Great, so now he was dealing with two of his least favorite people. Today was certainly not shaping up to be his day, but he figured it was par the course for his Semblance.
"Washington," Hargrove said, turning his attention to his gray and yellow-wearing agent, "Need I remind you to not make scenes in public?"
Tucker's eyebrows shot up indignantly, "If anyone was causing a scene, it was m—!" He began as if to spare Washington the trouble, but he was promptly cut off by Washington holding out a hand towards him and shaking his head.
"My apologies, sir. It won't happen again." The Faunus quickly stated, and the way he took a step backwards and slightly to the left so that he was directly between the chairman and Tucker was not lost on Qrow.
Hargrove harrumphed, "See to it that it doesn't." He commanded, clearly unimpressed with them all.
"If I might ask," Clover said, his voice uncharacteristically cold and professional, "What were the two of you discussing?"
Jacques smiled, though the expression did not quite meet his blue eyes, "Only the technicalities of a special event for Atlas' elite, of course!" He boasted proudly, obviously tempted to twirl his white-haired mustache like a caricature of a stereotypical villain character.
"Yeah, because it's a great time to be planning a fucking party." Qrow muttered under his breath, rolling his red eyes.
"I'd heard you were back in Atlas, Branwen," Jacques sneered in his direction, "Can't say it is a pleasure to see you."
"The feeling's mutual, believe me."
Jacques' blue eyes narrowed, but before he could retort Hargrove raised up his hand, "Enough." He cut into the conversation quickly, "We still have much to discuss, Jacques." He told the other man curtly, "Neopolitan, Washington, see to it that Captain Ebi reaches headquarters as soon as possible." And just like that, with hardly a look over at Qrow or Tucker, he was walking off with Jacques indignantly following in his wake.
Tucker barely waited until the two older men were out of earshot before he muttered, "What assholes." As Qrow nodded his head in agreement.
"Tucker!" Washington admonished.
"What? Tell me I'm wrong!" He challenged, dark eyes narrowing in anger once more.
Washington merely sighed and shook his head, turning to face Clover and the waiting Neo instead, "Captain Ebi, sir." He said, sounding almost apologetic.
Clover smiled slightly, "I know." He told the Charon agent before turning to face Qrow, "I'll catch up with you later?"
Qrow wanted to protest being told to stay behind again, but he knew that Clover was weirdly adamant about it when it came to using his Inheritor powers. He smiled slightly himself and nodded, "Of course, boy scout." He said to reassure Clover that he'd be waiting.
After that, Neopolitan began practically pushing Clover and Washington down the street, though Qrow could faintly make out the brown-haired soldier saying, "You're going to apologize later, right?" to an emphatically nodding Washington.
That just left him and Tucker standing there in the damn cold of Atlas. "Didn't expect the day to start off like that." The young man murmured, rubbing the back of his head with a frown on his face as his eyes remained fixed on the disappearing form of Washington. Qrow joined him in gazing after the three, frowning himself. He couldn't help but agree with Tucker's assessment.
Clover leaned back against the wall he'd been standing next to, sweat soaking his brow and his vision momentarily blurry. He breathed in deep and rubbed his hand across his face as he tried steadying himself. The rush of heat against his face that always marked the use of his Inheritor magic was starting to cool. He imagined the Inheritor markings on his face were also dying down along with his eyes returning to their normal teal shade.
"That was the last one, right?" He heard Washington asking someone in concern, although his voice sounded distant.
"That's right." Doc's voice spoke up from a little farther away, "There were just eight this time."
"Of course. Because it's only Menagerie that needs them." The feline Faunus' tone held no bitterness despite his words, as if he was merely stating facts, "Still, given everything that's happened recently, I'm glad they're not pushing it."
Yes, who knew restraint could be in his father's vocabulary? Hargrove was definitely a strategist, if nothing else. Clover sighed all the same, hoping that the eight Golems would be enough to protect Menagerie.
"It's still impressive every time I see it." Ironwood's voice came from just next to Clover then, and he started slightly as he hadn't even realized the General King had entered the premises. The dark-haired man was staring up at the last of the activated Golems, hands clasped behind his back. Clover did have to admit, as draining as the process of activating them was, the automatons themselves were an impressive sight once their glyphs were glowing and they had freedom of movement. Not nearly as impressive as Penny or Lopez, but they were still pretty awe-inspiring in their own right.
"I wasn't expecting you to be here, sir." Clover managed to get out in-between breaths, his skin clammy against the wall.
Ironwood raised an eyebrow at the Ace Op captain's comment, using his flesh-and-blood hand to help steady Clover on his feet, "I felt I should stop by to see how things went," he looked hesitant for a brief moment as his touch lingered on Clover's arm, "Especially since I know this is extremely taxing for you given the earlier barrier situation."
"Sir..." Clover trailed off, uncertain how to feel about Ironwood's concern being so blatantly directed towards him.
The grip on his arm tightened slightly in a reassuring gesture, "You did well, Clover," the General King explained, "I know that things are strained right now, but you've made Atlas proud."
Clover felt a surge of pride well up in his chest and for a brief moment he completely forgot about how dizzy he was and his utter exhaustion, "It was an honor, sir." He said, teal eyes brightening.
Ironwood opened his mouth to say something more when Doc suddenly exclaimed, "Oh hey, that bird is back!" Clover turned his head to see that, sure enough, the red-eyed crow that somehow every so often got into the chamber here whenever they were activating Golems was back again.
Doc was pointing towards the avian, the crow resting on a windowsill as it eyed everyone in the space warily, as if expecting Caboose to suddenly appear and try throwing crackers at it once more. Caboose had pelted the poor thing about a dozen times already in his efforts to offer it a snack, so Clover was genuinely surprised the bird would continue to risk it. Neo was staring at the crow incredulously, her parasol out as if she was planning on trying to use it to push the bird away should it so much as come near her.
Washington sighed, "At least Caboose is with Carolina at the moment. We won't have to pick up crumbs again." He said, sounding more amused than he had this entire day.
Clover couldn't help but smile slightly at the avian's presence. He'd almost come to appreciate the routine of seeing the bird. It was as if it was somehow there to check up on him, as silly a notion as that was.
He was surprised, however, when Ironwood's blue eyes narrowed at the winged creature. The General King released Clover's arm, turning towards the resting bird as he began walking towards it. "Sir?" Clover asked, unsure of what was going on as Doc and Washington stepped out of the leader's way.
Ironwood stopped just a few feet away from the black-feathered bird, crossing his arms over his chest as he peered up at the creature in slight annoyance, "Did you see anything particularly interesting, Qrow?" He asked it tersely.
And before Clover could try and even comprehend the General King's words, his teal eyes widened in surprise and he found himself taking a step back as suddenly the crow was no longer a crow, but Qrow Branwen himself jumping down from the windowsill as the others around him and Ironwood looked on in shocked silence while the General King looked as if he was far from amused.
"Jimmy, fancy meeting you here." Qrow began before his red eyes landed rather sheepishly on a gaping Clover, "Hey there, lucky charm."
Author's Notes: Well, that secret wasn't going to stay one for too long! XD