I do not own RWBY

There was something going on with his child. Of course, there was always something going on with Ruby, but this time it wasn't something she could solve on her own. He'd never been the most capable parent in the world yet his observation skills were nothing short of amazing. Ruby had always been a solitary child, well before Cardin came into her life, until Beacon she hadn't bothered to make many friends. While she might not be the most open with her real emotions she cared deeply for the people that she considered her own. It was part of the reason he worried about her so much. Life was horrible for those that lived for themselves, but it had to be torture for those that lived for others. He had no idea where she'd gotten that trait from. Both he and Summer were selfish people, no matter how much Tai might praise her as a saint.

Waiting in his daughter's room for her to get done with her shower, he looked down at his hands. Summer might be the better person to talk to Ruby. He'd never been good with having heartfelt discussions with people. Killing was something he was much better at. Usually he'd leave these types of talks to Tai but the blonde was currently trying to have another child with his sister so he didn't really have a choice. He really hoped they were using protection. Shuddering at the thought of another little Tai or Raven running around he made a mental note to toss Yang at them.

Tossing the idea of any new nephews or nieces out of his mind, he brightened when the door opened. His daughter was adorable especially since the pink sweater she wore almost swallowed her. Smirking when she raised an eyebrow in his direction, he wouldn't have caught the flash of longing in her eyes if he wasn't watching. Closing the door she hesitated before slowly moving to sit down beside him; yeah, there was defiantly something wrong. Instead of asking what was wrong he simply let her curl up beside him until she was comfortable. It wouldn't be wrong to compare his daughter to a puppy in certain situations.

"I'm scared," she admitted. Thick emotion hung in the air for a moment before he ran a hand through her hair. Closing his eyes, he hated those words. Taking a breath she relaxed against him before saying, "Adam wants a relationship."

His first instinct was to skin the faunus for even daring to look at his daughter. That instinct quickly gave way to the fact that she never objected to the idea. Ruby wouldn't be this torn up about the idea if she was going to refuse. It was more likely that she was afraid to let him in. Was fear genetic? If so then this might be his fault or maybe it was Cardin's. He'd known that Ruby had a relationship with Cardin but never why the two broke it off. It was possible that the boy had hurt her although the fact Cardin would throw himself into lava before harming the reaper made that idea foolish.

He'd always known that Ruby was going to have trouble giving love a chance. Those that cared the most were the ones who broke the easiest. This wasn't something he hadn't seen coming but that didn't mean he'd been looking forward to it. Summer should be the one sitting here not him. Even before Ruby was born she'd wanted to give their daughter everything in the world. He didn't know how to just talk to someone without wanting to run away. How was he supposed to keep their little girl from breaking into pieces?

"I was scared to give Summer a chance," he admitted. Longing tinted his voice at the memory of the woman who made this life worth living. Without her, he'd still be nothing but a killer. Without her, he wouldn't have a daughter that kept him alive. That didn't mean that he woke up every day without missing her.

Sitting up slowly, she eyed him for a moment. Everything she'd done was hide things from him but he didn't push. He'd never pushed for answers to questions that she knew he had to have. If she told him everything then what would that make her? If he knew the truth he might not accept her but Cardin had. She was nothing but a selfish woman who killed anyone who got in her way. Her dad deserved so much better in a daughter. She wasn't the person he deserved but she was the only child he had.

This was the man that accepted her without question when he shouldn't. If there was one person on this planet that she trusted it had to be him, didn't it? In her first life, her father had been nothing but a manipulative fool. Qrow was much better. She loved him, so she needed to trust him, right? It wasn't easy to trust. She'd been burned more than once by trusting the wrong person but her dad was never going to betray her. Taking a chance and trusting him might be foolish, she might lose him.

"Let me tell you a story," she said with a bitter smile. Catching the way he stiffened a little, she wanted to turn back. Part of her was almost begging to stop talking. It wasn't worth the risk of losing him. There was nothing in this world worth the risk of losing him, yet lying to him wasn't something she wanted to do.

"Once upon a time there was a little girl unloved by her family. She longed for nothing more than someone, anyone, to care about her. When that same family decided to sell her for their own profit, she ran away. It was easy to walk away from the only home she'd ever known. It was easy to turn her back on people who didn't love her. At least that was what she told herself when the nights were cold and dark."

It hadn't been easy. If anything she'd wanted to turn around but she kept going. Through every ounce of pain she'd felt she'd pushed herself farther away from the people she wished would love her. She didn't even care if that love wasn't real. In truth, they could've faked how they felt. She would never have cared if they'd pretended. It was easy to fake love, so why couldn't they just pretend. People faked how they felt every single day because the truth tore them apart. Ignoring the way her throat burned she gripped the blanket bellow her. Telling Cardin hadn't been this hard, but then again she'd only told him that she'd been reincarnated not everything that happened before that.

"Living on the street begging for scraps she was found by a man that needed a pawn. He didn't care that she was a run away or that she wasn't worth his attention just like she didn't care he was using her. If it meant feeling something then pretending was easy," she admitted. Talking hurt. Her vision was blurring with tears that she refused to admit existed but she didn't stop. Hiding from the truth wasn't going to help her now. Forcing a smile she said, "it was supposed to be pretend. A fake lover to help him escape the burden of his duties. He was the devil in human skin, a man that did anything to get what he wanted. Murder and love were just tools that he used to get what he wanted but he wasn't evil."

They were the same now. If he saw her now, Dante might not even be able to tell the difference between them. She might've blamed him for letting her die, but she'd never hated him. After everything he'd done for her, there was no way she could hate him when he'd given her a home. Without him she would've been dead long before the day she died, so why did it hurt so much that he'd left her.

"It was pretend for him but not for her. That stupid foolish girl, fell in love with a man that would never love her back. She threw away everything she was for him hoping for even a little bit of love in return. It was so damn stupid, he didn't love her, he was never going to love her. But he was kind."

Staring down at her hands she could admit that Dante wasn't the devil of her story. He'd been the only person to offer her their hand. Without him she'd never have survived or even had an ounce of happiness. Still, she'd been a fool to think he cared about her as anything other than a pawn. People like him, like her, weren't capable of truly loving someone. All they did was break apart the people around them until they accomplished their goal. She didn't want to be wrong about him since that meant she might be wrong about herself.

"Then it all came crashing down. The foolish little girl questioned his decision. I fell out of his favor, broke his trust, and ruined everything. That man left me alone in a cellar to die. It wasn't a fast death either but it was cold and dark. It was everything that I'd been afraid of… but I didn't hate him. Sitting alone in the dark waiting to die, the only thing I felt was sadness."

Shivering it was hard to remember that she wasn't there. It hurt. Every part of her hurt. Why hadn't time made it hurt less? Wasn't there a saying about time healing everything? Wiping her eyes she wondered if her dad was confused. She honestly should stop talking. The story was over. She'd died down in that cellar wishing for someone to love her. There was nothing left for her to say.

"Was it wrong for me to wish for love? Was it wrong to trust Dante? If I'd never ran away would I have lived? I don't know what to do! What if it turns out the same way again?! I'm scared!"

Sobbing into her hands, she hated this. Crying like this wasn't something she was supposed to do. Rubbing at her burning eyes she wanted to hide away until this was over. Her chest was being torn apart, honestly a blade might hurt less. Crumbling, she curled in on herself. Or at least she tried to. The warmth that surrounded her was the only thing that kept her from shattering. Hesitating, she didn't reach out for him as he held her tightly.

"I love you."

No matter what she was his daughter. That story was too much to be a lie, yet it had never happened to her. knowing that Ozpin existed it was easy to put together the pieces in his mind. His daughter was like Oz, but that didn't matter. Right now she was hurting, nothing else mattered to him. The barriers around her heart shattered with his words. Clinging to her tightly, he hated how helpless he was as she wailed. Sorrow and pain formed a symphony that almost caused him to shatter too.

Summer would know what to do.

Summer wasn't here.

Hugging his daughter tightly, he closed his eyes to see her again. It was getting harder to remember what she looked like without the picture he kept hidden. Every day he lost her more and more. He knew the pain that came with loving someone that left. It might not have been her choice, but Summer left them, which tore him apart more than anything else. Because of this damn war, she was never going to see her daughter grow up. If possible he'd have taken her place.

Giving love a chance was terrifying. He knew more than anyone how much it hurt when that love died, however, he also knew that staying afraid wasn't going to do anything more than cause her more heartache. Holding all the pain inside wasn't the way to live. Simply surviving wasn't going to make her happy. This cruel world broke people who tried to hide from it. He'd never wanted anything more for his daughter than for her to be happy. She didn't need to conquer the world or prove herself to be the strongest, all she needed was to live.

"I don't care if you're selfish, I don't care if you're cruel. I… just want you to live. Part of life is taking the risks that you don't want to take. Yeah, it might be a mistake. Hell it might end up destroying you but not taking that risk isn't going to solve anything. Living life afraid to take chances isn't really living."

It was hypocritical. He'd never taken a chance on people after Summer died. He'd never looked for love again, but that wasn't what she needed to hear. There was no way that he'd ever take his own advice not after losing her mother. Life was cruel. That's why selfish people usually lived the longest. He hoped that his advice helped her even a little.

Hi guys, well this was a chapter. Anyway, I decided to simply have this chapter centered around Qrow and Ruby's relationship rather than put in any side characters. Qrow finally knows about Ruby's past life. What did you guys think of this chapter?

So about those songs I mentioned I honestly couldn't pick so I have a playlist for them of fifteen songs. It's weird I know. Anyway it's down below:

Ruby:

- High School Me by Sasha Sloan

- Would Anyone Care by Citizen Soldier

- Hallelujah by Citizen Soldier

- Superman by Five For Fighting

- First by Riell

Adam:

- Can't Go to Hell by Sin Shake Sin

- Hard to Kill by Beth Crowley

- Take it out on Me by Thousand foot crunch

- Human by Rag'n'bone man

- King of the Mountain by Louis II

Couple songs:

- Still Worth Fighting for by My darkest days

- Lonely eyes by Lauv

- Monsters by Katie Sky

- Armor by Landon Austin

- Fools by Lauren Aquilina

So my taste in music is a thing.

Stay safe and have a good day