Progression
It has been too long since he has done this, he thinks. He smiles, an unbearable surge of affection coursing through his veins as he moves the brush methodically back, holding thick golden strands with a gentleness he once had thought he could never possess. Time has taught him many, many things, however, and helping Yang with her lion's mane of hair cascading down her back is a skill he had picked up years earlier, although he never really thought he would ever be using it again.
His heart falls at that last thought. He had thought he would never have to do this again. He had always groaned and complained about this task in the past, taking the chance to tease and tickle and laugh with his niece. However, the little girl who used to bounce impatiently and giggle and beam up at him, chattering his ear off with an infectious excitement that made him grateful to be alive each day, is gone. This sullen, hollow young woman who sits upon a chair at the dining table before him does not utter a word in contrast, her eyes fixed upon a cup of tea which has long-since grown cold.
Qrow sighs, but continues brushing. The stump left upon Yang's right arm after the Fall of Beacon has finally healed, the metal cap glinting in the light; it is utterly jarring to see one hand resting upon the table without the other, though. A few inches from her hands lays her Scroll, the device lit up to show the loading screen of one of her favourite mobile games, but the girl makes no move to play it.
It is built for both hands, after all.
Without a word, he leans down and places an uncharacteristically-affectionate kiss upon her hair as he pulls the brush through the last section of her long, unruly waves. "You're done, firecracker," he murmurs, giving her shoulders a quick squeeze from behind. "Up on your feet, now. Let's go- your dad'll get around to cooking dinner soon."
Mutely, she nods, sliding out from behind the table. The girl's fingers reach out to grab the Scroll, turning off the game and the screen before collapsing it and pocketing the device. She pauses as she moves to stand up, however; his breath catches in his throat as he sees her legs stick out from under the table, that which was once strong and lean and clearly muscled now weak and thin. Her eyes are closed. "I should tie it up," she says hoarsely.
Nodding, Qrow hums in agreement and picks up the hair tie upon the table. The movements are easy enough- he had grown up helping Raven with her hair, and in Beacon, Summer- and soon, Yang's long blonde locks and brushed up and out of the way into a ponytail. "There ya go, Yang," he says softly.
These actions would normally be left in Taiyang's wheelhouse, but seeing as the other man has gone to town to pick up groceries, it is the least he can do. Sighing, Qrow stretches, then pats Yang on the back. "Alright, kid. I need to go take a nap-"
As he speaks, his eyes lift, landing upon the unsure figure of Ruby standing in the doorway. The younger girl clutches her arm, her black t-shirt and grey sweatpants painfully dark for the usually vibrant teenager; when she meets Qrow's eyes, she looks away, clearly uncomfortable with having to cross paths with her sister.
Yang hasn't spoken much to Ruby these days, after all. Taiyang says she needs more time, but Ruby is inexorably linked to the attack by virtue of being teammates. "It's the first time I wish they had been on different teams," the other man had admitted to Qrow when he had first confessed the tense situation between them all. "I thought they'd be okay at Beacon, and I- I didn't mean-"
Qrow hadn't let him finish that thought. He does not need to voice those words into existence. The downcast, heartbroken expression which Ruby carries nearly-constantly around the house these days only ever worsens whenever she spots Yang, and her trademark-red is nowhere to be seen in order to avoid frightening the other girl.
He hums, catching her eye and nodding with a weary, but tender smile. I know, kiddo, he says silently. To Yang, he murmurs, "Alright, I'll leave you be, firecracker," before loping off to the living room where Ruby stands.
His younger niece does not say a word until they are upstairs, far away from prying eyes and ears. Once the door to Ruby's room has shut behind them, however, Ruby takes a seat upon her bed and lets out a long, world-weary sigh; the furrows between her brows are more prominent than ever as she whispers, "When is Yang going to be alright?"
Tucking his hands into his pockets, Qrow meanders over to the window. He cannot imagine how Ruby feels; the relationship which she has with her older sister has always born with it a love and pride and affection that he has never maintained in his own relationship with Raven, after all. He will not pretend to know how she is feeling. "She just needs time," he repeats for what feels like the millionth time. This is not a new question, after all. Ruby has asked it of Qrow again and again ever since the Fall months ago, and he is just as clueless as ever.
How long can I stay here before heading out? We know where the enemy's going. There is no point waiting-
He flashes Ruby a wan, crooked smile from the window, leaning his elbows upon the sill as he opens up the glass. "Yang needs to figure out some things on her own. You need to start thinking about what you're doing next, kiddo."
Instantly, Ruby's face lights up. Conspiratorially, she shuffles over to sit closer to him, her voice dropping into a whisper. "I called Jaune," she said, barely concealing her excitement through a bitten-back grin. "He said that he, Nora and Ren would come join me."
Seeing the joy at the prospect of seeing her friends again eases some of Qrow's guilt. He had originally told Ruby about the truth, about his next steps going to Haven Academy, on a whim; he knows that she would eventually find herself embroiled in something or the other. Ruby Rose has silver eyes, and she has used those silver eyes to stop the giant Grimm Dragon which is frozen in stone and time, perched upon the crumbling remains of Beacon Tower. Ruby Rose has caught the attention of the shadows of the world, whether he likes it or not.
And if he does not give his little Ruby Rose some guidance and protection, he knows she will fall. She is not strong enough to stand alone. Not yet.
Despite that, with the past month droning on as it has, Qrow now regrets telling Ruby about his plans to visit Haven. Yang is more and more unresponsive by the day, and Qrow knows that Ruby cannot take much more rejection from her older sister. Ruby is someone who has always wanted to take action above all else, and with the fake transcripts for the leaders of the Fall of Beacon having belonged to Haven Academy, it is only a matter of time before she takes investigating it all into her own hands. To make it even worse, Leonardo Lionheart has not made contact with him. Glynda had told Qrow to wait a month for the headmaster to respond, and Leonardo has not, and now, it is time to take action.
Qrow needs to go to Haven. He needs to see what is going on with Leonardo; no matter what anyone says, the unsettling, gnawing fear in his stomach refuses to go away. His instincts have never failed him before. Something is wrong, and he needs to see what it is.
As he looks at Ruby's eager, yet resolute expression, however, he knows that his grave is already dug. Nothing he says shall dissuade her now; her friends have agreed to join her, and now, Ruby has a goal shining in the distance. You have no idea how painful it is going to be, kiddo, he thinks mournfully, fighting back the desire to wrap his arms around his little niece and never let her go. You have no idea.
There is nothing else he can do right now. So, once he hears Yang's tottering footsteps finally reach the top of the stairs, the girl's bedroom door closing softly behind her, Qrow sighs, stretches, and jabs his thumb towards the backyard. "Alright. If your friends have agreed, then grab your weapon."
Confused, she blinks up at him, looking so painfully sweet and young that he does not know whether to laugh or cry. He fights down the urge to do both, instead ruffling her hair before sauntering over to the door. "If you're heading out, we've gotta make sure you're back in top form, right? You've needed to rest up here, so you're out of shape- your friends, though, ain't. They've been busting their asses in Vale-"
Immediately, Ruby's eyes begin to shine with guilty tears unshed, and Qrow sighs, beckoning her over. She complies right away; he does not hesitate to pick up her folded-up scythe and press the weapon into her hands, smoothing out the hair which he had mussed earlier. Gently, he says, "Hey. You already did more than anyone could have ever asked of you when you stopped that Wyvern, kid. But, if you want to do more, then we need you to be ready, okay?"
Finally, she relents. There is a set to her jaw, a grim determination which steels her features as she nods. "Alright, Uncle Qrow," her high voice calls out. "Teach me."
They spar. The movements are fluid, so engrained into his memory that although it has been almost two years since he has last trained with his niece, they fall back into their roles perfectly. He corrects her stance and footwork and grip, aiding her with timing and drilling her aim until she is able to actually pose a potential threat to him. She is nowhere near to besting him- and she won't be for a long, long time- but to be set on that road is a good sign. It is good enough for now.
All of this is done on the opposite side of the house to Yang's bedroom. Neither explicitly acknowledge this fact- they both know, though. That silent understanding almost makes it hurt more.
Still, by the time night falls, Ruby is exhausted and sore, whining about needing to shower and sleep and eat. Qrow shoos her off just as he hears the front door open, signalling the return of Taiyang after a day in the market; she greets her father as she runs inside, urging Taiyang to meet Qrow out in the back garden before Qrow can stop her from saying a word.
The eyes which bore into his are painfully-accusatory. Silently, Qrow follows when the blond man begins to walk purposefully towards the woods, their feet carrying them through well-beaten paths which they have tread and retread a million times over. His heart sinks in his chest, the taste on his tongue sour and bitter as Taiyang refuses to look back at him, stalking ahead without hesitation.
Finally, they arrive at the cliff's edge. Qrow does not linger behind, moving to kneel right beside Taiyang as they both bow their heads. Summer Rose's grave is as pristine as ever; neither man comments on just how much time Ruby has been spending out here these days, babbling to a mother who cannot hear her little girl speak.
After their respects have been paid, however, Qrow stands. He does not need to be told to clench his jaw; he expects the punch to his cheek. He knows how Taiyang moves when he is about to strike. They have not spent half of their lives fighting by each other's side for nothing, after all.
"Your girls will pick themselves back up sooner or later, Tai," he rasps, massaging his cheek once the world stops spinning from the blow. "You knew it was going to happen."
Taiyang lets out a strangled scream of bitter frustration, bowing his head, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I know- I know! But- but I don't want Ruby to be fighting yet, and I just- Qrow, what if she gets hurt, too?"
Qrow hums, "You knew that this was a possibility from the start, Tai. The moment she went to Beacon with silver eyes, you knew-"
"I didn't think this would happen-"
"No one knew. If we had, don't you think we would've tried to stop it, Tai?" Groaning, the dark-haired man sighs, squatting on his haunches. His fingers run along the carved words emblazoned upon Summer's tombstone, flinching as jagged edges catch his fingertips, so unlike the softness which had marked Summer's presence in life. Softer, he repeats, "No one knew. But we're here now, and you know as well as I do that Ruby's not going to stop. She's lost people now- Yang, too. They're both going to do whatever they can once they're ready, and neither you nor I can stop it."
He does not protest when Taiyang sits heavily beside him, his shoulder leaning into Qrow's heavily. "I know," the blond murmurs. "Our girls are strong. Ruby's just like her mom, and Yang's my sunny little dragon, and-" He smirks, although the pain in his eyes is shatteringly stark, "-nothing you nor I could say could ever stop them."
"Atta boy, Tai," Qrow replies. He prays that his smile seems natural- that none of his trepidation, his fear, his guilt, will be laid bare for the other to see.
Thankfully, Taiyang does not notice what he longs to say- that Ruby is likely going to be out of her father's reach before the blond is ready to let her go again.
His self-loathing increases a thousand-fold as he looks back down at the grave, only to feel relief spread across his chest. It is in moments like these that Qrow is almost grateful that Summer is not here; she was always the best at recognizing Qrow's shame. As he helps Taiyang to his feet once the blond collects himself, plastering on a weak, yet still worried smile as he announces that they're going to have pasta for dinner, Qrow's mind lingers upon the woman whose name shall be engrained in his fingertips until the day he dies.
Summer would not want Ruby to be going back into danger, either. Unlike Taiyang, though, she would see through Qrow's lies. If she had- if Qrow's plans and deceit and regrets were to be laid bare…
He does not know if he would recover from that. His nieces and their parents have always been far stronger than he could ever be. He wishes it were different.