The sky was black with blue peeking over the skyline of the city and reaching further with every second. The road was covered in a layer of mist so thick that the cars were silhouettes. Goosebumps were prickling up and down Qrow's legs and arms as he looked out his window, his mind still and calm, like a lake without ripples.

He'd heard of people going into their happy places when they relaxed, but that had never really worked for him. Instead he focused on the moment, breathing in and out while letting the world drift on as it does. Then, as they always do, the ripples returned. A sharp beeping pulled his attention away from the city and it was time suddenly for the day to begin.

With the beeping came the sudden realization that his head was aching, cursing as he started to move. The covers on the bed were tucked in tight, leaving hardly a wrinkle in the blankets, not caring as he sat down and ruined his work from hours before.

He turned off the alarm and the beeping went away, but his headache didn't. He pulled on the top drawer of his nightstand and grabbed a bottle of pills and the water bottle he kept next to the alarm. He swallowed two tylenol and most of the water bottle before he'd had enough.

He grabbed something else that was in the drawer and put it in his pocket, feeling the heart of it weigh down his shorts as he stood. His knees cracked, and for the first time today he cursed how old he was getting.

He let out a yawn as he stomped down stairs, the wood creaking and groaning as he moved. He jumped down the last two steps and landed with a hard thud, hoping that somebody had heard him.

The hall was quiet and empty, but at least it was warmer than his room. He looked to the left, seeing the door to the bathroom, the living room, and the kitchen all empty in the morning light. He wasn't shocked, but some part of him hoped that he'd wake up to the sound of crackling bacon and Yang's blaring music.

Qrow walked into the bathroom, and after doing his business, sat on the edge of the bathtub. The handle squealed as he pulled it all the way open, tapping his fingers until water started gushing out of the faucet.

He stuck his fingers in the water and shivered, wiping them on his shirt as another round of goosebumps traveled up his body. He stood up and walked out into the hall, debating if she should make coffee before things got crazy.

Instead, he strolled down the hallway till he was standing at the doors. There was a door on his left and on his right, one was a room that disgusted him on every level and gave him nothing but terrible memories… The other was a storage room.

He knocked on the door to his left, waiting for an answer as the noise echoed through the house. When there wasn't an answer he knocked twice as hard and three times as loud, sighing when he didn't even hear movement.

He sighed when he realized there wasn't another choice, opening the door and letting the darkness be banished by the light. The room wasn't the worst he'd ever seen, that prize went to Yang, but the floor was covered in piles of clothes, scraps of paper, a backpack, and then God knows how many tools and bits of metal.

Ruby was on the bed, half her body covered by a blanket and the other half was bunched together and in her arms and locked in like a vice. She was in her black tank top and fluffy pajama pants, but she was also sporting headphones half hanging off her ears with her controller still clutched in her hand. Gentle snores filled the air, and Qrow couldn't help but watch her for a moment. After all, it wasn't that many years ago she could hardly sleep through the night, it still felt new to him.

He didn't dare take a step inside, the scar on his foot itching when he thought of the last time he'd dared to. He flipped the light switch on and the room exploded in light, but Ruby was still snoring away.

"Ruby, it's time to get up," Qrow called, but the girl didn't even flinch. "It's time for school," He said, watching as she turned away from him. "Come on, Kid, if you're late to school your sort of friend's gonna get mad again," he said under his breath, shocked when the girl sat up with blurry eyes.

"Hmuh?" She said in a groggy voice, her eyes confused and squinting against the light, "Cam ya turn that off?"

"No, if I do you'll go back to bed,"

"I'm not Yang, I'll be fine,"

"You think this is my first day with you two? Come on, get up," He said, flipping the light switch on and off, smirking when Ruby dove for the covers.

"I'm up, you can stop!" She whined, standing up with the blanket still covering her head.

"Good, see you at breakfast,"

"Hold on, what were you saying when I was zonked out? Something about a friend?" She asked peeking out of a crack in the blanket.

"You heard that? You looked dead,"

"Not dead, just lazy. Big difference," She shrugged, looking like an old russian woman with her blanket hood.

"Well I was supposed to keep it to myself, but guess the cats out of the bag. A girl came by the shop looking for you, but you were too busy being late,"

"Who was it? What did you tell them?" Ruby yawned, rubbing her eyes as she stumbled towards her closet.

"Weiss Schnee. I told her you slept in after playing video games all night, glad to see you didn't do the same thing twice in a row, " He chuckled, and Ruby turned around so fast the blanket flew from her head.

"You didn't tell her something cool? I could've been busy working on a new project or been somewhere adventurous!"

"Yeah, but you were at home. Asleep. Seriously, I'm a teacher, it makes it look bad when someone who lives with me shows up late. If Oobleck says something about it I won't forgive you,"

"Why? He's so fun to talk to," Ruby said before she looked down at the ground, "Did Weiss say what she wanted?" She asked, a finger playing with the red tip of her hair.

"She wanted to thank you for helping her out the other day. She seemed pretty honest," He said, but his voice had an unmistakable edge.

"I think so, she's really nice… Did she say anything else?"

"She didn't exactly say it, but she wants to be your friend," He said, watching Ruby light up.

"Huh, so she wasn't kidding…" Ruby said to herself, her grin wide as her face started turning red.

"She better not be,"

"They aren't bad people, Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, turning and grabbing the first outfit that caught her eye.

"I never said she was bad, all I meant was that you should be careful,"

"Pfff, when am I not careful?" Ruby said before tripping on a sock and falling onto a heap of clothes while Qrow busted out laughing. "This doesn't mean anything!" Ruby cried, pushing herself back up and dusting herself off.

"Of course not, but it's still funny," Qrow chuckled, "Showers already running, don't use all the hot water," He said as Ruby stumbled past him, her body not fully awake yet.

"Thank youuuu," She said before pausing and spinning back towards him, " I think she's coming tonight, that's what Blake said at least. Before you ask, I have no idea if she'll be there. Even if she is, you need to come," Ruby said, not a hint of laughter in her voice as she walked into the bathroom, shutting the door without waiting for his response… Then she started singing.

"I hope you don't do anything dumb," He sighed, walking towards the kitchen.

He walked right past the coffee machine until he was standing at the top of the basement stairs in front of the door. It was faint, but he could hear snores coming through the cracks of the wood. He didn't even bother knocking before he threw the door open.

"Yang, get up, it's time for school!" He yelled, but the snores kept going, "Blake, are you down there?" He asked, not needing to raise his voice.

"...Yes," Blake said after a moment of silence, her voice was meek and filled with embarrassment.

"Good, can you get Yang up then? She's got her fight later, so I'll have a big breakfast ready soon," He said, "Do you have your night bag or is Yang taking you home before school?" He asked, grinning as he pictured her flustered face

"Night bag…"

"Perfect, you're up next for the shower," He said as he heard blankets shifting, wondering how she was about to wake the sleeping dragon.

Qrow shut the door, but he didn't go back into the kitchen. He turned around and went out the front door into the cool morning air. The mist was starting to clear, but his feet were drenched the moment he stepped on the grass. He walked quickly and quietly along the side of the house until he was standing next to their big green garbage can and he knew there was no way any of the girls would be able to see him.

He pulled out his phone and saw that he didn't have any missed texts or calls and he was glad. He had no idea why Winter had called, but he wished she hadn't. With a heavy hand full of shame he pulled the empty fifth of whiskey out of his pocket. It was small, hardly bigger than his hand, but even looking at the empty bottle felt wrong.

He opened the garbage can and shoved it between a garbage bag and the side of the can, closing the lid and feeling like he was full of poison. He thought about saying something to himself, something that would make him feel better, but nothing came to mind. All he could do was walk back inside and cook breakfast for his family.