Clover really wasn't sure what to expect when Elm dragged him to a club in Mantle.
Legal Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
To Live a Little
"C'mon, boss, live a little!" Elm Ederne exclaimed as she smacked Clover Ebi in a comradely fashion square across his back, nearly causing the captain of the Ace Operatives to fall over with her always impressive strength.
The duo was currently in a club down in Mantle following a particularly long patrol from earlier that day. The location was selected at Elm's insistence that they "blow off some steam," but it was truthfully mainly just an excuse for the tall woman to spy on the youngest Ace Op member, Marrow Amin.
The Faunus had readily, and rather curiously, hurried through his report following their patrol, rushing for one of the transports to Mantle. Elm's brows shot up inquisitively at Marrow's actions especially when as, they were coming back from the mess hall, the Ace Ops encountered a rather red-faced Jaune Arc cemented between Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose heading in the same telltale direction as Marrow.
Clover didn't know why he hadn't been as quick on his feet as usual to figure out some kind of an excuse about how he had better things to do than trail their youngest teammate and three of their Huntsmen allies. He could only watch in growing trepidation as Vine Zeke and Harriet Bree promptly made their excuses and vanished before Elm looped an arm around his shoulders, cackling brightly about finally having a night off and living it up for once.
For the most part, the streets around the club that they found themselves in were quiet and empty, though as they stepped inside the brown-haired soldier thought that was most likely due to everyone being inside the overly cramped building instead. The music was loud, the lights were pulsing, and the atmosphere was absolutely pounding. The swarm of bodies in the space made it difficult to move towards the bar where Elm had maneuvered them to get a good look over the club.
"Elm," Clover stated after he recovered enough from her jovial gesture, glancing at his teammate as she peered over the heads of the crowd, "You're not really here to spy on Marrow and our allies, are you?"
The captain of the Ace Ops already spotted the canine Faunus, tail wagging as he waved Jaune and the two girls over to a table Marrow had secured before, but Elm made no move to try to intrude on their interaction, even as her eyes lit up at the brief hand Marrow placed on a blushing Jaune's shoulder. Instead, she ordered a drink from the bartender and regarded her superior carefully.
"Guilty as charged." Elm admitted, a conspiratorial look shining in her eyes, "I've seen the two of them giving each other the eyes over coffee for awhile now, so I figured it was only a matter of time before something happened."
Clover raised an eyebrow at that, "So why are we here?" He asked, teal eyes narrowing.
"Captain," Elm said to bypass his inquiry, "When's the last time you took a day off?" She asked instead.
He blinked at the question, "This is hardly what I would do on a day off, Elm." Clover informed her dryly as he tried to avoid being jostled by a particularly rowdy group of dancers.
"Never hurts to try something different every once in awhile." Elm stated in a pseudo-sage voice, bringing her glass to her lips, "Besides, something tells me you're not the only one who needs to loosen up."
Before he could ask what she meant by that, or see exactly where her eyes had landed in a darkened corner of the room, Marrow and Jaune both moved to the crowded dance floor in the center of the club, the dark-skinned Faunus' hand guiding the blonde's elbow gently the whole way. As soon as the pair had moved away from the table, a group of men began circling a rather unimpressed Weiss and a seemingly oblivious Ruby.
Clover frowned, wondering if they should intervene or not now that they were here. The girls were highly capable Huntresses after all and could certainly defend themselves should things get dicey, but it didn't sit well with him to not do anything.
Elm swallowed her drink in one remaining gulp and set the glass down on the counter forcefully, "I've got this, boss." The muscular woman assured Clover as she cracked her knuckles and moved towards the rather pathetic pick-up attempt, "Tell the bird man that he might not want to make a scene if he doesn't want the kiddies to know he was trailing them."
"What?" Clover asked, blinking in surprise as he turned towards the corner Elm had been carefully regarding before.
Sure enough, legendary Huntsman Qrow Branwen was standing there, evidently having melted into the shadows earlier. The red-eyed man had stepped forward with a scowl on his face and a narrowed glare when the men had approached his youngest niece and Weiss. His posture visibly relaxed when Elm approached the group near Ruby and Weiss as imposingly as she could, which was fairly imposing. Qrow turned his head slightly so that his eyes locked onto Clover's briefly, an embarrassed flush forming on his features before he swiftly headed towards the exit.
"Qrow!" Clover shouted over the loud music. He wasn't sure why, but his feet carried him past the heavy throng of bodies as his hand reached out to gently grab onto the older man's shoulder as Qrow stood in the doorway, letting the frigid air of Mantle into the overheated building.
The door closed with a soft thud behind them, and Qrow raised a hand to rub the back of his head tentatively, clearly caught off-guard at having been found out, "Hey, lucky charm," he said, "Didn't exactly peg this as your type of scene."
Clover raised an eyebrow in surprise, "I could say the same to you." He admitted, as the club goers were a decidedly younger crowd than either of them. If the man before him hadn't stopped drinking, Clover imagined a dingy bar's ambiance would better suit his personality if Qrow felt the need to unwind.
An almost adorable shade of embarrassed red bloomed across Qrow's face as he briefly glanced over at the closed door, "You got me," he said, "I just wanted to make sure they were going to be all right."
"You mean Ruby and the others?" The Ace Op asked as understanding dawned across Clover's features.
The black-haired Huntsman nodded, "When the pipsqueak and Ice Princess said they were chaperoning Jaune's date here of all places..." he trailed off, weakly shrugging his shoulders.
"They're capable Huntresses and Huntsmen, Qrow. I think they could handle a club scene." Clover informed him gently.
Qrow looked stricken, "Don't you think I know that? But it's...!" He frowned, trailing off once more as if he didn't know how to justify being a protective familial figure.
"It's hard to not still be concerned. I get it," Clover replied as he rested a hand gently on Qrow's shoulder again, a smirk crossing over his face not a moment later, "Though I think Elm is probably doing a good job of putting the fear of the Brothers into those guys right about now."
A smirk soon flickered to life across Qrow's face at the recent memory of the tall tan-skinned woman sauntering over to the group in an intimidating fashion, "Yeah, I have no doubt about that." He said before giving the Ace Op captain a considering look, "Though I'm surprised to see you two here."
Clover's face heated up slightly, "Well, Elm was curious about what Marrow was up to and I..." He trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence without saying Elm basically forced him into going to Mantle with her.
A knowing look crossed into Qrow's eyes then, "You got roped along into coming, huh?" He asked, a smirk on his face.
"She can be quite persuasive." Clover lamely got out. Qrow let out a small chuckle, and Clover felt his insides nearly melt at the sound despite the snowy coldness all around them.
"So what now?" Clover asked quietly, hoping to divert attention away from his reaction just then, "Elm's got things covered in there, and the next transport isn't due for an hour."
Something heated and unidentifiable flared in Qrow's red orbs, and he suddenly took a small step further into Clover's personal space. Qrow's face tinted red once more as he snaked an arm around the taller man's waist and effectively pulled the two of them closer together, "I can think of a few things we could do in the meanwhile, lucky charm." He informed him, Qrow's voice even huskier than usual as his eyes bored into Clover's.
And as Clover peered down at the other man's face, at the thread of desire there that had been a lingering undercurrent in all of their interactions as of late when they shared private moments alone, he thought back to Elm's earlier words about "loosening up" and made a snap decision.
"Lead the way then, Qrow." Clover murmured and the shy-yet-confident smirk that was plastered onto the other man's face then, coupled with the way Qrow's arm still wrapped around his waist tightened just a fraction more, was enough to send a wave of heat racing through Clover's body despite the chill in Mantle's air.
Author's Notes: I don't really know what caused this idea to enter my brain, but it wouldn't leave until I wrote it down! I don't know if I'll do anymore one shots or shorter stories like this in the future, but I'll leave the possibility for it open. Thanks for reading! :)