Part Fourteen

Weiss didn't care for the end of the school day. Since her father had her on lockdown, she always had to take the bus home. Winter had stated that she could use her as an excuse, but it had to be sparingly, so that Father didn't get suspicious. Well, the protests hadn't gone away over the summer, and as new allegations came forward, it was like a different group was protesting every day. It had been bad for almost two weeks. Finally, at lunch, she had caved and texted Winter for an excuse to just not go home today.

Winter had readily agreed.

In a way, Weiss was looking forward to therapy this weekend. She'd finally be able to rant and rave about how the week had been going and what that meant. But she had to get to the weekend first.

She put on a light jacket and grabbed her bag and headed over to Yang's locker, which was closest to the exit and where they usually met up.

"Hey, Weiss," Yang greeted. "You're not running to the bus."

Winter winced, and pinched her nose. "I texted Winter. I'm coming over."

"Ahhh, about that…"

Weiss gave a flat look. "What."

"Yang! I'm ready! I left my stuff with the teacher, I just need you and we're set!" Ruby came bouncing over, bright-eyed. "Weiss! Are you staying after also?"

"Staying after."

Yang ran a hand through her long blond tresses. "Yeah, Ruby and I are staying after for some extra help in science."

"Oh."

Ruby looked between Weiss and her sister. "I missed something."

Weiss let out a long sigh, fighting back the beginning of a headache. "That means that Mr. Qrow won't be at the middle school either?"

"No," Yang offered an apologetic smile. "We'd texted him earlier. He said he'd be glad to have a few extra hours sleep."

"I see."

She turned and started to walk away.

"Weiss!" Ruby trailed after. "We're sorry! We didn't know you wanted to come over!"

Weiss wanted to snap, but instead she just took a deep breath and let it all out. "It's fine. It was a spur of the moment decision for me. I can't always expect you two to be free." Her jaw was tense and she could feel a headache forming. "Professor Ozpin will be there. He'll understand. He's dating your Uncle, right?"

"Well yeah… but…."

"He's safe," Weiss said firmly. "I need safe right now."

"We understand," Ruby said. "Text us. Keep us updated. Find out from Professor Ozpin what's taking him so long to make a move on Uncle Qrow!"

Weiss snorted.

Ruby clearly took that smirk as a victory.

"Whatever," Weiss pretended to gripe. But they all smiled and said goodbye. The busses were just leaving as Weiss headed out and she watched Blake running across the parking lot to an older car with a bright smile on her face. She leaned in to whoever the driver was, then ran around to the passenger side and got in.

Weiss couldn't help but tilt her head, confused. Where was Blake going? Was that the boyfriend? But the car was already leaving.

Right. Long walk to the middle school.

A half hour later, Weiss was moderately proud of herself. She had looked at her phone and realized that she might miss Professor Ozpin and Oscar and ran the rest of the way to the middle school, texting Oscar to have his dad wait for her.

Somehow, she'd made it to the middle school just as the busses were leaving, and she let out a gusty, panting sigh of relief to see them in the handicapped spot.

"Miss Schnee," Professor Ozpin greeted. "I am pleased that you are coming over, but perplexed. You usually spend your time with your friends."

"Hello Professor," Weiss said heavily, trying to control her breath. After a deep breath, she stood straighter and brought her shoulders back. She opened her mouth to speak, but froze. Clenching her jaw, she tried again. "I wanted to spend the afternoon with my friends. But Ruby and Yang are staying after school for help in science."

The professor gave a gentle smile and a soft chuckle. "I presume that you had made arrangements with your sister before realizing that?"

Weiss did not blush. "Something like that."

"We'll be happy to have you over."

She smiled.

Of course, they had been over to Professor Ozpin's before, but between that, Mr. Qrow's apartment, or the Xiao Long home, Professor Ozpin's place was the least likely to go over to. Usually it was just straight to the Xiao Long home as it had space. Mr. Qrow's when he had an earlier shift, things like that. It was strange to go over alone. Normally Ruby was chatting away, Yang and Blake were whispering, and Weiss was trying to browbeat them into getting the homework done first, then playing around.

They entered the house and it was strangely routine. The professor settled them into the living room, told them to get to work, and disappeared to his office to do his own work.

But it was so quiet without the others.

With a heavy sigh, Weiss pulled out her homework and looked to Oscar. "So, do you need any help?"

Oscar worried at his hands for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think you can. I took Algebra 1 last year, but they have a teacher coming down from the high school to teach me Geometry. I don't understand writing proofs. You're a freshman. I don't think-"

"I also took Algebra 1 last year," Weiss said. "I'm in Geometry now."

Oscar gave a shy smile and they got to work.

It wasn't as noisy as when everyone else was there… but it wasn't being home with her father. Weiss could feel her shoulders drop with the eased tension.

"Converse, inverse, contrapositive…" Oscar shook his head. "I think this is a level of abstract I'm not grown up enough for yet."

"Oh yes you are," Weiss groused. "Converse is flipping, see? Inverse is 'not'ing it. Contrapositive is doing both."

Oscar gave a small laugh. "You seem to be feeling better."

"I- er…" she looked away. "Yeah."

"Your dad?"

Weiss nodded. "It's just… exhausting being there. Dealing with him is just so much and I get so numb…"

"Oh, so he's a succubus."

Weiss stuttered. "A what?"

"A succubus," Oscar said. "A demon that sucks all the emotion out of you. When that person gets so angry and furious, nothing can stop the rage, and all you can do is be as small and quiet as possible, hoping it ends soon even when you know it won't, and then if that rage is focused on you it's worse, and by the end you're just… sorta… apathetic to everything."

"I… I've never heard of a succubus before."

"I think my dad mentioned it once in one of his lectures. I remember the sucking emotions out of you thing. It… reminded me of something."

"Yeah," Weiss said softly, staring down at her homework. After her father was done… no one had any energy. It was always so exhausting. Walking delicately to make sure nothing upset him… and then all the work to either deescalate or just wait for it to blow over. "I think you're right. Father does suck everything out of you. He would be a succubus." She blinked. "How do you know that feeling?"

Oscar didn't look at her. There was a heavy pause, and he opened his mouth to say something… but thought better of it. "Okay I think I get converses and inverses, but what about this example…"

Weiss let the subject change.

Later, Professor Ozpin came out and went to the kitchen and Weiss knew what that meant. Oscar had explained once that they made a cookie dough every evening to bake the following day. Leftovers went to the other professors at Professor Ozpin's department. Sure enough, the oven was set to preheat and the professor was scooping out balls of cookie dough.

She turned to Oscar. "What kind today?"

His smile was like the sun. "Chocolate crinkles. His best and my favorite."

Weiss's mouth watered.

"Okay," Oscar stood. "I have a paper to write. I have to use my computer."

Weiss nodded and went back to her homework, enjoying the slowly growing smell of ~chocolate~!

Eventually her body told her functions needed doing, and she went to the bathroom. After washing her hands, she looked at herself in the mirror, intending to fix anything that had gone astray after the loooong walk to the middle school or anything, and saw….

She stared. She was a mess. She was paler than usual, her skin was blotchy, and she could see dark circles starting to form under her eyes. How much of that was the long walk, and how much of that was because she was dealing with Father every day? She looked… sad… lonely… Weiss put on her usual smile and it didn't look right. She tried a different smile, and it still looked…. false. Had she always been like this?

There was a knock on the door. "Miss Schnee? You've been in there for some time. Are you alright?"

Weiss let out a heavy sigh. "Yes," she said, and opened the door.

Professor Ozpin was leaning on his cane and looking at her. "Let's have some cookies."

Yes! Cookies!

There was a plate on the coffee table along with a pot of tea and two teacups. Weiss may have giggled at the silliness of someone her age having a tea party, but she still sat gracefully and poured the tea.

Professor Ozpin was in his usual seat, leg up and took his tea with a quiet thanks. "You know, Miss Weiss, you remind me of Snow White."

Weiss choked on her tea. "Excuse me?" She swallowed again. "I'm afraid that comparison makes no sense," she said more demurely. "I don't have an evil stepmother, no one's trying to kill me for being the prettiest of them all, I'm not hiding with seven dwarves. Or would that be 'little people' now?"

Professor Ozpin chuckled. "Leave the dwarves in the fairy tales, and the little people in reality," he said. "No, you're focusing too much on the details. What is the core of the story of Snow White?"

Weiss offered a flat look. "That she was pretty and that made a prince fall in love with her and rescue her."

The professor shook his head. "Again, you're looking at the trappings of the story. The accoutrements. At its core, Snow White has a parental figure that harms her. She escapes and finds support from friends who try to help protect her. The theme of Snow White, is about escaping from abuse and finding happiness elsewhere."

"I… what?"

Taking a cookie, Professor Ozpin sat back. "Snow White's stepmother was vain, selfish, and greedy, wanting to be the only one in all the land who was beautiful. How is that different from your father, who is always dressed expensively, and seeks to control construction throughout the region? The stepmother was jealous of her daughter's beauty and sought to control it. Does not your father try and control you and your siblings? His control was so tight that Winter never came home. You wear your hair to the side to rebel, don't you?"

Weiss's hand immediately shot up to her hair. "How…?"

He gave a small smile. "I am a well-educated adult with quite a few years of experience. Have I missed the mark yet?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Now, the version you probably know best is the Disney film from the 1930s, but there were changes from the original tale. To begin with, the huntsman."

"Huntsman?" Weiss racked her brain for a second. "Oh, the guy the stepmom sends to kill her?"

"Yes," Professor Ozpin said, munching on a cookie. "In the original Brother's Grimm fairy tale, Snow White bargains for her freedom. She asked to stay in the forest and to never return again. The Huntsman accepted. Snow White took her own steps to keeping herself safe." He gave her a look.

Weiss looked away. "I can see that," she said softly. "I know how to de-escalate, how to appease, how to nod my head so that things don't get worse."

"And let's not forget, you know how to escape now. You arranged to be free this afternoon did you not?"

She nodded.

"So Snow White leaves for the forest and finds true friends in the seven dwarves. They can't be with her all the time, but they support her, help her, and save her from several attempts on her life by the Queen."

"My friends," Weiss said quietly. "Even before they… knew about things, they were just…"

"They were what you needed and helped you, even when they didn't realize it. It's why you've never left them, despite your father's wishes."

Weiss scowled. "Snow White died. Only a true love's kiss or Prince Charming was able to save her in the end."

"And I believe Disney's movie Frozen did a fairly good job of saying that true love doesn't have to come from some sort of suitor." He took a sip of his tea. "I believe Winter is trying to save you. The Xiao Long family and myself will readily do what we can to keep you safe. I believe that you are in the process of being saved, just like Snow White. And just like Snow White chose how to keep herself safe, you're also choosing how to proceed with every step you take."

Weiss… gave a small smile. "Yeah. I suppose I am. I can endure a little more."

"Or you can seek refuge as you have today. It is about your choice."

That… meant the world.


Halloween had two bonuses for Yang: the first of which was - after religiously appearing at the middle school where Uncle Qrow was waiting for them, they had earned the right to trick or treat on their own; the second of which was they had a new curfew: eleven o'clock. Yang and Ruby had salivated over the idea of staying out two extra hours and planning where they would go trick-or-treating on their own. Weiss reminded them that they still had to be responsible, but Yang and Ruby both conveniently asked where Weiss was trick-or-treating to link up with them. Ruby was bummed to learn Weiss wasn't going, that there was going to be a party at the house with her father's donors and she was expected to sing for them. Yang helpfully suggested the song from that witch movie so they could dance until they died, and smirked when Weiss rolled her eyes and said she was going to dress up as Snow White.

Ruby had been positively inspired at the thought and firmly said she was going as Red Riding Hood, and that Yang totally had to go as… uhm… Goldilocks! Yeah! Yang shook her head and said she was going to be a boxer instead.

Blake was of course invited, but she shook her head, saying she was spending it with her boyfriend and that he had a special surprise for her.

Yang was put off, after Uncle Qrow had talked about Mom and what life was like with her… Yang didn't like what she heard about Adam, she didn't like how clingy he was, she didn't like how he sucked up all Blake's time, and she didn't like how defensive Blake had gotten since the dating had started. How short tempered.

But Halloween was Halloween, and she and Ruby were determined to have the Best Night Evar. It was dark and spooky and they got lots of candy, sent selfies to Blake and Weiss both to make them feel better, got a metric ton of candy and were already buzzing with sugar. They had walked all the way to the professor's house just to get his cookies as their first stop and had a windy, treat-filled walk back. Ruby accused everyone she saw of being a Big Bad Wolf and Yang kept yelling "Adrian!" with her fists up in the air - even though she thought Creed was better. Old movies sucked.

When their route was done and they were walking back, Ruby mentioned that her phone app said they would be fifteen minutes late for curfew, and Yang called home to let their dad know. He said he was glad and proud that they called, and that he didn't mind waiting up for them. Ruby asked how many people visited the house and he started going over his numbers, saying he hadn't had anyone in an hour and that they had better not have eaten any candy - they had school the next day and all that sugar steadfastly had to last until Thanksgiving, thank you, since he didn't plan on buying any more candy until January.

They had just made it to their street when Yang's phone started to vibrate, and she pulled it out, confused, and saw Blake was calling. Ruby looked in askance but she put a hand up to wait, pressing the answer button and taking the call.

"Blake?"

"... Yang…? Sommmething's wwrong…."

"Blake? Speak up, I can barely hear you."

"Not so llllloud… I don't wwant him to hear… sommmething's wwrong…"

"Blake, what's wrong?" Yang demanded, pulling her phone down and putting it on speaker. Ruby leaned in. "You sound weird. Where are you?"

"... uhhn…. I don't knoww…. Everything's weeird… but I think I gooooot awaaay…. I gotta get awaaay… I'm ssscared…"

Somewhere something deep inside of Yang sparked, and her body felt like it was on fire. "Where are you?" she demanded, lengthening her stride and almost running to the house. "I'm coming to get you."

"What?" Ruby said. "How can you do that?"

"She can tell me where she is," Yang said, running to the garage and pulling out her bike. "Blake, tell me where you are. Are you inside or outside?"

"Outside…. I knoooow that…. A loot of buildings…. No trees…."

"Downtown, I got it. You're going great Blake, keep talking." She finally got a leg over the bike and turned her eyes to Yang. "Get Dad," she said, "Tell him to call the cops and have them trace my phone. I'm going to Blake."

"Wait, what? Yang this isn't TV, can cops even do that? Yang! Yang!"

But Yang was pedaling, dropping her candy on the driveway and eating up distance. "Blake," she nearly shouted. "What part of downtown? Do you recognize where you are?"

It was painful, listening to Blake slur her words and struggle to pick out landmarks. Yang prayed she was on Main Street - she knew that like the back of her hand - but Blake was determined to be quiet because she had to get away. There was something about having wine, maybe she was drunk - and Yang was ready to curse a blue streak because her slurs weren't the same as Uncle Qrow's, she remembered what her uncle sounded like and he never had this level of disorientation, even when things were bad. She kept encouraging Blake, saying she was doing great, do you see any street signs?

"I'm beeehind something… I don't rememmmber how I got here…. But I see a store…"

"That's great, Blake, what kind of store? Is it a grocery store? Or a bike store?"

"Shhhhhh, I gooooootta be quiet…. I can't… It'ss a gas station… Whhhite brick and greeeeeen roof. Next to it iiiiis… it saaaaays all-night dinnnnner… we drive by iiit when we'rrre going to Suuuuuun'ss."

Yang grit her teeth. "That's a great detail Blake. What else do you see? If there's a gas station and a diner, is there a big parking lot?"

"I can't seee…. I don't want to bee seeeeen… I gotta hide…."

The only gas station with a green roof she knew of was near Uncle Qrow's apartment, and he always said never to walk around his apartment because some mean people lived a few streets over. If Blake was there and it was this late at night the not-safe people were out, and Yang didn't even want to guess what that meant. "Hang on, Blake, I'm almost there," she said. "You're doing amazing. What are you hiding behind so I can find you?"

"Adam… Adam… pleaasee…"

"You ran away, love," said a new voice, lower, darker, "You brought this on yourself."

"Adam… I'm sorrrrry…. Pleaasee don't bee mad…"

Yang heard a scream - both on her phone and echoing off the canyons of the buildings. She saw the gas station and the diner, and she pedaled even harder, lungs burning for oxygen as she spun her head around left and right, looking for something that Blake was hiding behind. The street itself was empty… it had to be an alley…

Blake screamed again, and Yang spun her head around, saw a dark figure standing in silhouette by the light of some kind of back entrance. Blake was on the ground, in the light, and it looked like she hardly had any clothes on and there was blood…!

"Get away from her!" Yang shouted, pedaling up to speed and then hoisting herself onto her rear wheel, slamming her bike into the guy. The guy grunted and they all fell over in a heap. Yang's bike twisted, her wheel snapping at a right angle. It felt ugly to see her bike crumple but she climbed off it and the guy under it, moving to Blake under the light of the back door. She was on her side, gold eyes roving everywhere, paler than Yang had ever seen her. She was in a lacy bra and her jeans from school, and she clutched her side where it was nothing but red. That guy…!

"Hang on, Blake," she said, "I'm getting you out of here."

"Nooo… there's a knnnife…"

Yang's blood was on fire, she stood and turned to the boyfriend. "You think you can do that to her and get away with it?" she demanded, striding forward. "You think you can just hurt people?" She lifted her fist, still in the boxing glove from her costume and threw a right cross, only to have it caught. It was lifted over her head, and she struggled to keep her feet on the ground. She lifted a leg up to kick the stupid jerk, but a punch landed in her gut and all the air pushed out of her lungs.

"Who the hell are you?" the low voice said.

"I'm the one who actually cares about Blake!" Yang said, giving up on staying on the ground and instead lifting her legs up and then jerking them out, kicking the guy. She landed roughly on her behind but scrambled away and up to her feet. The guy hadn't even fallen over, damn it, and Yang growled, lifting her fists up.

"Feisty," the boyfriend said. "Too bad you don't know who you're dealing with." He moved, but so fast Yang didn't really understand what happened, only that he had red hair and then something slammed into her guard with so much force she took several steps back. She didn't have time to recover, a fist wrapped around her wrist and then a punch landed in her upper arm, twisting her and making something deep inside snap, and she shrieked in pain, crumpling to the ground when he let go. She held her arm close, scrambling back and putting herself in front of Blake.

Her blood was pumping hard, her ears were ringing, and her entire right side was in pain from the shoulder down; this was a god-awful mess but she was going to die before anything happened to Blake.

The man was still in shadow, moving around before reaching down and picking something up next to the ruined bike. The knife…!

"Yang… rrrrunn… please…"

"Shut up," she hissed. "I'm not leaving you."

"Yes, don't leave," Adam said. "I know some people who would love to get to know you."

"Fuck off, bastard!"

Then he froze, turning suddenly, and Yang didn't understand because it looked like he heard something but her ears were still ringing with her fired blood. He disappeared in the shadows, and Yang was panting, still holding her arm. Her adrenaline left in a rush, and she leaned back, eliciting a groan from something behind her, but all she really knew was she could breath. Red and blue lights flooded her vision and she knew she was safe.


Qrow groaned as he finally made it to break. It was one a.m., he was stuck here until at least four, and he was running out of ways to keep himself awake. Break room had sludge for coffee, and the last thing he needed was to be wired when he went to bed. He opted for a fistfull of cheap crackers, the crunch giving him something to think about as he leaned against the counter and tried not to close his eyes. He rolled his shoulders and stretched, feeling a pop all the way down his back, and right as he was in the height of his stretch his phone of all things started to vibrate. He fumbled, dropped his phone, but finally managed to slide it open.

"Branwen," he answered.

"Qrow!"

"Tai? What are you doing up right now?"

"It's Yang! She did something stupid!"

Instantly awake, Qrow stiffened and straightened. "What happened?" he growled.

"She's in the hospital!"

That was the last thing he really processed, his next clear memory was powering through the sliding doors of the hospital and demanding to know where his niece was, damn near running down a hall and seeing Tai coming around a corner.

"Tai!"

"Qrow! Thank god!" The blond all but ran to him, crushing him in a hug and Qrow stumbling to give one back. He looked over and saw Ruby sleeping on a chair, and the Belladonnas holding each other next to her. What even…?

Qrow pulled out of the hug, shaking his brother. "What happened?"

"It was assault," Tai said, shaking in Qrow's grip. "Yang got some kind of call from Blake, Ruby came running into the house saying I had to call the police and trace Yang's phone, Blake was in trouble. They found them in an alley off of Dust, next to that pawn shop and diner next to the gas station."

Qrow stared. "That's four blocks from me," he said, "What was she even doing there?"

"That's where Blake was, they said," Tai said, and he looked about ready to fly apart at the seams, as bad as the weeks leading up to Summer. "Qrow, they could have been killed! The cops scared the guy off, if they were even two minutes later-!" He was shaking again, and Qrow forced him to sit down.

"Look at me," Qrow said, "Look at me. Damn it Tai, focus!" He reached out, grabbed the back of Tai's head, forcing him to look Qrow in the eye. "Is she okay?" he demanded.

"They won't let me see her, they said they need statements, they have to do a drug test-"

"A drug test? What the fuck Tai, she's not-"

"But Blake was," Tai said, and his voice cracked he was so upset, "and there was something about shared contact, and they said something about statements and I don't know what to do!"

Qrow growled, low in his throat, and he stood up, storming over to the Belladonnas. "Just what did your daughter do to my niece?" he demanded, grabbing the collar of Ghira - damn that he was two heads taller. "What the fuck is even happening?"

Ghira grabbed at the wrist and twisted, his gold eyes were dark and he growled just as low as Qrow, maybe even lower. "Our daughter was assaulted is what happened," he grunted. "Take your accusations somewhere else."

"Please," Kali said, rocking back and forth, "she's out little girl… they say she was stabbed…"

What…? What…? Qrow staggered back, realizing how bad everything was, and his mind jumped and jittered, too many things firing in his head. He was seeing Amber and Pietro, after the fire, in the hospital and Raven nowhere to be found, he was seeing Tai, blaming himself for what happened, and Summer wasn't here to pick up the pieces, and he had to be strong but all he could see was everything falling apart and he wasn't there he wasn't there he lived four fucking blocks away and he hadn't been there the same as he hadn't been there for Tai and he was a goddamned failure it had all happened again what was he even good for how was he supposed to handle this? He cursed, pacing back and forth, trying to keep his head quiet, trying to force himself to focus, here and now. Tai needed him, Tai needed him, he had to keep his head on goddamn straight and fuck he wanted a drink right now.

Damn it Qrow, damn it! Do it right!

Growling, he moved to the nurses station. "Who's in charge here?" he demanded.

"Sir?"

"There's two families over there that haven't seen their kids! How long's it for you assholes to figure out we're family and we have a right to see them?"

"Sir, please, keep your voice down."

"I will when I can see my niece!" he bellowed, slamming his fist on the counter. "You gonna keep us hanging for hours? Is that it? You want to see a mental breakdown? Let Tai see his daughter!"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave…"

"The fuck I'm leaving," Qrow shouted. "Not until you let us see Yang!"

"Qrow! Please! If you keep yelling they won't let us see her!"

"Shut up Tai, I'm trying to speed things along!"

"No, you're holding us back; please, Qrow, I can't do this by myself again I need you to-"

"Where even were you?" Qrow demanded, "Why was Yang out over on Dust by herself, you know what kind of neighborhood that is - why did you even allow it? What made you think it was a good idea to let her go?!" He grabbed Tai's arms. "What kind of parent are you?"

Tai's eyes doubled in size, color draining from his face, and Qrow finally heard what was coming out of his mouth. Fuck, fuck, that wasn't what he meant to say, that wasn't what he was trying… "Shit," he cursed. "Tai, I'm sorry, that wasn't-"

"No… it's fine…" Taid said, voice far away. "It's true… it's true…"

"No, no, Tai-I'm sorry, you're a great dad. We always talk about your Big Dad Energy the girls have turned out great because of-"

"I… I need to be alone now."

"Tai…!"

"Just… just go."

Tai turned around, and he ambled back to Ruby asleep in the chair, sitting next to her, staring off at nothing, just like he did after Summer: lost in his own head, completely shut down. Damn it, damn it, what the fuck was wrong with him? Qrow growled, hating himself, and he staggered away from the scene, terrified he would do more damage. He moved to the other side of the nurses station, tried to figure out what to do with all the energy in his body, all the thoughts in his head. He was thinking about the Poledina's, and Raven, and how he'd fucked that up too, and now he'd fucked this up, he was the certified worst person alive, no one wanted him, he was a goddamn curse, this was why he drank so he didn't have to fall into this spiral of thoughts. He looked for a vending machine, wondering if there was beer in it, and he shook his head when he realized what he was thinking.

This was bad, this was bad, he hated being in his own head. He couldn't drink, but he couldn't leave the hospital, but he couldn't go anywhere near Tai… what was he supposed to do…?

He pulled out his phone:

Help me yang's in teh hospital bad day gonna drink can't turn my brain off

He didn't even know who he sent it to, probably Clover if he was smart, and he sat in a chair and put his head in his hands, one leg bouncing. All he could think about was drinking: beer spiked with vodka, how good the burn felt down his throat and how pleasantly numb it would make him and he needed numb he needed it so badly he didn't know what to do. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his five year coin, pressed it to his forehead, trying to stay sane.

But Yang, his firecracker, was in the hospital, and how was he supposed to stay sane for this? What if Ruby had been with her? What if… what if… what if…?


He didn't know how long he sat there bouncing his leg and dreaming about alcohol to calm his nerves make him numb take the pain away what a fuck up fuck up fuck up fuck up he was so fucked up but a hand touched his shoulder and he found himself looking up.

His hair was wild and askew, his autumn scarf missing and the lapel of his coat was flopped to the inside and unfixed.

"... Oz?" he asked, shocked by how disheveled the professor looked and shocked that he was even here. "What are you doing here…?"

The other man blinked. "You sent me a text at three in the morning begging for help," he said. "How could I not? I came as soon as I settled Oscar." He moved slightly, shifting his weight and sitting next to Qrow. His hand hadn't left his shoulder, indeed it had moved to rubbing small circles between his shoulder blades. "Tell me what's happened," he said softly.

Qrow gave a garbled explanation: getting the call from Tai, seeing what a mess his brother-in-law was, trying to make things go faster, instead making them go worse.

"I'm bad luck, Oz," he said. "I'm little more than a curse. When people need me all I do is screw up. I don't... " His head fell, and all the noise in his head was driving him insane. "I want a drink," he confessed. "I can't turn it off. This isn't the first time I fucked somebody over. The Poledinas… they're both scarred because I didn't know what Raven was doing. I couldn't be there for Tai, I was too busy wallowing in my pity party, and now I've fucked it all up again. I'm worthless. I was better off drunk-"

The hand on his back stopped, and instead spread to an entire arm, Oz's other leaving his precious cane to enfold him in a hug, the professor's head pressing against his back.

"It's okay," he said, and his voice was so soft and smooth, and the embrace was warm and strong, and Qrow started to shake. "It's okay. It's going to be okay. You have every right to be scared for Yang. It's okay…"

"She's fourteen," Qrow moaned. "They found her off of freaking Dust… Tai said another two minutes…!"

"But it didn't happen," Oz said from behind him. One hand started to rub Qrow's arm. "She's safe. She's hurt but she's safe. She's safe. Repeat after me…"

"... she's safe," Qrow said, and his eyes blurred. "She's safe… oh, my god she's safe…" Relief overwhelmed him as the one bit of good news from the entire night finally sank in. She was okay. Yang was okay… He fell apart completely then, and he tried to cover his mouth, tried to turn it off before the whole hospital saw what a mess he was.

"Let it out," Oz said, shifting his head and murmuring in Qrow's ear. "Don't hold it in, don't do what you think you're supposed to, just let it out. All of it."

And he did. The emotion poured out of him in one ugly maelstrom. "... I want to be there… Tai called me, he said he needed me… and I wasn't there for him, I just made it worse, I always make it worse…"

"You didn't make it worse," Oz said in his ear, his soft words cutting through the emotion. "You came when he called. That's more than some ever could."

"But I made it worse…"

"You showed that you cared," Oz corrected. "Very few people throw around that much emotion out of indifference. You were scared for Yang, and that's okay. Just tell him that, and let him decide if you made it worse or not."

"But I did, I did…"

"Shh… it's okay… it's okay…"

The words were meaningless, but Qrow drank in every letter, every syllable, anything to keep himself sane. This was why he spent so much time drunk before: his bad luck would come up, he would make something worse, and he would hurt over what he did to the point where he wanted to be numb. If he was numb it was less likely to hurt someone - it wasn't until the girls' intervention that he realized that being numb hurt people even worse, but sometimes the pain was just so much, and he didn't know how to fight it. That was why he had Clover on speed dial - but somehow the text had gone to Oz instead, and right now he didn't even care because being hugged felt so good right now and he broke all over again, rocking back and forth as Oz continued to hold him.

"I have a question," Oz finally asked.

"Yeah…?"

"Do you think Tai needs a hug?"

Qrow looked across the way, saw Tai still staring at nothing. "He won't want one from me," he said, feeling better but still highly aware of what a fuck up he was.

The arms pulled away and Qrow almost whined for the loss, but he turned and finally looked Oz in the eye. They were gold in this light. "I get the impression," he said, "That he won't be too particular about who hugs him right now."

Qrow blinked slowly, turned and looked again. Tai looked so lost… He got up, realized one leg was asleep, and hobbled over to his brother. He didn't say anything, just stood in front of him. He turned around, saw Oz working to his feet to join him, and their eyes met. He smiled, made a shooing gesture, and Qrow sat down next to Tai and put an arm around his shoulders. There was no reaction, but there was no rejection, either. He saw Oz cross his line of vision, talking quietly to the Belladonnas, and then he moved to sit next to Qrow again.

"Here," he said, "You dropped this."

In his hand Oz placed the five-year coin. So fucking close…. Too close…

Tai hummed, coming aware, and he just about melted into Qrow, finally falling apart. Qrow didn't say anything - he didn't have the words like Oz did, but he didn't let go, either, held his brother even tighter.


Author's Notes: draaaaaamaaaaaaa. And so Blake's story hits one of its peaks, and basically everyone has a bad day as a result - we merge Yang's two fights with Adam - you can't not have her run a bike over the guy - and instead of amputating an arm we break it as much as we dare. Adam isn't exactly running around with a red katana in this fic.

And somehow we take all that drama and then make it about Qrow and Oz. We don't mean to...? But a big event like this ripples out to everyone else, and Qrow in particular doesn't always make good decisions when he's hyper emotional. His heart's in the right place, it always is, but like Clover said in the last chapter - he'd kind of his own worst enemy, but before it goes too far he tries to call for help and that's how he gets Oz. And Oz does give him the one thing he needs most: he makes Qrow realize Yang is okay. And once his head's back on straight he can be there for Tai.

But we can finally, finally, start using Blakes POV, and we can really dig into the trauma she's just lived through. Don't think she's going to be forgotten about in our OzQrow high. Just... this is going to take a while to unpack.

Next chapter: The Bad Day continues - what, you didn't think Weiss was going to be completely left out of this nightmare, right?