A/N: T-2. Here we finally get some closure for one of the things that has been sprinkled throughout this whole fic. Let me know what you think!

What We Call Home

The trio walked up to the Cotta-Arc home only to find everyone else waiting outside the front steps. Everyone seemed dejected, especially Ruby; her face was twisted into utter disappointment as she propped up a clearly-drunk Qrow who was struggling to stay upright upon the steps. "No luck?" Ren asked.

Blake should her head, arms crossed in defeat. "No, you?"

Nora propped her hands upon her hips and smiled as Jaune murmured resolutely, "Don't worry, we aren't going to Atlas without him."

Ruby's face lit up. "…'We'?"

They were really worried that we weren't going to stay with them, huh? Nora beamed at Ren and Jaune, the other two sharing similar smiles. On the walk back they had decided it properly; they were going to see this fight to the end, no matter what. It was what Pyrrha dedicated her life to, and they would gladly carry on in her honour.

Jaune glanced over his shoulder at Saphron, who stood by with Terra and Adrian. "Sorry we won't be staying," he mumbled apologetically.

Saphron rolled her eyes and smirked, eyes sad despite her teasing. "No you're not."

Terra suggested, "How about we get out of the cold?"

As she spoke, the front door creaked open. Nora frowned, glancing around; everyone else was outside, though. Except…

She gasped alongside everyone else as Oscar stepped into the doorframe, having donned a new moss-green coat. "Oh," he said brightly, "I was wondering when you'd get back."

Nora's eyes lit up, screaming in tandem with everyone else, "Oscar!" Nora let out a screech, racing up the stairs and tackling the teenager. "Oh you're such an idiot," she breathed, squeezing him tight until Yang pulled her off of him.

"You had us worried sick!" Weiss cried while Ruby helped Oscar to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

Nora leaned on Ruby's shoulder, grinning appreciatively at the new coat. It looked quite dashing on the short boy, adding a few years of maturity to his formerly-youthful figure. "What are you wearing?"

As Oscar blushed and avoided their inquisitive gazes, everyone else finally stepped into the house. Terra asked, "Is something cooking?"

Nora sniffed the air. It was true; the delicious scent of potatoes and gravy wafted out from the kitchen. Oscar explained, "Oh, uh, yeah. I thought you guys would appreciate a hot meal after... spending all day looking for me, apparently."

Stepping forward, Jaune murmured, "It's my fault we were all out there in the first place. Oscar, I am so sorry for earlier. I was way, way out of line, and what I said-"

"No, it's okay," the younger boy replied, "These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you were. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be... me."

Nora felt her brows draw together, heart aching for the younger boy. His voice wavered terribly as he said those words. Oscar's a victim in this, too, she thought. It's not fair.

"But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left." His smile was hopeful, pure.

Jaune grinned back at him, eyes soft. "Good. This team isn't the same without you, Oscar."

The warm moment was promptly interrupted by the beeping of the smoke alarm. Oscar gasped, "The casserole!"

Saphron giggled, walking towards the kitchen with Terra. "We're on it, chef."

While the two women worked on shutting off the alarm and salvaging their dinner, Ruby offered, "Uh, combat gear looks good."

Before the blushing boy could reply, however, Qrow began walking up the stairs. Ruby's joy fell away, the girl moved alongside the stairwell. "Where are you going now?" she asked sternly.

"I don't wanna get in the way o' yer celebration," Qrow slurred, pausing on the steps.

"You've been gone all day! Just sit with us," his niece implored.

Qrow paused and sighed, looking more haggard than Nora had ever seen him. Leaning over to Yang, she whispered, "Hey, what's going on with him?"

Yang shook her head, absolutely stricken.

"Look, Ruby," Qrow mumbled at last, "I'm glad you kids worked out, uh, whatever all that was. But the fact is, we're not a single step closer to Atlas."

"Actually, I think I have an idea. But... it's sort of a "no-going-back" kind of idea," Jaune stated, walking forward hesitantly.

Nora grinned, clapping Jaune on the back. Good ol' strategy boy, she cheered silently.

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Well, let's hear it!"

The boy sighed, trying to figure out where to start. "With Cordo on watch, only Atlas airships have the clearance to leave for Solitas." His cheeks tinted pink as he stuttered, "S-so, we… steal an Atlas airship?"

Nora gawped at him, alongside everyone else. The only one who reacted brightly was Adrian, the little boy giggling in Maria's arms, completely unaware of what they were talking about.

Weiss sighed, even more unimpressed than usual. "That's not just breaking the law. That's- that's definitely worse."

"How would we even get onto the airfield?" Yang asked.

Jaune held up his hands innocently. "That part I haven't quite figured out yet. But I-"

Qrow suddenly slammed his hand against the banister, making the crowd jump in shock. "Okay, stop," he growled angrily, "just... stop! Look, if this thing goes south, it's not something we can just fight our way out of. This is the Atlas Military we're talking about." He hung his head, the fog clearly dissipating from his mind, leaving behind nothing but bitterness. "For your sake, just drop this."

Nora slumped over reluctantly, chewing on her lip. Was that really it? Despite how ridiculous it was, was there really no way for them to get to Solitas after all?

"I want to hear him out," Ruby said out of the blue.

Qrow's face twisted into an exhausted pout. "Ruby-"

Ruby stomped her foot onto the ground, raising her voice. "I want to hear him out!" She glared up at her uncle, the scathing heat in her gaze enough to make even Nora feel a twinge of pity for the man. "I know you're trying to protect us- that you're afraid we can't do it- but right now, I don't really care what you think!" Qrow's mouth fell open in shock as she barrelled onwards. "Just because you don't have an idea, doesn't mean we're out of options! Oz hasn't been here to tell us what to do, but we still managed to get this far anyway. We've been in bad situations before, and we don't need an adult to come save us or tell us what to do. We just did it our way! And I say we do it our way."

The girl turned around and looked at everyone. When her eyes connected with Nora's, Nora made sure to nod and smile back, heart glowing at Ruby's bravery.

With that support, Ruby turned back to her uncle, finishing off her rant with, "And if you think you can keep up with us "kids"... we'd be happy to have you."

Qrow's eyes fell to the floor, mouth opening and closing as he sought the right words to say. Maria stepped over him, though, chuckling, "Looks like you didn't give her enough credit, either."

After a long, tense moment, Qrow finally sighed, trudging back downstairs. "I'll sit in and make sure you're not going to kill yourselves," Qrow growled. Ruby and Yang instantly cheered, their happiness lightening the mood.

With that, the group settled back in around the coffee table in the living room. Nora took a seat on the floor, eagerly leaning forward and watching Jaune and Ruby. The two instantly began tossing ideas back and forth, trying to figure out what to do with their current situation. How could they steal an airship from underneath Cordovin's nose?

Nora's head spun listening to it all, frankly. She was still a little caught up in the Embers' plan- how could she focus on a new one so soon? Let them figure it out, Nora thought, yawning and settling her chin onto the table. I trust them.

This brainstorming continued long into the night. Saphron and Terra, sensing that the conversation was probably not meant for them, quickly ate dinner after heroically saving the casserole and scooted upstairs to bed. "Are you sure you're not going to tell me what's going on?" Saphron prodded on her way upstairs.

Jaune shrugged, a rueful smile on his lips. "I mean… we're trying to keep you in the dark for… plausible deniability."

She groaned, crying as she made her way upstairs, "I was raised with a criminal!"

Meanwhile, Nora was content to sit on the floor, leaning back on Ren's legs and dozing off, the boy absently stroking her hair while everyone else engaged in discussion. Ren was just as tired as she was. When Ruby asked her what she thought, Nora simply waved her concerns off. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it," she mumbled, closing her eyes and just relishing in the sound of her friends just being there.

And yet, something didn't feel right. It just didn't feel natural that not a week earlier, she had been fearing golden eyes and jagged knifepoints. It was surreal to think that she was just suddenly supposed to pretend that nothing had happened, when in fact… everything had happened.

Eventually, she noticed something off about the entire discussion. While the list of ideas on how to steal an Atlesian ship was certainly growing, Qrow hadn't given any input the entire time despite his offer to help. When Nora glanced around, she balked, realizing that the man wasn't even present.

Maria was the only one who noticed her confusion. "Looking for him, Nora?" the woman asked, pointing to the back patio. "He's out over there."

Nora blinked at the patio door. Did she want to go speak to Qrow? After glancing at the growing list of insane and inane ideas to which she had no idea how to contribute using her frazzled brain, she stood, shrugging. Might as well. After all, if they were going to break through Atlas embargo and become criminals together, she probably needed to clear the air on her end. At least, that sounded like the mature thing to do.

Before she could walk outside, however, Yang caught her eye, a sour scowl adorning her face. "If he's drinking again," she spat, "can you tell him to cut it out?"

"Yang," Ruby scolded, but her voice was empty.

Nora looked over to Jaune and Ren, both of them looking just as confused as she felt. "Guys," she said, "did something else happen while you were trying to get to Argus?"

"Other than Jinn?" Jaune asked worriedly.

Weiss shook her head, but her hands, folded primly upon her lap, tensed up, her fingers knotting in the fabric of her layered skirt. "We encountered a type of Grimm we didn't expect," she said neutrally. "It… almost got us, since we were a little shaken by Jinn's story."

"Uncle Qrow just got really, really drunk," Ruby added. "It was really bad." Looking up at Nora, she pleaded, "If he's still drinking, can you-"

"Um, shouldn't you be going then?" Nora asked, pointing awkwardly to the backyard. "I'm not sure I'm the right-"

"You didn't see how bad it got," Yang muttered tiredly. "He'll probably be less offended if it comes from you."

The four girls didn't seem to be budging on it, so Nora sighed and trudged over to the door. This is not the tone I had expected to go into this conversation with!

Qrow was more surprised to see her than she had expected, the man almost jumping off the squeaky patio chair he had taken over. In his hands was his flask; capped, useless, sitting limply in his grip like a child absently hugging a safety blanket. "Nora," he murmured, watching her carefully as she took a seat on the steps facing away from him, "what- why are you here? Did you decide on whatever scheme you all want to-"

"I'm here to talk to you," she said quietly.

"Oh," Qrow replied, unsure of where to go from there. "…Why?"

Nora paused, taking a moment to reflect on that. Unlike the stormy weather of a few days prior, the evening was clear and crisp; she found herself looking up at the scattered stars as she pondered that question. What did she want to know about Qrow Branwen?

After all, she already knew he had left the tribe. She doubted that he had anything to do with Sotz or Nick or any of the other terrible splinter groups, considering how Raven was the chief of the main family; he probably had never even had to deal with the smaller offshoots. It was also made clear at Haven that Qrow didn't have anything to do with the Branwens anymore.

For a moment, she debated on telling him about their past week's adventures. If she spilled it all, letting him revel in the fact that he was tied to so many people that had caused her and so many others such harm, how would he react?

He'd probably cry, she realized numbly. He already looked like he wanted to weep, his red eyes glassy and bloodshot, the tip of his nose tinged pink. They weren't kidding when they said things got bad on the way here.

Finally, she murmured, "Why do you drink?"

Qrow raised his flask after a moment, allowing the light from the porch to reflect off the shiny metallic surface. "Because… life, I guess," he whispered.

She hummed. She couldn't fault him for that answer. She understood what poverty in the forests of Anima was like. She understood what being a part of something terrible was like. If she hadn't had Ren… who would she have become? Hopefully not as grumpy as him, sheesh, she thought automatically.

Her mind began to bounce around that idea. Had Ren saved her? Had they saved each other? Certainly, the only reason she had kept living was because he told her to all those years ago in Kuroyuri. He had looked her in the eye and told her not that he would protect her, but that they would protect each other. He didn't save her; he gave her something to live for.

And then, Qrow's quiet grief suddenly seemed to make sense. "Ozpin really did lie to you, too," she said at last. She didn't need to look at him to recognize his response, a muffled curse leaving his lips when he dropped his flask in surprise. "Was Ozpin the one who saved you from the Branwen Tribe?"

Qrow glared at her, although there was no real malice behind it. "Why are we playing twenty questions?" he griped. "Go back inside."

"Was it Ozpin?" she insisted. Was he the one who told you that you're more than a bandit?

It made sense. Ozpin had brought Qrow into his inner circle, had tasked him with helping find his reborn self, had ordered him to help protect the Maidens; he given Qrow the power to turn into a bird, for god's sake!

Putting those thoughts into perspective easily wiped away any malice she could've held for Qrow. Suddenly, there was no bitterness left in her about the tribe, about his role in her childhood trauma. She just felt sad for him.

Standing up and stretching, she said, "Y'know, I didn't like you very much."

He snorted. "'S'okay, kid. I don't like me very much either."

Pointing at the living room, the light streaming through the glass door illuminating her face, she added, "But Ruby and Yang really, really love you, y'know? And even if you're scared about this whole thing- we're all scared, we're just kids!- you need to come in and help us!" She smiled, thinking of Kalian and Caelus and Howl. "Ren and I were raised by Huntsmen, the ones we asked you to search for. We found them this week, when you were gone- they were here in Argus. Do you have any idea how many times I wished I could ask them to come with us, to fight Salem by our sides?"

Qrow simply stared at her, lost for words.

Nora sighed, shrugging. "I can't put them in danger like that 'cause they don't know anything about it, but you can be with Ruby and Yang! So why are you moping out here when you can help them?!"

Red eyes fell to his flask, fiddling with the cap, unsure. "I'm- I'm not exactly much of a help-"

"But you got us this far, right? We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Ruby said you were the one who mentioned Haven Academy after the Fall." She stormed over, tearing the flask out of his hands and pointing at it. "This might make you want to forget, and maybe you have your reasons because of your Semblance and your past, but- but-" She groaned, exasperated. "Take responsibility for dragging everyone into this mess!"

Take responsibility for not stopping Pyrrha from saying 'yes'.

The words flew unbidden into her mind. She didn't say them. After all, it had been Ozpin who had tricked everyone into believing in him. It wasn't Qrow's fault that he had trusted someone.

The way Qrow's eyes shattered as he looked at her told her that he understood what she felt, anyways.

She thrust the flask back into his hands. "I just don't want Ruby to be sad. She's my friend." With that, she turned to head back inside.

"Any other pressing questions, kid, or do you just want to yell at me some more?" Qrow mumbled as she pulled open the backyard door.

Nora paused, wracking her brain to find anything she had left to the wayside. Finally, she came up with one that had popped into her mind while listening to the others brainstorm. Should I do it? He looked completely broken. Might as well. "Did Salem make all the Grimm?"

Qrow blinked at her, taking a moment to reflect before finally shaking his head. "No, I'm pretty sure those were already created by the God of Darkness. She's just able to control them."

"Oh, that's good to know."

"Why?"

As Nora walked back into the living room, she called back to him, "Because all the Grimm look like real animals, right? Like, how unoriginal is that?! If she had made them, then she should've tried harder to make something cool, ugh. If it was the two brothers, though, I guess it's okay since they also made animals and stuff."

Qrow's shock turned into genuine, throaty, heartfelt laughter which followed her into the living room, bringing a smile of wonder and gratitude to Ruby and Yang's faces. And the next day, when Qrow finally sat down with them and helped them to decide on the specifics of their plan, Nora knew that she had done the right thing in reaching out to him.

He's not a bad person, she thought, watching him interact clumsily with Ruby and Yang.

They were still a little awkward around him, and he, around them. The divide between them, formed after whatever had taken place during their trip to Argus, wouldn't be healed that easily.

Still, it was a start, and that was enough for Nora. She wanted her friends to be happy, and no matter what, Qrow made them happy. It helped that he could be useful, too.

He's like Kalian for them, she thought idly, then pouted. Nah. Kalian's better.

Still, it felt good to see everyone engaged in the plan. Nora couldn't wait to see it in action.