Way Off Track

Twenty-fifth Welcome

Time passed. Seasons changed, the winter's chill leaving behind flowers blooming in the beautiful gardens littering Beacon University, the students hopeful as they worked through another semester. Blake Belladonna was happily able to return to her original apartment now that the hubbub had died down; seeing her smiling more around campus set Clover's heart at ease, for he would always feel a little guilty after finding out about how Adam had followed himself and Qrow in order to find out where Blake had been staying. However, with the young woman safe, at least Marrow was able to rest easy, knowing that everything had finally, truly gotten resolved.

With the addition of Clover into their lives, Ruby and Yang stopped coming around to Qrow's house as often to hang out, although the two girls still dropped by at least once every two weeks to hang out with their uncle- and to challenge Clover to whatever game they wanted to play that week. It was baffling to realize just how easily the girls accepted him into their little family, that sentiment only amplified when the holiday season arrived and Clover got to meet Taiyang, their father. He recognized the blond from the photograph perched proudly upon the bureau in Qrow's office, but the vibrant man was more excited than Clover could have ever hoped for to meet Clover, and so, Clover was welcomed with open arms.

Almost every night was spent at Qrow's home, the townhouse slowly becoming more lively, more lived-in, as Clover began moving his scant belongings over; every night aside from Fridays, however, for Yang sometimes liked taking over Qrow's townhouse on those evenings. Qrow had no desire to deal with her drunken friends whenever he and Clover returned from Crow Bar, so those nights were spent in Clover's tiny apartment, riding out the end of his lease.

However, everything had to come to a conclusion somehow.

Clover smiled sheepishly at the tiny old woman at his door looking up at him forlornly through her giant spectacles, her mouth so widely creased into a frown that he almost felt bad for the refusal- almost.

"Oh, well that's just a damn shame," Maria sighed, tapping her cane onto the ground with a sense of bittersweet finality. "You really don't want to renew your contract?"

"No, Maria," he smiled gently, shivering as the brisk air from the hallway brushed against his bare arms. "I've actually already found another place."

Her frowned only deepened. "Oh, but what am I going to tell my granddaughter?" she cried, pouting.

Clover chuckled clumsily. "You know, I'm flattered, but I really can't, I-"

"Hey, Mr. Good-luck-charm, you're letting out the hot air in here," Qrow suddenly called from the bedroom. Clover jumped as the elder stepped out, then sighed in relief as he realized that the elder had at least had the common sense to throw on a t-shirt rather than coming to the door shirtless; his poor old landlord did not need to see the nipple piercings sported by the elder.

That relief immediately fell away to horror, however, when he realized that the neckline did absolutely nothing to cover the bruises littering the elder's collarbone and neck. Qrow clearly didn't notice them, though, for he did not hesitate to look at Maria, murmuring, "Oh, your landlord- wait a second…"

Maria's eyes narrowed, the old woman craning her head up to look closely at Qrow's face. "Wait, do I know you?"

Out of nowhere, Qrow's face lit up like a red streetlight, a brilliant red from below his neckline to the tips of his ears. Clover could see the beads of sweat building on his brow as the elder cried, "Maria Cavalera?" Qrow turned to look at Clover, absolutely scandalized. "Your landlord is Maria Calavera?!"

"Yes!" Clover said, stepping back against the other side of the doorframe. "Do you know each other?"

Qrow did not respond, only burying his face in his hands as Maria cried, "Oh, it's little Qrow Branwen! Look at you, an old man yourself, eh? How many years has it been? You still at Beacon?"

Mutely, Qrow nodded, and the woman laughed heartily as she noticed the hickeys at last. "Clover, you're wasted on this fool! Although I guess I'm happy knowing you're with him, even though it's not the same as with my granddaughter."

Laughing weakly, Clover asked, "And why's that?" as his eyes honed in on Qrow, begging for an explanation which the elder clearly was not ready to give.

Maria grinned, her teeth brilliant and strong despite her age. "Since you're dating my former student I guess I can think of you as my kid now!" Her smile fell away quickly, though, as she added, "But really, you're both wasted on each other. Shoulda figured out a way to eat you both up when I had the chance."

Qrow and Clover both immediately coughed on their words, unable to do more than wave goodbye as Maria cheerfully waddled away, the woman calling, "Take care of Clover, Branwen you lazy brat!" as she entered the elevator.

Once she was gone and the door was closed once again, Clover immediately turned on Qrow. "Okay, how do you know everyone in my life?"

Qrow held up his hands innocently, his face still burning beyond measure. "She was my Ph.D. supervisor, okay? That was… god, almost fifteen years ago? After she left Beacon's faculty she stopped participating in academia at all- I didn't know she was lurking on this side of town!"

Clover groaned, walking back to the bedroom. The bedsheets were in absolute disarray, evidence of what they had been up to before the interruption; however, he went straight for the opened suitcase upon the floor, continuing with folding up the clothes he had picked out the night before in order to pack it up soon. "You say that, but you also knew my boss."

"Look," Qrow sighed, squatting next to his own suitcase, "I didn't know that James was your boss. You've never mentioned him by his full name."

Clover's face heated up at the mere thought of the corporate party Clover had brought Qrow to at the start of the new year; the way that James' face had twisted and soured, mirroring Qrow's perfectly, was still forever engrained into his mind. "I can't believe you've slept with him," he sighed wearily.

"Yeah, and he's a boring lay," Qrow said crudely, much to Clover's shock. He shrugged as the younger gawped at him, turning back to folding up socks. "Look, it was over ten years ago!"

Clover sighed, but he wasn't upset. "Yeah, I know." Wryly, he added, "At least I know now that he isn't homophobic."

"He isn't," Qrow agreed. "An absolute idiot-"

"Qrow," Clover warned, raising a brow.

"-but not homophobic, don't worry. Not like most of Atlas." Qrow's face soured slightly, growing pensive. The elder reached over, grabbing Clover's hand. "You know what is good in Solitas, though?" To Clover's blank look, he explained, "Bar hopping around Mantle."

Clover's expression clouded, discomfort rising up into his throat. "I… I don't really have good memories of that," he admitted quietly, fists balling up in the fabric of a towel. Packing itself had been stressing him out as of late. The fact that they were going back to Solitas, to Atlas, for the large-scale family reunion which he had been ignoring for almost a year now, still unsettled him beyond measure; what was he supposed to do when he saw Robyn? When he saw his mother? When he saw all of his relatives, all of their colleagues, all of the people who had turned their backs on him the moment they had found out about his sexual orientation?

"…You're not ready to go back."

"I haven't really been back since college for a reason."

He was startled out of his discomfort with a hearty slap on the back, the force enough to mildly wind him. As he recovered, Qrow said brightly, "Well, in that case, I'll have to take you everywhere around Mantle. No point in wasting a good opportunity to get rid of those memories, right?"

Even though he was struggling to compose himself, Clover couldn't help but smile, warmth blossoming up into his chest as he looked at the confidence exuded by the elder. Of course he'd want to explore the streets of Mantle again, he thought, his mind automatically filling in information about the poorer city; the elder had discussed Atlas' poor neighbouring city many a time in his recorded lectures and podcasts, almost to the point where Clover could practically recite all the reasons why Qrow loved the dingy city Clover had been raised to avoid.

He had a feeling that with Qrow, he could learn to love Mantle, too. The elder had already taught him to cherish Vale, after all. "…Okay," he murmured, finally straightening up. "Let's go. It's a deal."

Qrow beamed, his wicked grin softening to be gentle and warm. Quietly, the man sat on his bottom, leaning back against the side of the bed. "I'm going to miss this little apartment though," he admitted wryly. "We'll barely be here after we come back, you know."

"That's probably a good thing," Clover laughed ruefully, "because you know Robyn's going to hunt me down when she sees you. I wouldn't put it past her to follow me to Vale. It's probably good not to stay here for too long."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Should we give her something to hunt us down for?" he purred, sticking his tongue out at Clover.

"You have the worst personality," Clover sighed, although his smile could not be tamped down.

Strong, yet wiry arms wrapped around his waist, lips pressing into his shoulder. "Better than no personality- like this apartment," Qrow teased. "I for one will be pretty happy to be out of here."

"Yang's going to interrupt us on Fridays from now on, you know that, right?"

Qrow grinned. "She'll do it just once, then never do it again. She's a quick learner, don't worry."

Clover groaned, leaning back into Qrow's arms, resting his weight against the elder. "That isn't exactly comforting," he said dully. "Although I don't know what I expected from you."

"Hey!"

And so, packing continued. And when their bags were ready to go by that evening, they gathered up their things and threw on thick winter coats, ready to endure Solitas' northern weather. The taxi arrived just as the sun began to set behind the city's skyline, the pink and purple hues permeating through the sky filling the world with a breathtaking rosy glow; that colour reflected off of Qrow's amused expression while they loaded their small suitcases into the trunk of the taxi, the driver impatient as he waited to carry them off to the airport.

Clover's tension eased as he sat in the car, feeling Qrow's fingers lace through his own. "Don't worry, Clover," he breathed. "Let's give 'em hell." And red eyes creased into thin crescents, that devilish smile completed with a glint of silver shining between white, straight teeth, and Clover knew that no matter what happened in Solitas, he was going to be happy with the results.

Still, he couldn't wait to come back to Vale- to come home. He turned his hand, pressing his palm against Qrow's as he twined their fingers together once again. "Sounds like a plan, Qrow."

And they were off.

-fin-