"Boop. Boopy boop boop!" Was the first thing Winter heard as she woke up. Her nose was getting softly poked over and over again while the person in front of her kept repeating the same weird word over and over. The voice was soft and high pitched, probably some girl.
"Ruby, stop that" Winter heard next. It sounded a little rough and was coming from a man.
"What? It's what Nora does when I fall asleep in class" The girl, Ruby, explained as the booping finally stopped.
"That's a conversation for another time, Ruby. Yang, stop looking in her car, that's rude" The man said pretty lazily like he didn't care what was going on.
"She's got a lot of stuff in here, think she's homeless?" A third person asked, another girl.
"If she is, it's none of our business. Now get over here already" The man asked. The girl grumbled something but obeyed. Everything was quiet after that for a second as the man seemed to think about what was going on.
"Hey, you gotta get up Mrs, someone broke into your car," The man said as he shook her shoulder gently.
"What!" Winter screeched as she shot up and turned around to check the damage of her beloved bug. But the only thing out of the ordinary was a girl with bright blonde hair down to her waist staring at her like she had grown a second head. Her bug was totally fine.
"Told you she was faking! Have fun on your date with the dishes later, Ruby!" The blond girl yelled excitedly as she pumped her fists in the air and jumped around like some kind of deranged kangaroo.
"Um, nobody broke into my car? Wait, are you robbing me?" Winter accused as she turned around to face the man, who was actually kind of cute. He was around six feet tall with messy black hair and just enough scruff on his face to make it clear he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. He was wearing a white tee-shirt that had some black stains on it along with a pair of black pants.
The man looked at her with a bored expression before looking to his right at another little girl. The girl was bouncing up and down on her feet with a big smile on her face. She had short black hair with dyed red tips. She seemed to like the color red, it was the color of her skirt, shirt, and even her shoes.
"Yup. Totally. Ruby, sick 'em" The man nodded to Winter as he looked at Ruby. Ruby lit up and jumped up, but then looked at Winter and got serious. Ruby had a sly grin on her face as she pulled a hood on top of her small head. While her eyes were covered, Ruby walked over to Winter and stopped right in front of her. Then, nothing…
"Put 'em up! This is a stickup! Money in the bag!" Ruby yelled as she pointed her two-finger pistols right at Winter.
"You don't have a bag, Ruby" Yang called out as she walked to Ruby's side.
"Oh, right. Sorry, drop the money on the ground!" Ruby yelled again. Yang shook her head with her eyes closed and her arms crossed.
"Ruby, you're doing it all wrong! You never apologize when you rob someone!" Yang explained as she started to poke Rubys stomach, forcing her to break character while she laughed.
"Yaaang, stop it! That tickles! Uncle Qrow!" Ruby pleaded as Yang went from poking to a full-scale tickle assault on the small robber.
"Sorry kid, she's right. Your technique still needs a lot of work. Guess we won't be robbing you today, sorry for wasting your time" Qrow told Winter as he flashed her a teasing smile. Winter smiled back at him and felt calmer than she had in days. She looked down at the two girls who were wrestling on the ground and couldn't help but picture her baby sister playing with them.
"I think I can let it slide today, Qrow, was it?" Winter asked the man. The name felt weird for her to say, she'd never heard such an odd name before. But she was named after a season, so who was she to judge?
"Oh yeah, guess we never introduced ourselves. Girls" Winter looked down and held in a laugh as the two girls ran up in front of her in a line and gave her a salute. The taller girl put her arm behind her back, and after a moment of confusion, the smaller girl copied her.
"Yang!" The blonde one said while she tried to keep herself from smiling.
"Ruby!" The smaller girl with the red highlights beamed with the cutest grin Winter had ever seen.
"Nice to meet you!" The two of them chirped almost at the same time. Ruby was a bit behind but didn't seem to upset.
"Um, good to meet you two" Winter laughed as she saluted them back.
The two of them looked pleased and started to laugh, but didn't drop their hands until Qrow walked between them and told them, "At ease, soldiers!" He had a soft smile on his face as he rubbed the hair of the girls. The two of them giggled before they ran off to who knows where. There are some strange people, Winter thought to herself with a smile as she watched the two girls randomly start wrestling on some grass on the side of the road.
"Though, is something up with your car or are you out here enjoying the corn?" Qrow walked right past her and popped open the hood of the car.
"I have no idea. It was fine, but then it just… wasn't" was all Winter could off him. WInters' knowledge of cars was pretty limited. The only part of a car she could name was the steering wheel.
"It just wasn't? Wasn't what? Did the battery die? How about gas?" Qrow looked at her with a raised eyebrow as he slowly rolled up his sleeves.
Winter felt a blush flood her face as she looked away and shrugged, "I think I have gas" Winter meekly gave. Qrow laughed as she started to tinker around in her engine.
"God, you sound like Ruby" Qrow laughed as he looked back up at Winter. Winter looked over at the two girls who were still wrestling. Well, kind of. Yang was on top of Ruby and was trying to give her a wet willy while Ruby struggled and laughed like as she tried to push Yang off of her. "Yang! Grab the tools!"
"What's the magic word!" Yang yelled as her finger got even closer to Rubys ear. Winter wasn't sure who she was talking too though.
"Please-a-kazam!" Ruby and Qrow said at the same time. Guess they couldn't tell either. Yang jumped off of Ruby and ran over to the truck at full speed, followed quickly by Ruby, a smile still plastered on her face.
"Those kids are-" Winter started
"Weird?" Qrow interrupted as he lifted his head out of the car.
"I was gonna say lively, but weird works too" Winter laughed. "Are they yours?" Winter asked before she could think better of it. Winter instantly regretted it as Qrow tensed up ever so slightly, but Winter could see it clear as day. But Qrow quickly took in a deep breath and relaxed before turning back to her with a smile.
"They're my pain in the ass, yes. But they are my nieces" Qrow smiled fondly as he looked over at the two girls bringing him his tools. Yang was carrying a big bag that was filled to the brim with random odds and ends all piled on top of one another. She plopped it down at Qrows feet and gave him a big smile with a thumbs up. Looking at it gave Winter a small headache with how unorganized it was.
Ruby walked up after Yang and held up a small wrench to her uncle with a big smile, "It's all Yang would let me carry" Ruby smiled as Qrow took the wrench and put it on the car. He kneeled to Rubys level and put a hand on her and Yangs' head.
"Thanks, Ruby, you got the most important tool. Thanks, Yang, you are one small squirt. Now, either of you two wants to help me with this?" Winter raised an eyebrow, not sure what she just heard.
"Ooh! Me! Please let me help uncle Qrow!" Ruby raised her hand and started t jump up and down while Yang and Qrow just smiled at her.
"Yeah, I thought as much" Qrow laughed as he ruffled their hair and stood up. "You don't have an issue with Ruby helping out Winter, do you?" Qrow asked with a smirk. Winter looked down at the excited Ruby who was giving her the biggest set of puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. It was one of the cutest things she had ever seen.
"Of course not," Winter said with gritted teeth, hoping this girl wasn't gonna wreck her car even more.
"Yay! Ooh, you have a model T-6! That's a good pick!" Ruby squealed as she jumped up onto the side of her car and dove right into her work. Winter looked at Qrow who just smirked at her.
"Is it ok for her to be doing this? Isn't it dangerous or something?" Winter couldn't help but feel worried for the girl, it was her job after all. Or it was about to be anyway.
"Oh yeah, she's a real smart cookie- egg! A real smart egg!" Qrow quickly stopped himself and looked over a Ruby who was quietly humming to herself as she tightened something down. Leaning over to Winter, Qrow whispered into her ear, "This girl is obsessed with cookies. If she hears the word she goes bananas until she gets one. But yeah, she's seriously smart and good with electronics. I taught her all she knows about cars, and she took apart an engine last month" Qrow said with obvious pride.
"Did she put it back together?" Winter asked with shock in her voice. But Qrow sat there and didn't say anything. "Qrow?"
"She's working on it, ok? Schools kept her busy!" Qrow said defensively, and Winter couldn't help but laugh.
"What about you, Yang? Do you like cars?" Winter asked the blonde who was handing Ruby tools from the bag.
"Not really, the grease always gets in my hair and it takes forever to wash out." Was all she responded with.
"Then what do you like?" Winter questioned with a warm smile on her face. Yang looked up at her for the first time and smiled.
"Action movies." Yang smiled, but Qrow just groaned.
"I never should have showed you those movies! You've gotten into three fights this year alone!" Qrow complained as he put his hands over his eyes and turned away.
"They started it! I was just trying to protect Ruby and me!" Yang cried out, clearly annoyed.
"Yeah, I know the kid. I just wish you wouldn't do it so much. You can solve problems with more than just your fists" Qrow sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Winter felt a little out of her element as the two talked, but she wanted to know more about the girl.
"So why do you like action movies, Yang?" Winter asked as she sat down in front of the girl. Yang took a second to think before she spoke next.
"Because good guys are awesome. People who stand up for what's right always make me happy. Like my uncle Qrow! He knows how to fight, and he's a really good guy! He helped us out, and I guess I just want to be like him" Winter looked at Qrow and seen how much he softened up when she said that.
"I think that's a good reason to like action movies. What if you learned how to fight though?" Winter asked with a smile.
"What?" Qrow let out loudly in disbelief. Yang looked deep in thought but didn't say anything. Qrow walked in front of Winter and looked down at her with confusion and annoyance plastered on his face.
"Why would you say that? You seem pretty nice, but I feel like that's a little over the line, Winter" Qrow spit out. Winter felt guilty, but she couldn't stop herself from trying to help, that's not who she is.
"Sorry, I know I probably shouldn't have said that. But… Ugh, I might not know you, but I know kids. I'm a children's therapist for Pete's sake" Qrow looked pretty shocked at that last part. "Yang doesn't seem like she wants to hurt anyone, she wants to protect her sister. I understand that. I just think that maybe if you got her in a class with some people that know what they're doing that she might take away a lot of good from it. Maybe she'll learn when she's supposed to punch and when to talk" The more Winter explained herself the more he relaxed and looked more guilty than anything else.
They were quiet after that, the only sound was Rubys oblivious humming. Qrow let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes. "Maybe you're right. Yang, would you want to learn how to box?" Qrow hesitantly asked his niece. Yang was still in thought, just sitting there staring blankly at the ground.
"Yeah" Yang whispered so quietly Winter hardly heard her. She looked up at her uncle with a bright smile and a twinkle in her eye, "I think I would like that"
"We'll look into it more when we get home, ok?" Qrow told her, with a smile. "I think your sister needs some help," Qrow said as she pointed towards the car. Yang turned and seem Ruby with her feet up and swinging them wildly. "Looks like she got herself stuck again"
"Ruby! Hang on, I got you!" Yang yelled as she grabbed Rubys legs and pulled with all her might. Ruby popped free and shook her grease-covered face with a smile.
"Thanks, Yang! All done!" Ruby declared as she slowly climbed off the car.
"Really?" Winter asked in disbelief.
"Try it out!" Ruby smiled as she shot two big thumbs up in the air. Winter wasn't sure, but opened the front door and took a seat.
Winter took a deep breath and closed her eyes, grateful that the open hood of the car kept her hidden from everyone else. "Please please please work" Winter whispered as she closed her eyes tight and turned the key. VRRRRR! Winter pried open her eyes and couldn't help herself. "Yes!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Yay!" Winter heard Ruby say outside of the car. Winter jumped out of the car and ran up to Ruby and hugged her right into the air. "Thank you so much, Ruby! You have no idea how much this means to me!" Winter cried in happiness. But Ruby didn't say anything back. "Ruby?" Winter asked as she put the girl down.
Ruby was pale and breathing heavily with tears at the edge of her eyes, looking like she was about to puke. "Oh no, not again," Yang said as she walked up to Ruby and took her by the hand and led her to the truck.
"What was that? Did I do something wrong?" Winter asked as she looked at Qrow with worry in her eyes. "Is she ok?"
"She's fine, she just… She has a lot of issues with people touching her. It's not just you, it's with everyone. Don't feel bad, you couldn't have known." Qrow looked over at his two nieces with a sad look that looked like it had a lot of history to it. "You said you were a child therapist, right?" Qrow asked, giving her a side look.
"Y-Yeah, I am. Well, I'm fresh out of college. I just got a job in the city. I start Monday" Winter explained quickly, mumbling a few of her words.
"What are your rates like?" Winter looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"As cheap as you need to be. Why?"
Qrow took a deep breath and looked her right in the eyes. His face was filled with so much pain, it looked like he had aged in the blink of an eye. "Those two… They've had hard lives. They've been through a lot, and I'm worried about them. They usually don't take to people so quickly, but I can tell they like you. Do you think you could work with them?" Qrow asked. Inside, she knew that he would beg this girl to help him if he had to. But luckily, he didn't have to.
"Of course, that's why I got licensed after all. I'd love to try and work with them, Qrow." Winter said with a big smile. "After all, I owe Ruby" She laughed as she pointed back at her car.
Qrow smiled at her before looking away and whipping a tear away from his eyes. "I know that's a lot for a stranger to ask for, so thank you. Thank you" Winter could see his red eyes and felt her heartbreak for this man. Winter doubt he would ever say it, but he looked exhausted. Even from the brief time they had spent together, it was clear how much Qrow cared about those two girls. So seeing them go through, whatever it was, probably effected him almost as much as it did them. Winter wanted to help all of them.
Winter and Qrow exchanged phone numbers, finally noticing how late it was getting, Qrow decided it was time to head home. "Bye Winter! Hope you get home ok!" Yang yelled from the driver seat of the red truck. Qrow was on the passenger side and little Ruby was getting squished in the middle.
"See you later Winter!" Ruby yelled out as Yang started to drive away.
"Ruby, what are you saying? We aren't gonna see her again" Yang told her sister.
"We aren't?" Ruby asked, not having any idea what they were gonna see each other again pretty soon.
"See you soon Ruby! See you soon Yang!" Winter yelled back as she waved them off, going along with Ruby. Qrow poked his head out of the window and looked back at her with a smile and a wave. Winter couldn't help copying him with a grin. Pretty soon they were past the horizon and Winter was standing alone in the road once again.
"I hope Yang knows how to drive" Winter laughed as she walked into her car again. It started up without a hitch, and Winter couldn't help but do a little dance. Winter put the car in drive and went the same way as the three. After about twenty minutes the city finally came into view. It was lit up like a Christmas tree and was bustling with life. The sight made Winter a little nervous. But a vision of a little girl with white hair popped into her head, but this time there was a blonde and a girl with black hair standing with her.
Friends… The thought of her sister with Yang and Ruby made Winter laugh hard. It was the kind of belly laugh that made you curl up on the floor and took away your breath. "I really can't Picture Weiss hanging out with those two, but as long as she finds some friends, that would be enough" Winter smiled as she pulled into the city.
"Just a little bit longer Weiss, I'll take you back soon"
-Authors note-
So this is the first thing I've posted, so if anyone likes this and wants me to continue it, please comment and let me know. I'd be happy to do it even if just one person wants it! Thanks for reading!