Winter felt like she was bobbing in a warm pool, her head just above the water as she floated. She felt like she could stay there for hours and hours while the world around her slipped away into nothingness. She took a deep breath and caught the smell of something deep and rich. It reminded her of driving around in her bug, the open road around her as she took the back roads home. A soft smile broke out on her lips without her trying, she took another breath, trying to figure out what exactly it was… Then, her eyes slowly opened.

Winter's eyes slowly fluttered open, but it took her a minute to realize that she was awake now. Her mind was still groggy from the warmth, so she didn't know what was going on. The room around her was pitch black except for a sharp light coming from across the room that stung her eyes and made her squint. Underneath the light was three small shapes, wrapped in one big blanket. All three of them were huddling close together like they had done it a thousand times. The Yang and Rubys delicate faces hardly poked out of the blankets, with Zwei squished in between them, all of their chests were rising and falling softly together in harmony.

Maria's chair was vacant, the popcorn bowl sitting in her place. Winter felt a small tweak of sadness poke through the fog. She wanted to talk to the woman more, figure out who exactly she was. But there would be plenty of time for that later. Winter closed her eyes again and filled her lungs one more time, letting that same smell of freedom wash over her one more time.

Winter's eyes rolled over the room, her arms pulled the blanket that was cover her closer. She looked down and realized that she had no memory of how it got there. Someone had covered her in it. The blanket felt fluffy and nice on her arms, and she wrapped it tighter around herself, burying herself deeper into the pillow her head rested on.

Her pillow was the right amount of firm and soft, better than her pillow. Her nose filled with the smell from earlier, and she realized it was coming from her pillow. More out of curiosity than anything else, she looked and tried to see what the pillow looked like, maybe she could find one like it?

But instead of the fluffy pillow, she was expecting, she was looking up at… Qrow? Winter's mind was a bit slow at the moment and she couldn't grasp what was going on, like a lagging computer. He was looking down at his phone, the brightness was so low on it she could hardly tell it was on. He didn't seem to notice her weight, or maybe he didn't care. She couldn't remember falling asleep, so maybe she leaned into him in her sleep? Winter had no clue but knew she should probably tell him that she was awake.

Buuut instead she gazed up at him, watching as he scrolled calmly down his phone, the light from the t.v. illuminating him gently. His face was calmer then she'd probably ever seen it and he looked young to her for the first time. He didn't have a grin on his lips, a playful wink in his eye, or lines on his face. Is she was being honest, Winter thought he looked a little cute like this. But she'd never say that out loud.

She sat like that, her cheek resting on his shoulder, lazily looking up at him, her mind still lost in warmth and comfort. Winter felt her eyes get heavy, knowing sleep would take her soon. She tried to fight against it, not wanting to lose this moment. She sluggishly moved away from Qrow and the warmth he brought, knowing it was the only way to stay conscious. He looked over at her with a small smile, "Finally awake?"

Winter yawned, trying to look a little lady like by covering her mouth with her hand, "How long was I out for?" Winter asked quietly, the voice felt foreign coming from her lips.

"Not too long. You passed out after Ruby put the second movie in" Now that he mentioned it, Winter did remember Ruby begging them to watch the second movie in whatever action series they were watching. Ruby said that they were 'action movies at their finest,' and who could say no to that?

Winter brought out her phone, making sure to keep the blanket around her shoulders, and saw it was already well past midnight. "I should probably get going," Winter admitted groggily, but her legs felt like lead and moving seemed like way too much of a hassle, so she stayed put, trying to gather some form of motivation.

"Ya gonna get up then?" He probed, turning to look at her, a shadow of a smile on his face. Winter looked at the ground and felt a shudder roll down her spine, she could already feel the cold of the ground on her bare feet. Plus the idea of leaving behind her blanket and facing the cold wind of the night sounded like a nightmare.

"Maybe I'll wait for a few minutes, just till I get warm" Winter pulled the blanket over her head and leaned away from Qrow until her side hit the edge of the sofa, the leather creaking beneath her.

"Oh yeah, gotta get warmed up before you pass out again" Qrow chuckled, Winter didn't exactly catch what he said, but she looked at him with half-lidded eyes and nodded in agreement. "Or, you could stay here for the night"

Winter understood what he said, and sat up again, waking up a little as she moved. "I don't wanna sleep on your couch, Qrow. I should go home" Winter relaxed into the cushions, realizing exactly how fluffy and nice they were. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to sleep on here…

"It's dangerous to drive tired, Snowflake, even I don't do it"

"I should go home" Winter's head was swimming,

"Why? Got someone waiting for you?"

"Yeah, Wei-" Winter started, catching herself before she could finish. She pictured Weiss sitting in her room at the manor, sleeping in her big empty room, without anyone one there for her… a dark realization washed over her, there wasn't any reason for her to go to her apartment. The only thing that place did was hold her clothes, nothing else was there for her. Nobody else.

Qrow nodded at her silence like he knew what was on her mind. "You can take my bed. I'll sleep down here" He said as he slowly stood up, the leather whined as he moved.

"You sure?" Winter asked, standing up after him, taking her blanket cloak with her.

"Yeah, I don't want you complaining about your back hurts when you wake up" he teased, patting her on the head.

"I would not" Winter complained, but deep down she could totally see herself doing that.

Qrow leaned down and slowly pulled the blanket off the sleeping trio on the ground. Yang and Ruby both had their arms wrapped loosely around Zwei, who looked completely content with all the affection. But when the cold air hit him, his eyes opened and gazed up at Qrow. His back muscles looked tight for a moment, but when he realized who was there, he relaxed and went back to sleep.

He scooped up Ruby and Zwei in his arms in one fluid motion, neither of the two seemed to realize they'd even moved. Winter's eyes got wide when she realized what he'd done.

"Qrow, you're touching her! What if she has another panic attack?" she whisper yelled, trying her best to be quiet. Qrow shrugged, not appearing too concerned about it as he looked down at Ruby and smiled peacefully.

"These two are heavy sleepers, Fireworks could go off in here and they wouldn't budge" Qrow chuckled, still gazing at Ruby, he took a thumb and gently moved some of her short hair out of her face, and Winter could have sworn a smile crossed Rubys sleeping face.

"Could you grab Yang?" Qrow asked her as he adjusted Ruby in his arms.

"Uh, sure. Yes, I can do that" Winter hesitantly said, not sure if she could lift the girl. As she looked down at Yang in the light of the t.v, for a moment it looked like her hair was pure white instead of her normal blonde. Her heart hurt thinking about the times she used to carry Weiss up to bed after she would fall asleep while reading a book.

"You got this" Winter whispered to herself, hoping Qrow couldn't hear her over the quiet noise of the movie. She bent down and slowly got her arms beneath Yang, using all of her muscles to hoist the girl up. She might have only been thirteen, but Yang must've had a lot of muscle behind her frame because it was a struggle to carry her.

Qrow lead the way with Ruby, walking silently as a cat in the night without the floorboards even creaking under his weight. Winter followed loudly behind him, with Yang snoring ever so slightly in her struggling arms. Qrow reached the end of the short hall and kicked open the door to the right, stepping inside with Winter close behind.

There was a window that looked out to the yard that illuminated the room ever so slightly. But even so, every step she took in the room felt uneven like the floor was covered in soft landmines! So Winter had to take her time and step carefully, while Qrow glided along like the floor was spotless.

The bed looked like it had exploded, the covers were half on the ground, pillows were up and down the bed, and even the mattress itself was somehow crooked. Winter even saw something that looked like an old pair of boxing gloves on the bed. Winter was glad it was dark and she couldn't see the rest of the room.

"Is this Yangs or Rubys room?"

"Take a guess"

"Yang?" Winter remembered that Yang was the boxer and suddenly felt very silly for asking. Or maybe she was too sleepy? She had no clue anymore. Honestly, it wouldn't have shocked Winter it was Rubys room either, she wouldn't put it past the girl to leave her room like a typhoon had just blown through.

"Ding ding ding" Qrow smiled as he used his feet to pull back the covers and kick some pillows to one side of the bed.

"Dang, you got some fancy feet" Winter giggled as Qrow fake kicked her. Winter tried to kick back, but started to lose her balance, "Shit!" she whispered, hardly managing to find her footing before she took Yang down with her.

"Smooth move, Snowflake" Qrow chuckled as he kicked the mattress back into place against the wall. Somehow Ruby and Zwei either didn't feel him kicking, or they were super deep sleepers.

"Hahaha, laugh it up" Winter grumbled half-heartedly, knowing she would've done the same thing if their roles were reversed. Slowly, and as gently as she could, Winter set Yang down on her bed. Winter made sure her head was resting comfortably on a pillow and took the blanket off the floor and draped it over Yangs sleeping form. Without thinking, Winter tucked Yang in tightly before bending down and softly kissing her forehead.

As Winter turned away from Yang, she could see Qrow weirdly smiling at her, "What? Was that weird?"

"You're sweet, Win" Qrow smiled as he turned away and walked to the other room. Winter didn't even have time to register what he said, but butterflies still managed to find their way into her stomach as she followed him.

Rubys room seemed a lot cleaner than Yangs, but not by much. The floor wasn't covered in clothes. Instead, there was paper, pens, bits of metal screwed and welded together, and even a few books scattered on her desk and the floor nearby. Thankfully, most of the floor was clean. Rubys bed also looked like she'd but at least a little effort into making it.

Winter moved the covers to the side while Qrow set Ruby and Zwei down like they were made of glass. Winter moved the blankets around the sleeping girl and watched as she snuggled up with Zwei and buried her face in his fur. Winter was about to kiss Rubys forehead but caught a glimpse of Qrow smiling at her like a dope and thought better of it. She didn't wanna give him any more ammunition for jokes later.

They tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind them. "Alright, now it's your turn" He walked past her and up a set of stairs leading up. As she followed him, she couldn't help but be proud oh how she hadn't lost her blanket as she hugged it tight around herself once again.

He walked up the stairs quickly and silently, with Winter following close behind but not nearly as silently. The wooden steps creaked and groaned with the slightest movement, and Winter was glad that the girls were heavy sleepers. Qrow walked ahead of her into the darkness, before hitting a light and illuminating the second floor.

Well, the upstairs wasn't a new floor and was more like a single room. While bigger than either of the girls' room, it was hardly any bigger than her bedroom in the apartment.

The room was baren of furniture. There was a perfectly made bed in the corner, a nightstand with a lamp that was lighting up the room lightly, a small t.v. on the other side of the room. There was also a small closet that Qrow was looking through, but that was it.

Winter watched Qrow as he dug around his closet, feeling out of place, to say the least. Maybe it was the sparseness of the space or the fact that this was Qrows private room she was intruding on, but she felt vulnerable standing there.

Qrow finally came walking over, tossing a shirt and a pair of basketball shorts onto the bed. "In case you want something more comfortable to sleep in," He told her when she gave him an odd look. "Well, goodnight," He said awkwardly, before walking to the stairs again.

"Qrow" Winter said groggily, gripping the blanket tightly. He turned back to her with his eyes curious. "Thank you. For the bed I mean. I appreciate it" She sputtered the words out slowly like her brain had to double-check that they were the right ones.

Qrow smiled at her then coughed into his hand, Winter was pretty sure it was a fake cough for some reason, "Listen, so Yang has her first boxing match tomorrow. It's not gonna be big or anything, but I know she wanted to ask if you wanted to go. I told her you probably had work, but she wanted me to ask you anyway." Qrow had a slight hesitance in his voice when he talked, and Winter thought it was adorable.

Winter did have plans to hang out with Amy the next day, but a quick text would solve that. Plus, she didn't have any scheduled appointments at work either. She was gonna go in and do some paperwork, but she could do that any day, "I don't know, I guess I could shift some things around, probably fit it in my schedule, but maybe not… " Winter shrugged, not able to keep the smile off her face. "Yes, I'd love to go"

Qrow smiled at her and started to walk down the stairs, "Glad to hear it, Snowflake. G'night"

"Goodnight, Qrow" she called after him, hoping he heard her before the door closed behind him.

Winter glided over to the bed and picked up the clothes Qrow had given her. They were big, but that's a good thing for sleepwear. As she started to undress, she couldn't help but feel a little weird getting undressed in someone else's home, in a guys room no less!

"Oh God, Amy's gonna have a field day" Winter mumbled to herself as she slid on the loose shorts and shirt. Then she flopped onto Qrow bed, where her nose was assaulted with the scent of freedom from earlier.

Winter felt her back loosen up and her worries float away with the wind the more she breathed it in. Snuggling under the covers, the blanket from downstairs still wrapped around her, she realized that it was Qrows smell. It wasn't cologne, soap or anything, this was how he smelled. As much as Winter hated to admit it, he smelled so good.

Within minutes Winters's mind grew drowsier and slower as sleep slowly took ahold of her. The sounds of the highway were like a lullaby, helping her forget everything and getting lost in her mind. As images of the last day flashed in her head she couldn't shake one thought, I haven't had that much fun in a while. Then, sleep took her down into its depths.

-Authors Note-

So this chapter's pretty long so I'm only gonna be posting one this week, but it'll probably be back to normal next week! I hope you enjoy the chapter because I liked writing it!

Happy New Years!