Even though Winters head was swimming, it still dawned on her exactly how strange it was that everything else in the universe faded away so quickly. The music fell through the floorboards, the smell of stale beer was masked by the smell of Qrow, the vibrations from the dancing people were nothing compared to the pounding from her heart that vibrated in every single cell in her body.

The background was gone, but that made everything that was left so much stronger. Winters hands moved along Qrows arms and back, feeling how toned he was from hours of working on cars. His scent was more intoxicating than the vodka and had her swimming in cloud nine. Plus his lips… they were soft, warm, and the electricity that was sparking between them made her knees weak. God, everything about those first seconds would be burned into her memory for the rest of her life, and she knew that her dreams would be haunted by this feeling.

As amazing as it was, something felt… Wrong. Well, it felt soooo right, but there was a creeping feeling that something wasn't exactly the way it was supposed to be. She tried to keep enjoying the feeling, but it was all turning sour the longer it went on, and she had no idea why. Something in her heart broke when she realized, his hands weren't touching her, and even with her eyes closed she knew they were glued to his sides. The electricity was fizzling as his lips slowed down, like a car running out of fuel. She could feel his back get rigid, and felt the excitement die.

Winter stopped kissing him and pulled back, wobbling on her feet. She wasn't sure if it was from lack of oxygen or her drink. Winters hands were clasped together tightly, not sure what to do with them anymore. Qrow wasn't looking at her, one hand brushing some hair out of his face while the other was in his pocket, "Winter… I didn't think you'd had that much to drink. I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say you're black out" Qrow sighed softly, still not looking at the confused girl.

"Wha- Black out?" Winter slurred out, she knew what someone blacking out was, but why was he saying she'd done that? What did that mean?

"It means in the morning, you aren't gonna remember anything. I've been there a few times. I'm sorry Winter, I should've known you were a lightweight. I never should've even given you that stupid drink. Don't worry, I'll get you home ok." Qrow nodded, finally looking at her. He had a small, uncharacteristically nervous smile on his face. His voice was soft, like he wasn't positive in what he was saying.

"Qrow, I… What?" He was talking too fast, and her brain couldn't grasp exactly what he meant, but she knew something was wrong. Winter was positive she would remember what had just happened, probably till her dying day. But he wasn't saying anything about it… Did he not like it? Was he mad? What had she done wrong?

"Come on, let's get out of here" Qrow told her as he put his hand on her shoulder. When he touched her though, he flinched like he'd been burned, and pulled his hand away quickly. He looked at her, his eyes a bit wider than normal. When he saw her looking at him with a tilted head, he chuckled and grabbed her lightly by the arm, pulling her behind him.

They made it up the stairs to the landing that separated the upstairs and downstairs when Qrow abruptly stopped, and Winter walked right into him. "Sorry. Ok, give me one second, I forgot something. Stay right here, ok? Don't move," He told her, pointing his finger at her like she was a dog that was about to run off. He ran back down to the music, leaving Winter alone with her thoughts.

Winter backed into the wall, her head bobbing as she moved. The hard wall felt nice, and she closed her eyes, trying to get her world to stop spinning. The music from downstairs was still loud, but now that she was out of its direct line of fire she felt her ears ringing. It was annoying, but a bit satisfying at the same time. Like when you're a kid and you scrape your knee playing. It sucks, but it was totally worth it.

"Hey" someone slurred beside her. Winter opened her eyes and saw a guy who was about six foot four, a bit too much muscle on him, balding, and with a thick scraggly beard leaning on the wall next to her. His right hand was on the wall, holding all of his weight, while his left hand swirled a cup of dark brown liquid Winter guessed wasn't pop.

"Hi" Winter said quietly, waving one of her hands at him like a nervous child. Honestly her hand looked a lot smaller next to him, which made her giggle.

"What's a cute- cute girl like you doing here by yourself?" The guy asked, hiccuping in the middle of talking. Winter looked at him and shrugged, pointing to the stairs.

"Qrow went that way," She explained flawlessly. The guy looked at the stairs and back at her with a raised eyebrow before he took another long swig of his drink.

"Guess you're one of those crazy types. What do you say we… Get out of here?" He chuckled, dropping his empty cup on the ground. Winter was pretty sure he hadn't dropped it on purpose.

"I'd love to get out of here, but Qrow's not back yet… Do you think he's mad at me?" Winter asked as she slid down the wall, ending up sitting on the ground with her arms around her knees. The guy slid down to join her, but he was a lot less graceful and ended up basically laying down in the hallway.

"Naaaah, you're too pretty to be mad at…" The man explained with his eyes half way closed, waving one hand lazily.

"Aw, thank you! But I don't think Qrow agrees… He hates me," Winter told him, her eyes starting to fill with tears. The man's eyes opened slowly, and even when he was looking at her, it didn't look like the lights were on.

"What a prick, what kind of bird makes a girl cry!" The guy grumbled, making a fist, but then looking at it like it was doing something interesting. Winter watched him through her tears, curious what was going on in this guy's head.

"Everything ok here? Eddy, what're you doing down there?" Winter hadn't even noticed Qrow walk up the stairs, his eyes going between the girl and man on the ground. The guy, Edwardo? Earl? Winters' mind didn't catch what name Qrow had given him. Either way, the guy looked up at Qrow with half lidded eyes and smiled big and wide.

"Qrow! Long time no see, bud! Where are those girls of yours hiding? Don't want the shrimp to try and climb me again" The man laughed, sounding like a deep bass drum.

"They didn't come tonight Eddy, only kid I'm watching is sitting next to you" Qrow explained as he reached down and took Winters hand, pulling her to her feet without any effort. Moving so fast made Winters' stomach feel woozy, like her head, but she could deal with it… For now at least. The man looked shocked, his eyes wide.

"Ooohh! You meant that Qrow! Qrow, you made this little lady sad! God, I'm drunk" The guy lamented as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

"I what? Ugh, whatever. I'll tell one of your guys at the front you're here blocking the path. See ya Eddy, we gotta get going," The man didn't say anything, but Winter could hear his snoring, it was even louder than the music from the basement.

Qrow shook his head as he led Winter by her hand outside. Qrow said something to one of the bouncers standing guard, he was a big round guy that looked like he was trying way too hard not to smile. The round guy sighed, and Qrow patted him on the shoulder and laughed before he led her back to Harbinger.

Qrow opened the door for her and Winter smiled as she climbed in the car, curling up and laying on her side, her face buried in the leather. She sat quietly while Qrow got in on his side. "This leather smells so nice, Qrow. Like, it makes me feel free when I smell it… Is that weird?" She looked up at him and he smiled at her as he started the engine.

"No, I think the same thing whenever I get in here" he explained with a look of pride on his face, "Sit up, you gotta put your seatbelt on,"

Something about what he said connected some long dormant neural pathways in her mind, and an image of her father crept into her mind saying the exact same thing.

"No… I don't wanna!" Winter told him sternly, but it wasn't Qrow she was talking to anymore.

"Winter, stop being such a kid, I'm not gonna drive-"

"Don't call me a kid! I'm an adult, and I can make my own decisions!" Winter huffed at him, her heart starting to get worked up.

"Winter, can you just do what you're told?" Qrow was talking softly, but in Winters mind his voice was deeper, darker, exactly like her fathers, and she hated it.

"No! You always do this to me! You never care about what I think, and make me do what you want!" Winter yelled, tears rolling down her eyes as she yelled her heart out for the first time.

"Winter- I" Qrow started, but Winter wasn't ready to stop yet.

"What I did when I was little, when you sent me to the tutor, you even tried to control me in college! But Mom was there, she helped me! So no more! I'm done! I hate you and wish you'd gotten sick instead of Mom!" Winter screamed, as she punched the leather seat over and over again, panting from the effort.

Qrow sat there staring at her, not saying anything, waiting. Winter got her breath back, and was glad nobody else was around the car to hear her tantrum. She looked at Qrow, eyes full of guilt and tears, "I-I'm sorry. That wasn't meant for you. I've never said anything like that out loud before… If you couldn't tell, my Dad- Well, he was a bit of a prick," Winter chuckled, trying to chip at the uncomfortable silence that she'd made.

"You don't have to wear your seat belt if you don't want to," Qrow smiled at her, and Winter returned it, with both of their smiles half strained and half genuine. Winter laid back down on the leather seat, but this time she put her head in Qrows lap. She knew it might make him uncomfortable, and she'd move if he asked, but it felt way too right not to do it. Plus, Qrows lap was apparently a very comfortable pillow.

Qrow put the car in drive, and slowly started to drive down the road. Winter closed her eyes and let the car rock her back and forth, the silence growing less stressful by the moment.

"Ya know, I always heard your Dad was an ass, but when I met you, I guess I figured the stories couldn't have been right. You were way too cool and nice to have been raised by such a dick" Qrow told her, moving one of his hands off the wheel and onto the side of the door.

Winters mind had started to settle, and everything was becoming a bit clearer, but what he'd said… She must've missed some of it, "What do you mean?" Winter questioned, hoping she'd misheard.

"You're Dad, Jacques Schnee, always heard he was a jerk. But after I met you I figured he must've been pretty cool. Guess I was wrong" Qrow sighed as he took a turn so softly that Winter barely even registered the movement.

"Wait, you know about my Dad? How do you know about him?" Winter probed softly, even though her mind was in a panic. He's not supposed to know, how did he figure it out? How did I mess up? Winter mentally chastised herself, mad that she let the information slip.

"Winter, your Dad's one of the richest people in the world. He's a pretty well known guy. After I got your last name from your firm, it was pretty obvious. I mean, Schnee isn't exactly a common name" Qrow chuckled like it was obvious, and not one of her darkest secrets.

"How long?" Winter begged, scared of the answer.

"I figured it out pretty soon after you started coming over. I was getting gas one day and saw the name, and after that, a few google searches cleared everything up" there was a moment of silence after that where Winter didn't really know what to say.

"So… What do you think?" Winter hesitantly questioned, not really sure how he'd answer.

"About your Dad? I mean, from what you just yelled, something tells me I don't really wanna meet the guy" Qrow shuttered, but Winter was at a loss.

"I mean, about me" she muttered, hoping he wouldn't hear her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, aren't you mad at me? I kept something huge hidden from you and the girls! You should be upset at me or something!" Winter urged him, wanted to get his anger out of the way and for them to stop dancing around it.

"Winter, why would I be mad about that? You haven't been a jerk to my girls or anything, so why should I be mad at you? I couldn't care less about who raised you" He explained, in a confused tone, like he shouldn't have had to explain any of this.

"So you aren't mad?"

"No, I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?" Qrow laughed at her this time. Suddenly he moved his hand to her head and started to play with her hair lightly, like he was scared she was gonna yell at him. Instead, Winter purred ever so softly and closed her eyes, letting peace wash over her for the rest of the ride.

The rest of the ride was a blur, and she couldn't care less. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She didn't have to worry about her past getting dragged out into the open. For some reason she thought that Qrow would be mad, treat her differently, or straight up blackmail her once he found out about her Father. In hindsight, she should've known better. She was positive Yang and Ruby would care even less than Qrow did, but they might have a few more random questions. That thought made her smile, because she'd be more than willing to answer them.

Winters eyes opened and they were suddenly at her buildings parking lot, with Qrow's hand still playing with her hair. It was so relaxing, and her eyes were so heavy… She blinked slowly, and by the time she opened them again Qrow was gently tapping her on the shoulder, "Huh?" She asked in a daze.

"Winter, you need to grab your room key" She heard him say, so she fished it out of her pocket and held it in her hand without even opening her eyes. The next thing she knew, Winter was in her bed surrounded by her covers.

She was warm and calm, not sure when she'd gotten there. She kept her eyes closed, enjoying it. Her mind was a lot clearer than it had been in the club and the car, and she was glad that all of her memories were still intact… all of them from the night. When she felt a soft hand cup her cheek. Winter knew she should tell him that she was awake however barely she was. But she was way too curious to see what he would do.

"I wish you would remember tonight…" She heard Qrow whisper, before he leaned down and planted a light kiss on her forehead. It wasn't creepy or weird, but it made her long to be back on the dance floor with her arms around him again. She heard her door close and opened her eyes.

The room around her was dark, only lighted by the window. She sat up and looked at the door, a feeling of want filled her chest. She wanted him to come back, to explain to him that she knew what she had done… but did she? Winter had no idea anymore. She looked down, and noticed something on her bed.

It was a t-shirt that had a tiger jumping through a ring of fire with dark red text that read, firewalkers Endgame tour! On the back of the shirt was a list of dates and names of locations they'd played. She found the one at hall, with today's date, and was positive that she really would remember tonight forever, for better or for worse. She realized this must've been what Qrow had gone back for, and she smiled, then the tears started to fall again.

Winter leaned back and hugged the shirt. Thinking about the girls, her work, her future, Qrow… And knew that she couldn't remember. She was gonna have to 'black out' in the morning. Because she couldn't date Qrow, not while she was seeing the girls. It was unethical. That's what she messed up, she never should've kissed him at all. She cried. She cried for hours, knowing that she'd remember, but couldn't. That kiss? That had to disappear forever, and that broke her heart…

-Authors note-

Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Things are getting a little spicy now, but what will happen next? Keep reading to see! See you guys next week!