The next few hours were more fun than Winter thought possible. The kids ate cake, traded candy, and Ruby even went toe to toe with everyone in that video game she liked to play, managing to put everyone in their place easily. She was always nice about it though, even offering advice mid fight. Nora kept challenging Ruby to rematches, but never really came close to beating Ruby. But that was partially because Nora said she'd lick Ruby's face if she took it easy on her.

By ten, the kids sugar high was crashing down, and everyone was starting to slow down except for Ruby and Nora, but that's par for the course. Parents started to pick up kids one at a time, each of them talking to Qrow for a few minutes about what had happened, how the kids were, and all that good stuff.

Winter watched as Ruby said her goodbyes to all of her friends, promising to see them at school. The last thing Ruby did, for every guest, was give them a quick hug. Winter saw how scared Ruby was, looking away before basically jumping on the person, pulling away before they realized what was going on. Each hug lasted half a second at best, but Ruby managed to do it every time. Winter was proud of how much progress Ruby had made in such a short time.

By ten thirty, everyone had finished removing their makeup and it was just the girls, Qrow, and Winter left. Winter plopped down next to Yang, who was playing with Zwei on the couch, and started to watch Qrow and Ruby play their fighting game while they sat on the floor together.

"Hey Yang, what happened to Blake? I don't think I saw her leave" Winter had tried her best to say goodbye to all of the kids at one point or another, saying thank you for coming and all that, but she'd either missed Blake's parents or they hadn't come. Honestly it was like Blake was there and then she'd suddenly vanished.

"Oh, um, you must've missed her. She doesn't like to say goodbye, so she usually slips out silently at some point" Yang explained as she grabbed Zweis ears and started to twist them around gently, her eyes never leaving the dog.

"Her Parents didn't wanna talk to Qrow? Qrow, did you talk to Blake's Parents?" Winter tapped Qrow with her foot, pulling his attention away from the t.v. for a moment.

"What? No, never seen them" Qrow told her, half turning his face to her, his eyes glued to the game. He was doing pretty well against Ruby, who knows, maybe he'd even take one of her lives.

"Huh, weird. Have you met her parents?" Winter asked the blonde as she leaned back into the sofa, looking at Yang's eyes closely.

"No, but she's told me a lot about them. They seem fine, I guess" Yangs tone was harsh, almost criticising.

"Hopefully we get to meet them soon, Blake seems like a pretty cool girl" Winter said this as she started to pet Zwei behind his ears.

"Right?" Yang chuckled, a goofy smile on her face as she leaned down and gave Zwei a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes!" Qrow cheered, standing up with his hands over his head, the controlor still clutched in his hand.

"Great job uncle Qrow, I knew you could do it!" Ruby chirped from the ground, giving her uncle a big thumbs up.

"Wait, you beat her?" Yang gaped at him. Qrow turned around, pride shining in the night.

"Nope! But I got her down to one life!" Qrow grinned. Winter let out a huff of air, not impressed.

"Come on, that's not that-" Winter started, but was interrupted by Yang.

"I knew we could do it! Ha! Your time in the spotlight's coming to an end little red! If I was playing with him, we probably could've won!" Yang jumped from the couch right into Qrows arms and wrapped him in a bear hug.

"Hehe, I'm looking forward to it! If you guys use Winter, it'll be even easier for you guys too!" Ruby smiled as she stood up and looked at the white haired girl who was now blushing furiously. Qrow set Yang down, the two of them sharing a look, clearly not thrilled with the idea of Winter helping.

"Come on guys, I'm not that bad!" Winter whined, after the room fell into silence.

"You have… Potential" Yang hesitated, clearly reaching for something that wasn't negative to say about her skills with the controlor. Winter grumbled, but there wasn't anything she could really say to defend herself.

"A few more lessons and you'll be well on your way" Qrow told her, sending a smile her way that was filled with warmth. She appreciated him trying to make her feel a bit better, and managed to crack a smile back.

"Alright kids, time for bed. It's late, and I can't have you guys passing out at school more than usual" Qrow told the kids as he plopped down on the couch.

"Wha- But uncle Qrowwww, it's my birthday" Ruby complained as she stuck out her bottom lip and tried to give him a huge set of puppy dog eyes. Qrow had apparently been learning, because he was looking everywhere but his niece. Ruby was determined though, because she stood up and walked right in front of Qrow, looking up at him with the power of a thousand puppies, "Pleaaase, just a bit longer?"

Winter watched Qrows eyes slowly start to fall down to his niece, no matter how much he tried to fight it, "How about I pack a piece of cake in your lunch tomorrow instead?" Qrow spat out before he could completely give in.

"Ooh, deal! I'll go get ready!" Ruby squealed as she ran back to her room.

"Not a bad trade" Winter smiled as she pulled her legs up to the couch, sitting cross legged.

"For me it was a good deal. Her teachers might call and complain about how hyper she is tomorrow though" Qrow sighed as he walked into the kitchen.

Winter got up and followed him silently, watching him pull out meat bread, and a whole assortment of food. He hummed to himself as he danced around the kitchen, making food.

"You're making their lunches?" Winter questioned as he started to put stuff in plastic sandwich baggies.

"Every night. Try and make their breakfasts every morning, but school has these kids getting up way too early some days" Qrow chuckled as he pulled out red and yellow lunch boxes from under a cabinet.

"Wow, I had no idea… That's really nice of you Qrow"

"It's not that big of a deal. Those kids deserve it, ya know?" He told her as he zipped up the lunches and tossed them in the freezer, but not before he tossed a small piece of cake in both boxes, "Yangs gonna give hers to Ruby, but I gotta put it in her box or Ruby gets sad" Qrow explained, clearly having gone through this before.

"Alright, we're going to bed!" Ruby smiled as she hopped into the kitchen dressed in her pajamas. Yang chose to walk in, it was a bit late for her to hop like her sister.

"Night, love you uncle Qrow, see you soon Winter" Yang smiled, her eyes already starting to droop from exhaustion.

Ruby was about to say something, but decided against it, simply walking up to Qrow and giving him another hug, "Thanks for a great birthday Uncle Qrow, love you" Ruby tried, and failed, to whisper. Then she bounced over and gave Winter a hug, "Thanks for talking to me, it… It helped" Ruby told her, before leaping backwards next to Yang.

"Night, kids. Love you to" Qrow smiled, leaning back onto the counter of the kitchen.

"Sweet dreams, girls," Winter said, watching as Yang looked at Ruby with pride in her sleep filled eyes, and the two of them walked to their rooms without another peep.

There was a moment of silence between the two adults, both of them simply enjoying the first bit of peace in hours. Soon enough though, Qrow was stretching, yawning, which made Winter realize just how tired she was. It had been a long few hours for sure.

"I should probably head out, it's getting late" Winter sighed, not really wanting to go anywhere.

"I guess. Come on then, I'll walk you to your car" Qrow told her, walking over to the front door, sliding on a pair of flip flops. After Winter had managed to get her shoes on, which took longer than you might think, the two of them walked out the door.

Winter pulled her jacket a bit tighter around herself, the cold taking her by surprise. Jack-o-lanterns, street lamps, and the moon lit the night in a beautiful sort of way, reminding Winter of a kind of carnival with how magically bright everything looked around her.

Qrow was clear to her, another thing she wasn't expecting in the night. He was walking slowly behind her, almost like he was dragging his feet. He suddenly stopped, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. Winter paused, turning around to see what he wanted.

"Winter, I… well, Um… screw it"Qrow mumbled to himself before he leaned in and placed his lips on hers.

Winter hadn't exactly been in the best state of mind the first time they'd kissed, and it had crossed her mind that maybe it had only been so good because of the vodka. She was wrong. Dead wrong. His lips were soft, warm, and were intoxicating. Qrow softly cupped her cheek with his hand, and the two of them pulled back, gazing into each other's eyes before coming together again. Winters fingers were in his hair, pulling him closer, her whole body feeling like an electric current was running through her, becoming stronger the more they touched.

As quickly as her joy had started, it ended, but not because the kissing had. Instead, Winter felt her stomach drop, and she moved her hand from Qrows hair to his chest and started to push him away lightly. It took him a moment to realize she'd stopped kissing back, but moved away when he figured it out.

"What's wrong, I- I thought…?" Qrow couldn't even talk, he looked at her like he was completely lost.

Winter bit her bottom lip, suddenly on the verge of tears that hadn't been there a minute ago. Qrow moved closer, and draped his arm around her. Winter wanted to push him away, but it felt so nice, so warm… But all she could manage to do was to shake her head, which was enough for him to pull away.

"Qrow… I… Ruby told me about Raven. Well, sort of. She sent Ruby a birthday card, and Ruby said some things, but- Jesus, Qrow. Those scars? They're bad. Really bad. What the hell did she do to those girls?" Winter blubbered, tears starting to leak out of the edges of her eyes thinking about what she'd seen on Yangs back. What she'd felt on Ruby's.

Qrow balled his fists as his eyes grew dark, "I thought it was weird when she didn't send a card. Ruby must've found it before me" Qrow spat, as he stepped away. Placing his fists on his temples and swearing quietly.

"What? Qrow, I'm confused, Ruby acted like she'd never seen a card like that before" Winter wondered, placing a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back down to earth.

"She sends two every year to each of the girls. One for Christmas and one on their birthdays. Yang knows, but she never opens them. Ruby on the other hand… We've managed to keep her from seeing them so far. I guess until tonight that is… I thought she'd finally given up, stupid" Seethed Qrow, Winter wasn't sure if he was more angry at Raven or himself.

"Who is she though? Why's she sending cards to the girls?" Winter asked, squeezing Qrows shoulder again. Qrow sighed, dropping his fists to his sides, calmer.

"She's my sister. She was the one who took the girls in when Tai and Summer died"

"Wait, but I thought you-"

"No. Not at first. I was in the military at the time. I could've taken them, or at least tried, but… I didn't" Qrow explained, his voice full of regret, his eyes looking at the ground in shame.

"Why Raven though? You're their uncle" Winter asked, trying to wrap her head around what was going on.

"Technically, I'm Yang's uncle. She's Raven's daughter, and Ruby's was Summers. She and Tai broke up after Yang was born, but the state thought that Yang should go with her birth mother, even though neither were thrilled at the idea. Ruby went with Yang, no way those two were getting split up" Qrow explained everything with anger and annoyance in his voice, clearly not happy with the way things had turned out.

"How long were they there for?" Winter wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer anymore, but she had to ask.

"About two years," Qrow said solemnly, unable to look at her. Winter took a step back, shocked. She wanted to say something, but her throat was too tight to let air in, let alone out.

"I tried talking to them about it, but they don't like talking about it. All I got out of them was that it wasn't always that bad. Raven just started to get angrier and angrier the longer they stayed with her, then… Those scars" Qrow didn't need to go into detail, Winter could paint the picture well enough on her own.

"Where is she now?" Winter squeaked out, her voice shaky and weak. Something moving in the window of the house caught her eye, it was simply a black blurr. Or at least she hoped it was.

"Prison, thankfully. She'll be there for a few more years. She sends those cards because it makes her look good to the parole board. 'See, I love my girls because I send them cards', bitch" Qrow cursed.

Winter took a second to breathe, her hands were just as shaky as her voice. Winter had always suspected something like this, hell, Yang had all but confirmed it. But to hear it like this, from Yang's own mother no less? Something about that had rocked Winter to her core.

Winter took a step closer to Qrow, and wrapped her arms around him. His arms stayed at his sides, he was breathing hard and she could feel his heart pounding fast. It was clear he was barely keeping his temper under control.

"Qrow… This must've been so hard for all of you"

"It's not hard for me, it's hard for the kids, Winter. I mean, what they've been through, I could've-"

"No," Winter cut him off, "This is about all of you. You've had to become a father figure for these girls by yourself, and that couldn't have been easy. Not at all. But here you are, and those girls really do love you. Without you, they wouldn't be close to this happy" Winter consoled him, rubbing his back, feeling his heartbeat start to slow the more she talked.

"I still could've-"

"Qrow, really, shut up. You can't change the past, so stop dwelling on it. You're here, helping them, loving them, now. Without you, they'd be lost, dummy. So you gotta accept that, stop feeling so guilty, so you can be happy. Because that would make them happy, right?" Winter tried her best to use some kind of logic with Qrow, to make him see that he was doing everything he could. Sad thing is, Winter knew that if he didn;t accept that himself first, nothing she said would matter. But at least she told him.

Qrow was quiet for a long time in Winter's arms, not saying anything and not moving. She felt his muscles relax, the tension leaving him the longer their embrace went on.

"Maybe you're right" He admitted, as he let out a long sigh, "But you're important to them too. I have no clue what you said to her, but Ruby's never been that touchy with anyone but Yang. You're really helping them" Qrow told her, looking down at her with a small smile. Winter returned it, but with a lot more sadness.

"That's why we can't do this. Part of the reason, anyway" Winter muttered, taking a step away from Qrow, but wrapping his hands in hers. "Those girls, they need to talk about all of this stuff. For the past few years they've had to bottle all of it in, and that's not good. It's part of why Yang can snap like she does, or why Ruby had those panic attacks. They need someone they can talk to, and right now, that's me" Winter looked into his eyes and could see the lights of the jack-o-lanterns dancing alongside sadness.

"I mean, what if we break up? Then what happens? Would they trust me still, or would they close off? Because thinking about those girls losing anyone else they can trust… It breaks my heart, Qrow. Not even to mention if my boss found out, I'd probably lose my job, and if that happens then I can't… That can't happen, Qrow" Winter tried to explain herself calmly, but she could feel her bottom lip start to quiver, and tears start to stream down her face.

It wasn't just the fact that she couldn't be with Qrow, it was more than that. It felt like she was losing everything the two of them could have been. Maybe they would go on dorky dates, talk about life, fall in love, get married, live their lives together, be happy together. But her words seemed to be pushing that away, and it was breaking her heart losing what could possibly make her so happy.

Qrow stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, his fingers playing with her hair and moving along her back, trying to calm her down. "Winter, it's ok. I get it. Some things just… aren't meant to be I guess. Yang and Ruby need you a lot more than I do, and you have to worry about your own life. I understand"

Winter looked up at him and saw a small smile on his face, but there wasn't any joy behind his eyes. There wasn't any emotion behind his eyes. It looked like he had shut everything out, at least for right now, trying to keep it together for her. Winter couldn't look at him for long before the tears started to fall down her face even harder.

She wanted him to cry, but he was acting strong for her. She wanted him to yell, or scream, and to be mad, because that would be fair. It wasn't fair that she was the only one who could express how horrible she felt, because she could tell he wanted to break, to let go. He stayed strong for her, which simply made her cry more.

-Authors note-

It really makes me sad writing sad scenes like this, but at the same time, I totally love it. Maybe I'm evil, I don't know, doesn't matter though! Hope you guys enjoyed the current chapter, and hope you stay tuned to see where it goes! Also, I feel like I have to say that I do have an ending for this whole thing, just gotta write it!