"We're gonna be late," smirked Winter with a chuckle, loving the way Qrow squirmed as he paced around the room, eyes peeled for his good shoes. Not that he wanted to wear them, but Winter insisted. "I told you to be ready by seven," Winter was laying down on his bed, an amused smile on her lips as she watched her doof of a boyfriend fumble around the room.

He was dressed in his black slacks and white dress shirt, but he'd added a blazer tonight, making him look extra spiffy. It had been Winter's idea, and so far she was glad for the change. Winter had put a bit more care into her appearance than Qrow had and was dressed in a dark blue dress that made her eyes pop, her hair in waves down her shoulders.

"We're not gonna be late. Besides, so what if we are? I don't think we're gonna miss much." he was checking the back of the closet now. "Are you sure you wanna go to this? I know it's your turn to pick, but still," Qrow questioned, trying his best to copy the puppy dog eyes Ruby had mastered years ago.

"I've been passing this place every day for over two years Qrow, and I need to see what's inside of it. Besides, do you know what I had to go through to get these tickets?" Winter asked, waving the thin paper slips in the air.

"Talk to Amy's niece and give her ten bucks? Win, I'll give you fifteen bucks if you let us go somewhere fun instead." he teased with a grin. "Have you seen my shoe by the way? I get the feeling Ruby might've taken it, but I have no idea why,"

"Yeah, but it still took a lot of effort! Plus, I told Amy we'd go and you know how she gets," The last thing Winter wanted was an Angry Amy busting down her door. "Besides, doesn't it sound fun? And check under the bed. I think Zwei moved them this time,"

"Fair enough. And you knew they were there the whole time I was looking, didn't you?" Winter winked at him and all he could do was smile as he reached under the bed and fished out the shoe. "There, ready to go. Unless you wanna take the deal? Maybe we could go to dinner, a movie, maybe even a concert? The Fire Starters are in town," needled Qrow, hope in his eyes.

Winter wanted to say yes, just like she did every time he'd brought them up lately, it had been far too long since she'd last seen them. Her firestarter shirt, also known as her favorite sleep shirt, was here after all… "As much as I want to, we can go see them next date night, ok?" Winter told him warmly as she got up and put her arms on his waist. "Or maybe we can listen to one of their albums once we get back, relax a little, cuddle, maybe do some other things?" Winter whispered to him mischievously, leaning in and planting a slow kiss on his lips.

This seemed to get his attention as she felt his hands on her hips. Winter tried to pull him closer to her, but he kept his back stiff and fought her. Not a lot, but just enough for her to know something was up. "Everything ok?" Winter asked caringly, pulling away from him.

Qrow's eyes flicked across the room before he forced them on her, "We don't wanna be late, do we?" He laughed awkwardly before taking a small step back from her and rubbing the back of his head.

"We could be a little late," Winter told him as she reached a hand out to grab his shirt and started to lean into him again, a playful grin on her lips. But before anything could happen, he'd taken another step away from her and towards the door.

"You're the one that was just complaining about being late. Come on, you can keep it in your pants for a little bit, can't you?" He teased as he walked down the stairs, leaving Winter standing there blushing.

Winter sighed to herself, annoyed that whatever sparks had been in the air a moment ago had been so thoroughly dashed in a matter of seconds. Or maybe she was just annoyed that he'd called her bluff like that.

Ruby was in the living room when Winter came down, laying upside down on the couch with her feet hanging over the top of it, eyes focused on whatever game she was playing.

Ruby had grown a couple of inches in the few short years Winter had known her. Not only was she taller, but her muscles were becoming lean and defined as she lost more and more of her baby weight. Her hair was still short and black, with those crimson tips she'd had for years, and her silver eyes were as entrancing as ever. Given a bit more time, Ruby would almost certainly develop into someone who'd catch anyone's eye.

"Hey, Ruby, kicking butt?" Winter chuckled as she watched a large gorilla shoot a cowboy with a gun.

"Ehh, not tonight. Where's date night this week?" Ruby asked casually as she flipped herself upright on the couch before she closed the game and turned to give Winter her full, smiling, attention.

"Bongo's Improv Club! Qrow's so excited he can't wait to leave, isn't that right, Qrow?" Winter called out to the kitchen, where Qrow was scrounging around for snacks.

"I was more excited about having bullets shot at me than I am about going to this," Qrow told them in a deadpan voice. Ruby was trying her best to keep her giggles in, but plenty slipped past her lips.

"Is that really the most romantic place for date night?" Ruby questioned, tilting her head. Ruby looked down at her hand for a moment before smiling.

"What about the Firestarters concert? That's where you two had your first kiss, right? I happen to have a pair of tickets right here if you guys want them," Ruby grinned as she clumsily reached into her back pocket, pulling out two crumpled tickets from her pocket.

"Oh, you're going out tonight? With who?" Winter questioned, trying her best to ignore Ruby's comment about the concert. She regretted telling the girls that story, but those damn puppy dog eyes of hers.

"What? No, why would I be going out?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Because why else would you have concert tickets?" Winter pointed out, raising an eyebrow at the girl. Ruby looked down nervously at her hand again, before smiling back at Winter.

"Oh! Right! I bought them for you! As a surprise!" Ruby chuckled forcefully, holding out the tickets for Winter. Winter slowly reached out to take the tickets, but in the same move, she grabbed Ruby's hands and tried to turn her palms to the sky.

Winter only managed to make out, Ruby: What about the firestarters concert? written in blue ink before Ruby ripped her hands away and started to lick her hand. "Ew! Ruby, that's gross! What was on your hand?" Winter demanded in a huff, trying to grab Rubys wiggling hands one more time to see what they said and only finding a blue blob of ink.

"A reminder Yang told me about, don't worry about it!" Ruby told her in a panicked rush as she tried to push herself further and further away from Winter until she fell off the couch with a hard thud. "Owww! Uncle Qrow! Winter's bullying me again," Ruby cried, as Winter watched the girl squirm on the floor like a fish out of water.

"And what did I say to do whenever this happens?" Qrow said through half a mouth full of apple as he walked into the living room, looking unconcerned with his niece.

"Tickle her?"

"Wait, what? Ruby, wait, don't-" Winter looked away from Ruby for a moment, and that was all the time the girl needed. She sprang up and in moments her fingers were assaulting Winter's sides worse than Weiss ever had back home. She started to laugh and roll around on the couch, trying to push Ruby away with tears of laughter in her eyes, "Ruby- please, no!" She howled, trying to crawl away from her unrelenting attacker.

Qrow stood there eating his apple with an evil grin on his face as he watched the love of his life get tickled to tears. Winter reached out a hand to him, and he winked at her. "Alright Ruby, she's had enough," Ruby kept going for another few seconds, giggling in victory as she pulled her fingers away right away.

Winter laid on the couch, huffing like she'd just climbed the stairs to Amy's apartment. "I told you that in confidence," She breathed, sitting up and looking at Qrow with pure malice. She might not be the best at puppy dog eyes, yet, but she could copy Maria's death gaze like it was nothing.

"And that was your first mistake," He grinned, and she crossed her arms. Ok, maybe she wasn't an expert at that one either. "Are you two done yet? Because otherwise, I'm gonna have to get Yang to break you guys up," snickered Qrow as he walked over and grabbed Winter by her waist and stood her up like she was some sort of doll. She would've complained, but it kind of felt nice, not that she'd ever admit it.

"Wait, but what about those Firewalkers tickets? If you wanted to go see them that badly you could've told me. Especially since you already bought the tickets! You didn't have to try and get Ruby to convince me. Also, Ruby. You're amazing and I love you, but your acting needs… Work," Winter hesitated with what to say because she was trying to find the nicest way possible to tell Ruby her acting was a wee bit south of good.

"I told him my acting was on par with a goldfish, but he insisted," chuckled Ruby as she leaned back onto the couch and started to twiddle the tickets in her hands. "Are you guys going to the concert though? I think it'll be fuuun" Ruby looked like she was trying to hold back her smile as her eyes fluttered from Qrow to Winter quickly.

Qrow scratched his head and looked to Winter, who smiled at him. "We already have the tickets, no use in letting them go to waste, right?" Winter was excited about the concert, but she had to admit she was bummed out about missing out on the comedy club yet again. But there's always next time.

Surprisingly, Qrow shook his head before walking over to her and putting his hand on her waist. "We'll see them next again sooner or later, so it doesn't matter. Besides, you wanna go to that improv place, so that's where we're going," He hummed, planting a kiss on her lips.

"Gross! Not in public! Or private!" cringed Ruby, turning away from them and covering her eyes from the terrible sight.

Qrow pulled away and scowled at her, "It's my house and I'll kiss whoever I want to," Leaning in and kissing Winter on the lips one more time, his hand moving up her back, bringing goosebumps along with it. When he pulled away Winter was blushing and grinning like an idiot.

"What're the odds Yang wants them?" Qrow wondered, turning to Ruby who was gagging and covering her eyes with her hands.

"Don't know, let me check. Yang! Concert tickets!" Ruby yelled towards the ground at the top of her lungs.

Yang had moved into the basement a few months ago, she said it was because that was the easiest place to keep all of her workout gear, but everyone knew it was really for more… privacy.

There was a shuffle in the basement and the sound of people talking. Two seconds later Yang came thundering up the stairs and walked into the living room. Her face was beet red, she was breathing a little heavily, and her hair an absolute mess. Oh, she was also in the middle of pulling down her shirt.

Yang had grown a lot the past few years too. She'd had a growth spurt, and with her intense workout regime shaping her body, she was already well on her way to becoming a total lady killer. Actually, she already was.

"I didn't know Blake was over," Winter teased the poor girl, who could only smile awkwardly and try to hide her ever growing embarrassment.

"Yeah, I thought you guys had already left already," she forced a laugh as she tried to comb her hair with her fingers.

"Yang, you want concert tickets? Qrow's plan bombed," Ruby held out the tickets for her sister, who snatched them out of her fingers so quickly nobody even saw her move.

"Heck yeah, I do! Blake! We're going out!" Yang called down to her room, where Blake was no doubt trying to hide her shame under the blankets.

"Are you sure? We don't have to go to the comedy club," Winter told him earnestly as she grabbed his hand lovingly.

He shook his head again and smiled at her in a magical sort of way. He gazed into her eyes and saw into her soul, and he loved everything he saw, good and bad. It was the kind of smile that you could only find on someone who was looking at the love of their lives.

"It's all about you tonight, ok?" He told her, making her skin tingle and her heart skip a beat.

"I guess that doesn't sound that bad," She told him, almost in a daze.

"Have fun you two, thanks for the tickets, Uncle Qrow, have fun at the nerd thing!" Yang laughed as she tried to rush back downstairs.

"Wait! Before you go out, you're doing what I asked you to, right?" Qrow was looking at her seriously. Yang looked between Qrow and Winter grinning.

"Wouldn't dream of anything else," She said before taking off downstairs.

"That goes for you too, Ruby. If you go see that little girlfriend of yours tonight, you better get everything done first," He urged, turning to look at Ruby who was blushing even worse than Yang was.

"We aren't like that," She told him quietly, looking away and wrapping her arms around her knees. "But it's all planned out and ready to go!" Ruby gave him a thumbs up, her embarrassment forgotten. Qrow looked relieved and thankful as he let out a long breath.

"Thanks. I owe you guys. Come on, Win, let's get going. Don't burn the house down while we're gone!" Qrow smirked at Ruby who stuck her tongue out at him.

"It was one time!" protested Ruby, throwing her hands out to make her point.

"And let's keep it that way," He laughed before he and Winter turned and finally left the house, hand in hand.

The show, surprisingly enough, actually ended up being a lot of fun. They'd gotten there a few minutes late thanks to Qrow, but still got good seats pretty close to the middle of the room, perfect viewing for the stage.

Exactly as Qrow imagined, the troupe was mostly made of recent college graduates and a few people that were a bit older that liked improv as a hobby. Unlike what Qrow imagined, they were actually good.

They did skits where the audience would choose something random and a member had to guess what it was from the other members talking in gibberish, random scenes involving the moon and someone trying to buy it, and Qrow even got pulled onstage to move one of the members around like a robot to fight another member. Qrow lost, but it was a close fight. It was cute seeing how embarrassed he got on stage though, a fun change of pace from the guy who's usually cooler than ice in any situation.

They ate good food, talked to some nice people, and had a great night. The only odd part of the night was when they were leaving and Winter tried to grab Qrow's coat from his seat. He'd jumped at her and snatched it out of her hands before she could even grab it, babbling about ripping it or something like that. He really was acting weird tonight.

"I can't believe Ruby's got a little girlfriend. She's come so far, don't you think?" Winter asked on the drive home, her hand flying outside the window as she enjoyed the warm spring air. She smiled as she breathed in, smelling freshly cut grass and dandelions.

Winter waited for a response but nothing ever came. She turned and saw that Qrow was tapping his fingers on Harbingers wheel, staring straight ahead unblinkingly. "Did you hear me? Qrow?" No response. "Qrow, I'm pregnant," Winter smirked, waiting for him to freak out from her obvious lie, but nothing ever came.

"Qrow!" She yelled after another minute of silence, breaking him out of his trance so he looked around wildly.

"Yeah, what's up?" He said quickly, breaking deeply and looking at her like he'd said something wrong.

"I was talking about Ruby and her girlfriend, did you even hear me?" Winter wondered, her voice drenched in concern.

"Oh, yeah, course I heard you," hesitated Qrow like he was still lost in thought. "What about them?" He questioned, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, chest still rising and falling quickly.

"Forget about that, is everything ok with you? You've been acting odd all day," Winter questioned gently yet firmly.

"Win, I'm fine." He said curtly and swiftly, looking outside of the car awkwardly. It wasn't often that Qrow shut her out like this, and it hurt a little. Winter wanted to keep digging, but she knew him well enough that she was sure he'd tell her as soon as he could. And if he didn't then, she'd bug him later until he told her.

Still, she couldn't help but worry. First Weiss not answering her calls and now this, it made her anxious. But Qrow could see the worry in her eyes, and with a comfortable smile, he reached over and took her hand in his calloused one. It was enough to put all of her worries to bed, and she could feel that everything was gonna be fine.

They pulled up into the driveway and parked, but Qrow sat there with his hands gripping the wheel tightly like he was afraid to go inside. He glanced over at Winter and smiled, shutting off the car and getting out without a word.

Qrow got to the door first and held it open for her, "Why, what a gentleman. You really are excited to listen to that album, aren't you?" Winter teased, surprised when Qrow didn't fire back with any of his usual barbs.

"I guess," He chuckled softly, and it sounded a bit forced. Winter frowned. Qrow might have been stressed, and he might not have been able to tell her what was wrong, but she could still help him.

Instead of going through the door she walked over and kissed him. It was a long, slow, intimate kiss that both of them seemed to need. Their hands wandered, they pushed their bodies together, and their very souls seemed to dance together at that moment. When they finally separated, breathless and gasping, they looked into each others eyes, and they could see how much love they shared between them.

"Better?" She wondered, her fingers gliding over his chest. Her eyes widened as she felt something hard in his jacket pocket. She wondered what it was, but didn't pay it any mind and didn't bother to ask about it.

"If you're gonna kiss me like that, maybe I should worry you more often" He laughed, kissing the top of her head.

"Worry me any more than this and it'll be the last thing you do," She half-joked as she reached up and gave him a quick peck on the check. "Come on, we only have the house to ourselves for a few more hours and I could listen to that album a few times by now," She teased before pulling away from him and stepping into the house with a grin. She only made it a single step inside before she stopped dead in her tracks.

The entire house was decorated in soft white lights that hung from the walls, casting everything in a beautiful glow that looked like something out of a fairytale. There were white rose petals sprinkled everywhere in the kitchen looking like a fresh snowfall, and there was a trail that led to the rest of the house. She noticed candles lit on the counter and when she took a breath she realized that the entire house smelled like the woods of Atlas.

She stood there, gaping at it all until Qrow walked in and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder. "Do you like it?" Winter wanted to say something, but her throat was too tight, and she could only nod. "Good. The girls set it up before they left,"

He took her hand and silently walked her through the kitchen and to the living room, where even more rose petals scattered about, and they both took a seat on the couch facing each other. Winter was too stunned to speak.

Qrow looked around the room, white light making him look almost angelic until his eyes landed on her. He coughed into his hand, looking awkward. "I know I'm not the best at this romance stuff, but I'm trying here" He breathed, looking at a loss for words.

"This is amazing," Winter finally said, tears at the edges of her eyes. If Qrow didn't already have a show in his mouth, he sure did now.

"G-good," he stuttered, eyes flicking away from her yet again. "Listen, I-" But then the illusion broke, if only slightly, as Winter's phone started to ring. It wasn't the normal ring, it was Weiss' ringtone.

"I-I'm so sorry, It's my sister," Winter apologized, standing up and taking the phone out of her purse with shaking hands.

"Go ahead, take it," Qrow told her, knowing how important it was. Winter leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before walking off into the kitchen to answer the call. "Hello? Klein? What's up?" Then she walked outside.

Qrow stood up and paced around the room, letting out a huge breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in until right then. His face was hot, and he was glad the lights were keeping his ragged appearance mostly a secret.

Qrow reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small black box and opened it for the millionth time. The ring was perfect, a simple silver band with a small diamond set in the center, and on the inside of the ring, right on the other side of the diamond, a small snowflake had been engraved.

He closed the box and held onto it like a vice in his hand, moving it out of sight for whenever Winter came back. It had taken a lot of courage, work, and planning, most of which had gone out the window when she said she'd rather go to an improv show instead of a concert, but that didn't matter. Because they were finally here. It was finally time.

He thought about getting on his knee right then and waiting for her to come back in and see, but he had some things he wanted to say to her first. How amazing she was to him, how she wasn't like anyone else he'd ever met, how she made him feel lighter whenever she even looked at him… That was just the tip of the iceberg.

He waited, and waited, and after a while, he started to get worried. Qrow stood up and put the ring back in his pocket before he carefully walked after her, not wanting to interrupt anything.

He opened the door outside and saw something he wasn't ready for. Winter was on her knees on the grass and bawling into her hands, her whole body shivering. Her phone was on the cement nearby, smashed into a million pieces like she'd thrown it.

"Winter, what happened?" Qrow asked her, rushing out of the house towards her. He was about to touch her shoulders when she leaned away from him, groaning in agony.

"Don't touch me, please," She cried, her lips trembling so hard she could hardly get the words out. She had trails of tears leading down her face and snot bubbling out of her nose as she tried to get to her feet before she fell onto the grass in a heap. She cried out and punched the grass, tearing at it and ripping it out as she screamed.

"Winter, what the hell's going on? What happened?" He asked her, keeping his distance but wanting nothing more than to hold her. Winter shook her head and gasped as another round of tears rushed down her cheeks.

"I messed up, Qrow" she wailed, forcing herself to sit up straight.

"Win, whatever you're talking about, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. Why don't we go inside and talk about this?" He smiled, trying his best to calm her down, even though on the inside his mind felt like it was unraveling. Winter shook her head aggressively, forcing her eyes shut and biting her lip so hard Qrow saw it drew blood.

"You don't get it, Weiss is in trouble and I've gotta go and do… God, I don't know what, but I can't stay here while she's all by herself!" Winter cried, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to stand on her shaky legs, looking like a newborn deer.

Qrow looked and saw her panicked, wide eyes moving around without sticking to anything. She was clenching her fists so hard her knuckles were white. He was searching her eyes for any sign of the calm and collected Winter he loved so much, but all that was there was terror and fear.

"Alright, if you need to go then get in the car, I'll call Maria and-"

"No! She doesn't need you, Qrow, she needs me! Please, just leave me alone so I can think for a minute!" She turned away from him, roughly grabbing the sides of her head.

"Winter, I can't leave you alone like this. Come on, look at me," He whispered, walking closer to her, the sound of crickets filling the air of the night. Qrow took a tentative step closer, reading out and touching her trembling shoulder.

Winter was trembling as a new wave of sobs rocked her. Qrow was terrified that she might fall to the ground again, but she held her ground through it all. She took a deep breath and lowered her hands to her sides, looking at him with bloodshot eyes, sniffling.

"You aren't gonna leave me, are you?" She breathed so softly he hardly caught it. She stood there shaking like a leaf in the wind and he smiled at her confidently, pulling her into a warm hug. Winter nuzzled into his neck, and she could feel her tears stain into his shirt.

"Win, I'd rather die than leave you. No matter what you did, I'm never gonna leave you," He told her without any doubt, trying to keep his voice lever while his mind panicked trying to figure out what to do next.

Winter wrapped her arms around him and grabbed at him so hard that her nails started to dig into his sides. Qrow kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hand up and down her back, whispering sweet words to her that she couldn't hear over her bitter sobs.

Slowly, she released her grip on him, but Qrow kept his arms tight around her shoulders until she pulled away from him, wiping her tears away. "I know you won't… That's why I gotta go," Winter sniffled as she took a step away from him, wrapping her arms around herself, her eyes sparkling with fresh tears. At that moment, Qrow could've sworn that his heart had stopped.

"Win, what're you talking about?" Qrow questioned, a forced chuckled escaping his lips that felt unnatural and wrong to him. Winter looked at him with trembling lips, her mouth opening and closing slowly with nothing coming out. She took a handful of deep breaths and calmed down the tremors running through her body before she talked again.

"I'm breaking up with you, Qrow. I'm so, so sorry that it has to end like this, right before… But that doesn't matter right now. I love you, but it's over. Don't worry about the girls, nothing's gonna change with their meetings with James, I'll make sure of it," She explained, but Qrow wasn't listening anymore. His brain felt like it was short-circuiting, and he was stuck replaying her last words over and over in his mind.

"Winter, you can't be serious," He begged, and everything suddenly felt very far away. He took a step closer to her, reaching out like a dying man does to a ship on the horizon. Instead of coming to help him, she took another step back away, shattering him.

"I'm serious," Winter told him with heartbroken determination, looking to the ground so she didn't have to watch the tears falling down his cheek.

"Winter, please…" He whispered, but Winter was already taking another step away from him, shaking her head and crying even harder than before.

"I'm sorry," She hardly managed to get the words out as her back shook again.

Qrow couldn't speak anymore, he couldn't even try to open his mouth anymore. All he could do is look at her, trying to tell her with his eyes everything she meant to him, how much he needed her. Not only did she take another step away, she turned her back on him.

"I'm sorry," She whispered a final time before running off into the night, leaving him standing on the lawn by himself.

He stood there, waiting and hoping that maybe he'd see the silhouette walking towards him, but he never did. He hoped that maybe she'd drive by and he might be able to get one last glimpse of her before she was gone, but she never did. He waited and waited for something, for god damned anything, but nothing ever came.

He didn't know how long he stood there, alone in the night, but eventually he felt his knees wobble and he found himself on the ground, his hands in his lap as he looked at the ground, tears falling onto the grass.

There were so many questions floating around in his head, so much anger and bitterness in his heart. But the one that hurt the most was the feeling of betrayal stung every nerve in his body. All the love he felt for her, all the love she felt for him, she threw it away. No matter what had happened, he knew that they could've handled it together. What stung was the fact that in the end, Winter hadn't felt the same way. She'd left him.

-Authors Note-

I know that this probably isn't the ending a lot of you guys were wanting, but I want you to know that this story doesn't end here. I know exactly how it will end, and this isn't it.

If anyone wants to see what happens next don't worry, next week I'm gonna be starting a new story on here, same time as always. I don't like asking people to do this, but if you wanna be sure you see what happens next either follow me as an author or be on the lookout next week for my new story,

Whiterose: Troubled Hearts

But anyway, I hope you guys have enjoyed the story up to this point and I hope you guys aren't too mad. It's been an absolute pleasure to write this week in and week out for everyone, and it's definitely made my life better. I hope I've given at least a few people out there even half of the experience I've gotten out of this. I love this story, and trust me when I say I'm trying my absolute best to do it justice. Thanks to everyone that's kept up this week to week and making me a part of your routine, it's been an honor and I hope some of you keep reading.

Specifically, I'd like to thank daring-moon for being the first non-guest to comment on this story and getting me to continue it. Also, thanks to timrocks99, Combine117, and every single other people who left a comment, liked, favorited, followed, and everything else! It's been amazing every time I see one of those notifications!

Sorry for rambling for so long, but this is sort of a big deal to me and I have a lot to say to everyone here. Mostly, just thanks. Well, that's all I really have to say. Please tell me whatever you guys are thinking, and I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope you guys come back next week to keep enjoying!