Cameo Lover

Unusual

It was a dream come true.

Now that Jacques Schnee had won the election, his campaign celebration party was only a few days away, and they were all invited. Those few days were filled with missions and assignments of all shapes and sizes, trying to figure out how to catch Tyrian and his collaborator who had managed to hack into Mantle's online systems.

Even though each day was wearying beyond belief, and even though he ended up in his quarters each night absolutely exhausted, Clover didn't mind.

Qrow was smiling again.

He didn't know why, nor how- but Qrow Branwen was smiling and cheery and bright. The glow in his cheeks was clearer than ever, the man's former addiction nothing more than a whisper of shadows around his eyes and the occasional headache. Qrow shrugged them both off, keeping his banter witty, his smile fixed on his lips and his debonair charm smooth and sultry enough to make Clover quietly weak.

Those few days with Qrow like that were blissful.

Clover didn't want to expect anything of the other man. They were both so busy, being sent every which way across Atlas and Mantle and the build site at Amity in order to make sure everything was going to plan. Despite the unwillingness to move away from Clover's insistent touches, and despite the blush which tipped his ears every time Clover couldn't hide his feelings, Qrow had never explicitly stated anything on feeling the same way about Clover.

So, Clover didn't want to hope.

And yet, every single day, Qrow managed to find him after his missions. He came bearing cups of tea to the Ace-Ops' office, brightening the doldrums of late nights hunched over his reports. With Qrow came life and activity, the man always hustling him out of the door and into the officer's mess (where non-alcoholic cider had become their staple), or the training hall, or the lounge near Team RWBY's room to join the kids in a fighting game tournament. Qrow Branwen was alive. And every time Clover asked Qrow what had gotten into him, Qrow only smiled wider and winked, the sight of it making Clover blush fiercer than a little schoolgirl next to her first crush- a fact that his team was more than happy to mock endlessly.

He didn't care. Qrow was acting like he actually had hope for the future for the first time since coming to Atlas, and hell, Clover would take what he could get.

The one topic they could never breach, however, was James. Qrow still followed the man's orders, but with a reservation that one normally would only use with an absolute stranger. Their exchanges were strained and cold, and every time they had a strategy meeting and Qrow saw that chessboard back at the corner of the room, something in his eyes seemed to die a little bit more.

"Do you just… not like the game?" Clover asked after one particularly-tense meeting as they walked out of the door.

Qrow snorted. "Never really played. Never my thing."

"It was Ozpin's, though, right?"

Qrow let out a long, shuddering sigh. "Yeah."

The amount of resignation and regret and sorrow layered within that defeated voice led Clover to the archives that evening, looking at old photos of Professor Ozpin, former headmaster of Beacon, currently a sleeping spirit in Oscar Pine's tiny body.

The man had been handsome. Clover managed to find one picture of Qrow, James, and Ozpin together, and the look of pride and adoration in Qrow's younger face haunted Clover all night- accompanied, of course, by the face of Professor Ozpin, the man's smile far too knowing for Clover's liking.

Had Qrow… had feelings for Beacon's headmaster?

Clover didn't know what possessed him as he sat with Qrow the next evening in the mess hall, the older man halfway through spooning potato barley soup into his mouth when the question, "Were you and Ozpin… together?" slipped out of his mouth.

He probably deserved the soup Qrow immediately sprayed into his eye as he spluttered, coughing and spilling half the bowl onto his tray. Cursing and dropping half a box of paper napkins onto the mess, Qrow took a moment to calm himself down and clear his throat before he cried, "Of course not, where the hell did that come from?"

Clover wiped his face with a clean napkin and shrugged. "You just… you always get quiet around James these days whenever he brings up Ozpin," he pointed out. "And you've never explained why you knocked over the chessboard the other day, but I know that it came from Ozpin, so-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Qrow muttered, hunching back over his soup bowl, now woefully empty.

Clover sighed, leaning his chin against a propped-up hand. Asking about Ozpin was a bad move. He didn't seem like he was lying about their relationship, though.

It would've been a lie to say that relief didn't blossom in his chest at that thought.

Something did happen, but he's not telling me anytime soon. Alright, good to know. "Fine. But, will you answer something else for me?"

"Depends on what it is," came the bleak reply, all traces of his good mood gone.

Clover leaned forward, lowering his voice slightly. "You've been incredibly lively these days," he murmured, staring at the other man intently. "Despite everything, you seem leagues better than when you first arrived. I just wanted to tell you that I noticed. And if it's to do with you not drinking, then I wanted to say… I'm proud of you."

Those words caught Qrow off-guard, the man's eyes widening for a moment. Then, much to Clover's surprise, Qrow slumped in his seat, giving up on the pretense of eating the rest of his dinner. "I guess I can thank you for that, Mr. Good-luck-charm."

His words were empty. Clover frowned, prodding further, "Okay… so that's not it. What is going on, then?"

After a moment, Qrow jerked his chin to the side, gesturing towards a nearby table. Clover glanced over his shoulder, his breath catching in shock as he saw Team RWBY sitting there, eating in absolute silence. Weiss' face was tight and drawn, and Ruby looked haggard. Yang and Blake sat opposite to them, trading worried looks every few seconds as they watched their teammates.

"Thought if I lightened up, it might help the kids," Qrow muttered wearily. "Doesn't seem to be working, though."

Clover watching the four young women thoughtfully. Weiss was upset because of the upcoming Schnee event- that was no secret. Ruby thought of the girl as her best friend, so of course she was upset, especially with Penny also fairly unresponsive as of late after being framed for the massacre.

And then, he looked back to Qrow, a wave of wry, amused warmth washing over him, heating him from head to toe. "They may not get it now, but they'll get it one day," he mused aloud. "Keep it up. You smiling- it's a rock for them."

When Qrow flashed a grateful grin back at him, Clover had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying how much Qrow's smile meant to him, too.