Winter returned, wrapped in her blanket with an armful of success. Qrow was dozing in the back of the cart, sitting upright. Winter put her berries into an empty coin purse and moved to sit beside him. His eyes shot open and she was pinned on her back with a knife to her throat before she could think. It was a good thing she put the berries down first. He blinked for a moment, looking down at her. The light was very faint, the sun having set long ago.

"You came back." Qrow sat back on his haunches.

"Yes yes, and I got quite the welcome for it." Winter sighed.

He moved off of her and sat back in his spot, wrapping the blanket around him tighter. Winter sat across from him. He looked away as she unwrapped the blanket then adjusted so that her arms were covered. There was a light breeze and it was still fairly warm, normal for spring this far south. They looked at each other, both waiting to speak and waiting to listen. Qrow decided to speak first.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used Weiss against you like that. I wanted you to be free, not keep you captive somewhere else. If you stay I want it to be because you want to, not because you feel like you don't have a choice." He wrapped an arm around his stomach for comfort.

"I forgive you. But, I was being a little headstrong. I am free, but I still have responsibilities and Weiss is one of them. Keeping her safe and healthy is my priority. I want her to have all of the love and fun that I didn't get as a child but I can only do that if she's safe." Winter rested her chin on her knees and looked at him with a smirk.

"I'm sure Ruby would be heartbroken if I took Weiss away so soon." She grinned. Qrow scratched his head and reclined slightly.

"Yeah, I think she would."

"And Tai would miss us terribly."

"I would have to listen to his blubbering night and day." Qrow looked over at Winter.

"And you wouldn't have anyone around to kick your ass anymore." She teased.

"Yep. It would be back to the lonesome life for this dusty old crow."

"You would have more time to drink too much and brood for hours."

"Yep." He said quietly. She wasn't wrong.

"Get some sleep Qrow. I'll keep watch and I can sleep while we travel." Winter reached out and brushed his arm with her fingertips.

It was a small gesture of comfort, but he knew she was telling him that they were okay. He laid down and got comfortable under the blanket. He passed her the dagger and drifted off fairly quickly. His dreams welcomed him with wet hair and open arms and he was ever so grateful to be clean and in good company. He rushed forward and leapt head first into the dream.

His muse sat, unaware, keeping watch over his still frame. He was smiling in his sleep, which would have been sweet if it wasn't such a lewd grin. She thought she heard her name escape his lips as he turned and wrapped himself tighter in the blanket. She blushed and began to wonder what he was dreaming of. She was snapped out of her reverie by sudden movement. Qrow was thrashing and groaning. Either he was having a great time in his dream or he was having a nightmare. The distorted grimace on his face implied the latter.

Winter tried to wake him up but to no avail. She ran her fingers through his hair and sang softly like she would when Weiss was upset, and like Weiss had done for her the night before her failed wedding. It was odd to think that she was sitting naked in the back of a cart, calming down the man who kidnapped her from her father. She tried tapping him to wake him up but he reacted very negatively. She instead began to stroke the side of his cheek with the back of her hand. It was smoother than it was while they were in the hospital and she realised that he must have shaved. He stopped thrashing but his breathing was ragged. Tears pooled at the corner of his closed eyes. Winter ran her fingers through his hair again. She stopped singing and tried to speak to him.

"Qrow, wake up. Come back to me. Wake up."

"No…" He mutter, his face contorting in pain.

Qrow laid on the ground, an oversized scorpion stinger piercing his torso. He had put up a good fight, but it was all over. There was no point. Tyrian had taken the children to Salem. Raven had taken Yang and killed Tai. The only comfort that he had left was the hand running through his hair. He turned to face her, trying to ignore the pool of red that stained her perfectly white features. He took her hand and interlaced their fingers.

She turned to face him, ignoring the agony. She stroked his cheek and sang to him as they struggled for their last breaths. The singing stopped and her eyes closed. She was gone. He pulled her close and kissed her gently, bile rising at the taste of blood on her lips. He kissed her forehead. She was gone, she would never know, he had never told her, it was meaningless. He lay on his back and waited for his slow death to reach its end.

A voice whispered to him, asking him to come back. He wouldn't, he couldn't live in the world all alone. He whimpered out a "no" and reached out for Winter's dagger. Tyrian wanted it to be slow, but Qrow wanted a lot of things. We can't always get what we want. He grabbed the dagger and held it over his heart, steeling himself before taking the plunge.

Qrow shot up out of her lap, almost cracking Winter's jaw in the process. He leaned over the side of the cart and threw up bile. He half wished that there had been food in his stomach so that it hurt less. Winter was frozen to the spot, looking at him in shock. She gingerly held out his flask. He spat his first gulp out to get rid of the taste then took a hearty drink to forget what just happened. Then he took another for what he was about to do. He put the flask down and moved before he could think.

His hand her on either side of her head. His lips were on hers, gentle but firm. It was a kiss of raw emotion. Winter was not expecting this, not in real life at least. She was too stunned to respond and, by the time she realised what was happening, he pulled away. They looked at each other, both shell-shocked at his actions. He withdrew further.

"I just thought you should know..."

She leaned forward slightly to reassure him and was hit in the face by a burst of feathers. Her face fell and she fumed at the idiotic bird. Her rage was short lived as what he had said while transforming rang in her ears.

"I just thought you should know..."