Winter sat in her room, actually wrapping her Solstice gifts this time. Qrow had been barricaded out of the room and she had even locked the window and drawn the blinds. She must have found a chance to buy him a gift and was intent on surprising him. Well, two could play at that game. Qrow knocked on the door to the girls' room. Weiss was the only voice to respond so he opened the door and entered.
Weiss sat on the bed that she shared with Ruby and was focused on her stitching. She barely looked up at Qrow but greeted him all the same. He watched her nimble fingers move and he couldn't help but be proud. Tai was right in sending him to Weiss and he was amazed at how good she had gotten just from helping darn stockings and make flour sack dresses. Weiss got to a finishing point and help up her handiwork.
"What do you think?" Weiss asked.
"I think that you're doing great. I'm surprised. You'll have to show Tai when you get a chance. I'm sure he would really love it." Qrow smiled.
"Are you sure he's okay with this?" Weiss frowned.
"It was his idea, kiddo. Keep up the good work." Qrow began to walk down the hall.
"Wait! What do I do with the rest?" Weiss asked, coming to the door.
"Whatever you think will work best. Follow your heart, Ice Princess."
With that Qrow disappeared down the stairs. Weiss sighed but quickly backed up and shut her door as Winter's creaked open. She looked around to see where the voices were coming from but saw no one. She stretched and padded down the steps to get a snack from the kitchen. Qrow was discussing something with Tai and both seemed pretty excited.
"What has you two so happy?" Winter asked, bumping Qrow playfully as she entered.
"I was just telling Qrow how proud I am of Weiss." Tai smiled. "She has been helping me out with sewing and stitching and has gotten really good. I was thinking of getting some new fabric so that we can start working on some more detailed designs. It would be nice for each of you to have something nice to wear."
"I think that sounds wonderful but where would we wear them? We don't exactly attend many nice events. Unless you're planning on getting married again, Tai." Winter grinned and grabbed a scone on of the table and got a glass of milk. She sat down and carefully ate her scone, careful not to drop any crumbs.
"Why don't you eat that upstairs so you can keep wrapping?" Tai asked.
"Oh, I don't want to attract any unwanted guests." Winter grimaced. "It's no worry, I understand that such old houses tend to have those issues but I don't want to make my room rat central."
"Winter there's no-" Qrow slapped a hand over Tai's mouth.
"No reason to be such a sissy about it, Ice Queen. I'll get rid of any rats." Qrow finished. Winter ate the last piece of scone and finished her milk.
"Well you don't need to be such an ass. I'm done now anyway. Call me if I'm not down by dinner." Winter frowned and walked back upstairs.
Tai licked Qrow's hand, which was still over his mouth, and Qrow pulled away. "Gah!"
Winter came back downstairs and was surprised to a delightful spread of her favorite foods laid out on the table. There was roast chicken and potatoes, mashed parsnips and a rhubarb crumble with custard. Ren was at the counter with a bag of white frosting and a delicious looking carrot cake. Ruby and Weiss were setting the table and Tai was hanging up a homemade "Happy Birthday" banner with Qrow's help. Weiss jumped up and ran to hug her sister.
"Happy birthday, Winter!" she exclaimed. Winter squeezed her younger sister tightly.
"What is all of this?" Winter asked incredulously.
"We wanted to celebrate your birthday. We figured we should do it today since you were a little busy last night." Tai grinned. Winter blushed and tried to argue. "Hey, relax. It's your birthday and you can do what you want." Qrow smacked Tai on the head and hugged Winter.
"Happy birthday, Ice Queen. Come and sit, we're hungry." Qrow pulled out a chair for her.
She sat down and he pushed her in. She began to fill her plate with food and Qrow was eager to grab every dish to make it easier for her to grab. He then passed the dishes around to all of the kids and served himself last. He made sure that Winter's cup was full and placed his hand chastely on her knee.
"Since when are you such a gentleman?" Winter asked with a raised eyebrow and a mirthful grin.
"It's your birthday, I figured I should treat you well and take care of you for at least one day out of the year. Don't worry, I'll turn back into a lecherous heathen tonight." Qrow smiled.
Winter ate well and she thanked everyone for working together. She refused to cry but she was overjoyed. This was easily the nicest birthday celebration that she had ever had. Weiss had told Yang all of Winter's favorite foods and Yang got right to cooking. Ren took on the cake with help from Ruby and Weiss was commanded to stay out of the kitchen after she accidentally froze the oven. Weiss made the banner with Tai instead.
Winter was so lost in hearing all of the stories they had of putting today together that she didn't notice when Weiss approached with a small paper bag that she had decorated herself with snowflakes and flowers. Qrow moved back so that Weiss could get through. Winter turned around and smiled at the gift, hugging her sister tightly. She opened the gift and found a hodgepodge of gifts, likely from all of the kids. There was a bag of cookies, a new pair of socks and a homemade blue scarf that had been painstakingly knit. There were some slips and missed stitches but Winter loved it. She immediately wrapped it around her neck and thanked her sister. Tai passed along a small box towards her. Winter gasped at the key sitting in the box.
"You're always welcome here, Winter. You and Weiss are family now, whether you decide to stay with us on the ship forever or not. I also spoke to the local school like you asked and they're going to send over some paperwork for you to look over when you get a chance." Tai smiled and Winter hugged him warmly.
Qrow's face fell. It was silly really, he knew that Winter wanted to enroll Weiss in school soon and there's nowhere in Remnant better for raising a child than Patch. Still, he hadn't realised that she had taken steps to stay so soon. She loved being on the sea, would she really be able to stay on land again? Of course she would. She would do anything for Weiss and he would do anything for Winter so he had to respect her decision. He hadn't exactly let her in on his plan so it would be hypocritical of him to be upset.
Winter noticed Qrow's troubled face but couldn't question him about it yet. Yang turned out the lights and ignited the candle on the cake. They all began to sing a song to her and she blew out her candles, wishing that she would know what to do. For now she would just enjoy the love of her new family. Everyone clapped as the candles went out and everyone was scrambling for a piece of cake. Winter complimented Ren on doing such an excellent job on the cake, it was moist and sweet but the frosting gave is a more savory tang. She tried to hold back but couldn't deny herself a second piece, especially when Tai insisted in such a manner.
The party continued on until late. Every continued snacking on the food and enjoyed playing card games together. Qrow had lost sorely at Go Fish but had beaten Tai at poker, his moping face trumping any poker face around. Yang and Blake sat at the counter and they played word games as Yang worked on the dishes. Ruby eventually decided to just run around with Nora and an unwilling Oscar until the sugar wore off and the trio collapsed in a heap at Tai's feet, forcing him to carry them each to bed. Ren was gathering dishes and occasionally joining in on Yang and Blake's wordplay. Winter rested her head on Qrow's shoulder as they played a game of checkers, half-focusing but clearly dominating.
"What's on your mind, Qrow?" Winter asked, sliding her red piece away to protect another from being jumped.
"Beating you, Ice Queen." Qrow smirked and double jumped a different set of reds.
"Not very well, obviously," Winter smirked and used her red king to take out four of his five remaining blacks. She looked at him with genuine concern. "But you've been upset since Tai gave me his gift. I really don't mind if you didn't get me anything. I mean, I put you in hospital for your birthday, so I certainly didn't expect -"
"I got you a gift." Qrow said solemnly. "I just don't know if you'll like it, or if you'll like it more than Tai's..." Qrow ran his fingers through his hair and moved his last piece into a fatal position, leaving him vulnerable to any of her moves.
"I'm sure I'll love whatever it is. I like to think that I'm fairly easy to please." Winter grinned.
Qrow's face didn't change, but he stood and held out a hand to her. He led her out of the room, stepping over sleeping children and maneuvering around cushions until they were beside the dying fire. Winter began feeding the fire and Qrow pulled a trunk from beside the fireplace. He knelt beside her and began to speak.
"I knew exactly what I wanted to give you, and I think you'll like, but I don't want you to feel like I'm trapping you again. I know you care about Weiss' happiness but I want you to be happy too… So I will respect your decision." Qrow sighed and opened the chest then passed it to her.
Winter smiled. So that's where her wedding dress had gone. Weiss had been asking about it a while back but Winter didn't realise why. The once gaudy dress was now revamped. The original skirt had been destroyed by Qrow long ago, but was now replaced with a faded white fabric lined with red. The fabric felt heavy and warm and appeared to fall just below her knee. There was light blue stitching at each seam and Weiss had sewn up all of the nicks and rips in the bodice and embroidered small blue flowers over them. The remnants of her old skirt were cleaned up and pieced together into a modest shawl. Winter hugged Qrow tightly.
"Qrow, I love it! Why would you ever be so nervous about giving me a dress?" Winter chuckled and stood up.
"Because…" Qrow remained on his knees, the gloom now replace with pure anxiety. Winter stood straighter, unsure of what would happen next.
"Because, it's a wedding dress." Qrow finished. His heart was seized in his chest and his throat went dry.
"A wedding dress… As in, still a wedding dress?" Winter asked, beginning to piece together what he was proposing. Her heart stopped. Qrow pulled himself together long enough to ask the key question.
"Winter," he swallowed, "Will you marry me?"