Qrow headed down the street, alternately scanning the building numbers and checking the address written on the scrap paper in his hand. He felt drained, having returned from his latest mission just that morning, but he wasn't going to pass up the chance to see Tai and Summer as soon as possible. And today, that meant…

He stopped in front of a fenced-off lot, hearing the shouts of children just beyond the barrier. The sign on the gate read "PUBLIC POOL – SOUTHEAST VALE", and in smaller letters "Open from 11 AM to sunset". Qrow breathed in the warm afternoon air, then strode inside.

"Qrow!" he heard Tai call. Glancing to his right, he saw his teammate standing in the shallow end of the pool, baby Yang bobbing in front of him wearing an oversized ring floater.

Qrow stepped over to the edge of the water and squatted down. "Hey, how's my little niece doing?" he said, meeting Yang's eyes.

Yang gave him that familiar suspicious look, then went back to gleefully smacking her hands against the surface of the water. Qrow shook his head. "You were right, Tai. She's a natural."

"And it's only her second time. Can you believe it?" Tai grinned up at his teammate. "At this rate she'll learn to swim before she can walk."

Not quite knowing what to say to that, Qrow sat back on his heels and looked around. The pool wasn't deep—only up to 5 feet, meaning even Summer could touch the bottom if she wanted—and it wasn't long enough to swim laps in. Consequently, pretty much everyone here was part of a family, with kids around 7 or 8 dominating the water. Parents and grandparents reclined on deck chairs, or rested on towels spread out on the neatly-trimmed lawn on the the other side of the pool. A bored lifeguard completed the scene.

"Haven't seen anything so wholesome in weeks," he commented sardonically.

Tai gave him an exasperated look. "Oh, you—"

Whatever else he might have said was cut off by a splash right next to them as something—someone—fell into the water. Both Qrow and Tai looked up suddenly, getting ready to jump into the action if the unlucky kid needed help. There was a tense moment where the bubbles from the impact obscured whatever might be happening underwater.

Fortunately, the kid broke the surface a moment later, squealing with dismay at their sodden clothing. Qrow watched them awkwardly dog-paddle towards the steps, then shot Tai a guilty look. Tai's face hardened as he understood what his teammate was implying.

"It might be best if you go wait with Summer," he said, glancing down at Yang. His tone wasn't upset, but it wasn't really a suggestion either.

Qrow exhaled. "Yeah." He straightened up and headed for the lawn area.

Summer was sitting on a white towel with little sun designs along the edges, wearing a T-shirt and shorts and sunglasses that were way too big for her face. It was a dramatic contrast to her usual combat gear, but it made her look relaxed in a way that was rare for any Hunter. She waved when she spotted Qrow approaching, then took off the sunglasses and set them on top of the hardcover book at her side.

"How're things?" Qrow asked. He lifted the bottom of his cloak and carefully sat down next to Summer's towel.

His teammate stifled a laugh. "You look ridiculous in that," she said, giving him a teasing look.

"Don't mess with what works," Qrow quipped back. She was right, of course; his usual Huntsman attire was definitely out of place among the swimsuits and casual wear he saw all around them. His wardrobe was pretty limited these days, though. Sometimes it felt like he didn't even own any other clothes.

He leaned over a bit to bump his shoulder against hers. "Seriously. How're things?" He punctuated the question with a nod in Tai's direction.

Summer looked back towards the pool. "Things are…good," she answered, choosing her words delicately. "I mean, you saw, he's out and talking. He's in the present pretty much all the time, now, and he even went in for that interview at Signal."

"That's good to hear," Qrow said, feeling a little of the long-carried tension slip away.

"It's pretty much only a problem when it comes to missions," Summer continued. Then she winced. "No, to be honest that's as much me as it is him. I mean, it's not like we never switched off, or split up, but I can't imagine going on a real team mission without her around."

"I know what you mean," Qrow said quietly.

Summer shook her head. "Professor Ozpin says it's been long enough, though. With or without my 'secret weapon'"—she made air quotes with both hands—"I'm needed. One way or another, I'll be back out there soon."

"And how does Tai feel about that?"

Summer grimaced. "Not happy, but he didn't try to stop me at all. I think it just came naturally that it's over for him and not for me. Us." She raised an eyebrow. "How do you feel about it, Qrow?"

Qrow blew out a breath. "Worried, like I am when any of my friends take on missions. But what I think about it doesn't matter." He pursed his lips, then nodded. "Stay safe. I'll join you when I can."

"Of course." There was a moment of silence, then Summer smiled sadly. "In our own ways, we've all been paired with her."

Qrow knew what she meant. He and his sister growing up, Summer and her partner by assignment at Beacon. And Tai…

"But we talk about it now," Summer continued. Qrow raised his eyebrows, even though she was still looking away. "Tai and I. When it's bad, he'll talk to me about it."

A little more of the tension drained from his shoulders, and he sighed. "Thank you, Summer," he said quietly.

"Hm?" His friend turned towards him, a curious look on her face.

"For being there," Qrow explained. "For helping him like this. For…" He waved a hand, unable to put it into words. "Even if I was able to be here, I wouldn't have been able to help him like you have."

"Don't say that, Qrow." She patted his arm. "You'd do the same, I know."

Unable to respond, Qrow fell silent. Yes, he would try to help, but he didn't have Summer's empathy or persistence or way with words. But it was almost a fault of hers, that she always saw the good in people and not their flaws.

He turned back to watch Tai, who was now tossing Yang up in the air and catching her just above the waterline. To a casual observer, there'd be no trace of the man who had barely been able to leave the house for weeks. That man wasn't gone, but he was no longer the one in control.

Qrow glanced to the side and saw that Summer was also watching Tai. He noticed that her gaze now held a different quality, a rapt attention as she watched their teammate's shirtless, toned body—

"Hey," he said, unable to keep from smirking. "You're staring."

Summer whipped her head around, blushing furiously. She opened her mouth for some kind of retort, then closed it again and buried her face in her hands. "Fine," she said, sound muffled a bit. "My friend is hot. I probably still have a bit of a crush on him. That's not why I'm doing this, but I can't deny it's true."

Qrow frowned but didn't say anything. As honest as Summer usually was with herself, that probably wasn't the whole truth.

Tai was finally climbing out of the pool, cradling Yang and her flotation ring awkwardly in his arms. Qrow waved and Summer looked up, hastily smoothing her hair back into place. They watched their teammate step carefully past the lifeguard chair to join them on the grass.

"What were you two talking about?" Tai asked. He set Yang down on the towel and began removing her floats.

"Nothing," the two of them said together, but Qrow was grinning as he said it.

Tai rolled his eyes. "So, me, then. Got it."

"Of course," Qrow responded, mock-grousing. "No one ever wants to talk about me anymore."

"Okay, how'd your last mission go?" Tai asked, playing along.

"I can't tell you that; it's classified," Qrow answered promptly.

"Well, there you go." Tai sat back, satisfied, and began to towel Yang off.

"Oh, you two." Summer looked back and forth indulgently. "I missed this, you know."

Tai paused in his ministrations to point a finger at Qrow. "Hey, don't say that or he'll be insufferable every time."

"Joke's on you," Qrow fired back. "I'm always insufferable."

Summer was giggling, and Yang was looking around at all of them, very confused, before finally reaching up for her father. "Okay, okay," Tai said, picking the baby up and setting her in his lap as he sat cross-legged on the grass.

Summer glanced back and forth quickly, then took a breath. "I hope Raven's missing it too," she said with a bit of a smirk that was about as mean-hearted as Summer could get. "She deserves it."

Qrow glanced at her in shock, but Tai didn't even flinch. "If she ever does come back," the blond man said fiercely, "she's going to pay for what she what she did to this family."

And he was staring directly at Summer when he said it.

Qrow and Summer both froze, slowly turning to look at Tai. Their teammate frowned. "What?" he said, sounding annoyed. "Are we past the 'don't mention it' stage or not—" He cut himself off as he realized what he had done, and Qrow began to laugh.

"I knew it!" he said triumphantly. "'This family'…I knew you'd both be feeling this way."

"It's not like it was…inevitable!" Summer said indignantly, blushing again. "Just because I…well, that doesn't matter!"

But Tai was looking at Summer with something like dawning hope. "You…have feelings for me?"

Summer's blush deepened. She looked back at him, but didn't say anything.

Tai continued, absently bouncing the baby in his lap. "I thought I was just lonely at first. That it was all because I missed her. And I'm not gonna lie, I do miss her, but…" He took a breath. "I can't imagine living without you, Summer. After these last few months, I can't imagine living without you."

Summer made a high-pitched "eep". Her hands shot to her mouth.

Tai's expression clouded. "I'm sorry. That's weird, you were just trying to help, and now I've…" He turned to Qrow, at a loss. "Qrow…?"

"No!" Summer burst out. "You haven't, it's just—" She put her hands to her temples and shook her head repeatedly.

"Look at you two," Qrow said roughly. "Are you gonna keep dancing around it, or are you gonna do what's right?"

They both looked at him. Summer steeled herself first. "Tai?" she asked, in as steady a voice as she could manage.

Tai set his jaw. "Summer," he responded. "Will you move in with me?"

Summer laughed weakly, relieved. "Yes," she said, and leaned forward to grab Tai's hand. "Yes, I will."

"And get the hell out of that shack you're in now," Qrow put in irreverently. "Get some place that's yours." Summer smacked his arm with her free hand.

They sat like that a bit longer, and Qrow tried to fix the moment in his mind. They might not be Team STRQ anymore, but the three of them were still a team. Still a family. Maybe they really could move forward.

Then Yang yawned, and Summer laughed, and Tai rolled his shoulders back to loosen them out. "What do you say," he offered, "should we head home?" He gave Summer a shy grin.

Summer smiled back. "Let's go home."

"Get a room, you two," Qrow couldn't resist saying, and Summer hit him again.

As they packed up their belongings, Qrow saw Tai's smile drop and a sad look come into his eyes. And somehow that was enough to breach the wall in Qrow's own mind as well. He was out here alone, away from the family who had raised him. Most likely never to return.

And he missed his sister. Their whole lives they'd never been apart more than a week. He missed her he missed her he missed her.

He felt a hand, then, gentle on his arm, and looked down to see Summer reaching out to both him and Tai. She took a deep breath, a sad expression in her eyes.

"It's okay," she said. "I miss her too."