Here we will see the foundations of Qrow and Ruby's relationship. I have done some serious age changing so the gap between the two is only 4 years for those who are worried about that.

As usual, I own nothing.

Far away from the concerns of the prince or his peers, only a little ways off the coast and still within the kingdom of Vale, there sat a small island called Patch. It was home to a single farming village, nestled deep within its woods and hills, and there was absolutely nothing special about the place. The villagers got up, fed their children, tended their crops, and went to bed. So there was nothing special to be said about the inhabitants either; save, perhaps, one.

Ruby Rose was an oddity of a peasant. Raised on a farm set slightly apart from the rest of the village, she was always mindful of her father and did all her chores with the utmost efficiency. But there were plenty of dutiful daughters that could be found elsewhere, so this is not what set her apart. No, it was her mind that did that.

At a young age, Ruby had come to realize that she simply did not fit in with the other girls in the village, and had begged her father to teach her to understand the words written in his books. Unable to see his daughter upset, and empathetic of her need to find companionship as her peers provided none like he had once, he relented and taught her. To his surprise, Ruby caught on to his teachings rather quickly, and soon could be found with a book in her hands whenever she had time to spare. On the rare occasions he needed to travel off the island to sell his harvest, she would accompany him and would venture through the market of whatever town they visited. She would walk past all of the glittering jewelry and colorful makeup without so much as a glance, determined to find the one stall that offered her written words. And for a while, they are all she ever had eyes for.

That is, besides him.

A young boy of only 13 summers, he was 4 years her senior and her father's farmhand. He'd come to them not long after a plague had swept through the land, claiming the lives of his parents and most of his fellow villagers. Running from the sickness that festered in his home, they'd found him starving and exhausted on the edge of their island, with only the clothes on his back and the dirt on his skin. Her father had volunteered to shelter the boy, citing the need for an extra pair of hands, and nursed the boy back to health. But for all that he now lived and worked for them, Ruby had never once heard him speak.

Qrow, she was told, was his name.

At first, it was a sore point for her that Qrow was never willing to speak with her. She had tried to initiate a conversation while they were doing their chores, but was only rebuffed with steadfast silence, his eyes careful to not even so much as glance at her.

'What have I ever done to him?!' she fumed. 'Does he think I am not worth his time? But then…' her thoughts moved to comfort her. 'Why do I care? He is just a stupid boy, and my father's farmhand to boot!'

From then on, her interactions with the quiet boy were only to give him orders; from the most mundane to the most complex of tasks, she bossed him around to try and get a rise out of him at least once. But he never took the bait, just completing his task with nary a word of complaint.

As she grew older, her curious nature grew with her, and a restlessness to venture beyond the village took hold. So, on her twelfth birthday, her father gifted her a young horse with strict instructions to keep her wanderings to the island. She would take her horse out every day, running through the trees and fields and basking in the freedom of the wind in her face. And every day she would return her horse to the stables to the care of Qrow.

It was just after her fifteenth birthday when something changed. She had just returned from her daily ride and was setting her horse in the stables.

"Farm boy, polish my horse's saddle. I want to see it shining in the morning." She turned around without waiting for a response. He never gave one, so what was the point?

"… As you wish."

Ruby froze. The words had been quiet, the voice rough and unfamiliar, but she knew who had spoken. Though she would deny it if you asked, for the rest of the day she walked with a spring in her step.

After that, no matter the task, Qrow would acquiesce with a smile and a quiet "As you wish." And every time, Ruby would feel something flutter inside her, her daily rides made all the better by the promise of seeing that smile and hearing those words.

But it wasn't until nearly a year later, as a young beauty of 16, that she realized what the words truly meant.

At first, the knowledge scared her, the feelings the words invoked strange and foreign. She worried over how to react and what she should do about it, her hands slicing the fruits and vegetables that would make their dinner in an attempt to distract herself, when he came in with a bundle of wood for the fire and she panicked. But when she saw his smile, face flush from work and pale red eyes shimmering in devotion, Ruby swore her heart skipped a beat and she realized something.

He loved her, and she returned his feelings with all she had.

Bolstered by her epiphany, she called out to his retreating back.

"Qrow!"

He froze in the doorway before turning around slowly to face her. His face an open book with no small amount of shock, but also a little bit of hope, too.

'This is the first time I've ever called him by his name.' She thought dimly, her eyes locked with his as he strode towards her, his strong frame towering over her more petite one. Yet, instead of being the least bit intimidated, she felt safe in a way that made her feel warm and loved. Her mouth felt dry. She had called him over but had no idea what to say! So she just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Fetch me that pitcher."

She wanted to cringe as he rose an eyebrow at her. Yet, without even breaking eye contact, he reached up next to his head and pulled the jug down before holding it out to her. Her fingers shook as she moved to take it from him, her heart pounding in her ears as his hands slid up the jug to weave his fingers with her own. He pulled the jug back out of her unsteady hands and set it down on the table, then leaned down so that their faces were only an inch apart. His hot breath fanned over her face as she took in the scent of thunderstorms and wild woods that was so uniquely Qrow. He was so close, yet so, so far.

"As you wish."