"Mommy!" Yang burst into Summer's room and bounced onto her bed, stirring the red bundle in her arms.
"Now, Yang, what did I tell you about using your indoor voice?" Tai chided on his way in. He had a vase of pink roses in hand.
Ignoring her father, Yang crawled beside Summer and peered down at the newborn infant. The baby sleepily blinked her silver eyes open and looked over at her sister.
"This is your new baby sister." Summer said to Yang softly. "Why don't you say hi to her?"
"Hi," Yang waved eagerly at the baby.
"She looks adorable, Summer," Tai commented as he placed the flowers by her bedside. "Did you give her a name yet?"
Summer shook her head," I want it to be something special for the both of us."
Tai hummed and peered down at her baby," well she looks an awful lot like you right now, but I doubt you'd wanna call her Summer Jr. Why don't you call her Autumn?"
Summer raised her brow at his choice of name.
"Y'know...Summer and then Autumn...?"
"I don't think so," she deadpanned.
The baby in her arms squealed with laughter as Yang playfully stuck her tongue out.
"Then how about Robyne or Teal?"
"I do like the name Teal but it doesn't seem to fit her." Summer narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
'It's true that she looks a lot like me, though that could change when she gets a bit older. In case she doesn't I'd still want her to have something that resembles her father.'
Summer absentmindedly peered at the roses. They were a dark hue of pink, not red like she prefers it to be. A faint memory of her past flashed in her head—a hospital room and a vase and red roses.
"I think I got it." She smiled at the flowers before returning her eyes to the baby. "Ruby. I'll call her Ruby."
"Ruby Rose." Tai tested the name out loud to himself. "It fits her perfectly."
"Did you hear that, little one?" Summer spoke to her daughter softly. "Your name is Ruby Rose. I hope you like it."
"Ruby!" Yang repeated excitedly. Her loud outburst prompted baby Ruby to cry.
"Okay, kiddo, I think it's time we let mommy and Ruby rest," Tai said to Yang.
"But daddy," Yang pouted. Tai shook his head and pointed firmly at the door.
Yang peered at Ruby one last time before abiding her father's order.
"I'll come back later with some food." He added to her quietly. "Take it easy for now. If you need anything just call me."
"Tai, thanks for being here for us." Summer replied with a cheeky smile.
"Of course," he pecked her on the head. She bit back the urge to berate him as today was a very special day. "I'll see you in a bit, Summer."
"Y-yeah..."
That night, Tai was helping Summer with baby Ruby. As her cries were slowly calming, she noticed a blackbird perched on the window. Instinctively she grew quiet and gazed back at the bird, a smile touched her lips as the bird tilted its head at her.
Tai, oblivious of the exchange, took that as a queue to deliver Ruby back to Summer's room.
"Yang, don't wander too far." Summer called out to the blonde inching closer to the tree lines.
Today was the perfect condition to let Yang burn off some extra energy outdoors, something which Yang seemed to have an endless supply of. Summer used this as an excuse to relax in the great outdoors with both her daughters. While Yang was free to run and play within specific boundaries, Ruby was strapped to Summer's chest where she could see her.
"But, mommy." Yang pointed at the forest eagerly.
"We can go for a walk through the forest once your father gets home." Summer said with hands on her hips. "Now come back or we're going inside."
Yang stared at the forest longingly before angrily stomping back. Once Summer had seen Yang returning to a safe distance away from the tree lines she resumed pacing around the front yard.
She looked down at Ruby who was peering curiously at the clouds dotting the cerulean sky.
"They look fluffy don't they?" Summer said, looking up with her daughter.
"Hmm...that cloud sorta looks like a bunny." She pointed at a particular white mass overhead. "And that one looks like...a bird."
A tinge of pain wrapped itself around her heart as phantom memories played through her head. She'd sometimes catch herself staring mindlessly at the sky, wondering if he was up there looking after them.
"When you're older I'm going to tell you all about him." She promised Ruby. "You're going learn just how awesome he was. Of course, we'll have a talk with Yang as well, but you deserve to know first."
Regardless, Summer knew that conversation was going to be tough on both girls. The simple thought of it already stirred the seeds of agitation.
"Mommy!" Yang's panicked voice snapped Summer back to reality. She frantically scanned the yard until she spotted a tiny blonde girl running away from the tree lines, four hungry red eyes trailed closely behind her.
Summer cursed and dashed toward Yang, one hand cradled Ruby while the other reached for her sword. As if knowing the risk her sister was in, Ruby began to cry.
"M-mommy!" Yang practically latched herself onto Summer's leg when they met up. Summer stumbled at the abrupt embrace but managed to find her footing.
She glared at the Grimm emerging from the forest," Yang, I need you to do mommy a huge favour." She knelt down and unstrapped Ruby. "Take Ruby and run back home. Go to your special hide and seek spot and stay there until mommy or daddy gets you." She handed the crying infant to Yang who looked equally as distraught.
Summer sprung up to her feet and drew her sword," go, Yang!"
Yang was hesitant at first, but she obliged none the less. Summer fell into a fighting stance and readied to defend herself. She knew her body wasn't ready to fight, but she'll be damned if she let Yang and Ruby get hurt. The least she can do now is to give them enough time to hide.
One of the Grimm lunged at her, Summer leaped back and swung at the creature. Her blade sliced across the Grimm's face though it wasn't enough to kill.
The second Grimm took this as a queue to attack. Summer sidestepped and swiftly aimed her blade down on the creature's neck, cutting the head clean off. Before she could regain her footing the second Grimm jumped on her. She barely blocked the attack with her sword, unfortunately, its heavy weight coupled with her poor stance forced her down to her knees.
"Mommy!" Summer took a quick glance back. Yang was still standing just outside the front door with a crying Ruby in her hands, she watched the fight with eyes wide with terror.
'I can't die here!' Summer screamed to herself internally. 'Not when they're still in danger!'
Summer grit her teeth and pushed back the Grimm. Her burning arms trembled under its weight but the stubborn huntress refused to give in.
Yang's scream pierced the air like a bullet. Before Summer knew it, the Grimm had gone limp and was breaking into dust before her. She pushed the body off, instantly noting that it'd been cut in half.
"You're a bit out of touch since the last time we spoke." A familiar voice spoke to her from behind—the world seemed to freeze.
She held her breath and turned toward the voice. For a split second, she thought she was dreaming. There he was, safely standing by her side with his massive scythe held in both hands. A roller coaster of emotions coursed chaotically through her head, she wasn't sure if she should be celebrating, yelling or crying at this point.
"I must say—"with a flip of a switch Qrow's scythe reverted back to a sword"—you don't look too different. Well...maybe you gained some weight but still."
She managed to smile in response," s-seriously? The first thing you do is to call me fat?"
"I never said that, stop putting words in my mouth." He held out his hand to her, Summer eagerly took it.
"That's what you were implying." She pointed out as he pulled her up. She sheathed her sword and promptly dusted herself off.
"Geez, Summer, I come down here to save you from a Grimm and you repay me by accusing me of being mean. Some friend you are." A playful smile remained on his lips as he said those words.
Summer rolled her eyes before pulling him into a deep embrace. She felt him stiffen but she didn't care. What mattered now was that he was still alive; safe in her arms.
"Y'know I was half-expecting you to slap the shit out of me instead." He hesitantly wrapped his free arm around her.
"You're not wrong about that, bird brain." She snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes. It felt like ages since she'd done that."We all thought you died out there. Why didn't you call us or give us a sign that you're still alive?"
"I'm a busy guy, Summer. Besides, Oz would be the first to tell you if something happened to me."
"Oh, so you have time to call Ozpin but not us?"
"Mommy!" Yang piped in before he could reply. The two warriors reluctantly let go of each other as the young blonde waddled toward them with tears still dancing in her eyes.
"Yang," Summer knelt down to Yang's eye level and gently took Ruby out of her hands, she seemed to have cried herself to sleep. "Why didn't you hide like I told you to?"
Yang didn't reply, instead, she tackled Summer with a bear hug. Baby Ruby stirred from her slumber and screamed into Summer's ear. She heard Qrow chuckle as she struggled to comfort both her distraught daughters.
"Well, I shouldn't bother you for too long."
Summer's hand shot out and grabbed onto his ankle." And where exactly do you think you're going?"
"Far away from you and those two children."
"You just got home," she reasoned. "Why don't you just sit down with us for a bit and catch up?"
"Summer, you know I don't like being around kids. Besides I have a new mission to attend to."
"Please?" Summer added softly. "For me?"
A gentle breeze trailed by, rustling the leaves on the nearby trees.
Qrow grunted something under his breath before responding," fine."
Smiling contently, Summer let go of his leg and proceeded to attend to her girls again. Qrow lazily dropped his sword beside her before collapsing into the grass. He kept to himself as she reassured Yang that everything was okay.
"Hey, Yang," Summer gently peeled the young blonde off once she calmed down. "There's someone really special who wants to meet you."
She could feel his glare burning holes through the side of her head, she chose to ignore his looks and continued," it's good ol' Uncle Qrow!"
She gestured Yang at Qrow's direction. Yang blinked at him and then averted her gaze down at his gleaming sword. Qrow took that as a queue to put his weapon away.
"First off, I'm not old. Secondly, I don't remember volunteering to babysit."
"I know. You took up my offer to catch up and that's exactly what you'll do." She gently pushed Yang toward him. "It's time you caught up with your niece. It's only fair she knows her awesome Uncle is real." Summer pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Uncle?" Yang tilted her head at Qrow.
"Yes, he's your uncle." Summer beamed. "Remember when I told you about the clumsy cookie man?"
"Excuse me?"
Yang's eyes lit up at the sound of her favourite sweets," cookie!" She waddled over to Qrow with arms wide open.
"Wait, what kind of lies have you been spreading about me? A-and can you do something about her?" Qrow was scooting further and further away from Yang who was determined to give her cookie hero a hug.
"Oh calm down," Summer giggled. "Nothing bad will happen to her, not when she has two warriors looking out for her."
"Summer, you know better than-" he was promptly cut off when Yang jumped into his arms.
"Cookie! Cookie! Cookie uncle!" Yang screamed into Qrow's face.
He blinked at Yang, completely clueless on what he should say to the child. Yang, however, was not deterred by his lack of response. Instead, she found interest in his facial hair and proceeded to play with his face, pulling and squishing his cheeks like clay. Qrow looked over at Summer, silently pleading for her help. Though it was quite hard to take him seriously with all the goofy expressions Yang was forcing onto his face.
"You seem perfectly fine to me, oh brave cookie hunter." She snickered.
She watched as he practically had to pull Yang off him, holding her at a safe distance away from his face. Summer burst into fits of laughter at the Yang's attempt to reach her Uncle again.
"You're only laughing because she isn't terrorizing you." He frowned.
"Oh stop being overdramatic. I think she likes you."
Qrow raised his brow which seemed to cause Yang to laugh.
"Oh, so you think that's funny huh?" He spoke to Yang who was tearing up from all her laughing. "Well let's see how you think of this!"
Yang howled even louder in response to his tickling, her joy even cracked a smile on Qrow's face. Yang wiggled out of her uncle's hands and clumsily ran away, dropping onto the grass seconds later to finish her laughing fit.
"See? Was that so bad?"
"She did attack my personal space," he said with the same grin on his face. "But I guess she isn't too bad."
The duo watched as Yang found something of interest in the grass, presumably a bug. She rolled onto her stomach she poked at it with her finger.
"And what about this little one in your arms?" He pointed to a now sleeping Ruby. "Is she Yang's sister or did you finally meet someone nice at a bar one night."
"You know I don't like going to places like that." Summer peered down at her child and bit her lip. "And...to answer your question...y-yeah she's Yang's sister."
Qrow wordlessly readjusted himself on the grass. "Huh, I knew Tai had game but I didn't think he was that good. Guess I underestimated him." He finally spoke up, voice empty of emotion.
"Are you...mad?"
"Why would I be mad? I asked you to move on didn't I?" He answered all the while without looking at her.
She held Ruby closer to her chest," A-are you sure?"
He scratched his chin," well I'm a bit surprised at how fast you two went. Though that's to be expected when you're living and raising a child together."
Guilt wrapped its bulky fingers around Summer's shoulders, weighing her down like a boulder. The only thing standing between her and freedom was the web of lies she'd weaved.
"Qrow..." Her voice sounded dry. Weak. "Will you...can you hold her?"
"Wow slow down there," he held his hands up in defeat. "Dealing with Yang is one thing but holding a baby is another. What if I drop her; or another Grimm comes walking by?"
"It'll only be for a couple of minutes." Summer insisted in a heartbeat. "I'll be right here if anything goes wrong."
He slowly lowered his hands and studied Summer intensely. Dread clutched her breath; had she said too much? Was he able to cut through her string of lies?
"I don't understand why, though." Qrow finally spoke. His answer freed the invisible hand holding her breath.
"You're gonna be gone for who knows how long after this, and I can't be sure if you'll return home the next time." She elaborated curtly. "I just want you to meet her before you go."
"I'm a bit disappointed that you have such little faith in me—"he reluctantly scooted closer to Summer"—but when you put it that way I feel like an ass for not agreeing."
After showing Qrow the proper way to cradle his arms, Summer gingerly transferred her baby over to him. He sat stiff as a rock at first until Ruby stirred from her slumber and blinked her eyes open. A cheeky smile touched Ruby's face the instant she got a good look at him. It was as if she saw through her mother's deception.
Qrow visibly relaxed at her reaction," at least she didn't burst out crying. What's her name?"
"Ruby. Ruby Rose." Summer replied, peering over his shoulder.
"She's taking on your last name?"
"Yeah, it rolls off the tongue easier." She answered almost instantly. He was too focused on the baby to notice.
"Well then, nice to meet you, Ruby." He greeted the wide-eyed infant.
On the outside Summer was smiling along with Qrow as Ruby snuggled herself closer to him. It was a different story in the back of her mind. The guilt on her shoulders seemed to grow heavier the more she realized just how perfectly Ruby fit in his arms; how calm and happy Qrow appeared to be in her presence. This was the moment she'd always dreamed of, yet she couldn't enjoy it with her morals chastising her.
A part of her longed to tell him the truth while the other warned her about the consequences of telling him. She didn't want to lose him for good.
"Okay, pipsqueak, it's time for you to return to your mom." Summer barely snapped out of her thoughts in time to retrieve Ruby back.
"Leaving so soon?" She didn't attempt to hide her disappointment.
"Yeah, I don't wanna stick around here too long." He didn't need to explain for Summer to understand. "I know you have your hands full but take care of yourself too. You can't neglect your health."
"You sound more like a mom than me," she pointed out with a genuine grin. "You should visit us sometime. I want to hear about your missions and I'm sure Yang would love to play with you again."
"I'll think about it." He grunted as he stood up. "Good luck with the family, shortcake. I'll catch you around some other time."
"Take care of yourself, bird brain."
With a blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving behind a single black feather.