"And then I punched that guy so hard he flew to the other side of the room!" Yang finished her story with an enthusiastic punch into the air.

They were seated around the dinner table with a box of freshly baked cookies. While Qrow was not a good cook, he knew a good bakery when he saw one. The girls certainly didn't seem to mind sharing a box of store-bought sweets with their uncle.

"That's pretty impressive, firecracker." Qrow ruffled Yang's long golden hair. "Keep this up and you're guaranteed to be able to attend Beacon Academy."

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow." She grinned widely. "I wouldn't have done it if dad hadn't taught me to fight."

"Oh yeah? How is he doing lately?" Qrow asked while taking a sip of liquor from his flask. It was a habit he picked up shortly after Summer died. If she were here he'd definitely get an earful from her.

"Dad's...better," Yang answered with a small smile. "He's still really sad but he comes out of his room more and he goes to work now. Oh! And he even gives us extra fighting lessons!"

"That's good to hear." Qrow was a bit worried when he left for a small mission for Ozpin. Tai hasn't been the best dad after hearing about Summer's demise and Qrow was left to take care of the girls. He decided to play nanny for a bit longer before taking on more serious missions.

"When he's better I'm gonna challenge him to a fight and beat him!" Yang perked up again, slamming her fists together.

Qrow laughed at his niece," you better tell me about it when that happens."

"Of course! I'll make sure to record his defeat as well!"

"And how about you, kiddo?" He turned his attention to the unusually quiet Ruby. "Did you have your first fight yet?"

"O-oh yeah." She nibbled on the edge of her cookie. "Dad taught me lots of cool punches and stuff..."

Even after learning the truth from Summer, Qrow decided to keep his identity a secret from her. Ruby already lost her mother, he didn't want to rip away everything that she's known for all her short life. That's not the mention the damage Tai would go through admitting one of his precious girls wasn't really his daughter. As if losing both Raven and Summer wasn't bad enough.

"Is that all you wanna tell me?" He pressed on.

Ruby shrugged and continued to eat her cookie. Qrow sighed and took another swig of his drink, if she wasn't going to talk then there's nothing he can do to change her mind. That's one thing they both shared.

"So, do you girls wanna hear more about my past missions?"

Both girls' eyes lit up at his offer. Yang was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement while Ruby nodded eagerly.

"Alright," he closed his flask and put it back into his pocket. "Let me tell you about the time we found a ghost town..."

After tidying up the house, Qrow bid the girls good bye and disappeared into the forest surrounding their house. There he transformed into his avian form and perched onto one of the trees overlooking the area. That was the only way he could look after the girls and protect them from his semblance. It was probably two hours later when he spotted his former friend walking back to the house with what looked like groceries in hand. It wasn't anything significant but at least he found the energy to bring food home again.

Qrow made a mental note to check how full the fridge was the next time he visited.

The girls burst out of the house and greeted their dad with hugs and kisses. His friend smiled and hugged them back. Satisfied at the scene below, Qrow took flight and headed straight for the bar.

The sky was painted in oranges and reds by the time Qrow flew back. Even with Tai doing better, Qrow still wanted to make sure the girls were safe and under protection at all times.

Summer would undoubtedly be beaming with joy at his new habit.

He perched onto the roof and peered down at Yang and Tai in the backyard. From the looks of it Tai was teaching Yang some new moves. He made himself comfortable and watched as Yang mimicked her father's moves with ease. Tai was beaming at her progress, Qrow hadn't seen him this happy for a long time.

Yang shouted something about fighting Tai and defeating him. Tai burst out laughing and taunted his daughter.

'Like father like daughter,' he couldn't help but think.

Qrow skipped further to the roofs edge and tilted his head to the side.

'Strange,' he thought. 'Why isn't Ruby here?"

He flew off from his spot and circled around the to the front of the house, transforming back into his human form. He clumsily made his way to the front door, still a bit tipsy from his drinks earlier, and knocked.

Tiny footsteps pounded on the other side. He noticed the small head peeking out from the window before heading toward the door. He smiled to himself for instilling the rule of checking before opening the door to strangers.

"Uncle Qrow!" Little Ruby rocketed out the door and wrapped her arms around his legs. "I thought you said you weren't coming back until tomorrow."

"I had a change of plans, kiddo." He ruffled her dark hair. "Did you eat yet?"

"Yup, dad brought home burgers and fries!"

"Again?" He raised his brow. He half-expected Tai to cook something healthy for them. Looks like he'll need to buy them some fresh fruits for snacks tomorrow.

"Yeah, it was super yummy!" Ruby grabbed Qrow's hand and guided him inside the house. "And then we finished all your cookies for dessert. I had the most."

'If Summer were here she'd be more than upset with you, young lady.' He pondered amusedly.

"I drew a bunch of new pictures," she pointed to the pile of papers sprawled on the living room floor. "Do you wanna see them?"

"Sure," he followed his daughter to the papers. The moment he sat down on the floor she shoved drawing after drawing into his face.

Most of it were of random cartoon characters fighting with rainbows and what appeared to be candy. He listened to her ramble about each drawing, telling him of all the crazy battles she came up with.

"I still need to make the princess transform into a fairy," she explained. "And then the super story is done!"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm and set the papers aside," I better be the first one to see the ending to your story."

"Sorry, Uncle Qrow, but I promised Yang that she'll see it first." She smiled guiltily. "But you can be the second one who sees it. And then daddy will see it last."

'Oh the irony.'

Yang and Tai's laughter could be heard even from the inside. Qrow noticed Ruby staring off into space, her lower lip slightly quivering.

"Okay, kiddo, what's wrong?" He decided to ask.

Ruby snapped out of her daze and wiped her eyes dry with her hands. She sat down in front of her unfinished drawing and continued to colour.

'Why do kids have to be so difficult?'

"Look, I know it's scary to talk to grown ups about sad things, but I want you to know that you can tell me anything."

Ruby stopped colouring," but...what if you laugh at me?" She mumbled without looking at him.

"I won't laugh." He assured. "So tell me, what's bothering you?"

Ruby reluctantly placed her crayon down all the while keeping her eyes locked on her drawing. She fidgeted with her thumbs for a while before finding the courage to speak," I lost my first fight." She confessed meekly.

"Were you hurt badly?" The question left his mouth before he knew it.

Ruby shook her head," I just got bruises but...it was embarrassing." She sniffled.

"Hey, one loss doesn't mean you're a bad fighter."

"But...when dad tries to teach me to fight I suck at it." She continued. "Why is Yang so good at fighting? Why am I not good like her?"

"There's lot's of different ways to fight, Ruby. Some people are just better at certain fighting styles than others."

"But...but I wanna be good like mommy." Her words opened wounds Qrow has been desperately trying to drown out with alcohol. "I-if I suck at fighting then how can I be like mommy?"

Qrow wanted to take another drink, but he forced himself to hold back for now.

"Ruby, did I ever tell you the first time your mom lost a fight?"

Ruby perked her head up with interest," mommy lost a fight before?"

"Yeah...in fact, she was crying about it like you."

"I-I'm not crying." She crossed her arms.

"Whatever you say, kiddo." Qrow found himself grinning at her response. It was scary how similar Summer and Ruby were. "So...do you want to hear the story or what?"

"Uh huh!" Ruby abandoned her drawing and crawled over to Qrow's side.

He proceeded to tell her about the Vytal Festival and the devastating loss their team experienced. Ruby listened with undivided attention as he delved into her mother's mindset during the night he confronted her.

It was painful to revisit the memory of her still alive, still full of hope and aspiration for the future. Even after so much time it still felt so surreal to accept that she was truly gone.

By the time he was done fresh tears stirred in his eyes.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked worryingly.

"Sorry about that," he promptly wiped his eyes dry. "The point is you keep moving on. Every defeat teaches you something new. If your mom gave up she wouldn't have been as strong as she was."

"Did mommy lose any more fights?"

"Yup, but we got better after each defeat. Soon we won almost every fight."

Ruby nodded just before breaking into sobs. Qrow was caught off guard when she wrapped her tiny arms around him.

"I miss mommy," she hiccuped. "I wish she didn't lose, Uncle Qrow. I-I wish she came home."

"I...I know," he gently returned the hug. It was near impossible to hold back his own grief at that point. "I-I'm sorry, kiddo."

Qrow recollected himself first while Ruby took some extra time to calm down. Once his daughter was finished bawling, Qrow got up and fetched her a cup of water. If Tai noticed his presence in the house he didn't bother to say anything. He returned to Ruby's side and kept quiet as she sipped the drink.

"Uncle Qrow," she spoke up sheepishly.

"Hm?"

"Do you have to leave for more missions?" Ruby peered down into her cup intensely.

"Yes, but it won't be anytime soon." His daughter visibly withered at his answer, igniting a spark of guilt within him.

"What if...what if you don't come back?"

She'd asked him the exact same question when he left for his short mission. Yang, while still distraught at his leaving, kept her composure, unlike Ruby. She clung to him like a vice, crying and screaming at him to stay. It was difficult for both parties to part way. Qrow was devastated to leave his family again while Ruby was terrified of losing another loved one. If it weren't for Yang's help and reassurance he probably wouldn't have gotten free of Ruby's grip.

"Ruby, hunters and huntresses leave their families every day to protect them from the Grimm. We fight for everyone who can't. This is why I can't stay here forever." The air suddenly felt thick. Qrow sighed and ruffled Ruby's hair. "I can't promise you that I'll come back every time, kiddo. If I don't...you cry and then you move on."

"Move on?" She quoted quietly.

"It means...you stop being sad every day and try to be happy again." He frowned at his own half-assed description. Ruby, however, seemed content with the answer.

"I hope you come home every time, Uncle Qrow."

"Me too."

He'd at least want to live long enough to see Ruby and Yang grow up to be proper huntresses.

"Yang told me a story about you," Ruby said after downing her drink.

"Oh yeah? What'd she tell you?"

"She said you saved us from Grimm with a super cool looking sword."

He chuckled and got up from his spot," it's not called a sword, Ruby." Once he was a safe distance away from Ruby, he drew out his weapon. "What you're seeing right now is a sword, what I used was a scythe."

"Can I see it?"

"I don't know," he examined his surrounding. Knowing his luck, the massive scythe was undoubtedly going to pierce through some sort of furniture or the ceiling.

"Please," Ruby begged with puppy dog eyes. "Yang said it was super cool and I wanna see it."

He examined his surroundings once more," how about we do this in the front yard?"

"Okay!" She sprung up and practically ran to the door. How she can always have so much energy was beyond him.

"Come on, slow poke!"

"Alright, alright," he followed after her lazily.

After instructing Ruby to stay on the porch, Qrow backed several feet away from the house and deployed the full transformation of his weapon.

Ruby stared at the scythe as if it were made of candy, she cheered and urged him to do something with it. He humoured her by performing some basic swings, each one fuelling a spark in her eyes.

"That's all for tonight," he said, retracting his weapon.

"That was so cool!" Ruby bounced off the porch and dashed toward him. "I wanna use that one day!"

"You using a scythe?" He couldn't imagine putting her through the rigorous training of being a scythe user. "Ruby, it's a lot more work than you think."

"I can do it!" She promised fiercely. "That looks way more fun than punching!"

'What did I just get myself into?'

"Um...we can talk about this another day." He scooped Ruby into his arms and headed back to the house. "Now how about we finish your drawing first?"

And we are done! Thank you for reading! I didn't think this story would get so many views. You guys are amazing!

Now I promised I would voice my opinion on the theory, so if you're interested keep reading.

As of right now, I'm 50/50 with the theory. When we look at Ruby and Qrow's character design and colour palettes they're strikingly similar. This pattern is seen among family members in the RWBY universe. Of course, this could be explained away by the fact Qrow was Ruby's mentor and she adapted both his weapon and style. It also wouldn't make sense to have Ruby and Yang looking too similar on the team, it isn't as aesthetically appealing.

A lot of people point to the fact that the creator said this theory is wrong and that he never lies to the fandom. I personally think that's a really dumb point, but then again I've never seen his or CRWBY's tweets regarding questions to the story so I don't know how valid it is.

I've personally written a story in the past where I had to specifically lie to my readers about a character. Why? Because if I said anything other than no it would've destroyed my plot twist. So even if so many people believe Monty is 100% truthful I call BS on that. It's too obvious to find plot twists that way—but hey that's just me.

And if this theory proves to be wrong I gotta say this, why does Qrow and Ruby look so similar? It's a bit of a poor design choice and it's no wonder so many people think he's her real dad.

I believe we'll be seeing more of team STRQ's past in the next volume and this question will be addressed. If you're interested in more evidence for the theory, I found a Tumblr post that brings up some decent points.

. post/157404935413/qrow-is-rubys-father-theory/amp

Those are just my thoughts so don't go on a witch hunt if I don't agree with what you think. I know how serious this fandom can get so...yeah.

Thanks once again for reading! I don't know if I'll write for the fandom again, but if I get another burst of inspiration (or my internet goes out for 72 hours again) I'll consider making another fanfic. Until next time!