A/N: and now for something different~ sort of...

BUUUUUUUURN MY LOVELY!

Enjoy!


The thing about STRQ…

"Summer, are you thinking about me?"

"Yes… Raven…"

On a cold winter's night two friends met after a long separation. There was a long and tragic history between them, stories of a cocky girl and a shy nerd, the rebellious diva and the shrieking violet, the ebony haired beauty and the… you get the point.

Raven Branwen and Summer Rose had been strange friends since they met their first year at Beacon as members of the newly formed Team STRQ, along with a wimpy blonde guy and Raven's dork of a twin brother. The girls ran the show, obviously.

Raven was the dark beauty while Summer was the pure adorable, no one could understand why they got along, at all. Raven was open about her play with Taiyang, the aforementioned wimpy blonde, and Summer may have been more than irritable about that once or twice and ranted off to Qrow, Raven's much less cool twin brother.

Either way, no matter their fights or fancies the two women were inseparable. They were friends, they were sisters, they were hated rivals, if there was a term for a crazy obsessive bond not listed, they were it.

But that changed the moment Raven disappeared.

Not a word to Taiyang, who she sorta-maybe-kinda in a drunk night in Vacuo, got married to and sorta-kinda-maybe-OHMIGAWDTHEPAINYOUJERK! Had a kid with him as well. The going theory was that Raven took one look at her baby girl, blonde as her dad and just as whiny and demanding, one look at the wimpy blonde she sorta liked, being a happy dad going on about living in Patch with their growing family, and foresaw a horrible future of her, and kids, and responsibilities with the little dweeb she liked and ran for the hills.

At least that's how Qrow told the story to Summer, being Raven's twin brother he did technically have a better insight to his sister's mind than most. Sorta.

Summer was FURIOUS! And anyone that knew her knew that meant catastrophic things to come. It's said Ozpin locked up his tower for a month once he heard that warcry all the way from… wherever Summer was at the time.

Anyway, so Summer and Qrow tried to track down his sister, who had sadly completely vanished from the face of the earth. Summer had to give her confidant-rival credit. "Damn bitch knows how to hide." Raven was, after all, the only member of Team STRQ to have the sense to hide and not be found for days when Summer went on one of her cookie binges.

After about a month of searching, Summer and Qrow got word of Taiyang, being Taiyang, and overall sucking at life. The two of them groaned, played janken, and Summer was the one to come up short and had to return to help the guy out. She really should have known better, Qrow always won games that required timing thanks to his crazy speed.

Summer's grandiose entrance, involving sending a poor oak door to an early grave in a wood-chipper thanks to her boot, was completely lost as Taiyang was nowhere to be found in his house. Thankfully he was a lot easier to find than his girlfriend-wife-whatever as really all anyone had to do was follow the crying. He stubbed his toe during their entrance exam at Beacon and that's how she had found him and wound up his partner. The guy really hadn't changed all that much.

She found him crying in a pile of Raven pictures in one room, some she was fairly certain were photo-shopped to look like they were together with a crazy amount of kids and a house with a white picket fence and dog, when Summer knew for a fact Raven hated dogs. Summer loved them, especially little ones and puppies, but that wasn't the point.

Seeing as Taiyang hadn't registered her presence, and really she was more worried about the other 'individual' that was supposed to be in this house, Summer went looking for baby Yang.

The little blonde couldn't be more than a few months old yet already she was more mature than her father; sleeping peacefully in her black and yellow bassinet with a fluffy bumblebee toy clutched in her mouth.

"Aaaawwwww!" Summer, being Summer, and completely vulnerable to cute things, squealed in delight and picked the blonde baby up, bumblebee doll and all, and hugged her. She figured if she could deal with this adorable every day she could probably deal with her old partner being… well him.

It took her a while longer to get Taiyang up let alone out of that room, so it became her fulltime job to take care of Yang. Qrow showed up occasionally, and things got extremely awkward every time he saw her with a blonde baby on her hip, never mind that was technically his niece.

Summer had learned long ago Branwen were terrible at any kind of familial bonding. Qrow and Raven were partners, more by default than anything else, and they barely talked to one another when living in the same room. It seemed the closest to showing affection either had for one another was either kicking each other in the shins or quietly ignoring the other existed. So Summer wasn't completely surprised by Qrow's aloof nature to his niece. Luckily Yang had enough bubbly exuberance to fill a city and whether Qrow liked it or not, he was going to be her favorite plaything when she wanted! She wanted a pony, he was it. She wanted to fly, he was picking her up and running around like a moron with a toddler above his head.

It was actually kind of cute in Summer's opinion, but that was neither here nor there.

Also Qrow spending time with his niece, hopping her up on sugar and ghost stories then leaving, like Branwen always did, was enough of a kick in the pants to get Taiyang out of most of his slump. The boys had always been more competitive than the girls, though that seemed more because Taiyang never liked Qrow and really he just never cared.

Qrow told Summer once that when Taiyang tried to ask him permission to date his sister, he just laughed. Telling him 'good luck' and shooing him away. Apparently that really pissed the blonde off and the two got into a major fight that never quite ended.

So Qrow showing up at his house, playing with his daughter, and 'harassing' his partner had the blonde roaring like a lion and doing things he should have handled ages ago. Like being a parent and taking care of his daughter and not relying on his old partner to do it all because he was depressed.

Summer just let them have their 'boy feud' and went about taking care of Yang.

Eventually Qrow left, claiming to go after his sister again, but Summer just knew it was him being what he was. "Branwen always wander off and leave broken hearts behind…" she'd told him as he left. He didn't turn back and she didn't care.

Ruby came not long after that and Summer basically rooted herself to the Xiao Long home. She told Yang Ruby was her baby sister and she had to protect her, like how she protect her dad. Yang was so cute, excited to take care of her baby sister, and Summer could almost forget the little blonde had any Branwen in her. For a two year old, Yang was pretty stable, an excitable little girl with golden hair and pretty lilac eyes always following her around to help out where she could… even if that tended to cause more disasters than anything, oh well.

Taiyang got… better. He was almost back to his mopey self, bright blue eyes, blonde hair, tiger in the sack… Summer could almost accept this quaint little family life.

Then the girls started to get older and she could see it.

Yang was looking more and more like a mini-blonde version of Raven. Hell, when she got angry and temperamental her eyes turned red and Summer had off-handedly joked, "Now she just needs the black hair…" Taiyang had not been appreciative of her less-than-humorous observations. Part of Summer didn't care.

It was when Ruby started showing signs of being speedy and spinning around with a bent stick as fun that Taiyang gave her that look and she had a few things to fess up. Of course, her daughter would be the one to actually start looking and acting like a Branwen!

Summer cursed the both of them, those damn twins that came into their lives, wrecked everything and left without a damn word!

She started going back out, needing to get her mind off her kids, the sulking man that shared her bed, and more importantly those jerks that left them. She took up her weapons and returned to hunting Grimm as stress relief. She loved her daughters, no damn question about it and she'd shove in it Raven's face if she ever saw her again she was a better mom than her and tell Qrow Taiyang was a better father!

She was angry at them and she couldn't let the girls or Tai see it. If they did they'd get scared, and while the girls could probably handle it, Tai wouldn't. The guy just never could handle confrontation well, so she went out and destroyed Grimm nests to deal with her own issues.

But at least she returned! Unlike some jerks.

A bright smile for the girls, a sultry wink for Tai, make some cookies and everything was right with the world.

Who the hell was she kidding, she hated this bullshit.

All the lies, all the faking… well not all of it, not so much for the girls, but they were going to get older. They would eventually see it.

This is why when she got the letter from Raven she knew exactly what it was… and knew she was being a coward not telling anyone else.

"Oh! Mommy's got to go hunt some more Grimm girls! I'll be back!" a tight hug and a kiss to each of their heads. That was her goodbye. She didn't even bother looking at Taiyang, she'd give too much away otherwise.

So the middle of winter, on an overseeing cliff, on a clear night with the broken moon shining down. That's how she met her. That's how she saw her again.

The first and only woman she would ever love…

… the damn bitch.

Her tall frame, black and red armor, the feathers were a new touch, same with the mask, and it looked like she'd long since upgraded her sword.

Summer wondered if she'd changed all that much. She still wore her white cloak, and it'd been a long time since she'd modified her weapons.

"You look tired," Raven's silky smooth voice said as she pulled off her mask. Pale face, red eyes, unruly long black hair.

"Yea, I'm sure I do," Summer looked away. She couldn't help but super impose blonde hair and lilac eyes on her friend, seeing what her daughter would look like in the years to come. Putting her hood down she ran her hand through her brunette hair, "Seeing as I'm doing your job for you," a silver eye glanced over at the tall beauty, sly and maybe a bit of a wink, "Like always."

A sad smile picked at Raven's lips, "Yeah… you always were reliable…"

They talked. Longer than either realized and far too short for anything meaningful.

Raven held Summer's hand for most of it. Got yelled at and slapped more than once, but never left go.

Summer yelled at her, sniffled and cried like a little baby to the point she just put her head on Raven's chest and started bawling. Then she'd hit her, take a step back, yell some more and it'd go back in a circle.

Raven knew this cycle. She knew it better than anyone in the world as she was probably the only person that had to deal with Summer when she fully broke down. She was their strong confident leader, she was their adorable champion that beat people in cookie eating contests and took people down for littering. She was too good for this world and when it finally piled up enough that she couldn't take it, she went to Raven and let it all out. Every hurt, every slight, every little irrational detail her far-too-intelligent mind could come up with as a reason to be angry, things that ate away at her for however long it took to get to this point. Raven had honestly no idea how the crazy little girl in the white hood could go through life never exploding until she met her.

And she loved her for it, their dopey little leader. She put up with so much in the world and only showed her absolute worst to her. Maybe that was terrible to be proud of but, eh, she was Raven Branwen, she brought out the worst in everyone around her.

So she hugged and rubbed her head and this time Summer didn't pull away and hit her again.

"You left." A weak thud on her chest.

"I did." Was the only thing she could say. Her life since leaving her daughter and adorable whiny man hadn't been great. She couldn't even bring herself to explain, even to Summer, why she left, even if Summer was probably the only person she could say it to.

But Summer never asked, so she never said.

They stayed like that for a while, holding onto one another in the snow and silence.

Raven fingered the knife at her waist, "Summer, are you thinking about me?"

"Yes…" Summer raised her head, looking the ebony beauty in the eyes, "Raven…"

Those red eyes clinched, and for a moment Raven hesitated in her task.

In another universe, this scene played out as it should have. One mother killing another for power or the sake of the world, whatever.

In this one…

"Hold that thought," Summer put her finger on Raven's lips and pushed the knife hand to the side with her other.

Raven stared at her confused.

Then the shorty in the white hood all but jumped up and kissed the taller girl on the lips. They both fell gracelessly into the snow as Raven's arms flailed trying to catch them.

Summer finally sat up, on Raven, and sighed, "I have been dyyyyyying to do that since we broke up after that first semester at Beacon."

Tossing her knife to the side, Raven wiped her mouth and glared at the little crazy, "YOU BROKE UP WITH ME!"

Silver eyes glared down at her, pointing indignantly, "You slept with Taiyang while I was in class with Qrow!"

"So?" Raven shrugged, clearly not understanding why that was a bad thing,

"Argh!" Summer threw up her hands, getting up and walking away, "and you just don't get it!"

Red eyes blinked from the ground, "No, I really don't," her hand hovered around her lips, still missing that fiery little psychopath that was the leader of Team STRQ. Taiyang was great, don't get her wrong, sometimes it was nice having a guy that was a push over, but he was only really exciting when he was angry in bed. Not unlike the girl that lived up to her lively name now trumping in the snow yelling at nothing.

Raven could not help if her eyes lingered a few places, being a mom certainly let Summer filled out more than expected…

"… AND STOP UNDRESSING ME WITH YOUR EYES!" the woman in white quickly whipped around, pointing indignantly at the black and red beauty still on the ground and shamelessly checking her out.

"I wasn't?" Raven had her hands up.

"Liar," Summer growled, pacing again.

Raven just shrugged, pulling herself up out of the snow and watching her little leader pace… again shamelessly checking her out.

"Stop it!" Summer snapped.

There was a snort from the black haired woman, "I'm not doing anything…"

"I'm telling you right now, Raven!" Summer momentarily stopped her pacing glared steel at her former teammate, "I have put up with two toddlers, at the same time! Nothing you do will get to me!"

Red eyes rolled so hard, "Summer, all I've ever done is get to you since the moment we met…"

Clinching her fists, Summer stomped up to Raven and shook them in her face, "YOU!"

A sly black brow rose as Raven got a devilish smirk, "Me?"

There was some manner of scream, growl, moan all rolled into one as Summer just shook.

"Summer…" Raven said in a soft, calming voice as she approached the shaking woman.

When she was within arm's reach, Summer looked and glared at Raven with cold silver eyes, "Why were you trying to kill me?" there was no question that she was doing it, just why.

Raven sighed, lowering her hands, "I can't tell you," when those silver eyes glared more, the black haired beauty pressed a hand to her forehead, "Just, believe me, there's a reason alright!"

The silver glare didn't let up, "I believe you, but do I really have to die?"

A red eye glanced at the woman in white, "What do you have in mind?"

A devious smirk came to Summer Rose's face, a particular smirk that would become known far and wide as the look of her daughter having some crazyass plan in mind, "Let's stage a murder."

Raven actually snorted at this, "So third year all over again, hehe…"

Summer just kept up that wicked grin, "No offense, I love the girls, but I could use a goddamn vacation."

"I hear Vacuo nude beaches are nice this time of year for the 'recently deceased'…"Raven gained a smirk, joining her partner in crime as she took her hand and they got to work.

"Aww, Ravy," Summer clutched onto the taller woman's arm, "You always know what to say to charm me…"

"It's a talent…" the black haired beauty smirked, knowing this would probably bite her in the ass later, but really…

She was only hired to 'get rid of' the last silver eyed warrior. Who said that required killing her?

After all, Summer looked great underneath that cloak.


A/N: over on AO3 someone asked about the line in Ruby's bout of crazy 'Second Rule of Uncle Qrow's Training: ... especially in front of someone suspiciously hot in white' and they assumed it dealt with Winter Schnee... i joked saying it could work for Ironwood too, but in reality i meant Summer Rose... but seeing how Qrow deals with all these people, hey, he might just have a problem when it comes to people in all white XD

i have a serious take on the way things happened with Team STRQ, lots of drama and feels, but for Conflagration obviously i've tilted it a bit on its head... and also am using this as a bit of a joke to explain some of Ruby and Yang's vices in Conflagration-verse... Yang had to get her threesome ways from someone, and considering Ironwood works up above, it might just be a Branwen trait, like their wandering off towards danger when stuff goes down~

and Ruby... well, her parents are nuts, end of story...

and no, i don't mean to be mean to Taiyang, he's just so obviously the Cowardly-Lion i don't think they could have made it more obvious with a 20ft blaring orange neon sign... so may have just taken that to a bit of an extreme... everyone's views are biased after all... Raven may have been legitimately attracted to that and Summer more than likely stuck with him out of spite for the Branwen twins... but that's just the way it works in this verse, who knows about canon~

anyway, its all a joke! have fun kids! love ya!

Number 88: no drama!

Till next -salute-waves- Sayounara, Mina!

-Ikasury