A/N: ...I'm a failure. Every time I try and update Take the Girl this week, I get delayed!

Take the Girl's latest chapter is going to be an absolute monster in length -twenty thousand words probably and I plan to update it every Friday when possible-but the sheer length of said chapter is also hobbling me, because there's so much to write, and so much distance to cover. Coupled with longer hours, I have less time to write than evrer.

I think I'm going insane from all this mental pain and now my mum's in a bad way emotionally after losing her sister, which means I have to come around and look after her in addition to my sister.

Ah, the joys of being the eldest son in a big family.

Head still isn't screw on straight after the funeral, sorry.

So here we are, an early teaser for Take the Girl. Doesn't feel right releasing the full thing when its not ready.

You all deserve better than that, even more so when I'm falling apart at the seems.

Hope you enjoy this. May it whet our appetite for what's to come.

It's off to work another double.

...yay... T_T

"The sharpest blades are often the most brittle. People are often the same, I find.

Take care then, that your soul does not shatter like your weapon.

That which is broken is not so easily repaired."

~?

Defend the Girls (Teaser)

The kitchen was a mess.

Perhaps mess wasn't the right word, Qrow mused, regarding the disaster before him with a rueful smile. Mess implied some small semblance -ha!- of cleanliness on the part of the owner and his tenants, that there was at least a bastion of sanity amidst the messy madness.

This?

Yeah, nope.

This was anything but clean.

Not only were the counters caked in syrup and honey and orange juice and gods-knew-what-else, but the floor was a sticky mess sucking at his shoes with every step. Not even the ceiling had been spared; it looked like someone had flung several fruit salads up there with a bunch of french toast besides. A team of orange-clad janitors dutifully attended to the worst of the mess-and was it just his imagination, or did all they look exactly like a certain blond?- one of whom paused to look his way and tip their hat.

"What happened here?

He knew the real answer even as he asked the question. Foodfight, most likely. He was no stranger to Beacon's brawls or their famous food fiascoes-but this took the cake. Literally. Pancakes and waffles everywhere, to say nothing of milk and orange juice. Glynda would've taken one look at this and had a conniption.

"Kids got rowdy." One of the "janitors" shrugged at him, ignoring his scoff. "You know how it is."

Yeah, he did. He'd seen Ruby on a sugar rush before. Speedy little thing.

His heart lurched at the reminder. "...is Yang around?"

One of them gestured vaguely out past the patio and toward the living room; he trekked that way with a grimace.

Whiskers was a man of his word; not only had been let out of the cellar, but he'd gotten both his flask and his weapon back; he kept one hand on the former as he trekked out. Messy kitchen and crazy kids aside, this place was nice, no, it was better than nice. Downright cozy, really. Not prissy or posh like one of those fancy-shmancy-Schnee-manors in Atlas, but a comfortable rung below. He had the run of the place now, and what a place it was.

Better yet, they had booze!

Locked up and child-proofed, sure, but it wasn't Qrow-proofed!

He'd already managed to squirrel away a bottle for himself, more than enough to refill his flask with a bit more besides.

There weren't too many people about oddly enough, and Rae had run off to gods knew where, which meant he'd been left to his own devices a per the agreement.

Now if he could just shake his silent shadow stalking him, that'd be greeeaaat.

He couldn't even see the bastard, but his instincts didn't lie; he knew someone was there. Watching. Waiting. For what he didn't know, but if they weren't going to be a bitch about it, neither was he.

He let his eyes wander about as he delved deeper into the manor; it really was a nice place; downright homey. He could see so many photos mounted on the wall. Raven was in all of them, surrounded by a buncha brats and people he didn't know or otherwise recognize. Stranger still, she was smiling in each photograph.

Every. Last. One.

"Huh," he muttered under his breath, tracing one with a thumb. "Didn't know you could smile like that anymore, sis."

His sister looked...content in most of those pictures. Scarred by her past, but satisfied. Yang was in almost every other picture as well, never far from her mother's side. And didn't that just hurt? He could've rationalized it if she at least looked unhappy, but here she was anything but.

Now he felt like the bad guy for barging in here.

Rae coulda stayed. Team STRQ could've grown stronger together. Now they never would. And he was left to pick a side, to pick up the broken pieces.

His gaze strayed from the photos and lingered on a phone mounted into the wall by the cupboard. He knew Ozpin's number by heart, to say nothing of Summer and Tai.

Ah, shit. Tai. He should probably warn him. He'd come thundering in here like a bull in a dust shop, thinking he was saving Yang.

All he had to do was make a call. Break his word to blondie.

No one would ever know...right?

...screw it."

He reached for the phone an' something twisted in his chest, agony like nothing he'd felt before; as though an invisible hand had closed round his heart and squeezed. His entire body locked up, refusing to obey his commands. There was no pushing through it; try as he might, he just couldn't bring himself to reach the phone. His body simply wouldn't move. He tried and tried and TRIED but his hand just wouldn't move the rest of the way-his fingers simply refused to close around the receiver. All the while the pain intensified, sweat slicking his brow, heart hammering...!

"Gah?!" it was too much; he recoiled, clutching his chest. "What the hell?"

When he reached for the phone again, the pain intensified. Yet when he lowered his hand, it faded. But why...?

No, he reluctantly remembered now, though he soon found himself wishing he hadn't.

That damn deal.

Whiskers had yanked out of a strand of his hair and done something with it. Must have. Small wonder he couldn't grab the phone.

A scowl writ itself across his face. "If that trick ain't his semblance, I'll eat my boot!"

"I wouldn't do that," an all too familiar crooned. "Daddy says boots taste icky."

Qrow damn near jumped out of his shoes!

The laughter didn't help.

"For crying out loud, firecracker!" Flailing his hands about, he pivoted to face the perpetrator with a scowl. "Don't sneak up on me like that. You know I'm jumpy."

Yang beamed up at him with a giggle, her little face the very picture of innocence. "You're a jumpy bird. Hey, can you turn into one, too? Like mom?

Where had that come from? No, nevermind that. Honesty was probably the best policy when dealing with the squirt. "...I can."

Lilac eyes flashed with triumph. "I knew it! Teach me!"

Laughter bubbled out of Qrow before he could think to hold it back; he just couldn't help himself; it was such a Yang ting to ask. Maybe 'ol Whiskers wasn't so bad. After all, he'd granted him access to his niece when he could've just as easily locked him up and thrown away the key. That had to count for something.

Whoops, he'd been silent too long; Yang was staring at him; she'd begun to pout while he was distracted.

...she really could be a mini-Raven sometimes. On a whim he reached down to tussle her hair. "Ain't something I can teach, kiddo."

"Boooo." she jerked back with a scowl, clasped both hands behind her back and glared at the floor as she scuffed a shoe against it. "So what's my other dad like?"

And now they came back to the Goliath in the room.

He hadn't exactly been forbidden from talking to Yang about this, which surprised him. Some foster parents would've gone out of their way to snuff out all mention of a child's true heritage. And yet aside from the gagging incident, neither Naruto nor Raven had made any effort to conceal Taiyang's existence. None whatsoever.

Suspicious. He eyed Yang as such. "You're taking this remarkably well, kiddo. You good?"

"I mean, I guess?" She rolled a shoulder. "Mum's always been around and Dad is Dad."

Anger reared its ugly head in Qrow's heart. "He's not. He took you from Tai."

Yang shook her head. "No, he didn't."

"Yes, he did!"

"No," she argued with all the logic of a four-year-old-going-on-five, "Mom took me. I didn't even meet Daddy until later. I was almost two by then."

Shit. She had him there. "He still kept you from your real family; from your old man and me."

Yang tilted her head. "But you're here now."

Stubborn little...!

"Look, I get where you're coming from, but its really not that big of a deal for me." her response cut deeper than he cared to admit. "Maybe that might've meant something if I actually knew him, yet I don't-never did. But I AM curious." She crossed both arms before her chest and huffed. "Having another dad sounds pretty cool. Most people only get one. That's why I'm asking. You gonna tell me what he's like or what?

"He really got his claws into you, didn't he? Damn bastard...

Yang didn't take kindly to that; her eyes flashed and for a second he could've sworn he saw fire-nah, probably imagined it. "Don't badmouth daddy."

Landmine right there. Qrow wisely walked around it. "Alright, alright." he raised both hands to ward off a pummel party. "If you wanna know more about Tai, I'm happy to tell you. Lemme see," straightening up, he flung himself down into a nearby chair and spun it round to face his niece. "He's a brawler like you, blond of course, with blue eyes and he loves bad puns. Real nice guy, too. He'd happily give you the shirt right off his back if you needed." or would have, before Raven's betrayal. "His semblance makes him one tough cookie and his gauntlets are one of kind; hell, they were so powerful that he buried them after awhile."

Yang hopped into his lap, alighting atop a knee. "Because he was afraid of them?"

Urk. Too cute. Absolutely must protect. "No, because it made fights too easy for him.

Her eyes lit up, delighted by the tale. "Tell me more!"

"I could show you a picture, but my scroll's wrecked." a thought occurred to him and like Ruby, he ran with it. "There's also Summer, he's married to her now."

"I have another auntie?! Her voice rose in a delighted squeal before her brow furrowed as she counted off her fingers, considering something. "No wait, miss Summer's his wife so...another mother, then! Sweet!"

Qrow sweetened the pot. "And a little sister."

Yang went terribly still atop his knee. "I have another sister?"

Another-no, no, no. Don't focus on that. Not right now. "Sure do." he patted her head and it was a testament to her shock that she didn't deny him this time. "Her name's Ruby. She's about two years younger than you and-

The resultant shriek of glee nearly left him deaf. "Ruby?!"

"Yup. Gotta picture of her here in my wallet if you wanna see?"

She latched onto his jacket and shook him like leaf. "I wanna see! Show! Now!"

Heh. Definitely Raven's kid.

The second he withdrew the worn photo, Yang all but ripped it from his grasp and instantly began cooing over it. "She's so small! And cuuuuute!"

Qrow absently placed a hand on Yang's back to steady his excitable niece as she swayed to and fro in his lap. He'd missed this. No, that wasn't quite right; he hadn't known to miss it in the first place; because he'd never had a chance to bond with her. That was taken from him as much as Tai. Better nearly five years late than never.

"And that's Summer?" his niece held up the photo. "The lady holding her."

"Yuuuuup." Qrow smacked his lips with an audible pop.

"She's so pretty...

"Ain't she, though? Who'd ya think Ruby gets it from?"

"Can I meet them?!" Yang clasped both hands before her, eyes wide. "Please, please, please?!"

"Sure." he muttered under his breath. "You'll be seeing them real soon, one way or another." She was still hiding something from him, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. "So, hey, since we're sharing secrets, you mind telling me who's watching me?"

Yang blinked, her enthusiasm waning. "Watching you? Oh, that's just uncle Lee. He's good with a bow and arrow, but he can use a sniper rifle, too.

"Sniper...?"

"Yup." his niece replied innocently. "He's awesome! His semblance is pretty cool too; it lets him see reeeaaallly far and through all sorts of things! Like an X-ray!"

Qrow looked down and found a bead of red light against his chest. His gaze traveled to the window. "Shiiiiit."

"Bad word." Yang held up her hand expectantly, palm open. "Swear jar."

He handed some lien over, only to frown as the house shook.

Yang beamed. "Oh! Sound like daddy's having fun."

A/N: *We'll cut it here. Don't wanna spoil too much.

Would you like an update next week? Do let me know! We'll be picking up the pace soon, but with the notifications down, I really need to hear from you here.

RWBY may have been canned by Warner Bros. but we fanfiction writers are out here trying to keep the light alive, as it were. So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.

So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourself heard! Your reviews matter!

That's no joke! I can't write without feedback. Guess that makes me weak...T_T

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review Would You Kindly?

No previews. I just can't...

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

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