Bit of a short one today as my father had some bad news at the hospital and is very worried. He may actually be fine, but he's been diagnosed with the same thing that took his father away, so it's obviously something he's very stressed about. I'm staying over there tonight to have dinner with them and serve as distraction.

Chapter 16

Time passed, as it tended to. Qrow had once heard that time passed quicker for older people by virtue of statistics. That when you were ten years old, a year was 10% of your whole life so it felt really long, whereas a fifty-year-old man didn't feel the extra 2% of a year's passing so keenly. He must have been among the latter because the time seemed to fly by, and soon they'd reach their end of year exams and beyond.

Those exams only really mattered for the upper years leaving, like Glynda as she graduated and prepared to move on to Beacon. For the rest of them, the exams just told the teachers where they were struggling. That didn't stop everyone acting like it was the end of the world, nor Raven turning a surprising leaf and demanding he tutor her in private.

"I can't lose!" she growled when he asked why she cared. "I can't be last place in my gang!"

Okay. Maybe it wasn't such a surprising turn, though it might have been a good sign that having friends was making her competitive over schoolwork compared to, say, competitive over the private belongings of innocent people.

In the end, she did her best and scored middle of the pack – which was a pretty huge deal for a child that had been raised in a tribe of bandits. And a very bad sign for those who somehow managed to score beneath said child.

Qrow got first place.

He'd tried not to, he really had, but the questions were so punishingly easy and even some of his sarcastic answers had been scored as positive. When a maths question had asked him to calculate how many survivors there were in a village that had been attacked by the Grimm several hours earlier, he'd ignored the maths and written, "None, because they'd have panicked and tried to run and been killed by Grimm by now".

He'd been expecting a "see me" from the teacher and instead got a "harsh but true" and full marks for it.

Sons of bitches...

Again, it didn't really matter aside from getting awed looks from his peers – which didn't even make sense because the questions were so freaking easy. He wanted to clap their cheeks between his hands and scream into their faces asking how they could have possibly gotten lower than 80%. That was a sensation he was used to feeling as a teacher, though. He managed to ignore it.

Instead, he put in a little effort to cook Raven her favourite dish as celebration for her hard work and good score. Show her he cared. That had backfired a little when his competitive sister took it as mockery, like he was telling her she should settle for being nowhere near as good as him. He'd had to scrub the food off the walls.

A year gone in the blink of an eye, though. It made him realise just how close Beacon was becoming, and just how much work he had ahead of him. It'd be easy to coast to Beacon and let history repeat, but history was shit and he didn't want Summer dying or Raven running away. There was work to be done ahead of time, and while he sadly couldn't get it done on Taiyang because he wasn't in Signal, he could get it done on the man's wives.

The things I do for you, man. I'm your wingman before you even met them!

It'd be worth it to not have to see his best friend descend into grief once more.

Progress on Raven was going steady, he liked to think. Signal was calming her down and she was causing less problems, even if she'd threatened several first years to the point of tears because she felt they were tyring to step on her turf. That was just Raven being Raven, though. It just wouldn't be her if people weren't crying. Be they tiny brats or less-tiny brats who tried to ask her to the end of year dance and got told she "didn't dance with weaklings". Rough times.

Summer continued to be the main problem. She'd stopped avoiding him, but she still didn't really talk to him, and found any excuse she could to slip away if he tried. Raven had become her lifeline and something of a human shield which Summer would regularly station between them. Naturally, Raven found this hilarious and played along at every opportunity.

Colossal bitch that she was…

Qrow had stepped back over the last few months of the year, however, as Summer had started to look increasingly haggard and worn. He'd dithered on how to ask what was wrong without pressuring her, stressing until Raven noticed and did it for him. "Yo. Sum. What's wrong?"

"It's my grandfather," she whispered. "He's in hospital." Her eyes drifted down toward the table. "They don't think he'll go home again."

Oh.

Qrow looked away. He knew a lot about Summer but not this, and he'd never been good at comfort despite getting two shots at it with Taiyang. The first, he'd gotten Tai drunk when Raven left, which probably hadn't helped – hence why Summer had barged in and fixed it herself. The second, after Summer's death and when Ruby and Yang had risked their lives in the forest, he'd used his fists to comfort Taiyang, beating him up for his shitty parenting until the man snapped and fought back.

"Boys", Summer would have said if she'd still been alive, rolling her eyes.

They'd always tended to solve their disputes like that, and sure enough the familiarity of a good fight had snapped Taiyang out of it. But, in hindsight, Qrow hadn't really helped him heal. He'd just stopped him wallowing in grief. It was his wonderful daughters who kept him grounded, and then Zwei being the best therapy dog Qrow had ever seen.

Ultimately, Qrow wasn't so different from Raven when it came to deep emotional moments, except that where she ran, he would avoid them by doing something comical or dumb, ruining the moment because he didn't want to be challenged by it. That was probably why he'd ended up a lifelong bachelor, because he panicked and acted like a teenager whenever mature, emotional commitment was required.

Like right now.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he mumbled, not sure what else he could say. He couldn't tell her it'd all be okay because he knew it wouldn't be.

Raven shot him a scornful look, then looped her arm around Summer's shoulders.

"Worst comes to happen, you can bunk in my dorm," she said. "Qrow can sleep with Rosebud. We'll have a girl's sleepover."

Summer sniffled and nodded. "I'm sorry. You must think I'm weak."

"Pshhh. Weakness isn't dying of old age or being sad when someone does, you idiot. Weakness is being too afraid to go visit him and spend some time with him because you're afraid it'll hurt too much. Once he's gone, he's gone. You only got this one chance."

Qrow was stunned.

Emotional maturity and comfort? From Raven? He didn't know if he should faint or crawl into a hole and die because she was doing a better job comforting Raven than a guy almost three-times her age was. Probably both. Summer wiped some tears from her cheeks and nodded.

"The headmistress says I can take the week off to be with him."

"You sleeping in the hospital, then?"

"Yes."

Raven nodded. "Good. We didn't even get to see our parents before they bit it." Raven nodded to Qrow. "They just went out one moment and didn't come back. You should cherish what you got. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Summer offered her a sad and watery smile, then leaned in and hugged her.

Raven sighed and stared at the ceiling, her face flushing bright red. "Only because you need it," she grumbled. "Don't get used to this touchy-feely shit."

One week later, Summer's grandfather died and Qrow was shoved out their room. Rosebud didn't actually bunk at Signal, but the boy with the effeminate name invited him to spend the weekend at his house instead, okayed by his parents who – to Qrow's mortification – absolutely adored him. They kept fussing over how good an influence he was on their sweet little Rosebud, and how they hoped some of Qrow's work ethic and intelligence brushed off on him.

Given than Qrow didn't recognise the boy as having made it to Beacon, that made their happiness around him feel even more bitter. Maybe he'd gone to one of the other academies. Qrow hoped so, because while he might not have been important in terms of Team STRQ, he was important to Raven now. And he was a good guy.

Maybe even a real friend…

Fuck. Add more work to my own plate, why don't I. Ah, screw it. I can tutor him in my spare time. Not like I need it for myself.

Rosebud's parents were almost in tears when they found Qrow explaining advanced mathematics to their son later that evening. It was honestly embarrassing to watch two grown adults act that way.

But at least they were willing to put him up while Raven – of all people – comforted Summer.

Qrow really didn't know if he should be proud of her for doing that, or disappointed in himself for not being able to.

As a new orphan (she had been one before, but now had no guardian to rely on at all) Summer moved into Signal's dorms with them, taking her own room as their neighbour of all things. Qrow had a suspicion the teachers had done that on purpose, hoping Raven would help her heal, and that Summer might help Raven become less of a troublemaker.

Ozpin made a visit as well, though Qrow was relieved to discover it was primarily to look over Summer and talk to her about her grandfather's will. He spent over two hours with her, and then slipped by for fifteen minutes with them – checking up on them as he was required to, but obviously focusing more on Summer. Qrow had never been so grateful for favouritism. Ozpin didn't even bring up the idea of moving him up a year. He left them alone after making sure Summer would be okay and told them to contact him if they needed anything. And that was it.

Eventually, Summer got used to it.

That was an awful thing to say but that was how life worked. You grieved, you mourned, you adapted. If you were young enough, then that hole in your heart could be filled up over time, and if you were older? Well, sometimes there wasn't as much that could fill it, but Summer didn't have that problem. Whether or not she liked it, her world started to become normal again and she returned to classes, and sometimes she went whole days or weeks without even remembering she was alone.

And when the bad times did hit, Raven would go sleep in her room and Qrow would lay in his and her dorm alone, staring at the ceiling and wondering why he was so useless. It should have been him. He was the one with future knowledge. He was the one who had come back. He was the one who knew Summer like a sister.

Yet here he was being so utterly useless.

He missed Taiyang.

Taiyang was always so much easier to understand. They could just go out on the city, get drunk, make fools of themselves, get dragged back to Beacon by Summer and Raven, get yelled at, laugh, and repeat. There really wasn't anything complicated with that guy, which was probably why they'd gotten on so well.

Qrow rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

/-/

"You really need to stop pretending my brother doesn't exist," said Raven, laying on Summer's bed looking over her shoulder as Summer read a magazine on weapon upgrades. They were both reading the same pages.

"Why? You're the one who said I could just ignore him."

"I meant you could ignore when he says dumb shit. Not that you should ignore his existence."

"What's the problem? This works."

Raven sighed. Summer could be such a fucking dork sometimes, and then there were times like this when she could act childish too.

"The problem is that I have to deal with Qrow looking like a kicked puppy."

Summer tensed, then looked away. "Ignore it."

"Yeah, but no. That's my brother."

"Weren't you the one calling him a useless idiot?" Summer asked.

"I get to call him that. You don't." Raven poked the back of Summer's head in quiet warning. "Whatever I say about him, I still know he's the one who dragged me into a shelter and helped me survive through winter. It was him who found us food, him who taught me to sew, and him who kept us warm."

And while she wasn't afraid to give him shit and insult him every chance she got; it wasn't like she didn't remember all that. The whole reason she could get away with calling him a useless piece of shit was because she meant it ironically. He obviously wasn't. Except when Summer was concerned, of course. Stupid brother.

"I still can't believe half the stull you've told me," said Summer.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't make it any less true. We had to survive the winter before we were found and took to an orphanage." Raven had, of course, kept their past as bandits to herself. Summer only knew that their parents died before winter, leaving them alone. "And it was him who got us scouted into Signal, too. He looks out for me."

"And do you look out for him?"

"Course I fucking do. You think he'd have any friends if I didn't drag him along with my gang? He'd be sat in a corner on his lonesome if not for me." With that look on his face like he couldn't understand the people around him. Raven hated it. He always looked so on his own like that. "And keep in mind the only reason I met you was because of him. I wouldn't have given two shits about you if he hadn't first."

A little harsh of her, maybe, but not untrue. Summer sighed and looked away, obviously not wanting to deal with the conversation. Well, boo-hoo for her. Qrow might have been the type to back off and give her an infinite amount of space, but she wasn't so patient.

"What's the problem, anyway? It's not like he's a creep to you. Just talk to him."

"I can't."

"Why the fuck not?"

"I… I don't know!"

"Then you'd best put on your thinking cap and figure it out."

"I just… How can I?" Summer groaned. "I've been blanking him for, like, half a year. How can I look him in the eye now and talk to him? The first question out his mouth will be why I refused to acknowledge his existence. And I don't have a good answer."

"So, you admit you've been a little bitch about it, then?"

Summer scowled. "I wouldn't say that."

"Uh-huh. Just a pussy, then? I mean, what's this even about? You know I won't tell him. Does he intimidate you? Are you scared of him? I know he's tough, but he's not the kind of person to bully someone."

"I know that!" Summer sighed. "I know that. I've watched how he acts around you."

Raven smirked. "Been watching him, have you?"

The girl went red. "I mean I've seen how he acts."

"That's not what you just said."

"Shut up. What I mean is that I know he's a good guy. That's not the problem. This'd be easier if he was a creep, but he's nice, smart, skilled, popular—"

"Handsome?"

"Handso—" Summer started nodding, then panicked. "No! I didn't say that!"

Raven snorted. Personally, she thought her brother was ugly, but that was because she'd been seeing his mug for years. She wasn't blind to the fact that a lot of girls were developing crushes on him. Especially since he'd grown several inches in the last half a year and even begun teasing out a little facial hair. Thin, scraggly strands of it that he seemed to despair at, but a lot of girls thought it made him look that much more mature.

And he already acted mature. A lot of girls in their year were liking older boys, young men. Raven was no different, but she wasn't embarrassed to say that. Boys their age were so dumb and stupid, whereas men were calm and collected and strong. That blonde in Beacon, Nicholas, had stuck in her memories ever since then. But for the girls here, who had fairly limited options, Qrow was definitely at the top of that list.

And there were a lot of girls jealous of Summer's proximity.

"I know you like him," she said. Summer began to splutter. "I mean as a person. Geez. Get your head out the gutter."

"R—Right…"

"So, you like him as a person. You like how nice he is. Why the blanking? Just explain that to me."

"I… I don't know! He panics me!"

"Why?"

"Because he looks at me!"

"I look at you."

"Yeah, but… you don't look at me like he does."

"Hmm?" This was new. "What's that, then?"

"I can't explain it. He just sometimes looks at me and… and it's like I'm the only person in the world to him." Summer was bright red, clutching her pyjama pants and staring anywhere but at Raven. "He looks so lost and so happy at the same time, and his eyes go all soft."

Summer's, meanwhile, were round and alarmed, and she was freaking out.

"And I don't know what to do! What is he thinking? Does he like me? How am I meant to respond? Why does he look at me like that?"

"You ever, I dunno, think of asking…?"

"Yes! Like, a year ago!" Summer groaned and covered her face with both hands. "But now I've been blanking him for so long that I can't just stop. I'd be so embarrassed." The hands came down and Summer smiled happily. "So! I figure I'll just keep pretending he doesn't exist until we graduate!"

"Yeah, no… That ain't happening."

"Why not!?"

"Because Qrow and I are going to be on a team in Beacon, and you're gonna be on that team as well."

"Y—You don't know that for sure."

Raven shrugged. "Like anyone could stop us. And even if we weren't, you'd still be chilling with us. And it's not chill when you and Qrow are acting like there's a fifty-foot-tall wall of ice between you. Just saying."

"It's not that bad…" Summer bit her lip. "Is it?"

"I mean, everyone tiptoes around you two and there are rumours."

Her face paled. "Saying what—?"

"The most common one is that you broke his heart when he confessed to you, and that there's no room left in him for love after you crushed his feelings."

Summer cried out in embarrassment. "I DIDN'T DO THAT!"

"Well yeah, obviously. I'm his sister. I'd have known and come after you if you had." Raven knew nonsense when she heard it. "The other is that you told him you'd only accept his love if he devoted himself to you for the rest of our time at Signal."

Groaning, Summer fell onto her side. "Why is it all about love and dating?"

"Beats me. Seriously, four fifths of the girls in our class talk about that and nothing else." That and movies, and bands, and boybands and movie stars. It drove Raven up the wall. "I don't get why all the desperate boys and all the desperate girls don't just hook up. Instead, I have the boys asking me out and Qrow gets the same shit from the girls. And I know he isn't interested."

Summer was curled up like a foetus.

"Oh, stop looking so pathetic. Seriously, your grandfather is dead, you're living alone, and you're acting like ghosting a boy is the biggest problem in your life right now. You need to get your priorities straight."

"The biggest problem in my life is a bitch called Raven," Summer grumbled.

"Ha! That's more like it! Less of the moping around and more of the badass bitch I know is hiding somewhere under all that angst."

"It's not angst."

"Then what is it?"

"It's… It's the consequences of my own actions! It's me facing up to the fact that I panicked and blanked him, and now I've been hurting him when he's been nothing but nice to me." Summer rolled onto her front and banged her forehead against the floor. "Agh! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

Raven watched her, amused. "You're not gonna get any smarter doing that."

"Shut up! I'm purging the embarrassment from my brain!"

"Or, I dunno, you could talk to him."

"And say what?"

"That you're sorry for being a bitch and want to start over?"

"You don't get it! I can't start over because I still get nervous when he looks at me like he does. It'll just be the same thing all over again and I'll go back to feeling too awkward to look at him." Summer poked her nose out and said, "Can't you talk to him for me? Find out why he looks at me like that?"

"Tch. You realise he'll see through this and know you asked me to. Right?"

"As long as he doesn't know for sure it was me…"

"You really are pathetic," Raven said, with a sigh.

Both Summer and Qrow were hard work in her opinion.

"But you'll do it…?" asked Summer.

"Sure."

"And you'll be subtle?"

"Sure."

"…" Summer eyed her nervously. "You will be subtle, right?"

"Sure."

"R—Ray! Be subtle!"

/-/

Raven slammed a hand down over the book Qrow was reading the next morning.

"Summer wants to know why you act so weird around her."

Two seats over, Summer Rose let her forehead down onto the table with a meaty thunk.

Next Chapter: 27th January

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