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“Oh, don’t stop on my account.”
Qrow spun around with his teeth bared and ran full tilt at Tyrian. “Wasn’t planning on it!” Tyrian cackled as they clashed, kicking the huntsman hard enough to send him tumbling. Before Qrow could return the favor, Kingfisher’s hook caught the curved blade of Harbinger and pulled him back towards Clover.
“This isn’t the time, Clover!” Qrow grunted, blocking Clover’s barrage of strikes, but stubbornly refusing to go on the offensive. As soon as the opportunity came, he put some distance between them so he could go after Tyrian again. If Clover kept trying to incapacitate him, he wasn’t sure how long he could hold back without losing his chance at freedom. If Clover could just understand who the real enemy was…
“I have orders, Qrow,” Clover growled back as he chased after Qrow, who was already trading blows with Tyrian. In a twisted turn of events, Clover found Tyrian fighting alongside him. They alternated their attacks, sending Qrow stumbling backwards in the snow. With Kingfisher extended to its full length, Clover used an opening created by Tyrian to strike Qrow. The hooked end of Kingfisher dragged across his chest, tearing through fabric with ease and leaving a steadily oozing laceration in its wake. Qrow clutched at it with one hand, the other gripping Harbinger with white knuckles as his aura flickered and pain overwhelmed him for a moment.
While Clover froze up in shock, Tyrian smirked and pushed their advantage. Qrow barely managed to dodge the strikes from his tail, but one of his blades caught him across the back and the force threw him to the ground. Breathing hard, he squeezed his eyes shut and let his semblance flare out around him. When footsteps crunched in the snow, approaching him, he swung blindly and wildly with Harbinger. He heard Tyrian cry out, and when he unsteadily rose to his feet, he smirked at the cut on the Faunus’s face, inches from gouging out an eye.
Clover hadn’t moved since he’d struck Qrow, uncertainty starting to show in his stance and grip. He shifted on his feet as his focus swapped between the other two combatants.
Qrow wasted no time in pleading, “Don’t do this, Clover. I know you trust Ironwood, but he’s not thinking straight. I am not your enemy! This guy is. He’s with Salem, and we both know she’s more dangerous than both of us combined!” He broke off to groan, feeling his aura struggling to heal his wounds. “Tyrian is the priority right now. I’m not gonna fight you. We’re on the same side, dammit!”
He hissed in pain, one arm wrapping around the slick mess of fabric covering his chest while the other gripped Harbinger as he leaned his weight against his weapon, blade wedged into the ground. The cold air stung the open wounds and the strain of shielding him from the climate, trying to heal himself and push his semblance beyond its passive state was taking its toll. His aura was getting dangerously low already.
Tyrian reacted before Clover seemed to reach a decision, charging the operative and knocking Kingfisher from his grasp. Qrow was torn between taking advantage of Tyrian’s distraction, evidently having decided Qrow was no longer a real threat, and jumping to Clover’s aid. He also knew that the next direct hit he took would likely decimate what remained of his aura. It had only just managed to stop the bleeding on his chest and back, or at least slow it a considerable amount.
Sometimes, he had to wonder if his semblance really got him into these situations, or if he just had a habit of making poor decisions regarding his wellbeing.
“Catch!”
Clover responded on an instinct he didn’t realize was already ingrained in him, having worked with Qrow for only a matter of weeks. He found Harbinger, now in its large sword conformation, landing in his outstretched hand just in time to block the next incoming blow from Tyrian. His jaw was throbbing from the uppercut he hadn’t managed to dodge moments ago, and he was itching to give Callows a matching bruise.
Now rearmed, he pushed back against Tyrian and watched as Kingfisher’s hook wrapped itself around Tyrian’s metal tail. Qrow pulled him back, giving Clover enough room and time to build up a heavy strike with Harbinger, knocking one of Tyrian’s wrist blades completely off. Tyrian hissed like a wild animal, backing away from both of them and towards the crashed ship. Qrow tossed Kingfisher back to Clover as he returned the favor with Harbinger. The two huntsmen slowly advanced on Tyrian, who was quickly realizing that the tides had turned against him.
To their surprise, Tyrian didn’t try to attack them. Instead, he whipped around and sprinted towards the ship’s wreckage. “What is he—Robyn!” Qrow’s eyes went wide as he realized Tyrian’s change in tactics. He may not have had Ruby’s speedy semblance, but he did have a scythe that was also a gun and could give him considerable momentum if he used it right. Clover was left calling after him as he launched himself towards Tyrian.
He wasn’t going to make it in time. Tyrian was nearly at Robyn’s side, his tail poised to strike. “Clover, gimme something!” He shouted desperately. Clover, knowing he wouldn’t get there in time either, focused his semblance with a flick against his pin. He’d made up his mind; he was told to bring the two huntsmen in, not kill them. And Qrow was right: Tyrian, and therefore Salem, were the real threats, whether Ironwood saw it that way or not.
Qrow found that Harbinger had another shot ready and waiting, which he was pretty sure hadn’t existed moments before. That good luck semblance just got better and better. With one more burst of energy, he gained enough speed to reach Robyn just as Tyrian moved to strike and—
Oh. Not again.
”Qrow!” The scream tore from Clover’s throat with more pain and anger than he’d felt in a long time. It didn’t even compare to when one of the other Ace Ops was injured or they failed a mission. His focus narrowed to Tyrian as his tactician mindset shifted into a higher gear; with Qrow down, he had to play this smart, not angry.
Kingfisher’s hook caught around the bulbous stinger at the end of Tyrian’s tail and Clover pulled with strength fueled by adrenaline and vengeful fury. Tyrian squawked in surprise at the force that tore him off his feet and away from both Robyn and Qrow. Qrow, who hadn’t moved since Tyrian’s tail had traced a twisting path from his collarbone down to his waist along his side and shattered his last reserves of aura.
“You’ll pay for that,” Clover growled as his fist connected solidly with Tyrian’s jaw, brought into close range by inertia. Something cracked; Clover couldn’t tell who it came from through the haze of rage coating his every sense, his every thought. He felt a grim sense of satisfaction when Tyrian turned to spit blood into the sparkling white snow. It didn’t stop him from laughing, softly at first, then out of control.
“You might wanna check on your friend over there. Chances aren’t great that he survives my venom more than once,” Tyrian snickered and spat another mouthful of blood. “Would hate for this lovers quarrel of yours to end so tragically.”
Clover screamed wordlessly and landed another hit at Tyrian’s temple. The blow dazed the Faunus enough for Clover to slap a pair of cuffs on him, which he also used to immobilize Tyrian’s tail. Leaving the bound man where he cackled madly and muttered to himself, Clover ran over to Robyn and Qrow, already calling in a medevac.
Robyn was sitting up and had Qrow’s head cushioned in her lap. When she looked up at Clover, her expression was bleak. She shook her head and didn’t say a word, just continued gently running one hand through Qrow’s hair.
Qrow.
The huntsman was bleeding out. Whatever damage his aura had been suppressing throughout the fight was back at full force. He was shaking, trembling fiercely as he laid on his uninjured side in Robyn’s gentle hold. Clover dropped to his knees at his side, every medical protocol he’d ever learned running through his head. He started tearing ferociously at his own uniform, ripping some of the fabric into strips and keeping some of it in larger pieces. Robyn caught on and peeled off her own coat, handing it to Clover.
Qrow’s eyes stayed shut, but he groaned weakly as Clover started wrapping his makeshift bandages around his torso. He tried to squirm out of Robyn’s grasp, but she hardly had to work to keep him in place. He was far too weak to fight either of them in his condition.
“Qrow, you’re the biggest idiot I have ever met,” Clover muttered. It was more something to do, not necessarily to spark up conversation with the half-conscious man before him. So it was to his surprise when he received a response.
“Tol’ you, wasn’t gonna fight you,” Qrow breathed out softly. Clover’s heart clenched up at the sound. He could clearly hear the pain Qrow was in, and somehow still conscious for. Tears started to develop, a mild burning in his eyes, but he blinked them away forcefully.
“You’re gonna be okay, alright Qrow?” Clover reassured with as much optimism as he could muster. He knew his aura levels had to be low after that fight, but he flicked his pin again with one hand while his other held tight to Qrow’s. He gave it a squeeze and the tears almost returned when Qrow gave the lightest squeeze back.
The requested medevac ship started descending nearby. Clover noticed there was an automated driver, probably because the human soldiers were being kept within Atlas itself. Now that would make things easier.
“Robyn, there should be a stretcher in the ship. Bring it over. I need to make a couple calls,” Clover instructed, stepping away from the two of them and opening up his scroll. Robyn carefully lowered Qrow’s head to the ground. The huntsman was barely clinging to consciousness, moaning softly amidst his heavy breathing. When Robyn came back with the stretcher, Clover was already back at Qrow’s side.
One hand was holding onto Qrow’s as Clover murmured quietly to him. His other hand gently brushed Qrow’s hair back from his forehead, then rested lightly on his neck to check his pulse. He glanced up to meet Robyn’s gaze and she was shocked at the pain and guilt in his eyes. As she lined the stretcher up on the ground next to Qrow, she heard Clover mutter, “This isn’t what I wanted to happen. I never wanted to hurt you.” Qrow didn’t respond beyond another groan, pressing his face further into the snow.
“This is gonna be the worst part,” Robyn thought aloud. Clover sighed and nodded, gesturing towards Qrow’s legs while Clover himself tucked his arms under Qrow’s shoulders. He tried to keep from putting any extra pressure on his wounded back, but there was no ideal way to move Qrow with injuries like this. They lifted him together, wincing as Qrow cried out from the movement. By the time he was settled in place, his body had gone limp in blissful unconsciousness.
“Alright, here’s the situation,” Clover explained as they lifted the stretcher and walked back to the waiting ship. “Penny has become the Winter Maiden. Qrow’s kids fled the Academy with her after Cinder Fall attacked the previous Maiden, and Winter Schnee was left heavily injured. However, she apparently gave the kids time to escape before she called it in, and the rest of the Ace Ops are having some conflicts of interest. This might be our best chance to go behind Ironwood’s back, with some allies on the inside.”
Robyn blinked, stunned by the chain of events. “Wow. Okay, that’s a lot. What about—” She turned to see that Tyrian was gone. The remains of the cuffs were the only evidence that he’d been there to begin with.
“Figured those wouldn’t last long,” Clover sighed as they settled Qrow on the ground and closed the bay doors.
“Wait, so you just—we’re just letting him disappear like that?” Robyn asked, incredulous. “We’re letting the mass murderer escape?”
Clover groaned, starting to feel the drain of his aura as his pulse throbbed in his temple. He disappeared into the cockpit, put in a new set of coordinates, then reappeared shortly after. “Yes, we are. We have more pressing priorities for the time being, and I’m sure things with Salem and her forces are only going to get worse. Tyrian would’ve worked his way back to her eventually. Or worse, gotten loose inside of Atlas and broken us up from the inside.”
Qrow struggled to curl into himself with a low moan and Clover knelt down at his side, again taking his hand. There was a slight shift as the ship lifted off the ground. “Anyways, we’re not heading back to the heart of the city. We’re meeting the kids at the Schnee estate. Winter and at least some of the Ace Ops are going to try to keep Ironwood busy while we come up with a more long-term solution. There’s apparently a storm of Grimm on their way, so that should keep them occupied for a bit.”
“What about Mantle? I didn’t put in all this work just to abandon them!”
“The Happy Huntresses are working on that. They’re trying to evacuate everyone to the Crater, maybe see if we can work out a way to transport the rest of them up to Atlas. If Mantle’s cleared, we could potentially use it as a battleground, keep everyone in Atlas out of the way.”
Robyn crossed her arms, but her shoulders relaxed a fraction. “I guess that’s the best we can do right now. What about Qrow?” she asked softly.
Clover looked back at Qrow and let out a shaky breath. He was deathly pale, breathing shallowly, and still straining to curl into a ball while his own injuries kept him from succeeding. “We’re gonna use whatever we can to keep him in one piece,” he said lowly. “I’m using my semblance to make sure his doesn’t get too out of control, but I can’t keep it up forever. So, the sooner we get him stabilized, the sooner we can all stop and breathe.”
Robyn started looking around the ship, opening cabinets and storage containers. Wordlessly, she handed a couple bottles of water to Clover, who took them gratefully. She scavenged some real bandages and heavy-duty painkillers from some of the cabinets, as well as a curved needle and some handy absorbable sutures for when they reached the estate.
“Shit.” Robyn breathed. Looking back at Clover, she hesitantly asked, “Didn’t Tyrian cut him with his tail? How are we supposed to treat the poison?”
Clover stood, swaying a little before steadying himself against a wall. “It’s venom. Should have some broad coverage antivenom somewhere in here. That’s the best we can do without being able to test a sample.” Surely enough, he found a glass bottle with the label he was searching for and added it to their collection, slumping back into his position at Qrow’s side.
“How much experience do you have in first aid?” She mused skeptically, eyeing their pile of supplies.
“Enough,” Clover muttered. Now that the adrenaline rush was fading, exhaustion was hitting him hard. His own wounds seemed trivial in comparison to Qrow’s, but he was mildly concerned about possible concussions and bone fractures. Based on the pain that was starting to filter in, maybe even broken.
“Hey, why don’t you take a break? I know you’re worried about Qrow’s semblance, but I doubt he has enough aura to do much damage, unconscious or not,” Robyn suggested. Her tone was detached, almost clinical, but Clover could hear the sliver of concern within her words.
“I… guess you have a point,” he murmured. It was getting harder to keep his eyes open and his head upright. “Wake me when we get there. Before we get there, even. Just to be sure.” At Robyn’s nod, he carefully laid himself out next to Qrow, hands still touching at the fingertips. His eyes fell shut without his permission, and he found he lacked the energy to do anything about that.
…
Clover woke to a gentle shake against his shoulder, blinking tired green eyes to Robyn’s equally drained gaze. She jerked her chin towards the cockpit. “We’re coming up on the Schnee manor.”
Clover nodded and gave his best attempt at a thankful smile as he sat up, still at Qrow’s side. As he looked over the huntsman, still unconscious, Robyn spoke up softly, “He’s been out the whole way. Still breathing okay, but his pulse is getting weaker.” Shooting another glance to the front of the ship, she muttered sarcastically, “Think the rich folks might have some spare blood lying around?”
“Wait, that’s not a bad idea,” Clover mused. “We were trained in emergency transfusions, not that I’ve ever actually done one. But if we can find the equipment we need,” he trailed off, already getting to his feet to tear through the ship’s storage.
“You don’t even know if your blood type is compatible with his!” Robyn exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air. Clover just turned to meet her gaze with a smirk.
“Lucky for Qrow, I’m a universal donor.” And with that, he displayed a handful of thin tubing, packaged needles, and syringes to add to their pile of medical supplies. Robyn stared, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and settled for a long-suffering sigh.
“You boys are just something else,” she muttered. All the same, she positioned herself by one end of the stretcher as the ship began its descent onto the manor grounds.
The wide bay doors opened up to reveal the young huntsmen and huntresses that were supposed to meet them. First and foremost was Ruby, barely holding back from joining them in the small space as the two adults carefully stepped out, carrying the stretcher between them. Clover and Robyn felt their hearts break a little at the sight; Ruby attached herself to her uncle’s side with hardly a word. Her eyes took in the bloody fabric wrapped all around his torso, then focused on his face, still pale and contorted in pain. Her small hand grasped his, squeezing tightly.
“We have some supplies in there that’ll come in handy. Do you have somewhere to put him?” Clover asked the group. Jaune, Ren, and Yang moved to get the equipment while Weiss started leading them into the house through the large front doors. On their way in, Clover noticed Penny hovering at the edge of the property and let out a small sigh.
“There’s a spare bedroom on the ground floor we got ready for him. We searched the house for whatever we could find, but we weren’t sure what to expect from your call. I didn’t think it was this—” Weiss cut herself off from saying whatever she’d been planning on, glancing at Ruby. “Just, tell us what we need to do and we’ll do everything we can.” Her gaze was earnest and concerned, her hands wringing each other out anxiously.
“We’ll need some—” Clover stumbled as they passed the grand staircase in the main hall, thankfully keeping Qrow relatively stable as a dizzy spell hit him, then passed on just as quickly. At Robyn’s pointed look, he shook his head. “I’m fine. We’ll need some warm water and disinfectant, towels, probably extra gauze and bandages,” he continued, mentally running through a list of tasks. “Everything we brought is already sterilized, so we shouldn’t have to worry about sterilizing the equipment. Just need to clean and close the wounds, do an emergency transfusion, and—”
“A what?” Jaune yelped from behind them. Ruby visibly paled and clenched Qrow’s hand even tighter.
“Don’t forget about the antivenom,” Robyn added dryly, resulting in an audible gulp from Jaune.
They made it into the spare room, and, just as Weiss had said, the bed was set up with clean sheets, towels, and buckets of water. There was even an IV pole set up next to the bed. Blake and Nora were setting out an assortment of metal tools, from surgical clamps to tweezers and everything in between. Clover’s eyebrows nearly jumped into his hairline; the manor was practically a small hospital with all its resources.
Once Robyn and Clover laid the stretcher out on the bed, they switched sides to carefully transfer him while Blake and Nora took the stretcher out of the way. Against the stark white sheets, Qrow looked paler than ever. Clover paused, gathering his thoughts and trying to ignore the panic building up in his chest. He had no idea how much time Qrow had left, so he needed to be efficient.
“Jaune, try and boost his aura, keep him stable. Robyn and Weiss, read the instructions for the antivenom. We should be able to use the IV for it. Blake, I need you to cut through his clothes; we need access to all three of those lacerations. Ren, get some gauze cut up and organize that with the bandages. We’re only going to be able to stitch up one wound at a time, so if we have any tape or butterflies, let me know. Nora and Ruby, you’re on cleanup duty once the clothes are out of the way. Yang, how do you feel about needles and blood?”
And with that, the process began. Clover sat on one side of the bed to start the transfusion with Yang’s assistance. On the other side, the IV of antivenom was administered successfully and Jaune knelt with his hands lightly resting on Qrow’s upper arm, semblance at work. In between, Blake, Ren, Nora, and Ruby prepared Qrow for the next phase.
Once Qrow was cleaned up, the real damage was revealed. The wound across his back was bleeding the most and appeared to be the deepest of the three, so it became the first priority. Once the kids had Qrow laying on his stomach on a couple layers of towels, Robyn began her sutures. By the time she had finished, Yang and Clover were ready to start the transfusion.
The other two cuts were taken care of similarly while the antivenom and transfusion continued. The immediate threats had been neutralized, which drained some of the tension from the room. Unfortunately, the painkillers were pills, so Qrow wouldn’t get any pain relief until he was able to take them. They were just thankful that he hadn’t woken up yet.
As the transfusion went along, Clover started visibly flagging, but refused to stop. Jaune offered to boost his aura, but he was hardly standing himself from using so much of his own aura for Qrow. Blake and Robin quietly patched up the small, sluggishly bleeding wounds that Clover had all but forgotten about while he struggled to keep his eyes open. Not too long afterwards, Robyn and some of the older kids forced him to stop.
“Killing yourself in the process won’t keep him alive.” Robyn’s reminder did little to comfort him, but he got the point.
Rather than going their separate ways after the worst was through, the kids brought in blankets and pillows, even whole mattresses, and silently established that everyone would be sleeping in that guest room. Weiss spoke briefly with her mother and brother, a barely functional Jaune was dragged to bed by his teammates, and Blake tried to comfort Ruby and Yang with hot chocolate.
Robyn fell asleep on the floor, leaning against the side of bed the IV pole was on. Clover didn’t have the energy to get up from his position next to Qrow, and no one felt the need to kick him out. Instead, Ren and Nora brought him water and snacks without being prompted to and thanked him softly for bringing Qrow to them. He just nodded slowly and thanked them in return. He only made it halfway through the food before his exhaustion overtook him.
…
When he opened his eyes next, the first thing Clover noticed was that he was closer to Qrow than he’d been before. He had definitely fallen asleep on one side of the bed, but sometime in his sleep, he’d inched into the middle, close enough to feel Qrow’s breath on his face. He stayed still, noticing the lack of wrinkles and furrows on Qrow’s face when he slept. He looked more peaceful than Clover had ever seen him.
He could hear soft snores coming from the far side of the room, near the large windows. Carefully shifting himself upright, Clover saw that the room was empty save for Jaune, who was the source of the sound. Sunbeams just missed the young huntsman’s face, illuminating the rest of the room with a soft golden glow. The quiet, comfortable atmosphere was almost enough to convince Clover to go back to sleep, but he resisted the urge with a sigh.
Standing up, he stretched himself out, taking note of his body’s condition. He was still feeling rather bruised and battered, so his aura was probably still recovering from the transfusion. He’d have to take it easy today or risk agitating his wounds from yesterday. Stealing one last glance at Qrow—it might’ve been the sunlight, but he looked less pale than he had last night—he followed the sound of indistinct voices coming from outside the room.
Wandering through the manor, he eventually came upon a large dining table, big enough to seat all the younger huntsmen and huntresses as well as Penny and Robyn. Various breakfast foods, from eggs to cereal to waffles, were scattered down the length of the table as the group ate and chattered away. Robyn was the first to notice his arrival.
“Welcome to breakfast, Sleeping Beauty,” she greeted with a smirk. The others caught on quickly and acknowledged him in their own ways. He took a seat between Blake and Nora, the latter of whom handed him a plate of waffles with a smile.
“Not to turn down your hospitality,” Clover said as he slowly accepted the food. “But you’re all being quite…friendly for me having been told to arrest most of you.”
The conversations around the table died down at his statement. Weiss was the first to speak up. “Well, you don’t plan on arresting us now, do you?”
Clover chuckled. “No, I think it’s a little late for that.” He sobered quickly, smile fading. “But we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place if I—”
I have orders, Qrow.
He cleared his throat, looking up to meet everyone’s curious gazes. “When I got the order from Ironwood that you all and Qrow were wanted fugitives, Qrow, Robyn, and I were heading back to Atlas in a ship with Tyrian.” He didn’t miss the subtle but immediately defensive reactions from some of the kids. There was a story there, as well as whatever personal beef Qrow had with Tyrian.
“I—I told Qrow I had to bring him in. Of course, he didn’t agree to that; he wanted to go and talk to Ironwood himself. It escalated to violence, which resulted in Tyrian getting loose.” Clover sighed, eyes dropping to the table in front of him. “He crashed the ship. Qrow and I kept fighting on the ground, then Tyrian got involved.”
“I wanted Qrow to just give in so badly so I could deal with Tyrian and get everything back under control. It was a mess. It wasn’t until Tyrian tried to kill Robyn that I stopped fighting Qrow, but he was already hurt by then and—” Clover cut himself off sharply. His eyes burned, recalling those moments of sheer panic, then rage, then fear. And guilt.
“He almost got himself killed saving Robyn’s life. I see why you kids have been following him around for so long,” he said with a weak smile. “I just—I guess I just want you all to know that I’m part of the reason Qrow’s in this condition. And I’m sorry.” As much as he wanted to defend himself—and still he wanted to defend Ironwood out of sheer habit—he knew Qrow had been right during their fight. His loyalty had blinded him to the real stakes, and Qrow was paying the price for it.
The table was quiet as everyone absorbed the new information. Yang whispered something to Ruby, who whispered something back. To Clover’s surprise, it was Blake that spoke first.
“You’re not the only one here who hurt people because you thought you were doing the right thing.” She turned towards him and placed a hand on his forearm with a rueful smile. “I was a part of the White Fang. In the beginning, we really were helping people, but eventually I had to leave because of the extremes people started going to.” On her other side, Yang placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder. Blake smiled at her, genuine and brave.
“You’re not defined by who you’ve followed. You’re defined by what you do when things get hard. And by the end of everything that happened, you chose to bring Qrow to us and help us, not Ironwood. Thank you, by the way, for trusting us,” she added. The others echoed her sentiment in murmurs around the table. Clover felt a fraction of the weight on his shoulders lift away and let himself breathe.
…
Clover had quietly slipped out of the dining room after he’d finished eating. The kids were enjoying each other’s company, especially once Jaune finally joined them, bedhead and all. Robyn was going to contact the Happy Huntresses and see how things were going in Mantle, then everyone would need to reconvene to figure out the next steps. For now, though, Clover was sick with guilt and his steps led him back to the spare room Qrow was in.
He hesitated in the doorway. If Qrow woke up, would he even want to see him? Before the previous night, they had been growing closer, slowly but surely. Clover’s cockiness played off Qrow’s snark easily both on and off the battlefield. Their banter had toed the line between friendly and flirty a few times, but neither of them had pushed it further. After all this, Clover imagined Qrow may never want to talk to him again, and that thought hurt more than he expected it to.
He had just made up his mind to leave and make himself useful somewhere else when a noise from Qrow drew Clover’s attention back to him. He practically ran to the bed, clambering back into it to be at Qrow’s side. The huntsman’s brows were drawn together under a layer of sweat as his lips moved, but only mumbles came out. Clover leaned closer, trying to understand what he was saying.
“Rae, don’t…I’m sorry…I…Tai? Tai, you gotta…accident…the girls…no, no…please, don’t…Sum…Summer, please…” Qrow’s voice rose and fell in pitch as he pleaded within his dreams. Clover stilled, unsure if it was a better idea to try to wake an unsuspecting huntsman or let him ride the nightmare out on his own. As he deliberated with himself over what to do, Qrow’s quiet murmurs suddenly shifted into stuttered breaths, fighting against soft whimpers that had Clover’s heart breaking.
He reacted quickly, one hand shaking Qrow by his shoulder on his less injured side while he held Qrow’s hand with the other and called his name. Qrow woke with a start, unfamiliar with his surroundings at first. Before he could dissolve into panic, Clover called his name again.
“Qrow, you’re okay. You’re safe. You’re at the Schnee manor, and the kids are here and safe—” Clover nearly had the breath knocked out of him with how hard Qrow grabbed onto him. Once again, he reacted without thinking and wrapped his arms back around Qrow, who was crying—no, sobbing—into his shoulder.
The way Qrow had his arms wrapped around Clover’s torso kept him hunched over and made him seem so much smaller than he really was, especially with how hard he was shaking. His breathing sounded strained, and when he started coughing in addition to crying, Clover’s heart broke again. Trying not to aggravate his wounds, Clover gently ran his hands up and down Qrow’s back. He murmured softly above Qrow’s head, eventually lowering his head to press his cheek into the huntsman’s hair. In response, Qrow just buried himself deeper in Clover’s grasp.
Once Qrow’s breathing was nearly back to normal, he finally started to uncurl from his position and Clover started to let go. Qrow’s eyes widened and his breathing sped up by a fraction, and Clover resumed his grip with a muttered apology. Qrow ducked his head under Clover’s chin to catch his breath, still shuddering from time to time.
As Qrow seemed unwilling to move much further, Clover took a deep breath and risked breaking the spell of relative calm that had settled over them. “Qrow? Can you talk to me?”
He felt Qrow tense up and prepared for the worst. Did Qrow just figure out who exactly he was clinging onto?
“’m sorry.” His voice was barely there, unsteady and raw. Even those few syllables were enough to cause another round of coughing, although milder than before.
“You’re…what?” Clover found himself speechless. Did Qrow blame himself for…for what? For being injured and poisoned by a serial killer? “Qrow, you don’t have anything to be sorry for—”
“For this,” Qrow whispered, nose pressed against Clover’s neck. “Don’t deserve this.”
Clover’s thought process stuttered to a halt. “You—Qrow, you can’t really—”
“Don’t.”
And gods, if Qrow Branwen hadn’t just broken his heart a third time. Clover sighed. “Qrow, I need you to listen to me,” he said softly. “You deserve to—to have someone there for you when you fall, when you’re hurting. You barely survived that fight because I was an idiot and I’m so, so sorry for that.” To his shock, Clover felt a tear run down his face. “You deserve so much better than—than this. Than me.”
Qrow slowly unfurled himself; red, puffy eyes met shining seafoam. “Cloves, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said with a shy smile. The smile fell as he looked away and continued, “I’m the bad luck charm; ‘s not your fault this all went so wrong.”
Before he could stop himself, Clover snapped, “Qrow, don’t you dare blame yourself for last night.”
Qrow flinched, just a hair, but it was enough for Clover to notice. He inwardly winced, trying to pull himself together. “I’m sorry, that was too much. I just—you need to know that last night wasn’t your fault. I made all the wrong calls until it was almost too late to turn things around. I never wanted to hurt you, Qrow. I’m so sorry.”
The huntsman gave him a strange look.
“What?” Clover asked, feeling his face flush from his stare.
“People don’t often apologize to me, that’s all,” Qrow murmured, relaxing back into Clover’s embrace with his forehead on Clover’s shoulder. “Don’t really know how to respond to that.”
Before Clover could recover from the emotional damage from that statement, Qrow started coughing again, hard and wet. Clover held him close until the spell passed, then felt Qrow’s forehead with the back of his hand.
He frowned. “Shit. That antivenom isn’t working as well as I was hoping.” Qrow didn’t respond beyond a groan muffled by Clover’s shoulder. “Yeah, I imagine that doesn’t feel much better than it sounds,” Clover murmured, slowly untangling their arms so he could lay Qrow back down. “Let me figure out if we have anything else to use once the antivenom runs out. And we have painkillers for you around here somewhere…”
Once he found the bottle of pills he was searching for, he helped Qrow sit up and take them with a glass of water. By the time Qrow was laying down again, he could barely keep his eyes open. Clover sat by his side until his breathing evened out, ensuring the huntsman was resting peacefully before he began his search.
…
When Qrow woke again, the first thing he registered was something damp resting on his forehead. Blinking open bleary eyes to the sunlit room, he noticed red at the edge of his vision and smiled. “Hey, kiddo.”
There was a soft gasp at his side as Ruby turned to face him. She was sitting on the bed next to him, her scroll quickly abandoned to the bedside table in her excitement. “Uncle Qrow! You’re awake!” She cheered, mindful to keep her voice down. She moved to hug him, then hesitated. “Is it okay if I—?”
“C’mere, Ruby,” Qrow answered, arms open wide. His chest filled with warmth as his niece’s arms wrapped around him, careful of his wounds and the damp washcloth on his head. She sniffled and held him imperceptibly tighter, and he let himself ride the wave of emotions washing over him. When Ruby finally pulled away, her eyes were wet, but she was smiling.
Qrow couldn’t keep himself from smiling back at her. “We gotta stop meeting up like this,” he joked, referencing the first time he’d been poisoned. He remembered he had commented something about their roles being reversed then, with Ruby being the one to save him instead of the other way around like he’d intended.
“You’d have to stop getting into so much trouble first,” she countered. Qrow’s laughter tangled up in his throat and his lungs as he was harshly reminded of his current condition with a round of wet coughs. He spat into a basin on the floor next to the bed, purple-tinged phlegm staring back up at him. Ruby re-wet the washcloth and laid it back on his forehead as he caught his breath.
“Clover and Robyn have been keeping a close eye on you,” she said softly. “We ran out of the antivenom this afternoon, but he—Clover, that is—thinks it should be enough to get you through. We just have to manage your symptoms until the rest of it works its way out of your system.” She gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “So, until that happens, you’re on strict bedrest and the rest of us are at your beck and call,” she said with a grin.
Qrow rolled his eyes fondly. “Oh boy, playing the damsel in distress again, aren’t I?”
“Hey, careful what you say about damsels,” a familiar voice called. “You boys are outnumbered in this house.” Robyn entered the room with Blake, Yang, and Weiss, who quickly joined Ruby on her side of the bed.
“She does have a point,” Yang said, meeting Qrow’s eyes with an easy smirk.
“Good to see you too, firecracker,” he rasped. His voice, which was usually a little rough around the edges to begin with, sounded gravelly at best. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to dim the girls’ spirits.
Ruby had just given him his scroll so they could play one of their favorite fighting games together when Qrow noticed Robyn glancing around the room with a frown. “Something wrong?” he asked.
Robyn let out a breath. “Probably not. Just seem to have lost track of Clover. Thought he might’ve been back in here with you, but evidently not.” The crease between her eyebrows remained in place, however, drawing Qrow’s curiosity.
“Didn’t think he needed a babysitter,” he scoffed.
“Well, he wouldn’t if the damn idiot could just sit still and rest for more than an hour at a time,” Robyn muttered. “It’s like losing 2 pints of blood hasn’t even affected him.”
Qrow’s eyes snapped up to Robyn. “He lost how much blood?” The washcloth on his face and his scroll lay forgotten on the covers beside him as he sat upright. The girls’ conversation came to an abrupt halt at his exclamation, the game put to the side momentarily.
“He didn’t say anything?” Ruby asked haltingly, just as Yang explained, “Well, he lost it on purpose, which is more than we can say for you.”
“He offered to perform an emergency transfusion for you,” Robyn clarified when it seemed like no one else would. “He’s a universal donor, apparently, so he was the perfect candidate. I think—” She hesitated, biting her lip. She continued, lowering her voice, “I think he felt guilty about the fight in the tundra with Tyrian. Still feels guilty, if I had to guess. He’s hardly taken a break from looking after you, which is why I’m worried about him suddenly disappearing.”
Qrow moved to get out of bed without hesitation, but the other five people in the room quickly overpowered him. “Look, I haven’t even searched the whole place yet, and it’s huge. He could just be taking a break somewhere more secluded,” Robyn reassured. “I’ll get some of the other kids to help and I’m sure he’ll turn up in no time. Girls, your work seems to be cut out for you.”
Qrow practically withered at the looks he received from his nieces and their teammates. Well, there went any hope of escaping bedrest anytime soon.
Robyn left the room, promising to update them once she found Clover. Qrow was allowed to sit upright, but that was as far as he managed to push his luck. Ruby refused to leave his side, so Yang and Blake went on a snack run for the group while Weiss kept Ruby from smothering her uncle—sometimes in the overprotective kind of way, and sometimes in the murderous kind of way when Qrow cackled and teased after his every victory against her.
By dinnertime, Qrow would have been content to go back to sleep, but to his surprise, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Oscar, and Penny brought dinner to the room so they could all eat together. The room overflowed with laughter and love, jokes and insults thrown about the space with equal familiarity and comfort. The air was lighter than it had been in some time.
As he settled back into the bed, more than ready to sleep, Qrow heard a gentle knock against the closed door. “No, Ruby, you’re not sleeping in here with me. You hog all the blankets,” he yelled halfheartedly without opening his eyes. The door creaked open and he found none other than Clover Ebi standing awkwardly in the doorway.
“Um, I’m not Ruby, but I was hoping I could sit with you for a bit. I promise I’ll let you go back to sleep soon,” he said sheepishly. Where he usually exuded confidence and charm, Clover shuffled anxiously, waiting on Qrow’s response. Receiving little more than a grunt of acceptance, he gratefully entered the room and perched on the edge of the bed.
Qrow, flat on his back, had to tilt his head back to see Clover’s face. There wasn’t much to see, however, when the other man seemed dead set on avoiding eye contact. His hands wrung themselves out in jittery movements in his lap as he chewed his lip, both unusual mannerisms for Clover.
“Gods, just spit it out,” Qrow muttered. “If this is about last night, we could just forget it ever happened and move on. Probably better off that way.” The last comment was quieter, but loud enough that Clover still heard it.
“What? No. No, it’s not about last night. Well, not specifically last night,” Clover rattled on. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. “Listen, I wanted to apologize for—for—well, everything I did to put us in this situation. Trying to arrest you, fighting you; I wasn’t thinking for myself. I was only thinking for Ironwood and Atlas, but I think you were right. This is bigger than just Atlas, bigger than Mantle. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a duty to the people, to those who can’t fight for themselves.”
He sighed. “Your girls—they’re wiser than their years. I think I can see where they get it from,” he said with a small smile, finally looking over at Qrow, who looked confused.
“Didn’t we kind of already have this conversation?”
Clover spluttered, “Well, I guess—but you weren’t really super coherent so I wasn’t sure if—I mean, I didn’t know if it really—”
“Yes, I was at least functional enough to remember that,” Qrow chuckled fondly. Clover let out a breath, posture relaxing against the headboard. He straightened up again seconds later.
“Wait, so you’re not upset with me?”
“I mean, I suppose I’m not thrilled,” Qrow answered honestly. “Not an experience I’d wanna repeat anytime soon. But I’ve been where you are: following someone on blind faith, thinking you’re doing the right thing and saving people and being good.” His eyes took on a distant look. “Sometimes, things aren’t always what they seem.”
Clover reached slowly for Qrow’s hand, taking it in both of his own. “Well, I’m just glad we’re both on the same page now.” His gentle tone and kind smile were enough to bring Qrow back from the spiraling thoughts he’d nearly lost himself to. He smiled back, until he suddenly remembered something.
“Robyn was looking for you earlier. Where’d you go?”
Clover blushed, visible even in the dim light of the moon. “I, uh, may have passed out after my shower. In the bathroom. With the door locked still.”
“Naked,” Qrow finished.
“Naked,” Clover confirmed, hanging his head. Qrow only managed to keep a straight face for a few precious seconds before he burst into side-splitting laughter that Clover couldn’t keep himself from joining in with. In between fits of mirth, he managed to explain how he’d woken to the sounds of pounding on the door amidst multiple voices shouting, all while he laid on the bathroom rug, partially cloaked in his towel. It certainly was not an incident he would like to repeat, but he couldn’t deny the hilarity of the situation.
As they caught their breath and wiped tears from their eyes, Qrow and Clover settled into a comfortable silence. Before it could become awkward, Clover moved to get up. “I should probably get going. Weiss managed to sort everyone out into some of the other rooms, so we have some privacy tonight—”
“Wait!” Qrow’s call froze him in place until he risked glancing back to the older man. He looked afraid, but so very hopeful at the same time. “You—you don’t have to stay in another room. If you don’t want to, that is.” Qrow kept his gaze on the blanket’s pattern, tracing lines and shapes while he waited on Clover’s answer.
“Are you sure?” Clover’s words were soft, barely loud enough to be heard. When Qrow nodded, looking a little less petrified, Clover allowed himself a small smile and carefully slid under the covers at Qrow’s side. Ever so slowly, Qrow carefully reached out to pull Clover closer. He happily complied, finding Qrow content to have him near so he could entwine their arms together. He could feel Qrow’s breaths even out against his bare shoulder and drifted off soon after, his cheek resting against Qrow’s hair.
…
When Clover noticed the members of Team RWBY giggling to themselves the next morning at breakfast and stealing looks towards him and Qrow when they thought the two weren’t paying attention, he could only huff in amusement as Qrow laid his head against his shoulder and hummed in contentment. Later that day, he downloaded the photo of him sleeping cuddled up with Qrow from Yang, who was all too happy to share. Now that would be fun to surprise Qrow with later.