55

Chapter 55: Birds of a Feather

As Qrow made his way leisurely through the halls (Yang had long left him in the dust by that point. He knew where she was going, no need to rush), he couldn't help but look around, breathing in the nostalgia from years gone by.

Twenty-one years. Yeesh. Pretty soon, those old man comments won't be far off.

He gave a genuine smile as he passed a particular window, one he recalled getting shattered by Taiyang after some moron in their year made one comment too many about Qrow's bad luck and Summer's perpetual good mood.

Idiot was lucky Tai just threw him at it and not through it.

Every turn he took dredged up more memories, little snippets of the past forcing themselves to the forefront of his mind. Him chasing a giggling Summer down the hall after she snagged his sword just for the hell of it. Tai helping the three of them study for midterms, futile though it was. Summer managing to convince both boys to dance with her to some goofy pop song, while Raven glared at them like they were all idiots, even as she couldn't help but laugh.

That brought him up short.

Raven. Laughing.

Gods, when was the last time I saw that?

For a brief moment, Qrow let himself pretend. Imagined them all sitting down, talking, explaining everything perfectly. He pictured Ruby and Yang listening, accepting the choices they'd made. The bizarre little family they'd cobbled together so long ago coming together once more, nearly complete bar one. Maybe he'd hear Raven laugh again, see her smile more often. Hell, just see her more often. It was a beautiful little fantasy.

Then Qrow came back to reality. He scoffed to himself. Of course, I'm here, so this whole thing is screwed from the get-go. He shook his head in exhausted disbelief. Seriously, Rea, what were you thinking?

He walked a few more paces before remembering. Oh, yeah. She got conned by Roman. He snickered despite himself. I wonder if Raven's cooled down yet?

The previous night…

As Qrow stepped out of Raven's portal, he couldn't help but gawk. When he'd gotten Raven's call, he'd been expecting to have to pull her and Roman away from each other, if only to keep one from killing the other. Given Roman's laughing and Raven's raging, it was a distinct possibility.

What he found instead was a bit more… mundane.

The rattiness of the apartment didn't faze him much. Always being on the road, he'd dealt with worse. No, the shocking part was the occupants. Roman was just standing off to the side, smirking at an overloaded whiteboard, while Raven sat on the couch… pouting?

The hell?

"Uh… hey?"

Roman looked away from his board, his smirk growing. He turned towards Raven. "Told you mine'd be better. At least I opened with a joke."

Raven glared. "Shut up, Roman." She pushed herself off the couch, ignoring Roman's smarmy look. She gestured with her hand.

A loud crack echoed behind Qrow, Raven's portal snapping shut. The act was so sudden, Qrow looked down in panic, hoping his plus-one hadn't been left behind. To his relief, Zwei sat huddled by his ankles, cocking his head at the now empty air.

When Qrow turned back, Raven was standing right in front of him. The tension in the room ramped up as she stared him down, her eyes flat and expressionless. Frowning, Qrow gave her an equally empty look.

"Qrow," Raven said, looking him up and down. "You look… good."

Qrow just stopped from rolling his eyes. "Thank you for noticing," he replied, not even trying to hide his sarcasm. "You… still look twenty… dammit…." His lips curled into a mock frown as he muttered under his breath.

The small, near-invisible twitch of Raven's lips was her only response, but Qrow figured he would have to take what he could get.

The resulting silence was thick and oppressive, giving the whole room an off feeling as the siblings stared each other down. It had been so long since they'd seen each other face to face, and they hadn't parted on the best of terms last time. Qrow waited for Raven to say something, well aware that she was likely waiting for the same from him.

Only a minute or so had passed like that before they heard a loud groan come from Roman.

"Oh, for the love of…" The conman rolled his eyes, massaging his temples in frustration. He then glared between the two of them in irritation. "Can you two please just skip the emotional bullshit and hug already?"

Qrow turned towards him at the same moment Raven did, both giving him identical annoyed looks. Roman threw his hands up in defense, looking exasperated as he turned back to his board.

Qrow looked back to Raven, seeing her glance at him from the corner of her eye. He hesitated, part of him wanting to cling to the frustrations he had ingrained in himself for the previous decade-and-a-half. Then he took a deep breath, admitting to himself that Roman had a point (not that he'd ever admit it to the insufferable ass). With a small smirk, he held his arms out excessively wide.

Raven glared at him like he was an idiot. Qrow's only response was to twitch his fingers in a 'bring-it' motion, his smirk widening. Raven stared defiantly for a full minute, before, slowly, her shoulders slumped in defeat. Her eyes rolled upwards as if asking the heavens for strength, before stepping forward.

The hug felt stiff. And awkward. But Qrow could feel a light pressure as Raven slowly wrapped her arms around him. She'd actually tried to hug him back. And from Raven, that said more than words ever could.

"Glad you're still in one piece, Sis," Qrow muttered to her.

She gave him another feather-light squeeze, murmuring back just as quietly, "...same."

The two pulled away seconds later, neither all that comfortable with physical affection. Qrow, being the kind, mature brother that he was, chose to only snicker at the light flush of embarrassment on Raven's face, rather than outright laugh.

While the twins reunited, Zwei sniffed around the room, curious about the new location. He soon caught sight of Roman, padding up to the conman with a happy doggy grin. Roman stared down at him, cocking a brow. "What's with the mutt?"

The question cut through the awkward air around Qrow and Raven, making Qrow look over. "He's Yang and Ruby's. Figured it wouldn't hurt having him here to cheer them up, just in case things go sideways."

Roman gave a slow nod, looking a tad skeptical. Zwei just kept staring up at him, like he was expecting something. After a moment, Roman looked up, catching sight of Neo watching curiously from the kitchen. He smirked.

"Hey, boy," he said, making Zwei tilt his head. "Wanna snack?" Zwei's ears perked up in an instant, his tongue rolling out as he panted. Without looking, Roman pointed towards the kitchen with his cane. "See that girl? She's got food! Go get her!'

Neo's eyes shot wide, flickering between brown and pink rapidly. Before she could give any kind of negative, Zwei had already taken off in a run, jumping up and planting his front paws on Neo's legs. He let out a couple barks, panting as his stubby tail wagged. Neo shot Roman a look of pure murder, the conman just smiling smugly to himself, looking much too satisfied for her tastes. Hearing the dog whine at her feet, Neo let out a silent groan, shuffling towards the fridge in hopes that some food would make him leave her alone.

Qrow chuckled lightly at the sight, taking note of Raven's lip twitching upwards again. "Well," Qrow started. "Nice to see you're still alive, Roman."

Roman snorted, a half-smile on his lips. "Yeah, I can feel the love, Bird Brain." He let out a deep sigh, pulling off his recently replaced bowler hat. "So… this the part where you kick my ass?"

Qrow blinked, confused for a moment, before grinning. "Me? Aw, no, never." His grin widened. "Tai, on the other hand…"

Roman wilted where he stood, resigned to his fate. "Guess he's pissed about our fight way back?"

To the conman's surprise, Qrow shook his head. "That old news? Y'know Tai can't hold a grudge that long. He healed up fine, and honestly, I think he feels a little guilty about your arm."

Roman unconsciously shook his left arm a bit, ignoring both the memory and the phantom pain. "Really? Well, that's neat, but… what's he ticked about, then?"

Deciding to have a little fun, Qrow calmly said, "Oh, just the phone call Oz gave him last week."

As expected, the smarmy look on Roman's face froze in an instant, his eyes tightening at the corners. "Phone call?"

"Phone call?" Raven echoed, looking between Qrow and Roman in clear suspicion.

"Yeah," Qrow confirmed, not even trying to hide how much he was enjoying watching Roman squirm. "Oz felt Tai should know about the shape Ruby was in, especially given who caused the damage."

"What damage?" Raven asked, a dangerous glint in her eye.

Qrow cocked his head to the side. "You don't know?"

She gave him The Glare. "I only got here on Tuesday, and she seemed fine. Now," she swiveled her head towards Roman, The Glare making him grimace. "What damage?"

Roman looked down into her blazing eyes, dread plain on his face. His head tilted up, looking over Raven's head towards Qrow. Their eyes locked, and Qrow couldn't help but smirk back at him.

"Don't do it," Roman ordered, his green eyes darkening.

Qrow chuckled, folding his arms. "Oh, I'll do it."

"I'll kill you," Roman fired back without a moment's hesitation, tone serious.

"No, you won't," Qrow replied, not the least bit intimidated.

"I'll try!"

"You'll fail."

"Hey!" Raven shouted, looking ready to beat them both senseless. "One of you start making sense! What happened to Ruby?"

The two men continued staring at each other, Roman in a combination of threatening and pleading, while Qrow just eyed him calmly. A few seconds passed in tense silence, the two never breaking eye contact.

Then Qrow smirked.

"Roman broke her leg."

Roman only had a brief moment to slouch where he stood, giving Qrow a look of utter betrayal. Then the storm came.

"WHAT?!"

Flinching back a step, Roman cowered under the enraged glowing glare of Raven as the dark woman got right in his face. "Uh…"

"And he threw Yang off an elevated freeway," Qrow added helpfully.

Raven twirled around, mouth falling open as she looked to Qrow in disbelief. She rounded back on Roman, her fury doubled. "Roman!" she screeched, a hint of ozone filling the air as she clenched her fists.

If possible, Roman looked even more horrified at being so thoroughly sold out. "Qrow! What the hell, man?"

Qrow just shrugged, not even trying to hide his enjoyment of Roman's plight. "Payback," he mouthed behind Raven's back.

Roman's glare promised future pain, but the furious Bandit Queen before him was a more immediate issue. In the hopes of staving off his quickly approaching demise he quickly said, "Rea, c'mon! I knew they'd be okay!"

Raven wasn't having any of it. "Did you?! Did you really?!"

Roman cringed at the intensity of her shout, meekly replying, "Well… I figured they'd be okay…"

"ROMAN!"

Back in the kitchen, Neo watched in morbid fascination as Roman was eviscerated by the stream of vitriol Raven loudly threw his way, her voice somehow growing rougher and shriller at the same time the longer she yelled. Roman just cowered under Raven's fury, his face a mask of defeat and resignation. Every few seconds, he'd shoot Qrow a glare of clear wrath. In answer, the older man pulled a flask from within his jacket, raised it to Roman in a toast, and knocked back a deep drink, his amused smirk never faltering as he watched the past replay itself.

As Neo watched the entire travesty go down, she couldn't help but mirror Roman with her drooping shoulders. She collapsed heavily into the ancient barstool at the kitchen counter, her head falling to the chipped marble with a dull thunk! At her feet, Zwei looked up in confusion as the girl let out a near silent moan, a bologna sandwich held between his teeth.

Qrow smiled to himself as he rode the elevator up, mindful of the couple students in the lift eyeing him weirdly. It had been fun, watching Roman get chewed out like that. Like old times. The only thing that would have made it perfect was if Tai had been there to laugh with him… and if Summer had been there to put Roman's beratement in stereo.

He bit back a sigh as the elevator dinged, letting him off on the correct floor. Summer… that was a loaded thought. Even more so now than usual.

What the hell would she think of them right now? Stupid question, she'd be giving them all a chewing out that'd make Raven's rage seem like a child's tantrum.

Qrow tried to push the thought away. There would be time soon, much too soon, where they'd all face just how badly they'd screwed up over the years, how disappointed Summer would be in them. For now, he had two nieces and their potentially star-crossed lovers to talk to.

The thought of Ruby and Yang's relationship made him chuckle. Like Mothers, like daughters. Just had to go the most complicated route possible.

He smiled at the nostalgia. Then laughed as he heard the unmistakable sound of Ruby's giggling echo from the hall up ahead, quickly followed by Yang's own laughter and… a high pitch Winter?

Well, this could be entertaining.

Yang came to a screeching stop just before the dorm, barely stopping herself from ripping it from its hinges. She was briefly distracted by the yellow rose petals dancing around her (something she'd have to worry about later) but quickly focused on the dorm door. Hearing no yelling or barking, she slowly eased the door open, expecting the worst. What she saw took her panic… and quickly morphed it into bemusement.

In the center of the room sat Weiss, running her hand over Zwei's back as the happy corgi sat contentedly in her lap, his tail wagging. "Oh, who's a good boy?" she asked, in a high tone that would have been mocking if not for the honest look of joy on her face. Zwei lapped up the attention, rolling onto his back for belly rubs, which Weiss quickly acquiesced. "You are! Oh, yes, you are!"

Ruby sat on the edge of her bed, kicking her legs back and forth as she watched Weiss and Zwei, smiling widely. As for Blake…

"Blake, please come down," Ruby said, her tone making clear this was not the first time she'd asked.

Peering down over the edge of Yang's bed, Blake frowned at Ruby, her eyes narrowed at the ball of fur in Weiss' lap as she crouched down defensively. "I'm just fine up here, thank you."

"Uh, what's going on?" Yang asked, the door clicking shut behind her as she stepped in. As glad as she was that Blake and Zwei weren't going at it like… well, like cats and dogs, that didn't explain why Blake was perched on the edge of her bunk, looking clearly uncomfortable.

Ruby looked up with a beaming smile, just noticing her sister's arrival. "Zwei's here!"

Yang chuckled, her worries melting away fully. "I can see that." Noticing the blonde's arrival, Zwei's ears perked up as she turned towards her. He quickly scrambled out of Weiss' lap (much to the heiress' disappointment), running up to Yang and jumping. Yang caught him with practiced ease, giving him a gentle noogie as she grinned. "Hey, buddy. You keeping out of trouble?"

Zwei gave a quick bark of reply, reaching up to lick Yang on the cheek.

"Fantastic…" Blake grumbled from above, eyeing the corgi warily.

Yang looked up at her, cocking a brow. "Not a dog fan, Blake?"

Blake scowled lightly, looking more annoyed than angry. "No, I am not." Her voice came out low and calm, belying the Agitation they could all feel from her.

Yang gave a small chuckle at how serious she sounded. She sobered up quickly when she remembered why she rushed up to the dorm in the first place. She hesitated for a moment, trying to think if there was a proper way to word her thoughts, but then decided to just ask her question. "So… is this a cat thing, or…?"

At her words, Blake's gaze snapped from Zwei to Yang, her eyes narrowing even more. Yang cringed, figuring she'd been right and had just said something offensive, but was relieved when Blake merely huffed. Her Exasperation was pretty clear, however, and they could all feel her trying to batten it down.

She swung herself around to sit cross-legged, but made no move to get down from the bunk. "No, Yang, it's not a 'cat thing'. That's a very common, very annoying misconception. Cat Faunus aren't any more scared of dogs than mouse Faunus are scared of cats."

Yang breathed a discreet sigh of relief. "Oh, okay. Sorry, I just kinda figured, 'cause you Felt scared over the Link…"

"Well, how would you feel if you just found some random dog hiding under your covers?" Everyone cringed at Blake's scathing tone, even Zwei pulling back as his eyes flattened. Seeing and Feeling her Mates' surprise, Blake relented moments later, remorse clear in her eyes as her shoulders slumped. "Sorry, it's just… I'm not afraid of… Zwei, or dogs in general. I'm just not fond of them. I can deal with them if I have no choice, but right now, I have a choice, and I choose no."

Ruby pouted up at her. "He's not a bad dog," she said pitifully.

Blake met her eyes, and Yang stifled a laugh when she saw Blake jerk back in surprise. Ruby had her trademark pout in full effect, and no one had ever been strong enough to resist that look for long. And from her pained, frustrated expression, Blake wasn't an exception.

It also didn't help that Ruby's affection for Zwei, as well as her sadness at Blake not liking him, was being transmitted to the room in what might as well have been bright glowing neon.

"I… never said he was, Ruby," Blake defended weakly. "I just… I…" Even as she spoke, Ruby's eyes seemed to grow wider, her lips curving further down. Blake cringed under her gaze, her shoulders falling. She let out a defeated sigh, her ears pinning against her head as she turned back to Yang, her eyes lingering at Zwei staring up at her curiously. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

Again, Yang held back a laugh, figuring Blake wouldn't appreciate her laughing at her plight. "Well, you don't have to, but… Zwei is our dog. If you're gonna be stuck with us, he's kind of part of a package deal."

Blake stared hard at her as if trying to will her words to be false. She heaved a heavy sigh of defeat, then swung her body off the bunk, turning with the motion to land on her own bed cross-legged.

Seeing that the elusive new person was now closer, Zwei's ears perked back up, panting as he wiggled and squirmed in Yang's arms, wanting to be let down. Yang shot Blake a curious look, Ruby and Weiss watching in interest and, in Ruby's case, hope. Blake's face screwed up in clear reluctance, but she gave a small nod.

Shrugging, Yang let Zwei go. The corgi pup shot across the room in an instant, so unexpectedly fast he startled Blake. He put his front paws up on the bed, standing on his hind legs as he stared up at Blake, panting in greeting.

Blake scooted back unconsciously, her shoulders tense. She looked back to Ruby, only to find the speedster staring back with starry, hopeful eyes. She huffed, looking back down at the corgi. "Hello… Zwei," she said with false cheer. Her only solace for doing so was the immense Joy she felt from Ruby… which was tempered rather spectacularly by the Humor she so clearly felt from Yang and Weiss both. Shooting them a weak glare, she slowly reached out, just barely far enough to reach Zwei. "Good… boy…?" she said awkwardly, giving Zwei a featherlight tap on the head before snatching her hand back.

Zwei stopped panting, cocking his head in confusion at the strange new person who smelled of nervousness and tuna. Still, headpats were headpats, and he was soon panting happily again, stubby tail wagging.

"Aww, he likes you!" Weiss said, her sentiment echoed by Ruby's beaming grin.

Blake gave them a weak smile. "Yeah… great," she said halfheartedly, just relieved that the dog might leave her alone now that she'd said hello.

"Yeah," Yang piped in, with a grin of her own that was much too sly for Blake's tastes. "And since he likes you, he's probably gonna follow you now. Everywhere."

Blake's smile vanished instantly, looking in exaggerated horror, first to Yang, then slowly to Zwei, who was still looking up at her with a dopey doggy grin. Her ears wilted in defeat. "Oh… great…"

Ruby giggled lightly at her, mercifully coming over to pick Zwei up and away from Blake. "I'll try to keep an eye on him," she said, grinning sheepishly at her Faunus girlfriend.

Blake sighed in relief, mustering up an honest smile. "Thank you."

Ruby nodded to her, but then looked down at Zwei in confusion. "Though, I'd still like to know how he got here in the first place."

Yang perked up at that, realizing that in her rush, she hadn't told Ruby about Qrow yet. Grinning, she went to say…

"Uh, that's my fault, actually."

Everyone jolted in surprise at the sudden gruff voice. All eyes turned towards the dorm door, Ruby's widening by the second.

From outside the door came a muffled question, sarcastic humor clear in the voice.

"So, is the drama over yet, or should I come back later?"

Yang, Feeling Ruby's Shock and Surprise, turned to her sister with an amused smirk. "Guess who I bumped into today?"

Ruby stared at her for a moment in disbelief, then promptly dropped Zwei to the ground, blurring to the door. She flung it open so fast, a loud crack echoed through the room as it slammed off the wall.

Smoky red eyes looked down at her, Qrow giving her an easy-going grin. "What's up, kiddo?"

A beaming smile took over Ruby's face as she leapt up to hug the man around the neck. "Uncle Qrow!"

Unlike with Yang, Qrow barely responded to Ruby's hug, not so much as bending under her weight as his grin widened. Ruby didn't care in the slightest, her legs dangling as she hugged him tighter. Qrow just chuckled. "What, you miss me or somethin'?"

Ruby giggled, finally letting go. "What are you doing here?" Her smile quickly melted into a pout as a thought struck her. "Wait… Dad didn't send you to check on us, did he?"

At that, Qrow gave a true laugh. "Geez, you too? You kids need to have a little faith in us for our faith for you."

Ruby eyed him suspiciously for all of a second, before bouncing back to her usual chipper self. "Okay… then what's up? Oh, wait! Is it some kind of super secret mission Professor Ozpin needed you for? He needs you to fight a bunch of bad guys? Or clear out a massive bunch of Grimm?"

Qrow chuckled at her enthusiasm, though Yang noted something odd flash through his eyes. "Eh… nothing so adventurous, Ruby. It's actually a bit more… personal."

Ruby blinked at him. "Personal?"

Qrow shrugged. "We'll get to it in a second. First off, mind introducing me to the girls who are clearly wondering who the hell the scruffy guy in their doorway is?"

At that, Ruby and Yang turned to face their Mates, who, sure enough, were looking at Qrow in utter confusion, both looking a little wary of the newcomer.

"Oh! Sorry!" Ruby zoomed across the room, standing part way between her girlfriends. Qrow followed her in, the door clicking shut behind him.

"Qrow, these are our teammates, Weiss and Blake," Ruby said brightly, gesturing to each with a large wave of her arm. She then shot them both a bright smile as he did the same to Qrow. "Girls, this is me and Yang's uncle Qrow!"

Seeing (and ignoring) the two's befuddlement, Qrow gave them a lazy salute, flashing a smirk that was eerily similar to Yang's. "A pleasure, ladies."

There was an awkward moment where neither Blake nor Weiss moved, both struck dumb by the unexpected arrival of Ruby and Yang's family. It didn't help that Blake's enhanced nose quickly picked up the ingrained scent of alcohol that wafted off the man. Both girls quickly shook off their shock, shooting each other a glance that echoed their thoughts.

Giving a kind small smile, Weiss took a quick step forward, holding her hand out in greeting. "Nice to meet you, sir. I am Weiss Schnee, Ruby's partner."

Qrow curved a brow at her, glancing at her outstretched hand. He smirked, grasping it to shake. "Same. You're Winter's little sister, right?"

Weiss gave a small jerk of surprise. "You know my sister?"

Again, Qrow had that Yang-like smirk. "Eh, we've worked together a few times. Feel free to ask her about me sometime. I'm sure she'll tell you a few… stories."

Weiss blinked, not sure how to take that.

Blake walked up then (Zwei sniffing at her heels, much to her irritation), doing the same as Weiss had. "Blake Belladonna, sir."

Again, Qrow couldn't help but smirk as he shook her hand. "Belladonna, huh? Don't suppose there's any relation to Ghira Belladonna, is there?"

Blake jolted in surprise, unsure how to respond. A quick glance towards Ruby and Yang, the two sending her encouraging nods feelings of Trust and Love towards Qrow, gave her enough assurance to respond. "My father, sir."

Qrow nodded, as if already knowing that would be her answer. He slowly looked between Blake and Weiss, his eyes thoughtful. Then he chuckled. "The future SDC CEO and the Future Chieftess of Menagerie." He turned away from their stunned faces, Blake looking particularly gobsmacked, and smirked towards his youngest niece. "One hell of a team you got here, Ruby. Hell, might even beat out mine."

Ruby blushed under his praise, kicking at the ground bashfully. "Oh, I don't know…"

Yang smacked her lightly on the shoulder, the look in her eye all that was needed for Ruby to get the message: stop being so hard on yourself. Yang waited until Ruby gave her a nod of acceptance (although with an unappreciated eye-roll) before turning her attention back to Qrow. "She's doing a great job as Team Leader."

"Good to know. Although… odd choice of team bonding."

At once, Yang stiffened and Ruby blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Qrow shrugged. "Oh, y'know. Some teams wear matching clothes or matching emblems, but you four… " He raised a brow at the young leader. "Matching tattoos? Interesting. Very interesting."

Ruby stiffened as well, head snapping towards Yang, the blonde already looking at her in resigned dread. Her silver eyes widened in panic, both girls freezing up with indecision.

Blake felt a twinge in her chest at their Worry and Panic. The last thing she wanted was for their Mating to cause problems between the sisters and their family. She was about to say something to Qrow, to try and explain away what the 'tattoos' really were… only to find Qrow already looking at her.

He held her amber gaze for a moment, his face oddly blank save the quirk of his lips. Then, to her shock, he winked at her.

It took a moment for her to process what just happened, Qrow having already turned back to face the panicking sisters. Does… does he already know?

Eventually, Yang broke the panicky tension the best way she knew how: by completely pushing past the whole subject. "So, Qrow! What brings you to Beacon? You said something about talking to Professor Ozpin?"

Qrow fixed both her and Ruby with a flat stare, making clear that he was not ignoring, nor would be forgetting, how blatantly they were avoiding the current topic. With a roll of his eyes, he answered Yang. "I just popped in with him briefly to chat. The reason I'm here… well…" At this, his tone grew a little hesitant, as if uncomfortable with his words. "That's, uh, kind of complicated."

Yang and Ruby frowned, glancing at each other in confusion. They'd known Qrow to act oddly at times, but they'd never seen him nervous. "How complicated?" Yang asked.

"Uh… very?" Qrow said with a sheepish shrug. Seeing their worried looks, he sighed. "Look, girls. I really wish this was just a social call, but… well, I got thrown one hell of a curveball last night. Or, rather, a couple dozen curveballs." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the side of his head slightly. "Even got the bruises to show for it…"

"Are you okay, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, Yang followed up with, "You in some kind of trouble?"

Qrow looked between them, a light smirk working its way back onto his face. "Well… a little bit of both, honestly. See I got a call last night, and…" He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, how do I say this?"

Getting a little annoyed by his reluctance, Ruby tried to ease an answer from Qrow. "C'mon, Uncle Qrow, you can tell us. Is it something bad?"

Qrow made a sound like a cross between a hum and a groan. "Not… bad, really. Just really, really awkward."

Yang snorted. "Yeah, 'cause we haven't had to deal with 'awkward' before. Just tell us, we can handle anything."

Qrow paused from his thinking, looking hard at Yang. His gaze slowly tracked to Ruby and back again, taking in their determined faces. He looked up at the ceiling, his lips curled down in a thoughtful frown. "Anything, huh?"

Ruby and Yang each gave a sharp nod. "Anything," Ruby confirmed.

A full minute passed as Qrow stared up at the ceiling, his eyes darting back and forth slightly as he considered. Just when Yang felt her patience wearing thin, he nodded to himself.

"...alright then. Yang," He dipped his head down, locking his smoky red eyes with Yang's amethyst. Without any hesitation in his voice, he continued. "Your mother called me last night."

All at once, the feel of the room changed. Any humor or bravado in Yang's expression fled, her face falling to pure shock. Ruby wasn't too far behind, her silver eyes shooting wide, her irises retreating down to pinpricks. Across the room, Weiss and Blake, having faded to the back of the dorm so as to let the family talk, shivered as a slew of conflicting emotions surged over them, the jumbled mess of feelings almost overwhelming them. Even Zwei could sense something was wrong from his place in Weiss' arms, his ears pinning back in concern.

"Y-you… you spoke to Raven?" Yang stuttered out, her voice shaky, a pale reflection of her usual boisterous tones.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Qrow nodded, his lips pulling into a tight line. "Yep."

Beside her sister, Ruby kept looking between Yang and Qrow, at a complete loss as to what to do, what to say. She swallowed thickly as she Felt Yang's emotions start to stabilize, Anger, Frustration, and Longing bubbling to the surface.

Yang's lips curved into a frown as the emotions built in her chest, a sharp question on the tip of her tongue…

"She wants to talk to you."

All of Yang's emotions snuffed themselves out in an instant. She stared at Qrow in complete disbelief, her mouth hanging open as he looked at her, his face serious even as she could see the sympathy in his eyes, even if she could barely acknowledge it. Yang's voice came out as barely a breath.

"...what?"

Betaed by Covert Weapon

Old A/n: Ohh, boy. Getting closer and closer to my last big AU curveball (at least regarding RWBY's established history), and geez, is it starting to mess with my head. Yes, I know a lot of you have said you're totally fine with me changing whatever I want and I'm very thankful for all your kind words, but this damn thing is going to haunt me until it's done and posted.

Hope I did Blake and Zwei's interactions okay. Didn't want to go the typical 'cat scared of dog' route, but I still wanted to have that bit of animosity clearly shown in the show proper, at least for the moment.

Next chapter: The flashback continues, Qrow tries to explain (keyword being 'tries'), and Yang and Ruby try to explain their messed up family situation to Blake and Weiss (again, 'try').