@ozqrowweek 2023 day 3: Crossover AU / Nothing Bad Ever Happened AU
Well,, this one took a while to finish XD
This is actually a collab with not just @yoomschoocs, but also the tallented @zacs-of-rwby , for which we drew a part of her ozqrow week day 3 fic: The Choices of Men.
I highly recommend you check it out, it is absolutely wonderful!
For this day, Yoom did the sketch and lines, and I did the coloring and lighting!
We hope you enjoy what we made for this day, and stay tuned for the remaining ozqrow week days that are yet to come!
@ozqrowweek 2023 day 2: Accidental Kiss / Stargazing
Oh Qrow, you just can't get a break, can you?
In case you missed Cara's last post, we did actually participate in Ozqrow week again this year! Ufortunately we didn't get much finished yet, so we'll be taking our time for the remaining prompts :)
For this day, @cara-kira did the lines, and I did the coloring!
Well, that's the lot that ended up being completed this year. So far, at least. The two outstanding prompts should be linked later, but we'll see I guess.
I wrote each of these on the day I posted them to tumblr. It's definitely been an experience!
Soulmates were a known quantity in Remnant. Everybody had one, after all, even if they weren’t always the best matches. It was said that each match was the one closest to your heart, but there were enough tales of pairings that had gone drastically wrong to mean that everybody took that with a serious grain of salt these days. Qzpin’s splashed around his upper arm like a bracelet, though he had been very scared it might have faded when the merge took place. Ozma had informed him that that happened sometimes, depending on the, well, the sexual preferences of the newest host. Sometimes it was replaced with the marks of just how Salem would kill that particular incarnation, though Oz was incredibly glad that his had not. He’d never felt any real attraction to women, after all, though he hadn’t really fallen for any men either. Maybe his was platonic? That happened too, after all nobody was really sure just how soulmates even worked. In a number of ways, he felt lucky to have had his already by the time the merge started. They tended to appear somewhere in the teenage years, and Ozma’s whisper had been there since, well… as long as he could remember. He owed a serious debt of gratitude to whichever incarnation had decided to hold off on the merge as long as they had. From the memories they provided, that couldn’t have been easy, He only hoped he would have a similar level of patience when it came time for him to be the voice.
Oh, but finding out that his invisible friend had, in life, been the last king of Vale had been interesting, to say the least. He hadn’t really believed him, at first, but all the research had matched up. It was probably the fact that he was the king of Vale that had driven him to flee so far away from that damn mausoleum that he had once called a home, after all. He’d been thinking Vacuo might have been his best option, but the images Oxymandias had placed in his… their? Head had swayed him, in the end. He quite liked the idea of what had been described as a paradise and Vale, though anything but in reality, had seemed so much less corrupted than Atlas had to his painfully young eyes.
Oh, he probably shouldn’t have given in to temptation, shouldn’t have listened so hard to Vale’s council and their joy over him being the next wizard. Being theirs in a way he still chafed at, even years after the fact, echoes of his father and his pride in what was then his only choice in an heir holding him back. No, no he wasn’t going to think about that. If he thought too hard on that, he might decide he really was unworthy of whoever it was that had marked his skin. He just hoped, viciously and probably futilely that whoever it was would be someone his father disapproved of. Even if he never knew, never found out, the image of that man spinning like a wheel axle in his grave was an amusing one. Not that that mattered. He’d had enough time and distance now to realise that anything that man thought he ruled would crumble one day. Oh, Brothers, absent gods though you very much were, protect his siblings. Try to make sure that, when the reckoning came, however many he ended up with weren’t caught in the crossfire?
He closed his eyes briefly, too caught up in the past to concentrate fully in the list of incoming students for the year. Well, hopefully at least some of them would survive initiation? They had to, right… last year was a fluke. They’d been well trained, coming from the primary academies for the most part, surely they could understand something as basic as landing strategies?
He winced again, scanning the names. There were several from prominent families that he recognised at a glance… though Ozpin, if he actually existed, probably wouldn’t have done. There was an almost depressing amount of Atlas runaways sprinkled throughout the pack, too. He tried not to think of just how Atlas’ current Headmistress might choose to take that. After all, the word treason had been thrown about far too much already. He was deeply aware of the slight Atlas twang that lurked in the back of his own voice, after all… it had been bought up a few times now. He tugged at dyed black hair in brief dismay, what if someone worked things out? It wouldn’t be easy but he was pretty sure he’d known some of these students, at least in passing. Could they see Wes in his features, he wondered… though, no. Hair dye was a wonderous thing and as for the contact lenses tinting his gaze an artificial brown? They were all but a godsend. He chose not to think too deeply about where his contact must have sourced those from. After all, it was heavily frowned on to alter your appearance by any means bar a semblance, and even then… he briefly cursed the war. Color and expression mattered, of course, but it shouldn’t really stop those amongst the populace that had a legitimate need to hide. He’d seen the bulletins his father still pit out on occasion and had to admit that the obsession with coloring was a very good thing in this case. Nobody expected him to be dark haired and dark eyed, after all. Nobody was looking for that combination. He was probably safe enough. He bent his concentration back to the list in his scroll. Maybe one of these students would prove to actually be good enough to pass initiation?
Qrow sweated, feeling majorly uncomfortable in the fancy uniform everybody was wearing. He knew the academies had a reputation to maintain, but… really? If they wanted to look good, then why would they choose such an itchy material. It was probably nerves though, his last name damned him as much as it did Raven after all? Was that why they had been let in in the first place? To be here just long enough to fail at initiation… to fail in such a way that the tribe finally cut all ties with them both? They might have been the adopted children of the chief, but they weren’t actually his blood, weren’t truly his responsibility. Qrow’s semblance alone had raised enough concerns amongst the more long standing members that he knew the man was just itching to cut them loose. Hell, nobody even knew what Raven’s semblance was. What if it was even worse than his, what if the losing streak that had sparked this insane plan in the first place was caused by both of them. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about the likely outcome of that. As a boy, he had been relatively safe after all, but Raven was more vulnerable. He’d back her in any fight if it ever came right down to it, of course, but that didn’t mean that she’d win if the odds changed. Considering the possibilities, he wouldn’t put that past the tribe as a whole. At least they’d both go down fighting? Like hell he’d leave her to fight that battle alone.
Best not to think about that, any more than he should think about the soulmark splashed across his right arm. Raven hadn’t got hers yet, so maybe that meant he was meant to meet whoever the poor bastard was first? Imagine, a life of being chained to Qrow of all people. A life of ill luck, a life of misfortune. A life that might yet be claimed by the tribe that had kidnapped him… the life he was trying so desperately to escape, Whoever it was on the other end of the connection, he devoutly hoped he would never actually meet him.
Snapping back to reality, his eyes strayed to the stage where the new Headmaster of this place was about to give his introduction. He blinked at the ink black hair, the brown eyes glinting from behind dark tinted glasses. But most of all he baulked at the sheer youth of the figure. Young, fresh faced and several inches shorter than him. He knew he was tall, but surely an adult shouldn’t look this much like a kid? Was this a joke, he wondered bleakly. At any moment, surely an exasperated parent would appear and haul this brat off the stage? But no, from the looks on the faces of the upperclassmen (And brothers, there were so damn few of them, weren’t there… what did that say, exactly, about the standards of this place?) they recognised the kid. Had expected him. He knew academically that Beacon’s headmaster was meant to be very young, but surely there had to be some form of a mistake somewhere? How old even was this boy, anyway? He didn’t look old enough to be attending Beacon, much less heading it.
From the muttering of those around him, he wasn’t the only person to realise that. He could hear Raven swearing behind him and resisted the temptation to join in by the skin of his teeth. For an academy with one of the best reputations in Remnant, first impressions were leaving a lot to be desired.
There was something almost magnetic about the kid on the stage though. For all he talked and talked and talked, brothers did the kid ever shut up? He definitely had the presence of a leader. It was admirable in a way, though if it was actually as it appeared and he was actually Headmaster, someone needed to teach him to dress the part. The suit would have looked smart on an adult, but as it was, it ended up looking strangely ill-fitting for all it had to be hand tailored. Who had let him take the lead on colors, anyway? He admitted that the green suited him… Ozpin, apparently? But the gold looked strangely out of place against the emerald, for all they were complimentary colors.
Qrow rolled his eyes, listening in a daze while hating himself. This was what he got for having Raven as a sister, a close analysis of fashion that he neither wanted nor desired. Maybe that was more the fact that he was Mistralian, though? It was hard to tell, really. Oh good, the speech had ended, the boy had hopped down from the stage. He blinked as the kid seemed to deploy a cane of some sort, limping noticeably now. Eh, he could take him easily enough, if push came to shove. From the interested glint in Raven’s eye, she thought the exact same thing. This might almost be fun, after all.
After a few months, though, both twins could admit they might be outclassed. Ozpin had run all of two training scenarios and yet he had beaten all comers with an ease that was admirable. Maybe there was something in the prodigy rumors, after all? Either way, they could agree that they might not want to face him in a fight.
A surprising number of them had passed initiation, five teams worth, in fact. He was strangely relieved to be on a team with his twin, though it felt like either the worst oversight ever, or a calculated move on Ozpin’s part. The boy was hard to pin down as any one thing, though all public records claimed he was twenty one, Qrow didn’t buy that in the least. What twenty one year old would be that short, yet simultaneously that lanky? All the boys had been there, or their own equivalent thereof, a few years prior after all. He was aware of several betting pools that had sprung up with the sole purpose of ascertaining Ozpin’s actual age, but he was pretty sure that he knew the answer. He was probably about sixteen, a year or so younger than his youngest students. His mind boggled at the implications slightly, but then that was Vale for you… he had no real trust in any one government to do what was right, and whatever this was ‘right’ didn’t begin to cover it.
He sneered slightly, even as a notification popped up on the scroll they had all been given on entry to the Academy. Most of the students thought it was an amazing gift, especially considering the price of them. Qrow was bleakly certain that they were all bugged to high hell. Why else would they be given them, but as a spying device?
Oh look, it was his turn to be summoned up to the ivory tower Ozpin seemed to reside in. He sniggered slightly, mind jumping o the old tale of the princess in the tower. Oh, Ozpin was no princess any more than he was a knight, but considering their strangest professor’s love of fairy tales, it seemed strangely apt right now. Whistling slightly, he got up. After all, if the Headmaster called then it would be out of character for the boy he was portraying not to answer the call. He sighed again, adjusting the collar of his uniform self consciously. Why did they have to make these things so tight, anyway? It felt like he couldn’t breathe. Heh, it wasn’t like he was nervous or anything. For all he was no longer certain he could take the other boy in a fight, surely no ambush would be this public. They had been called up one by one, after all, if he just disappeared then that would be noticed. He chided himself for a fool, stepping into that stupid elevator that had been installed instead of stairs. He’d prefer the stairs, it would probably take less time.
Ozpin looked up as the scruffy form of Qrow Branwen stepped out of the elevator and he shot the boy a smile. He was aware of how Qrow saw him, after all the youth was too callow yet to avoid broadcasting it for all to see. He thought him young, untried. That would even have been true, at least debatably, under any other circumstance though as it stood it was almost laughable in it’s naiveite. Judging people by their looks in Remnant was never a plan of action that ended well, after all. Even living to your teens took a certain amount of luck, considering what haunted every shadow, drawn by the emotions most couldn’t supress.
He was aware, too, that he may suppress too much, too scared of the sort of creature Salem might send after him if he ever showed his own fear, his own self loathing. She’d done it before o previous incarnations, after all. He shivered remembering the carnage one of those monsters had left in their wake. Oh, it was lifetimes ago now, but nobody had ever lived long enough to give the thing a name. Or nothing beyond monster and screams beyond the capability of a voicebox not on the edges of giving out to accomplish.
He shook himself back to the present, noting by the look on his face that young mister Branwen had noticed something in his own gaze that had unnerved him. He shot another grin at the boy, though it didn’t seem to help much and glanced back at his scroll. He read the history, well, the fabricated history, with one eye out for any threats. He knew who they were, these twins. He knew why they were there, though Qrow showed slightly more promise than his sister in terms of prying them out of what was really a desperate situation.
Qrow seemed to tense, staring at him in real, unfeigned confusion and Oz sighed aloud this time. It had been to much, too far, but he wasn’t yet truly adept in controlling the memories he had been granted by the curse he had fallen under.
“Greetings, Mister Branwen,” he said, hesitantly. “Having gone through your file, I must admit to being rather impressed. The scores yourself and your sister achieved back at Sanctum are truly astonishing, as I’m sure your old teachers would agree with. Why, I thought I might contact them, let them know the good news about your enrolment here.” It was a calculated risk, but by Qrow’s rapidly paling face it had paid off. One hand shot out, grasping Ozpin’s upper arm like an amulet, or maybe more like an anchor. Ozpin’s own hand wrapped itself just as securely around Qrow’s own right arm, their eyes meeting. Both let go as their respective marks seemed to pulse. Oh. Well, then, that changed everything, now, didn’t it?
Ozqrow Week Day 7 - Alternate Prompt - Cooking Class
This one went in a slightly different direction again...
Qrow sniggered as Oz managed to burn yet another piece of toast. You’d think that being thousands of years old would be enough for him to have learned how to cook a bit better, though Qrow knew he couldn’t really talk either. At least Oz could bake which was more than Qrow could manage even on his best days, It wasn’t his fault, really, his semblance tended to take a malicious sort of delight in fouling up any meal he made. Eh, there were always rations and various inns scattered around if he really needed a hot meal. Even he couldn’t burn porridge that badly. And no, that wasn’t a challenge, in case his occasionally sentient semblance was taking any notes. Bad luck, that was all that ever followed him, so how had he gotten so lucky when it came to Oz? Because it was luck, it had to be. After all, why would he have looked at him twice even if he hadn’t turned out to be Immortal? There were clues in Oz’s accent that spoke of some sort of moneyed background, though the other man had never seemed to speak on the matter. Maybe he was embarrassed, maybe there was something darker behind his silences. Either way, it wasn’t like Qrow was in any position to judge.
Oz shot him an offended look. It wasn’t even like he was actually a bad cook, he’d just never seen the need to get used to the newer ways of doing things. Whoever had thought up a toaster had it out for him, really, no matter how he tried to set the thing the toast always burned anyway. He shot a suspicious look at Qrow but it had happened often enough without his presence that he couldn’t really blame the other man. He was rather certain Salem might have invented toasters just to spite him though he was rather tempted to try again. Surely they couldn’t run out of bread before they managed to get at least one slice right. Behind him, Qrow shook his head, though Oz pretended he hadn’t seen the movement. Whatever happened to just toasting bread over a fire, that was far easier than this appeared to be. Yes, he probably was very old fashioned, but then he was also very, very old. The toaster made a noise as though it was about to pop another piece out and he glared at it. He mustn’t use his magic to blow up the toaster, it was a waste of resources. He hadn’t been this tempted to throw that sort of a tantrum since he was a teenager, but then again he sort of was right now. Maybe it could be excused if he blamed hormones and a short temper? But then again, probably not, he was pretty certain the others wouldn’t buy it. He could already hear Nora snorting, feel the judgmental glare from Oscar… no. No, it was better to just concede. The toaster had won this round, but he’d be ready next time.
Maybe he really should sign up to those cooking classes, after all.
Ozqrow Week - Day 7 - Alternate Prompt - Bachelor Party
Qrow stared around at the ridiculously ostentatious display of power and wealth around him in very real disgust. Trust Jimmy of all people to decide that his wedding had to happen here. Yes, Jimmy was from Atlas, but surely there were some limits if only on good taste? The colors clashed in ways he sincerely doubted Glynda would have been okay with had she known about it in advance, and dearest Brothers, was that an actual champagne fountain? Most of the guests seemed to be halfway to drunk already, the lightweights. He scanned the room, looking for a specific person amongst all the politically well connected invitees. Trust Jimmy to use even his own bachelor party as a means of drumming up support. The entire party felt slimy to Qrow, who was very well aware that he was here on sufferance. Jimmy didn’t actually have enough friends to afford to turn him away though, despite appearances. How many people were here just so they could say they had attended the party of the decade, after all?
All this schmoozing was making him vaguely nauseous. He was pretty certain he’d spotted at least five people tonight that he was highly aware that Jimmy casually despised. Oh, no… make that six. A red faced Jaques Schnee seemed to be screaming at another guest. He blinked but the image didn’t change. That was Oz, why was he in blue, had he actually followed the ridiculous dress code? Jaques was still going, gesticulating wildly as a seemingly unruffled Ozpin just looked down at him. He hadn’t fully realised how short the man really was until he saw the contrast between the two. Brothers, but Oz must be easily a foot taller than him. Why was Schnee so disgusted, anyway? He was one step up from pond scum, in all the worst ways and everybody knew it. He sighed internally, time to play the good friend and get Oz out of whatever the hells that situation was meant to be.
“Oh, hey, Oz, been looking for you. Are you done talking yet?” If anything, Jaques got even more red faced at the interruption, before seeming to hear something and come back to himself slightly. Oz, saint that he was, just looked at him patiently as though waiting for something to happen. Qrow had never really been quite sure why Oz hated the other man so much, although it was a sentiment widely shared on Remnant as a whole Oz had never really seemed to hate anyone before like he did Jaques Schnee. Except Salem, and wasn’t that a horrific thought. The idea of Jaques, or any Schnee really, with magical powers wasn’t something he really wanted to think about too closely.
There was a flash of something almost like hurt in Oz’s eyes as the other man turned away, probably to go scream at someone else. If this had been Qrow’s party, he would have been tossed out long before now. But then again, had this been Qrow’s party, he’d rather have drunk poison than let that man anywhere near it.
He glanced at Oz again, almost consideringly. He wasn’t really the type to settle down, but if ever there was someone that could tempt him into matrimony, it was certainly Oz. He hadn’t exactly been looking for love, but then that was always the way, wasn’t it? He’d fallen into it like a crow into shiny objects, and he couldn’t give it up now that he had it in his grasp.
“Oz? What was all that about, anyway?” He asked, hope over certainty that he wasn’t going to get a straight answer. Oz’s face worked briefly before the other man let out a deep, aggrieved sigh.
“Jaques Schnee remains himself, dismally so. He saw the colors I was sporting and decided to make a big deal out of things. It’s like he didn’t even read the dress code, not that you seem to have followed it, my dearest, dusty old Qrow.”
Qrow rolled his eyes. “Rather more surprised that you did, to be completely honest. I get the temptation to turn Jaques Schnee inside out, hell, I’ve had it a time or two myself… but seriously, what even was that? Why would he take offence to the way you dressed?”
“We had an agreement Qrow, not to pry too far into each others pasts. Put it like this, Mister Schnee seems to be of the erroneous assumption that he can control me in any way, shape or form. I do believe he has not himself truly gotten over past events. That and I fear he may have mistaken me for someone who is long dead, though I cannot be sure on the last issue.” Oz sighed again, stopping speaking. Qrow stared at him, narrowly. Had Oz been drinking? That was rather more information than the immortal ever tended to reveal after all. Then again, the provocation HAD been rather intolerable. He was reluctantly impressed, in a way, that Oz hadn’t taken the opportunity to turn Jaques inside out, though if he had actually raised a hand to the Headmaster then all bets would be off.
Just who did Jaques think Oz was, then, to react the way he had in public, around what passed for the great and the good of Atlasean society? Who would have been worth the risks, considering that enough people must have heard the one way screaming match to seriously tarnish the older man’ reputation? He glanced at Oz again, but his face had closed, eyes going distant in a way that meant he wasn’t going to get anything more out of his friend tonight. No matter what else might happen, they’d been hovering [heh] around the edges of a more than friends relationship for awhile now. He glanced back at the furious, red faced form of Jaques Schnee, For a second he’d almost seen Oz in his features. Nah, he couldn’t have. Maybe it was the company, everything was making him paranoid tonight.
30 minute writing challenge - Scene Prompt - Sleepy morning antics - requested by the amazing @bowl-of-shortness
Also for @ozqrowweek free day!
Set in my Halfway House AU
An alarm jolted Oz from a deep sleep. Despite the sudden awakening, Oz felt ready for the day. He reached over to his night stand and turned off his alarm before looking over his shoulder.
Gently, he croaked, “Qrow, my love. Time to get up.”
Not a sound.
Oz was used to waking up at 6am. His partner, on the other hand, was not.
“Qrow, darling,” Oz rolled over, resting his hand firmly on Qrow’s shoulder. “You have an early shift today, remember?”
Still as a statue.
Oz pressed his lips against Qrow’s shoulder, then nuzzled his cheek. “You’re not fooling anyone, Qrow Branwen. Wake up.”
“But I don’t wanna,” Qrow groaned, a smile creeping onto his face under Oz’s gentle touch.
“I know, but sometimes we have to do things we don’t like.”
“Oh, really? And how do you feel about this?” Qrow rolled over onto Oz, wrapping him in a hug and pinning him to the bed.
Oz let out a child-like giggle. “Qrow, stop, you have to wake up.”
“No. I think I might call in sick today. And stay right here. All day.” He nuzzled closer, burying his face in Oz’s neck.
“As much as I would love that, I have work to do. And so do you.”
“I can skip. Besides, you live where you work. You’ll find a way.”
“You are impossible,” Oz ran a hand through Qrow’s hair and kissed him on the temple. “How about this?” Oz said into Qrow’s hair. “How about I go downstairs, brew a fresh pot of coffee, and make you a nice breakfast before you start your day. Hm?”
Qrow moaned, “Mmm, that doesn’t sound quite as good, but I guess it’ll do.”
“I can start preparations as soon as you release me.”
Qrow kept the devious grin on his face as he unwrapped his hold on his partner and sat up on the side of the bed. Oz stood up next to him.
“Thank you. Get dressed. Everything should be just about ready by the time you come downstairs.”
“Thanks, Oz.”
Oz cupped Qrow’s face in both his hands. “You’re welcome, my love.”
Their lips locked, pressed together firmly in the dim light of the early morning.
A kiss as comforting and cozy as the morning they hoped to share.
“I am still uncertain whether I can truly afford to take the time off, Qrow. The reports I still need to fill are important, I can’t really leave them particularly easily.”
“Nuh uh, Oz, you don’t get to play that card, Glynda already agreed to take over the paperwork for a week and Tai and the girls are looking forward to meeting ya. Well, the girls are, at least.”
Oz just blinked at him, raising one eyebrow suspiciously. He already knew just what Tai thought of him, would he really let him anywhere near his daughters? He suppressed the thought of Ruby and his real relation to her, but then he was used enough to having to do that. She was Summer and Tai’s, she’d even been altered via semblance to take after them. She was safe, for all he still wished that the process hadn’t given her Summer’s silver eyes. Whether they’d work the same way was something he hoped none of them would ever have to find out. He hadn’t seen her since she was very, very young, after all. It was safer that way, but at least Qrow could still be her uncle?
Had Tai actually agreed to this? He knew the terms on which he had given her up in the first place, he wasn’t to have contact with her without his prior consent. If Salem found out about her, everybody would be in danger but Ruby especially. Especially now, with the added complication of the silver eyes. If, of course, that had actually even been Summer’s contribution to start with. If, if, if. Ruby was growing well, apparently, had hit all the milestones expected for a four year old, but she was too young, really, to remember him yet. Even if he could see her, and he was rather doubtful of that.
Tai was far too protective of the girls for that, really, although the thought still made him smile. He couldn’t think like that, though. After all, this was meant to be a time to relax.
“And what precisely did you promise Glynda, in exchange for the paperwork, Qrow?” He asked, suspicious.
“Oh, not much. Merely my services to continue to annoy a certain hidebound idiot of our mutual acquaintance, if he continues not to take no as an answer.”
Ozpin sighed, but that was fair enough, James really did need to learn that no was a full sentence and that he couldn’t just get anything he wanted by trying to play nice. Especially around Glynda, since she was the sort of person to hold a lot of grudges. He had thought, once, that his two friends might be happy together, but no. No, they’d probably kill each other. Well, Glynda would kill James, then he’d have to spring her from prison and it would be a whole mess. Far easier not to deal with the paperwork to deny extradition to Atlas, much less trying to find another man to act as Atlas’ Headmaster in James’ stead. Knowing his luck, Jaques Schnee might try for it and that was a disaster waiting to happen. No, better to keep the status quo for now, it wasn’t like James was ever going to do anything stupid like shoot him, or anything. He was too much his friend for that, surely?
He held out a hand for the scroll, sighing as he scanned the message. He was pretty sure it was meant for Qrow, specifically, not the both of them, but his name was actually mentioned. It was strange, though, considering all the precautions they’d taken over the years. Ruby was Tai’s, after all, not his. Not truly, not now… not ever again. She had Tai, had Yang. Even hypothetically had Raven if she ever actually bothered to show up again. She had Qrow as an uncle so at least one of them was keeping a close enough eye on their little girl. Why now, seriously? It made no real sense… was this delayed grief over Summer’s disappearance? But Tai blamed him for that, he knew that he did… he’d never let him anywhere near the girls in that sort of circumstance. He itched to call him, but the idea that Tai would just laugh and tell him that it was all a joke made him freeze, paralysed by his own indecision.
“What do ya say, Oz? Tai said it was okay. He set conditions, but they’re the same ones we set, so it isn’t like it’s particularly hard. Care to be Uncle Oz for a few days? After all, ya did marry me for some reason.”
“I married you because I love you, Qrow.” Oz stated, sharply. “You know that. I just worry that no matter what we do here, it will leave them in more danger than they were in when this started.”
“Ya worry too much, Oz. It’ll be fun, the girls have wanted to meet ya for awhile now.”
“They… have?” Oz sounded confused, just what exactly had Qrow told them about him to warrant that reaction?
“Well, yeah, course they have. You’re my husband after all. They’ve known I had one for years, they’re old enough to meet ya now.” He sighed. “Besides, it’s easier ta see Ruby as Tai and Summer’s when ya meet her, she even got Summer’s semblance out of the deal.”
Oz blinked in shock at that, eyes wide behind his spectacles. “She has? Really, how very remarkable. Semblances don’t really tend to run in families, after all/ I think I’ve only ever heard of one other that works like that?”
“That’d be the Schnee one, right?”
“Indeed, they all appear to have inherited glyphs. It is an incredibly useful semblance by all appearances, though also highly identifiable of course. How very interesting that Ruby got Summer’s, I wonder what her original one might have been?” He thought for a second before shaking his head, since it was not outside the realm of possibility that she could have inherited Qrow’s, had things gone differently enough.
He was almost looking forward to this, actually… playing Uncle for a few days or at least until Tai grew tired of them being there and tossed them out. What on Remnant had prompted the change, though? He did hope Tai was okay.
Tai was not, in fact, okay. He had taken Summer’s disappearance far worse than Oz had been informed and the clothing he answered the door in was sloppy and looked like it hadn’t been washed in a few weeks. The gaze he shot Ozpin seemed strangely empty and Oz couldn’t quite suppress the wince that crossed his lips. He knew what loss was like, had been in Tai’s exact situation rather more times than he cared to analyse too closely, but… it felt rather different this time, watching that same grieving process taking over a man that he called his friend. Would still call his friend, even after everything that had happened between them.
At least the girls looked relatively okay, though it had been a few years since Summer had vanished. He just wished he knew what had really happened to her, since they had never even found a body to bury. Had it been Salem, had it been something else entirely? Tai had ranted about a mission he had supposedly sent her on, but there had never been a mission. He knew that she was too protective of the girls to ever send her on a mission alone after they had arrived in their lives. He knew too well what that was like, too, sitting and waiting for a parent or spouse or child to come home, knowing in his bones that they never would. He didn’t like to think about the times when it had been a child, though they were rarer than they might be. Thankfully, the incarnations with children were few and he tended to avoid creating more after the merge was initiated. Well, most of the time, at least. He couldn’t regret Ruby, though, couldn’t regret Qrow for the time he would have him. As all things with the balance though, he was very aware that they were temporary, but as the girls blinked up at him in curiosity, he couldn’t help but smile.
Yang looked suspicious, bless her, a miniature Raven already although hopefully slightly less volatile. He might have hoped that she had inherited Tai’s temper, but then that wasn’t exactly gentle either. None of them were, the Gods alone were going to be able to help Remnant once Yang was old enough to take on monsters. He’d heard about all her plans, how she wanted to be the best Huntress around. Ruby echoed them in a way that only younger siblings ever managed to do, but judging by their parents… well. Tai was sure to teach them well, even if he had rather seemed to forget what a washing machine was for.
He smiled at them gently, squatting down to be in easier reach. Ruby babbled at him excitedly, though Yang seemed content to watch for now, as though judging his suitability as a partner for their beloved Uncle Qrow. Why did that hurt, really> He’d known what he was getting into a long time ago, long before anything had even gotten this far. He’d known that they would have to give up their child, if they had one. And so they had, but Ruby was more than that now. He saw Summer in her smile, Tai in the excited babbling of her voice. He saw Qrow, too, in smaller ways. Small mannerisms, gestures that she’d either learned or inherited from him. He didn’t see himself, but then maybe that was a blessing, in a way. If even he, who knew what to look for, couldn’t see it then maybe she truly was safe from Salem.
"Qrow," Ozpin couldn't help but laugh as the other dragged him closer to an airship. "What ever are you doing?"
Qrow grinned over his shoulder, but still didn't let go of Oz's hand. "Well, this is your first day off in, what, a century, right? I'm here to help you make the most of it!"
"We can do that just as easily at Beacon. Really, dearest, a day in bed is fine."
"That's just your age catching up to you," Qrow waved a hand dismissedly, as if he isn't older than Ozpin. Oz the wizard may be old, but Ozpin the professor wasn't. Qrow went on, "And you've been stuck in Vale since I've known you! Some greenery would do some good."
Ozpin, wordlessly, gestured to his outfit. Qrow grinned.
Sighing, Ozpin picks up his step so he is not longer being dragged. Better to not make his students worry, which they already were, if the occasional stray glance was anything to go by. Instead, it now looked like him and Qrow were just a couple on a walk, though that probably wouldn't help the students. Ozpin's children seemed quite intent on their thoughts that he was untouchable.
"See, that's why we have to get you out of this place." Qrow suddenly said.
Ozpin frowned and glanced over to Qrow, raising an eyebrow at having been broken out of his thoughts. "Pardon?"
Qrow used their interlocked hands to gesture to Beacon's campus and the students milling about. "Being here makes you stressed. You're all 'Oh, I need to look presentable and put together so no one is worried,' as if you aren't the biggest mess I've ever met besides myself."
"I'd hardly say I'm stressed."
"Yeah? Well I would."
Ozpin huffed even as he accepted Qrow's hand, letting the other pull him up into the airship. Though he was exaggerating, Qrow wasn't entirely wrong. Ozpin -Oz- was often stressed about keeping up appearances. After all, who would have hope to fight if their leader was a mess?
"Stop thinking so hard," Qrow chided after giving instruction to the pilot. He leaned up and bumped their foreheads together with an added whisper, "If your hair wasn't already gray, I would be able to see it losing color."
"Would you now?" Ozpin hummed as the airship took off. It slowly lifted into the sky, engines firing. They were quickly flying towards their destination soon after.
Ozpin stepped away from Qrow to look out the door. Beacon and his students slowly grew smaller as more of the world came into view. Forever Fall and the Emerald Forest looked as beautiful as always, Vale shinned in the early morning light, and the distant oceans similarly sparkled.
He smiled softly, watching it past below him. Footsteps approached and then Qrow wrapped an arm around Ozpin's waist.
"Enjoying the view?" He teased.
Ozpin turned back to him with a soft smile, "I always try to. It is not often that I'm allowed to. Speaking of: where are you taking me?"
Qrow grinned back with twinkling eyes. Stepping back, he held his arms out wide before giving a dramatic bow, saying, "You'll have to wait and see, oh, mystical wizard."
Quirking an eyebrow, Ozpin continued to stare at his husband. Qrow shrugged, offering no answers. Not that Ozpin expected one, really; out of habit, Qrow was remarkably good at keeping quiet about things, even from family. Speaking of-
"Fine then." Ozpin shifted to lean against the wall of the airship. He tapped his fingers along his cane. "If you refuse to tell me, and if I am to not contemplate jumping out this door, tell me about your neices."
"Our nieces," Qrow corrected, as easy as breathing. "And they're doing fine. Ruby just got into Signal, absolutely whooping butt. Tai threw her a party the other week, too." He chuckled. "Yang's been sneaking out to go to bars. She's really bad at being subtle, I'll probably have to teach her how to actually do it."
"Qrow Branwen, you are not teaching Yang how to spy."
"No, of course not. I'm teaching Yang how to lie to authority." Qrow shrugged again. They both knew Ozpin wasn't going to stop him, and they both knew that it wouldn't have stopped the old bird anyway.
Sighing, Ozpin pushed, "And Tai?"
"Eh, you know how he is. He's thinking about picking up being a huntsman for hire again, though." Qrow pulled out his flask and took a swing, ignoring the look thrown at him seemingly out of habit. "Probably going to wait until both of the girls are in Beacon."
Ozpin nodded and looked out the door again. The nearly clear seas signaling the coast of Mistral passed beneath them. He said, "Likely for the best. The girls are far too young to lose yet another parent."
The mood suddenly plummeted at that one sentence. Summer's memory still hung heavy over everyone, and Raven's betrayal wasn't much better. With Qrow out constantly, too…
Qrow sighed heavily, bumping their shoulders together. "You're great at killing the mood, you know that?" He asked.
"My apologies."
"Nah, don't be sorry. That's why we're heading out: to teach you how to lighten up."
Ozpin wrinkled his nose, "Love, I don't think that is possible. I'm unsure if that was possible even before the old chaperone in my head."
"Well, that's what we're here to find out." Qrow grinned. He suddenly leaned forward and squinted down at the ground before him. Ozpin really needed to ask Glynda to set up an eye appointment.
Shaking his head, Ozpin turned to look down as well. Large swathes of farmland passed below them. Mistral's outskirts, by the looks of it.
"How fast is our pilot going?" He mumbled, quickly electing Qrow's boisterous laugh.
"Ah, don't worry about that. Just jump!"
"Jump?"
"Jump!" And then Qrow was flying. Not literally, apparently choosing to opt out of his magic. Instead, Ozpin watched him fling himself out of the airship and dive through the sky, down toward the farmlands.
Ozpin blinked. Muttered, "Oh, I married a mad man." Then he jumped, too.
Instantly, adrenaline began to rush through him, reminding him of his Beacon initiation. Back then, he had just wanted to get everything over with. Ozpin had landed in a tree, hopped down, and made immediate eye contact with a white haired girl. Then, he had simply turned around and left, the old man laughing all the while.
Now, he didn't land in a tree. Ozpin dove through the air, twisting through the skies. A windmill approached and he held out a hand. He caught the windmill and used his momentum to spin around it until he reached the ground. A large crow settled nearby not long after.
"Cheater," he laughed, watching as the black feathers melted away into tanned skin. Qrow stood and ran a hand through his hair.
"It ain't cheating if you also have magic." Qrow teased back. He turned to gesture to a farm in the distance. He explained, "That's our stop."
Ozpin looked towards it as they began to walk. It was a small thing, with only a barn and a house that likely only had two bedrooms. Around it were stretches of wheat and corn, only separated by a trail of trees, probably a path. He smiled.
"You've always been so good at finding these places, my dusty old crow." Ozpin praised. There was a pull in his chest, too, that had him walking faster than he already was. Excitement? Curiosity? Or, perhaps something deeper than that?
He heard Qrow snicker behind him, practically flaunting as he responded, "Obviously. I wouldn't be your right hand man for anything else, right?"
"Of course. The intelligence and fighting capabilities are just perks."
The two laughed, getting ever closer to the barn. Ozpin's peppy steps must have been noticeable given Qrow's continued laughing. The two of them reached the porch of the barn and Qrow went up to knock. A few moments of silence and then-
"Hello, Mr. Qrow!" A voice chirped as the door opened. A small boy with hazel eyes and freckles stared up at them, and Ozpin and the voice in his head both shuddered. "Is this your friend?"
"Yeah, Oscar." Qrow grinned. "This is my friend. Oscar, meet Ozpin. Oz, meet Oscar Pine."
Ozpin let out a breath, trying to dispell that shaking feeling. Kneeling down to Oscar's level, he smiled and held out a hand, "It's nice to meet you, dear one."
"It's nice to meet you, too!" Oscar took Ozpin's much larger hand and shook it. The feeling shuddered again, then eased. Ozpin turned to Qrow and smiled, both only partially listening into the little boy's excited chirps. It would seem this was, in the end, the best way to spend his vacation.
Went in a rather different direction for this one, but eh, It is what it is. Eleven down, six to go. (The missing one will be posted later, it sort of, well, evolved.)
When the urgent text came through to Qrow’s scroll it was unexpected enough that he almost dropped it. Robyn sniggered at him, watching him fumble and he sent her a wounded look as he righted it, checking to see who had texted him at this time of day. He blinked at the sender ID, why would Oz need to contact him now of all times? Weren’t they all on the way to Vacuo anyway? His stomach sank at the implications, but surely everything would have gone just fine? It always had before… oh why hadn’t he been there? Yeah, that was right, he was worried his semblance would screw things up. He hadn’t been there, it was just a text to let him know everybody was safe… right?
The message blinked at him, unopened. The tag marked it as urgent and Qrow swallowed hard, tapping it with shaking fingers.
‘Qrow. Get to Vacuo, they… some of them fell, I couldn’t save them, I just… just get here. Please?” Qrow felt his heart shatter, knowing by the fact Oz hadn’t specified who the likely victims were. If it hadn’t been the girls, then Oz would have reassured him. As it stood… who else had they lost? I could feel Oz’s heartbreak through the text, as few words as it was. Had he lost Weiss, too? WERE the girls okay? He fumbled to call him, to ask for an explanation. He had to know if he’d lost one or both of his nieces to this. They’d been so young, far too young to die like that.
No, no he couldn’t think that, they would be okay. They had to be, right? It was Yang and Ruby, they were fine. His girls, for all that he wasn’t actually their parent, they were still his as much as they were Tai’s. As much as they had been Summer’s. Far more than they’d ever been Raven’s.
Oz picked up on the second ring, his voice sounding raw as though from hours of sobbing. It was worse than even Qrow could have thought. Not just Yang and Ruby and Weiss, but Jaune and Blake, too? They’d lost over half the kids, just getting to Vacuo? He wanted to scream at Oz, to blame him but brothers, he had sounded just as broken as Qrow felt. Besides, he knew damn well that Pocketsized would never have left them to fall under his own power. However he’d got through the portal, Qrow sincerely doubted it had actually been by choice, Oz would never have left his students, would have gone after them. What the hell had happened there, then? Oz had said something about Cinder, though from the roaring in Qrow’s ears, he hadn’t really heard all of it. They’d fallen, he’d lost them. The closest things he had to daughters. He stared into the distance as the call disconnected, Oz’s frantic apologies going all but unacknowledged. Oh, he knew none of this was Oz’s fault, but still… he had been there, he should have protected them. Yes, Qrow needed to get to Vacuo, needed to ask those left behind how the girls had died… vanished. They’d vanished, they’d disappeared. Oz had only said fallen, after all. He’d never actually said they were dead.
Robyn was staring at him, looking deeply concerned. She’d only heard about half the conversation, but from what she’d gathered, it was bad. Part of her wondered why the half heard voice on the other end sounded like Wintertip Pine of all people, not to mention why Qrow was calling him Oz, but that could wait in the face of his obvious grief. She opened her mouth only to close it again, she would be no real help right now. She rather doubted anything really would.
Qrow sobbed for half an hour or so, his mind conjuring up worse and worse scenarios. Oz had seemed pretty certain that the girls weren’t actually dead, but ‘not dead’ wasn’t really the best of situations either. He could think of a great many scenarios that might make mere death a mercy, oh how was he ever going to tell Tai about this? He’d been charged with protecting them and, even by staying away, he had failed in that task. He punched the tale next to him hard enough to splinter the wood, wishing it was the spirit that had given the kids the means to travel to Vacuo. Why hadn’t he realised that there would be a trap? He knew why Oz hadn’t, he always believed the best in everybody, even after that whole… thing… with Jinn. But Qrow? He’d always prided himself on being more cynical than most, more cautious. Why hadn’t he questioned the plan the kids had made more carefully? Yes, he’d still been in Atlas, but still… why had he hesitated? He groaned to himself, already making plans. He needed to be in Vacuo, if nothing else, maybe he could ensure that the last thing his nieces might have ever achieved would not be in vain? They had worked to give hope, it was about time he worked towards that same goal.
And who knew, if they really were all alive, maybe Remnant would end up getting that happy ending?
@ozqrowweek 2023 day 6: Text Messages/Taking Flight
Ayyyy @yoomschoocs and I managed to finish at least one day in time!
Like any other ship week we participated in recently, we're collabing with eachother for all the prompts!
For this day, we decided to go with the prompt Taking Flight, for which we drew Oz and Qrow in my Owl Faunus Oz au!
Since Qrow as a human can't fly, and as a bird can't keep up with Ozpin, they agreed on a different, more creative approach.
In this piece, Yoom did the sketch and lineart, and I did the coloring, shading and lighting! We hope you all like it :>
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Qrow laughed as the feeling of magic, as the feelings of warmth and love, began to envelop him. Then, seconds later, feathers started to poke out of his arms.
Sometimes it just didn’t pay to answer calls from Vale council. Yes, what they had needed team STRQ for was important and yes, as students they had needed some form of supervision, but Oz still was not entirely certain why he needed to be the one to go with them. It had been interesting, being out of Beacon for the first time in a few years, but the sheer bickering that had occurred between his students had almost been enough to drive him to drink. Almost. How did four people who seemed to have so little in common bloom into the best team he had ever seen? They were starting to make a name for themselves even as third years, but still… hopefully the year they had left before graduation would be enough to calm them down? The one good thing had been that they were rather too awed of him to continue the bickering in front of him. At first, at least. They had gotten used to him surprisingly quickly and with familiarity had come, well, more bickering. He hadn’t joined in on any of it, but he was afraid that Summer, at least, had taken that as some sort of challenge. Some of the looks she’d shot him during this trip had worried him for other reasons, too, but whatever it was she was thinking about wasn’t important enough for her to bring up. That or she didn’t know how to bring it up, but either way, getting back to Beacon and back to routine couldn’t happen soon enough.
He was rather less certain that things would really go back to the way it should be, though. He’d been lonely enough over the last few years that he had eagerly latched on to the other teens. They had become almost his friends, which was something he really couldn’t afford to admit. They would just end up being targets eventually, whenever Salem found out that they were more than just his students to him. They were, now… and there was no real going back. He glanced over at them, looking fonder than he probably should have done, and they all grinned back. There was a wistful look in Qrow’s eyes, though. There had been for the entire trip, he still wasn’t certain what to make of that, honestly. Qrow was his student, so it was highly inappropriate. Qrow was technically his elder physically, so it was also borderline illegal actually. Hopefully, if the interest was genuine, it would still be there in a few years.
“So, what now? We did what we needed to do. Are we headed back to Beacon, Professor?” Tai asked, looking rather fed up. It was a feeling shared by everybody, actually. While there had been Grimm involved, this had pretty obviously been a PR move on the part of Vale’s council
At least that explained Oz’s presence, but if one more person called him a prodigy on this trip he might not be responsible for his actions. Oh no, Team STRQ was rubbing off on him. If he reacted as he wanted to, that would cause the sort of scandal the Branwen twins would revel in. Speaking of the Branwen twins, he’d had a rather interesting thought on this trip that he’d have to offer them. Maybe they’d think it was as amusing as he did, maybe not. Oh, he’d miss the others when he was back at Beacon with them. It had been so good, being a teenager for a while, and he knew that had to have shown through on the trip. Oh well, there wasn’t really any way any of the others could prove anything, even if they had their suspicions.
“Alas, Mr Xiao Long, not quite yet. We have been booked into a hotel for the night, since things ran rather longer than would have perhaps been ideal. We can return to Beacon tomorrow and may I just say that the performance of your team in this situation was admirable and will be noted as such. I am deeply proud of all of you.” He really was, too. Even if the name of the hotel was starting to ring some vague alarm bells in the back of his head.
The outside of the hotel didn’t look massively promising. It was on the seedier side of town, which by itself was enough to raise some serious doubts in Ozpin’s head. Orders were orders, but if the council had wanted to actually make sure that his students were safe, surely there were better accommodations available> Even though several of the council were unaware, enough of them knew that Ozpin, too, was a teenager that this seemed an especially odd choice. Was it a trap? A kickback for someone’s relative, maybe? Unfortunately, anything was possible depending on which council member had decided on the hotel. The missive was unsigned, too, which just raised more alarm bells. Why would anyone choose to send five teenagers, even trained, armed ones, to this sort of locale?
There were some strange looks being traded by team STRQ too and Oz’s pride in them only increased. This definitely reeked of a trap of some kind. Leverage over all five of them, maybe? Some way of putting them into a compromising position in order to have a hold on them? He bit his lip, pointedly looking away from them. After all, there were facts that team STRQ weren’t privy to that might change things slightly. Was the fact that he was only sixteen to their twenty relevant? Oh, he hoped not. If it became relevant, well… maybe he really should remind them that he was still the newest Ozma, was still the wizard. They might have raised him, trained him… but they didn’t own him and they certainly did not own his students.
The insides of the hotel didn’t look much more promising than the outside, though there had been some half-hearted efforts at cleaning things, the smear marks were still visible. Summer shuddered, but the twins just shrugged. They’d been in worse, after all. Tai was as nonplussed as the twins, but again that wasn’t massively surprising. Oz glanced at them and walked up to the desk, ringing the dingy little bell. The ringing mechanism was rusty, nice. Yeah, this place wasn’t going to make it on to anybody’s future travel plans, but hopefully nobody would try to kill them at least? They’d probably live almost long enough to regret it, if they tried.
There was about two minutes between the bell ringing and anyone arriving at the desk, more than enough time for Oz to hiss to his students to keep their belongings close. He got various versions of ‘teach your grandmother to suck eggs’, though at least they were all polite enough not to outright state it. The looks on their faces managed to choreograph their feelings loud and clear though. Huh, maybe they should do something about that at some point soon? It might be better for them if people could tell less what they were thinking, especially the twins. Then again, maybe not. They were children, they should be allowed to be children, not get caught up in his war.
The man that had appeared behind the desk passed them a list of the rooms booked without comment and Oz raised one eyebrow in suspicion. This was far from normal, surely? Their names were already entered into the rooms in question, no illusion of a choice at all. Tai was alone, Raven and Summer together. As were Qrow and himself. Surely he should have had the single room? He opened his mouth to argue then shut it again, looking at the positions of the rooms in question. Tai and the girls were next to each other and he was aware that Raven slept lightly. Anyone trying to get the drop on them would be in for one hell of a surprise. But Qrow’s room was on another floor. This place actually did enough business to have floors? He supposed some people would take just about anything in a pinch, but he wasn’t entirely certain that the lot of them weren’t going to catch lice here. Either way, leaving Qrow and Tai to bunk together on their own was insupportable. They were still his students, he was honor bound to protect them. Brothers, this stank of a trap.
They split up at the stairs, all of them too tired to really argue with the slimy looking man behind the desk. The looks he’d shot the girls were bad enough, if he’d actually tried anything then Oz was bleakly certain that the others would have burned this dingy little stain on Remnant to the ground. What was worse was that he might have helped them do it. Dammit, they were his students and they were his friends. The latter shouldn’t matter that much, but as with a lot of things on this trip, he was starting to find that it did so more and more. Qrow smirked at him from the stairs and Oz sighed. He was catching up to him fast when it came to height, but he was aware that that, too, was rather suspicious given the circumstances. Why would a twenty one year old be in the middle of that sort of growth spurt? He’d heard people term it ‘the growth spurt from hell’ and he couldn’t bring himself to argue with the wording. Everything ached right now, although that hadn’t stopped him from fighting, could never alter the fact that he would protect the others no matter the personal cost.
Leading Qrow up to the room was an exercise in patience. The carpet felt vaguely gummy under his shoes, the walls were peeling like cheap makeup and at least one bulb was blown completely. No, there was no reason why anyone willing to give them a good turn would have chosen a place like this. There was definitely going to be a politely worded note to the council from him and he suspected the others would follow suite. At least if they all actually survived the night.
The door creaked open at a touch, there didn’t seem to be a working lock. Inside, there was a single mattress, stained in ways neither of them wanted to think too closely on. They shared a collective shudder at the sight and mutually decided that the floor was probably their better option. There wasn’t enough room to spread a mat out, but neither of them wanted to even think about the bed.
“I could always sleep in the corridor, Mr Branwen. That is, if either of us dares fall asleep tonight.”
Qrow made a face. “Countering that, you sleep on the floor and I sleep in the corridor. I have more experience in watching out for threats. No offence, Oz… Professor, but I was raised with bandits.”
“I would not necessarily assume you had more experience with threats, Mr Branwen, although as this is not a formal setting you may call me Oz if you like.”
“Yeah, it’s Qrow.” Qrow said it fast, eyes raking Oz’s body. Oz blushed and bit his lip again, this was always the problem with the younger incarnations. He was currently too young, really, to act on any instincts he might possess, while being more than old enough to notice. Thankfully this lifetime did come with a built in excuse.
“I happen to be your professor, Mr… Qrow, It would be highly inappropriate to act on any feelings you may be experiencing. Sometimes, travel and long exposure to one another when one party is a teenager can result in unforeseen actions. Either way, we would both regret anything that may be said in the heat of the moment.” He sounded nervous even to himself.
“I’m twenty, Oz, I’m not a teenager.” Qrow sounded briefly fed up at the accusation, even as a sinking feeling washed over him.
“My mistake, years run together rather.” Oz stated, wishing he sounded as calm as he would have liked. He had slipped up and slipped up badly. Hopefully Qrow would take it as just nerves?
Qrow, however, was staring at him, eyes narrowed in contemplation. “Oz, I hate to ask, but how old are you? Really I mean?”
“Old enough to be your teacher, Mr Branwen. Beyond that, does it truly matter?”
Qrow kissed him, Oz freezing against him in sheer shock. Breaking the kiss as he noticed Oz’s lack of response, he blushed, looking down in brief shame. Oz looked shaken, taken aback rather by the sudden kiss. Under any other circumstances, it would have been welcomed, but as it stood? He was painfully aware it would be at least a year before anything happening now could be pursued.
“Qrow I… I’m sorry, but we cannot do this. Not yet, at least. Maybe later, if either one of us is interested enough, but you are still my student, I your teacher. And while I stated my physical age should not matter, I rather fear that it would.”
“How old are ya, Oz?” Qrow sounded resigned, but there was a flash of something almost like triumph in his eyes briefly, as though he had somehow won a bet.
“Sixteen.” Oz didn’t elaborate, the single word hanging between them. Qrow clenched one fist, though thought better of actually punching the flimsy looking wall. A blink later and he started to laugh, a hysterical sound that was none the less catching to Oz. Neither of them got any sleep, of course, but at least things between them might turn out okay?
Regrouping in the morning, it turned out that none of the five of them had slept a wink, though at least any fellow guests had chosen their lives over attempting to confront highly trained hunters, so they got at least reluctant credit for that? Whoever had booked them in had paid in advance which was one small blessing, but from the commentary, Ozpin was pretty sure all his students were planning to have very long showers back at Beacon. He didn’t blame them, he’d probably take one himself.
Glancing over to Qrow, he smiled to himself. They had both expressed desires, last night, to wait until it was politically more acceptable, not to mention legal, before trying again, but there had been an unspoken promise of tomorrow beneath both of their words. He doubted the fact that he was sixteen could stay hidden for long, now, though. Sooner or later, Qrow would get drunk and people would know. At least it should only really embarrass the council?
