Love Like You
Qrow tensed at the sudden realness of the situation before he relaxed and gave Clover a smile. “Yeah, should probably start on that. Think any of the kids have some baby names?” AO3
It was a rare treat for the group to find a town so soon after they had left the previous one, only having to sleep in the desert for two nights in between the towns.
Qrow knew the larger settlements of Vacuo well, the ones that could take an occasional Grimm beating thus allowing them to stay in the same place for years at a time.
Smaller ones like they one they were at now, the ones that could be packed up and moved within a few days when needed, tended to slip under Qrow’s map.
Not that Qrow or any of the others were complaining about the stroke of good luck, the sentiment had Qrow rolling his eyes.
Vacuo was hard to navigate, and you couldn’t let your guard down while out in the open day or night.
Add to that the crucialness of rationing supplies and constantly repairing weapons and it was no wonder Nora shouts for joy whenever they come into view of a new settlement.
While Qrow was long accustomed to nomadic traveling in hostile areas, he couldn’t deny the breath of relief he let out every time he had an actual bed to sleep on.
Though he had a feeling that relief was fueled primarily by his “condition”.
Red eyes glanced down to his protruding stomach and as if on cue he could feel one of them start to move. Knowing that with one of them moving around the other would join in, Qrow figured he had rested long enough.
With a small grunt he pushed himself up and immediately his hand was resting on the bump, Qrow knew that simple actions like that would be harder as time grew on.
Even though he hadn’t even hit the sixth month mark most everyone could tell he was pregnant with a quick glance.
He had become a liability to the whole group once more, but now he couldn’t even blame it on drinking to much. At least when he was drunk, he could still fight.
The lamp closest to him flickered once before the bulb exploded and Qrow scrubbed his face.
Going through with the pregnancy while the fate of humanity was in question might truly be the stupidest thing he has ever done.
Stupid.
Raven may prove to be right in her judgment, if it was just him that was one thing but those kids where reckless enough to stick by him. Clover was worse, at this point the alpha had made it clear that he was with Qrow until the end.
Selfish.
Qrow swung his legs over the side of the bed and froze when he heard movement from outside the room, the others must have come back and he had slept through the noise.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t sleep like a log through the night, gone were his honed instincts that he had spent years training.
One headache now had him passed out for over an hour, in a deep enough sleep to miss a gaggle of teenagers coming back from hunting Grimm. Frustration boiled over as the thoughts swirled.
You’ve always been soft.
Going with the theme of being unobservant he almost missed the door clicking open, of course he and Clover got the best room, and a freshly washed Clover walked in.
Forcing the darker thoughts down he swiped at his face and turned to face his alpha. A quick glance showed that the mission had gone well, and Clovers relaxed demeanor promised that the kids were all alright.
Despite himself the omega couldn’t help but return the smile given to him. Clover strode over and practically beamed as he fixed a flyaway black lock, leaning down Qrow wasted no time in meeting him for a needed kiss.
When they parted Clover was gazing at him with hooded eyes, which only went to show that the alpha’s mind was clouded when it came to Qrow.
“How are you feeling?”
Penny must have told him that Qrow had retreated to bed, new frustration sprung forth at the thought.
Penny had more important things to think about, it wasn’t fair that she had to play babysitter on top that.
The pause had Clover looking at him with concern and Qrow had to switch gears.
“Brats were kicking up a storm.”
Clover chuckled and placed a hand over Qrow’s stomach, after a moment a firm nudge met his palm.
Without a word Qrow guided the alpha’s other hand to a different spot and Clover blinked when a firm jab met his palm there as well.
Teal eyes met red ones and Qrow raised his eyebrows pointedly.
“Told you so.”
Despite the words there was only warmth in the tone and Clover captured his lips once again, when they withdrew the alpha crouched down.
“You two need to settle down in there, your papa was trying to rest and it’s rude to wake him up.”
It should be illegal how soft his voice got and Qrow gently brushed through brown hair.
Clover looked up from where he was kneeling, his hand still splayed out over the omega’s stomach.
His grin grew when he saw the faintest blush gracing Qrow’s cheeks, light enough for the omega to use the heat as an excuse.
The blush grew just a shade deeper with the gaze, “Brothers, you’re hopeless.”
Clover hummed contently and gave a soft kiss to the protruding bump, an act that had Qrow rolling his eyes. In these kinds of moments Qrow could ignore the doubts and fear, he could focus on the hope for the future that Clover seemed to have.
Clovers face was suddenly much closer than it had been a moment ago, Qrow hadn’t even noticed the other man getting back up.
“What’s wrong?”
A calloused hand cupped Qrow’s cheek and the gentleness still had the omega’s heart pounding, he was hardly some love struck teen but this casual intimacy was still something that had the huntsman’s pulse quicken.
When Clover’s smile faded more, Qrow realized that he had spaced out again.
“Just thinking about some things. It’s nothing bad.”
Green eyes searched his face for a moment band as per usual Qrow felt completely exposed under those eyes.
“Well, I’ve been thinking as well. I think we should start talking about names, nothing concrete but maybe get some ideas.”
Qrow tensed at the sudden realness of the situation before he relaxed and gave Clover a smile.
“Yeah, should probably start on that. Think any of the kids have some names?”
“Well I know Nora probably has at least five locked and loaded, Weiss as well. Yang and Ruby might have some good ones.”
Qrow had expected Ruby and Nora, they were the loudest about their excitement anything twin related.
Yang joined in at times, mostly to further tease her uncle, but to hear Clover mention Weiss so casually caught Qrow off guard.
The young alpha had certainly warmed up to him over time, but the huntsman doubted that Weiss spent her free time thinking of baby names for a washed-up old crow like him.
Clover, as per usual, seemed to be able to know exactly what Qrow was thinking and raised an eyebrow.
“You mean a lot to them, all of them and they’re all excited about the babies. Of course, some of them are louder sharing that excitement than others.”
Qrow should be used to those casual remarks about what he meant to others, especially when they came from Clover, but it still squeezed his heart and made him shift in spot.
He hummed noncommittally and let Clover help him up before leading the way to the quaint dining room/kitchen.
A few of the kids were lounging about, tired from both the heat and the Grimm hunting, a movie was playing on the small television but only Oscar seemed to be interested in what was playing.
Penny noticed them first and gave the pair a bright smile before bounding over, “I’m glad to see you are feeling better, Qrow.”
It had been an uphill battle trying to convince Penny to call him by his first name and he could still see the girl catch herself every so often.
The omega smiled reassuringly and ruffled her hair, “I am, thanks carrot top.”
Qrow didn’t deserve the beaming smile he received before she turned and went back to the small table to repair a broken sword.
The other kids glanced up at him, as if checking to make sure he wouldn’t keel over from the brief walk over.
Blake smiled at him softly and moved just a smidge closer to Yang, creating a clear opening for Qrow on the couch next to her.
The older omega smiled back at the cat faunas and slowly sank down next to her on the couch, he tried to write off the way she relaxed just slightly into him as just fellow omega tendencies.
Clover perched on the arm rest and Qrow decidedly did not glance at the alpha, he could already guess the smirk the other wore.
Weiss strode towards him, presenting a glass of a water that he took with a smile.
One that she returned in a much smaller manner before taking a sip from her own glass.
Clover made a soft noise before straightening up, “Qrow and I were talking about baby names. Do any of you have some ideas?”
Yang leaned forward at the question and the devious smirk she wore had the hairs of Qrow’s neck raise, he had seen that same look enough times to know things were about to get hectic.
Yang leaned away from her girlfriend and twisted around to face the rest of the rooms, “Ruby or Nora, grab the book!”
To the alpha’s credit, she was hardly yelling, but her order did cause a new ruckus.
Qrow could hear the tell tale stomping of feet and a brief yell from what sounded like Nora before a flurry of petals landed next to Weiss.
Ruby had obviously just woken up from a nap if her mused up hair was any indication, but she looked wide awake and was clutching a journal proudly to her chest.
The rest of the horde began filling into the common room after that, led by a slightly dripping Nora who was scowling at Ruby. “You play dirty, Rose.”
Jaune was rubbing his eyes lightly and Ren’s hair was completely loose, whatever was in the book had enough power to call everyone to arms and the T.V. was turned off.
Weiss retrieved the journal from Ruby and for a moment her proud posture faltered just a bit, Qrow knew the alpha well enough to know that whatever was going on was her idea and she was nervous about the reaction.
“Watcha got there, princess?”
The hesitation disappeared and Weiss held out the worn brown journal expectantly. Qrow snuck a glance around to find that all the kids were watching with rapt attention, though some more so than others, and Clover looked just as confused about this as he was.
The journal itself was uninteresting, no lavish embroidery or bright colors. The moment he opened it that changed and bright colors flooded his vision.
Upon inspection he saw what was written, names.
There were names in different colors in rows, from the handwriting alone he could guess who wrote what, but the colors were a nice touch.
As he thrummed through the pages Qrow was stunned to see that all the kids had put down multiple names.
Clover shifted above him to get a better look and was the first to speak of the pair.
“That’s a pretty impressive list. Or lists, I should say.”
Now that it was brought up Qrow could see were one list ended and another began.
Weiss had gone suspiciously silent and Oscar spoke up, “oh yeah, we um, put them in categories. The one you’re on is names to do with luck, or fortune.”
Qrow couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped as he read through the first few, they were creative to say the least.
Clover gently turned the page and this category was more apparent.
“Names based off plants, might have to cross some off though. I knew some people with some of these names before.”
Spurred on Weiss found her voice again, “this is still the second draft, we’re going to revise the list again soon.”
The fact that this was the second draft had warmth blooming through Qrow, Nora leaned in and turned a few pages before unsubtly pointing to a name written in pink.
“This list is bird names, it’s shorter than the rest but has real gems.”
And quite a few names written in the same shade of pink, when Qrow looked up at her with a raised eyebrow the young alpha winked.
Surprisingly Blake was the next one to flip the pages, “these names are color related, or just colors for some of them. It’s the longest and honestly, has some of the weirdest ones.”
Coming from her that was saying a lot and Qrow was becoming more curious about what had been cut from the first list.
Penny had at some point stood behind him and leaned over the man to rifle through, “this is miscellaneous. They couldn’t be made to fit into any of the other lists, but they are to nice to just disregard.”
She withdrew her hand but made no other move to lean away from above him.
Looking down at the names Qrow felt a rush of affection for the teens that had written them with so much thought behind it.
Clover was right, they were excited for the twins because their odd pack to gain two tiny members.
Qrow could blame hormones for the sudden tightness in his throat and he looked at the kids, “you guys did good, Branwen’s aren’t really known for their naming skills. Thanks.”
It should be criminal how pleased each of them looked, they didn’t have nearly enough opportunities to just be teens.
Clover rested his hand on Qrows shoulder, something in him relented and he would talk with Clover about his fears later.
Ruby caved first and rushed in for a hug, she was soon joined by the usual hug suspects before the others caved in as well.
Qrow tried to encompass as many as he could, he may not feel like he deserved it, but this was his flock.