Winter sighed as she sat her put her pen down, rapid footfalls echoing even on the carpet. She gripped her elbows behind her back, breaths quickening. How was she supposed tot deal with this? She was used to the general being away, but not like this. Months? To do with what exactly? The nature of his job was quite classified, but he was the general; what could possibly make him go out into the field like this?
And leaving her alone with a man she didn’t even know... He wouldn’t be staying with her but Coco but even so…
A tone chimed from a speaker above her TV and her head snapped up. making her sigh. "I'm quite all right, Coco." She eyed the camera and straightened her posture.
The TV flickered on and Coco's eyes peered out over the top other sunglasses, tutting as she shook her head. "C'mon, Wint; we both know you better than that.” Winter just sighed.
Of course she couldn't hide anything from her. "Talk to me."
"...Okay."
She settled on the couch, knees pulled to her chest as her mind turned over and over. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do? Even though they'd known each other for—
"C'mon, Wint."
Winter tensed, one hand clenched into a fist as she looked away. "You already know." How could she not? She'd heard the conversation between her and the-
"Talk to me."
Damn it, Coco… Why was her best friend so aggressive with this? Emotions weren't her strong suit…
She just wrapped her arms around her legs. visibly shaking. "I don't know anything about this Qrow Branwen...but I can tell he's stronger than me, and I've never been without James this long before." Her voice cracked and the tears finally started rolling down her cheeks. Why...Why did he have to leave like this...? She was hopeless without him... Just dear Holy Father he wasn't even gone yet and she was already falling apart... How was she supposed to make it through this...?
A sigh from Coco made her look up, though her best friend's attention had turned toward her computer. The keys clacked as her fingers flew across them, lips pursed. "I'd be there if I could, but I've got some pretty stringent teachers and they wouldn't let me out of their sight for that long... I think there's an investor's dinner in two weeks, so I'll be at a few events but that's all I can promise, Wint."
Winter just nodded and rested her forehead against her knees, eyes shut. "Thank you and could you do some looking in to this man?" Why would James leave her with somebody he didn't understand. let alone get along with? James was the only good man in all oft Atlas... Qrow might have been kind to her then, but the moment he got her where nobody could see...
"Honestly, already doing it...not that it's hard to find stuff on him. I've heard the name more than once. He's one of the most infamous Hunters in the world." She glanced up at Coco, throat tight. Infamous...? That... didn't bode well... and if Coco knew about him even with her limited life experience…
Holy Father, who was this man? Coco just sighed, pushing her sunglasses up. "I really hate to make things worse, but, yeah; it looks like he's one hell of a loose cannon. In the past year in Vacuo alone, he's taken on over a hundred missions that would be considered suicide. You know, the type that make even the Ace Ops call on their inherent right to question bad orders."
She just dropped her head back onto her knees. Why...? Why was James putting her with a man like this...? Surely even Clover would have been better. Not that she trusted any Atlassian man but even so...she at least knew him... She just…
She touched the wetness on her cheeks and sighed again. This...was the general they were talking about. There was no way he would leave her with somebody that would harm her... Her safety was his prime concern. It had been since he'd seen her application.
"I'll keep digging and see if I can find anything else, Wint."
"Thanks, Coco."
The image clicked off and she stood up. A glance at the kitchen before she turned her head away with a shake. She had paperwork to get to that was due Friday. It could wait until tomorrow morning.
α
213.
342.
410.
She sat up in bed, head cradled between her hands. This was stupid. She was stupid. The general would have nothing but her best interests and safety at heart.
And he wouldn't be leaving for a few more days.
She should have been sleeping like a baby but no.
She flicked the lights on before running through her morning routine. A last check in the mirror promised not a single hair out of place and she nodded. Even one could tip off that damn Clover that something was up. Damn that good luck Semblance of his…
But she let out a breath then gathered her things, knocking on the general's door. The lock clicked a moment later. He just stared for a long moment before moving aside. She just wrapped her arms around him the best she could, holding back tears. Stupid, clingy, petulant, spoiled child…
"I'm sorry for interrupting your mining routine, Sir, but-"
“No 'sirs' right now, Winter. You know that.” He pulled back and smiled at her. She returned it and nodded softly.
"Of course; I'm sorry." It was way too easy to fall into habits while in uniform even in his quarters. Stupid little girl, forgetting something so obvious…
James just shook his head. "No apologies needed, Winter. I haven't started on breakfast yet. Are you hungry?" Her gaze and head just drifted down a little and he sighed. “…Right. Would you at least like to join me for your favorite tea?"
"Yes, s—I mean, yes, thank you." She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. She...hadn't entirely thought this one through. What exactly was she supposed to say? She was no stranger to disagreeing with him. but even so... To doubt him on this level... What an awful slap in the face to the kindness he'd shown her... He'd protected her basically since day one…
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The sound of the mug on the table broke her thoughts, making her look up. He simply offered her a smile and she returned it the best she could. "So what's on your mind?"
The warmth of the tea pulled her attention to his face a no she sighed. "Si—I'm sorry if this is an insult to your intentions, but are you sure this is the best fit for me...? He's a stranger, a drunk, and a foreigner. Not to say I have anything against non-Atlassians, but does he understand the etiquette of these events? Wouldn't Clover be a better choice..or even Marrow...?" She did shiver a little at the idea. Military or not, that Semblance of his…
James sighed but nodded. "Unfortunately, I do think this is what's best. Clover's as good as an Atlassian man can probably get, but the fact of the matter is that he isn't one to stand up for women. He holds nothing against them—I mean, he works with Elm and Harriet without issue and then there was Miss Hill back in Atlas Academy—but he's just not one to stand up against any of the creeps that might try to get their hands on you. I wouldn't mind sending Marrow, but between that reputation he's purposely built of looking like an idiot and your reaction to his Semblance..." He shook his head while another shiver went down her spine. Marrow was a decent person, but an Atlassian man with a Semblance that could force somebody immobile…
Her grip on her mug just tightened as she shook a little.
She just leaned into the warmth of his hand in her head.
"While I'll never understand Qrow, there are some things I know about him to be true. He is almost supernaturally perceptive of others and can read damn near anybody." She nodded. Yeah, he had read her like an open book the night of the dance... It'd been...unnerving but welcome. He'd actually treated her like a person and not just breeding stock…
"The other one I know for certain is that he vehemently objects to everything Atlas stands for. Him being a foreigner actually works in his favor." James just sighed as he poured another Cup of coffee. Was he as stressed about this as she was...? He was no Ozpin, so to see him go for a third cup…
"So he'll get me out of any sort of situations where somebody might try to hurt me...?" She just... She needed to hear it. Being left alone at one of these events with so many men that would try to 'tame' her…
She wiped away a tear.
James nodded and she leaned into his touch again. "I can't be for certain, but with as much as he's ranted about it to me, my educated guess would be yes." He just sighed before taking a sip from his mug. "I am sorry I'm leaving you with a stranger, Winter, but he seems to be the best choice.” She just reached up and put a hand on his arm, a faint smile on her lips.
"I won't pretend I'm not terrified, but this did help a little..." Aside from him. she would probably always be terrified of men. They were just far too dangerous for her to be around alone aside from maybe Clover.. but even that was debatable for her.
He did reach into his rocket and palled on this scroll. "Here's Qrow's number. I'll pass yours onto him via message later." That just made her smile a bit.
"Thank you and that's fine."
"Will you be visiting me once we get done for the day?”
“After I talk to Coco…” There was a job she needed to do…
α
"This really is something else, moonflower." He smiled as he looked around at the picnic. It really was something else... And to think she'd managed to hide it under his nose the whole time.
She just chuckled. "Well it is your birthday." She tucked some hair behind her ears. "I figured you could use a good day off after all of the missions you've been running." He just smiled at her. She was way too thoughtful in every way. Sweet, warm. Fanny, passionate, gentle, kind...
How could anyone ask for a more perfect woman?
"Thanks. Think you could pass the brownies?"
Summer chuckled softly. "You are such a child, Qrow. But of course I can after you check your scroll, you idiot."
He blinked. "What—?"
"Wake up and check your scroll; somebody's trying to hack into it!”
He jerked awake and grabbed his scroll. The chibi version of Summer glared up at him, pushing the lock screen aside. "It's about time you woke up, you fucking idiot! I've been trying to alert in for the past five minutes! Someone's managed to breech the top layers of your security. I've held them off, but you need to do something!"
It didn't take anything beyond that to go on the defensive, locking files, folders, and trying to trace the s-ane. A loading circle floated above chibi Summer's head and he swam under his breath. Damn it, she was cutting back her processing so he could work. "Here, take whatever power you need. Trace the source. Find out who's doing this.'' It wasn't the smartest strategy. but it might spook the person enough to stop.
She nodded as he sat back and watched her work. Only a few minutes passed until she stopped and opened a window. A young girl sat there, staring up over the top of her sunglasses with wide eyes.
His brows furrowed. "Why's the hell a kid trying to hack my scroll?" Kids did stupid, reckless shit, but this seemed a special brand of it.
"Uh... bye." The window closed for a second but returned after Summer brought it back up. The kid past stared at him, visibly shaking a bit.
That had been a Vacuan accent even in Atlassian, so he flipped over to Standard Vacuan before speaking again. "Okay, how about this: if you have a good reason for this, I won't turn your information into the Vacuan authorities." His tone and expression flattened. She hadn't managed to access more than texts and some of Summer's Videos which was a relief, but even…
The girl nodded before sighing. "...Winter asked me to. Sorry.'
His eyebrows shot up. "Winter...? But why....?" It wasn't like they'd be seeing each other a lot. She had no reason to go to these lengths. Hiring a hacker to do her bidding.... What was going through that girl's head...?
"She's an Atlassian upper-class woman being left at events where she’ basically isolated with a strange foreigner she's spoken to once." The girl just gave him a strong stare over the top of her sunglasses and he sighed. Yeah... That was definitely a pretty damn good reason. And asking him directly about things was well out of the question with her fear.
"I don't entirely blame her, but why in the hell did she hire a hacker?"
The kid shook her head before pushing her sunglasses up. "Nah, she's my best friend, has been for a few years." She shrugged.
"...I see. Well, I'll cut you a deal then, how about? I'll give you some files that will hopefully put her at ease. Sound like a plan?" The girl gave a thumbs up.
It didn't take him long to locate the tiles with Summer's help and he sent the zipped folder over to the girl. She grinned and gave another thumbs up. "I'll pass 'em along to her. By the way... what security program is that? It's pretty damn powerful."
Qrow just snorted. "Like I'm gonna tell a hacker about my security."
"...Fair point. Anyway, talk to you later, old man." She gave a small, two-fingered salute before the window closed.
He sighed as he resettled against the bed, rubbing his forehead. Summer settled in a little char in the corner of the screen, looking up at him."You're an idiot for taking that at face value... even if it was exactly what it appeared to be." She shook
"Yeah, I know, but I've learned to trust my gut by this point. Who was the kid anyway?”
The AI brought up a small window and he nodded. “I see. Well, checks out then.” Coco Adel, old money with the SDC. Made sense she’d know Winter. Why a kid like that would turn to hacking was beyond him. but whatever.
"I'm going back to sleep." He put his scroll back on the nightstand and rolled over. This would probably end up being like the nightmare he'd just woken up from…
α
She sighed as she clicked the TV off, looking at Coco through the webcam. “..So what's your thoughts...?"
"I'd say they're legit. Wint. Why would somebody go through the trouble of faking that many videos then sharing them with me? Plus they're from a cross more than twenty years..." Winter just looked down. It wasn't too hand to agree with her best friend's thoughts, but it was next to impossible to accept.
Everything in those videos conflicted with what the general had said and it was too good to be true. A man that actually respected and listened to women? Not only that, but he was kind and gentle? Yes, the general was that way with her, but he was the exception, not the rule.
She wanted this to all be a farce but these were clearly somebody's private family videos... And everything with personalities and appearance remained fairly consistent aside from the aging... Aside from Qrow's hair being completely black... Had he really been under that much stress in just a few short years to start going prematurely grey?
She just sighed and dropped her head onto her knees. There was no winning here period... All she could do was get to know the man. He made zero sense and she would never understand other people or her own emotions very well.
Plus, why bother when anybody else would just betray or use hens?
"Wint?"
"I'm going to go stay with James for the next few nights."
"All right. Well, just let me know if you need anything. And please eat something." Coco looked over the top of her sunglasses before exiting out the screen.
Winter just sighed again. This was going to be awful... At least she only had to deal with Qrow at dances…
