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Beacon Academy. Qrow Branwen, quite frankly, had mixed feelings about coming back to his alma mater. Sure, some of the best memories of his life were associated with the place. And plenty of bad ones. Still, it was his duty to be here. So he tried to focus on the positive.
He sat on a marble bench in the Bastinda Memorial Gardens. This had been Summer’s favorite of Beacon’s numerous gardens and hideaways, filled with roses and other pretty flowers. He sipped from his flask, staring at the marble pillars of a nearby colonnade. For a moment, he could see four stupid teenagers arguing over something, long ago.
“DADDY!”
He was broken from his reverie by a loud shout. He looked over: An orangette in pink and white from the Kid’s team (His nickname for the mini-Taiyang his nieces were friends with) stormed towards him, her turquoise eyes brimming with hope and fear. The rest of RWBY and JNPR followed at a distance. Yang and Ruby looked nervous but hopeful, the Schnee was tense, the Belladonna brat was taciturn… But the Kid, the Champion, and the Stoic Kid were staring at Qrow intensely.
Qrow glanced at Nora, who was grinning at him. Qrow slowly shook his head.
“Ah, that’s sweet Hammer kid, but I’m into gals who are legal-”
She clutched a few crumpled letters, her orange hair bouncing as she thrust it toward him, her voice trembling but bright.
“I mean, I got my DNA checked! And you’re a match for my dad!” she declared, handing him the results. “So you’re my Daddy!”
Qrow, his flask glinting in the sunlight, froze, his red eyes scanning the paper.
“…I… huh?!”
Team RWBY and JNPR closed in around them, their faces a mix of shock and accusation. Weiss Schnee, arms crossed, her ice-blue eyes sharp, spoke first.
“I sent it off to an independent lab: it is legit.”
Yang Xiao Long leaned forward, her lilac eyes narrowing. “Yeah, so… Uncle Qrow? You could, ya know… explain.”
Ruby Rose bounced on her heels, her silver eyes gleaming. “Yeah! Explain our new cousin!”
Jaune Arc cracked his knuckles, his blue eyes hard. “And answer a few questions.”
Pyrrha Nikos’s smile was sharp, her emerald eyes glinting as she drew Miló. “Such as: Where you were for the last seventeen years of her life?”
Ren’s voice was low, his magenta eyes radiating lethal intent. “Indeed.”
Holy shit. How could his luck have gone so… Well… Fuck. Taiyang and Summer had always said ‘Honesty is the best policy’... Except when it wasn’t. But looking into the earnest eyes of his nieces and his apparently daughter, it seemed the only option.
Qrow raised his hands, his voice rough with emotion.
“…For the life of me? I don’t remember this one-WOAH!”
Before he could finish, JNPR descended like a storm. Pyrrha’s Semblance yanked Harbinger from Qrow’s grip, snapping it in half with a flick of her wrist. Jaune’s shield bashed Qrow’s shoulder, and Ren’s fists landed with surgical precision, sending Qrow staggering. “Shit! SHIT!” Qrow yelped, dodging as best he could.
Yang’s voice cut through, exasperated. “Seriously, Uncle Qrow?!”
“Look!” Qrow panted, ducking a swing from the Kid’s sword. “I don’t keep track of all my sexual—wait, wait!” He held up his hands in surrender, Ren’s pistol pointed right between his eyes. Sure, he could defeat all of them-Easily-But that would crush his nieces’ hearts.
“Don’t kill him!” Yang shouted. “He has to explain!”
“Yeah!” Ruby added.
Once again, he was glad they were around. Qrow strained his memory, thinking back to the file on Nora Valkyrie… Where she came from… His eyes widened.
“Short, busty orangette from Solitas… Living in Mistral?”
Nora nodded. Qrow took a deep breath.
“Okay… yeah. I remember her. Sort of. I was at a Solitan village in northern Anima-Grendeltown?”
“Yes!” Nora said with a nod. “How did you meet? Did you know eachother well?”
Qrow… Winced. He could see the light leaving those turquoise eyes. Her coloration was her mothers’, but that look of heartbreak… Yeah, that she got from the Branwens. He heaved a heavy sigh.
“Kid, I… I was drunk, she was drunk… she kicked me out of her cabin the morning after, and well… I never saw her again.” He looked intently into her eyes, as hard as it was to do so. “I didn’t know. She never tried to contact me. I’m sorry, kid. I truly didn’t know.”
Silence fell. Nora’s head bowed, her voice small, a crack in her usual boundless energy. “Oh… I-I see,” she murmured.
The teams’ glares intensified, their auras flaring. Qrow sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry, kid. I… that’s the truth. I’m not gonna lie to you. I had no idea you were… you-”
Nora shook her head, her voice breaking, tears spilling. “I… I get it. I just… I wanted…” She sniffled. “M-My mom didn’t want me… why would you be any different?”
Qrow’s eyes widened, his voice sharp as he held up his hand. “I didn’t say that—!”
“It doesn’t matter!” Nora shouted, her hammer trembling in her grip. “I shouldn’t have said anything! I just—I hoped—maybe—maybe you’d be different!”
“Nora, you’re dropping a hell of a lot on me all at once!” Qrow protested. “If I’d known—!”
“WELL, NOW YOU KNOW!” Nora yelled, her aura sparking pink. “So you don’t have to do anything! Why would you?! I didn’t need you before! I don’t need you now!” She stormed off, her hammer dragging, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.
Jaune, and Pyrrha sprinted after her, their loyalty unyielding. Weiss went after, throwing a venomous look over her shoulder before she left. Blake, for her own reasons, followed, leaving Qrow with his nieces and Lie Ren. Qrow stared after, his hand reaching for his flask. He looked at his nieces, his tone almost desperate: “I swear… if I’d known…”
Ruby hesitated, then hugged him tightly, her voice soft. “I know, Uncle Qrow, I know…”
Yang hesitated for a bit longer, but she reached out to squeeze his shoulder.
“It’s pretty big for all of us,” Yang admitted.
Qrow sighed, his voice heavy. “Jeez…” He looked up at Lie Ren. His eyes were murderous, but his tone was carefully even.
“Ruby? Yang? I swore I would kill anyone who made Nora cry.”
Qrow wasn’t scared. But at the same time, the look in that young man’s eyes was also painfully familiar. The desire to kill, the knowledge you couldn’t win… And not caring. Because ending someone for the person you loved was more important.
Yang raised her hands, her voice firm. “Okay, easy, Zen. We don’t have to go that far. He didn’t know!”
Ruby nodded, her eyes pleading. “He would’ve never abandoned Nora if he did!”
Qrow grimaced, rubbing his bruised jaw. “To be fair, do you have any idea how many waitresses, barmaids, farmer’s daughters, innkeepers, madams…” Three glares made him stop. “I’m not helping my case. Point is, Nora’s way happier without me in her life destroying it. Ask Ruby and Yang what me sticking around too much did to their mom.”
Yang’s eyes flashed, her voice sharp as she slapped his shoulder angrily. “That wasn’t your fault, Qrow! But Nora’s life was still your responsibility!”
Ruby’s voice rose, her hands flailing. “Yeah! And Nora… Nora’s life was awful! Her own mother abandoned her to live on her own in Ren’s village! And everyone was killed there; only Ren saved her life! And they’ve only had each other for all this time! Even with your Semblance, you being in her life would’ve been better!”
Qrow set his jaw grimly. He looked back at Ren, who stared intently into his eyes.
Ren’s aura pulsed, his voice unyielding. “…Mister Branwen. I appreciate that you didn’t know Nora was your daughter.” He stepped closer, his eyes piercing. “But now that you know… you will do something for her. Like it or not, she is part of your life now. And you will try to find some way to connect with her. I know you can’t turn back the clock to change anything about the past. But you will do something now.”
Qrow sighed, lowering his flask, his voice weary and defeated. “I don’t suppose you could tell me anything she likes? If you really want me to make up to a girl, I need to know something about her.” He looked back up into Ren’s eyes. “Aside from you, of course.”
Later, in a shadowed stairwell of Beacon, the air cool with the scent of stone, Qrow leaned against the wall. He was sporting a fresh shiner, his flask empty. Ozpin approached, his cane tapping softly, his green eyes calm but piercing.
“You look worse for wear,” Ozpin said, his voice dry.
Qrow snorted, touching his bruised jaw. “Nora’s boyfriend has a mean left hook. Good. She deserves a man like that.”
Ozpin’s gaze softened, but his tone was firm. “She deserves a father as well. As all children do.”
Qrow’s eyes narrowed, his voice rough. “Yeah. But not—”
“Yes, yes, your Semblance,” Ozpin cut in, his voice sharp. “But a Semblance does not a man make. And while I can name worse fathers I’ve had the displeasure to encounter, they had to take deliberate action. You have not even achieved that.”
Qrow’s jaw tightened, his voice low. “So you’re telling me I need to get involved too, huh?”
Ozpin’s smile was faint, tinged with sorrow. “Qrow, you are no longer my student. Nor are you currently on a mission against Salem or some pawn of hers. You are a free man, free to do as he feels fit. Free to choose if he is going to have the family he so richly deserves to have at long last, or leave another young woman with a broken heart, one more of scores.”
Qrow fell silent, his red eyes distant, the weight of Ozpin’s words settling in. Ozpin’s voice softened, heavy with memory. “I envy you, Qrow. Just like I envy any man who is surprised by fatherhood. I had that, but I lost it.”
Qrow’s brow furrowed, his voice quiet. “…I never knew you had kids.”
“Yes,” Ozpin murmured, his eyes far away, lost in time. “I once had a beautiful wife, and four equally beautiful little girls. It was lifetimes ago… or so it seems.”
Qrow’s voice was barely a whisper. “What happened?”
Ozpin’s gaze darkened, his voice heavy with grief. “…Good things happen to horrible people. And horrible things happen to the most innocent of people. And we lose the most precious things that we assume are adamantine.”
Qrow stared, his flask forgotten in his hand. Ozpin’s eyes met his, resolute yet gentle. “Yes. I dread to think what I would give up to be in your shoes, and have but one of my little girls in my arms again.”
Qrow’s shoulders slumped, his voice rough but determined.
“…I’ll try, Oz. For Nora.”
He pushed off the wall, his steps heavy but resolute.