Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/13897290.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      RWBY
  Relationship:
      Qrow_Branwen/Raven_Branwen, Qrow_Branwen/Taiyang_Xiao_Long, Summer_Rose/
      Taiyang_Xiao_Long, Raven_Branwen/Taiyang_Xiao_Long, Qrow_Branwen/Raven
      Branwen/Taiyang_Xiao_Long, Qrow_Branwen/OC
  Character:
      Qrow_Branwen, Raven_Branwen, Taiyang_Xiao_Long, Summer_Rose_(RWBY),
      Original_Character(s)_-_Character, Ruby_Rose, Weiss_Schnee, Blake
      Belladonna, Yang_Xiao_Long, Nora_Valkyrie, Lie_Ren, Jaune_Arc, Pyrrha
      Nikos, Glynda_Goodwitch, James_Ironwood, Ozpin_(RWBY), Zwei_(RWBY),
      Winter_Schnee
  Additional Tags:
      Incest, Sibling_Incest, Threesome, Threesome_-_F/M/M, Adventure,
      Adventure_&_Romance, Drama, Emotional/Psychological_Abuse, Abuse, Child
      Abuse, STRQ, Happy_Ending, Eventual_Happy_Ending, Angst_with_a_Happy
      Ending, Canon_Compliant, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Drinking, Underage
      Drinking, Underage_Sex
  Stats:
      Published: 2018-03-07 Updated: 2018-03-30 Chapters: 6/? Words: 7259
****** A Dusty Young Qrow ******
by alaswoeisme
Summary
     A look at STRQ, Qrow's participation in canon events and, finally,
     his life after the defeat of Salem. The fic focuses on Qrow's
     drinking, sex antics and other misadventures, but, mostly, on Grimm
     adventures and missions. Or at least that's the plan...
Notes
See the end of the work for notes
***** Welcome to Beacon - the most uncivilised civilised place the Branwen
twins have ever journeyed to *****
Qrow and his sister, Raven, had been sent to Beacon Academy to learn how to
kill huntsmen and huntresses – the natural enemies of the bandit tribe that had
been worse than an evil stepmother to Qrow. As such, the teenager never
intended to do what the clan leaders had instructed the siblings to do. Raven
could go on a killing spree for all he cared. She and he had never seen eye to
eye when it came to the tribe. But Qrow planned to do precisely what was
expected of those entering the academy – to become a huntsman and fight for
money, glory and women, amongst other things. Hell, one could never have enough
of these three.
Nearing the ground interrupted his line of thought… He expanded his scythe,
spread it out, thrust the point into the trunk of a tree, interrupting his
freefall, and spiralled around the tall tree in a downward direction, landing
softly and soundlessly on the ground, no more clumsily than a cat. Or a crow.
No sooner had he folded his weapon and smoothed out his clothes and hair than a
red portal appeared next to him. Out stepped Raven in her usual black clothes
and condescending spirits.
‘No time for displays of vanity, little brother. We are being observed and
evaluated,’ she said evenly, sheathing her sword.
The brother, who was slightly taller than his sister in actuality, made sure to
look her in the eye, a long and forced stare filled with the same disparagement
and mock-anger.
‘Do you want us to fight?’ she asked a little surprised.
‘Eye contact, Raven. Without it, you’re not my partner even though you dragged
your ruffled feathers to my side.’
‘Whatever,’ she waved him off and led towards their goal.
The siblings reached the relics easily. The grim they encountered were child’s
play compared to what they had faced on a nearly daily basis while protecting
the tribe and toddler’s play compared to the enemies they had fought off on
their way to the academy the week before. The brother and sister now stood
surrounded by small pedestals, various cutlery and crockery atop. Raven raised
an eyebrow and picked up a knife.
‘I wonder if these teachers are desperately trying to be original or just don’t
care that much about what they do,’ she mused, murmuring to herself mostly.
Her brother shrugged, uninterested, and the pair headed back. Later that day
they were introduced to the rest of their team – a beautiful silver-eyed girl
and a haughty blond boy, both quite short and beaming at the introduction. The
four were directed to their room but when she entered, Summer was surprised to
realise:
‘So… All four of us are going to share a room?’ she asked, incredulous.
‘Yeah,’ Qrow confirmed after no one else had said anything, ‘Don’t worry
though, I won’t do anything while you’re getting undressed. Except stare,’ he
teased with a lewd smile. The startled girl shook her head and crossed her arms
over her chest, looking away from the ebony-haired lad.
‘It’s going to be a long four years,’ she sighed and started unpacking.
The twins had little in the way of luggage. Each had brought several almost
identical outfits, both siblings preferred black, it would seem, and some of
their clothes were even difficult to pin as Qrow’s or Raven’s. Especially the
black shirts and socks. The other pair, however, started pulling various
articles out of their suitcases. In no time the walls were covered in posters,
boy bands that Summer liked and martial arts sketches that Taiyang had brought.
Dozens of books were slid neatly onto the shelves and when the space had been
filled out, they had been stacked wherever possible. Several mugs, comic
collections and accessories also adorned the room. Satisfied and excited,
Summer and Tai joined their teammates on the floor, sitting and crossing their
legs. Little had been said. Qrow and Raven had mostly discussed fighting
techniques and the weak points and behaviour of the Grimm they had encountered.
‘So,’ Tai began, ‘I’m from Patch and I come from a long line of huntsmen…
though my family are famous herbal healers, on my mother’s side.’
‘Yes, I thought “Xiao Long” sounded familiar. Your father or grandfather
patented a few antidotes, didn’t he?’ Qrow chimed in, almost excited.
‘My great granduncle, actually. But yeah. So?’
Looking to the two females, the blond gave his warmest smile. Summer looked
down shyly and replied:
‘My family are writers, mostly,’ she said embarrassed, ‘Fiction. Children’s
stories, other stories, novels…’ she trailed off, ‘But once I discovered I
could actually become a warrior and help people for real, I immediately started
training hard to come here,’ she smiled, looking more confident now.
The black-haired duo nodded in understanding. They were well-versed in
Remnant’s history, founts of power and legends. They knew the silver eyes
Summer had cast their way were a truly powerful weapon. Raven was even a little
jealous, as the power of her red eyes paled in comparison…
‘My brother and I come from a distant tribe. The chiefs recognised our
potential and sent us here to perfect our skills and tactics,’ Raven explained
in a rehearsed manner.
Darkness had settled over the school grounds. With the team’s introductions and
meal complete, they decided to head to their beds, which were in the four
corners of the room, as classes began the next day. Raven stripped and climbed
into her bed without any sideways glance or sign of awkwardness. Despite that,
her three roommates had made a point of not looking at her. Tai was trying to
be a gentleman, Summer was shy enough to compensate for Raven’s utter lack of
bashfulness and Qrow merely made a show of being tactful, since he preferred
for his new friends not to know exactly how far the closeness between himself
and his sister went. Could they really become friends, he wondered. He had had
fewer than the number of limbs standardly associated with people and he was
determined to give this whole team-thing a shot. Without taking it too
seriously, of course. He suspected his new friends would start hating him the
moment they found out about his semblance.
Summer changed into her pyjamas, red-faced despite her team’s not looking at
her. Even Qrow had decided not to tease her, after all. Tai simply removed his
shirt and jumped onto his bed with more force than necessary.
‘Mmm, comfy,’ he cooed, ‘Gotta hand it to the staff and administration here –
the place is five times posher than my home!’
‘Oh, you,’ Qrow chuckled, amused at how small a difference that was compared to
what he himself was used to. Sleeping on the ground, in tents, at best, and in
trees, in the rain or upright, at worst. Throw in a couple of caves here and
there, as well as a raft, once.
The memory made the black-haired teenage boy shudder. Hopefully, here he could
live in normal conditions, both in terms of comfort and people. His teammates
seemed nice, he thought. Attractive too, especially the blond. Summer was
indeed beautiful but she had this innocence about her that prevented Qrow from
getting any ideas. Even the way she was talking to Tai at the moment –
something about flowers and their healing properties. She was very enthusiastic
about the topic. A child’s happiness in her voice. Tai, on the other hand… He
seemed an option to Qrow, who also started taking his clothes off. Having
removed everything, he was still listening to Summer, when he chimed in to
correct her about something.
‘Actually, these healing properties largely depend on where the plant grows –
on the soil.’
She turned to him to ask but immediately covered her face with her hands.
‘Gods, Qrow, don’t you have clothes to sleep in?’ she enquired in a muffled
voice.
‘No. Why would I?’ he grinned, getting into his bed.
The rustling of the covers signalled to Summer that she could open her eyes
now, which she did and scolded the still-grinning huntsman-in-training.
‘Well, imagine that a fire breaks out. And we need to evacuate immediately. Or
someone attacks us… Are you going to run or fight in your birthday suit? Or get
burned alive while you’re trying to put on your fancy black pants with all
those shiny buttons?’
‘Look, sweetheart,’ Qrow retorted arrogantly, ‘if I need to fight or flee for
my life, the last thing on my mind is gonna be whether I run down the corridor
with my ding-dong swinging or in p-jays. I plan to share it with at least half
the school anyway.’
‘You’re impossible!’ Summer squeaked, hiding her face once again.
Tai just gave a loud laugh. Qrow made a note of that approval. Raven just
sighed, shifting her gaze from the time-table she had been studying in bed and
to her brother:
‘I hope you outgrow this, Qrow. Too many snide jokes is insufferable but all of
them about sexual things – now that just makes you look pathetic.’
‘The only one snider than me, dear sister,’ he returned with a lopsided smile,
winking at her and turning off the light.
Everyone nestled into the puff blankets and closed their eyes. Some of them had
just started to dose off when a loud crash made them all jolt.
‘I told you so,’ Summer chided childishly while pulling the string of her bed
lamp, seeing the bookcase which had fallen apart.
Then they all laughed, even Raven. Qrow felt a weight off his shoulders.
Perhaps his semblance wouldn’t ruin everything this time.
***** Flowers, Testosterone and Gin *****
At breakfast Qrow sat next to Summer. Raven and Tai were arm-wrestling
opposite.
‘So there was this traveller that stayed at our camp once,’ Qrow almost
whispered to his teammate, ‘and he needed some flower or other because a snake
had bitten him. He found what he was looking for, mixed it with some salt and
who knows what that he took from us and tried to heal himself. But he just kept
getting worse and worse.’
Summer was now looking into Qrow’s eyes, listening to the story very carefully.
‘So, uh, he died in the end. Turns out he knew what flower he needed but didn’t
know that the soil where our camp was had a very different composition. So,
yeah. Basically, the flower didn’t have the healing properties he thought it
should.’
‘That’s a horrible story,’ Summer returned with a downcast glance now.
Qrow didn’t know how to respond so he said nothing else. Instead he watched as
Tai kept beating Raven and she kept fuming…
‘Better find someone to work on our bookcase,’ Qrow decided as he stood up,
‘before class starts.’
With that he left the hall without having had breakfast.
A lot of furniture needed repairs over the next weeks of the semester. Luckily,
Tai and Summer assumed it was due to the constant sparring and STRQ members
crashing into various objects around the room. The two boys obviously had a lot
of hormones to spur them on and a lot of excess energy because they kept
fighting each other despite the rigorous training regime of the academy. Qrow
recognised Tai’s immense potential as a fighter and wanted to make good use of
that. The raven-haired teen was scrawny and definitely not as strong as his
opponent. He saw the vast difference in power and style and wanted to learn
from that. The blond had a similar view. He acknowledged the other’s speed and
agility, the skill with which he utilised his lithe body to the fullest in
battle, and wanted to increase his experience of fighting such opponents.
Inside, Qrow didn’t use his scythe. He had damaged the room plenty with his
semblance alone. But outside in the grounds, the weapon made for completely
different sparring practice.
Raven saw more to these unarmed fights than the desire for knowledge. She had
flat-out called her brother masochistic on more than one occasion. Indeed, he
always told Tai not to hold back and took a look of damage in unarmed combat,
being carried to the infirmary a couple of times. But his retort was always
that out there, in the real world, his enemies would hurt him even worse and he
needed to be ready. He needed to practise and learn how to defend himself even
without a weapon. His sister merely scoffed and called him a sicko. Summer, on
the other hand, was worried about the truth behind Raven’s accusations. The
silver-eyed girl saw a lot of sadness and darkness in Qrow and often left the
room when the fight became too violent, justifying herself with the words that
carnage was something she would get used to but violence among her friends was
not. Tai, luckily, read nothing into Qrow’s insistence on these unarmed fights.
And now the two boys were weaponless and Tai was even trying to give his friend
some pointers.
‘If you’re fighting someone stronger, the best thing is to avoid hits. What you
do already, yeah. But how can you go on the offensive then, with no weapon?’
the blond lectured while holding his teammate in a headlock.
Qrow growled but couldn’t free himself of the strong hold. He twisted in all
directions but the bruising grip was an unbeatable force. Tai let go.
‘A good option is to use the attacker’s momentum against them,’ the blue-eyed
fighter continued.
Then he flew at Qrow again, blocking a few of his hits and grabbing him from
behind again. The two struggled like that for a minute. Tai wasn’t letting go
this time. His sparring partner seemingly gave up but in the very same second
he put a very sharp dagger to Tai’s neck.
‘If someone stronger than you is holding you, the only thing to do is use a
trick,’ Qrow explained in the very same professor-like voice. Little did the
two know that they would both become teachers.
Tai let go of the taller boy and contemplated the situation.
‘Yeah,’ he agreed, watching the other put his blade away, ‘once you are caught,
there is little else you can do.’
‘I’m starting to think this is pointless, Tai. I fight with a weapon because
I’m not good without it. Let’s just go out and practise the way we would
normally fight. I’ve had enough headlocks for one day.’
The shorter but heavier fighter nodded and slung his arm across his friend’s
shoulders, heading out with him and looking to Raven to say ‘bye’ but his blood
froze when he saw her glance. She was looking daggers at him, much sharper than
the one her brother had put to his neck.
Once they were outside earshot, the blond asked his very contrasting friend:
‘I get the feeling your sister doesn’t like me very much,’ he admitted in a
vulnerable voice which signalled to Qrow that the other man had initiated a bro
moment with him. Scoffing, the brother clarified:
‘Nah. Raven hates everyone. Even me. Don’t take it so hard.’
‘Yeah, but… If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was jealous.’
‘Of whom?’ Qrow asked genuinely.
‘Not sure. You two are close, right? Maybe she thinks you’re neglecting her to
spar with me.’
‘Or, maybe, she’s really into you and would love nothing more than be held
hostage like that,’ Qrow held an exaggerated headlock position, chuckling.
‘I wish,’ came Tai’s reply, much more honest than the red-eyed teenager had
expected.
‘You like her?’
Qrow’s tone betrayed curiosity only and nothing more. Tai avoided Qrow’s eyes
and rubbed his neck, looking up and around nervously.
‘Yeah, man. You know. She’s so strong and independent and confident and…’
‘Really hot,’ Qrow finished for him.
‘Aren’t you supposed to say “Don’t touch my sister!” or something?’
‘Nah. You can’t hurt her. If anything, I should protect -you- from -her-,’ Qrow
laughed and motioned for them to continue their walk.
They fought for another hour or so before returning to the girls with numerous
scratches and bruises. Tai couldn’t help but glance at Raven who was looking
into various ways to improve her dust utilisation. Qrow couldn’t help but feel
relieved that he had already scored with a few cuties and hadn’t fallen for Tai
too much. The unlucky huntsman-in-training knew better than to allow himself to
develop actual feelings for anyone. That was a recipe for disaster. Either they
wouldn’t be returned, especially after his semblance had become known, or if
they were, only misfortune would befall the ones Qrow loved. He felt his heart
sink at the thought of spending his whole life with no real connection to
anyone but then again – he had practised and was getting quite good at being
alone. A brighter thought occurred to him. Perhaps it was time to share that
bottle of Atlas gin with his friends – the one he had smuggled into the school
after persuading a really cute shop assistant to sell it to him – for medical
purposes, of course – he was a huntsman in training, after all.
‘Hey, uh. You guys wanna celebrate the end of term?’
***** Cat Fight *****
Qrow was mostly asleep, only vaguely aware that someone was shaking him almost
violently, trying to wake him up. The moment he realised the implications of
that – a possible attack etc. – he opened his eyes suddenly but didn’t have the
strength to move. He saw Summer’s pretty face right in front of his.
‘Wake up, we’ll be late for class!’
The boy felt weak and sick. He had an unpleasant taste in his mouth and
realised he was probably dehydrated. Not his first drinking night and by far
not his last.
‘Okay,’ he said weakly, ‘I’m up.’
With great effort he got up, got dressed, drank two bottles of water and
followed Summer out. In the arena-like hall, his sister and Tai were already
seated and looked to be cooing in each other’s ears. When they saw the rest of
their team, they disentangled their fingers and Tai waved. Qrow found it
extremely difficult to go up the few stairs that separated him from his sister
and best friend.
The previous night he had downed almost the entire bottle while his teammates
had each had less than a glass of gin.
‘I know you’re really determined to be a rebel and rule-breaker,’ Summer turned
to him, taking her seat next to Raven, ‘but you can get yourself killed like
that.’
‘It will take a lot more than one bottle to kill -me-, sunshine,’ Qrow assured
in a strained voice.
No one dared argue with him and even if they were thinking about it, they
didn’t have the chance to, because professor Peach walked in. She was a tall
and strong woman, very young and very reddish. She was some kind of mountain
lion faunus and her teaching and attitude deviated little from her lion-like
looks.
‘Good morning, everyone. We’ll continue with sparring practice today,’ she
announced in a loud voice that could be heard quite clearly even at the last
rows. Taking out her register hologram, she eyed the students, choosing her
victim. When she saw Qrow’s pained looks, she immediately called out to him.
‘Mr Branwen. You haven’t participated for some time now. Would you like to come
down to the arena?’ she commanded, no trace of actual question there. Despite
that, the now-proclaimed rebel replied:
‘I’d love to, really, but I don’t feel so good.’
‘Nonsense, Mr Branwen. If you are well enough to attend class, you are well
enough to participate.’
‘No, really. I’m hung-over,’ Qrow gritted his teeth, feeling even more nauseous
from the effort to communicate. A murmur spread around the hall. The truth was
that he wasn’t hung-over really. Just tired and nauseated. He never got
hangovers. Something to do with his metabolism, he suspected.
‘You do know drinking is against the regulations? Especially for minors,’ the
professor reminded, again not really asking.
‘Yes, I know.’
‘Well, your enemies won’t wait for you to feel well to attack you,’ Peach said,
matter-of-factly, ‘Let’s find you an opponent with no losses, to match your
own… -stainless- record.’
Qrow went down the steps reluctantly. He was feeling more awake now and didn’t
feel so weak in the legs. He also figured that just because his stomach was
reproaching him for drinking too much, that didn’t mean he had to lose.
Besides. The wild cat had a point. Out there his enemies wouldn’t interview him
about his general condition before attacking him.
‘Lyn Jade,’ Peach called.
Thinking of wild cats. A male faunus descended the steps in a lively fashion,
very eager to start the match. So, this kid had zero losses in sparing class.
He was a tad shorter than Qrow but looked very agile and tough. A couple of
lynx ears ascended from his short but unruly tawny hair and a pair of jade-
green eyes glistened below. Figures. Qrow gave a lewd smile and teased, feeling
completely awake now:
‘If you fight half as good as you look, I might as well surrender now.’
‘Keep it professional, Mr Branwen,’ Peach warned, even more annoyed than when
she had heard about the drinking. Perhaps she saw the comment as discriminatory
towards faunus? It was a compliment, really, Qrow thought as he reached for his
weapon.
‘Don’t worry, professor. I’ll wipe the floor with him, cute as he is,’ he
continued.
‘And see me after class. You may begin the match!’
‘You’re just an emo punk with a death wish,’ Lyn said with all the hatred in
the world, vividly contrasting with his sweet melodic voice. The pitch black
clothes, the earrings, the black nails, the other shiny trinkets… Qrow could
see why the other boy would call him that but it didn’t mean the annoyance was
any less. On either part.
Lyn stepped sideways, still eyeing up his opponent. Nor did Qrow expect a blind
charge from someone who had no losses. The black-haired teen hadn’t seen this
other boy before. Hadn’t noticed him, at least. To think he would. With those
looks. Strafing in a circular pattern, around and around they went, neither
attacking. Then Qrow folded his weapon into its gun form and shot at the
faunus, who leapt aside with amazing speed. Dodging bullets from such close
range was quite impressive. Hardly had his small feet touched the floor when he
made a second leap at a sharper angle and the brownish-gold fighter was flying
towards his opponent. Qrow blocked a potential hit with his sword – the smaller
boy had a pair of claws in either hand. The sharp blades appeared gold at first
but they glistened in an odd way. In all the colours of the spectrum, glinting
like water. Qrow had little time to inspect his opponent’s weapon, however.
Said opponent jumped back and crouched for another attack. This one was
lightning. Figuratively. The raven-haired fighter assumed the aim of the last
attack was to knock him over because the attempted slash was badly executed but
the force of the leap was considerable. With one foot back Qrow managed to
stand his ground. Then he slashed and dashed across the podium, trying to hit
the small figure that was springing into every direction faster than the
average eye could see. Qrow attempted shooting again but his opponent was too
fast. He could dodge each slash and bullet thrown at him. Several students
shrieked and hid behind their own weapons, evading Qrow’s ranged attacks. He
didn’t even notice. He was solely focused on his target and ignorant of
potential collateral damage. Luckily, that was why professors were there. To
observe and make sure the audience stayed in one piece.
As his standard attacks failed, the black-haired participant stopped trying.
His opponent stood still at the centre of the arena and leapt at him again.
Qrow jumped back this time but the faunus’ weapon, as if of its own volition,
suddenly extended at Qrow, who dodged at the last possible moment by stepping
back and bending backwards, his head halfway to his feet, lining a perfect
letter C. The cute guy’s weapon could change form! And not like Qrow’s own –
not based on several predefined forms and models – but could grow and shrink
and change shape like fluid. Was it dust? Was it a semblance? Raven would love
this! He hoped she was watching carefully.
Repositioning himself, Qrow was shaken out of his thoughts by another attack.
The claw weapons took on the shape of spears again, stretching in the direction
of their target. Now the taller boy was put in the position of dodging and
jumping around like a frog. His nausea was getting worse. He was sure he would
trip, vomit and be pierced by one of these things, whatever they were. Or, best
case scenario, take little enough damage to deplete his aura only. He wondered
if anyone had been killed during sparring recently. The teachers were always
careful to select evenly matched opponents for that reason precisely, but you
never know, he thought.
Spinning around the arena, Qrow also wondered how long this match would
continue. The two seemed evenly matched. Neither had managed to land a single
hit. If his stomach could, then Qrow too could keep this up forever. His
physical energy was virtually inexhaustible. But his patience was another
matter. What he wanted was food and rest. So he focused his aura, trying to
augment his semblance while simultaneously keeping enough focus to dodge the
needle-like aspects that threatened to stick him up like a pig.
Just then, one of the lights came falling down after a loud creak. Several were
hung from the ceiling, illuminating the whole hall, but they appeared much
smaller than what they turned out to be – the one spotlight crashed onto the
arena, making a few of the girls shriek, destroying a good third of the floor,
the central part of the arena around which the two fighters and the professor
were. Qrow was happy his bad luck had worked in his favour and leapt at the
distracted faunus, hitting him on the side of the head with his sword’s hilt,
sending him to the ground. The smaller boy had not expected the attack,
distracted by the huge piece of equipment falling right next to him. Less than
a second after the crash, he was flat on his back. Then Qrow put the edge of
his blade under Lyn’s chin and gave him another lewd smile although the faunus
was still too shocked to register the triumphant look on the victor’s face.
‘Qrow Branwen wins the match!’ Peach announced, ‘Class dismissed. We need to
clear away the rubble now, so leave in a quick and orderly manner.’
The winner instinctively looked to the stalls where his team were sitting. Tai
gave him a thumbs-up, Raven nodded and Summer smiled. Qrow really cared for
them, he realised. Their approval meant so much to him. He wanted to prove
himself to them now, not just to himself. Putting his weapon away, he held his
hand for Lyn but the latter ignored it. Not out of spite but out of dizziness,
it seemed. He turned onto his knees and wobbled onto his feet. The blow to the
head had been powerful enough to kill, under different circumstances, and the
boy’s aura had handled it well, bottom line.
The students spilled out into the corridors but Qrow turned to the professor.
***** Naked, of Course *****
Chapter Notes
     weekend updates, wooo
‘Come to my office after your classes today, Mr Branwen,’ Peach instructed.
‘Yes, professor,’ he managed and ran after Lyn, who was dragging his feet after
the other students.
‘You okay?’ Qrow enquired after catching up and starting to walk level with the
smaller teen.
‘Fuck off, Branwen, you’ve won. Don’t patronise me,’ was the venomous response.
‘Hey, I’m serious. I’ve killed Grimm with a blow like that. I’m not trying to
rub it in.’
‘What are you trying to do then?’
‘Make sure you’re okay. Look,’ he sighed, ‘it was just a match, nothing
personal,’ he thought about it for a second but decided to risk it anyway,
‘besides, you’re a great huntsman. If it hadn’t been for pure luck, you might
have beaten me. I just wanna ask if you want to spar again sometime. You know,
outside of class?’
The faunus stopped for a second to eye the other teen carefully.
‘You mean you want us to train together, because we’re both high-level
fighters?’
‘Yeah, exactly,’ Qrow smiled.
The two started walking again.
‘Yes, that sounds logical. No point wasting our time with weaklings.’
‘Erm, yeah,’ the black-haired teenager extended his hand, ‘nice to meet you.
And one more thing,’ he deployed his most charming smile, ‘Wanna get lunch? I
really need to eat something after all that booze last night…’
***
‘I worry about you, brother,’ Raven said from behind the corned, almost making
Qrow jump.
He had gone to the bathroom and she had apparently sneaked inside without him
hearing her. It was the middle of the night, probably between one and four and
the male sibling wondered what the hell this was about.
‘How so?’ he ventured, closing the door so they wouldn’t wake the others.
‘First you take to sparring with Tai almost daily, now you find a new sparring
partner or whatever partner. I don’t know if you’re dating that Lyn guy or if
you just want him to beat the shit out of you like Tai does, but I’m starting
to think you’ve lost your mind.’
‘The hell is wrong with you?!’ Qrow whisper-screamed, ‘You’ve lost it. Don’t
you remember why we are here? To learn to kill these people. How am I supposed
to kill them if I can’t fight them? Or maybe you’re just jealous that I’ve
gotten physical with Tai?’
At that Raven blushed visibly but her expression remained impervious. Little
did she know that her stony gaze was revealed for the façade that it was by the
blush.
‘That first point, I can take,’ she softened, ‘but don’t think I don’t know
what you’re doing. You’re making friends with huntsmen, not learning to kill
them.’
‘Me?’ asked an incredulous Qrow, ‘I’m not the one holding hands with Tai. Why
are you constantly trying to humiliate me? What is this malice, Raven? What’s
your fucking problem with me?’
‘My fucking problem, dear brother, is that I can see how loyal you are to the
tribe and its leaders. While I agree that we’re all friends here, in this room,
I still think you and I are going to have to part ways because of our differing
perspectives.’
With that, she turned on her heel and left for her bed, naked, of course. Why
would she wear pyjamas?
***** Teambuilding *****
Chapter Summary
     The girls go out to do girly stuff and the boys stay in to have sex.
     Enjoy!
Qrow was on his knees, onto his bed, and right above him was Tai. What had
started as a girls’ day out and guys’ day in had turned into much more than
that, to Qrow’s utter pleasure. Literally. Now he was enjoying Tai’s handling
him, outside of a headlock, for a change. The blond’s touch was not much
different, still as strong as a vice, but the frustration on the part of the
black-haired participant was not present, which made for a much more pleasant
interaction. Tai’s words interrupted Qrow’s train of thought.
‘So, uh. You got something to, uh, get things going more smoothly?’
Qrow didn’t bother responding but just reached under his bed to produce a tiny
jar of something that looked like coconut oil. But the smell indicated
otherwise. Nor did Tai care. Instead, he lubricated his friend’s opening and
proceeded to penetrate him gently, wondering about how often he had reached
under his bed in the exact same way… A quiet groan escaped Qrow’s lips. Tai
licked his and his mind immediately went from wondering about Qrow’s sex
exploits, to enjoying the present one. All he could think of was how good Qrow
felt around him and under him. Tai sped up his thrusts but a low voice warned
him:
‘Gently.’
More of an instruction than a complaint. But the teen slowed down nonetheless.
Pulling out unhurriedly and then advancing just as slowly. His partner made a
low and continuous guttural sound. They continued for a few minutes, Tai’s
movements deliberate and his hold on Qrow’s ribs bruising. Then the boy on top
sped up his thrusts and dug his nails into the other boy’s sides with the
searing pleasure he suddenly felt.
‘Easy, Tai. We’ve got all day,’ Qrow instructed through gritted teeth. But he
wasn’t complaining.
Tai pressed his teammate’s back with his palms all of a sudden, pushing his
upper half into the bed, holding it down with one hand while moving his other
one to Qrow’s thigh to keep his lower half level with his pelvis. Then he
increased the speed. Qrow dug his nails into the sheet, gasping unevenly. There
was something about the contrast that seemed very kinky to Tai: doing exactly
the opposite of the instruction (Who the hell did Qrow think he was, anyway?
Telling Tai how to fuck him?), the black nails and the pale pinkish sheets, or
were they peach? Coral? The black hairs on Qrow’s limbs and the golden ones on
Tai’s… It all seemed so surreal to the blond fighter. He felt light-headed with
desire. He had never expected to get into such physical interactions with his
teammates. Let alone a male teammate. But apparently Qrow had a way of seducing
everyone. Tai knew for a fact about several girls his friend had slept with and
could only guess how high the actual number went. Then there was his sister.
But the blond tried not to think about her.
Instead he became rougher and soon tangled his fingers in Qrow’s hair, yanking
it mercilessly, pulling him away from the bed and flipping him onto his back.
Then he penetrated him again, holding up his legs by the thighs. Qrow’s knees
were almost to his ears, legs bent and eyes bleary, Tai noticed. There was no
trace of shame or discomfort or any emotion really. Just wanton lust. This dark
teen really had some issues, Tai thought. This cool, borderline cold exterior…
He wondered how far down it actually went. But only briefly.
Qrow had tilted his head back now, eyes closed, palms against the headboard.
And Tai had no idea if his friend was just enjoying himself or was close
already. So he sped up and took Qrow’s penis in one hand, supporting himself
with the other by placing it onto the other teen’s ribcage. A few quick jerks
elicited a moan from the raven-haired participant. So Tai kept going, finding
it difficult to focus on everything at once but giving his best, moving his
fingers along Qrow’s shaft in rhythm with the thrusts. When he squeezed harder
and felt Qrow tense up and hold his breath, he knew he was doing well. Barely
able to stand it, he didn’t have to, not for long, because the boy below him
gave a stifled cry and came into his hand, contracting all his muscles,
squeezing around Tai so hard that it sent him over the edge as well. The
teenager on top growled and dropped onto the panting one under him.
‘You know,’ Qrow began in his cocky tone, a little out of place next to his
breathlessness, ‘you should really work on your angle. I know you like to be
the one giving the instructions but…’
‘Hey, you didn’t exactly do much…’
‘I wanted to. I tried to but every time I take the initiative, you just flip us
over and have your way with me!’
Qrow gave Tai an exaggerated scowl. Then he got out of bed and into the shower.
Tai joined him.
‘I sure hope your sister doesn’t find out about this.’
‘Oh,’ Qrow replied in mock-sympathy, ‘She knows.’
‘What?’
‘Yeah. But don’t worry about it. She doesn’t take this stuff that seriously.
She knows sex is just sex.’
‘Um. So, do you two, uh…?’
‘Yeah, we’ve been doing it for a couple of years now. But don’t worry about
that either. She has something special with you.’
‘You really think so?’ Tai asked like a child who wanted to know if she could
have a pony. And Raven’s brother was a little surprised by the hope and
happiness in his tone.
‘Yeah. I know her. I’m sure she likes you for real. But be careful. There are
more layers to her than meet the eye.’
‘Yeah, I know. That’s what makes her so amazing!’
Qrow just rolled his eyes.
‘Hey, isn’t today your detention or something?’ Tai remembered.
‘Yeah. This evening I’m supposed to go see this professor that we’ve never
met.’
‘Evening? What a weird time for a punishment.’
‘Yeah. They’ll probably make me collect tree sap or who knows what and they
want more Grimm around koz they know I can handle anything. I don’t know, man,
we’ll see.’
After their shower they had plenty of time to rest and joke about the teachers
before the girls came back. All of team STRQ seemed quite happy with the
outing.
***** Detention with a Young Professor *****
Chapter Summary
     Qrow has his detention with Oz.
Chapter Notes
     I'm going to update at the end of each week.
Qrow was standing outside the door of Professor Ozpin something…that-couldn’t-
possibly-be-pronounced, wondering about the weird last name, when the same door
opened and a young man, mid-twenties, dark hair, smiled at him and invited him
to come in.
‘Good evening, professor,’ the younger man tried to sound polite.
‘Good evening, Mr Branwen.’
The two sat on opposite sides of a big desk and the very young professor
clasped his hands under his nose, in front of his mouth, eying the other male
deliberately.
‘You have red eyes,’ the teacher stated, not as a surprise or question but
talking to himself as if.
‘Uh. Yeah,’ Qrow wondered if this man knew about the ability that red eyes
granted, ‘aaand I’m here about the punishment?’
The student was feeling uncomfortable. If this man knew about what red eyes
could see, then he also knew that Qrow knew that the professor wasn’t what he
appeared to be.
‘Yes. Professor Peach informed me about your drinking and discrimination
towards faunus.’
‘What?’ Qrow genuinely couldn’t believe it, ‘Discrimination? And I thought I
was bad at social ques. I was hitting on that guy. Lyn. He’s… uh… attractive.’
But before the student could finish his explanation, the professor interrupted
him:
‘Well, I haven’t met him and so I can’t comment on that. So let me start by
introducing myself. I’m professor Ozpin. I teach weaponry and mechanics here at
Beacon. Most students who enter have no need for the subject but those who take
it up as an elective have the chance to upgrade and perfect their weapons or to
experiment with new ones. But enough about me. Seeing as you refuse to follow
conventions, my colleagues agreed to surrender your punishment to me, because I
too am not traditionalist.’
The black-haired teen was leaning back into his chair, arms crossed over his
chest. Where was this all going?
‘Thus I have an assignment for you,’ the professor went on, ‘which is more than
a bit dangerous. Of course, it is not my intention to endanger students and so
I’ll give you a choice. You could either spend the night here, writing
Arrogance is not a virtue ten thousand times, as my colleagues intended, or you
could take the other option – something of a mission.’
Qrow raised an eyebrow.
‘The mission, of course. That’s why I’m here. To gain experience.’
‘Very well then, Mr Branwen,’ Ozpin continued with an amused look of
accomplishment in his face, ‘Your task will be to retrieve a piece of Atlas
technology – a chip that can change the future fundamentally. It was stolen by
a gang of criminals who will no doubt want a ransom but what is more alarming
is that they will surely try to replicate it first, before they are ready to
ransom it, and we want to prevent that, of course. Not to mention the possible
damage they may do whilst tinkering with it. Now, this happened only yesterday
and while the council are discussing the matter in a committee, I believe speed
is of the essence. I’ll provide you with the coordinates of the gang’s last
known location. But there are a few things you must know. First, you are not
going against the Grimm, although you may encounter some en route. You will be
facing flesh and blood human beings who, albeit misguided, have the right to
live. I don’t want any casualties. I want you to infiltrate their camp and
retrieve the piece of technology without killing anyone. Of course, if that
fails and you are left with the option of your life at the expense of theirs, I
expect nothing less than self-defence on your part. But, for a perfect score, I
want you to retrieve the chip with no damage to it or to anyone. Are the
priorities clear, Mr Branwen?’
Qrow was more than puzzled by what he had heard. He nodded but couldn’t help
but ask:
‘Why me? Shouldn’t you send a trained huntsman or huntress? I’ll do it but I
think this is all very… unusual.’
‘Yes, it is unorthodox. And I’ll explain everything once you recover the chip.’
‘You’re sure I’ll succeed?’ the teen was pleased but surprised with the
confidence expressed.
‘Yes. I have virtually no doubt that you will succeed.’
Smiling cryptically, the professor stood up but when the student did the same,
he motioned for him to keep his seat. Then Ozpin went over to his bookcase and
took out a map, on paper. He spread it onto the desk and began his explanation.
He told the younger huntsman about the band’s usual movements, their last known
course and location and other intel they had on the gang. Who were they? Qrow
wondered. What was this professor’s affiliation with Atlas’ scientific team?
After Ozpin had shared everything he knew, or claimed to know, about the gang,
he asked Qrow to head for their last known location, less than a day’s walk
from the school, and try to pick up their trail. Then the teenager proceeded to
make his own guesses about where they would be making camp and what speed they
would be travelling at. The older man didn’t look surprised about the educated
guesses. How much did Ozpin know about Qrow? Did he know about the tribe he
came from? Was that why he was entrusting him with this task? Because insider
knowledge and experience outweighed the full training of a huntsman? Or was
there something more? This was like a test. Qrow was very good at reading
people’s intentions, because of his red eyes. He knew a larger game was afoot
but didn’t question further. All would be made clear upon success.
‘Well, Mr Branwen, I need to thank you for agreeing to this. And also to ask
you to keep it off the record. Not all my colleagues would consent to my
sending a student out there. They don’t have the faith in your abilities that I
have. Also, your team aren’t to know either. For now, at least. I have plans
for them as well. Please, tell them your punishment is a mundane task, far
away, and gather what you would need for the trip,’ with that, the two men rose
but the older one added, ‘Oh. And the school will compensate you for your
travel expenses, of course.’
End Notes
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