Chapter 61

Ironwood strode through the hallway, his footsteps reverberating on the tile floor. It was late, long after everyone's scheduled shifts had ended, his own included. Solstice was fast approaching, and many employees were eager to get their projects done before the holiday. Ironwood was no different, even if he would not be taking any days off. But that was taken care of for now, and he was just checking to see that everyone had gone home, and that everything was in order. He found one office door open, a new hire, Qrow Branwen.

Peering inside Ironwood could see Qrow at his desk, head resting on his arms as he slept. That was fine. His shift was technically over so Qrow could not be said to be sleeping on the job. Ironwood headed inside to wake his employee, to send him home for a proper night's rest. He approached Qrow, noting the tools, papers and a prosthetic arrayed on his desk. It seemed he had meant to close his eyes for just a moment, but had fallen asleep instead. "Mr. Branwen." Ironwood reached out and placed a hand on Qrow's shoulder.

Qrow sprang up and grabbed a ruler, holding it like a knife. He grabbed Ironwood with his free arm and held the ruler to his throat. Ironwood reacted quickly. He grabbed Qrow's arms and tripped him, easing him to the floor before twisting his arm just enough to get him to release the improvised weapon. Qrow looked up wide-eyed for a moment before his expression shifted to one of regret. "Ah shit, sorry boss. You surprised me there."

"Are you alright Mr. Branwen?" Ironwood asked.

"Yeah, fine." Qrow lied. "Must have just been having a nightmare or somethin'."

"I know PTSD when I see it Mr. Branwen." Ironwood noted.

"Maybe I've seen some shit I can't unsee." Qrow suggested.

"Would you like to discuss it?" Ironwood asked. "I fought in Menagerie too, as I'm sure you know."

"I know, lost half your body." Qrow nodded. "But it was different out there in the thick of it. The generals never understood what we were going through."

"I think you'll find I'm very understanding." Ironwood persisted. "But if you still have your doubts, you could always help me understand."

"If you insist." Qrow sighed.

"I do." Ironwood confirmed. "Come to my office."

"Alright boss, just let me clean up a bit." Qrow gestured toward his disordered desk. "I'll meet you there."

Ironwood nodded and headed out, returning to his office. It was only a few minutes before Qrow appeared in the doorway. "Take a seat." Ironwood pointed toward the chairs before his desk. He opened a cabinet behind it and retrieved a bottle of whiskey and a pair of glasses. "Would you like...ah, sorry, I forgot-"

"It's alright, I'll have a drink, one." Qrow waved off his apology as he sat down. "I'm not gonna' burst into flames the second a drop touches my tongue. Besides, not drinking at all is the easy way out. Being able to drink a little without slipping into excess, that's the real test."

"Interesting philosophy." Ironwood smiled. "I think you'd have made a good officer."

"Nah, don't have the stick up my ass...no offense." Qrow smirked.

"None taken." Ironwood suppressed a chuckle. "So, how about you tell me about your time in the service? Or would you prefer I go first?"

"There isn't a hell of a lot to tell." Qrow shrugged. "I just still get nightmares about the fucking animals. I mean, I've got nothing against the Faunus, some of 'em are really great. It's just hell to fight against them. A human usually needs at least a blade to kill ya', but Faunus have those claws, teeth, hell, I even ran into one with a goddamn scorpion tail. Add their night vision, and fuck man, I spent most nights sitting wide awake in the corner, clutching my rifle, hoping I'd at least see them coming so I'd have a chance." He shook his head. "For a while they attacked every night. None of us got much sleep."

"That explains the insomnia, and the nightmares." Ironwood nodded. "Where were you stationed?"

"Refugee Camp 3." Qrow replied. "Or Camp Happy Funtime as we liked to call it. Things weren't great inside, but at least when we were patrolling the camp the worst we usually got was the occasional rock thrown at us by some asshole who wasn't happy about his rations. Guarding the perimeter, that was the real hell. You see, the camp was home to lots of White Fang defectors and their families. The White Fang wanted to get at them for revenge and it was our job to stop them. We were better armed and pretty well entrenched, but they outnumbered the fuck out of us, and they fought dirty besides. Once they even managed to sneak in a few infiltrators, attacked us from both sides. That's when that scorpion asshole gave me my scar." Qrow raised his shirt and showed off a discolored patch on his abdomen. "Luckily that was the worst I got, didn't even take me off the line. Most guys weren't so lucky. It's kind of why I got into this business, saw lots of good guys lose limbs, wanted to help."

"That's quite admirable." Ironwood praised.

"I'm guessing you had pretty much the same idea." Qrow said. "So, how'd you end up so metal?"

Ironwood smiled wryly. "I was one of the first foreign parties involved in the conflict. The government was under heavy pressure from the White Fang rebels. At the time, Atlas was making a big diplomacy push with Menagerie, mostly a PR thing, but the politicians were quite committed. When the war turned against them, the government forces asked Atlas for help. We have the world's best military after all. Like fools, the men in charge agreed. The first thing the alliance did was push a large chunk of the populace into the White Fang's camp."

"Yeah, I can't imagine the citizens of Menagerie were too keen on siding with Atlas, given the history there." Qrow nodded.

"We didn't send more than special operations troops and advisors at first." Ironwood continued. "I was tasked with directly advising Menagerie's military and civilian leadership. We managed to stabilize the military situation, but that just made the White Fang turn to terrorism. I was in a political motorcade, we found ourselves under attack. Our driver was good, we escaped the ambush, but the White Fang were expecting that. We hit an IED they planted to prevent our escape, turned the limo inside-out. The car was armored against small arms fire, but not a bomb. I was the only survivor, and even then, only barely. By the time I recovered, the Council had decided to intervene in the war, and there were lots of soldiers coming home missing parts of themselves. I decided I could best serve them by designing and manufacturing better prosthetics."

"Why'd a smart, nice guy like you join the army in the first place?" Qrow smirked.

"Part of it was family tradition." Ironwood answered. "I come from a long line of officers, dating all the way back to the Invasion of Mistral. I also wanted to serve my country. The circumstances are different now, but I'm still doing that. Why did you enlist?"

"Well, I had some issues at home." Qrow replied. "When the shit hit the fan, I decided to I had to get away, so I joined the army. I hated every minute of it, but they paid for me to go to college, and now I have a nice job at a great company, so I guess it wasn't all bad."

"Do you have plans for the holiday?" Ironwood asked.

"Yeah, I'm heading back to Patch." Qrow nodded. "I figure I'll see some army buddies, then spend the rest of the time with my family...if they'll have me. Hopefully my being there won't ruin it for the kids."

"What happened?" Ironwood pressed.

"It's a long story." Qrow sighed. "But things started to really go bad because of my drinking…"

The bed was cold, and to be quite frank, that pissed Weiss off. Several months of sleeping sandwiched between or sandwiching one of her lovers had spoiled her. Ruby tucked within her arms, Blake's warmth at her back, it was blissful, it was addictive, and she was going through withdrawals already. They had joined her in the night, stirring Weiss just enough to help her change into a nightie. Normally she would wake when Ruby did, her jittery energy eventually shaking both of them awake, if Blake was not already, but it seemed today they had either taken care not to wake her, or she had slept so deeply it had not mattered. What did matter was that she was alone, and chilly, and hungry. And needed to use the bathroom terribly.

After stopping at the bathroom, Weiss ventured out into the lounge, expecting to find one or two inhabitants of the house there, but surprisingly found it empty and silent. "Good morning Weiss." Summer greeted.

Weiss blinked, and noticed Ruby standing in the doorway. "Good morning Ru…" Weiss blinked again. "...Mrs. Rose." She blushed, rubbing her eyes.

"Summer, Weiss." Summer insisted. "Ruby is out for a walk with the others. You look like you could use some tea."

"Yes please." Weiss agreed.

Smiling, Summer retreated into the kitchen, Weiss following blearily, face still flushed with embarrassment. "Chamomile right?" Summer asked as she searched the pantry.

"Yes, thank you." Weiss confirmed.

"I remember asking Ruby about Blake's preferences last time, and she mentioned you like it too, so I picked up some while we were out." Summer explained.

Weiss felt a surge of affection for the older woman, already thoughtful and touching, and she had only been awake for ten minutes. "Thank you, I'm sure Blake was pleased."

"Like a kitten with cream...oh my, I'm sorry, it just came out." Summer rambled.

"It's okay Summer." Weiss chuckled. "Blake doesn't mind the occasional prod at her heritage, and for the record, she does love cream, and she's so easy to tease about it."

"Oh thank goodness." Summer half laughed, half sighed. She set the kettle to boil, dropping a teabag into a fresh mug. "I really like Blake, and I've never spent much time around Faunus before. I've been paranoid about accidentally offending her."

"The worst you could do is embarrass her." Weiss declared. "Your approval means the world to Blake. Being comfortable enough to poke fun will help her feel accepted."

"I approve and accept her because she makes Ruby as happy as she was as a child, before all the drama happened." Summer reminisced. The kettle whistled and Summer poured the hot water into the mug. "And I feel the same about you Weiss." Setting the mug down in front of Weiss, Summer gave her a warm smile, which soothed Weiss' suddenly thudding heart just a fraction.

"I realize it may have come as a shock." Weiss said carefully as she dunked the teabag repeatedly.

"A surprise, yes, but I was more worried than shocked." Summer noted. "I've been in a multi-partnered relationship, it didn't end very well for any of us. But Ruby is smarter than me. She won't make the same mistakes I did. She'll love you both equally." Weiss could not help but flinch internally. Externally, she fumbled and dropped the teabag string into the mug. Summer immediately looked concerned. "Weiss...is everything okay?"

"Yes, sorry." Weiss shook her head. "I just slipped. May I have a spoon?"

Summer nodded, opening a drawer and passing over a teaspoon. Weiss fished out the string and resumed her process, shaking out as much of the tea as possible before taking a sip. "Weiss...I want you to know you can trust me. You can tell me what's on your mind, and I promise it won't leave this conversation. Pinky swear."

Weiss sighed, and huffed. Summer held her pinky aloft with another gentle smile. "You're Ruby's mother, no doubt about it." Weiss reached out and liked her pinky with Summer's, both giggling before letting go. Patiently, Summer waited for Weiss to speak. "I love Ruby, I have for a long time now. I loved her as a friend, and that quickly turned into much more. For even longer I've loved Blake, and unknowingly, she loved me all the same." She took another sip of her tea, hoping to calm her nerves. "Ruby does love me, she has said so before, shown me both before and after I joined the relationship, but first and foremost as a friend. She never legitimately considered a romantic relationship with me until my feelings came to light, and her first instinct was to accept and embrace them."

Weiss felt her eyes sting, but she managed to smile nonetheless. "They make me feel so happy Summer." She continued. "They love me, they truly do, but I can't help but feel that Ruby may be doing this out of obligation, that she feels guilty for it, and that's why she hasn't told me she loves me since I joined the relationship. She wants to mean it, like I want her to mean it. Of course there have been times when she says 'we' love you, but I'm…" Weiss sighed forlornly, burying her face in her hands. "I'm just being scared and paranoid. This is new to Ruby, suddenly having these feelings thrust on you isn't easily handled. She's just being thoughtful...as always. I can't expect her to love me just as strongly in a fraction of the time." Weiss was startled as strong but gentle arms wrapped around her from behind, a firm warmth soothing her back.

"It's okay, it's okay to feel this way." Summer soothed.

"I should have more faith in Ruby." Weiss countered.

"A relationship can't function on faith alone." Summer warned. "There needs to be reassurance, nurture and care. From all of you. Otherwise feelings become lopsided and everything goes pear shaped." With a firm squeeze, Summer let go of Weiss, but moved to lean on the kitchen bench beside her. "I think I need to have a talk with Ruby."

"Nn...I think we should be fine...Ruby just needs more time." Weiss struggled. "We can't force these feelings."

"It's not about forcing feelings Weiss." Summer explained. "It's about communicating the feelings that are there, here, right now. There's no room for this kind of doubt. It hurts, not just you, but Ruby and Blake when they find out how you've been feeling."

Weiss stared into her tea, breathing in its gentle aroma and trying to still her beating, aching heart. A warmth on her shoulder snapped her gaze to Summer, whose expression was still worried, but placated by that warm smile. It reminded her of equal parts Winter and Ruby. It made her feel safe, calmer, as if she was curled up in bed with her sisters smiling down at her, safely snuggled into their side.

"Let me talk to Ruby." Summer requested. "I won't do so without your permission, and I won't mention anything you don't want me to."

"You don't need my permission to speak to your daughter Summer…" Weiss started.

"I do need permission to interfere in a private affair." Summer countered. "Ruby is my daughter, but this is between you, her and Blake. At the same time, you are a daughter to me, and you're hurting. And I want to make you feel better. I want you to be happy."

Momentarily stunned, Weiss could only nod. Daughter, Summer considered her a daughter already, either due to her relationship with Winter, her relationship with Ruby, or the small bond they had forged already. It still shocked Weiss how hard that declaration hit her. "Don't make her feel bad, please?"

"We'll see how it goes." Summer chuckled.

Weiss rolled her eyes and took another sip of her tea. "Where did they walk to anyway?"

"That's not the best of ideas Ruby." Winter warned, watching as Ruby climbed a rather familiar tree, missing half of one of its larger branches.

"She'll be fine!" Yang declared from just below Ruby. "We used to do this all the time! Pyrrha, come on up, the view is great!" Yang shaded her eyes from the sun, needlessly of course as she had aviators on.

"No." Pyrrha refused.

"Aw, come on!" Yang insisted.

"No means no!" Pyrrha persisted.

"Ooh, sucks to be you Yang!" Ruby teased.

"Blakey, discipline your smartass woman!" Yang demanded.

"You're doing great babe." Blake encouraged. "Love the view." Ruby grinned over her shoulder, shaking her rear for all to see.

"Careful, with all that sway you'll knock the tree down." Yang joked.

"Just for that I'm gonna' learn to reprogram your arm to punch you in the boob!" Ruby threatened.

"Pfft, as if!" Yang scoffed.

"It's possible!" Winter warned.

Yang turned to look back down at Winter. "Don't encourage her!"