#options nearby than on this dumb depressing island

[homogrimoire]

Is It Too Soon To Call It Love?

Fair Game Week 2020: Day 1 - Flirting / Semblance

Read it on AO3 here.

Qrow never was a morning person. However, because his line of work often demanded it, he would always wake up early. If there was certainly one good thing that came out of being sober, it was that mornings were easier to deal with. He never had to deal with some hangover, wonder where in the world he was, or have to meet up with a disappointed Ruby and Yang. That last bit was definitely the thing he was the most proud of. Getting to greet his nieces in the morning without them being disappointed or concerned was well worth dealing with the cruelties of reality. Another boon to sober mornings was being able to enjoy them with Clover. Every now and then, Clover would invite him to his place for breakfast. Today was one of those days that Qrow was invited over, so after showering and getting ready, he made his way over to Clover’s quarters. Such trips were becoming more and more frequent ever since they had gotten together. He had half a mind to just ask if he could move in.

Qrow had to admit that he didn’t expect to end up spending so much time with the man, considering how they first met and the fact that he was an Atlesian. Qrow and Atlesians mixed as well as water and oil. So far, the only exceptions to this were Weiss and Clover, and boy had Clover really surpassed his expectations. He was far from stuck up and knew how to let loose and have some fun. He was also empathetic and kind. He lacked that coldness and stubbornness that Atlesians tended to have. When he learned that Clover’s semblance was the opposite of his, Qrow was shocked at first, and a tad jealous, but as they talked more and more, it had one day clicked in Qrow’s mind that Clover wasn’t a man to be jealous of. Clover was a man he could talk to, and he would understand. Likewise, Qrow was a man he could talk to and understand. Prior to this, Qrow had shrugged off most of the man’s obvious flirting and attempts to get closer, but after was a different story. 

-

Post-realization, Qrow had begun to flirt back, and open up to him more. In turn, Clover had begun to open up to Qrow too. He learned that Clover had gotten addicted to gambling at one point. He was young and dumb enough to think he was a casino king, and lucky and rich enough to hold onto that belief. While his semblance affects himself more than anyone, it still affected those around him, and one day, learned that fate had a different path for him to take. He lost all he had earned and was near dead broke with a broken spirit. Soon, with no other option available, he joined the military. During that time, he weaned himself off gambling, climbed out of the hole of depression and lack of self-worth he had found himself in, learned to control his semblance, and worked his way up the ranks to where he is now. This new knowledge made Qrow trust him and what he was telling Qrow. It made the lucky man’s words of encouragement endearing, in a sense.

“Say,” Qrow had asked him one night when they were playing cards and having dinner at Clover’s place, “doesn’t this remind you of gambling too much?” Clover pondered the question for a moment.

“No, not really. I only play for fun, never for money or some prize, though winning still feels pretty good.”

“Well you’d better watch out, I’m feeling lucky tonight.” Qrow put down a good hand, but Clover kept his usual smile on his face, revealing nothing. 

“Oh, do you? I should watch out then. Who knows what kind of bad luck might come my way?” Clover shifted his eyes from his eyes away from his cards. His eyes met Qrow’s and they laughed. Clover had never really told Qrow how much the loneliness had gotten to him, but he always did tell Qrow how much he did appreciate Qrow spending time with him.

“You know, I considered that loss a time when my semblance failed me, but seeing where I am now, I think it was my good luck.” Clover had told him one night as they were playing cards. 

“Yeah,” Qrow replied, “it did work out pretty good for you in the end. You’re the leader of the Ace Ops and all that. I mean, look where we’re playing cards.” Qrow motioned his hands around to show that he referred to Clover’s apartment. Technically, just a simple living space appropriate for the leader of the Ace Ops, if any officials were asked, but it was like a fancy penthouse through and through. The military certainly pulled no stops when providing for its higher ups, even going so far as to have it categorized as having a high medium priority for heating. The living room featured a wide window that took up most of the wall to show the shining city below, as well as a large flat screen TV. Nearby was an open kitchen area with spotless chrome appliances and a granite island to eat at. It was all a good size, but much too big for a single person. It had always felt too empty to Clover, save for the rare, emphasis on rare, occasion that a guest was over. Though Qrow had recently been showing up more and more, which was a very welcome change.

“It is a good view, but I’d say the view right in front of me is even better.” Clover kept eye contact with Qrow the entire time. Qrow, eager to outflirt him, was about to flirt back, but was stopped by the sound of a hand of cards landing on the table. He looked down to see a winning hand, of course. Defeated once more, Qrow threw down his hand with a sigh. 

“You’re lucky I like spending time with you enough to play cards with you.” Clover reshuffled the cards as Qrow laughed. Clover especially likes hearing Qrow laugh like that. As they got closer and learned more about each other, luck began to become a common theme among their jokes with each other. Clover had joked about it before with others, but joking about luck with Qrow was different. He understood. 

“You sure its not because of my good looks?” He winked at Qrow once he saw that Qrow was looking at him. 

“It … could be a factor.” Qrow leaned back with a smile on his face as Clover dealt the cards.

“You’re pretty easy on the eyes yourself, Mr. Branwen.” Qrow had to admit, flirting was also a lot more fun when sober, though it could also just be that he was closer to Clover than he was with the previous people he flirted with. Regardless, it felt nice to know that there wasn’t any drunkenness talking between anyone. Then, Qrow had an idea. It could be risky, but he had a feeling things would go his way.

“Hey, I know you’re not a gambling man, but how about a little wager. Winner of the next round gets to ask the loser for something.” As Clover slid Qrow’s cards to him, he felt Qrow’s hand glance over his own hand, their fingers just barely touching. He saw Qrow wink back at him. If this wasn’t a sign, then he didn’t know what was. 

“I suppose I can make an exception, after all, it’s hard to say no to such a pretty face.” It turned out to be one of their more intense games, but ultimately, Clover had lost. He looked up to meet a smiling Qrow, though Clover did not feel bad for losing in the slightest, especially when he got to see Qrow smile like that. “Looks like some kind of bad luck did come my way. Turns out it was the handsome kind.” He could tell Qrow was staring at his lips, so he moved so he could lean more towards Qrow. “So, what do you want, my handsome bad luck charm?”

“I think you know what I want.” Qrow asked, his voice deepening a little. Clover knew that he could definitely get used to that. He closed his eyes as he moved even closer to Qrow, and he soon felt Qrow’s lips on his. Clover moaned as heat spread through his body when Qrow began to kiss him even more deeply as they shifted to lay on the couch. It was even better than he imagined. The feeling of Qrow’s body on top of him combined with the passionate making out was indescribable, and unlike anything he had felt before. Meanwhile, Qrow was having the time of his life. Their kiss was long overdue, especially for the amount of flirting they did. Having Clover beneath him made every detail of his muscular body feel even more defined. Qrow definitely made sure to feel up Clover’s arms and memorize every inch of them, cause they were a sight to behold and he wanted to remember them in as many ways as he could. Qrow soon felt himself getting hot as well. As much as they would have liked to continue for longer they soon had to stop. It was getting late and they had work to do tomorrow. 

“You’re welcome to stay the night, if you like. We don’t have to do anything more if you don’t want to.”

“It’s too late to do anything more, but I probably should get going.” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I forgot my scroll and the kids are probably worried, especially Ruby.” Clover laughed a little. “What’s so funny, Lucky Charm?” Qrow said, pretending to be offended

“Nothing, it’s just adorable how much you care about them. It shows how much of a good person you are.”

“I would say flattery is gonna get you nowhere, but it obviously has.”

“Looks like I’ll have to keep on flattering you then, won’t I?”

“I don’t know, you shouldn’t push your luck.” They both laughed again. “Well the, good night Clover.”

“Good night Qrow.“ Clover replied as he closed the door behind Crow. Once he closed it, he could not help but feel lonely once again. He was tired, so he just went right to his bed. As he lay there, he thought about Qrow and how he really did like him. He thinks it’s too soon to call it love, but he can’t help but call what he feels for Qrow love. Normally, he falls asleep quickly, but thinking about Qrow and the feeling of a sad loneliness kept him up. About ten minutes after Qrow had left, he heard a knock on his door. He found it odd, but still went to see who was there regardless. He opened the door to find Qrow staring at him. A smile returned to his face.

“Looks like some more bad luck came my way. I mean, imagine all the grimm that will unfortunately die because we got a good night’s sleep together.” 

”That is unfortunate, but I’m thinking about how lucky I am to get to be next to you.” They both chuckled.

“Come on, I’ll show you to the bed.“

“I hope your bed is big enough to fit both of us.”

“It’s actually kinda small. I think we’ll have to stay close to each other if we want to fit.”

“Lucky us, huh?” Qrow laughed and showed off his usual smirk. Clover had thought it was too soon to call it love. He realized he was wrong. It was definitely not too soon to call it love.

#Fair Game #Qrow Branwen #Clover Ebi #fairgameweek2020 #rwby