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It had taken Qrow far too long to realize that James wasn't home and then even longer to hunt him down on the top of their old high school. Qrow wasn't entirely certain how James had gotten up there, but he wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the whisky bottle that was missing from his liquor cabinet.
He climbed up the steps, careful to let the heels of his shoes click against the cement, and slipped through the half-open door. James was there, leaning against the extra storage shed nobody liked using. He had his arm propped on his knee and, as Qrow watched, he took one of the tiny screws out of his mouth and carefully screwed it back into place. Qrow waited until James had finished before walking forward.
“I was wondering when you’d find me,” James said. He put his screwdriver down, picked up a cloth, and gently began wiping his arm down. “I must admit, you found me sooner than I expected.”
Qrow settled himself on the ground next to James and grimaced at the feel of cold concrete beneath him. “The range was closed,” Qrow said dryly, “and I know you respect the owners too much to ever trespass there.”
James nodded but didn’t say anything.
“It’s too cold for The Willow Tree to be open, your school is out of session for the next two weeks, and Penny is on a field trip with the rest of her class. It was kind of a no-brainer, once I had a chance to stop and think.”
“You know how much I value your thinking skills,” James murmured. Qrow elbowed him and James grunted as Qrow’s elbow dug into his ribs. “That wasn’t very kind.”
“Neither was making me come home to an empty house,” Qrow told him. He leaned back against the shed and watched as James cleaned smudges of grease off his fingers. “Why tonight?”
“Other than the usual?” James shrugged. “I don’t feel the cold like I used to, you know that. And there’s supposed to be a meteor shower.”
“And?” Qrow prompted.
James shrugged again. “Does there need to be another reason?”
“You mean other than the fact that we agreed we wouldn’t disappear on each other without letting the other person know?” Qrow closed his eyes. “No, no reason.”
They fell silent, the only noise the soft clink of metal as James carefully put his tools away. Qrow could feel James’ warmth against his side, the sudden gap of coldness when James leaned forward and the warmth when he leaned back.
“I used to come up here all the time when I was a kid,” James said.
“‘Sneak up,’ you mean,” Qrow corrected. “I remember hearing all about how the Ironwood kid got caught up here after school hours. My parents used to lecture Raven and me about not trespassing on school property. I could probably recite them back to you, I heard them so often.”
James let out a small huff of laughter and leaned harder against Qrow. “I wasn’t even breaking school rules. They just didn’t like that there wasn’t any supervision, who knew what could happen.”
“So why’d you do it?” Qrow asked. “Surely there were better spots to go than staying at school all the time.”
“There were,” James agreed, “but everyone knew about them. There’s no point in going to the glade or the Willow Tree when everyone else is there. It ruins the purpose.”
Qrow rested his head on James’ shoulder and let his hand fall to lay between them. “What? You couldn’t pull off ‘mysterious, brooding general’s son’ with all of us commoners?”
James flicked Qrow’s knee with a metal finger. “If anyone brooded, it was you. You’d just sit in class and scribble in your journal and frown all the time…Summer was certain you’d get wrinkles before graduation.”
“Whatever,” Qrow grumbled. He slouched deeper and fought not to cross his arms. “And you didn’t answer my question.”
James sighed and traced Qrow’s fingers with the tips of his own fingers. Qrow tried not to shiver at the feeling of cold metal. “You remember the year we went to the summer camp, and one of our activities was meditation?”
Qrow groaned. “I hated that class. Sit still, count to seven, clear your mind. It was boring.”
“For you,” James said. “I found it…helpful.” He curled his hand around Qrow’s fingers and pulled his hand into his lap. “It was nice, having a time set aside to not think about anything. It was…peaceful. Not always but sometimes it was the closest thing I could get to peace.” He glanced up at the sky, the stars brilliant against the inky blueness of the night. “Have you ever noticed how the places that are so full of life during the day feel the emptiest at night? It’s like without that energy, that life, there’s a void just…sitting here, waiting for someone to come and take it away.” James shook his head. “What am I saying? That sounds ridiculous.”
Qrow tangled his fingers with James’ and turned so that his back was against James’ side instead of the shed. James had to lift his arm so that Qrow could shift into place and when Qrow was finished, James’ arm lay across his chest.
“It doesn’t sound that ridiculous,” Qrow said. “Just different. I mean, I don’t entirely get it but that’s me. Doesn’t mean what you’re feeling here isn’t real.” He tugged James’ arm tighter against him. “Does it help?”
“Hm?”
“Being here,” Qrow clarified. “Does it help you, you know, feel peaceful?”
“Sometimes. It depends, I suppose. Some days are better than others, sometimes coming out here feels like a waste of time.” James rubbed a thumb over the back of Qrow’s hand absently. “I have to work at it, it’s not like I come out here and I’m instantly at peace. I have to focus and let myself drift into the mindset.”
“Is that what you were doing tonight?”
“That had been the plan,” James said, “but I couldn’t focus. I kept thinking about the meteor shower and if Penny’s happy on her trip and whether or not we should switch the training courses for next semester.” He rubbed at his eyes with his free hand. “I hate it when I can’t focus,” he mumbled.
“What about now?” Qrow asked. “Did you want me to leave?”
James shook his head. “No, I’d…I’d like you to stay. I like it when you’re here. Besides, the meteor shower should be starting soon. I was thinking…maybe you’d like to watch it with me?”
Qrow smiled and snuggled closer. “Bet you I can find more meteors than you.”
“Deal,” James said, and rested his chin on Qrow’s head. “Loser buys winner dinner?”
“Deal,” Qrow said. He pointed at the sky. “And that’s one.”