Work Text:
It was long past midnight by the time all the kids decided to head back to their rooms to prepare for bed. Though certain they’d find their own special way to get into trouble with something so mundane, Qrow felt confident enough to leave them for the night.
After all, they had been working nonstop to quell the stampedes of Grimm ravaging Mantle and continue emergency evacuations. Not to mention that it was only a week ago that their arduous, terrifying fight with Salem. Had it not been for all of Ruby, Jaune, their teams, and Jimmy’s eventual yet reluctantly sent troops, she would have rendered Mantle and Atlas to nothing but pebbles and ash.
Qrow took a deep breath, the cold Atlas air sending a shock through his sinuses. Not to mention how he had lost feeling on the tips of his wings basically the moment he took to the air.
Honestly, fuck this weather. And they had it all year long? No. He almost couldn’t wait to get out of this gods-forsaken city.
Almost…
Sparkling green eyes filled his mind’s eye. The warmth of even his memory pushed Qrow onwards through the bitter night winds. If he could smile in this form, he surely would look like a fool just about then.
So long as Clover was in intensive care at Atlas Hospital, Qrow would remain in this frigid city. He owed the man too much to up and leave.
Muscle memory led Qrow into his descent, the hospital rapidly filling his field of view. He maneuvered his way to a familiar window. His shoes touched down gingerly on the decorative siding of the building, just wide enough for Qrow to feel like he was always a millisecond away from falling. Balancing his weight, he bent low, using the friction from the pads of his fingers and absolutely fucking freezing glass to pull the window open just far enough for him to slip in.
The wind rushed into the small room, brushing up the corner of Clover’s blanket. Though he seemed to be asleep, the cold gust made Clover’s face wrinkle, head hopeless in its attempt to nuzzle further into his pillow to hide from it. Qrow was quick to turn and close the window.
He took a seat on the other side of Clover’s bed, into a plush chair, meant to recline to accommodate overnight guests.
Qrow took stock of Clover. His shoulders weighed heavy on the bed, so Qrow could safely assume that for once, he was in a deep sleep. Under the blanket, one arm was laid over his stomach, low on his abdomen, far from his wound. Faced away from him, Qrow could see every which way his hair stuck up. The grease that helped keep his hair so mussed indicated that the nurses had once again been unsuccessful in bathing him.
Qrow’s heart constricted at the thought of it.
In this very room, especially nights like these, it was common for Qrow to drop in on a half-asleep Clover, too tired to hold his eyes open but in too much pain to have a restful night. Qrow always tried to distract him, but there was only so much he could do when even so much as breathing was enough to cause him to wince.
He couldn’t imagine what Clover went through with three different nurses trying to move him around to give him a proper bath, if even just a sponge one. They usually saved his hair for last so if he wasn’t feeling up to it; it wasn’t like greasy hair was going to concern the doctors about any risk of his wound becoming infected.
A gentle shiver wracking through Clover’s body broke Qrow from his thoughts. Without skipping a beat, he scooted forward in his chair. Qrow reached out, his hand snagging the edge of the blanket and slowly shifting it up Clover’s body to cover his shoulders as well.
Qrow patted the edge of the blanket, trying to tuck it around Clover’s shoulders. But instantly, he felt the muscle minutely tense under his fingers. He yanked his hand back, hoping the man would fall back to sleep just as quickly as he had awoken.
But, well. Where he goes, misfortune follows.
With a quick but quiet breath in, Clover’s head shifted slightly. He let out a low, sleep-slow, inquisitive noise.
“Just me, Clove,” Qrow soothed, voice barely above a whisper.
Clover turned his head just enough to be able to see Qrow from the corner of his eye. His eyes cracked open to look at the man.
“Didn’ think you w’re comin’ tonight,” he slurred.
“‘Course I was,” Qrow stated plainly. He shifted to the edge of his seat, hoping to limit the amount Clover had to move to see him. His hand rested on the guard rail of Clover’s bed to balance himself.
Clover hummed absently. His eyes shut for a few moments before they opened again, wider than before. His head turned to properly face Qrow, a small smile befalling his lips.
Qrow’s brows furrowed. He let go of the rail to rub Clover’s arm over the blanket. “Go back to sleep. I’ll still be here in the morning.”
Clover’s eyes glanced down to where Qrow’s hand caressed his arm. With a slight frown, Clover snaked his arm away from Qrow’s hand.
Flinching as if he had been burned, Qrow retracted his hand, curling his fingers close to his chest. He had been trying to comfort Clover, maybe even lull him back to sleep. But if it wasn’t wanted then it wasn’t wanted. That’s okay, Qrow is okay with that. Definitely okay with it.
Well, no. He wasn’t. He had never been a very comforting type of person, his brash, cruel honesty made it rare for people to look to him for any form of comfort. Take that plus the fact that he just wasn’t all that great with people, rather that felt best staying in the shadows, far away from where those around him would be hurt by his semblance or ask questions that forced him to give nothing but blatant lies.
It was no wonder Clover didn’t want his comfort.
Qrow took in a quick, shaky breath, as uncertainty’s ugly tendrils came to wrap around his thoughts, slowly dragging him backwards, far into an area he had recently been working so hard to tame.
Clover’s questioning hum jerked Qrow back into the hospital room. Clover’s arm lay feeble against his side, completely uncovered by the blanket. His palm was upturned, wrist lifted slightly, and fingers splayed out in an effortless question.
Qrow looked from his hand to his face. Clover’s expression remained neutral, but the eyes? Eyes never lie. A nervous glint shone in them betraying his calm demeanor. A quick glance to the heart rate monitor proved his point. A slight spike in the BPM was all the proof Qrow needed.
He wasn’t rejecting Qrow’s comfort, he just wanted more.
Relief flooded Qrow’s system.
Tamping down all the doubts in his mind, Qrow took Clover’s outstretched hand. He was almost surprised to feel the sheer heat of his hand. He was nearly certain Clover must have been freezing the way he was buried under the blankets.
Nonetheless, he gave Clover a small smile, Qrow briefly squeezed his hand in reassurance. Anything Clover wanted, anything he needed, Qrow would always give it to him.
Clover’s eyes closed again, the corner of his lips lifting just so as relaxed back into his pillow. “Thank you, Qrow,” he whispered.
In a moment of blind confidence, Qrow bent his head down, turning their connected hands to press a quick kiss to the back of Clover’s. Qrow looked up just in time to see Clover’s eyes fly open, his eyes blinking rapidly as he sucked in a silent breath.
Even with the pale light of the moon illuminating the room, Qrow could swear that he saw Clover’s cheeks darken just slightly.
Qrow scooted the chair closer to the bed, unwilling to let go of Clover’s hand as he rested all the way back into it. “Now sleep,” Qrow ordered, his smile betraying his insistence.
With a small laugh, Clover conceded. “Alright, alright,” he said. But his eyes darted around the room before they landed back on Qrow. “And I’ll see you in the morning?” he asked with false confidence.
“Absolutely,” Qrow answered resolutely.
Happy with the answer, Clover’s eyes closed. It was only minutes before his breathing evened out and all tension left his face. The hand in Qrow’s relaxed, but he would be damned if he was going to let it go.
Qrow nestled in for the night, a contented smile gracing his lips as the warmth of their simple connection radiated throughout his body.