#ozironqrow

His chest hurts.

Dismissed from Ironwood—James—the General’s office, Oscar only has half an ear turned to the conversation between Ruby and the Ace Ops, or—he doesn’t know who they are. He doesn’t care.

His chest hurts.

The place where he imagines Ozpin’s half of his soul resides aches constantly, now, has since the confrontation in the snow. Below and behind his heart, in the hollow emptiness of his ribcage, a tiny little sphere of misery and self-hatred. No one has noticed it, how it burns when he’s surrounded by them, how it doubles and turns knifelike whenever he hears Qrow’s voice. Oscar doubts they’d care. Well, Ruby would. Maybe.

But he’s not watching her. Neither of them are.

They’re watching Qrow, ambling down the staircase behind them. They’re watching Ironwood—James, always James—follow behind. Oscar’s watching them talk and Ozpin’s watching them embrace and Oscar’s vision goes gold and it’s Ozpin’s heart that rends in two because it’s James and it’s Qrow and he’s close enough to touch them but he can’t and he’s supposed to be there with them and he failed them and ohgods he’s going to break—

“Oscar?”

And it’s over. It’s Oscar and Oscar alone who looks up at her. She looks strangely out of focus. “Yeah?”

She places a gentle hand on his cheek. It’s wet, and cold. “You’re crying,” she says. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He smiles up at her. “Just thinking about how we got to where we are now.”

Qrow Branwen has never asked for much in life. Sure, his sister's in prison and his brother-in-law is a bit of a wreck, his best friend is missing a few limbs and Qrow left a few bits of himself back in Afghanistan... but he has a steady job teaching, a small house, his family and his friends. And if he drinks a little more than the average person, or uses a little something to help him sleep, well - life doesn't turn out all sunshine and roses for people like him.

Until, that is, the eccentric Ozpin Pine walks into Qrow's life and turns it upside-down.

HELLO YES NEW FIC WHO DIS also yes summary is shit i am bad at these

it’s just the three of them sitting in awkward silence punctuated by James’s exasperated “…Come on, guys” every five minutes. eventually Qrow falls back on heckling and it’s all downhill from there