Who: Raven Branwen and Qrow Branwen What: A meeting shortly after these texts were sent. When: Evening of July 5th Where: Qrow's townhouse Rating/Warnings Lowish: language and threats Status: Complete!
Raven’s little talk with her daughter in Barstow hadn’t exactly been a disaster, but it hadn’t exactly been a rousing success, either. She had no idea what she’d expected to happen or why she should have felt disappointed over the way it had gone. But she did and she hated that she did. That, along with Yang’s foolhardy insistence that Raven pay a visit to Taiyang, put her in a right sour mood. So much so that even though she knew Qrow had been alerted to her arrival, she no longer cared that the element of surprise was no longer on her side.
She expected Qrow to be waiting for her and she wasn’t disappointed to find him seated on the front steps of his townhouse when she arrived. She didn’t bother parking a block away and walking the distance. There was no point in that now.
She got out of her car and made her way up the front walk. She eyed him carefully in an attempt to see if he was armed, but the front light was on behind him, casting him in an almost eerie like silhouette. She could see a faint red glow of a cigarette burning between his fingers, but that was about all. “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long,” she called to him as she approached.
“Not long,” he answered her before taking a drag off that cigarette. “I actually just got home.” His tone was casual, but he never took his eyes from her, never changed his position. He may have been seated, but he had put himself between her and his house, a clear sign that he was on his guard. At least life in the suburbs hadn’t made him completely complacent.
Raven came to a stop a short distance from the bottom of the steps. There was no way she was going to be looking up at her little brother in this situation. She shifted her weight onto one hip and folded her arms loosely in front of her, though she kept her overall posture relaxed. A moment of silence passed between them while Qrow smoked his cigarette. Finally Raven gave an irritated grunt. “You do know why I’m here, right?”
“Because you want to catch up with family?” The answer was said casually, even in a lazy sort of drawl that made Raven guess that Qrow was probably a few drinks into his evening when he’d gotten Yang’s text. That being said, there was still a hint of sarcasm in his tone that Raven didn’t miss.
“I think I’ve had enough of that for one day,” she said as she shifted her weight to the other hip. “This is business.”
“Mmm,” came the equally lazy reply as he took another drag. “Things not going well in Pahrump?”
The only hint Raven allowed to show of her temper flaring was her narrowed eyes. “Are you going to invite me in?” She asked in a way that wasn’t quite a demand. “Or would you prefer to do this on your front lawn?”
Qrow eyed her a moment and in that moment Raven thought he actually would call her bluff and insist they remain outside. Finally though he let out a sigh. He finished his cigarette as he got to his feet and tossed the extinguished butt into a can placed nearby for the purpose. He took a step back into the light of the porch and Raven could see that he was, in fact, unarmed.
Raven didn’t move from where she was until he’d opened the front door and wordlessly motioned her to come inside. She made her way up the steps, pausing to glance at him before stepping inside.
“Pardon the mess,” Qrow said as he stepped inside behind her. “I wasn’t exactly expecting company tonight. Didn’t get the chance to tidy up.”
Raven rolled her eyes and moved through the small entryway and into the living room off the front hall. Despite her brother’s attempt at a joke, his house was in a fairly orderly state. It occurred to Raven, briefly, that this was the first time she’d ever been inside her brother’s home or seen how he lived. It looked fairly comfortable, if simple.
Another glance around the room and Raven turned to face Qrow. Never one for beating around the bush or prolonging the inevitable, she got straight to the point. “You really fucked up, you know. We spent months setting up in Pahrump and you managed to undo everything in a single day.”
“That wasn’t what I set out to do,” he answered. “All I wanted--”
Raven cut him off with a simple wave of her hand. “I know what you wanted. You’re such a goddamn bleeding heart. Well your good intentions have reminded our boss that you exist and how much of a slap in the face that is.”
”Your boss,” he said.
Raven gave an annoyed tsk. “Whatever.”
“So, you got in trouble for letting me live,” Qrow said. His arms were folded now and Raven noted the distance he was making sure to keep between the two of them. “So lemme guess. You’re here to kill me.”
Raven made another irritated noise. “I should, but I’m not. I meant what I said before. I don’t want you dead.” Her statement was met with silence, which only irritated her more. “This is where you say thank you, sis.”
His eye narrowed at her. Raven noted that they looked a lot more red then she remembered them being before. “And this benefits you how?” He asked.
Raven ignored the question. “If I can show Inid that you really are just a history professor and that killing you is a waste of time, she’ll let you go on with your life without any further hassle.”
“I am a history professor!”
Raven raised a brow at her brother. “Oh, please.” She leaned back and folded her arms. “The past twenty years you and I have been exchanging information was for what? Just an excuse for you to bust my chops every few months? How stupid do you think I am? You may have walked away from Odin, but you just couldn’t leave it all behind, could you? You’re still getting your hands dirty.”
Qrow said nothing to deny her accusations. “I’m not a threat to Inid,” he insisted.
“I know that,” Raven said with a huff. “I know that you showed up in Pahrump with some kind of foolhardy and misguided notion that you could reunite Yang and me, but Inid doesn’t see it that way. She’s had to lie and cheat and backstab her way to get where she is. People like that, well, they’re paranoid. That was the whole reason you left, wasn’t it?”
“Among others,” he said coolly.
“So you do understand that you’re a threat.”
“I’m not,” Qrow insisted again. “I don’t want anything to do with Inid or Odin.”
Raven shrugged. “Then you’ll have to prove it.”
His eyes narrowed again, this time suspiciously. “And how exactly do I do that?”
Raven waved him off dismissively. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to give up your other job. I know you can’t do that. But there is one thing that I know for sure will take you off Inid’s radar.”
“And that is?”
Raven fixed her twin with a serious look. “Stop looking for Summer.”
The response she got was incredulous laughter.
His laugh made Raven’s temper flare again. “She doesn’t know who you are, Qrow!” She snapped at him. “Do you think by ‘rescuing’ her she’s going to fall in love with you?”
At least it got him to stop laughing. “What? No-“
“Oh, right,” Raven said sarcastically before he could even finish his excuse. “You’re doing this for Taiyang, aren’t you? Does he know you’re in love with his wife? What do you think he’d say if he found out?”
Qrow grunted in response. “You’ve lost your touch if you think that’s going to scare me off.”
Raven pursed her lips for a moment in thought. Her brother wouldn’t be intimidated by threats against his life. She had to hit him exactly where it hurt. Threaten something he actually valued. Then, just like that, she had it.
“No, of course it wouldn’t.” Her lips spread back in a smile. “You two are tight after all. One would go so far as to say family. I wonder what your little family would think of you if they knew the truth about you? About what it is you really do. I wonder what they’d think of you if they knew how much like me you really are.”
The look that briefly flew across his face told her she had hit the right nerve. “I’m nothing like you,” he bit back.
“Oh, you’re more like me than you care to admit.” Raven said. “So here’s what we’re going to do, Brother. I’m going to make a case to Inid that you’re just a pathetic little history professor who’s barely holding on to his job and to prove my point, you’re going to stop looking for Summer.”
He glared at her heatedly, but he didn’t argue. If she had to ruin him in front of the people he considered family – take away the one thing that made him happy – to get what she wanted she would do it in a heartbeat. Qrow knew that better than anyone.
“Good.” She nodded. “I’m glad to see we’re in agreement. I’ll be hanging around for a little while to make sure you behave yourself. Maybe I’ll pay Tai a visit.” She laughed. “You know, in the end, this is pretty much what you wanted.”
Her business was done for the time being. Of course she didn’t trust Qrow to follow her instructions, but over all this meeting had gone very well. Raven left the townhouse in much higher spirits than when she entered.