Falling In Love With My Target

Chapter 8

Back at the Tribe, Taka is sitting at his desk, waiting to hear about Qrow's progress. 

"What the h*ll is going on? He never takes this long to complete a mission." Taka grumbled.

"Now will you understand what I've been telling you for the past year...Qrow is useless. He's pathetic and weak, I don't know why you still keep him around." Raven said placing her hands on her hips.

"Hmmm...you may have a point." Taka agreed.

"He's really been off his game since that incident last year with Tyrian." he sighed.

"All the more proof that he is weak. If he lets one tiny insignificant incident affect him so much, then he shouldn't be an assassin, or part of the tribe." Raven replied.

"Alright, here's what I'll do. If Qrow hasn't completed his objective in the next two weeks...I'll send someone to finish it for him...and to finish him." Taka told her.

"Two weeks? Doesn't that seem a little...lenient?" Raven scoffed.

"Eh, I'm in a moderately good mood, might as well be merciful." Taka shrugged.

Rolling her eyes, Raven walks out of Taka's office. Lingering just outside the door was Tyrian.

"Is the birdie not doing his job?" Tyrian asked.

"No." Raven asnwered.

"Ooh, is Taka gonna...ya know..." Tyrian said grinning.

Then he makes a slicing gesture across his neck.

"Not, yet. He's giving him another two weeks." Raven told him.

"Aww, poor little birdie. Hope his will is up to date." Tyrian said with a fake pout.

"Hey, Tyrian...help me understand that psychotic brain of yours and tell me why you did what you did last year." Raven requested.

"Well, it's simple...Qrow had something I wanted, he wouldn't give it to me, so I took it...and oh boy was it fun." Tyrian giggled.

Raven cringes at Tyrian's manic giggling and walks away. In Atlas, Qrow is out on another date with Clover. He had taken him to an arcade and they were currently playing skee ball. 

"Wow, you suck at this." Clover chuckled.

"Give me a break. I never went to an arcade as a kid." Qrow grumbled with an adorable pout.

"My family were a bunch of d*ckheads who never let me do anything fun." he half-heartedly laughed.

Next, gentle hands grasp his biceps and a feather light kiss is pressed to his temple. Qrow looks up and is met with a soft warm smile, causing his lips to move on their own accord into a smile.

"Want me to show you how not to suck at this game?" Clover asked.

"Sure." Qrow replied blushing.

"Is this alright?" Clover asked, standing behind Qrow, wrapping one arm around his waist and the other lined up with Qrow's arm, holding the back of his hand.

Qrow nods, blushing a little more. He honestly enjoyed that Clover never did something without taking his comfort in mind first. Clover guides Qrow's arm into perfectly throwing the ball into a high scoring hole. 

"Wanna try on your own now?" Clover asked him.

"Hmm...I think I need you to show me how just one more time." Qrow said with a cheeky grin.

Smiling, Clover tightens the arm around Qrow's waist and kisses him.

"You're adorable." Clover whispered.

Knowing that the man holding him completely adored him and treated him with the most respect he's ever known, and knowing that he'll have to eventually betray him and kill him makes a knot form in Qrow's stomach. Qrow does his best to not let his guilt and self-hatred show so that Clover doesn't notice and think something's wrong. After playing some more games, Clover turns in the tickets they earned and got a green teddy bear as a prize. He gives the bear to Qrow and then gives him a peck on the cheek.

"You hungry?" Clover asked Qrow.

"A bit." Qrow said with a shrug.

"Good. Cause this place has the best curly fries." Clover said excitedly.

He grabs Qrow's wrist and leads him over to a table where he orders an extra large basket of curly fries. When the fries were gone, Clover takes Qrow back to his hotel room. As Clover goes in for a kiss, Qrow puts the teddy bear in front of his face so that Clover kisses it instead of him.

"You're silly." Clover laughed.

"See you soon." he added, kissing Qrow this time.

Clover walks into his house smiling like a dum-dum. His sister notices and immediately drags him up to her room so they could talk all about it.

"Come on, give me the deets!" Punzie said, excitedly bouncing up and down on her bed.

"Okay, just calm down." Clover replied, placing his hands on Punzie's shoulders to stop her bouncing.

Punzie couldn't help but squeal with joy when Clover told her all about his date with Qrow.

"Is he your boyfriend? ARE YOU IN LOVE!?" Punzie asked.

"Well, we're not really using labels like 'boyfriend' just yet. And...it's too early to say things like 'love'." Clover said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"But you are crazy about him, aren't you?" Punzie asked scooting closer.

"H*ll yeah, I am. He's amazing. But, he's extremely shy and reserved, and it's obvious that he's been through a lot, so I don't want to rush him into anything. I'm perfectly fine taking things slow." Clover told his sister.

"So...you got anything on Councilmember Logan?" he asked.

"Uhg, no." Punzie groaned.

"They're sneaky...and crafty. But they're also arrogant, and way too confident, so they'll eventually have to slip up." she added.

In Qrow's hotel room, the assassin is on the verge of a panic attack. He had just gotten a message from Taka saying he had two weeks left to complete his mission. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, causing him to almost drop his phone. Qrow had to speed things up with Clover or else he's done for.

"I've gotta do something fast." Qrow whimpered, terrified.

Then Qrow receives another message that pushes him over the edge into a full blown panic attack.

Tyrian: Hope to see you soon, birdie. 😈

Now, Qrow in on his knees on the floor; his heart beating hard and fast, his whole body trembling, breathing erratically, and scratching absentmindedly at his arms. The man could not form a single coherent thought in his head. All he knew was that he was extremely anxious and that he wanted this helpless feeling to stop, he wanted comfort. So, without really thinking about it, he pulls out his phone and texts the only person who give him what he wants...Clover.