Storm of Roses: Male Reader x RWBY

A Tempest of Emotions

Scarlett POV

I was glad that Ariel was fast asleep on my shoulder because one look at my face and she would be able to see something was wrong, that something was bothering me. Even as Qrow led me through the skies towards a massive Castle-esque complex, the awe it should have inspired in me was overridden by my mixed emotions. Part of me wanted to hope beyond hope that my baby boy was alive, but another part of me was trying to violently crush that budding hope. False hope now would fester and turn into soul crushing despair later if I let it grow. I had already made peace with the fact that Ariel was all I had left in this world, and thought otherwise...

How could I ever forgive myself if I had left my son alone in this world, thinking he was the only one still alive?! I should have gone back to look! I should have at least gone back to get our family photos and such...if only to have something to remember my late husband and son with...maybe if I had...I would have found him.

A squawk brought me out of my reverie of self loathing and second guessing. I looked up to see Qrow had flown down to ground level by a tree since we were already in the campus of this gargantuan place. I followed him and he landed in the tree, only to drop down a second later in his human form. He typed something off on his scroll and a second later he got a reply, if the tiny ding sound was anything to go by. He then looked up at me and pointed at the central tower of the campus.

"I checked with Oz. He and his second in command are up in that tower. All he knows is that I need to speak with him immediately, you tell him what you want."

He reached out a hand for me and I squeezed it on gratitude.

"Thanks Qrow...do you think...?"

Before I could finish, he put his finger over his mouth and pointed at Ariel, who was quietly snoring on my shoulder. He then took out his scroll and typed out what he wanted to say.

"I think we should wait to tell Ariel until something concrete is found. It's bad enough for you to have your hopes up if the worst is found... she doesn't need to feel the same does she?"

It only took a second to process what he had written. In that second, I knew. I just knew I made the right choice. So I did what I felt was necessary. I pulled him closer to me and kissed the damn fool. It was deep, passionate, and meaningful. When we separated, I pulled his head onto my free shoulder and whispered into his ear.

"I knew I made the right choice with you Birdbrain. I love you Qrow."

He hugged me and whispered back.

"I love you too Scarlett. Now let's go wring some answers out of old Ozzy."

With that, he led me to the base of the tower where he opened the elevator doors and pressed the top floor button. The wait on the way up had me nervous and wishing that we could just fly up the tower and be done with it. But I had to stand relatively still because Ariel was asleep on my shoulder and I didn't want to wake her.

The doors finally opened to a large office with some of the walls being made entirely out of dark glass. Before I saw the two figures at the desk, I heard a voice I hadn't heard in over a decade, longer probably.

"I hope whatever the drunkard has to say can be said quickly. I haven't even been able to tuck in the kids yet."

I snapped my head to look at the woman who was facing the window. I didn't even have to see the face to confirm it. The posture, her ridiculous sense of fashion, and her stupid wand/riding crop, which I found extremely kinky by the way, told me exactly who this was. The face reflected in the glass was just a confirmation of what I already knew. And before I knew it, I slipped back into my mischievous phase.