Lucky Petals (RWBY Qrow Dad Theory)

To the Place You Rest

Nine months was all it took. Becoming miserable and partially alone during her pregnancy, Summer dealt with the pain and loss. She remembered losing her mother and father. And finding out why she was special from Ozpin's cryptic messages.

And now, laying in her bed at her house, crying as she pushed. Within hours, her midwife handed her the baby girl she yearned for after all these years of dreaming.

She had darker hair than Summer's due to Qrow, and the minute she opened her eyes Summer gasped at the genetic resemblance.

Silver eyes. She thought.

But mixed in her black hair, was the famous hint of red the Rose family carried.

"Hello Ruby," Summer whispered to the newborn baby. As she smiled with tears forming, her friends and niece walked in.

And alongside them, was her lover.

Qrow approached the weary woman holding their daughter, and as he stared in awe, one tear fell.

His voice was like a croak. Dry, scratchy and misheard. Indistinguishable from the laughter and 'aww's he heard in the bedroom. Covered by the noises he could never make himself. He rarely laughed, and he knew with this baby in the world, Salem would have another reason to track him down. And use him. Blackmail him. Or even have a hostage.

Qrow forced the thoughts away as he spent the months with his daughter before his departure.

And when he left, he forgot that he'd even watched her grow. And that his daughter would surpass him. One day. He thought to himself. And that's all it took for him to realize his rights and wrongs.

********

"Mommy, can I helps dry?" the toddler asked her mother.

Summer looked down at her identical twin and smiled. Ruby's eyes filled with admiration and happiness as Summer lifted her to dry the newly cleaned dishes. Summer enjoyed the times she had with Ruby. Fighting her to eat her vegetables, or making childish deals with her over dessert, dinner, and what the difference between balanced meals are. Of course like all children, Ruby rebelled against Summer, making her mother stressed or more tired than usual. But nonetheless, Summer loved acting like this with Ruby.

And the days when her husband would come home. 

Summer and Qrow weren't actually married, but Summer at least had them have a small ceremony held in the forest. Two months before Ruby was due. And the bad part was that she couldn't wear a wedding dress because of her size. So Summer had this pretty maternity dress, which was her favorite color; white, that she wore to make it seem like a wedding gown. And along with her cape, her veil was complete. Qrow often dressed semi-formal, so he barely did anything. And with their vows completed, they got their final wishes.

Summer liked walking along the beach with Ruby and finding seashells. But she loved it even more when Taiyang would bring Yang to play with her favorite cousin. The two girls would build sandcastles and then throw a tantrum when the tide came in to wash away their masterpieces. Yang dealt with it, being two years older than Ruby, but Ruby would fuss and complain, which would make Summer pull the four year-old away from the rocks and tide hoping she'd stop. Eventually. 

Having Summer there gave Ruby a sense of realistic security. She desperately wanted her father to return home, but she knew living with her mother is wonderful enough to suffice. And she always got something when he came back.

****

Ruby was seven years-old, and was growing into her looks a lot more. Once she turned ten, she wanted to go off to an academy to become a huntress.

"I want to protect the ones I love and care about," she'd tell Yang who was being admitted into Signal Academy. "They need a hero. And that's what I'll become."

Then Yang would come back with her early teen sarcasm and snide remarks. Often getting herself into trouble from her big mouth. And tricking boys with the ancient art of 'looks are deceiving, but I'm pretty so listen to what I say'. And Taiyang got frustrated quickly. He got used to raising his daughter, but when he broke off his marriage, he knew he couldn't give up. For Yang's sake.

Ruby didn't have it easy either.

She'd curse the sky, the water, the ground. "WHY'D YOU TAKE HER?! I WASN'T DREAMING WHEN THEY TOLD ME YOU WERE GONE MOM! MOM!" Ruby would scream.

She was told a year ago that her beloved mother died on a mission where she couldn't escape. Salvaging a torn and tattered cape, and scythe bullet shells, she made a memorial. And had her emblem imprinted on the gravestone. With a final quote to describe her transition into Heaven. 'Thus Kindly I Scatter'. Her final message to her heartbroken daughter. Summer's wispy spirit flying freely in the realm of the loved. 

Ruby often visited her grave on the cliff side; Summer's favorite location in all of Vale. Overlooking the water and trees and displaying a sense of freedom and tranquility aside from the hatred and attacks circling Remnant. And as memory, Ruby took on the last name 'Rose', and had her signature emblem for her family as the scattering rose fluttering into the air.

Ruby Rose knew this was no fairy tale. No happy ending would come. And as her father heard the news months later, he spiraled into a deep depression. Forgetting everything and becoming a drunken man addicted to alcohol to cope with the loss of his wife and the sudden family bond disconnected with his only daughter. The last survivor of the Rose family. And the spawn of the unfortunate Branwen twin.

Yang and Ruby were motherless, but Yang had her father. Qrow soon realized with all these secret missions he'd been doing, he could not care for the daughter he never watched grow. And it occurred to him to have a backup solution. He sent Ruby to remain growing up with Taiyang. She'd have a 'sister', and live a better normal life, while Qrow became the lone renegade on the dangerous missions.

And Ruby thought her whole life that Taiyang was her father. It never occurred to her that she didn't look like Taiyang, but she could tie features to Yang who was Raven's, who was her father or Qrow's older sister. And she thought nothing of it.

Qrow became a professor at Signal when Ruby showed up. He snatched her away from the others and said as 'uncle' Qrow, he'd teach her to fight. Having her follow in Summer's unfinished route, and letting her express herself freely. Taking her emblem, last name, and style. Cape, battle skirt, scythe-rifle, and the fact her semblance was similar. Bursting into rose petals to gain speed and run at speeds no other person could accomplish. 

The emptiness that she felt wasn't gone, but her blood ran as red like roses. And she felt the warmth pulsing through her veins that Summer was alive inside of her. Ruby never felt eternal peace, but she had hope that one day she'd do amazing things.

And she visited the cliff side every week to pay respects.

"To the place you rest Mom," she whispered to the stone head. The leaves of the ending season of summer fell behind her. "Rest with all your glory. Because I'm here."

Ruby Rose was a soul forever haunted, but she replaced the cold with the feeling she was home. And that somewhere out there, Qrow would protect her with his life. Because she was now on her way to Beacon after using all she had to stun the villain and protect the citizens.

And as Qrow watched from the shadows, all he said was this as he smiled. "That's my girl."