Die

Summer had known that spring was a big deal for the central Mistrali; the culture classes during Beacon had explained as much. She’d seen students from the region dress in traditional clothes and have picnics outside as the flowers started blooming. She’d always found the bright colors and patterns beautiful, but she’d thought it was simply for them.     Apparently, being there changed things.     Her face burned as Raven dragged her into a shop and spoke to the tailors in their native language. The fast, frantic pace as they held up garments and then put them away left her breathless. Removing her cloak had not been fun, but she’d had little choice: once Raven sat her mind to something, there was no stopping her. She’d learned as much over the past four years.     Eventually, though, Raven shoved her out of the shop, bags in hands with their purchases. She clapped her hands together, crimson eyes shining. “Let’s go back to the hotel and get changed! Oh, the flowers are beautiful this time of year…” Summer just bled a mixture of frustration, confusion, and impatience to her best friend. They had a mission to complete and she didn’t like being held back from it. Ozpin had sent them himself which meant it was important.     Raven just stuck her tongue out, eyes still full of warmth. “Oh come on, Summer; don’t be such a spoilsport! Ozpin told us to enjoy the culture a little bit! Plus, it’s just one day and the essence of the Mistrali concept of mono no aware.” Summer’s blood continued boiling and Raven just rolled her eyes, putting her hands on Summer’s shoulders. If she’d been team leader, they’d be going straight to take care of things. Work first, play later. She didn’t care if Ozpin had told them otherwise; they needed to get their work done.     Unfortunately, all she could do was let Raven push her back to the hotel. She stopped and turned an icy glare on her friend before heading into Qrow and Taiyang’s room, slamming the door behind her. Summer blinked and stared when she saw Qrow tying an obi around his waist. He jumped and swore when the door slammed shut, the cloth falling to the floor. One of the lightbulbs hissed as it gave out and color entered his cheeks. “S-Summer, what—”     “Your sister.” She dropped the bag onto the bed and flopped down, staring at the ceiling. She loved Raven, she really did, but it didn’t mean she liked everything about her. Summer though she was stubborn, but she had nothing on Raven.     She felt Qrow settle next to her on the bed and he looked down at her, a soft smile on his face. “Yeah. Now imagine growing up with that.” He chuckled softly and she managed a small smile. It was a running joke between them at this point. Regardless, she reached up and rested her hands on his cheeks, one of his hands coming to rest over hers.     “I can’t say I expected you to get into this, Qow.” She really couldn’t. It was odd to see him just roll over and accept one of Raven’s crazy proposals without an annoyed huff. It just didn’t make much sense.     It at least earned a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I just have a few good memories of this time of year.” She nodded, knowing he probably wouldn’t say anything beyond that. He didn’t speak of the tribe in positive terms like Raven, so it was definitely a strange moment. She knew it wasn’t as bad as he made it out to be but…     “Uh, Qrow, since you seem to know what you’re doing, mind helping me get dressed?” Instantly, red cheeks replaced his soft smile and he gave an awkward cough.     “Shouldn’t you ask Ra—” The sharp look silenced him and he ran a hand through his hair, cheeks growing redder. She’d had enough of her partner for a few hours. “I-If you’re sure…”     “It’s just skin, Qrow; it’s nothing to get worked up over.” She sat up and unclasped her cloak, letting it fall onto the bed, followed quickly by the ammunition belts, shirt, and pants. She could only let out an amused noise as he turned away, one hand covering his eyes. She full well knew about his feelings for her, but even so, it was still hilarious to see Qrow of all people so off guard. “Seriously, Qrow, you can look.”     He let out a small noise of embarrassment and sighed before looking at her. She just grinned and his blush deepend further before he turned his attention to the bag. “Uh, yeah. Getting the kimono itself on isn’t too hard; it’s the obi that’s the real challenge…”     Over the next forty-five minutes or so, he helped her with the seemingly endless reams of cloth until she felt like a wrapped present. It wasn’t suffocating, but it was uncomfortably tight. When she took a step, she almost fell and it was only Qrow’s quick reflexes that saved her from hitting the floor. She let out a long string of swears as she looked up at him. “I don’t like this; I can barely move.” Even with her cloak, she’d gotten used to having a free, full range of motion if she needed to react to something.     Qrow just smiled and helped her stand up, straightening her obi a little. “It’ll be all right, Summer; you can lean on me and I’ll help you.” She gave a reluctant nod and sighed, blowing at her bangs. She still hated not being able to do simple things on her own, but she knew by now she could rely on her team.     He reached into the bag and she blinked, flushing a little as he put a decoration in her hair. Had Raven slipped it in? She hadn’t noticed it before. Regardless, her attention drew away from it as she heard him exhale. “You look wonderful…” She flushed and looked down, digging her scroll out of her cloak.     “Thanks… Think you could take a picture?” This reminded her a lot of both Vytal festival dances… His reaction to her… The warmth and care… Hh nodded and took her scroll after she unlocked it and snapped the photo, a light tinge to her cheeks. She stashed it in her obi, smiling as Qrow offered her an arm. “Ready to go?” She managed a small smile and nodded as she attached to him. “Yeah.”   The day proved to be much more fun than anticipate. A wide array of booths lined the streets with silly games to win cheap toys. Summer tried her hand at a few, but Qrow’s Semblance (per usual) foiled her efforts. It still led to both of them laughing at the misfortunate for once rather than Qrow getting down on himself (much to her relief). Night started to fall, though, and she heard Raven’s ringtone go off. Hey, are you near the central park? She raised an eyebrow at the odd question. Why was she asking? She was ready to crash in the hotel after all the activity. Yeah, but I’m exhausted. Come to the tree at the top of the hill on the park’s tallest hill. Just a little longer! Please? She felt Raven’s excitement bleed over to her and she sighed. It was so hard to ignore her best friend. She was like an excitable puppy half the time… We’re near an alley. Just come get us . She didn’t feel like walking all that way. She felt Qrow exhale and looked at him, a mischievous smile on his face. Somehow, she didn’t like it. “Tell her we’ll walk.” Why did she not like this? Qrow says we’ll walk. See you in a bit . ;) Summer blinked as Qrow lifted her into his arms. Her embarrassment radiated out, though his only response was a chuckle. He smiled at her warmly, placing a kiss on her head. “It’ll be all right, princess; I got you.” She shot a glare at him, only get another amused chuckle. Even for as big as the city was, the park quickly became rather dark as they headed up higher on the hill. Really, it was more like a small mountain with how much it raised. The trees thickened and her grip on his neck tightened. She still hated more naturalistic environments due to the sheer unpredictability, but at least this one was manicured to a degree. Eventually, they reached the top of the hill and Qrow sat her down, her silver eyes wide. A blanket sat underneath a massive cherry tree, the full moon’s beams dappling the ground. Raven smiled and gave a small bow before leaving, though her crimson eyes shone as she did. Summer walked over to the blanket and sat down, Qrow sliding next to her. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, gesturing to the sky. It took only a few moments for fireworks to start and she smiled, resting against him fully. “Hope today wasn’t as bad as you thought it’d be.” His soft tone warmed her and she closed her eyes as she shook her head. Fingers combed through her short hair and she leaned into the gesture. “…Yeah, it was really great.”