It's a double release. Well, at least in a way it is. Happy last day of Hanukkah and an early Merry Christmas. Go check out the main story Underneath The Surface if you have a lot of free time this holiday season. Figured why not get them both out of the way instead of having to push it off when it's even closer to the holidays. This is the big climactic ending. Part really wanted to name this Winter is Coming, but that's a bit too on the nose. Stay tuned for Bakki as a Bumblebee commission for the winter is almost done. The coming weeks are already looking up. Now, onto the conclusion.

Winter's Rarefaction

As soon as the room started clearing out, Winter headed out with them. As much as she also wanted to give a grand exit like Weiss, she did that ten years ago and she didn't feel her soul should be arrested back to a young adult's development. She was the mature adult, whether she wanted to truly acknowledge that age at the moment. She added a lush black scarf, trench coat, and gloves to pad the heat, the velour fabric caressing her cheek as she aimlessly gazed out the window of her luxury ride.

The white, red and green lights of an airliner broke through the murky marine coverage, the aircraft coming in to a safe landing on the strip at Atlas International. She arrived the recommended two hours before the flight, not because she should to make sure she checks-in and get past the TSA, but wanted to end the holiday as early as possible.

The driver came up to the yellow curb and dropped her off, the crystallized fluff of the beginnings of snowfall hitting her petite nose, Winter already getting a bad omen as she felt the snowball rush towards the bottom of the hill that was this Christmas.

She approached the desk, pulling up her suitcase to the counter along with her boarding pass.

"Hello, ma'am," the female desk-worker cheerily announced, "how can I help you?"

"Just checking my luggage," the heiress drearily said, pulling her black suitcase up to the weight platform.

"May I see your ticket?" she asked, Winter showing the QR code for a scan. The loud tapping of bony fingers to keyboard beat against her eardrums with no other sound around, and her day getting worse. "Oh, we are very sorry to inconvenience you, Ms. Schnee, but it seems there seems to be a malfunction with your flight's left engine. A repair order has just been sent, but with such short staff the flight will be delayed until 10 a.m. at the earliest."

She restrained herself from groaning and burying her face in her arms, asking the woman her options. "Can you get me another flight?"

"No, I'm sorry, but the next flight to Vale will be in the afternoon due to some thunderstorm delay. What we can do is give you a room at the hotel across for this inconvenience."

Winter wasn't spoiled but felt like she needed proper room service and a massage called up, none offered at the current location. "Make it a suite. Think of it as the last hoorah of good tiding of the season instead of the the day you crossed a Schnee and lost your job."

The Ice Queen was in full form with the last of her Christmas cheer exhausted, the frightened clerk tapping feverishly on the database to get her what she requested. "I-I-I have just booked a-a room. I'll get you a shuttle to the..."

"That won't be necessary," she cut off, grabbing her luggage and striking her hand in the air for a quick cab ride there. The already big waiting area looked even bigger with no one around. Fires were roaring in the dual fireplaces, the leather living room sets empty looking like a model home setting with how precisely placed the furniture was. As like everything else, Christmas night was dead, the most minimal of workers at their posts, the bellboy working double as the check-in host as he rushed from his comfy seat in the break room to change his hat.

"Hello, ma'am, I heard you would be staying with us until morning," the squeaky-voiced teen denoted.

"Yes," she kept it simple. He was young but efficient, the boy handing over her card key and itinerary for the evening.

"Here you go, ma'am. Might I help you with your luggage?"

"Sure," she paused before answering, not sure if she had any small bills to tip him. She came around the counter, the one-man hotel runner earning his wage as he pulled out the golden dolly and wheeled them to the elevator. As they were on their way, the quiet tune of slow piano music played, the woman craning her head to see one other employee. The bartender was busying himself cleaning glasses with a rag, Winter figuring she'd get in a nightcap and give these guys something to do.

"Actually," she lead off, the bellboy at attention, "here's a twenty. Take my suitcases and place them on the foot of my bed, set the temperature at seventy-two, send up two bottled waters, the most expensive ones you have, set an alarm for seven-thirty and have a coffee ready in the morning as I leave."

Her orders were taken with bells on the boy's toes, pocketing the bill and heading down the hall. Winter sauntered over, the slowed-down piano covers of these Christmas carols soothed the savage spirit as soon as she crossed the threshold. The interior designer was keen on a monochrome approach, it minimalistic and stylish. The ebony granite countertop and the dark oak wood shelves were recently polished, the surfaces gleaming in the dimmed light of the white ballooned hanging fixtures. The bar stools were woven in with a transparent floral lace, the leather fabric also matching the loungers and loveseats that were ordained around the separate fireplaces in tucked away alcoves. A lone Christmas tree towered as the room's centerpiece, Winter smelling its pine scent amongst the smoky burn and bottles of alcohol.

"What can I get you ma'am?" he asked smiling.

"Top shelf, black label," she responded, taking off her jacket and draping it on the back of the bar stool before seating herself. The tall, black man flung the railed ladder to the spot, picking up the expensive-looking bottle and sliding it along the length of his arms. It was clear that in this holiday down time he was teaching himself a few tricks, and a few flips of his wrist and a sleight of hand later, she was one perfectly prepared cup of whiskey richer.

Before the liquid reached her lips, the esters sweet scent already had her calm, a certain man's face entering her mind still didn't ruin her sending off beverage for the holiday. The burn was what she needed, a flavorful chill emanating from her stomach to the rest of her as she stared back in the glass. "Why did I pick one that reminds me of him? Wouldn't shock me if this was his brand, but I'll give him some credit, this is quality."

The heiress took another sip, noticing a strange candelabra in the middle of the cabinet shelves, Winter recognizing the Menorah in the corner of her eye. She's done her fair share of traveling, so it wasn't rare to see a Jewish operated business be this proud of their heritage, only serendipitous that she would end up here after her lousy Christmas. "If I believed in such things, this would some kind of calling," she thought to herself. "Not like I've been an avid practitioner for over a decade, but this would no doubt be the breaking point if I did. Even with an adult beverage in my hand, coming home for the holidays reduces me back to when I was a kid, except... I'm not a kid anymore... I grew up to just be unhappy as them."

Knocking back another gulp from the smooth, caramel elixir, Qrow's self-soothing method effective but only in the short term and only on rare occasions such as these. As she sat there contemplating what she had done the past twenty-odd years, the well went dry, the woman's mirror image in the brown relaxant gone as she was staring at the cloudy round ice. As she was about to lift her head from her pity and head upstairs, the bartender slid another round in her face.

"For you," he said, Winter pushing the drink away.

"Sorry, but I didn't want to drink past one tonight," she responded. "Thanks for the offer. Have it yourself."

"It wasn't from me. The gentleman in the back bought it for you," the robust man responded, Winter's blue eyes popping as she was informed that she wasn't alone. Her head was on a swivel, looking for this mysterious person who was in the room with her. Directly behind her, hidden by the blind spot of her bangs, was a man tucked away in the corner of a loveseat. He was by himself too, hair a familiar disheveled mess, garbed in a gray zip-up cardigan, white v-neck, and jeans, he raised his glass to her. Her eyes met his and the fight or flight response was ignited, his mauve eyes simmering in the flickering fire with his glass. He uncrossed his legs and he marched over with purpose, black boots echoing against the hardwood, Winter standing her ground as she groaned out.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I do believe the appropriate induction is 'Hi Qrow, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah or seasons greetings'. Is that how you greet a friend?" he cheekily snipped back.

"Friend?" she raised her voice from a whisper to a roar. "You come around only to annoy me to the point where drinking is the only way to tolerate you and then..." she stopped herself before she admitted it to the world. His smarmy smile wasn't making it easier, her icy glare the only defense as she checkmated herself.

"And you were saying?" he lead on. "I do believe there's a pretty good ending in that bold statement."

She turned away and faced the wall of liquor. "Qrow, I don't have the energy to put up with you right now. I'm not exactly having that gleeful anticipation of having another year end."

The heiress still took a sip of the free drink, she not above her female peers in stealing a drink from a gullible guy. Giving the man a cold shoulder was an understatement, Qrow getting closer as he took the available seat next to her. "I could've guessed that considering you're having a drink... alone... on Christmas."

"Please don't think of it as a cry for help," she snapped back. "I'm not like you who lives his life at the bottom of a glass. I just needed something to get me to bed."

"I know you're not, but I also know you're too proud to be vulnerable for anyone, which is part of what makes you attractive," he casually complimented, Winter still not acknowledging his presense. "And it may not seem like a cry for help, but I'm not a fan of letting people drink alone."

No sarcasm, no false bravado, no painful lines of seduction. Winter glanced over to him to see his eyes soften, the man coming in with genuine concern for her. Part of her wanted to shut him out and tell him off, but that impulse she's relied on in the past is what lead her to where she was now, a shakeup needed if she wanted to change. The bartender's bass voice came from behind her, nearly booming in intimidation.

"Ma'am, is the guy bothering you?"

The two stood locked, Qrow determined to get his words in even if he was forced to leave, the heiress willing to listen, even if she was going to use him as a stress outlet. "No, he's a friend."

The bartender still leered at him, her frienemy shoving off the aggressive glare. Naturally, she regret her decision almost immediately. "I half-expected you to have me kicked out. Glad to see the semblance of Christmas good tidings still lingering in you."

"It's like you know exactly what to say to piss me off," she sneered back, her eyes finding any other spot in the homely hole to focus on.

"What can I say, drinking alone in a bar is sorta my thing," he cheekily fired back.

A tuft of air flared through her nostrils, the witty take on her situation even she could find the humor in. "Well, it takes one to know one, I suppose," she responded as she took a sip of the drink, Qrow's selection an even higher quality standard than what she had before. "So, getting chatty with the bimbos you pick up has been a tool this whole time to have someone listen to you."

"Not me, necessarily. I believe I'm FUBAR, and this is a chance to give others the opportunity to vent so they don't become me," he explained.

"So altruistic, they ought to put you right up there with the Salvation Army," she dryly replied. "And I assume your ulterior motives are bumped up to so sort of angelic good deed after you thrill them in bed."

"I like to think of it like a tax get-off," he quipped back, sticking to the theme. "And since I hit the nail on the head, I might as well pound it in. It seems your Christmas went well," he sarcastically put, the lightness of tone made Winter more candid.

"I know my name lends to an affinity to everything during the season, but Christmas back home has officially lost its luster," she bluntly put. "I remember as a kid, December twenty-fifth was the epitome of everything you wanted. Yes, even though I could literally buy anything anytime, the idea of a beared, overweight man in red pajamas gifting me anonymously was more enjoyable than getting it from my parents. It's as gift giving should be; from the heart, but there's no authentic love from them, only calculated events to present the image of it."

With how well that flowed out of her, she realized how thirsty she was to get it out in the open, taking a well-deserved sip before continuing. "Course, as we grow older, everything starts to lose that sparkle, and with my parents, it felt like that part of me was shutdown overnight. So, for twenty years, it kept chipping at me and that leads me to today where I'm barely holding it together as the only other person other than Klein that has shown me any genuine affection is grownup and made her way without me."

"I'll assume you mean Weiss," Qrow replied quickly.

"That didn't seem like a careful deduction," she picked up on.

"No, I have a little inside scoop as to what you're talking about," he started. "I got a call from Ruby earlier tonight. She and Weiss were running on empty and because Weiss wasn't going to let her drive your car. They needed a safe place to park and get in an hour. Don't worry, I got a call after a two hour nap and they were back on the road."

Seemed the Ice Queen still had her imposing effect on her little sister, thinking probably she should be letting up her. "Well, glad they could call on you. I travel about as much, but you have a lot more grassroots experience which makes me wonder why you're in a big city."

"Required maintenance on my layover to Mistral," he started, "but they say there's gonna be some heavy snow tonight. The airline said they're just gonna delay it and not rush an engine replacement."

"Actually going home for the holidays?"

"Not really," he stated. "I'm just doing an obligatory check-in on my sister. You know I never really had a tight-nit family either, and I'm not big on the whole celebrating Hanukkah thing anymore. Besides, Taiyang's place is more than a home than my place in Vale. There's life, happiness, joy. Even though I'd be welcomed with open arms, he earned that. I'm not gonna come in like a pet left in the rain. Besides, working on Christmas isn't so bad, you tend to meet a lot of interesting people."

Winter could concur with the waitress and young man at the party. However, she could feel his brash smile curl around his glass as he took another sip, not letting him hit on her like he always does. "I know your game, Qrow. You can stop with the subtle charm."

"Would you prefer me to lay it on thick? Perhaps using the worst pick-up lines I have that all end in innuendo about sex?" he provoked, The Ice Queen shutting him down.

"I can't believe there's women out there who find that tactless attempt charming. It goes beyond appreciating confidence from the underlying stupidity."

"Ruggedness and experience can go miles," he replied, the flash prevalent as he admitted this truth. "And now that I'm probably starting to look like their dads, it's almost like shooting fish in a barrel. Girls with daddy issues flow like water these days with the amount of broken homes lately."

"Glad I fall into your M.O.," Winter chipped through her teeth, polishing off her glass and grabbing the bartender's attention. "Barkeep, one more. Same bottle."

"Didn't mean to hit a nerve," he responded, going drink for drink and requesting another as well. "So, Jacques got you by the neck again?"

"You could say that. I'm too..." she paused herself, the words cutting deep as she confessed what she'd been rattling in her mind since Weiss got home. "I'm too old to be having him get underneath my skin."

"I've learned you're not too old for just about anything," he grisly said. "And I mean that both figuratively and practicality. I have the better part of a decade on you and I assure you that people will get under your skin, whether they mean to or not. It's partially why I'm here. I took a job that would keep me busy so I can have an excuse not to see my best friend. He'd never admit it, but I know he invites me cause I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Guess we both have a tenacity to regress to a more adolescent way of dealing with things when pride is on the line," she remorsefully stated.

"Adolescents can't legally drink, but that never stopped me," Qrow jested back, the functional alcoholic's self-deprecation one of his humorously darker qualities she appreciated. "And hearing you talk about age with how young you are makes you already sound like an old lady."

"Don't be so caviler in dropping that phrase," she warned. "Age is a very touchy subject for women and I'm not immune to it. You know that first time you fall down and bruise yourself and it didn't heal overnight, and you realize your body aged? Well, I had the mental equivalent to that."

"So, I'm not allowed to mention the wrinkles that are forming over your brow," he joked. The heiress turned and gave him an evil eye, the furrowed scowl housed the icy blue orbs on fire as he stoked the rage within. He raised his hands to absolve his innocence, the man quickly redacting his wisecrack. "OK, OK, Ice Queen. You can take it down a notch, I get it."

The insecure part of her wondered if there were such aging lines, her hand reflexively rubbing the smooth skin on her forehead to ease that anxiety. "You say that, but I don't think men can. Women always have the expectation of looking good, and unfortunately looking good has been warped thanks to the media. I envy those girls who pride themselves on it, who actually enjoy shopping for makeup and dresses and pairing all these together to showcase their outer beauty. But they also are those same girls who talked bad about me behind my back because I didn't have to do much to look as good as I do. But that's what makes aging all the more scarier. I'm not young anymore... and one day I'll look in the mirror and even that will be gone."

Winter's expression didn't falter as she admitted it, but put her lips to her glass and sucked down another mouthful to quell the sadness rising. "I know you said you weren't immune to that, but you certainly have carried yourself like that never mattered," Qrow emphasized.

"It's cause it didn't. I'm now twenty-eight, single, and have grossly fallen behind in one aspect of my life," she disclosed freely, "finding someone steady to be a partner with. Yes, Weiss is young, and Ruby may not be her last, but the way she ran after Ruby at the airport, that sudden urge to regain favor with someone you love so much that the idea of losing them hurts, I haven't felt that in a long time."

Waiting for the snarky remark so she could splash the rest of her whiskey in Qrow's face and head off to bed angry, she was shocked to hear his response. "Yeah... now that's something I can relate to." Her ears perked as he gruffly confessed, her eyes meeting his as they both started communicating. "Difference is between you and me is you're still young, whether you want to admit it or not, but I came to terms with it with accepting that maybe I'm meant to be single and that's not the worst thing because I am male."

"Glad you pointed that very important detail out," she ominously congratulated. "I can already hear what my mother, their friends, society would say when they don't see a ring around my finger in the coming years. First question they'll ask is 'do you have a boyfriend?' and their follow up to my 'no' will be 'that's too bad' and 'I have a nephew that would be great for you'. Luckily I've been blessed with Schnee beauty and enough wealth to keep me looking twenty-five for a decade. Wish I had a free pass to get gray hair and wrinkles like you do."

"Look at you trying to teach me without hearing my side of the story," he casually taunted, the woman intrigued by his tone. "Yes, I get away with it, for the most part. All my adventuring keeps my body in good shape and my graying is those sexy streaks, but I ain't out of a catalog. Those girls with daddy issues, they generally don't get older. I get older and they stay the same age. I'm now on the other side of the hill on dating mountain and you know what I've been getting more lately? Creepy old man."

Winter was mid-sip when Qrow dropped that bomb. She didn't know if it was meant to be as hilarious as it was as she did a spit-take, howling with laughter as the words slipped past his lips. As she tried to pull herself together, she got a glimpse of his soured face and reeled back harder, her laughter echoing past the bar and into the hollowed hallways of the hotel.

She had buried her face in her arms, sleeves sopping up the tears but still some poured down her face, her gloves soaking up the excess as she dabbed her cheeks. "I-I," she started only for another bout of giggles to hit her chest. Finally able to construct a sentence, she resumed. "I know you didn't mean for that to be funny, but damnit if that didn't hit the right spot."

"Laugh it up, crazy cat lady," he jabbed back, the heiress letting him hit back after that lapidating of laughter. "You're lucky I don't take myself seriously because I believe this is the rare occasion I'd be justified to throw my drink in your face."

"Don't think I would sit there and not throw mine right back at you," she jollily threatened back, the woman returning to her drink. After hearing only their voices for a time, their was an awkwardness of not having anything further to say, her lips wrapped around her glass to give her mouth something to do as the crackling spouts of wood snapping in the fireplaces replaced their conversation.

The warmth from the room and the whiskey twisted and flowed throughout her, but she felt a burning sensation hit her face. Not actually, but the one your mind picks up on signaling you're being watched, Winter craning her head back to Qrow to see a fulsome face plastered on him. "What?" she asked.

"On the potential reaction of you still throwing the rest of your drink at me, I am taking in your smile," he cheekily pointed out. "The Ice Queen usually has her frown worn like a crown."

She would blame it on the alcohol, but she felt the heat rush to her cheeks with him being so bold. There was still a couple ounces left in her glass, swearing these two would be the last ones lest she get backed into a teasing corner by the likes of him. But the whiskey didn't have an effect on this, actual content from her situation. "Don't get used to it, but..." she stalled, biting her lip as something she hated doing because it flattered his ego, but he did something she didn't think she was able to do before he came along. "I really needed to have a good laugh. I didn't think I was capable of smiling let alone laughing with how miserable a Christmas this has been. So... thanks, Qrow."

"Don't thank me, thank the whiskey," he shrugged off the congratulations, the man shining a bit brighter in her eyes as he didn't dig into her. "I always found it funny that if this happened two weeks earlier, on just a random day in December, it wouldn't hit as hard as it does today."

"OK, you're back to not making me laugh again," she jabbed, happy she was able to get herself smiling this time with that smart-aleck remark.

"Then allow me to enlighten you on the other holiday that is happening right now," he mentioned, Winter listening intently since his usual boorish behavior had reseeded. "In case you don't remember, us Branwens are Jewish."

"Oh yes, how could I forget with that silver cross dangling from around your neck," she snarkily pointed out, the heiress' inebriated state got her a little handsy as she reached across and held the smooth metal in her hand, running her thumb slowly around it.

"Well, how else am I supposed to alert the good, Catholic girls to my presence," he stated, Winter wringing it in her hands from his underhanded tactics. "I know you want to strangle me, but just hear me out. I promise I'm here to help."

He read her mind, almost, a tie in choking him to death and slamming his head repeatedly on the granite by the religious wear. She reluctantly let it go, finding he wasn't using it to get at her. "Go on."

"OK, Hanukkah, the festival of lights, the eight crazy nights, I'm sure you know about the Menorah and the lighting. A bunch of people sat at a temple and needed oil to last for a week but only had enough for one, and by miraculous standards, the oil burned for eight nights. That's the story, but the actual message has always been covered by laziness to actually delve deeper."

His setup was lacking flare, but his lead onto something deeper than the base story did have her intrigued, Winter relaxing her cheek against her knuckles as she took notes. "The Menorah, however, is still critical to the reason of the season," he motioned as he directed her attention to the one in the bar, the golden candelabra shining in the glow, white candles in each of its stems. "Nine candles, one standing a little taller in the middle with four others on each side. The middle one represents man, more specifically the first candle represents the flame within man and the oil represents our soul."

"Well, this is so far better than the so-called greatest story ever told," she said, scoffing at her Christian upbringing.

"Don't get too sour cause this is where it's gonna start to become relevant to you," he assured before he continued. "People, the ones in the cover story, go through immense challenges throughout life, and that oil, aka soul, is stimulated and burns so strong that no amount of hardship can snuff it out. The other seven candles are a representation of the other seven chambers of the soul, which we call the seven middot. Ambition, devotion, restraint, harmony, receptiveness, bonding and love are the seven characteristics of man from which stem all feelings and motivations of the heart. It's a reminder that when times are tough, the best characteristics of humanity shine."

Winter took notice of the last three middot, Qrow even heavily implying in his tone what parts of the soul were probably burning a little less bright. "Great, so I'm a fading menorah. What's the point again?"

Qrow smirked as if he already knew she'd answer like so. "Barkeep, can I have the menorah for a minute? I'm here to show my friend a little lesson."

"Normally I wouldn't, but even I'm curious to see how this ends," he said, setting the golden fixture down in from of them.

"And turn off or dim some lights if you can," he requested, the bar getting more intimate as the shades dimmed to their lowest setting, only the fire and lights from the decorations filling the room. He groomed a couple of the wicks, snapping them down to a kernel, A flick from Qrow's lighter sparked a flame, he running the light over all of the candles. "Now, as you can see, the menorah is burning pretty bright in the darkness. How about now?"

He globbed his index and thumb with spit as he snuffed out a candle and the another. "It's still pretty bright," she responded.

"Exactly. Look, Winter, I know you feel like you should've done more by now. I was the same, but let's just say my Menorah didn't shine like yours does," he confided, Winter charmed by his genuine appraisal of her self. "You don't have to be burning all ends to be happy. The way I've always seen it, life is man's adventure to achieve completeness and I think I'd be a fool to think I could've done it at thirty just as you seem to be. You outshine a lot of us in this dismal world, Winter, and you stand out out even with a few of candles not outputting as much. You should be proud when you wake up and look in the mirror and not focus on these unlit candles. There will be someone who will come along and help you spark it."

The glass half-full perspective was one she never could back as she was a realist, her calculated tendencies getting her this far. However, she let that sunny optimism sink in, mulling over Qrow's words briefly to get the gist of what he was saying. "I'm not broken. I'm not lost. I may be regressing because of coming home but that's a different story that in no way impacts this truth. There's nothing wrong with me where I am in life, and I'm grateful I've had golden opportunities to make a life that I'm proud of, both what I have achieved and what I have yet to discover."

As she was analyzing Qrow's Hanukkah's morality lesson, the subconscious of her mind was focusing on a more primal setting. The white warmth from the nine fires glowed in the unintentionally intimate setting, the man across from her becoming more attractive. She blamed it on the booze, swearing to herself that she would never wallow in his cheeky charm, but her body reacted to his rugged allure.

His red eyes were relaxed in the soft light, the fire flickering in his garnet orbs, her crystal blues that were swimming in the red ponds drifted along the rest of his face. His jet-black hair had slight streaks of gray, the white strands bolder in the outlines of his temples. She followed his bone structure, down his strong jawline and up to his lips. She couldn't fathom why women were biologically inclined to like facial hair, Qrow's stubble softer than it looked from the short strands along his face.

Part of her wanted to reach out and touch it to reminisce from the times she did get familiarly close to to his scruff, and that part of her acted as her eyes darted from his lips to his eyes, failing to keep eye contact. She bit her lip, moistening them a bit as she leaned in, Qrow doing the same. The room became darker as she slowly closed her eyes, Winter not resisting as she was magnetically drawn to him. Tilting her head, feeling his breath on her lips, about to take the dive until a ghost of Christmas present reared his ugly head.

"Winter!" Jacques' voice rang in her head, the woman stopping in her tracks as she was paralyzed by the echo of the man whose shadow she had yet to fully escape from.

Like an angel, the bartender came in to save her from this blundering accident and opened her eyes, figuratively, the woman snapping out of her romantic daze as he came in between them as he grabbed the menorah. "As nice as that speech was, I gotta blow these out. My boss isn't going to pay for new candles for the next few days."

He snuffed them out, his breath scrunching up her face as the harsh wind hit her. In a snap, they were back to the recessed mood lighting. It was still suitable for what was about to transpire, not in contrast to the candlelit moment seconds before, but her intentions still pulled a one-eighty, the woman pulling back as she had been in this position before with Qrow, not wanting to go down a familiar road after the revelation she had.

Seemed the situation was equally awkward, the man backing away and clearing his throat as he returned to more than arm's length. "So, yeah, that's how I've seen Hanukkah. Hope that helps."

"It... it did," she sheepishly responded. "Bartender, the check, please." The black, gentleman was quick to the call, the tab whisked in front of her, the woman leaving a gracious tip to the man working on the holiday. As she got up and swung her coat around, she saw Qrow's usual smirk, the woman letting him relish in her embarrassment as she was sure whatever snarky comeback she could come up with would have her tongue-tied.

"Heading back to your room?" he inquired.

"Yeah, it's been a long day anyways," she mentioned as she strut off out.

"Hey," he called out, Winter keeping herself at attention to be polite. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry... Happy Hanukkah, Qrow," she corrected herself. "Good night." She left him with those halfhearted words, not willing to risk her pride as she was fighting in her mind with the resonant figure of her father.

The room temperature was set to her liking, the water bottles requested were on ice, and there was fresh linen for her morning shower. It was as zen as she could get from home, yet what had transpired in the bar kept her mind out of any such peace. She laid flat on the bed, moving her suitcases aside so she could kick her feet on the edge as she stared at the white ceiling, the emptying nothingness only aggravating her without anything to distract her thoughts.

"Why... why did his voice pop in my head? How many times has that simple utterance of my name by him had me quake with fear or enrage me to the point where I'm grinding my teeth? But more importantly... why now?" She sunk further into her mattress, the goose-down feathers consuming her as the weight that was her father sat on her chest. "It's as he said, no matter how old we both get, I'm still his daughter."

The heiress fought the emptiness, getting up to hydrate herself, the water quenching her thirst but not her emotions as she was still barren on the inside. She met her eyes in the mirror before her, the piercing blues unable to see past the cracked edges of her heart, the wistful woman getting a message on her phone, the eldest seeing her sister's name and opening it.

"Winter, just wanted to let you know I got here safe and the car is still damage free. I can't thank you enough for letting me borrow the car. Ruby and I had a really great time on the road, mending back all the wounds I made and we're back and better than we were. The Xiao Longs are the most accommodating family, welcoming me home with open arms as if nothing transpired. I didn't know how badly I needed this kind of revelry until I experienced it. Thanks for pushing me forward. I wouldn't be here if you didn't risk life and ticket to get me to the airport."

Winter didn't reply, figuring she play asleep as she saw how Weiss' rebelliousness seemed to be paying off, then remembering what the barfly had to say. She shook her head and looked at herself again, her image clearing up the more she pondered on his and her sister's wisdom.

"Even though this isn't the first time, I've never been this depressed before, and he hadn't said it to me before, meaning... meaning he was genuine when he said I should be happy. Regardless, he does have a point. I am my father's daughter, but that doesn't mean I have to stay as unhappy as him. Can't believe I was the first to break away, but Weiss was the first to figure it out. Father's all about keeping us under his thumb, excising any of our success so he could still stand on top. It's why Weiss took her first chance to leave for good, so she could be happy, maybe... maybe it's about time I did something to cement mine as well."

Winter took a look around, and it turns out there was less to do at an airport hotel when it was Christmas, not even someone to aid in their complimentary continental breakfast. She ran down a long list before she even dwelled on the idea of spending the night with Qrow, but as she thought about it, meandering around the saucy moments mostly, it seemed to be the logical choice in taking such a leap like her sister.

"I mean... he's here... and I wouldn't just throw myself at some stranger," the woman growing tired of her own excuses and used that Schnee tenacity to ready herself for that massive leap. "No, just... go with it. I may not romantically like him, but Qrow isn't a bad guy. He has a nagging habit of sleeping around, and his pacifier is a bottle of whiskey, and he needles his comments purposefully to get a rise out of anyone, and..." the heiress stopped herself before making more excuses, putting forth this fact. "But he wouldn't have tried to cheer me up if there wasn't more to him than that. Maybe if I wasn't so stubborn before, I would've seen that quality sooner. Besides, I have to make that first step lest I go back to being The Ice Queen."

Winter strolled out with determination as she headed downstairs, the elevator taking its sweet time as the floor numbers trickled down with each achingly-slow second. As soon as the elevator doors split, she hurried over to the bar, the solemn place empty except for the bartender, the scene almost deja vu as he was cleaning off the glasses they drank from. She scuffled in, checking ever nook and cranny to make sure she didn't miss him a second time. Impatiently, she inquired, "Sir, where did the guy say he was going?"

"Back to his room. It is a bit late to be serving alcohol, anyhow," he answered.

"Do you know what room he's staying in?"

"Not on hand, but even if I did, I couldn't tell you. Hotel policy," he responded. The actual content was smug, but his gesturing was the opposite. He brought fresh glasses from below the counter, preparing another two drinks for the woman. "However, if the hotel were to offer complimentary beverages to its guests as a holiday treat, and said hotel employee were to deliver the drinks to the guests, there's nothing stating that a guest could be following them. I'm also a fan of giving big tips."

He grasped both glasses in his hand and pushed them over after pouring just enough whiskey for a single shot. The less-than-subtle wink was overkill, but Winter took the hint as she grabbed the glasses and followed him to the elevator. Qrow's room was on the fourth floor, room twenty-three, the bartender handing over the drinks as he let her off at her destination.

As soon as her foot stepped off the lift, the gravity of the her bold actions were hitting her, the woman growing a few shades pinker as she realized how this will come off. "Yeah... bringing a drink directly to someone's door isn't just an invite for sex at all, but... we're both adults. This is only weird if I make it weird. This time, I'm in control of this encounter."

Her mind was on track, but her body still spiraled into a heated embarrassment as Winter was to be direct with him, the man who so easily could get under her skin, and her skirt. He answered the door, his smirk not having his toothy ego from ear to ear, but actually pleasantly surprised she stood at the entrance. "Winter, what brings you up here?"

"The hotel is giving out free drinks for the holidays," she kept to that lie. "Thought I'd share mine with you."

Qrow invited her in, his room tidy for his early departure tomorrow. He had background noise on the TV, the white light not strong enough to clash with the nightstand lamp he had on. They stood between the bed and the television, Winter nervously handing over his portion as her hand shook. "Never gonna deny a free drink," he mentioned as he raised his glass. "Cheers. Merry Christmas, Winter."

"Happy Hanukkah," she mimed as they both slugged down their meager servings. The heiress triumphantly pounded the empty cup onto the counter, Qrow's dropping to the carpet with a clatter spilling its icy contents as Winter closed the gap and kissed him. A fiery zeal was present that Qrow wasn't prepared for, the man stumbling into the lacquered dresser next to him before easing into the kiss. His beard tickled the endings of her lips, a smile curling from the titillating nature of his bristles connected with hers, their lips a loving curved as they meshed together.

His calloused thumbs reached her face, the woman gently pulled back. She resisted at first, not wanting anything to divert the momentum and second-guess herself, but being handled so delicately was comforting, his eyes sedating her. "Talk about a half-decent Hanukkah present, but I was sure to not see you again tonight."

"Has it ever occurred to you that you'd be more attractive when your mouth doesn't it screw it up, also, don't say 'so, you think I'm attractive?'" she warned, the man effectively checkmated but still keeping his coy nature. "Look, I've been The Ice Queen as long as I can remember, and with so much success that came with that attitude I didn't think I'd have it catchup to me. But it did and it practically sunk me as I saw everyone start to pass by me. Then you of all people came along and told me what I needed to hear. This isn't a thank you nor is it me falling again for your tactless flirting, this is me taking a step forward in finding that happiness."

"And how is sleeping with me going to accomplish that?" he questioned, both to be cheeky and curiosity from his tone.

"For once leading with my heart and not a cold, calculated path. And my heart is telling me to roll the dice and see what happens," she said, kissing him again.

"Oh, then may the odds be ever in your favor," he quickly got out before Winter shut his mouth for good as she sealed his lips with hers. The heavy scent of wood and fire lingered on his lips, her thirst real as she parted her mouth wider to get a taste, the man readily open to the suggestive brush against his lips with her tongue, his mouth opening and Winter exploring.

His bracing hands found their way to more appropriate positions, the woman already down an article of clothing as Qrow slinked his way onto her shoulders, the heiress aiding him as she let the heavy garment fall to the floor. The barfly fought back, Winter rescinding her tongue, dragging his with hers as she sampled the whiskey from his cavern. The velvety slickness of his kiss had restraint, it deep but not sloppy, the man's mastery not a bluff as his tantalizing tactic had her body arch into him.

Seasoned lovers with both themselves and each other, the heiress didn't shy away from aggressively stripping him as well, the tiny buttons of his cardigan nearly ripped off as she yanked hard on the wool fabric. With the outermost barriers between them gone, she re-assumed her control, pinning Qrow firmly to the furniture, her arms locking him as she grasped the back of his head, his hair thick as her knuckles massaged in this locks.

She would keep score in her head, the points tallied up from the moans, deep exhales, and nerves reacting to their foreplay. Winter was always instilled to be the winner. Qrow's collected composure always surpassed hers, the first point awarded to him as his hand slithered down and firmly grasped her breast, giving a squeeze that had the bone in his thumb pressed up against her nipple, her bras padding faintly decreasing the pleasure as she loved this tug-o-war.

The man used his leaning posture to his advantage, taking a seat and sliding back to the wall, guiding Winter from her thighs to join him on top. She slid with ease as she climbed on top of him, the pain of her bony knees were overridden by the desire blooming within her. She towered over him, the woman taking what she sought as their steamy exchange continued, Winter only getting more frustrated as Qrow's abilities knew no respite making her feel he was only letting her win.

As one hand groped a breast, the other slid down her womanly curves, his massive paws making the toned woman feel petite in comparison as she shivered from his trailing touch. He squeezed down on her sizable backside, another point added to his column as he brought her in closer from the rear. As she gasped from his touch, his lips left hers, kissing her chin before heading south. A weak spot he's exploited before was her neck and ears, a lick and swirl along her neck followed by a nibble on the lobe had her shuddering, a heavy gasp leaving her as his teeth meshed into the free skin.

Winter cradled into him, the man scooting forward with her in his arms as he picked her up, the gallant gesture not lost on her as she returned her lips to his briefly. A little scream came from her as she was lightly tossed to the bedspread. Her gaze was lured to his, the deep reds peering down on her. It was predatory in nature, this carnal game they found themselves entangled in bringing out these base faces, but Winter's stayed just as fierce, curling her finger as she crawled on her back to have him join.

Qrow reached behind to the nape of his neck, grasping the collar and with one fell swoop ripped it from his back. All the traveling had his body toned and tanned, the woman appreciating a naturally sculpted physique that even a gym couldn't create with the scars and bruises. He crawled, eyes never averting as he closed in on his target, a heated kiss was had and wrists cuffed together effectively trapping her underneath his body.

Their tongues danced in the middle, meeting each other at their oral passages, the woman getting unraveled as Qrow pressed onward. His free hand roamed, not wasting time to return to a favorite spot of his. He pushed up the heaving mound, taking as much of her breast as he could in his palm, her blessed bust even too much for him to take in full. His thumb traced the lace through the wooly fabric of her dress sweater, her body responding with earnest even between the clothing barriers.

Qrow's hand traveled, clawing his fingers into her as she arched upwards. The turtleneck dress had an easy access for him to get a more valuable spot. He followed the length of her thighs, inching his way to her core and giving a hard squeeze to the region. She let out a gasp as he first made contact, running the length of this finger up her outer lips. The tights were thick, but the cotton fabric was a fine source to grind up against, her hips working with him as she grinded against him.

Winter was thoroughly wet, her panties blotted before she was thrust onto the bed. As he fought with the fabric to get that quarter-inch deeper into her crevasse, she was flooding him. The heat underneath the skirtty end was sweltering, the woman forgiving Qrow for dragging the ends up to her hips to let her undercarriage breathe. The barfly probed, sinking half a knuckle into her to douse his finger through the tights, burrowing deeper until he found her weak spot.

The first encounter was always satisfying, the much needed touch from someone other than herself, Winter seething through her teeth as he nudged it up and down. The man had most certainty never bluffed when it came to his lewd escapades, his experience always showing as he tended to the heiress. His mouth kissed hers, head moving down to her jaw or neck as he'd twiddle his fingers in her center, the purest form of happiness as he'd jigger around freely; her as his plaything.

However, the submissiveness was nice, the energy breaking off from his ministrations throwing Winter into a passionate frenzy, the woman pushing him off for a much needed cool down. She reached for the gilded hem of her dress, pulling it up and over her head, Qrow assisting with her belt as she shed the outermost layer of clothing.

There was a protracted pause as she discarded the thick article to the floor, the man in an appreciative stare of her figure and her choice in underwear. The silky, regent blue bra heaved as she breathed, her voluptuous bust fully covered in the padded lingerie, a little bow adorned in the middle, Winter unintentionally looking like a present that Qrow couldn't wait to rip open.

After a sly smile that crept on his face, he dived back into her. Something was off as he returned to his duties. The lip-locking was superbly sensual, his fingers following the deluged path as he kept dipping into her well to circle around her blood-soaked bud, their bodies slick with sweat and torsos rubbing bare. It didn't click until it hit her on the chin, literally. It was annoying at first, but was intolerable the second time as it bounced off her boobs and it actually hurt.

The heiress angrily zeroed-in on the cross, the man unaware as he continued to ravage her. It stared back at her, the anger mixing with sadness as the bleakness of how this must have been just another go-around for him. Even if she didn't need to be something special, part of her started to hurt and think that this was his plan all along. It seemed he noticed it quickly, the man backing away to see the worried expression on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he heavily breathed out.

"It's nothing," she lied, trying to push the subject out of her head only for Qrow to push her back.

"Generally, girls don't go from sixty to zero this far into foreplay," he countered, Winter not going to lie further and say she had been faking it. His mauve eyes implored her to say what was on her mind, the woman not willing to bumble her first step to find happiness to deceive the first person who said she should take it.

"It's this!" she exclaimed, grabbing the cross and showing it in his face. "Hard to ignore the accessory that you so boldly claimed downstairs was your ticket to getting in Catholic girls skirts."

"So-sorry. I'll take it off," he quickly stated, Winter not letting him off the hook that easily.

"That's not the point," she firmly stated. "This is my decision, I stand by that, but that doesn't mean I didn't have to push myself past the fact that all I would be at the end of this night to you is another notch on your belt. Now I can't shake the thought."

The barfly still removed the necklace accessory, tossing it to the floor with the rest of the clothes. "I know if it comes out of my mouth, it probably should be taken with a grain of salt, but you're one of the few who was never just a conquest." he spoke, the earnest tone he took matching his sorrowful eyes. "Honestly, you probably know some stuff about me that I've never even disclosed to Taiyang. I like you, Winter, not romantically, but there's a part of me that's always trusted you, and as damaged as goods as I, finding people like you I can actually have a conversation with is rare."

He was genuine, she'd give him that, although the skeptical part of her was overpowering the heart she had propelled to make this action, the next words out of her mouth coming from her Ice Queen roots. "That's all well and good, but it feels as if you've said that to others, too. I'm sorry, but your reputation precedes you unless you can prove otherwise."

"I can say the same about you," he calmly countered. "How has anyone in the past proven themselves to you?"

Winter knew the answer. Actions didn't just speak louder than words, they were blasted with a megaphone. Starting with her father, words meant nothing, the man always having a parseltounge whether it came to boardroom dealings or promises of success if she followed in line. Even Klein would occasionally have to back down from a promise if Jacques pressured him under his thumb. Then, there was Weiss, the little sister that was both true to her word and followed through. She was the rebel, and yesterday she ran into her future head on and didn't waste time talking about it, and that's something she's always admired about her.

That lesson she'd put into practice, but she still internally fought with just how ludicrous it came off. "Make love to me."

Her face flushed red as she realized what she said, even Qrow taken aback as he sat on his legs pondering the request. "Wait... you want me to do what?"

She cleared her throat, repeating herself emphatically, "make love to me."

"I didn't think of you as the hokey-romantic type," he commented, the remark coming off as a tease having her raise her tone.

"It's not hokey to have genuine feelings and care for another person, and I know you know that," she declared. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Qrow. Yes, you're damaged, but so am I, so I know that there's a part of you that understands when I say letting people past arm's length is difficult. But you've let those barriers down. Ruby wouldn't look up to you nor would Taiyang call on you if you weren't family, nor would I be here again if I didn't willingly let my barriers down around you."

Qrow owlishly blinked under his brow, Winter's words having a desired effect as the usual cockiness was subdued as he contemplated how to go about this. "Take's one to know one, I suppose. Still, making love isn't some voluntary action. It just sorta happens for me, if it's ever happened."

"Then let's do that," she stated, taking the first steps back to where they were as she wrapped her arms lazily around his neck and deeply kissed him.

For the first time, she felt a nervous aura come off Qrow, the man tepidly finding his groove again as his hands fumbled to find their places again. He acclimated to the new sentimental scene, the framework holding strong as he gently eased her onto her back, Winter pulling him with her to keep their kissing momentum.

Qrow cuffed her to the bed again, at least so she thought, his hands moving up as he laced his fingers with hers. He backed away, her eyes seeing past her bangs to see him ask if this was alright, the woman nodding and giving him permission to explore. There was a new tameness to his touch, the assertiveness toned to a more sensuous semblance as he cupped her breast again, the new intentions bringing a whole new sensation to their foreplay.

Their tongues waltzed instead of thrashed, bodies winding instead of writhing, the woman feeling what she wanted as Qrow put his effort into her. He rolled her milky globe in his palm before reaching in the cup and rolling it betwixt his knuckles, her sensitive nipples getting tweaked having her to moan into him.

Her body coiled around him, legs twining together like serpents as Qrow traveled south, nails bearing into his scalp as his lips kissing her neck. She glided the tip along the side, salivating on the salty pores as he made his way to the tip of her pearly peak, the woman unable to stifle her shriek as his kisses met the pinnacle.

His moist orifice enveloped her pink bud, the only feature on her to be modestly-sized. His tongue licked and swirled around the nipple, the slippery muscle maneuvering it around his mouth before he clutched it lightly between his teeth, pulling and watching the buoyancy of her ample chest. From his expertise, Qrow was absorbed in her chest, burying himself in her cleavage after a sneaky hand unhooked her with a sleight of hand. Her body craved skin to skin, the lacy article falling to the side as Qrow kept his pursuit.

His coarse digits wrung around the ends of her tights, peeling it off slowly as his free hand teeter-tottered around the cotton blend, the black bottoms pulled down her thighs to reveal her matching light blue thong. She spread her legs, giving him unrestricted access to her lower lips, the woman getting a gasp caught in her throat as he pushed the band to expose her labia.

Qrow's unique touch drove her wild, a man who uses his hands sexy and toe-curling as his rough trade made the lightest of strokes electrifying. Her valley was saturated with her secretions, the barfly running his middle finger through the wet ridges until he met his destination at the top. Winter jolted from that first contact, his callouses hitting the engorged bud with a satisfying scrape as he worked her most precious spot.

The heiress cradled in his embrace, digging herself into him involuntarily as Qrow didn't slack on his opportunities to thrill her. This new added mixture of loving intent only had Winter burning to connect with him on the most intimate of levels, her vessel throbbing for its primary directive. "Qrow," she huskily panted out, "put it in, now."

The vibrations from his 'uh-hmm' confirmation sent a paralyzing chill to her abdomen, the woman almost to the edge as Qrow also snatched her by the hips to the edge. A frantic unbuckling and tugging came from both, the man leaving his drawers around his ankles. She cast off her tights, the fabric hitting him in the face as he reached for his wallet to pull out the golden square. Winter rose up and smacked the tin package out of his hand.

"It's fine. I'm on BC, just hurry," she hastily ordered, Qrow's member springing forth as he removed his briefs, his unit a more than suitable size for the action.

Their bodies radiated between them, both hampered from the foreplay was clear they needed to reach that release. Winter got lost in his expression, his eyes in that insistent whimper where the build up was becoming too much. His flushed faced mirrored hers, it innocently handsome as it complimented the darker hues in his stare. The deep pools begged for permission, Winter unable to deny as his ridged helmet greased itself on her clit.

Her icy blues requested one more kiss, Qrow going beyond her call as he placed his lips to hers, the slow roll from their tongues binding them together just as their genitals met. She gripped the sheets on the sudden penetration, Qrow finding her hand fighting for the white sheet between her fingers. He earnestly cupped her face, the grease from his fingering smearing across her cheek. Her hips moved up with his, a steady rhythm set what followed the voracity of his kissing. As he plunged deeper, her legs locked him in, the signal telling him that if he stopped there would be consequences, the man stepping up and picking up his pace.

His turgid member filled all of her, the juices billowing out as they were displaced from her canal. The gabled pitch in his head rippled through her folds, the woman's organal muscles choking his cock as the roof of her vagina was grazed with each dive into her. The spongy spot swelled harder with each pass, Winter's body misbehaving as Qrow delivered her to the white ecstasy of sex.

The heiress broke their kiss, the signals from her brain becoming crossed as her mouth couldn't keep up the complex motion, the woman panting into his mouth before her body jerked forward. The barfly's even piercing concentrated his efforts on her g-spot, the woman clinging to him as she pressed her body against his, her ardent whimpers squealing and begging him to continue with what words she could string together.

"Harder... deeper, Qrow," she huffed out in his ear, his grunting acceptance flaring the primal side in both of them. Her chest heaved as her senses were overflowed, her nipples etching into his skin. His manly scent, the smells of sex and the musky scent of deep wood of his cologne. His throaty emissions calling for a higher power and acclaiming her eager participation in the act, her name coming out of him making her tighter, all to the beating of the headboard to wall and squelching sounds of their sex. All behind closed lids, the chemicals constructed to her core, her senses breaking out as he piled into her once more.

Winter cried to the heavens, her arrival erupting within her, the electric shocks twitching every muscle in her body, the last seconds of her orgasmic wail tweaked by the pressure. The nails dug into his shoulder blades, the man liking the kink as he seethed through his teeth a gratifying growl. His maws grasped her hips, Qrow pounding into her, the woman clutching down from too much stimuli, but the man finished with her. With a desperate gasp, Qrow thrust deep and emptied inside her, the woman's walls feeling the throbbing shaft shift and engorge itself to its hardest extent before the white hot heat filled her.

Her senses failed her for a few seconds, her body overloading on the sensual pleasures as Winter's climax crashed inside her. Qrow embraced her, forearms keeping him from crushing her as he exhausted his being. With what strength she could gather post-coitus, she curled her arms back, cupping his face and preening him with kisses on his ear, noshing on the cartilage before openly kissing his beard, the hairs delightfully rugged as she nuzzled herself deeper.

His lips weakly kissed the contour of her jaw, the man indolently making his way to the top as he layered kisses along her face until they smooched, a lusty licking in the middle as they met. Her eyes fluttered open meeting his, Qrow in a calm after his release. "That quickly turned into the same ol' same ol'," he hushly commented.

"Maybe," she said as she wrapped her arms around him, "but it felt different this time." He concurred with his lips, a little more zeal from the refractory man. Winter kept him close as he tried to pull out, her vagina wanting the guest to say a bit longer as they wallowed in their cuddle puddle. "And no one wrote the rules on how to make love. Who says making love doesn't involve a little spanking?"

A wicked glint in her icy blues sparkled as she lustfully whispered the last statement in his ear, the man sporting a cunning grin as the new established vibe didn't mean they had to tone it down. "Or a little hair pulling?"

"Or a little biting?" she added, curling her finger under his chin and bringing him in for another sloppy kiss. Qrow's hardness had subsided from the ejaculation, his manhood sliding out, the fullness feeling leaving her as the white concentrate oozed from her orifice. "But let me go clean up. I'm sure you've tried telling many women that it's good for the skin, but it isn't."

The barfly laughed harder than expected, Winter sure she hit it on the dot as he rolled off of her and kept that stupid grin till she was out of sight. She layered a few tissues and moistened them with water as she dabbed in and around for a quick sink wash, discarding the used facial paper in the toilet. She looked at herself in the mirror again, the same woman who was such in a doom and gloom before had a rosy complexion to her and it wasn't just from the sex.

"So, this is what Weiss felt like after she got back together with Ruby. I'm not gonna lie but this is yielding some exquisite results," she thought to herself, her face reluctantly smiling as there were a few love bites that her turtleneck would expertly hide.

Winter headed back, Qrow laying on his back with his hand folded behind his head, kicking off the rest of his clothing. She joined the bed, propping her head up with her elbow as she quietly stared at him. He chose not to look back, keeping his grin on him as she played with the wild slickness that was his chest hair, daintily frolicking in the follicles as she'd pull one up to give that good kind of pain.

"I hope the old man doesn't need to go down for his bedtime," she taunted, that getting his attention quickly, her scowl now on his face as he retorted.

"Hey, that's still too fresh wound for you to be pickin' at," he said, the heiress backing off it and apologizing by snuggling closer to his nude form. Her breasts rested between his arm, it as furry as his chest, but twice as smooth as it was enclosed in her cleavage. The various scars along his body had a story, Winter seeing a new one along his side she'd ask about later. She came here with a mission and she was determined to carry through it.

Her hand slid down his toned body, finger ends dipping in and out of his muscles until she found what she was looking for. With a dominant grasp, Qrow flinched, his member now hers with his penis claimed. He was soft, the woman slowly jerking him to get him ready for another round, but felt like toying with him, something only a lover would do as she kept her movements up.

"Well, considering I don't need to go grab a blue triangle, I'll take it back," she suggestively apologized. "However, I'm not a woman that will tolerate slacking off. Think you can rise for the occasion?"

"Of course but I do believe I need some oral encouragement," he played back, his banter obvious of what he wanted her to do. She looked down, the skin slinking up and down the bulbous head. Qrow nudged his head down, the woman rolling her eyes as she kissed him before descending.

She littered his body with sensual marks, the man turned on from the fluttery efforts as she tasted his sweat, the masculine scent intoxicating as she grew lower towards his groin. She kept it in her hand as her body crawled past it, the heat from her cleavage clashing with his as it sweltered past them. She left her lips along his happy trail, laying it flat along his belly as her thumb worked the duct, her mouth and thumb meeting at his helmet as she openly kissed him.

Qrow moaned as he threw his head back, his head only partially in her mouth and it was already driving him crazy. Her hot breathes before lavering his penis with her tongue a potent combination, bobbing her head whilst encircling her it around the rim of his helmet. She kissed the tip before swallowing his head whole, the candied mixture of her and him soaking herself through, the woman staining the carpet as droplets leaked from her channel.

The heiress pressed his cock deeper into her chest, Qrow not able to take his eyes off her as her massive mammeries molded around him. The sweat between the milky globes chafed, but his precum and her saliva coated the long member enough for an easy glide. Winter craned her head, slopping kisses on the head as she pushed her ample bosom together, the man under her spell as he rocked his hips into her, this unique form of foreplay getting him off and ready to go as she felt him harden even more.

With one final squeeze from her breasts, she released him from the marshmallowy softness of her boobs, returning her mouth to his head that had been seeping fluid along the inside of her tits. She angled her tongue to the curvature of his shaft, scaling his tool as she was determined to wash him of every last drop. Her delicate digits drifted along his hairy thighs vacillating the curly strands, following them all the way to his apex, his pubes a finely-groomed patch that led to his clean-shaven scrotum.

Winter knew she had him where she wanted, which is why she was stunned when his hands pulled her by the temple with his dick halfway down her mouth. Before she could even get a word in edgewise, the positions were changed, the heiress pulled up and onto the the bed, the woman on all fours while Qrow got on his knees behind her.

"Whoa, Qrow, what's this?" she exclaimed, liking the spontaneity but so sure he was getting ready to pop, the dwindling drive down would be orgasm suicide.

"Can it really be making love if I'm the only one being serviced?" he called from behind, the man wrestling with her thong to add it to the floor.

She couldn't straighten up before the flat end of his tongue stretched its entire length from the bud up to her entrance. She beared down into the moist sheets, fingers twisting into the whites as Qrow explored more of her pink valley, the muscle maneuvering around the outer lips and into the succulent ridges that had the woman failing to suppress her moans. Seemed they shared similar goals, the barfly lapping at her core in an attempt to tame her honey. He moaned into her labia, a chill shooting up her spine as he ate from her honey pot, the overflowing nectar too much as it pooled from his scruff and onto the spread.

Qrow angled his head down, head underneath her like a baby bird feeding off her secretions, tongue flicking and enrapturing the swollen bud. The pressure built up inside her, the woman face down presenting herself unable to control the animalistic instincts to have him take her, the sneaky addition of his fingers to her core only having it harder for her to protest. Each scraping of her special spot only had her writhing as he savored the ever-flowing elixir from her, the woman barely able to get out her desperate action.

"Qrow, don't... ahhh," she failed in her attempt to request full penetration, the woman seizing into the bed as she was thrust into the throes of climax. Her legs spasmed, the tremors from her core pin-balling throughout the rest of her as her body could barely keep itself up, the heiress rolling into the euphoria as the waves crashed into all her senses. Only allowed a minute amount of time to luxuriate in, Qrow grabbed her by the haunches and reeled her back up.

It was late to the fireworks, but was warmly welcomed as Qrow pushed himself inside her. Her insides were still clenching involuntarily from her orgasm, the man's moaning appreciating that. As much as her loins were on fire, her lungs were the ones hurting, the woman not able to catch her breath from heaving all of the oxygen from her arrival. Even in her ragged state, she wasn't going to deny the craving for his cock, the hips already bouncing against his movements as he ramped her up.

While she was on the downwind, Qrow was still raring and ready to go, the man helping her there with a few extra kinks to the play. One of his hands left her hips, it finding its place again and again as his palm connected with the round sides of her posterior. The cracking sounds of his firm whip rivaled their moans of ecstasy, a new beat added to the soundtrack that was their lovemaking.

Qrow leaned into her, his thrusting prowess diminished but Winter anticipating something new. He gave a hard clenching and final, powerful hit to her butt before making his way up, a red hand print emblazoned on her backside as a sexy signaling of his dominance. The calloused tips whisked past her torso, giving a rough squeezing of her bosom before it reached the back of her bun, the man giving a hard tug to reveal the mass of white tresses that cascaded down her arched back and side.

The back of her head was ensnared by him, fingers getting as much hair deep into the webbing as he gave a tug, Winter's core seemingly connected as her walls would clamp down on his member with each straining of her strands. He cocked her head to the side, the woman gasping as his lower half embedded itself into her, a sloppy exchange had as their tongues met past their teeth, the heat limbering them enough to seal the kiss as for a affectionate touch to their sex.

Winter broke away, his penis too much for her as she whimpered into his kiss, the woman returning to the bed as she buried her face to mask the screaming. Like a maestro conducting his symphony, Qrow stopped as soon as she was rocked into an orgasm again, the crescendo coming down as he paused to absorb all of her vagina's spasming ribbing his penis. It was just as electrical as before, the heiress feeling that huge shiver rip through her as her body was forced into the twitching delight.

Her bangs covered her vision, Winter barely able to see the room as her eyes focused past the darkness. All she knew was she needed his to stop his onslaught, the man no doubt leaving marks on the back of her neck as he rested on top of her. "Qrow..." she murmured out, voice still weak from the chemical rush. "Qrow... off."

It was heard that time, the barfly giving a defiant grumble into her with his teeth abrading the back of her neck, the little, fine hairs standing on end as the vibrations tingled the right spot. Qrow was always the tease, but even more so when he got going in the sack, his hand still tracing along the bumpy canyon of her spine until she turned over to her side, meeting him with a kiss so she didn't have to see his smirk.

"This is usually where you tell me you're jealous of my multiple orgasms,"she snidely commented, still rolling around in the euphoria kept her in a more chipper mood.

"Still am, but someone said I'm more attractive if I keep my mouth shut," he quipped back, Winter genuinely charmed by his pillow talk.

"I allow you this one to attempt to not screw this up," she wittily fired back, the heiress sighing into herself as he twirled his finger around the circumference of her areola.

"If only you could look in the mirror and see how The Ice Queen has been conquered," he started, "practically purring into the slightest of touches. You and I both know what happens if I just don't let my hands to most of the talking." He didn't take his eyes of her as he spoke, his manly digit making a dip and twirl into her nipple before following the length of her cleavage. It swiftly rounded the belly button and slowed its pursuit as it reached her pubic mound.

It skulked through the barren land, the smooth area still having her quiver with excitement, biting her lip not enough to temper the exhilaration as he made his way to her soaking genitals. He roughly cut past her swollen clit with a V, the woman not about to hold in her gasp as she shuddered from the touch, the webbing catching and tweaking it as he found his destination. He entered her, hips moving towards him as his finger curled inside her, beckoning her closer, but it was only for him to quench his thirst. She watched intently as Qrow brought his glistening digits back to his mouth, not missing a drop as he cleaned them off with a satisfying pop.

"Why screw that up?" he buttoned, Winter already on the move as he boldly stated his claim.

The heiress whipped a leg around him, the woman pinning him with the base of her wrists as she confidently pinned him to the bed. "Well said," she lauded, slowly lowering herself down as she gave a lingering kiss. Her breasts rested along his pecks, the malleable mammeries compressing as she gnashed her body with his, the curly hairs pleasing her nipples with their sweaty touch.

The hairs she grounded herself to were the finer ones along his happy trail, her clitoris still inflamed from the constant arousal getting fanned with his trimmed region, Qrow ever persistent as his cradling embrace cupped her rear. He gave a forceful squeeze before administering hard spanks to The Ice Queen, a mewl hit from her and into his mouth as she was triggered forth. Her hips undulated against the grain, her oils submerging his groin into a frictionless surface.

There was a round object bumping into her backside as she'd rock against him, Winter not going to ignore the telling sign he was dying for her to get back on the saddle. The heiress broke the kiss, the string of saliva breaking from her lips as it fell towards his chest, mouths agape as they were hungry for more.

Winter grabbed for him around the base, leaning forward just enough to get his head under her, the pulsating nature of his turgid member resonating from her hands an nether lips as she greased his pole. She toyed at the capped covering of his penis, having it dig into and rook the end of her clit, the fluids dousing his length before she was ready. Their eyes met, a passionate fire behind the misty eyes of lust that she couldn't wait to indulge herself in any further.

The heiress sat up high on her legs, towering over Qrow as she teased him a little more, but only a little as her body was demanding another release. She guided him in, his bulbous tip breaching her already having a sigh eek out of her, it dragging on as she slowly took in all of him. He almost reached the capped end of her cervix, the woman happy to hurt tomorrow as she pushed harder into his groin, Qrow fitting just perfectly inside her as she slacked her hips into him.

Her arms held her steady on his legs as she straddled him, the simple motions greatly rewarding as he could already feel herself ready to arrive. She gyrated her hips, bending into his pointed end to get the last bits of stimulation from his fine hairs before her secretions soaked him through. Her breasts tugged at her as she bounced and heaved, the drawback of being so voluminous, but Qrow helped his cowgirl.

A hand held tightly between her waist and hips, the woman loosing her rhythm as a convulsion would shoot through her with each passing along her g-spot. He did his best to alliterate some of the pressure, the man playing with a breast, taking as much of the milky globe as he could, his thumb digging into the swollen nipple. His hips would collide with hers, the two dueling for that same satisfaction as they matched breath for breath, moan for moan, and cry for cry.

"Do it again, Winter" he huffed out, the woman using her kegel muscles to produce a sensational stranglehold that had the barfly jerk upward as she'd keep her spring.

"Don't... don't come yet," the woman fired back, Winter wanting to welter in this dynamic development between their sexes.

The tumescent fringe on his unit would hit the back of her vessel when he'd buck back, the woman's sunken center worshiping it as her ridges were oscillating into a gratifying flurry. The blood-gorged area distended from the top of her channel, the spongy spot tortured as his rock-hard penis skimmed past it with each cycle. With it delighting every fold and in between, the woman felt her body give into the electricity burning to set off.

The heiress was the first to show the signs of climax, the woman hunching over, displaying that visual pain of almost reaching her zenith. Her hand latched onto his chest, nails digging into him eliciting a hefty rumble from him, the red trails as long as his pleasurable pleas. Half her face was hidden, hair tumbling over her and onto their sides as she was losing herself in the heat, a smile under the frown as she screamed upon impact.

Her fingers drew blood as the orgasm ruptured throughout her, her body feeling the bolt ascend from her abdomen to her brain. The shock waves that were sent out paralyzed her, all extremities trembling as her very being molded with the man beneath her, Qrow's member thickening and exploding his white essence inside her as his queue in joining her. She huffed and heaved, arms locking as she poised herself atop the man, sweat dripping from her shaking jaw as shuddering breathes were forced from her.

In that moment, just for a flash, she connected deeper with someone than ever before, more than sugarplums dancing around her head as the natural release sent her conscious free. As her arrival's waves ebbed and finally flowed from her, she opened her eyes, the rough fingers fiddling under her chin directed her back to his eyes, the dark, red orbs a placid hue as the fire inside reflected hers.

She knew she get up and wipe down, but didn't want to break this moment she had been looking for, this feeling that she didn't know she could experience. It was new, it was scary, and that only made her want to explore this further. She arched herself lower to him, lazily kissing him as their hands found each other, the heiress binding their digits and themselves to the bed.

"Guess Winter is coming longer this Christmas," he jested, the cold glare of her Ice Queen stare had him only smile harder, the heiress letting him have his laugh as she returned under his chin, white hair a swirling mess of sweat and strands as it lay next to them. She let his limp form sit inside her, it more sweet as she felt him wriggle from the over stimulation as she constricted him inside her.

Winter woke up abruptly, the woman never sleeping easy in a bed that wasn't hers. The hard stutter didn't wake the person behind her, Qrow and her squirming away from each other in their slumber, but still kept an arm around her waist. She looked behind her, the man lightly snoring wit his mouth gaping, a little drool coating his mouth, the usual repulsive sleeping face she adored.

She reached for her phone on the nightstand, the woman awake twenty minutes before her room-service call. The woman crawled out from under his grasp, the man a heavy sleeper and was undisturbed. With the generous amount of sheet lining the bed, the woman took one and wrapped what she could around with an arm for general modesty, although she thought that ridiculous as she took a look at the mess they made.

The heiress tip-toed over their clothes to the window, the smell of sex and sweat still lingering around the most private of undergarments. She pulled back the curtain all the way, the room's height making it a private view of the airport. A storm rolled in and passed overnight, a light blanket of snow covering the asphalt and tarmac. A ray of sunshine shown through the parse coverage of clouds, an airline making its landing safely from its long travel.

"If this is what the holiday season is supposed to feel like, then I know it's been artificial until now. No gift, no money, not even that Christmas I vacationed to someplace tropical could've given me this clarity that Weiss and that idiot gave me. This happiness... I feel so tranquil with myself, one that I have only felt when I was watching Weiss grow. I can't wait to get back to my life... see what I've overlooked while being The Ice... ahh."

A confident, yet loving slap hit her backside, Qrow awake and snuck up behind her while she was distracted. "What ya thinkin' about?"

"Not even a good morning from you?" she teased through a smile, giving him a peck on the lips before he rested his chin on her shoulders.

"What do you think that slap was for?" he responded, Winter letting it go as there was no time for bickering. "Someone slept well with how soft The Ice Queen is acting."

"You can say that," she merely replied, keeping her thoughts for herself, not willing to share the present she got this Chrismukkah. He pressed up against her, the slender mass of his meat pressing up unsheathed. "And are you seriously not wearing boxers and think this will work on me?"

"Yeah, kinda," he spiritedly said, giving another cheeky slap to her butt before leaving. "My flight is in less than two hours, but I think a shower is in order."

Winter smiled fondly, not from the sight of his tight ass, but the fact this cavalier was what she needed to embrace all along. "I'll join you when the water's warm." she said, returning her gaze to the window as she finished her thought. "And I can't be The Ice Queen anymore with this new flame inside me, my soul burning brightest from now on."