Happy Friday, everybody! Today is a special treat, since you're getting two posts today. This one is a patron reward for David Bufkin, who wanted some sweet, sweet Snowbird and gave me the reins on everything else. So, I decided to play around a bit and have some shippy goodness in a Faerie AU.

Enjoy!

The first time Qrow saw her was at the beginning of one winter. The snow and ice came to his forest, as they always did each year. The autumn sprites, who had spent the past few moons browning the leaves, encouraging the final ripening of the fruits and vegetables, and putting the trees to sleep, left. In their place came the winter sprites.

Out of all the seasonal sprites, Qrow liked the winter ones the least. While all seasonal sprites had a tendency to look down on what they viewed as lesser fae (brownies, dryads, animal shifters like Qrow, etc.), the winter ones were particularly haughty. The shifters, they looked at in a way that was almost challenging, as if they were waiting for someone to fault them for making the forest cold and less hospitable for the animals, who had to hibernate or forage until the coming of spring.

This particular sprite stood out because of a moment of warmth that Qrow just happened to witness. He had been in his crow form, watching over one of the many murders in his care, when the snowfall changed just a little in one spot. He looked up to see a small sprite, obviously a newly-made one, struggling to direct a chill wind.

In a moment, she was there. Larger than the young sprite with stern, ice-blue eyes, snow-white hair, and wings like those of a crystalline dragonfly, she had an expression every bit as cold as the season. Then, there was the slightest gentling in her face. Her hand touched the arm of the other sprite. Qrow could hear her saying something in a crisp, curt, but not angry voice. The young sprite nodded, adjusting her movements, and the snowfall looked right again.

Huh. Qrow thought. So, they at least know how to help each other out.

He didn't think anything of it after that. Honestly, he only remembered it later on, after he realized that that moment had actually been the first of many.

The second time he saw her, he was flying over the house of a human he liked to look after, a man who had two daughters and no mother to help look after them. Qrow kept an eye on the family, developing a certain fondness for the two girls, who always left bowls of corn out for him and his crows.

The winter sprite was alone on that house, her hand on the windowpane. Curious, Qrow flew closer. At the sound of his wingbeats, the sprite stiffened, frost spreading from her hand and across the glass.

Normally, Qrow would have let out a caw and jokingly chastised the sprite for slacking off, trying to provoke a reaction. However, something made him hold back. Instead, he perched on the windowsill, turning into his natural form so he could talk to her. When he wasn't a bird, he became a small, human-like man with scruffy black hair that turned to feathers on his neck and down his back. His arms were heavily feathered, functioning as wings that happened to have hands embedded in the downy fluff. He wore simple, black clothes, along with a necklace bearing a pendent he had stolen from some goth kid: a crooked cross.

"This is a nice family," he said, nodding toward the inside, where the girls were sitting in front of a fire, listening to their father read a book. "Make the windows extra pretty for them, would ya?"

The sprite looked at him, and he expected her to scoff at him, a simple animal shifter, for daring to give her orders. Instead, she just nodded before returning to her business.

Qrow's feathers ruffled a bit with surprise. He noted the sprite's appearance, realized that it was familiar to him, and promised himself to remember what she looked like if he saw her again.

The next time he saw her was during that same winter. He was bored, so he ate some of his store of fermented berries and started drunkenly screwing around with the sprites. He flew around as a crow, weaving between them as they struggled to make the snow fall correctly. He cawed at them as they skated across the pond, creating a sheen of ice over the sleeping fish. He careened within millimeters of them as they grew their icicle gardens on the tree branches.

Shouts of "Filthy bird!" and "Degenerate creature!" only spurred him on. He was having the time of his life until a large amount of snow suddenly fell from a branch above him, causing him to fall to the ground with a thump.

He groaned, turning into his natural form and digging himself out. He looked up. The sprites had returned to their business, their noses in the air like always. He honestly would have preferred it if they had laughed at him. No sense of humor. Hell, I'd laugh at me right now!

He dusted himself off and shook his arms out, preparing to take off, only for that sprite to land in front of him.

"Have you cooled your head?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I honestly should have marked you as a drunk from the beginning. You have that look about you."

"What look?" Qrow asked, smirking.

"Ragged, haphazard," the sprite listed. "Doesn't care about his appearance."

"Hey, now!" Qrow folded his arms. "I'll have you know I spend an hour on my hair every morning. Being this gorgeous takes work." When the sprite gave him a skeptical look, he held out his arms. "Also, look at these wings. Not a feather out of line. Well, that was true before that snow hit me." He looked sharply at her. "Was that you?"

The sprite sniffed loudly. "You were being an annoyance. I specialize in neutralizing annoyances."

"Oh?" Qrow felt his smirk turning into a full grin. "Well, aren't you the important little weather girl? Got a name, Tinker Bell?"

The sprite's gaze turned downright frosty. Most fae hated being compared to fictional, human creations, and Tinker Bell was honestly the worst of them. The corner of her eye twitched, and Qrow realized she was weighing the pros and cons of making more snow fall on him.

Finally, she seemed to decide against it and shook her head. "I'm not important enough to have a name. You may call me Winter, if you must."

Qrow held out his hand, which Winter looked at skeptically. "I promise I didn't spit on it." She took his hand, and he snickered. "Or, did I?"

She jumped back, sputtering with outrage, and Qrow burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" he assured her, holding his side. "Damn, you winter sprites are fun."

"I suppose this is why you like causing so much trouble?" Winter huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"That's right!" Qrow shrugged. "If you weren't all so high and mighty, I wouldn't be so determined to take you down a few pegs."

"How noble of you," Winter drawled. "I don't suppose you have a name?"

"Qrow," he replied. "Spelled with a q."

Winter blinked at him.

"Do you know how many crow shifters there are?" Qrow asked. "I had to make myself special somehow! Just don't let it get around, or everyone'll start doing it."

The corner of her mouth quirked upward, and Qrow knew that he had almost made her smile. Right then and there, he knew that he'd be seeing a lot more of this sprite in the future. He'd make sure of it.

During the next few winters, he made a habit of playing around with Winter whenever he had the time. He would fly over her while she made the snow fall, weave between her icicles, coming so close to brushing against them without actually touching them, and startle her while she was concentrating on frosting ponds or windowpanes.

It took five years, but he finally provoked a reaction.

She was frosting the panes of a house in the middle of town. Qrow snuck up behind her in his natural form before suddenly taking the form of a crow and cawing loudly. She jumped, and the ice went down to the sill under her feet, making her slip and fall backward into a pile of snow. She popped out, sputtering and shaking her wings out.

Qrow flew to the roof, cackling with glee. Then, he saw the deadly glare on her face.

"That's it," she growled. "You're dead!"

With that, the winter sprite flew from the snow pile and toward Qrow, swift as an arrow. Qrow let out a caw of surprise and dove off the roof, narrowly avoiding an attack that probably would have turned him into an ice statue. Winter spun around in the air, fixing her murderous gaze on him once more. Feeling a pulse of genuine fear, he flew toward the forest, in the direction of the nearest murder. His crows would protect him, and Winter would know better than to directly attack any of them.

He could feel her right behind him and saw several blasts of snow that were definitely not part of the natural snowfall, blasts that just barely missed him. He was almost at the forest when he felt sharp, stinging, numbing cold on his left wing. He struggled to remain aloft but dropped like a rock into the snow.

The cold was creeping into his very bones, and he began to tremble. Then, something touched him, and the ice on his wing cracked and crumbled until it turned to dust. He turned into his natural form and popped his head out of the snow. Winter was standing over him, her arms folded.

"Have you learned your lesson?" she asked, glaring down at him coolly.

Qrow sneezed loudly before answering. "Yeah, yeah. You made your point. I'll keep my distance," he grumbled.

"What is the meaning of this?!" a new, sharp voice that made Qrow feel cold all over again barked.

Winter stiffened, and a look of terror came to her face before it was swiftly replaced with a stoic mask. "Nothing, sir," she murmured.

Qrow crawled out of the snow, trembling when a sprite much larger and scarier than Winter landed on the snow. This one had an older, strict appearance, a white beard and eyes almost as deadly as cold iron. Qrow knew of him, and only messed with him sparingly, as he had a feeling that this one had no qualms against outright killing a shifter who was annoying enough.

"It didn't look like nothing," the sprite growled, advancing on Winter. "It looked like you abandoned your duties to go chasing after some bird!"

"But, he was-!" Winter started.

"No excuses!" the sprite snapped. "You are making a disgrace of yourself in full view of every fae in this forest! Do you want to ruin our good name?"

"Uh, excuse me?" Qrow piped up. "I was screwing around with her for laughs. She kinda had a good reason to get pissed at me. I made her fall over while she was working." He grinned sheepishly at Winter. "Guess I went a little far there."

Winter looked genuinely surprised that Qrow was standing up for her. She opened her mouth to say something, only to be overshadowed by the other sprite.

"I would expect a sprite in my charge to be aware of the behaviors common in…lesser species," he said, giving Qrow a look of pure disgust. His nose wrinkled as he smelled the scent of fermented berries that saturated Qrow's feathers and breath. He turned back to Winter. "You are better than his kind. I expect you to act accordingly in the future."

Qrow's feathers bristled. "My kind? Excuse me, you pompous jackass, but-" He caught a glimpse of Winter, who was giving him a desperate look and minutely shaking her head, and decided to shut up. "Whatever," he growled.

"That's what I thought," the male sprite said with an infuriating smirk. "Come. We have more to do." He led Winter away.

Qrow watched them leave and saw Winter glance over her shoulder at him once before she disappeared into the trees.

It was a week later, near the end of winter, when he located her again. As soon as he saw her, he flew back to his hollow and went through his stash of goodies, eventually settling on half of a rose-flavored macaron, which he had snatched from a box a human had bought from a bakery nearby. As far as a crow was concerned, food in an open box was fair game if the human wasn't quick enough.

He flew to where Winter was growing icicles, noting how they were smaller now due to the dwindling season, and landed next to her. He held out the pastry when she turned to look at him. "Truce?"

Winter eyed him for a few seconds, then nodded. "One moment." She covered the rest of the branch with icicles before directing him to a higher, less icy branch. The two sat down, and she accepted half of the half macaron. "You don't smell like alcohol today."

"Eh, thought I'd be sober for this." Qrow took a bite of the macaron. Even after a few days, the almond flour pastry crumbled in his mouth, and the rose buttercream was subtly sweet. "I thought about bringing some berries but figured you wouldn't wanna work drunk."

"I don't like being drunk ever," Winter murmured, taking a bite of her half. "Why do you?"

"I get cold," Qrow said. "The berries warm me up."

"I see." Winter was silent for a minute, her eyes on the glistening snowflakes. "I apologize for what my superior said about you."

Qrow shrugged. "I figured all you sprites thought that about shifters."

"Most of us," Winter corrected. "It's still bad manners to say such things out loud."

Qrow looked carefully at her. "Most of you. Including you?"

Winter shook her head. "I find you incredibly annoying, but I don't think you are lesser than me due to your species." She paused to take another bite, staring at her hands rather than at Qrow. "The crows in this area are thriving, so you obviously do a good job caring for them. All fae are necessary. It's foolish to think one is more important than the other simply because they control a more powerful aspect of nature."

"Huh." Qrow felt a genuine smile coming to his face. "That's the closest thing I've gotten to a compliment in years. Thanks." He finished his pastry and leaned back, feeling wholly satisfied. "Oh, sorry about messing around with you before."

"Why do you do that?" Winter asked. "I know you like messing with the sprites, but why do you focus so much on me?"

"Maybe because I like you more than the others?" Qrow said, glancing to the side, his cheeks flushing when he realized that he probably shouldn't have said that.

Winter's eyes narrowed. "Well, you have a terrible way of showing it."

"Yeah, well…" Qrow rubbed at the feathers on the back of his neck. "Lemme tell you a secret about crows: We can be jackasses sometimes."

She definitely almost smiled at that!

"Speaking of jackasses," he continued. "That's the name I've decided on for that superior of yours. Jackass. What do you think?"

"I think you should never call him that to his face," Winter said seriously. "He can actually kill you."

"So can you!" Qrow retorted. "You froze my damn wing!"

"Oh, you're fine," Winter waved dismissively. "I wouldn't have killed you, mad as I was. I just needed to give you a scare. Now that you've seen how my superior is, you may understand why I am so determined to get my job done."

"Point," Qrow allowed. "I'll lay off from now on."

"Good." Winter stood up. "Well, I must get back to work." Before she flew off, however, she looked hesitantly at him. "You know, you don't have to fly around making a nuisance of yourself if you want to spend time with me."

Qrow sat bolt upright, his eyes lighting up hopefully. "Is that an invitation?"

Winter's cheeks flushed blue, and Qrow knew right then that he had fallen for her. He had fallen really hard.

"Not this winter. We need to wrap up the season and move on."

"But, next winter?" he asked.

"We'll see." She flew off.

Qrow turned into his crow form and took to the skies joyfully. "We'll see" was a hell of a lot better than "No."

The year went by, and another winter came. Qrow found her at the house he watched over, frosting the panes. He landed near her just as she finished freezing one of the panes. "Looks like a flower," he noted. "The girls will like that."

Winter had a satisfied not-quite-smile on her face. "It's possible to make pictures while still making the ice flow natural," she noted. She turned to look at him. "Why do you care so much about this family?"

Qrow nodded toward the inside. "See that man? A shifter I knew once took a liking to him. She was a raven. Took on a human form in order to have some fun with him."

Winter's expression turned grave. "She left afterward, I'm guessing."

"Yep. When she became pregnant, she had a choice to stay with him and become fully human or to leave and stay a fae. She left the kid here and hasn't been in the area since." Qrow sighed. "I always felt bad for the guy. The first few times I stopped by, he thought I was her. Got real sad when he realized I was just a crow."

"And the other girl?" Winter asked.

"Well, the guy did what most humans wouldn't do in his situation: He moved on. Fell in love with a nice human woman, only for her to get killed by a bear one spring." Qrow shook his head. "He stopped functioning for a while. The half-fae kid had to raise her sister for over a year. I stayed close to them during that time. They put out bowls of corn for me and my crows now."

"I've always liked children," Winter admitted. "They're the only ones who actually like the winter season. Most people bundle up and try to hide, but the children love what my kin and I do." She froze another pane and sighed. "The other sprites have it much easier. People love spring, summer, and autumn."

"Is that why you winter sprites are so distant?" Qrow asked. "Compared to the others, I mean?"

"Perhaps so," Winter mused. "It gets lonely not being appreciated."

"I know that," Qrow muttered. "Even among shifters, crows are pretty close to the bottom of things. We aren't noble like wolves or pretty like eagles. We're just seen as pests with rusty voices."

"Rubbish!" Winter snapped. "Crows are important. I honestly don't understand why so many fae insist on an artificial hierarchy. I find your birds to be lovely creatures, if a bit loud."

Qrow perked up. "Yeah?"

"Of course." Winter's cheeks flushed a bit as she froze the last bit of the window.

"Do you…wanna meet them?" Qrow asked, his voice becoming quieter and uncharacteristically shy.

Winter looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise. "I… I don't know. Animals generally don't like me."

"They will if you're with me," Qrow promised her, already feeling more and more excited about the idea. "Come on! You gotta take a break sometime."

Winter thought for a moment. "Let me finish this house first."

An hour later, the two flew deep into the forest, Qrow leading the way in his bird form. He cawed loudly, and his call was immediately answered by a ruckus of voices. His crows flew over to greet him, and everything was a mess of black feathers. He quickly told them to be careful of Winter, and they obeyed, leaving a space in the midst of their frantic mobbing until they settled down.

Winter was slightly shaken as she landed on a branch, and Qrow privately thought that ruffled hair definitely suited her. He turned into his natural form and landed next to her, calling two of the younger crows over.

They moved close, pressing eagerly to Qrow while staring curiously at Winter.

"Go say hi," he encouraged them. "She's a friend, don't worry."

The young female moved closer to Winter, tilting her head. Hesitantly, Winter placed a hand on the bird's brow, gently stroking her feathers.

"That's it!" Qrow said, patting his crow gently before climbing onto his back. "Hop on."

Winter gaped at him. "You want me to ride?"

"Unless you're scared," Qrow said, his red eyes flashing a challenge.

Winter's lips pursed and she immediately swung onto the back of her bird. "Where to?"

"Race you to the big oak and back!"

And they were off, their crows flying as quickly as they could, the promise of extra scraps from Qrow spurring them on. They flew around the tree, back to the murder, which flew with and around them. They flew through and over the trees, over the human town, and back. Qrow chanced a glance at Winter as they headed back and was struck by the dazzling smile on her face. She was murmuring something to the crow she was riding, and the bird's eyes glinted proudly in response to whatever it was.

She looked up and met Qrow's gaze. She seemed startled to see him staring, but, to Qrow's delight, didn't try to force a stern mask back onto her face. Instead, her smile became slightly shier, more personal, more directed at him.

He knew that he'd do literally anything to keep seeing that smile.

Unfortunately, something was waiting for them in the forest that caused that smile to fade: Winter's superior. Jackass.

He was standing on a branch, arms folded, looking like he was trying to glare holes into the two fae as they landed nearby. He flew over, advancing on Winter, sputtering with rage.

Winter's crow planted herself between the two, cawing angrily at Jackass, who lifted a hand at her.

"Don't you dare!" Qrow's voice took on a dark, deadly tone that he rarely ever used. He took a threatening step toward the winter sprite. "Lay one hand on that bird, and I'll personally rip your wings off, if Mother Nature doesn't do it first."

Thankfully, mention of Mother Nature was enough to remind Jackass that even he wasn't allowed to directly harm any animals. He lowered his hand, instead directing his anger toward Qrow. "I will thank you to stay away from my sprites in the future."

"Your sprites?" Qrow snorted. "Just because you're higher up in rankings doesn't mean they belong to you. Winter did her job before she came with me."

"That doesn't mean I want her, or any of the others, lowering themselves to the level of beasts," Jackass growled, pointing a finger at Qrow's chest. "You will keep your filth away from us from now on!"

"Shut up!" It was Winter who spoke this time. She came from behind her crow, giving the animal a comforting look before glaring at Jackass. "You may be able to direct my duties, but you cannot decide what I do in my own time."

Jackass scowled. "Are you telling me that you don't mind being seen flirting with a damned bird?!"

"You are perfectly welcome to stop looking," Winter snapped.

Jackass looked like he'd be perfectly happy to kill both of them right then and there, but knew that he couldn't do so without attacking the crows. In the end, he sputtered angrily before abruptly flying off.

Qrow gave Winter a concerned look. "That won't end well for you."

Winter shrugged. "I'll ask for another unit to take me. He's not the only superior here, you know."

"As long as you aren't transferred away from here. That would be a bummer." Qrow glanced at her, his expression turning into a smirk. "Considering how much you obviously like me."

"What?!" Winter spun around to glare at him, her cheeks bright blue. "You dare-!"

"Hey, I didn't hear you denying it when Jackass accused you of flirting," Qrow said, holding his hands up. "I'm just calling it as I see it."

"You- That-" Winter stomped a foot. "You are the most annoying, irritating, impossible-"

"Always with the compliments!" Qrow was having way too much fun with this. "Cut it out, or you'll make me blush."

She was silently fuming by this point, and Qrow knew that what he did next could either get his wings frozen off or end very nicely for both of them. "Of course," he continued. "There are other ways to shut me up."

For a moment, the only change in Winter's expression was the darkening of her already-blue cheeks. Then, she took a sudden step forward, grabbed the front of Qrow's shirt, and pressed their mouths together.

Her lips were icy-cold, but soft as freshly-fallen snow. They pressed insistently against Qrow's which were hot and chapped, and just as eager. His feathered arms wrapped tightly around Winter, soft downy feathers caressing her exposed back and shoulders. Her wings folded downward under his touch, and she moved closer. The hand that gripped his shirt loosened and began to move upward, caressing the side of his neck and combing through his hair, stroking back and forth as she felt where hair turned to feathers.

Qrow shivered due to a combination of cold and arousal, and let out a loud groan when another cool hand slipped under his shirt to playfully touch his abdomen before retreating. He reluctantly broke the kiss, though he didn't pull away. He panted a little, staring at those gorgeous blue eyes, at the dazed look on a face that was normally so composed. "My hollow's nearby," he breathed.

Winter's brows went up. Then, she smirked, and Qrow didn't think he had ever seen a more beautiful sight in his life.

Once they were safely in his hollow, Qrow pulled her close again, kissing her deeply, his tongue stroking hers, urging her to respond. When she tugged his hair with one hand and twined her tongue with his, his knees nearly gave out.

They fell together on his downy bed, both fae eagerly kissing and touching each other, doing what they'd spent the past few years wanting to do, even if they hadn't realized it. Qrow's back was pressed into the bed, and Winter leaned over him, her white hair loose and cascading past her shoulders like a frozen waterfall. Qrow gazed up at her, utterly speechless, and she graced him with another smile before claiming his lips once more.

Fae loved deeply and for a long time, so it was nearly midnight when their courtship ended. They lay together, exchanging kisses that got slower, lazier, and sloppier over time, until Qrow finally nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. He sighed happily when her cool fingers started to gently comb through his messy hair.

When her movements got slower, Qrow shifted, holding out an arm. "Here." He adjusted so she could lay her head on the downy feathers of his arm. She cuddled against his side, letting out a yawn.

"We should sleep," she murmured. "We both have duties in the morning."

"Yeah." Qrow softly kissed her lips one more time. "Night," he murmured, his voice holding a gentle, honeyed tone that was even less common than the deadly one he had used with Jackass earlier.

Winter gave him another smile. Qrow wondered if winter sprites didn't smile much because they were literally too dazzling to handle when they did that. "Goodnight," she murmured, her eyes fluttering shut.

Qrow watched her for a few minutes, admiring how her silvery-white hair contrasted with his ebony feathers. He could already feel his arm getting cold. It would probably be numb and half-frozen by the time he woke up, but he honestly didn't care. For once in his life, having a cold bed was the best feeling in the world.

The rest of that season was probably one of the happiest times Qrow could remember. Every minute he wasn't tending to his murders, he was with Winter. Whether he was watching her work, and not interfering, or taking her to his hollow for a very enjoyable night, he couldn't believe his luck.

He had always tried to resist the allure of falling in love, especially with a sprite who could only be with him for a fourth of each year, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't even bring himself to care when some of the other shifters asked if he was a crow or a puppy.

Of course, all good things came to an end. Winter ended, and the sprites had to leave to make way for spring.

Qrow and Winter spent one last night together, Qrow holding her tightly in the aftermath, wondering if he could somehow hide her in his wings. Maybe then, she wouldn't have to leave.

"I'll be back next year," she said, logical and calm as ever, though she was also stroking Qrow's hair and leaving cool, soothing kisses on his face.

"Yeah, but I'll miss you till then," Qrow grumbled, his face flushing at how ridiculously-sappy he sounded.

Winter's expression softened, and she kissed his lips once. "You'll be fine," she assured him. "You'll have your crows to keep you company."

"Despite what you may hear, shifters don't actually have sex with their animals," Qrow said dryly.

"I know that! That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Winter snapped.

Qrow snickered. "Also, crows aren't as fun to mess around with."

"You are intolerable," Winter huffed, rolling over so her back was to him.

"Aw, you know you love it." Qrow hugged her from behind, nuzzling and kissing the back of her neck. "Come on. Admit it."

"Never," Winter replied, though the slight giggle in her voice told Qrow that he had already won.

That morning, Winter embraced Qrow one more time before flying off to join her fellow winter sprites on their journey to the next place to be graced with snow, wind, and beautiful frost pictures. Qrow felt his heart sinking as he wondered what he'd do with himself during the next three seasons.

His musing was abruptly cut off when some melting snow fell of the branch above him and buried him completely. He popped his head out, sputtering, just in time to hear a familiar voice making an unfamiliar noise.

Winter was laughing.

Qrow's heart stuttered, and his eyes shined with happiness. If he could carry that musical sound in his mind until next winter, he had a feeling that he'd be just fine in the meantime.

Faeries are fun to write about. Since there are so many stories about them and so many myths, you can pretty much choose which aspects you like the best and roll with them. I just love the idea of Qrow being a roguish trickster fae who rides crows around for fun. I also like that this AU allows for a bit more fluff than the canon-verse currently does.

If you like what you see and want to join an awesome fan community while earning sweet rewards, like this fic, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!