Since first meeting her he had always made it a point to seek out the Ice Queen whenever she and Qrow were in the same area. If nothing else it made for great entertainment; the eldest Schnee daughter was passionate. Her polished veneer masked deep waters and always made him think of the calm before a storm. Or the pause before a fight. Which it usually ended up being.

Either way it was a thrill breaking her mirrored indifference.

Or letting her keep it; she struck and parried with the same fire verbally as she did physically. It was always an ego stroke to see how far she'd let him push.

This was what made him relax his guard.

The flash of green light struck Winter dead in the back. Gasping and stumbling back from where she had been walking beside him, Qrow was at her side in a nano-second, supporting her as she stumbled forwards. Scythe out against a threat Qrow barely registered the deserted corridor before being distracted again. A glow surrounded Winter's eyes and body, turning steely blue orbs into something else. Something much more terrifying to the Huntsman.

No. Not her. Please not her.

It all lasted only a few seconds – long enough for the horror he felt on his face to transfer to her eyes – before the glow went out and she collapsed forward, fainting into his arms. Red Reaper retracted back to storage mode instantly as he took hold of the Huntress in both arms, guiding them to the floor.

Alone in that empty stretch Qrow would forever deny that he took a few minutes, that his arms tightened instead of loosened, that he turned his face into that ridiculous silver bang at the side of her face and breathed deeply to calm himself. That his first instinct was to run away instead of calling Ozpin.

Screw everything. No one saw but his demons.

WitW:This is extremely AU. Season finale? What season finale? My waifu is not dead!
As it is we've only seen one instance of interaction between this pairing so I'm playing fast and loose with my first impressions. Also playing around with Seasonal Maiden shit. Because why not.