'...Here we are again

Through my rise and fall

You've been my only friend...'

Gabriel looked at the two revolvers hanging on the wall. His old weapons from his Huntsman days, Guilt and Innocence. The retired Huntsman ran his hand along the side of one of the weapons before picking up Innocence.

'...You told me that they can

Understand the man I am

So why are we

Talking to each other again?...'

Weapon in hand, Gabriel gave it a few spins before snapping to the mirror and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened considering the weapons weren't loaded but if it were, he would be shopping for a new mirror and fixing a hole in his wall. He placed it back on the wall and took a seat on the edge of the bed before his eyes went over to the weapon sitting in the corner of the room.

"I never should've left you behind. Maybe it would've made a big difference... or maybe not."

Shaking his head, Gabriel looked at the tiem and got up from the bed before picking up a fresh shirt from the closet. It's been almost thirty years yet it still haunts him. Maybe he should get some professional help. Going deep into the bottle was definitely not a good way to cope but he did it anyway. At least Annette snapped him out of it. But that's all in the past. It's a new day, right? Hopefully this day isn't as eventful as yesterday. His scroll rang and Gabriel picked it up from the top of the dresser before answering.

"Creed speaking."

"Gabe, my friend. How have you been?"

"Ugh." Gabriel rubbed the bridge of his nose "What is it, Roman?"

"Come on down to Crazy Roman's for insane deals on wheels. Eh? How's that for a slogan?"

Gabriel grunted.

"I liked you better when you were robbing banks."

"I never said I'd stop, buddy. All I said was that I needed a steady income when I'm not doing my night job. You're the one who suggested Crazy Roman's."

"Me and my big mouth." Gabriel muttered "The slogan's great. Can I go already?"

"But wait! There's more."

"I'm hanging up now."

Gabriel dismissed the call before pocketing the scroll and moving on with his day. Out of all the things he said, including a speech about turning Roman's life around or get it on with Neo but noo. The fedora wearing thief decided to hang on to the joke about starting his own legitimate business as a way to get money when there's no opportune time to rob a bank. That's the last time he'd give Roman advice.

~Line Break~

Gabriel hummed a tune as he walked out of his building and made his way over to the convention center. There was a weapons expo in town and the retired Huntsman wanted to see what's new these days. He barely made it two blocks from his house when a ... banana peel? Yeah. A banana peel fell on top of Gabriel's head. The retired Huntsman was not amused and looked up at the blonde Monkey Faunus hanging on a lamp post using his tail.

"Hey!"

The Faunus teen looked down at Gabriel and gave him a wave.

"Yo."

"You dropped this."

Gabriel held up the banana peel and threw it back at the teen who caught it before throwing it at the trash bin below.

"Sorry, dude."

The retired Huntsman shook his head and walked away.

"Heh. Teenagers."

Unfortunately for him, that won't be the only teenager that would somehow and someway keep him from getting to the convention center.

Gabriel turned the corner and before he knew it, something hit his abdomen and the retired Huntsman was keeled over.

"Oh, man. Not again!"

The retired Huntsman looked up at the speaker to see a young girl with light green hair swept to the right and a purple hoodie. Grumbling to himself, Gabriel picked up the thing that hit him in the gut and saw that it was a hoverboard. The retired Huntsman stood to his full height and held up the board with an unamused look.

"I believe this is yours?"

The teen gave him an apologetic look before nodding.

"Sorry, pops. It was an accident. Won't happen again. Promise."

Gabriel sighed, ignoring the 'pops' comment, and gave the board back to the teen before watching her drop the hoverboard by her feet and, like it's namesake, hovered a few meters off the ground. The teen jumped on the hoverboard and gave him a two-finger salute before speeding off to Oum knows where. The retired huntsman grunted before making his way to the convention center once more.

It wasn't long until he bumped, literally, into another teenager but this one was familiar. Gabriel held out his hand as Ruby took off her headphones and looked up to see the retired Huntsman.

"Uncle Gabe?"

"Ruby." Gabriel helped Ruby up her feet "Where are you off to, red?"

"To the convention center. There's a weapons expo there and I can't wait!"

"You mean the convention center that way?"

Gabriel pointed to the opposite direction of where Ruby was going. The Huntress-in-training raised a brow and looked back up at Gabriel.

"I'm pretty sure it's that way, Uncle Gabe."

"Ruby, I lived in Vale for years. I think I know where the convention center is and it's that way."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

The red hooded Huntress-in-training pulled out her scroll and opened up the map application before showing it to Gabriel who narrowed his eyes before taking the reading glasses from his breast pocket and putting them on. Ruby then pointed to the street they were in.

"We're here and the convention center is over there. See?"

"Hmm. Looks like you're right, red." Gabriel sighed and removed the glasses before putting them away "Oum, I'm getting old."

"It happens, Uncle Gabe."

"At least you still call me uncle. Sounds better than 'Old Man Gabe', right?"

"Oh come on, Uncle Gabe. You're only like what? 60? Lot of Huntsmen are that wrinkly old and they're still cool."

This got her a bop to the head from the retired Huntsman and a noogie.

"I'm 54, you cheeky brat. And I'm not wrinkly."

"See? You're even younger than I thought. Ow!"

Another bop to the head but a little harder than the last. Gabriel's brow twitched before calming himself down.

"Alright, Ruby. Since we're going to the same place, why don't I join you?"

"Sure. I can't wait to see what they have in store this year!"

Gabriel smiled as he followed after Ruby who went on and on about what she expected to see, what she wanted to see, etc. On the way, Gabriel noticed the sudden influx of new faces they passed by. This got the man wondering and decided to ask Ruby.

"Hey, Ruby. What's up with the new faces around town?"

"Hmm?" Ruby raised a brow before perking up as she realized what he was asking about "Oh! We got new transfers from Atlas, Haven and Shade Academies."

"Huh? Go figure. So these new guys are transfers, huh?"

His eyes went to observe the new faces they passed by. He saw two teens, one had silver grey hair and the other had mint green hair, over by Tukson's Book Trade. The grey haired teen had what looked like a sock puppet. Making jokes and impressions of what he assumed to be the real life counterpart of said puppet while the mint haired teen was trying hard not to laugh.

Next was a blue haired boy wearing red ans accompanied by the monkey faunus from before. The two were looking at- Gabriel had to stop himself from sighing as he saw the teens were in front of Crazy Roman's. Honestly, why hadn't anyone tried to arrest him yet? Oh, who was he kidding. Roman probably paid the cops off to turn a blind eye.

~Line Break~

Soon the two reached the convention center and Gabriel blinked when Ruby used her semblance, leaving behind rose petals in her wake. The retired Huntsman shook his head before entering the building. Inside, he saw the number of booths showcasing their wares.

Try as he might, Gabriel couldn't find Ruby among the sea of people so he gave up and went to the closest booth that caught his interest.

"The RH-JT is not only a high-caliber handgun, ladies and gentlemen, but can also be... "

The man then extended the stock of the gun in his right hand before taking out a second weapon and extended the barrel of the second gun then proceeded to combine the two, locking them together. He then grabbed flipped up the sight of the first weapon and revealed that a scope waa attached to it before showing it to the crowd.

"A high-caliber sniper rifle! This baby can shoot a Grimm right between the eyes and penetrate through it's armor like it's nothing. It can also use a variety of Dust bullets. A perfect weapon brought to you by the Red Hood Arms Inc."

Gabriel hummed before moving on to the next booth. This one showed a handheld cannon that can transform into a sword. Nothing new considering what weapons Huntsmen usually had. And so, the retired Huntsman moved on. All the while looking for the little red reaper.

~Line Break~

"That was awesome!!"

Gabriel chuckled as he watched Ruby walk away with her friend who they met in fhe weapons expo. Once the two of them turned the corner, Gabriel turned around and made his way back to the bar. The sun was setting by the time they left the expo and Gabriel didn't realize that he would've left hours ago but seeing the smile on Ruby's face as she talked about weapons made him stay. It was times like these that he wondered if she and Louise would've made good friends.

It didn't take long for Gabriel to reach his bar and find one Taiyang Xiao Long waiting outside by the door. The retired Huntsman greeted the patriarch of the Xiao Long/Rose family who greeted him back.

"Good to see you, Tai. What's with the visit?"

"Can't I visit the godfather of my kids?"

"Heh. Yes you can. Come on inside and let's talk."

~Line Break~

"And you what he said? He my noodles are overcooked. Overcooked! Can you believe the nerve of that... Ugh! I like to see HIM cook better noodles than me."

Gabriel simply nodded along as he finished cleaning the counter. Tai and Qrow had another trouble in paradise concerning about Tai's cooking among other things and the blonde decided to go to Creed's Place to vent while he was in Vale. Of course the patriarch of the Xiao Long/ Rose family couldn't leave the family dog alone at home and the girls were on a mission so he brought it with him. Tai was certainly not going anywhere near Qrow for a while.

Said black and white fluffball known as Zwei jumped up the counter from his spot on Tai's lap much to Creed's annoyance. The retired Huntsman gave the dog a halfhearted glare.

"You know I just cleaned that, right?"

Zwei replied by looking up at the man with puppy eyes and a small whimper as well as a touch of lowering of the ears but Gabriel simply grunted and picked the dog up by the collar before unceremoniously dropping him on the ground. Zwei landed on his behind but didn't see to mind what just happened and proceeded to run around in circles trying to chase his tail.

The retired Huntsman spared the dog a glance before looking back at Tai who was still ranting.

'Damn. He's on a roll today, huh?' Gabriel thought 'Maybe I should find him a girlfriend. Hook him up with that iBurn lady online.'

Or maybe not considering the man lights up like a schoolgirl every time Qrow is mentioned in a conversation. But why the hell was he meddling with Tai's love life? He's a grown-ass man... who would sooner or later probably have to explain to his daughters why their Uncle Qrow is suddenly their Papa Qrow. Creed snorted and smirked.

'Yeah. I'd pay to that.'

"I make a home for this family and he couldn't even show a little bit of appreciation! Next time we meet, I'll tell him I want him out of the house. That's it!" Tai emphasized by making an 'X' with his arms "No more second chances!"

"Riiight."

Gabriel highly doubt that Tai will actually go through with it.

"I know I said you can talk all day and I'll listen but can you at least buy something from the menu or maybe a drink. I'm still running a business here, you know."

"Oh, right. Let's see. I'll have the, uh... hmm."

Tai narrowed his eyes at the wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks as well as what food Creed had on the menu board while the retired Huntsman waited patiently for the blonde to decide. Gabriel felt something tugging at his pant leg and looked down to see Zwei sitting on his haunches while tilting his head at the man.

"So... How's it going?"

*Bark*

"I'm doing great. Thanks for asking."

*Bark*

"...I can't believe I'm talking to a dog."

Gabriel heard the door open and looked up to see a disguised Willow walk inside. She moved to take a seat but stopped and motioned her head towards Tai. Gabriel nodded his head, mouthing 'He's cool' before Willow took a seat on the bar. She took off her hat and placed it down before nearly jumping out of her seat when Zwei, who somehow managed to climb up the counter, popped up in front of the Schnee Matriarch.

"I didn't know you had a dog."

Slowly, she reached out and rubbed the back of Zwei's ear and the corgi wagged his tail in pleasure.

"He's not mine. The little bastard belongs to the guy next to you. Wil, meet Taiyang Xiao Long. Tai, this is Wil."

"Pleasure to meet you, Wil." The two shook hands before Tai turned to Gabriel "I'll have the Spicy Sausage and Mash Potatoes."

"Drinks?"

"Water will do fine."

"You sure?" Creed raised a brow "The 'spicy' part on the name isn't just for show, Tai."

"I think I can handle it just fine, Creed. I've had my fair share of spicy food here and there, old timer."

'Old timer. I'm old but not that- nevermind.'

Gabriel shrugged before turning to Willow.

"Anything I can get you?"

Unfortunately, the Schnee Matriarch was too busy gushing over the corgi to acknowledge him and Gabriel smiled before leaving the two alone and headed for the kitchen. Tai watched him go before giving the grey haired woman a look. He had never seen Creed smile outside of Xiao Long/Rose plus Qrow family. The man either had a bored look or a scowl. The latter is present whenever 'kids these days' annoyed him or he sees something generally stupid. Sure he was kind to some women here and there but he has never smiled like that to any of them. Looking back, the last time he'd seen him smile like that was with... Annette.

'Ooohh.' Taiyang smiled 'Nice to see you smiling again, Gabe.'

"Who's a good boy? You are. Yes you are."

Tai shook his head. This always happens whenever he brings Zwei with him. Someone was bound to gush over the little fluffball and he couldn't blame them. That got him thinking. Maybe he should change his profile pic and have Zwei with hi- No! Nope. He was never going back to that dating website again. The first and last time he did, he got a lot of weirdos. That iBurn lady was definitely lying about her age. He just knows it.

He'll just do it the old fashioned way. Yeah! Meet up with someone and give 'em the old Taiyang charm. It worked on Raven. Granted she left him anyway but that's not the point! The point is, he's going back in the game. If a grim bastard like Creed can do it, so can he. He's Taiyang Xiao Long, damnit! Best Dad in Patch and the Best Cook in all of Remnant!

"Tai!"

The blonde was snapped from his thoughts and looked to see Creed giving him a raised brow. His order was already set in front of him along with a glass of water.

"I've been calling you for the past five minutes and you kept making faces. I was starting to wonder if you were having a stroke."

"Oh, quiet you."

Tai snatched the spoon and forked the retired Huntsman was offering before digging in. Gabriel smirked and shook his head before turning to see Willow rubbing Zwei's belly. He sighed and knew he had to clean up the counter. AGAIN. At this rate, the damn thing will never be clean.

"GAH!"

Gabriel looked over his shoulder at Tai and saw the man down the glass of water but it wasn't enough. He looked down at the plate and noticed the sausage was gone.

'Huh. Crazy bastard ate it in one bite. No fucking wonder.'

The retired Huntsman reached underneath the counter and pulled out a soda siphon before walking over to Tai.

"Open up, buttercup."

The blonde turned to face him and Gabriel sprayed seltzer into Tai's mouth much to the man's relief. If he had looked closer, he would've noticed the steam when the soda made contact with Tai's tongue. The blonde fell face first on the counter before Gabriel placed the seltzer close to the man's head.

"I'll just leave this here."

The reply he got was a thumbs up before Gabriel walked over to Willow who was holding Zwei close and rubbing their noses together. This got the retired Huntsman to smirk as he leaned on the shelf with his arms crossed.

"Cute."

He didn't know how long he stood there, just watching Willow coo over Zwei. Tai was still trying to eat the mashed potatoes left on his plate while taking small sips of soda. It was only after midnight Tai decided to leave and head for the motel he rented before saying goodbye. Funny how it took a while to get Willow to let go of Zwei. The woman was attached and he was sure if she saw another cute thing while she's alone, she wouldn't hesitate to gush over it like she did Zwei. Gabriel wondered if her children had the same tendency.

"I think I know what to get you for your birthday." Gabriel began and looked at Willow with a smirk.

"A nice, fluffy, puppy. I was starting to wonder if you wanted to buy Zwei off Tai. I had to pry him off of you."

"Don't remind me." Willow groaned "I shouldn't have acted like that."

"And why's that?" Gabriel asked with a raised brow "Come on. Zwei's a cute dog and I wouldn't blame you for giving him attention. It's pretty normal, you know."

"If we were alone, I wouldn't mind but his owner was right there. I should've been more professional."

"Tai doesn't mind. He's a pretty cool guy."

Gabriel sat next to Willow in the bar and took out a playing card from his breast pocket before flickering it in his fingers. A habit Willow observed that Gabriel did a lot when his hands are idle.

"How's Weiss doing?"

"Good but she's a little... frustrated with a certain classmate of hers. One Jaune Arc." Willow chuckled "The young man has been 'serenading' Weiss since the beginning of the semester. As you know, I was suspicious of his intentions for my daughter and decided to speak to him personally."

Gabriel stopped mid-flick and narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him.

"Willow. What did you do?"

"I wanted to judge this boy for myself. See what he truly is." She grimaced "A part of me was expecting him to be like Weiss's other suitors or Jacques. Only after the money and power. Not caring about Weiss's feelings. But... "

The retired Huntsman raised a brow as a smile found it's way into Willow's face.

"He's nothing like them. His intentions are pure and when I asked him what he thought of Weiss." She shook her head with a small laugh "Oum, I wish Weiss was there to hear the words herself. Perhaps she would give him a chance."

Gabriel fixed her a look.

"...you just want to see how flustered Weiss will get if she did hear him, don't you?"

"Well... " Willow smirked.

"Heh. Of course. But honest question. Is he good on your book?"

"Perhaps. I'll never tell."

"Not even for me?" Gabriel asked with a raised brow and a lopsided smirk.

"Nope."

Willow replied with a smile and flicked his nose. The two continued to talk after that. The only other sound in the bar came from the radio as it played some traditional pop.

'...Come fly with me

Let's fly, let's fly away...'