DISCLAIMER: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.

A/N: Each chapter in this collection is unrelated to the rest, unless otherwise noted.

~ Shards of Obsidian ~

"Hey, Qrow!" Taiyang called out from the other room.

"What?" Qrow yelled back, not wanting to move from where he was currently sunk into the couch cushions.

After a brief pause, Tai appeared in the doorway. Apparently he didn't want to have this conversation shouting across the house, despite that being the way he'd started it.

"What do you want for your birthday?"

Qrow had no idea what he'd expected his brother-in-law to ask, but that particular question definitely wasn't something he'd thought was coming.

"... whatever," he answered. Weren't they too old to do the whole birthday gift exchange thing anymore, anyway?

"So..." Taiyang said, smirking. "Would you prefer a bottle of fifty-lien whiskey and a two-lien hooker, or two-lien whiskey and a fifty-lien hooker?"

"Come on, Tai, you know me. Why not just make it twenty-six bottles of the cheap stuff?"

They both laughed, and Qrow thought that would be the end of the conversation.

"But what about the hooker?" Taiyang asked.

"Don't need one," Qrow replied. Surely Tai would be able to tell that he was not amused by this joke and let the subject drop. Surely.

"Aren't you lonely?" the blond asked.

Qrow just started at the other man for a few long moments as his mind struggled to come to terms with the fact that he was seriously asking him that.

"I'm seeing someone," he answered finally.

"What? No, you're not," Taiyang said, nonplussed.

"Yeah, I am," Qrow replied archly. "I'm the one who would know, being myself and all."

"Really? Who?"

"Glynda."

Tai blinked. Once. Twice. Then he burst into laughter. Several minutes passed before he was able to compose himself enough to speak.

"Oh, man! Qrow! You really had me going there for a minute... I actually thought you'd managed to get yourself a girlfriend, but... Come on. Seriously. You're going to have to come up with a better lie than that."

~oOo~

A/N: In case anyone forgot (or is reading fandom-blind), the currency of Remnant is called lien.