A/N: WARNING: Contains things related to suicide.
Clover and Qrow had just returned from a mission. They were tired and Qrow's aura was completely depleted. Qrow had been distracted the whole mission, that's why he had gotten his aura depleted and nearly injured.
"What's got you all distracted?" Clover asked his boyfriend.
"It's...James." replied Qrow.
"What about him?" Clover questioned.
"I...I think he's losing it. I'm thinking all this stress and crap is getting to him. I mean you've seen how paranoid he's becoming. I'm worried that...that Jimmy is going to snap one day, and that someone's gonna get hurt...or that he's going to get hurt." Qrow explained.
"If you really think that he's posing a threat to others and himself, then you gotta say something to someone." Clover told Qrow.
"He's the general, Clover, who do I tell? Normally, he's the one you report these things to." Qrow replied.
"Qrow, if you're so worried, just talk to him. It might do him some good to talk to a friend." Clover said putting his hand on Qrow's shoulder.
"Okay...see you later tonight." Qrow nodded in agreement.
He gives his boyfriend a peck on the lips before heading towards General Ironwood's office. Clover goes to his room and relaxes for a while. Then his scroll rings, it was a call from Qrow. But when he answered it, all he could hear was muffled noises.
"Ah, he pocket dialed me again." Clover mumbled.
He was about to hang up when he heard voices.
"James...please, don't do this." Qrow begged.
Clover was confused, what was Qrow begging Ironwood not to do? So, he just holds his scroll and listens carefully to the conversation between his boyfriend and the general.
"James, please, for the love of the gods, put the gun down." Qrow pleaded, sounding terrified.
At the mention of the word, "gun", Clover's immediately on his feet.
"SHUT UP, QROW, SHUT UP!!" James shouted, sounding completely unhinged.
Worried, Clover makes his way to Ironwood's office, still listening to the escalating conversation.
"PUT THE GODD*MN GUN DOWN, JAMES, NOW!!" Qrow shouted back.
Then, Clover hears struggling. His heart nearly stops when he hears a gun go off and Qrow shouting in pain, then a thud. That's when he finally hangs up the scroll and runs to the general's office. He kicks open the doors and sees his boyfriend on the ground clutching his bleeding stomach, and Ironwood was leaning against his desk shaking and holding a gun.
"IRONWOOD!!" Clover yelled angrily.
He rushes at him, knocks the gun out of his hand, and pins him to the desk.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT!? WHY DID YOU SHOOT QROW, YOU D*MN PSYCHO!?!" Clover asked, intense rage in his voice.
He held his fist up, ready to beat the crap out of his boss.
"C-Clover!...ung...stop! H-He didn't...m-mean to...sh-shoot...ahhg...me. It...i-it was an...a-accident." Qrow said trying to prop himself up on his arm.
"He...he had the g-gun...ahh!...p-pointed at...h-himself. I...was trying to...t-take the gun from him...a-and it went off." he told Clover.
"I'm sorry...I-I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I...I just....I just can't take it anymore, I can't. I just want to die!!" James sobbed pitifully.
Clover lets go of James and the man crumbles to the floor holding his head in his hands, clutching his hair. The Ace Op was completely rattled; his boyfriend has been shot and is bleeding on the floor, and his boss is having a major mental breakdown and is suicidal.
"This is Commander Ebi, I need emergency medical services right now in the general's office! And I need it ASAP!!" Clover said into his scroll.
He runs over to Qrow and props him up against his chest.
"Everything's going to be okay, Qrow, I called for help." Clover said gripping his boyfriend's hand tightly.
When help came, Clover explained everything that happened. Qrow was taken to the infirmary while James was sedated and then taken to Atlas Mental Institution. After Qrow's surgery, Clover sat at his side and waited for him to wake up.
"Clover?..." Qrow said waking up.
"I'm here, Qrow." Clover said.
"Is James alright?" Qrow asked.
"Yes, he's getting treated at the Atlas Mental Institution. They'll take good care of him there." answered Clover.
He gently kisses Qrow's temple.
"I'm sorry I lost my cool back there. I just saw you hurt...and I got scared." Clover said wrapping his arms around Qrow's shoulders.
"It's okay, I would've done the same in your situation. I'm just glad you came when you did...if you didn't, James would probably be dead." Qrow said hugging back.
"Yeah, you pocket dialed me again. I heard you and Ironwood's conversation." Clover replied.
It took Qrow two and a half weeks to fully recover from the bullet wound. And while James was in the mental institution, Winter was left in charge. Clover and Qrow visited the general often, to check up on how he was doing.
A/N: This was hard to write, I've been contemplating this story for days now, and I finally got the courage to write it. Since volume 7 began, I knew that Ironwood was...unstable. I just knew that he was going to snap, and he did. Now, I hate to say it, but I would not be surprised if at one point in volume 8, Ironwood points the gun at himself. Hopefully, if it does happen, someone would be able to talk him down, because I don't know what would happen if something happened to him. What do you guys think? Do you think Ironwood poses a threat to himself? Cause he's already proven to be quite the threat to many others. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the story.