This was it...or as Nora would say 'this is happening'. Ren could hardly believe it! They had been together for so long and now they were going to make sure they would be together for the rest of their lives.
The male stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his pink bow tie nervously. It was a new thing for him, he wasn't used to being nervous. Well at least he wasn't used to being nervous about seeing Nora. He couldn't help it though, after all these years he was finally marrying the woman that he had come to cherish so much. The one woman he could never see himself without.
"Come on Ren, calm down buddy. Everything's going to be great!" Jaune reassured, slapping his old teammate on the shoulder to try and calm him down. This earned a grunt from the younger male.
Neptune from across the room decided that Jaune's words weren't enough. "Yeah dude, just be cool." which earned him a boo from Sun.
Ren chuckled at their antics, it was a regular thing at this point and...it was a comfort to him. This was the reason why he had asked Jaune to be his best man, and for Sun and Neptune to be his groomsmen. They always knew how to keep him calm when Nora wasn't around.
Ren held back a sigh and tried to relax. "How am I supposed to be calm on a day like this?" he muttered, more to himself than to his friends. He brought a restless hand up to run through his neatly combed hair. He could practically hear Neptune yelling about how he messed it up.
The blond at his side flashed him a smile. "That's the thing, you can't be calm today. You just got to make it seem like you are." He pointed out. "I mean you saw me when Pyrrha and I got married. I could barely make it through the vows without becoming a bumbling mess. You were on tissue duty, remember?"
How could he forget? Ren had been Jaune's best man and it had been his job to make sure Jaune had enough tissues to wipe the tears from his eyes during the wedding. It was pretty comical in fact.
Before Ren could retort, there was a knock on the door and soon after the Rose girl popped her head inside.
"Hey guys, it's time. Pyrrha would have come to get you, you know since she's the maid of honor and all but she's helping Nora right now." That was code for Pyrrha was making sure that Nora didn't get into the syrup or get any on her dress.
Ren could practically feel his heart beating out of his chest as he followed the males out of the room.
Ruby quickly lead the three to the entry way where the rest of team RWBY waited, along with a rather small red haired girl. When the child saw the group she beamed and waved at Jaune.
"Daddy! Uncle Ren!" She called happily.
Ren smiled and knelt down to the girl's level and patted her head. She was so energetic but so well behaved. She had been telling him for the past week that "Uncle Ren and Auntie Nora were gonna be married like Mommy and Daddy and then they're gonna have a hundred million children!" Or so she said.
After their brief greeting Ren entered and took his place alone at the alter.
It wasn't to much later that the wedding march had begun to play, but to Ren that time felt like an eternity. Soon entered Sun and Blake, their arms linked as they walked down the aisle, followed by Neptune and Weiss, Yang and Ruby, and Pyrrha and Scarlet. She would have walked with Jaune but he had a...bigger role to fill tonight.
His heart jumped into his throat as the small crowd rose from their seats, it was time.
There she was, her arm linked with her team Leader. The biggest smile that he had ever seen was on her round face and just like that all his worry just vanished. Only she could do that to him, make him feel like everything in the world was perfect with just one smile.
"Who gives this woman today?" The priest asked, to which Jaune replied.
"The leader of Team JNPR and best friend to the Bride and Groom." with that Jaune gave one final hug to his teammate and whispered. "Go get him, Tiger." and then let her go to her place at Ren's side, giggling at her leader as she went.
The priest went thought his speach but Ren was hardly paying attention, his focus was on her. On the way her face seemed to glow, the light that shined in her eyes when she noticed he was staring, the way her hands gently squeezed his own as she silently squeeled with excitment.
"Do you, Lie Ren take this Nora Valkyrie. To be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"I do." there wasn't an ounce of hesitation in his words. He had never been more sure of anything in his life.
"And do you, Nora Valkyrie, take this Lie Ren, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until dea-"
"I do!" She exclaimed, not even letting the man finish his sentence before she answered. The elderly man smiled and the excitable couple before he spoke again.
"Then I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride."
Nora beamed when she heard those words and leaped up, wrapping her arms around Ren's neck and stood on her tip toes to bring his lips to hers.
"NORA!" Ren shouted, jerking up in bed. His black hair clinging to his skin from sweat. With a groan he ran a hand through it to try and pull the mess from his face. He looked over at the other side of the bed and felt his heart shatter.
Of course...it was just a dream.
After all, Nora Valkyrie died even before graduating from Beacon.
