Loveless

Summary: Ren wonders if he'll never fall in love. Velvet explains what it means to be aromantic.

"It's perfectly normal," said a soft voice.

Lie Ren jumped, startled, and quickly shut off his Scroll's display, using the now-dark screen to identify who, behind him, had spoken. Their features were indistinct, but the silhouette of tall, narrow rabbit's ears gave it away—Velvet Scarlatina, an upperclassman and part of the powerful and well-liked Team CFVY.

"I'm sorry?" Ren asked politely. Velvet was only an acquaintance, but he had noticed she often had trouble talking to people.

Velvet looked nervous, at least as much as he could see of her shadowed reflection. It was difficult to tell, but he thought she was biting her lip.

"Would you like to sit down?" he added, when Velvet continued to hesitate. He shifted his bag off the chair beside him, pushing aside the textbooks he had set out but not opened. Dust, this was nothing like dealing with Nora. But then, it was because of Nora that he was sitting here looking up…

Velvet perched awkwardly on the seat beside him, not quite meeting Ren's eye. Well, he had no plans to force her to. He turned the Scroll back on, and the article title that Velvet had obviously read over his shoulder filled the screen once more: PEOPLE WHO CANNOT LOVE.

"This is…normal?" Ren prompted her gently, trying not to sound as nervous as she looked.

Velvet nodded, her faunus ears swaying a little. "It's called being aromantic. Coco is as well, you know."

Ren didn't reply but he supposed his raised brow spoke for itself.

"Look," she said hesitantly. "It's…" she trailed off, then tried again. "I don't intend to pry, but… If this wasn't something personal, you wouldn't have jumped when I said something."

Ren acknowledged that with a bow of the head.

"Which means it is personal. Which is the only reason I said anything." She bit her lip again. "I remember how upset Coco was."

Ren tilted his head, indicating his interest. A part of him was also aware of a tiny smile playing about his mouth—it was exceedingly plain that Velvet was not used to being the more talkative end of a conversation.

Fortunately, his expression seemed to reassure Velvet somewhat. She glanced around nervously, but there was no one nearby. When she continued, she seemed less timorous than before. "It was last year. The boy she was dating at the time told her that he was in love with her. Which isn't so odd at that age for Hunters as it might be for civilians but…"

Ren nodded. Hunters tended to live fast, and despite the Academies' best attempts, even in peacetime it was a job with a high mortality rate. Middle-aged Huntsmen like Professor Port were a distinct rarity, which lent weight to the man's words despite his rambling lectures.

"Naturally, he wanted to hear that she felt the same way," Velvet continued. "She was happy with him—this was when I arrived," she interrupted herself, her cheeks pinking a little. "And I couldn't help overhearing. Coco told me later that it was okay. She told the rest of the team about it that night anyway. In any case, she knew she was happy, but she asked him to explain exactly how he was feeling, prodding him into describing all the emotions and subtleties that went into his romantic feelings. And then she had to honestly tell him that she didn't feel the same."

Ren bit his own lip now. That…didn't sound like it would turn out well.

Sure enough, Velvet continued. "His shouting brought people running. Coco never said anything back—she said later it was out of affection that she absolutely did feel toward him—but everyone always said she just seemed dreadfully cold."

So that was where the nickname Frappé had come from, Ren realized. An iced cocoa. Dimly, Ren also thought that this was the most he had ever heard Velvet speak at once.

"Thats why I said it's normal," the Faunus girl finished, still slightly pink in the face. "I saw the title of that article—" she nodded at his Scroll "—It's inaccurate and unfair. That's the only reason I said anything at all. Coco didn't handle explaining it very well, but I could tell how relieved she was to be able to put a name to it. She said it was an amazing change not to feel robotic, or monstrous, or broken." Her mouth twisted. "All things that he called her that night, incidentally."

Broken… Ren had never felt broken, exactly; it was more like romance just never registered for him. If he ever thought about it, he had just assumed that eventually he would find someone, like in a story. He knew that a lot of people thought he and Nora were involved on some level, but he had never felt anything like romance as it was described. She was his best friend, his equal, his other half, his foil, his soul mate in a completely platonic sense. If pressed, he wouldn't hesitate to explain that he loved her…just not like that. There were times, though, that he wondered if perhaps her babbling dismissal of the possibility of seeing them as "together-together" might not be a hint. Or worse, her trying to draw out his opinion on the matter. Or, worse still, her trying halfheartedly to convince herself otherwise. Times like that were what drove him to seek real solitude, even from her. Times like that were what led to him sitting in the library with his Scroll open to an article about lovelessness…

Abruptly, Ren realized he had been lost in thought for some time, and had let the conversation drop. With Nora he would never have noticed, because she would fill the silence automatically. The timid Velvet, on the other hand, was just watching him, a small smile warring with apprehension on her face. Hurriedly, he made an effort to actually speak.

"I…" What was there to say? Ren closed the article, then put his Scroll away entirely. "Thank you," he said instead, inclining his head to the the shy upperclassman. "I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to speak with me. And…I think there's someone else I need to discuss this with."

Velvet gave him a real smile, eyes and nose crinkling and scrunching. Distractedly, as he packed his untouched books into his bag, he noticed how much the smile enhanced her leporine resemblance. It was distinctly adorable.

Picking up his bag, Ren gave Velvet a short bow in thanks. "I am in your debt," he said solemnly, which only made her smile widen.

"Just be yourself," she murmured as he passed. Then, when he was almost out of earshot, he heard her add in a low but cheerful voice, "Good luck."

Somehow, though, Ren knew it would work out. He and Nora always managed to understand each other.

A/N: So. This might be a tiny bit autobiographical. Honestly, I read Ren as being a lot like myself (yes, I'm aro af), and Nora is the kind of character who I should really hate, but I just can't. I love both of them and they love each other and their relationship is perfect without even trying to be romantic.

There aren't words to explain just how much of a NOTP Renora is for me. They're like siblings. Closer, even. Like Mal and Zoe from Firefly (or perhaps more appropriately considering their personalities, like Mal and Kaylee), or Lelouch and C.C. in Code Geass, or Captain America and Black Widow in the MCU.
The fact that the song "Boop" from the Volume 2 OST (otherwise an excellent song, I confess) seems to indicate that Renora is supposed to be canon distresses me in a way I can barely describe. I guess that's what headcanons are for.

"Leporine" means "of or resembling a hare", obviously. I confess I had to look it up, not because I didn't know what it meant, but because I knew there had to be a word for it, (likely ending in -ine), but couldn't figure out what it should be.