Chapter One - Outside, looking in
Taking a shallow breath, he landed lightly, skidding across the ground on one foot before sliding the other leg round to decelerate.
Releasing the breath, he swung his pistols up, firing controlled bursts at his approaching opponent, forcing him to charge blindly behind his raised shield.
Still breathing out, he narrowed his eyes, focussing on the flow of energies around him. Pulsing in time with his heartbeat, his Aura felt depleted, but not dangerously so. But compared to his opponent's, it was like holding a candle to a roaring fire.
It'll be enough.
With another quick breath, he swung his body round, his weapons held close, redirecting his remaining momentum into a vertical slash. The green blade connecting with a dull crack, his lips twitched upwards as the faint flare of white around his opponent's shield betrayed its wielder's intentions.
As much improvement his opponent had been showing, his movements were still painfully simple to anticipate, even without reading his Aura flow.
Instead of taking the shield bash directly, which would have left him stunned, he let himself be pushed back a little by the force, before dropping into a lower stance, a white clad leg snapping up to strike a now exposed midriff. His opponent's own momentum driving him into the blow, he heard the sudden whoosh of expelled air and span on the ball of his foot to disengage.
He knew he wasn't the greatest fighter. He wasn't the strongest, the toughest or the fastest. Those titles were held by others.
But what he did have was patience. Patience to wear down his opponent, little by little with controlled attacks while conserving his own limited energy, waiting for the opening that would signal the end.
That was how he fought. That was how he lived. No matter what challenge he faced, he would endure; be it slaying Grimm, his training as a Huntsman, dealing with his childhood friend's–
Boop!
Flinching, he fought to clear his mind, his breathing unsteady. Glancing at his opponent, he suppressed his irritation and lifted his pistol blades to block the instinctive sword swing.
Too slow.
Staring into blue eyes widened in excitement and surprise, deep inside he felt something snap, his breath catching.
As the sound of metal on stone resounding in his ears, he sprang forward.
"Yes! Oh god..."
His vision whirled and Jaune hit the floor hard, his startled expression smashing into the polished tiles.
"Blugh," he groaned. Well, that went as well as could be expect- ah that hurts that hurts that hurts!
Just as Jaune was feeling utterly grateful for Aura shielding, a sharp weight pressed down into his shoulder, and he cried out as his shield arm was yanked upwards. Grunting, Jaune gave a brief struggle but quickly surrendered when his arm was bent back further than it had any right to.
"I give, I give!" he gasped, his free hand desperately tapping the ground. A beat later the pain lessened and the liberated arm flopped down at his side, Jaune sighing in relief.
Relishing the cool sensation of the tiles against his cheek, Jaune lay there panting for a while, feeling a weak chuckle build up within him. How many times had Pyrrha drilled disarming techniques with him, and how many times had he failed miserably attempting them before now? Sure he had been floored within two seconds of success, but it still showed his progress from when he first arrived at Beacon.
Heavily favouring his sword arm, Jaune pushed himself awkwardly to his feet, shaking his head to rid the sweat from his eyes. After carefully returning his shield to his belt in sheathe form, he cast around for the rest of Crocea Mors, which he had dropped during the unexpected acrobatics and almost missed the quiet voice behind him.
"I used to much force. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry…" His automatic response, deeply ingrained after months of living alongside Pyrrha, died at his lips when he looked around at his sparring opponent. Hands at his side, head lowered slightly, Ren's expression was partially hidden behind his long black hair, but his magenta eyes stared unblinking into Jaune's.
Faced with this intense gaze, Jaune found himself momentarily lost for words. Wondering if such a serious apology was even necessary for the level of injury, he stared back at Ren, noting that his teammate was still breathing heavily from the fight. Normally he would take some self-deprecating pride in forcing his opponent to exert themselves, but Ren's reaction was making him uneasy.
"Huh? Its fine man," he rushed, realising he had been silent a little too long. "I can keep going; Aura's still in the yellow. See?" He flexed the offending limb. "All better," he grinned, gritting his teeth against the twinge of the overextended muscles.
"Even still." Ren spoke slowly, stepping closer to examine him. "It may be wiser to end now, to avoid worsening the injury."
"Couldn't I just wait for my Aura to heal me?" Jaune's question was met with a blank look. "But if you say so... sure, we'll call it a night."
Yielding to his friend's advice, Jaune allowed Ren to move his arm in a few experimental motions, while he scuffed his sneakers on the black tiles of the sparring ring, trying to fill the silence. "But really, your hand-to-hand is awesome."
"Aura is most effective against direct blows," Ren replied after a pause, "while locks and grapples can bypass it completely." Seemingly satisfied that he hadn't caused serious damage, he nodded once, before turning away to collect his fallen Stormflower.
"Huh, thanks. Maybe I'll try to learn a few myself. I could ask Pyrrha… "
Exhaling slowly, Jaune did his best to calm his breathing, bringing himself down gradually from the adrenaline high, and let his eyes wander around empty spectator stands before lingering on his friend. Although he showed no obvious signs of fatigue, padding across the sparring ring, Ren easily possessed the lowest stamina of team JNPR and Jaune thought he detected a hint of tension in the teen's normally composed movements.
Now that he thought about it, Jaune could barely remember the last time Ren had even needed to apologise for a mistake, what with the care he put into all of his actions. Making a quick mental check, Jaune reviewed the last match, trying to judge what had been different.
They had been sparring for little under an hour, breaking every time one of them, or more accurately Jaune was soundly beaten into the dirt. But in that last match, he had noticed that Ren seemed to have been getting tired, his movements flagging, which Jaune was able to exploit, succeeding in disarming him.
Of course Ren had then immediately closed the distance, grabbing him by the scruff of his hoodie, flipping him over backwards all with that scary look on his–
Oh…
"Hey, Ren?" he ventured, feeling a stab of guilt over his denseness. "Are you ok? It's just you've been a bit… off tonight. I think. You're still really quiet so it can be hard to tell."
Kneeling down to pick up his pistol, Ren gave Jaune's flustered ramblings a sidelong look, but his expression was its typical stoic neutral.
"If it's about the village," Jaune soldiered on, "we'll go after the tournament's over, I promise. But, well, I'm not trying to pry or anything, but darn it, I'm your team leader, so it's my duty to look out for my teammates!" Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, I almost sounded like Ruby there for a minute…"
"Thank you for your concern, Jaune." Ren's voice remained calm as he stowed Stormflower in his coat sleeves. "But I am well, if unrested."
"Ah, ok." Jaune conceded reluctantly, though Ren admittedly did appear all little haggard. "I guess that's Nora for you, eh?"
The mention of their excitable teammate drew the first true reaction out of Ren, if only just a roll of the eyes, and Jaune smiled hopefully. But without another word, Ren methodically brushed down his coat and started off towards the changing rooms.
Feeling his smile fade away, Jaune followed his friend out of the sparring hall, only to return a few moments later to pick up his sword before jogging back out again.
"Hey guys, we're back." The now unarmoured Jaune called wearily as he stumbled through the open door to his team's dorm room, Ren close behind him. Making a beeline for his pillow, he all but face planted it, startling Pyrrha from her seat on the edge of the bed.
"Jaune!" she said, dropping her scroll in surprise as she jumped to her feet. "You're back early? Did something happen?"
"Not much, Ren was just trying to rip my arm off," Jaune drawled, grinning up at Pyrrha, "But its fine now, Aura healed it up," he hastily lied, hoping to placate her look of alarm. "Doesn't even hurt anymore."
After getting a nod of confirmation from Ren, Pyrrha relaxed a little, picking up her scroll again and retreating to sit on the bedside cabinet.
"Well, as long as you didn't overdo it… how was the practise?"
"You mean before my teeth were introduced so spectacularly to the floor?" Jaune chuckled dryly. "It went well, I guess; gave Ren a run for his money. Actually managed to disarm him at the end," he added, feeling a rush of warmth at Pyrrha's proud smile. His good humour didn't last long though, his attempt to sit up turning into rolling onto his side when his shoulder gave a sharp complaint.
"Are you sure you don't want to go the infirmary?" Pyrrha asked, having caught Jaune's poorly hidden wince, her worried look returning as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It would be unfortunate to be incapacitated so close to the tournament."
"Pyrrha, I'm fine, I probably just pulled something; should be healed by tomorrow. The wonders of Aura, right Ren?" he said, raising his voice a little to draw his attention, Ren humming in response while rummaging under his bed, before he turned to them, toothbrush in hand.
"Nora?" he inquired, looking at Pyrrha.
"She should be in the bathroom. She said she wanted to try on few things."
Nodding in thanks, Ren disappeared into the walk-in wardrobe behind him, leaving them in silence.
"Jaune? What is it?" Pyrrha asked gently as Jaune blinked, realising his expression must have betrayed his thoughts.
"I'm not sure, but do you think Ren…" he began, glancing back at Pyrrha, only to find his partner's face much closer than it was previously, her vivid green eyes shining with concern. It was only now that he noticed that she wasn't sporting her usual ponytail, strands of her long red hair swaying between them.
Feeling his cheeks heating up, he shifted his eyes away from his partner's face, only to focus on her hand on his shoulder, the sensation of which he suddenly became very conscious of. And of the fact that they were now, by the technicality of a half closed door, alone together.
Calm down Jaune. You can still talk to her, she's your teammate. You've lived in the same room for months for crying out loud. Acting like this just because of what she said at the dance…
Marshalling his resolve, he took a deep breath and forced himself to look at Pyrrha again. Whatever courage he had vanished, however, as he breathed in the flowery scent of her hair, fresh from the shower, leaving his mind a muddled mess.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked uncertainly.
Jaune? Respond! Jaune? Jaune?! Jaaauuuune!
"Tadaaaa!"
Both of them flinching back at the sudden noise, Pyrrha sat up straight again, taking a second to collect herself, before redirecting her noticeably more strained smile behind Jaune.
"Hello again, Nora."
Already missing the comforting warmth of Pyrrha's hand, Jaune slowly turned his head with a mix of relief, disappointment and dread, to the walking avatar of disorder that was the source of the disturbance.
At least she dresses the part, he noted, one eye beginning to twitch as he did his best to make sense of the young woman's outfit. Having crashed into the room in a manner most aptly described as like a thunderbolt, Nora stood before them, bedecked in a bizarre mismatch of both Pyrrha's and her own armour.
After a moment's confusion, during which she seemed to register Jaune's presence, Nora did her best to look sheepish, balanced precariously on one foot and waving Pyrrha's spear in one hand as she was, before righting herself.
"Ahem," Nora gave a small, deliberate cough and readjusted the bronze circlet held haphazardly around her ears, her grin undiminished. "Behold, loyal subjects! Your queen has arrived." In time with her words, Nora struck an imperious pose, acting for all of Remnant like a warrior queen of old, though the image was let down by her short stature and ill-fitting armour.
Unsure if he was supposed to laugh or genuflect before her, he spared a glance to Pyrrha, who looked equally bemused.
"You look… wonderful, Nora," she said eventually, her voice bubbling with amusement behind one hand.
Nora giggling happily, Jaune shook his head in resigned despair as Ren wandered back into the room.
"Ren, Ren! What do you think?"she asked, skipping over to her childhood friend and giving an exaggerated twirl, her smile even wider.
Ren paused, looking Nora up and down a few times before giving her a tired smile and walking past. Jaune didn't miss the slightly troubled expression on Nora's face before it shifted to a pout as she watched him through the door, shifting again to an expectant look as she turned to Pyrrha.
"Come on Pyrrha, your scroll, your scroll! Get a photo!"
"Yes? Oh yes, sorry."
With a long sigh, Jaune left his teammates to their impromptu photo shoot, flopping back down on the bed, somehow feeling even more exhausted than when he came in.
"Ah, Nora? Aren't those Weiss' platforms?"
"Hehe, oopsies…"
"I think it's time for bed…" he grumbled to the ceiling, which wisely opted not to reply.
Team JNPR's evening routine was, as always, a lively affair, mainly thanks to Nora. Somehow avoiding a shrill lecture from Weiss during her 'Operation Ragnarok' to return the heiress' boots, the hyperactive woman bounded cheerfully back into the room dragging Ren behind her. Judging from his harried expression, he had been ambushed somewhere on his return from the bathroom.
"So then I thought we could maybe modify Magnhild to fire cluster Dust mines." Nora was gushing. "So if anything gets too close they'd go kabloom!"
Nora's animated arm waving was met with wary eyes, each of them picturing the chaos she would wreck with such a weapon.
"No."
"Perhaps not, Nora."
"Maybe." Jaune said cautiously. "But not on people, just Grimm."
"Aww…but it would be so much fun."
Having changed into his blue onesie and too tired to even touch Oobleck's most recent essay, Jaune sat down with a sigh, soon to be joined by Pyrrha, who sat on her bed next to his.
"Jaune?" she began, picking up her hairbrush, "What was it you were saying earlier?"
"Well…"
Mindful of Ren overhearing, Jaune glanced across the room, but he was still being trailed by Nora, who was detailing the strategic benefits of laying Dust mines in the cafeteria during lunch, so he continued in a lower voice.
"Do you think Ren's been a bit out of it recently?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, yeah he's always been a bit– scratch that very quiet, but ever since the breach it's been as if he's not even here."
"Well, it's only been two days and we were all exhausted after the incursion. It was a tough fight; if it wasn't for the number of teams who responded and the Atlas ships, the number of casualties…" Pyrrha trailed off, shivering. "Anyways, I can understand if he's still tired. At least the Headmaster gave all of us a few days leave from classes to recuperate before the tournament."
"Didn't stop Oobleck setting a ten pager. And he was fighting along with us! Really, that man needs to switch to decaf..."
During the debriefing, Ozpin had received weary cheers from the four student teams present when he announced the short holiday, with classes optional. His suggestion that they make use of the time to hone their teamwork, on the other hand, had been met with more varying levels of enthusiasm, especially from team RWBY, all of whom had looked ready to pass out then and there. And for some reason, Ozpin had looked rather pointedly at team JNPR after he said that, muttering something about team attack names from behind his coffee mug while shaking his head.
"I know it could be nothing, but he just looked so…" he paused searching for the best word, "…frustrated earlier; angry almost. And if it's about the village then I'm thinking maybe I should talk to him about it."
Pyrrha fell into silence at his words, brushing her hair while deep in thought and Jaune found himself following her movements, wondering why he had never noticed how alluringly red…
Jaune, you useless idiot, focus!
"Jaune, I'm happy that as our leader you want to help us out, but sometimes people can simply have rough days. It may be best to give Ren a chance to rest and de-stress, without bothering him with questions."
"Maybe you're right…"
Both of them stealing a glance over at their other teammates, Jaune saw Ren seated away from them at his desk, surrounded by textbooks, getting in some last minute studying before bed. Nora, on the other hand was sitting on her own suspiciously clear desk beside Ren's, swinging her legs as she chattered merrily on.
Seeing the two of them sitting together, Nora tilted her head curiously, grinning back at them, before coming to some sort of conclusion. Snapping off a quick salute, she placed a finger on her lips, the smile behind turning sinister as she jumped to her feet and crept behind her unsuspecting target. Then, uttering an odd birdlike cry, she pounced on her prey, wrapping her arms around his neck while laughing maniacally.
"Sloth Special Attack: Stealth Glomp!"
"Wait, wh– Nora stop!"
Watching the scene unfold before him with an odd fascination, Jaune flinched as Ren, Nora and the chair fell backwards in a confusing jumble of limbs that inexplicably ended up with Nora perched quite happily on Ren's chest. With Ren lying stunned below her, Nora grinned over to them again, one hand making the 'V' sign.
"Yes, not at all stressful." Jaune deadpanned.
"I think she may have got the wrong message," Pyrrha muttered, caught between laughter and concern. "Are you alright Ren?" she inquired instead, as Jaune heaved himself up off is bed to help his beleaguered teammate, getting a small thumbs up in response.
While it had taken a promise from Ren of morning pancakes to make up for his recent negligence, Nora was eventually persuaded to stop jumping on her bed and actually get into it, the rest of them quickly following suit.
"Night guys," Jaune yawned, checking his scroll alarm before leaning over to get the lights.
"G'night team JNPR!"
"Goodnight everyone."
"Goodnight."
"Gooooodnight!"
"Nora. Please."
"Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight-"
"Nora!"
"Sorry Jaune! Goodnight."
The room finally quiet, Jaune relaxed, listening to the gentle rustle of sheets as his teammates fell asleep, and the last content whisper from across to his right.
"Goodnight Ren…"
"…please…"
It was still dark when Jaune awoke, much to his annoyance, with only a sliver of moonlight shining in through a gap in the curtains. Rolling over with a sigh, Jaune covered his head with his blanket and closed his eyes again, hoping to continue the X-ray and Vav dream he had been enjoying, when he heard a low unintelligible murmur from the other side of the room.
Nora… Coming to the conclusion, he quietened a yawn. A sleep talking Nora was nothing new, the young woman seemingly as active asleep as she was awake. But thankfully, he could leave it to the expert.
"All yours Ren," he muttered, nestling deeper into his pillow, feeling his senses slip away.
"Jaune?"
"…hmmm?"
"Are you awake?"
"Uhmmm…"
Making a vague noise of affirmation, Jaune lifted his blanket just enough to peer out in the general direction of the whisper.
Due to the low light, it took him a moment to work out that the muddled shape on the bed nearest him was in fact his partner. Wrapped in her blanket, Pyrrha was sitting against the wall behind her, the pale moonlight reflecting from her eyes as she looked across at him.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if I should wake you."
"It's ok," he whispered back, sensing her agitation. "What is it?"
"Nora's worrying me."
"Ren's got it."
"He isn't here."
"…don't…cry…"
Pausing in their quiet conversation, both of them looked over at Nora's bed, their teammate moaning and turning in her sleep. By the limited light of the moon, Jaune confirmed that Ren was neither in his own bed nor at Nora's side.
"Maybe he's in the bathroom?"
"It's been over an hour."
The prospect of sleep drifting further and further away, Jaune reached out a hand, fumbling around for his scroll. Setting his eyes against the blinding glare, he squinted at the screen.
04.20? Really Ren? A bit late for a midnight stroll...
Worry dampening his irritation, Jaune set his scroll back, facedown to cover the hateful light, and took a steadying breath.
"So… should we wake her? Then what?"
"Ren usually talks to her. We could try that."
"Well, what do we say?"
"I'm not-"
"No…no! Ren? Ren?"
Nora's mutterings were growing louder and she was tossing around more violently, but just as Jaune made up his mind to go wake her up, the door knob began to turn.
Acting on instinct, Jaune hid back under the covers, leaving just his head free. Hearing Pyrrha follow suit, Jaune watched as the door was pushed open to reveal the dark hallway beyond, a tall figure slipping inside before closing the door quietly behind them.
Judging that it was Ren from the silhouette and careful footsteps, Jaune opened his mouth to call out to his teammate, but hesitated as he stepped more into view.
If Ren had looked tired earlier, he looked on the verge of collapse standing there alone, the deep shadows under his eyes highlighted by the moonlight. His shoulders hunched, he took delicate steps towards Nora, stopping just beside her bed.
"Ren…sorry…"
From his position, Jaune couldn't see Ren's expression at Nora's quiet moans, but as he watched the young man kneel down beside Nora, Jaune frowned at the faint sparkle on her cheeks.
"Ren? Don't go. Please don't go. I'm sorry Ren. I'm sorry..."
Should we be hearing this? Listening to her, Nora didn't sound like the fearless, borderline crazy Huntress-in-training they knew. Instead she sounded so much younger; like a scared little girl crying for her friend.
In response, Ren extended a gentle hand towards Nora, hovering above her face as if to wipe away the tears. But just as he was about to reach her, he stopped, his whole body tensing. Retreating his hand, Ren's shoulders slumped, his head lowering as instead he began to speak softly to her, his voice cracking a little.
"Nora? Wake up, Nora, you're dreaming. Nora."
"No!" With a final breathy gasp, Nora's eyes shot open, her fists raised in front of her to defend against whatever horrors she had been witness to. For several seconds she seemed confused, unsure of where she was, before recognising the young man beside her. "Ren? Is that you? We were…you were…"
"I know, Nora. I'm here. I'm here."
For some time, the only sound in the room were Nora's short, quiet gasps, broken only by Ren's gentle reassurances, until her breathing finally settled.
"Again, huh?" Nora whispered with forced lightness, but Ren did not answer. One hand moved rigidly, uncertainly to Ren's shoulder, where it entwined itself in the pink lock of Ren's hair. "No, I'm ok," she grinned stiltedly, responding to Ren's silence, twirling her fingers further into his hair, before gripping onto his shirt, her head dipping. "Do you think they heard?"
Ren looked over his shoulder, his magenta eyes roaming over the other two beds and Jaune froze as the young man seemed to stare directly at him. Feeling a bead of sweat crawl its way down the side of his face from his forehead, Jaune remained still, until at last Ren blinked and looked away.
"No." Ren said simply, turning back to Nora.
Silently releasing a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, Jaune carefully glanced back over his shoulder to look at Pyrrha, who slowly shook her head from under her own covers, her eyes damp.
"Hey Ren? I...do you..." Behind him, Nora's voice was barely audible now. "Do you think I could get extra syrup on my pancakes?"
"Of course, Nora."
Eyes drawn back to the pair by Nora's muted giggle, Jaune felt a lump in his throat as he saw Nora's other hand raise, delicately brushing aside Ren's fringe before placing a finger on his nose.
"Boop." She sighed, her tired smile more natural now. Leaning forward, Nora placed her cheek against her childhood friend's shoulder and closed her eyes. After a few heartbeats, Ren lowered his head to rest on top of hers, the pair shifting their weight to better support each other.
Hearing a low noise, Jaune struggled to place it until he realised it was coming from Nora. It was an unfamiliar tune, the melody bright and cheerful, but with Nora's slow humming it sounded sad, melancholy.
Eventually forcing himself to look away, Jaune shut his eyes, doing his best to ignore Nora's quiet humming and Ren's occasional gentle words, until at last sleep took him once more.
A/N
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to the wonderful people over at Roosterteeth.
Greetings, CurioDejan here. One night, while lurking on /r/RWBY, I came across a post about the lack of slow burning Renora stories. So as a proud Renora shipper, I wondered if I could help with that. Well, one idea lead to another, Arkos sneaking themselves in during the writing process, and lo and behold this story is the result.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave comments in the review section.