"We're heereee!" Nora called out as Ren opened the door to Oum's.
Jaune looked up from the counter and smiled. Pyrrha, who had taken Ren's seat beside Blake, and the aforementioned girl looked up as well, smiles spreading across the both of their faces. Pyrrha stood, spared one last glance and a comment that Ren couldn't hear to Blake, and then she waltzed back up and behind the counter. Ren made his way back to his seat and promptly sat, Nora splitting and going over to talk to Jaune and Pyrrha at the counter.
As Ren sat down, Blake quickly took his hand, squeezing lightly as she did. When he looked toward her, her face was full of question and, fortunately, free of malice.
"Is everything alright, Ren?" She asked quietly. Ren, lost in the sea of amber that he found he'd missed so much, hesitated and nodded stiffly. Blake didn't look convinced, so he squeezed her back back in appreciation and opted to talk instead.
"It's good. I've talked to her, and while she doesn't seem back to normal yet," He gestured to Nora with a wave of his hand. "This is a start."
Blake let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and pulled her chair closer to Ren, just enough so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. Barely a second after, she felt the familiar weight of Ren's own head tilting down over hers. She sighed happily and let her eyes drift shut.
She'd felt a little offended when Ren had run off, though she was sure it was for good reason. Despite that, she was still a bit hurt, though she was able to hide it from Pyrrha, who had taken it upon herself to sit with Blake and talk to her about it after Jaune had run off after Ren. Even when he came back alone, Pyrrha remained at their table, and Jaune had even brought Blake the bowl of soup she had ordered so long ago. He didn't talk so much as he did offer her encouraging smiles from time to time. She appreciated it.
Ren likewise was only just now beginning to remember what true warmth felt like. The chill of the wind and the piercing cold of the snow outside had reminded him that life wasn't warm, just natural. Being stuck to Blake for so long had rendered his memories of the world innate sometimes, and other times made his senses bloom. Whatever it was happening to him, he couldn't explain it. And honestly, felt no need to do so.
Across the cafe, now sitting at one of the taller stools that lined the counter, Nora had her lips stuck around a long straw that ended in the base of a chocolate milkshake. Jaune and Pyrrha stood across from her, behind the counter, and were processing what she'd just told them. Jaune seemed dumbstruck, though he was clearly thinking hard about it, evident by his furrowed brow and the constant rubbing of the scarce hairs on his chin. Pyrrha, however, seemed to understand a bit more. Maybe because she'd been in the situation, though it wasn't fair to say that Jaune hadn't been.
The crimson-haired girl leaned over the counter, emerald eyes wide and searching Nora's face. There was no excitement, barely any happiness, and a tad bit of anger. It was all, however, overshadowed by the soul-crushing depression that was most evident on the girl's face.
Her hair, while she had brushed and comb it, was drooped downward. Her skin was pale, as if the sun hadn't kissed it in days, which it hadn't. Her eyes, usually turquoise and filled with elation, were pale teal, filled instead with sorrow. It took all of her willpower to stop her shoulders from shaking from grief alone. One hand was clasped around the glass that they'd given her, and the other was palm down on the counter.
Pyrrha reached across the counter and laid one hand gingerly over the other girls' hand. Nora didn't react, and Pyrrha squeezed slightly just to make sure the girl knew they were there.
"You're sure?" Pyrrha asked, quiet and skeptical. Nora didn't move, and made no effort to do so in general. She had just told them, hadn't she? "You're absolutely, one-hundred percent sure?"
Jaune placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, and she let up if only a little.
"I'm sure she is, Pyrrha," He told her, his voice calm and understanding. At hearing him, Nora looked up at the two of them. There were no tears, as she was done crying as it was now. "She wouldn't have told us if she wasn't."
Pyrrha pulled back, clearly frustrated. "I-I know that, I just...," She faltered and her gaze swapped between Nora and Jaune rapidly, and then there was a glance at Ren and Blake, way behind Nora, across the cafe. "It's a lot to take in. Feelings are...an enigma, like a puzzle or a maze that takes forever to solve."
Nora pulled the straw out of her mouth and gazed up at Pyrrha, cocking her head to the side in the same bird-like manner that Ren usually did.
"I've thought about this for a year now, Pyrrha," She started, her voice as soft as a gentle breeze, yet laced with a sadness that Pyrrha and Jaune couldn't even fathom. "I'm sure I've solved this puzzle, taken it apart, and solved it again over and over and over now.."
Pyrrha looked on, concerned, and Jaune was stone-faced, the gears in his head turning still. Nora looked between the both of them and, hearing a set of footsteps behind her, put on a wide smile and exclaimed; "Because chocolate is a gift from God himself, Jaune! Vanilla just doesn't match up!"
Jaune, immediately recognizing the act, put up a false bravado and continued off of her starter.
"That's just because you haven't tried to same vanilla that I have. It's enough make you actually believe in a higher power," He replied, his eyes glancing up and catching sight of Ren walking forward to the counter. He put on a smile and turned to face Ren, causing Nora to turn her head to the side as well. "Hey Ren, what's up?"
Ren placed both his hands face down on the counter and took a deep breath.
"Sorry, for leaving so abruptly. I...had my reasons, as you know, but I shouldn't have been so brash about it," He tilted his head in Nora's direction, in the same way that Nora had done to Pyrrha just moments earlier. "I apologize, sincerely."
Jaune waved his hand out dismissively. "Ren, it's cool. Duty called, and you stepped up," He reached across to ruffle Nora's hair up a bit, and she playfully pouted, though did nothing to stop him. "Like a white knight, fighting to save Princess Nora."
Ren cracked a smile, though Jaune could see how forced it was. Nora wasn't fooling him, that much was obvious, but he was playing along. For now, anyway.
Pyrrha had turned her back and was making herself a cup of coffee. She'd never had much of a poker face, and as such had decided to just remove herself from the altercation. Ren nodded in her direction, and then to Jaune and Nora.
"Thanks for understanding. I'd ask for another cup of tea, but I'd hate to bother you." Ren stated calmly, and Jaune waved him off, even going so far as to scoff loudly.
"You're never a bother, Ren. I'll get you one in a bit." Jaune replied, and Ren relocated back to his table after that. Pyrrha turned back around, emerald eyes still concerned, and gazed across both Jaune and Nora's faces.
Nora's had dropped back to it's now-usual sadness, and Jaune was stoic, not as much as Ren, and stone-faced. Pyrrha immediately went back to Nora.
"Have you told him? Or, do you plan to?" She asked, sure not to look too suspicious or make too much noise. Nora nodded, taking a long sip from her straw.
"I plan on it. No time soon because of the...situation, but I plan to do it." She replied, looking up at Pyrrha. For a second, there was a flash of light in those pale orbs; an idea of hope. It was there for just a moment, and was then drowned out in a sea of sadness once more. Jaune stepped forward and laid a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, nodding as if he'd finally come to a decision.
"Well, just tell us what to do," He began, and Nora's gaze swapped over to him, now lost and confused. "And we'll help out in any way we can."
Pyrrha nodded her agreement, and Nora smiled, an actual smile this time, and went back to drinking her milkshake. She began to kick her legs out like a kid, as she was too short for her feet to touch the ground from atop the stool. Jaune turned around and went to make Ren a cup of tea, and Pyrrha sat down on the two stools behind the counter and sipped her coffee.
Oum's fell into complete silence after that, the only sound that any of them could hear being the machines behind the counter running and the soft winds from outside. It all fell back into peace and tranquility, though everyone in the cafe's mind was anything but the two. More justly put, they were all turmoil and complications, to be solved on another day. Not this one, though, this was a day of thinking. And understandably, they all thought. They thought quite a bit.
An hour or two later, the entire group began splitting up and going their separate ways. Jaune and Pyrrha closed up Oum's and headed off to their apartment. Blake, after a prolonged goodbye to them all, left on her own, back to her own apartment. Ren and Nora decided to go home together.
Despite the snow, Nora was skipping across the ground and through the snow as if it wasn't there. Ren walked stoically behind her, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. He'd noticed earlier that she was indeed faking her 'happiness', but now it felt as if she was actually enjoying herself. Her hair had taken on it's usual shade of vibrant orange, and every time she looked back, Ren noticed a certain light in her eyes. She was becoming herself once again.
They soon passed by The Oniyuri Atheneum, the library where Ren worked, and Ren found himself slowing down, just to gaze at the old building. The brickwork had always been beautiful to him. Primarily dark brown, but accented with shades of black, dark gray, and light red, the library felt like a second home to him.
"Renny?" Nora called out from ahead of him. When Ren didn't look, she cupped her hands around her mouth and tried again. "Reeennnnyyyy!"
He finally snapped his head to attention, turning to face her as she ran back towards him. "Hm? Yes, Nora?"
She slowed to a halt in front of him, her hands in her pockets. "You alright? You were staring at the library for like a minute there," She cocked her head, in the same manner that Ren usually did. "Somethin' on your mind?"
Ren hesitated, though he wasn't sure why, and nodded his head. "Well, yes, kind of. I was thinking, but not really about anything specifically," He turned to look at the library, crossing his arms. "Mainly about how comfortable the library is to me now. It's nothing serious, really. We should get out of the cold soon,"
Nora nodded her agreement, and took off on the way to their apartment once again. Ren stood, looking at the library for a moment, before following after her with his hands in his pockets once again.
It had stopped snowing an hour or so before they'd left Oum's, though the cold wind still chipped away at them.
To Ren, it was more prevalent than usual, on account of him walking aside himself this time.
For Nora, it was all she could feel, though that chill didn't come from the weather. No, it came from her own mind.
The both of them would rather ignore it, however, and continue on with the rest of the day as if it was nonexistent. And as if the other could not sense it.
Stepping into their apartment, Ren actually took notice of how...disgusting it looked. It seemed as if Nora noticed it as well, as she stopped dead in her tracks and looked around the apartment nervously. She glanced up at Ren, a sheepish smile on her face.
"So...," She said, taking a tentative step forward, only to kick over a stack of books on mistake. "I'm guessing you're going to make me clean this all up, huh?"
Ren looked at her, an eyebrow raised, and sighed. "No, of course not," He said, and Nora began to beam with excitement. Until he said; "We're going to clean it all up. I'd hate to make you do it yourself."
All of her excitement fell to her toes and she stuck her tongue out at Ren. "Phooey." She responded, and Ren smiled.
"Don't be that way. If we work fast and efficiently, it won't take long," He told her. She looked unconvinced, and Ren journeyed a little farther by saying; "And maybe I'll make pancakes when we're done."
Nora immediately jumped up onto her toes again, stars practically shining away in her eyes. "Do you really mean it?" He nodded. "If we work fast and well?" He nodded. She waited, looking up at him expectantly. When he raised an eyebrow, she grabbed him by his sleeves and pulled him down to eye level. Her eyes were wide and filled to the brim with excitement.
"Then what're we WAITING for?!" She exclaimed. Her coat, scarf, and gloves were practically thrown onto the rack with surgical precision, and her boots were kicked off all the same. Before Ren could even take his boots off completely, Nora had begun to pick up all the stray books, papers, and blankets that littered the floor. Ren watched on in amazement for a second, a smile gracing his face as he finally began to remember just who Nora Valkyrie was. As soon as his boots were off, he joined in, giving her instruction on what to do first and where to put specific things. She followed without question, falling into the pattern that they'd laid out after years of living together, showing why and how they were best friends.
The entire session took just over forty-five minutes, with almost no hitches. The smaller ones being Nora found something she didn't know where to put, and Ren had to think for a moment before telling her. The biggest one being when Nora picked up Menta's shirt. The speed she'd built up fell away and she was stuck standing awkwardly in between the couch and the TV.
Ren turned away from the bookshelf, where he was re-arranging his books, and watched her for a moment, a tinge of melancholy dotting his eyes.
"..Nora?" He asked, skeptically. Her head jerked up at his voice, and she quickly found him watching her. Tears were brimming in the corners of her eyes, but she brought an arm up to wipe away the tears.
"..oh...Oh, oh, Sorry Ren," She said, folding up Menta's shirt and laying it on the couch. "I guess I just...got lost for a second."
Ren's eyebrows dropped, clearly concerned. He wanted to say something, but wasn't sure just if she'd answer. Deciding he would at least try, he turned around to face her
"Are you alright, Nora?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern. "If something's wrong, you can surely tell me."
Nora looked up at him and opened her mouth to reply, but she quickly bit her own lip and turned away.
"It's nothing serious, Renny," She said, though her voice was a wavering a bit. "Don't worry about it." Before he could say anything, she walked off, into the hallway leading to their rooms. A second later, he heard her door shut. He was left standing in front of the bookcase, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Ren wasn't too sure what to do, as Nora had never really kept secrets from him. They'd always been extremely open with each other, but now...Ren didn't know what to think.
He quickly finished up the cleaning in the apartment and sat down on the couch. Staring into the black screen of the TV, Ren pulled his scroll from his pocket and tried to call Menta. Like the many times before, he didn't pick up. Ren held the scroll against his ear, listening to the voicemail.
"Hey, it's Menta. I can't come to the phone right now, probably off being amazing like always. You know what to do." Beep. Ren sighed and slipped his scroll back into his pocket. He stood up, stretching his limbs out for a moment before turning away and walking into the kitchen. He decided to actually make those pancakes like he'd said. Cooking helped him focus, as well as took his mind off of things. It was a good bet, and maybe they'd make Nora feel a bit better.
Nora was laying on her stomach on her bed in her room. A plush pink pillow was underneath her chin, and Menta's shirt was laid atop that. It had long since lost Menta's smell, and now it smelled like her body wash: hot pink cotton candy.
She had her scroll in her hands, holding it in front of her as she rested her hands against the pillow. Her feet were kicking out in the air behind her, as if she was as happy as she usually was. What a front.
As it was, she was scrolling through the gallery on her phone. Most of her pictures were of herself or Ren or Menta. A lot of the recent ones had both herself and Ruby in them, as the two had begun hanging out a lot. Weiss was in a few of them, but she was pretty adamant about not being in pictures. That was fine, though.
She continued to scroll, her finger hovering casually over her pictures of Ren, or the ones with her, Ren, and Menta all together. She smiled at them, but got upset when she remembered what she couldn't say.
Groaning, Nora buried her face into her pillow. Her room was messy, even by her own standards. The door was off to the left, and her bed was centered against the back wall. Across from her bed, up against the front wall, sat her dresser. Some drawers were pulled out, clothes missing from the places they usually sat, folded up neatly. Now, they were scattered across the floor of her room. She had a small desk in the corner of her room, her laptop sitting on it, but she barely ever used it.
The walls were adorned with pictures, the same ones she had on her phone but enlarged. Her favorite one was the one just above her bed. It was the first picture that she and Ren took together when they'd moved into the apartment. The both of them sat on the couch together, the same couch they still had today, and smiled at the camera. Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be. Ren had sat stoically, his hands in his lap and a smile plastered across his face. Nora, however, as the loose cannon she is, refused to sit still. She'd hopped up on her knees and pulled Ren into a tight hug around his neck. Her smile was as large as life itself, and even Ren's had grown a bit because of her. Nora loved looking at the picture.
Her phone vibrated in her hand. Nora looked up slowly, assuming it was another text from Jaune or Pyrrha. After Oum's, they were extremely prevalent, texting her almost nonstop until she'd told them she and Ren would be cleaning up.
When she looked at her phone, though, however. She realized someone was calling her. She tilted her head off to the side, confused. The only people she ever called were Ren and Menta. Ren was in the kitchen, she could hear the familiar sounds of him setting out spices and such for his pancakes, and Menta was off, busy. Still, her hopes skyrocketed at the thought that maybe Menta was finally calling her back.
She jumped up into a sitting position, legs crossed, and pulled up the caller on her phone. It wasn't Menta, which dropped her hopes a bit. But, it was a number that she recognized. Nora quickly answered and put the phone to her ear.
"Ruby? What's up?" She asked, skepticism lining her voice. The brunette tended not to call her on weekends, as that was when she spent time with Weiss.
"Nora! Hey! How are you?" Ruby asked. She was always chipper and reminded Nora of herself. When she wasn't so down, anyway.
"Hm? I'm doing alright. What about you?" Nora responded. She got up from her bed and walked over to her desk, where she promptly sat down.
"I'm great! Bored, though, and that's why I'm calling!" Ruby called back. Nora cocked her head to the side once again. "I thought we could go and see a movie or something!"
Nora perked up a bit. She could tell that Ren was making pancakes, which she desperately craved, but it would be nice to get out of the house-so to speak-for a bit.
"Oh, um. I'd be up for it, but not right now," Nora replied, getting up once more to go through her dresser and pull out a different sweater. "Maybe in like thirty minutes?"
The line was silent for a bit before Ruby responded. "Oh, sure, sure! Call me when you're ready!" Nora nodded her affirmation, and Ruby hung up the line. Pulling on her sweater and sifting through her hair with her hands, Nora left her room, shutting the door behind her. Ren was still in the kitchen, and Nora suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She'd always been able to tell him things, but this...she couldn't tell him this.
Ignoring her guilt for a moment, Nora poked her head into the kitchen with a smile on her face and took a deep smell.
"Are those pancakes I smell?" She exclaimed. Ren looked back at her from his pace at the stove and smiled.
"They are indeed. I told you I'd make some for you when we were done, right?" He responded. He didn't seem to be festering over what had happened, but Nora knew him better than that. Of course she knew him better.
"Well, duh!" She said, grinning. She skipped up next to him, leaning over onto his shoulder. Usually, they'd be left in a nice, comfortable silence. Now, though. It was tense, almost brooding.
Ren flipped another pancake onto the already growing stack, He knew how much Nora could eat sometimes, and stopped as the next one began to cook.
"Say, Nora, would you care if I headed out after this?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the pan he was cooking in. Nora raised an eyebrow and looked up at him through strands of her own hair. When she found she couldn't see him quite well, she angrily blew some of it out of the way.
"Would I care? No, not really. You're free to do what you want," She said, using a hand to smooth out her hair. "That and I had planned to do the same."
Ren looked down at her with a curious tilt of his head.
"Oh? Where do you plan on going?" He asked, picking up the spatula once again to flip over the pancake. Nora shrugged.
"To the movies, maybe. There was this one that I've been meaning to see for a while, I hear it's good," She replied. Ren didn't know that Ruby and Nora knew each other, and it was their plan to keep it that way. "What about you? I know you don't like the cold that much to go and hang out in it."
Ren laughed a little, tilting his head affectionately toward her. Nora reciprocated. "Nowhere special. I figured I'd take a walk and see where life took me." He told her. Nora nodded, over exaggerating as always. It sounded just profound enough for Ren to do it.
"Well, that's fair and all. You'd better not get home later than me, mister." Nora jokingly said, poking him in the side as she did. Ren laughed again, louder this time, and Nora joined in. The tense air grew a bit more bearable.
"I'll make sure I'm not out too long, Nora," Ren told her, the laugh ebbing at the edges of his words. Turning off the stove, he flipped the last pancake onto the stack and turned to face her. He was smiling, and his eyes held no hint of the malice that Nora expected to see. "Now, how about we eat? I can tell you're just dying of hunger."
As if on que, Nora's stomach grumbled and a large, overjoyed, smile spread across her face.
"You know it! Let's get this show on the road!" She exclaimed. Ren, happy to see that she was almost back to being herself, reached up into the shelf above the stove and pulled the jar of syrup down from it's perch. Nora's eyes widened comically at the sight, and the two of them walked into the living room together, sitting down and turning the TV on. Armed with a fork and a jar of syrup, Nora went to town on her plate of pancakes. Ren watched, amused but admiring, and ate his own at a much more controlled pace, as it always had been.
Aha! The second the Summer starts, the Hiatus is over! I know I won't be able to keep up with my schedule of updating every Saturday, but I hope you guys can still enjoy these chapters regardless of when they come out.
Stay tuned, Dantikat out.