JNP plays in the rain and got sick. Ren takes care of his team.
The soft sound of the drizzling rain can be a very relaxing sound. Often times, though, it can be a sleepy one. And the last thing Lie Ren needed right now was to feel drowsy.
The day had been gloomy for the students at Beacon Academy. Dark clouds covered the sky and the slight drizzle of rain from the night before was now a bit stronger. There was a distant rumble of thunder every now and again that made everything all the more gloomy.
Ren fought back a yawn as he half-listened to Professor Port's story about... something. He had honestly lost track. Ren felt his eyelids begin to close, despite his best efforts. It was only thanks to a soft thud that made his eyes snap open and he sat up a bit straighter.
Looking to his left, Ren felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. It seemed the rest of Team JNPR was having trouble staying awake as well.
Nora was face first on the desk, snoring softly onto her open notebook. Pyrrha sat beside her, the red-haired champion rubbing at her eyes in an attempt to stay awake. At her other side was Jaune, his head propped up on his hand and was trying his best not to nod off. But the sharp, subtle jerks of his head proved that he was doing a poor job.
Ren didn't even realize that he was staring at his teammates until the final bell rang. The cheers that could usually be heard after the final class of the day was reduced to loud yawns and heavy footsteps as the students began to leave. Ren sighed inwardly. All he wanted was for it to be the weekend already so he can sleep longer. Unfortunately, it was only Thursday, and the news report stated that the rain wouldn't stop until Sunday.
Shaking the bit of drowsiness from his mind, Ren collected his belongings and followed his team out of the classroom. Despite being asleep just a few moments ago, Nora was skipping in front of her team while humming a random tune.
"Finally! I thought classes would never finish!" The ginger-haired girl said. She turned around to look at her friends, skillfully walking backward without bumping into anyone. "So what do you guys wanna do? Watch a movie? Play video games?"
"How about we go to our dorms and sleep," Jaune suggested with another stifled yawn. "All this rain is making me sleepy."
Nora gasped at those words, a grin slowly pulling at her face. Ren dreaded what was coming next.
"That's it!" The shortest member of team JNPR exclaimed. She stopped in her tracks, making the rest of JNPR stop as well, giving her weary looks. Pointing a finger at her team, Nora almost squealed, "We should totally play in the rain!"
A moment of silence passed as the other three members of JNPR processed what their shorter friend had just suggested. Well... more like 'demanded'.
"Wait, whoa, what?" Jaune sputtered. He stared at the grinning face of Nora and asked, "You want to play in the rain?"
"Yeah! Ren and I did it all the time when we were kids." Nora proudly said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "That's also how I found my Semblance."
"We didn't have a choice, and you were struck by lightning." Ren deadpanned.
Nora gave him a slight glare, but before she could say anything, Pyrrha cut her off. "I don't think now would be a good time to play in the rain, Nora. We still have classes tomorrow."
"Yeah, we could catch a cold." Jaune agreed, although, he did want to play in the rain as well. "And a cold is the last thing I want to get in this weather."
Nora pouted but didn't push it as the team continued to make their way back to the dorms. Ren still kept alert, knowing Nora will try something.
And he was right.
The moment they stepped out into the open, Nora jumped on Jaune's back. The blonde yelped in surprise, letting go of his umbrella as his arms swung wildly. He wasn't able to balance himself, though, sending both him and Nora onto the muddy ground.
Ren sighed as Jaune playfully scolded Nora about getting his uniform muddy, with said ginger laughing loudly on the ground beside the blonde. Pyrrha stood next to Ren, trying to hide her own giggles.
Just as Nora and Jaune began to splash each other by jumping on puddles, Pyrrha decided to intervene. The redhead suggesting that they go back to their dorms before the two catch a cold.
Ren saw the grin that was shared between his two teammates, and he made to warn Pyrrha. He was too late, however, when Nora suddenly kicked her foot in Pyrrha's direction, splashing the red-haired champion.
Pyrrha gave a surprised gasp as she let go of her own umbrella and raised her arms in front of her. Jaune let out a laugh as he watched his partner stare at her now wet clothes, Nora giggling next to him.
After a few more moments of shock, Pyrrha found herself laughing and splashing alongside her two teammates.
Ren stood a safe distance away, a small smile on his face as he watched the rest of his team chase each other in the rain. He would've scolded them, but he figured his friends needed this after having a gloomy day.
Pulling out his scroll, Ren discreetly snapped a picture before tucking it away and calling out to his friends.
"You three better stop before you catch a cold." He warned them. His three friends paused their little game for a moment, wide smiles plastered on their faces.
"Aww! Come on, Ren!" Nora half whine and half laughed. "Stop being a party pooper! We'll be fine."
"You're going to regret it," the pink-eyed male said.
Nora scoffed. "Pfft. Please! I regret nothing!"
"I regret everything." A green-faced Nora groaned as Ren placed a damp towel on her forehead.
Ren smirked at her and the ginger Valkyrie pouted. "Yeah, yeah. I know what you're gonna say, so don't even bother." She grumbled.
Chuckling at his long time friend, Ren proceeded to dampen another towel before walking over to Pyrrha, who was curled up on her own bed with a blanket pulled up to her nose. The redhead mumbled thanks as Ren placed the towel on her forehead.
"I did warn you," Ren said as he prepared a third towel. "But instead of listening, you three continued to play in the rain and didn't even bother to dry yourselves properly afterward."
Nora stuck her tongue out at him, while a muffled "I'm sorry!" could be heard from Pyrrha's bed. The opening of the door drew Ren's attention and he turned to see Jaune enter the room, having been to the restroom a few minutes earlier.
Ren bit back a chuckle at his leader's miserable face. Instead, he said, "You should go to sleep, Jaune."
"Yeah. That's... I'll do that." Jaune mumbled. The blonde walked over to his own bed before practically throwing himself on it. Ren helped him get under the covers before grabbing the third towel he prepared and placing it on the blonde's burning forehead.
Ren picked up the small bowl of water he was using. "I'll put this away and get you three some soup." He said as he walked over to the door.
Jaune raised an eyebrow at him. "Ren, we appreciate you taking care of us all day, but you really don't have to." He told his friend.
"I know." Ren smiled before closing the door.
Minutes later, Ren came back with three thermoses of soup and a notebook he borrowed from team RWBY. He figured he should copy their notes since he wasn't able to attend classes due to him taking care of his team. (Ruby had said it was sweet of him.)
After giving Pyrrha and Jaune theirs, Ren went over to Nora's bed to give hers. As Ren sat down, Nora sat up and hugged his torso.
"Nora?" Ren asked in surprise.
Nora smiled at him. "Thanks, Ren. You're the best!" She reached up and booped his nose.
Before Ren can say anything, Pyrrha cut him off. "Nora's right. We're really grateful for you taking care of us." She said. Jaune nodded in agreement as he continued to gulp down his soup.
Ren gave Nora her thermos and turned to Pyrrha with a shy smile. "You guys would've done the same." He said softly.
"True. But no one can make soup the way you do." Jaune stated, having finished his. He was going to say more but a yawn cut him off.
Ren shook his head in amusement and went to collect their thermoses. "You all should sleep. It's getting late." He told them, ignoring Nora's grumbles about taking his own advice.
"You should sleep as well, Ren," Pyrrha said from under her covers. "You've been taking care of us since morning."
"Don't worry. I'll just clean these," he shook one thermos, "then copy some of team RWBY's notes before I go to bed."
"Can't that wait?" Jaune asked as he curled up on his bed. "We've got the whole weekend, Ren. You don't need to run yourself ragged for us."
"I know. And I don't mind." The black-haired teen said with a smile as he walked out the door.
The three other members of Team JNPR shared a smile before deciding to go to sleep, mentally promising to return the favor. When they woke up the next morning, feeling well and sickness free, they found Ren asleep on his desk.
The black-haired teen had apparently fallen asleep while copying their sister team's notes. After waking him up and scolding him for staying up late, the three of them managed to drag Ren to his bed to sleep.
When the silent member of team JNPR woke up again at noon, the four of them spent the rest of the day relaxing in the dorm's lounge. And if anyone saw Ren blushing as red as Pyrrha's hair after being complimented endlessly by his teammates, no one said anything.