Morning pancakes

A/N: Since I've been so out of the loop canon-wise, I actually didn't know about Nora and Ren both being orphans, and as such this is an AU where they are alive because I do mention them briefly in the story. Whether it's a Remnant AU or a real world AU, however, is up to you, dear reader.

Nora had never really been the heaviest of sleepers. Well into her late teens she'd always been awake bright and early, ready to take on the day with a seemingly unlimited supply of energy, much to her parents' chagrin. Sleeping in just wasn't for her, or at least that was what she had thought until she started sharing a bed with someone else. Things had changed almost instantly then, and staying in bed on the weekend mornings, snuggling, had rapidly become one of her favorite things to do.

She could hardly remember a moment when she'd seen Ren happier than when she had watched him wake up on his own, late in the morning, from her position in her own bed at the other side of the room...

She'd quickly become used to the feeling of falling asleep and waking up with someone else close to her. It made her feel... relaxed in a way she had a hard time experiencing on her own.

It was because of this that the moment that Nora felt herself become roused from her peaceful slumber, she could immediately tell that something was terribly, horrendously, downright apocalyptically wrong with the very fabric of the world. In her recently awoken state she couldn't tell what exactly was wrong, but there was a terrible sinking feeling in her gut that she never felt unless something wasn't right on a dangerously large scale. Blearily and sluggishly she wiped at her tired eyes, only to be blinded as the warm rays of the morning sun streaming in from the open window facing the bed hit her right in the face. As she moved her arm to shield herself from the harsh light, realization dawned on her with the force of one of her own Magnhild swings.

There were no arms hugging her close around her waist, nor had her face been buried the crook of a neck that she just loved the smell of. Worst of all, though, was that she felt that her entire body was resting on the mattress of the bed rather than pressed against the single most warm and comfortable chest in the known universe.

Suddenly feeling wide awake, Nora shot up into a sitting position on the large bed, frantically scanning the room for any sign of the person she knew she had fallen asleep next to the night before, yet she found nothing and her heart sank at the damn near criminal absence of cute, goofy blonds in the immediate vicinity.

The devastating error in reality itself had been found: Jaune wasn't there.

For the past few days of their summer break, Nora had been staying with Jaune, her now boyfriend, at his family's house in his home town of Ville, and every morning before this one, she'd woken up to the image of his adorable sleeping face right in front of her, bathed in the morning light. The lack of said sight today irked her to a degree that almost anyone else would have found ludicrous, but to her was completely and utterly justified.

Straining her ears, the ginger Bomber could hear that she wasn't the only one awake already and that someone had already started making breakfast. Following that, she heard the much more distinct and nearby sound of a toilet flushing and hope rose up within her that Jaune had simply gone to use the bathroom quickly and he'd be back any second now.

However, that potential second wasn't one that Nora was willing to wait at the moment and she quickly jumped out of the bed and headed out into the upstairs hallway of the Arc household, only to meet a seemingly half-awake Clair Arc rather than Jaune like she'd been hoping.

For a second, their eyes met, and it wasn't until Clair's sleepy gaze descended and her eyes widened that Nora noticed the state of her own dress.

Blushing, she swiftly buttoned up the previously opened shirt she'd been wearing, Clair recognizing it as one of her son's shirts even as she tried to forget the fact that she'd just been flashed by his girlfriend.

"Morning Mrs- Clair!" Nora said awkwardly as she finished covering herself up at least somewhat, her cheeks still a rosy shade of pink.

"Good morning to you too, Nora," Clair replied with a small chuckle before a yawn forced its way from her lips. "I have to say, I'm surprised to see anyone other than myself awake this early in the morning. Did you not sleep well?"

"Nonono!" Nora was quick to reassure before continuing on, "I slept like rock, and I wouldn't exactly call this early. It's already a quarter to ten after all."

"What are you talking about?" Clair said with a tired, but still incredulous tone, "My alarm hasn't even gone off yet so it can't be later than half past six. I only got up now to use the bathroom..."

Halfway through her sentience, the Arc matriarch sent a look over to clock hanging on the wall in the hallway and when she saw that Nora was in fact right, she quickly trailed off, the cogwheels turning inside her head practically visible to the Bomber.

The slumping of her shoulders along with the weary sigh leaving her lips seemed to mark Clair coming to an understanding of the situation she was in. "I slept through my damn alarm… I haven't done that since Rose was still in diapers," she lamented.

Nora was just about to ask what the big deal was when Clair began walking past her, clearly intent on heading downstairs. "You and Jaune can stay in bed a bit longer while I start fixing up some breakfast for us. Though it might be a bit more like brunch when it's done, at least for this household," she called back over her shoulder.

"Oh, Jaune's already up," Nora said as she made to follow Clair, still intent on finding her elusive boyfriend now that his absolutely painful absence from her bed had left her wide awake. "I actually thought it was him in the bathroom and you downstairs in the kitchen…"

Abruptly, both Clair and Nora stopped.

There was still noise coming from the kitchen.

It wasn't hard for the pair to put two and two together, but still they made their way downstairs to make absolutely sure that their shared conclusion was the correct. Halfway down, however, they stopped once again as their noses caught the distinct smell hanging in the air. They shared a quick glance at one another before heading to the doorway leading to the kitchen proper and peering inside.

Standing by the stove with his back turned to them, humming some indistinct tune and with a well worn apron around his waist, was Jaune himself, frying pan in hand as he prepared to flip the deliciously golden brown pancake cooking inside it. With a practiced flick of his wrist, he sent the disc of fluff flying into the air where it quickly turned upside down before falling back down and landing perfectly in the pan once more.

After a few seconds, he'd be able to add the pancake to the already large stack sitting on a plate beside him on the counter and as he checked on how much batter he had left, he idly noted he'd need to wake up Nora and his mom pretty soon. The only other person aside from the three of them in the house this morning was Rouge, and Jaune knew that any attempts to wake her´before noon on one of her vacation days would only end with him being dragged into bed with her to be used as a cuddle-toy while his crimson haired sister mumbled about him being the only worthy survivor after she went on some sort of Chaotic, black colored crusade (and sometimes about how she was a more worthy Warmaster of something called the Black Legion than some Failbbadon fellow). This was information he'd learned from many years of personal experience.

Jaune's thoughts about his sleepily affectionate sister's antics were interrupted when he was suddenly hugged from behind by a certain someone and he had to hold back a laugh at how she was practically radiating glee.

"Morning Nora," he said as he got himself a big kiss on the cheek by the happy ginger in question.

"Pancakes!" was all Nora squealed excitedly in reply as she began bombarding her boyfriend's cheek with kisses. But then she remembered something very important and just as suddenly as she had started, she stopped the assault, a pout coming to her face as Jaune turned to face her after unloading his finished pancake.

"Something wrong?" the blonde asked, honestly confused as to what caused the sudden mood change.

"Hell yeah something's wrong!" Nora huffed grumpily. "Why did I wake up alone in my bed this morning?!"

"And, if I may add, why did I wake up only a couple of minutes ago instead of with my alarm?" Clair asked from her spot leaning on the door frame, making her presence known to her son, amusement playing on her features.

Jaune looked between the two for a short moment before he jabbed a thumb towards the stack of pancakes beside him. "Pancakes," he said simply, making Clair let out a snort, her smile only widening.

His answer wasn't enough for Nora, however, who let out a very Weiss-like huff again before hugging her boyfriend once more. Grumpily. Somehow.

It was Jaune's turn to laugh as he began putting away his cooking utensils. Only his Valkyrie could try to express her displeasure with a given situation by affectionately hugging the person she was supposedly upset with.

"Oh my queen, please forgive this humble knight for abandoning you in your waking hour of need," he said overdramatically, turning to face Nora as Clair only laughed more at just how much he sounded like his father just now, though the tone was short lived. "And sorry to you too, mom. I should have asked you before turning off your alarm. It's just that I know that Nora likes her pancakes made in a specific way and I wanted to make sure they were perfect." As he spoke, Jaune put his arms around Nora, returning her hug and kissing her atop her ginger head.

Try as she might, Nora just couldn't stay grumpy when she was embraced like this, and it didn't help either that Jaune's reason for leaving her to wake up alone turned out to be really sweet and thoughtful, at least to her. With a small blush, she turned to look up into his smiling face, aquamarine meeting deep sapphire, and after a moment she stood up on her toes so she could touch her nose gently against his.

"Boop…" she whispered, and Jaune understood exactly what she meant by the simple gesture.

Clair remained silent as she watched her son and his girlfriend. She was still smiling, but it wasn't one just filled with mirth anymore.

'Careful you two, any sweeter and my teeth will rot out,' she thought as the couple shared a quick kiss before Jaune declared that it was time for the pancakes he'd made for them all to be eaten and some of Nora's normal, seemingly bottomless enthusiasm quickly returned. Cynical comments about young love and how fleeting she knew it could be tried to fill her head, but one glance at Jaune's smile was enough for them to fly completely out the window. When he looked at Nora, Clair could tell that he was happier than ever, and while she didn't know Nora very well yet, she was certain that the girl too shared this look of special happiness.

Of love.

As Clair took her seat at the table and Jaune put a pancake on her plate, Nora had just finished lathering up her first golden brown disc of the day with strawberry jam. She was looking down on its red smeared surface, ready to cut it to pieces and begin shoveling them into her mouth, when suddenly an urge surged through her. Something about sitting here with Jaune and his mother, about to eat the pancakes he'd gotten up early to specifically make for her just made her want to do something.

Letting go of her fork, she reached out and grabbed Jaune's hand, giving it a squeeze and making him look over at her.

"Hey Jaune…" she said, eyes still on her pancake, a silly smile on her lips. "I love you lots…"

...

"You two are going to give me the cutest grandchildren imaginable!" Clair exclaimed just as Jaune opened his mouth to reply.

In unison, both Jaune and Nora choked on the pancake they'd just put into their mouths.

A/N: Next chapter might be a bit more serious, than these last two. It's either going to be Dragonslayer or Silent Knight depending on what mood I'm in when the muse strikes again, though I won't deny that you lovely people reading this may have some influence on my decision in the end so if you prefer one over the other go ahead and leave a review.

Until next time.