A/N: This one is what it says on the tin, buildup. Thanks again to Lea, and yay for posting two chapters in one day! If all goes well, that should be made three, but no promises!

Chapter V: Of Buildups and Buttercups

Nora pursed her lips, waving her hand as she flopped onto the loveseat in the corner.

"I kind of panicked, and I know I shouldn't be embarrassed about it, but…" Nora crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the cup of coffee on her counter, "You spend your whole life getting told ADHD is annoying, or makes you a burden, or makes you stupid…"

She grumbled, "Tends to leave you a little wary of telling people."

Pyrrha leaned over, kindly rubbing her shoulder, "Understandable, but I don't think Ren is like that. Plus, he lives with Jaune, so even if you were annoying, I don't think he'd mind."

Nora groaned, flipping through her little notepad, the top page of which had a 'pros and cons' chart scrawled across the top, "I kinda wanted to tell him, cuz he looked like he felt bad for asking, but everyone always judges me when I talk about it." She picked up her pencil and scribbled "Might judge me" under cons in messy rounded print.

Pyrrha frowned, sipping her coffee, "I know it's hard, and people…" she sighed, "People are rude when they don't understand things. But I really mean it; I don't think Ren would judge you at all."

Nora grumbled, "I agree, but there's still more cons."

"Nora," Pyrrha asked gently, viridescent eyes scanning over the list, "Have you considered that all of the cons on here are uncertainties?" she gestured to the first few entries, "Maybe he judges you, maybe he'd get bored of you, maybe he doesn't want a girlfriend."

Nora made a face, "Aren't all of these 'maybes'?"

Pyrrha's sympathetic smile turned more into a simper, and she tried to hide it by taking another sip. "Over half of the pros aren't, actually. You know for a fact that he's friendly," she ran her finger down the list as she read aloud, "Smart, has a cute smile, is responsible, fun to talk to-"

"You can stop." Nora hid her face in her hands, trying to ignore the heat rushing to her cheeks.

Pyrrha grinned, "It seems like the stuff you're sure of outweighs the negatives…"

"Pyrrha~" Nora whined, curling up slightly.

"I think you should ask him on a real date." Pyrrha said with finality, standing and ruffling Nora's hair, "But that's just me, you know, the only one in our friend group who successfully got a boyfriend."

"What do you mean successful? You got Jaune." Nora stuck out her tongue.

Pyrrha tossed an empty k-cup at her. "Still more boyfriend than you've ever had."

"Yeah, well," Nora sighed, shaking her head in disbelief at her own next words, "Not if everything goes according to plan when I ask Ren out later."

Pyrrha whipped around, making some kind of hybrid sound between a squeal and a gasp.

"Yeah, yeah," Nora tilted her head back and sighed, "Let's hope this doesn't blow up in my face."

"I don't know," Jaune said, swallowing half of a leftover dumpling, "I've heard of people getting tired when they drink coffee, but never just like… completely unaffected." He shrugged, "Then again, Nora chugs that stuff like her life depends on it, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was immune by now." He swallowed the other half, leaning back with a satisfied smile, "Your mom is an even better cook than you are."

Ren ignored his remark, rolling his eyes and setting his plate down on the coffee table, "It didn't just not affect her, she said it focuses her and sometimes makes her dissociate."

Jaune considered this, "Nora's kind of eccentric, and she always has been, so it might just be a Nora thing."

Ren gave him a look, "I should have known better than to ask you."

Jaune sniffed, "Rude. But consider," he leaned forward conspiratorially, whispering, "Maybe, just maybe, you should ask Nora."

Ren hmphed, pushing Jaune's plate away from him.

"Hey-!"

"Dumplings are for helpers."

Jaune ran his hand through his hair, "Look, you're not going to get anywhere with the whole 'asking her out' thing if you get hung up on this one little mystery." He reached forward and snatched his plate back, grinning triumphantly. "And I think you're just trying to change the subject."

"I am not-"

Jaune raised his eyebrows, mouth set in a hard line.

"Maybe I am, it's none of your business anyway."

Jaune barked a laugh, "Then why did you even bother asking me?"

Ren soured, narrowing his eyes, "I didn't, if you recall, I said 'hey, my mom made extra dumplings, want some?' and you said 'yes please, let's also talk about your personal life against your will', and here we are."

Jaune pointed up one finger, leaning an elbow on the table and bowed slightly, "That is one version of how that happened, yes."

He shook his head, hands on his hips, "You're doing exactly what Pyrrha and I did, and don't show any signs of changing that. Prepare yourself for how stressful the next two years will be." Jaune scarfed another dumpling, speech muffled as he chewed, "As my mom would say, suck it up, buttercup."

Ren grimaced, "You know what," he scoffed at the ceiling, "Literally the last thing I want to do is mimic how painful it was watching you and Pyrrha take so long in confessing." He closed his eyes and tried to brace himself for however Jaune would react to his next words. "So, I'll let you know how tomorrow goes."

Jaune tilted his head inquisitively. "What's happening tomorrow?"

"I'm going to ask Nora on a date."

Jaune nearly choked on a mouthful of dumpling, "Really?!"

Ren sighed, "Wish me luck."