Author's Note:
Oops, almost forgot to post this for the weekend... hope everyone had a lovely Easter!
Suggested by: Author's Original Creation
Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline: After Volume 2, Episode 12: Breach
Basic Scenario: The aftermath of saving Vale from a Grimm invasion upon returning to their dormitory...
*BOOP*
"Ugh!" Jaune groaned, "I think that was more than enough of a workout for today." He flopped onto his bed, still wearing his armour.
"It certainly will help prepare us for the Vytal Festival Tournament," Pyrrha stretched out her arms and still looked fit for battle.
"Yeah!" Nora punched the air, "we're gonna kick some butt!"
"Well, we have a little while until then," Pyrrha smiled, "plus we've still have our own assignment to complete."
"Yay..." Jaune half-groaned, half-cheered from his spot on his bed.
Nora almost didn't catch sight of Ren wordlessly slipping from the main dormitory into the kitchenette.
Almost...
"So, did Ozpin say when our mission was postponed until?" Nora asked, edging her way to the kitchenette as inconspicuously as she could.
"I believe Jaune spoke with him." Pyrrha turned to their team leader who was still face-planted in the covers of his bed.
When he didn't answer, she cleared her throat loudly.
"Wha-?" Jaune looked up from his bed.
"The mission?" Pyrrha prodded, nodding towards Nora.
Slowly blinking, Jaune looked from one redhead to the other, "Right... the mission..." he pushed himself off of his bed, "Ozpin said... that we need to wait until there's an 'all clear' from the Atlas troops. But we handled most of the Grimm in town, they just wanted to be sure."
"Of course," Pyrrha turned to Nora and gave her a reassuring smile, "we should be off any day now."
"Great!" Nora was now at the door, "you know, all that fighting got me hungry -again- so I'm just gonna have a quick snack!" She smiled and quickly entered the kitchenette, closing the door behind her.
*BOOP*
Ren sat down at the table, resting his head in his hands. He needed to regain his centre. Perhaps some tea... or light meditation... or something.
The door opened and Nora entered through it, saying something to Jaune and Pyrrha about getting a snack. Ren lifted his head from his hands and looked at his approaching friend.
"Hey..." Nora said softly. The concern was plainly written across her face. "I know you're kinda on edge because of the mission..."
Ren looked down at the table.
"But..." Nora sat down across from him, "we both know that Jaune will keep his word, right?"
Ren felt a smile tugged at the side of his mouth as he remembered Jaune's promise kept at the dance, as ridiculous as it was. But as quickly as the smile came, it left.
That felt more like a lifetime ago rather than just two nights...
"It's... not just the mission."
"Well, what is it then?" Nora leaned forward.
Ren was silent, his expression turning pensive. He was beginning to shut the world out.
"Reeeennn." Nora tilted her head, trying to catch his eyes, "Come on... you know that you can talk to me about anything."
Ren finally looked back at her.
She raised her eyebrows, indicating that she was waiting for an answer.
Sighing, Ren folded his hands together on the table, "this morning, when..." he exhaled, "when... we were heading to the airship."
Nora blinked and suddenly her expression turned from quiet patience to sadness.
"The alarms..." Ren reach his hand forward and gently touched her wrist, "are you all right?"
Nora's turquoise eyes began to brim with tears, "It's-" she cleared her throat, "It's fine," her voice was heavy with emotion, "we stopped them this time... those creatures... right?"
Ren silently nodded, feeling his chest tighten at the memories.
"And..." Nora sniffled, "and we're gonna keep stopping them," she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, but several tears fell down her cheeks, "they're not gonna take anyone else from us," her voice went quiet. She looked at nowhere in particular, lost in thought.
Ren squeezed Nora's hand, trying to bring her back to the present, "as long as we can do something about it... we will keep stopping them," he answered pragmatically.
Her eyes darted back up at him and she offered him a watery smile.
"Hey! What are you two getting up to in there?" Jaune hollered from the main room, "We better not have to call Goodwitch for misconduct."
"I-" Nora cleared her throat, "We- We're making cookies!" Nora yelled, a blush appearing on her face at Jaune's suggestion, "To... to give to Team RWBY for completing their very first mission!"
"See Jaune, they're not up to anything..." Pyrrha's steady voice -though muffled by the closed door- responded, "now, I know you're still tired from this morning, but let's do a couple hours of training before it gets dark out."
Jaune groaned in response, but the closing of their dormitory's main door followed after a quick "save some cookies for us too!".
"Oh sure!" Nora folded her arms over her chest, pouting, "we're the ones 'up to something'..."
Ren got up from his seat and grabbed his well-used 'please do nothing to the cook' apron off of it's hook. He deftly tied it around his waist and began looking through the cupboards.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"I'm making cookies," Ren stuck his head into the pantry, "provided we have enough ingredients..."
"Can I help?" Nora asked automatically, hopping from her seat.
Ren pulled out a bag of flour and looked at Nora, "if by 'help' you mean 'taste test'..."
"That's very important!" Nora leaned towards him with her hands on her hips, "after all, every queen needs a royal taste tester."
"I don't think that's what a taste tester is for, Nora."
"Nonsense," Nora turned on her heel and grabbed a wooden spoon, "who better to do the tasting than the queen herself?" she held the spoon high as if it were a sceptre.
He looked up from the batter he had begun mixing and marvelled at his friend.
How could she go from being in tears to joking around in the blink of an eye?
If only he could be as free with showing his emotions; instead of bottling them all in...
Author's Note:
I know a certain red-hooded leader would be very ecstatic about victory cookies...