Disclaimer: The following is a nonprofit fanfiction of RWBY. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum(RIP) and Rooster Teeth. Any likeness to writings of others is not intentional. To help with improvements: Read and Review!

Chapter 18: Exes

Ren was not the most vocal of their group. That was Nora was for. But today was different. Today, he and his friends had finished filming Unity March. It was tough with the new cast of people and the limited budget, but they were able to make it. So his friends could understand why he was now laughing and chatting away with all of them in a public restaurant in Vale.

Winter was sipping a glass of cider with Weiss laughing next to her while sharing on their film experience. Jaune was, in Sun's words, nerding out with Penny and Ruby about something sciencey and techy. Blake and Pyrrha were chatting with Velvet on another game recommendation the bunny faunus had. Sun and Coco were extending a branch to Flynt to be part of their leader's time. Neptune and Neon were discussing hair colors and stunts with Reese. Sage and Scarlett were playing a game of craps. As for Nora…

"Part-ay!" The pink bomber said, stuffing sodas into unsuspecting friends. She had tagged Yang a few minutes ago and lost her in the parking lot. Ren would have stopped her, but since it was a party, he guessed it was time he cut loose too.

"CHEERS! To the completion of Unity March!" He shouted, raising a cup in the air.

Getting a cheer from the group, he was put on the spot when Sun, Ruby, and Jaune started chanting out 'SPEECH!' and getting everyone to join in.

"Aw come on guys." The ninja of JNPR laughed embarrassed. "I'm not that great with those on the spot speeches."

The crowd started chanting faster. He caved. "Alright!"

"I have to say …I was almost scared we wouldn't make it." He started. "Mostly because of all the CGI's and different areas we had to film in. But we made it! We all came together and put got it done better than any of us expected it to be! I hope this movie gets a great review for another sequel because I'll be honest. You guys are the greatest crew I could ever ask for. I can only hope we get more people like you to work with in the near future. Cheers!"

Many drank to his speech. Clearing his throat and taking a slow sip, Ren was about to swallow when a familiar female voice came from behind him.

"That was a beautiful speech." Choking on his drink, Nora was quick by his side to slap him on the back. He could hear her giggle at their actions. "Still the same as always."

Turning around, Ren saw a girl with raven hair and a top-knot, wearing a yellow sundress. While he was looking at her with wide-eyes and an open jaw, Nora was looking at him with worry.

"What are you doing here?" He rasped out, still trying to clear his throat from his drink.

"I was just passing by, and when I saw you I thought to myself: Is that really him? Why not see how he and Nora are doing?" The unnamed female answered sweertly with hands behind her back.

"…We're doing fine." He muttered, looking to the floor.

"I can see that." She clapped her hands. "You even have so many friends too!"

"…Yeah." He said awkwardly. He hoped no one would notice who he was talking to, but luck was not on his side.

"Hey Ren! Who's the new girl?" Sun asked a table away. "She a part of the advertising department?"

"No …This is Wu Sheng." He introduced her to them. "She's a childhood friend."

"Like Nora?" Ruby asked, looking away from Penny and Jaune.

"…Not like Nora." He muttered under his breath.

"Don't mind me." Sheng voiced out. "I'm not staying long. I just came to greet the two of them."

Nora was hoping for nothing more than for her to leave quickly.

"Don't be like that!" Yang said, re-entering the establishment "Any friend of Ren's is a friend of ours. Stay and chat with us. Maybe you can fill us in on some funny stories on Ren Nora wouldn't tell us."

"If you insist." She said with a warm smile. It seemed neither Ren or Nora's good mood would be coming back soon.

A few minutes later

The whole group besides Ren and Nora were laughing at Sheng's tales.

"I think I'm getting to know Ren a lot more now." Jaune wheezed, using Penny and Ruby as a support to stop him from falling to the floor.

"He was so pretty back then too." Sheng gushed with a goofy smile. "I think I have a picture of the three of us when we were still children."

Taking a picture out of her wallet, the group huddled to see a black and white photo of a five year old Nora, Ren, and Sheng standing side by side.

"Wow Sheng. You look really pretty." Ruby said, pointing at one of the dark haired kids.

"…That's Ren." She pointed out. The whole group started laughing again.

"That's Ren?" Pyrrha choked out through her giggles. "But he looks so feminine in that photo."

"Can you guys just drop it?" Nora grumbled, not enjoying them laughing at her best friend.

"Okay. Okay." Jaune breathed out while clutching his gut. "No more guys. We should all stop before it gets too much."

"Thank you Jaune." Ren said, glaring at his other childhood friend.

After that, the group dispersed to go back in doing their own things. Only this time, Ren was now sitting at a small table with Nora and Sheng.

"I think I'll go hang out with Penny." Nora voiced out in a not so happy tone. As she got up, Ren had grabbed her wrist, hoping for her to stay. "It's fine Ren. I'll leave the two of you to catch up."

As she left, the Ren felt that things were now a lot more awkward than before.

With Nora

"Salutations Nora." Penny greeted her fellow ginger. "Ruby and Jaune were telling me about the fun facts of Beacon. …Did you know if you throw food at someone in a the cafeteria, it was a declaration for a scuffle using food as weaponry?"

"Yeah, yeah." Nora waved off boredly and slumped herself between Jaune and Ruby.

"…Everything okay Nora?" Her leader asked in concern. Seeing the little generator not acting herself was something disturbing to the two leaders. "You're usual more …energetic than this."

"It's nothing." She grumbled into the table.

""You can tell us.' Ruby said, rubbing her friends back. "We're concerned when you're not being …you."

"Scanners show a high amount of melatonin being secreted from friend Nora." Penny stated while eyeing Nora closely.

"What?" The little reaper asked.

"Nora's sad Ruby." Jaune clarified for her. He may be weak in combat and dust, but high school science was still easy to remember. "Care to share, Nora?"

With a short grumble, Nora faced the table where her best friend and the cause of her sadness were. "Why did she have to be here? …Why now of all times?"

"You mean Sheng?" Ruby voiced in confusion. "I thought you three were like super close friends."

"No!" She growled while glaring at Ruby. "Ren and I are childhood friends. Sheng was just … she was just… hrrrgh!"

"What?" Jaune asked now more curious.

"…She used to be Ren's girlfriend." She said in a very low tone.

"Woah, woah, woah, …woah!" Jaune backed up a bit in surprise, but whispered to keep it between them. "…Ren had a girlfriend? When did that happen?"

"As you know fearless leader, Ren and I don't have parents." She started. "We grew up in an orphanage with other orphans. I was in there since birth but was never picked. At three years old, Ren was put into the orphanage with us. Somehow the two us just clicked and we've been friends since then."

"That's so sweet." Ruby said with eyes shining from eyes watering.

"It was the best." The hammer-wielder continued. "We even talked about being hunters. …Then Sheng came along when we were four. She was all alone like the rest of us, so Ren and I thought of bringing her to be friends with us. It was great at first. We were like the three amigos. …Then she started trying to hog him all to herself. I still got to hang out with them, but it was more like Ren was her best friend instead of me. When we were ten she declared Ren was now her boyfriend, and he accepted it too."

"So that explains the whole boyfriend thing." Jaune guessed. "But how did they break up?"

"You forget Jaune?" Nora said in a snarky tone. "We were still in the orphanage. When Sheng got adopted, she dropped Ren that fast and went on her way. He was so devastated that he wouldn't even talk to me. …So one day, I declared that the two of us would always be together …but not together-together."

"…Woah." Ruby said, feeling like a puzzle was now placed in the life of Ren and Nora.

"And that's our story." Nora said, taking a sip from Jaune's cup. "Me and Ren will be nothing more than trusted friends. …I might find someone of my own and he might find someone too someday in the far future, but until then …it's me and Ren against the world."

Before Nora knew what happened, Penny had stood up to bring her into a hug.

"I have heard hugs are a great medicine for sadness." She said with a smile. "Are you feeling better?"

After Jaune and Ruby had joined in the hug, Nora felt the pain go down. Just as she was about to close her eyes and relax, she saw Ren and Sheng stand up and walk outside.

Getting up and following them down a few blocks, JNPR's powerhouse peeked behind a pole to see the two heading into a quiet café. Sneaking in after them, she was able to get a spot behind a fern where they couldn't see her, but she could hear them. From the sound of things, the two had just ordered their drinks

"Nora's really grown into a beautiful woman." She heard Sheng comment.

"…Yes. She has." Ren agreed. Part of Nora was happy he thought of her that way. After a moment of silence with the waiter finally giving their order, Ren decided to voice out what's been bothering him. "…Why are you really here? It can't be coincidence that you bumped into me like that."

"I'll get to that." She said with a smile while holding her cup. "Remember as kids whenever the caretaker would always give us hot cocoa. Before I drank my cup, I'd always sniff it really loud to enjoy the smell?"

"Yeah." He chuckled, remembering the scene. "I was always grossed out by it, and I still feel the same way about it."

"Ren. Can we go back to how things were?" She whispered in a small sad tone. "I really miss us."

Nora felt her heart sink down into her knees hearing her ask that. If the waiter had bothered to ask her order, he would have seen a poor girl with tears falling from her open eyes and a scared look on her face.

"…Sorry. I already have someone I like." Ren rejected her, looking to down at his cup. He didn't know what to expect from his ex, but a smile wasn't something he was ready for.

"I see. It was pretty obvious you did with the way you were acting. You always try to act cool around the one you liked the most." She said calmly while lifting the cup to her lips. "You haven't changed that much from when we were kids. But I guess I've changed too much."

*Sniff*

"Aww Sheng!" Ren said in a disgusted voice, looking up from his cup. "You know that always-"

He couldn't finish his sentence seeing his ex crying while pretending to drink form her cup. The only thing he could do was sit a bit closer to her and join her in drinking. Behind the fern, Nora was looking at her knees with a deep red blush on her face.

'Who is it? Could it be-?'

Hearing the two were about to leave, Nora sneakily left the café without the two noticing and went back to their party. As she got back, what she saw next surprised her.

"Raaaaa! Raatatatatatatataraaaaa!" Ruby screamed while pretending to play an electric air guitar on a table. Penny was looking at her while clapping at her performance.

Weiss was nestling her head into her sister's bosom with a heavenly smile on her face. Winter was busy cooing over her while rubbing her head affectionately.

Jaune was pelvic thrusting a chair with his shirt off singing 'Jingle Bells,' and Blake and Pyrrha were laughing at him while singing along.

Coco was forcing Sun to do squats while Yang was doing a pirouette. Flynt joined her after falling from losing balance on the roller skates he got from Neon.

Neon herself was using Flynt's trumpet and was sitting on the bar table playing badly while still calling it beautiful. She thought Reese had left, until she heard a crash coming from behind the bar counter and Reese crawling out with a goofy grin on her face.

The only ones not doing anything were Neptune, Sage, and Scarlett who were passed out on a tale with cards in their hair.

"…When in doubt: JOIN EM!" Nora said, taking a bottle from Yang and chugging it down in seconds. After ten more bottles, she was joining Ruby on the top of the table singing her own tune.

"I'm a creep! I'm a weirdo~o!" Soon everyone was joining her.

"What the hell are we doing here! We don't belong here!"

"Braaarr!" Ruby made a riff with her mouth.

"We don't care if it hurts!" Pyrrha and Blake sang, joining the two on the table.

"We wanna have control!" The Schnee sisters also joined them on the same table.

"I wanna perfect body!" Penny said, not joining them seeing the strain on the table.

"We wanna perfect so~ul!" Soon everyone joined on the same table. Sadly the table couldn't hold them all and broke under their combined weight. Instead of groaing in pain, they all started laughing.

"What is going on here?" Ren said with Sheng behind him.

"Ssshh!" Pyrrha got up and stood in front of him, still in a daze. "We're singing."

"What?" Ren he said confused. Looking over her shoulder the others had gotten back up and were singing a different song once more with Ruby still pretending to play the guitar. The tune was very familiar. "…Oh no, not that song!"

Nora in her still drunk state, also remembered the song and instantly picked up Jaune and Sun. Before Ren could hide behind Sheng, Nora had spotted her.

"Ren!" She called out. "It's the Nip Sync song! Neptune's still sleeping, so it's now a nip sync triplet."

Seeing him run out the door, Nora walked after him. "No running~. You know I like to chase~."

Sheng was confused on the nip sync, but after seeing Jaune's pecs flexing on instinct from sound of the song, she understood why Ren was running.

"Aaaaah!" Came a not so manly scream. After a few minutes, Nora had Ren over her shoulder and shirtless. In her free hand, she held the tattered remains of Ren's shirt.

"Now stand next to slave 1 and slave 2 and get ready!" She commanded. Turning to Sheng, Nora guided her to a chair and sat her down with the rest of the group not involved. "Sit! It's show time! Ruby! Give them a beat!"

It was still impressive for a bunch of drunk guys flexing to a girl younger than them beat boxing an old 70s song. But she guessed the drunk you were, the more you could enjoy it, since everyone else was clapping at the performance.

'I guess I'm fine losing Ren if it was to you Nora.' Sheng thought while taking a glance to her old female friend, who was trying to moon walk in front of the three men. '…Maybe not that much.'

END

Omake

"So there we were, trapped in the clutches of the corrupt government's lapdogs!" Nora told her tale.

"The police were called in and we were brought to the station." Ren clarified for her.

"Trapped in the belly of the beast looking at its victims, we had lost all hope!" She continued.

"We were put behind bars, Nora asked a prisoner how long he had stayed in, and she started to panic when she heard he was in there for ten years." He explained.

"Then a miracle happened! The cage doors opened up, and we were released with a new sense of freedom, but at a heavy cost." Nora exclaimed with arms spread wide.

"Our bail was paid by Sheng's parents." He muttered. "We owe her two hundred lien."

"And that was how Ren and I got away with trying to kidnap Sheng back after failing." A thirteen-year-old Nora told the other little orphans of her tale of trying to cheer Ren up but failed in doing so.

The caretaker was so angry; she banned the two from hot cocoa for two weeks.

END

A/N: I remember watching the first episode of season 3 and heard Nora saying Ren and her don't have any parents. That kind of opens up to a lot of speculations. Like where did they come from, and how did they get by? Since those questions are unanswered I decided to make a guess of my own. I know some of you might be thinking I'm putting Ren and Nora together, but if you reread some of the thoughts and words, you might start doubting it.