He could do this.
He could do this.
Lie Ren clutched the plastic container in his hands and took a deep breath. He wasn't going to lose his nerve now. He'd been thinking about this all week, thinking how worthwhile it would be, how… how they needed something like this. And he wasn't going to lose his nerve. He grabbed the bowl and set it on the table, careful not to make too much noise as he did so. And now…
One cup water for one cup mix.
Carefully measuring out the off-white powder in the measuring cup, gently tapping it against the table's surface to ensure the mix was not laying unevenly, that it was exactly one cup, he took up the measuring cup and poured it into the bowl. Then, he filled it with water, carefully lining up his eye with the measuring line to once more ensure he was following the directions as precisely as he could. This was good, he was following the directions and everything was good so far. Pouring in the water, he then began to stir the mixture, seeing it clump up and briefly making him panic that he'd done something wrong, but… soon the mixture started looking like real, proper batter. He kept stirring it as best he could, even as he found it started to tire his arm out. He didn't want lumps and besides…
Ren knew that there was a lot more to being tired than just a sore arm.
Stirring and stirring until he felt like he could say that he had a proper batter in the bowl, he knew it was now time for… the hard part. The part he'd been worrying about, the thing that made him reluctant to do this in the first place. But he was committed now. He couldn't exactly explain the batter if he didn't use it, and he… he'd gotten this far. Ren wasn't about to stop now. He was committed. He was going to do this. He just… just had to do the next step.
He reached for the stove… and paused.
He wasn't supposed to touch the stove. Not without his parents around but… but they weren't…
Ren squeezed his eyes shut, forcing down the tears before they could spill out. He couldn't cry. Not now. If he started crying, he would start thinking about… no, he was going to make breakfast. He wasn't going to cry.
Steadying himself, Ren hesitantly reached forward to turn the knob, the heating coils activating as they began to turn red. He set the skillet on it and-
Oh! he- he needed the spray, cooking spray, no, no…
He began to panic, a familiar feeling rising up in Ren's heart as things started to go sideways, the skillet heating up faster and faster as his eyes cast around the darkened kitchen, trying to find some way to jog his memory. But he was- he was just thinking of how he was always a worrier and his dad would- his dad would-
His vision started to blur. Ren squeezed his eyes tighter. His… his dad always told him he could handle these things. That he didn't have to be afraid. And that he should… he should look out for…
He was doing this for someone. He had to be strong because… because he was doing this for someone.
Carefully opening his eyes, blinking away the tears, Ren caught sight of a yellow tube and remembered that was the spray he needed. Taking it, he pressed down the button on top, a sudden stream of the non-stick substance suddenly hissing forth until he'd made a proper coat of it. He was taking a risk here, he did not like taking a risk, but he was, so he was going to do this right. Taking up the bowl, he poured a little batter into the pan, hearing it sizzle on the heat. He waited a while, hoping he wasn't waiting too long… or too short. What- what if he-
He needed the spatula!
Ren chastised himself for not being prepared, silently vowing to never be caught off guard again, failing twice already was humiliating enough. But he knew where he could find one, and, once retrieved, he could flip the now-bubbling pancake. Sliding it under, he flipped it and…
Flinching as he saw the misshapen form that had been formed as he flipped it too clumsily, Ren tried to focus on the positives. It had a nice golden-brown color, not burned like he feared it might be. And… and it looked like a good, fluffy pancake, just with… a lot of batter splayed out beneath it.
He took it off the skillet and put it on a plate. It… it was a test. Nora wouldn't see it. The next would be better. They would, he was sure of it. Ren poured a few more pancakes onto the pan, small little circles of white. He imagined what it would be like if he had blueberries or chocolate chips or something to make this fun, something Nora would really like, but… if he could do this, he knew he'd see her smile. And that was what mattered.
With the thought of her smile in his mind, Ren set to making a whole stack of pancakes. And he'd been right: the rest had been better. A good first effort, and with every pancake he flipped onto the plate, he felt more and more confident until he poured the last of the batter and had made a pancake feast for the both of them!
They didn't have syrup and he was afraid of getting caught sneaking butter from the fridge, but with a pair of forks, Ren was sure that-
"Ren?"
Ren turned in a panic upon hearing his name, but… he knew that voice.
"Nora," he said, seeing her in the doorframe, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "You- you don't have to be up and-"
"I woke up and you weren't there," she said, a faint sniffle entering her voice, "A-and when I didn't see you, I thought th-that you had-"
"I'm here!" Ren said, quickly, racing his hand out for Nora to hold. He… he hadn't thought that this might happen and…
"It's okay," he said, "I- I wouldn't leave. Ever."
It had been six months. Around six months. Ren didn't let himself think about calendars too much, and certainly not… that date. But they'd known each other long enough, through enough where Nora was the only person in Ren's world and Ren was the only person in Nora's, that Ren knew he meant it when he said he'd never leave.
But he could still hear Nora's sniffles, and so he added, "I wanted to make you something special, and… I wanted it to be a surprise."
He gestured over to the bowl and skillet, but it didn't seem to reassure Nora when she saw it.
"They're gonna be mad you used the kitchen."
Ren paused. Nora was the voice of authority when it came to things that got people in trouble, and Ren knew from her tone that she wasn't warning or judging him. She just… she knew that the people who ran these shelters had a lot of rules and didn't like it when kids broke them. Especially this shelter. The matron wouldn't be up until well after sunrise, especially with how much she'd been drinking the night before, but if she caught them… she would be mad. Very mad. But this was worth it.
"I just… I saw the pancake mix," Ren said, gesturing to the bowl with its thin, sticky layer of unused batter, "And I just… I thought I could make you pancakes for breakfast."
Nora tilted her head. "Pancakes?"
"Um, they're like…" Ren searched for his words before just gesturing at the two stacks, "They're flat and they're, um, like-"
"I- I know what pancakes are," she said, making Ren cringe. But then she continued, a soft hoarseness in her voice as she said, "I just… you made them for me?"
Ren smiled, a little weakly, but… his heart felt bigger as he answered, "Yeah."
Nora shot forward, grabbing the stack that- that Ren had meant for himself!
"Wait, Nora!" he gasped, "Those ones, they- they didn't come out right, so-"
"It looks fun, though!" Nora said, snatching up the first pancake he'd made in all its misshapen discoloration and taking a bite. Ren winced, hoping that it wouldn't be the worst foot forward as…
"Mmmmm!" Nora said before shoving the whole pancake into her mouth before saying, "Delicious!"
Ren was about to pass her a fork, but Nora grabbed the next with her bare hands and Ren was pleased enough that he could let a few courtesies go by the wayside as he carefully picked up a pancake—one he'd put on top of Nora's stack because he thought it had been the best of the lot—and gingerly took a bite.
They are pancakes together in silence, Ren offering Nora some of his stack as soon as she'd finished hers. But once there was nothing left but crumbs… nothing was said, but Nora looked Ren in the eyes and it… it was so much.
He saw the tears sparkling in Nora's eyes, but they weren't… he knew what these tears were. Appreciation. Gratitude.
Love.
And seeing that, feeling that, Ren suddenly felt his own eyes start to water as he cast his gaze down… and saw the pancakes. Saw the little stack he was making
Now he could cry.
Now he could cry.
"Guys! Guess what just came in!"
Ren looked up from his textbook to see Jaune in the doorway, carrying a large brown shipping box. Big enough to be something, the kind of something Ren wasn't sure the JNPR dorm had space for. From what he understood of Beacon's history, there had never been a time where they weren't using four man teams, so this dorm was surely built with four people in mind. But considering two members of JNPR had no more possessions than what they brought with them, Ren sincerely wondered how RWBY must have fit into this space.
But whatever it was… Jaune seemed excited about it.
Ren eyed the package warily. Jaune and excitement was a dangerous combination. He had a reckless streak, and while, officially, Ren "didn't know" that Jaune had forged his transcripts, he'd been able to piece together the situation easily enough. So he knew Jaune was the kind of man to commit criminal misrepresentation of government documents to get himself into a school where he was liable to get himself killed. And Ren also knew that Jaune had a unique talent in validating and encouraging Nora. A rare gift… that could just as often blow up in their faces. Often literally.
"So, what is it?" Nora asked with a lazy curiosity. "Is it an air fryer? Yang says they're-"
"An- an air- no, no," Jaune shook his head, and with it, banished his brief incredulity and bringing a beaming smile back to the fore. "I actually got this from my big sister Saphron! I've been telling her about my time at Beacon-"
A highly redacted account, no doubt.
"-and I've been begging her to help me out with something so I could do more to pull my weight for the team!" Jaune cheered. Ren had to give his Leader this: Jaune might have come to Beacon in an… inadvisable way, but after a rough landing, he'd put his back into it since. And if he believed it could benefit the team… now Ren was intrigued.
And not just Ren.
"So… what is it?" Pyrrha asked, a playful smile flitting across her face. She'd changed too, in the short time Ren had known her. He'd been overawed at first, seeing the Invincible Girl in person. Her legend had reached even him, and he'd been struck by the quiet reserve with which she bore herself… at first. Nora had commented on it, that the Invincible Girl had loosened up considerably ever since… well, ever since she and Jaune had started practicing together.
"You were actually a big help in this!" Jaune replied, "Remember when I asked you if I could get an autographed headshot for my family?"
Pyrrha's cheeks suddenly flushed pink. "Wait," she asked, "So that was for- is- is there s-someone in your family who's… a fan?"
"Yeah, my sister-in-law is-"
"You're married?" burst out of Nora, her jaw dropping in shock.
For a moment, even Ren couldn't process what was going on, the room was so blown away by Nora's conclusion. But Jaune rallied himself, blinking in surprise before explaining, "Um… no, but my sister is, so… still my sister-in-law."
"Ah…" Nora said with a nod, "Now I understand."
Ren, however, knew when Nora merely said she understood something. He'd… probably have to make sure to step in on this before Nora took her suspicion of Jaune's marriage status too far.
But Jaune pressed on. "My sister Saphron is married to a Mistralian, her name's Terra. And she's from Argus so-"
Ren saw Pyrrha's eyes go wide before Jaune could finish the sentence, the meaning that Jaune didn't realize was clear between all the Mistralians in the room. Jaune knew Argus as a place, the place Pyrrha was from, and perhaps he knew it as the home of Sanctum Academy. But he didn't know…
Well…
Jaune didn't know that Argus had a reputation as Mistral's prickliest city state. On the borders of Atlas and Mistral, it kept itself in a careful balance of neither allying nor agitating either side enough to push for a full war, but that careful balance covered many generations of piracy, of pushing things just up to the line where the rest of the Mistralian League would band together against Argus or abandon them to Atlas. It was a history to create a city that saw itself very independent of the rest of the Kingdom and quite eager to assert its own identity separate from the rest of Mistral.
And when they had a singular powerhouse who dominated the Kingdom's regional tournament for four straight years under their flag… Argus was Pyrrha's city, and though Jaune didn't realize it, in the eyes of people like his sister-in-law, Pyrrha Nikos could walk on water.
Pyrrha might have a most… enthusiastic supporter in her corner for the intractable Jaune/Pyrrha non-romantic situation, and Ren gave her a cautioning look before she read too much into it.
"-when I sent Saphron those signed photos I asked Pyrrha for," Jaune continued, "She was more than happy to help me get a proper… crepe maker!"
He revealed it with a flourish as he popped open the box and pulled out a… small metal object, a black cooking surface on top in contrast with the glossy metal body. Ren knew what crepes were, but he supposed Jaune-
"Cool!" Nora said, her voice crackling with enthusiasm as she added, "What's a crepe?"
"They're a Valean delicacy!" Jaune said with a cheerful drive that was concerningly Nora-like in its enthusiasm, "They can be either sweet or savory, depending on the batter and filling. But I've always liked-"
"Let's get to the point," Nora said, a phrase usually foreshadowing the arrival of Magnhild, "are these donuts? Cause I've learned, like, 50 words that are just donuts. Cruellers, Danishes, Bear Claws, Maple Bars, they're just donuts!"
"Well, uh, they're actually a kind of pancakes…"
Ren felt his eyes suddenly snap a bit wider as he heard that word, his gaze imperceptibly but swiftly shifting to Nora who…
"Awesome!" Nora cheered, "I love pancakes! What makes these bad boys special?"
Did she- did she not know how those words sounded in Ren's heart? He reeled, unable to interject a point in favor of pancakes when this all was so sudden! Ren was never particularly good at asserting himself, finding it better to hold back and be the gentle voice of reason, but it was rare for anything to get to him this deeply!
But of course… when Ren's natural state was to hang back and quietly observe, no one noticed when he was paralyzed by anxiety. Jaune was all too happy to answer Nora's question, launching into an explanation of crepes for all of them.
"It's a very, very thin pancake," he explained, "Not so much fluffy, a little crispy on the edges and-"
"Alright, you're losing me," Nora cut in, "A thin, crispy pancake? Jaune-Jaune, you're not making any sense."
Ren hated how relieved he was to hear it. This was… this was beneath him. Petty, stupid, small, and unimportant, why did it matter that Jaune was a better cook than him? Was he really so venal he couldn't allow Jaune to have even one success? But even in his self-recrimination, Ren couldn't drop the feeling that this was something that cut him deeper than he'd imagined it might. Particularly as Jaune continued…
"But a crepe is all about what's inside it!" he valiantly replied, "You can have sweet or savory fillings, like a chocolate crepe, or a strawberry and peanut butter crepe, or salmon with arugula, or a ham and egg crepe!"
"Wow…" Nora said in a faraway voice, but one that cut deep into Ren's chest, especially as he saw her eyes sparkle in wonderment as she added, "So you can cram one full of, like, chocolate and bacon?"
"I don't, um, I'm not sure that's the best use of…"
Jaune was still talking, but Ren wasn't really listening. His thoughts overcame him, thoughts that rose up and roared about him as he saw the gleam in Nora's eye that grew brighter with every question.
Why- why did this affect him so much? He should be happy—this was good, he- he should be happy about this. Jaune was contributing to the team, quality Valean crepes should be… was it good?
He knew… he knew that what he had with Nora was something special and unique and he wasn't feeling jealous that Jaune was… someone so important in her esteem. Well, maybe he was… maybe he was feeling a little jealous. But he wished it was jealousy, really. Jealousy was a heated emotion, the kind that drove a man to act. Instead… Ren just felt the cold, quiet feeling of the ties that held him to the world around him growing looser, more distant, and he couldn't imagine how to make it stop.
"Now you're off the hook for pancake duties!" Nora cheered, giving Ren a slap on the back at he did his damnedest not to show his feelings, "Ain't that great, Renny?"
"Yeah," he said at last, "That's… great."
There were many things Ren learned at Beacon. Lessons he'd be hard pressed to acquire anywhere else, the kind of lessons that showed the value of such an elite institution. He had access to some of the best resources in the world on Grimm behavior—even if the professor was a bit of a blowhard—the finest workshops for weapon maintenance, and cutting edge technology to analyze and improve his fighting form. But perhaps the greatest source of lessons came not from the facilities or faculty, but from his fellow students.
For instance: he knew well not to take Yang Xiao Long lightly.
She'd closed the gap with a speed that'd make Pyrrha blink and as her fist came within an inch of catching him square in the chest, Ren realized that he was as scared of getting hit by Yang as he was of Magnhild. He dodged the follow up, carefully stepping backwards, twisting, bending, moving like a reed in a windstorm as he shifted every which way to keep Yang from landing a hit that would no-doubt decide the fight. With every motion, Ren moved in tandem, becoming fluid, like water, as Yang threw punch after punch.
With aggression like that, one might reasonably think she couldn't last forever. The shallow read on Yang was that she was like a blazing inferno, a brilliant heat no force could stand against, but one that quickly devoured its own fuel. A less-observant fighter might think the reasonable tactic was to let Yang expend her energy, wait to tire her out, and then make their strike. But Ren knew all too well that wouldn't work—not only did Yang possess extraordinary reserves of inner strength, her Semblance meant that as soon as her opponent took up the offensive, they would recharge her. Fighting Yang meant you fought on her terms.
So Ren couldn't delay. Time was not his ally here, and after he dodged another punch, he counter-punched, a quick swing with Stormflower to catch her on her follow through. Yang twisted, but Ren was quick, refusing to let her drive him back until she forced him off, discharging a shotgun blast that forced Ren to disengage. But rather than break away to pepper her with gunfire—what Yang was almost certainly hoping he'd try—Ren decided to be surprising. He holstered his pistols in a single, swift motion and went right back in, bare-handed and throwing precise, aura-enhanced strikes against Yang's pressure points. A strike to her upper arm, a nerve cluster on her shoulder, going for the chest-
"OH NO YOU DON'T!"
Yang threw up her hands. A sudden shift came over her mien that knocked Ren entirely off his rhythm and ended the fight in an instant!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" she cried, "Were- Ren Lie- Lie Ren! Were you trying to grab my boobs?"
Oh gods.
Ren might have died on the spot, the sudden rush of blood and heat to his face so bad that he suddenly felt light-headed. "N-no!" he gasped out, "No, I- I wasn't, I swear I was-"
Only for Yang to burst out laughing. Great, hearty guffaws as she bent double, hands on her knees as she laughed and laughed. Ren suddenly felt a new tinge of embarrassment as he realized that, perhaps, he'd have been better off had he just grabbed two handfuls of her chest instead of turning red as a tomato at the accusation.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Yang said, wiping a tear from her eyes, "I just thought- Man, I just had a moment of 'Did Ren just try to cop a feel?' and then you- you turned so red! I just couldn't help it, man!"
Ah yes.
Another weapon in Yang Xiao Long's not-inconsiderable arsenal.
Embarrassment.
Ren prayed to the Maiden of Spring that he might be freed of the heat he felt from his still-blushing face, but it was all in vain. Yang was the unquestioned Serene Master of teasing and she had Ren on the ropes. But small mercies abounded as he saw her face soften rather than go in for the kill.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Yang said, still with a faint chuckle still echoing in her voice, "I'm being a dick. That's on me."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "You're apologizing? That's new," he added, not hiding the jab.
But Yang rolled with it. "Oof, yeah, I deserve that," Yang said, then sighed. "You're going through something, aren't you?"
Ren raised an eyebrow. Could be a lucky guess, but… For how loud she was, he was a staggeringly perceptive woman.
"How… how did you…"
Yang just shrugged. "You're never this aggressive in a fight," she said, "You went hard in the way I go hard, and you're never this reckless in a spar. And you definitely never throw back any barbs when I tease you. So something had to be fuelling that. And if I had to guess, not to be rude… I'm guessing it's something with Nora."
"You're… you're not wrong," Ren murmured, "Remind me not to underestimate you."
Yang laughed. "I am smart, aren't I?" she said in a wistful tone, then turned grave. "Seriously, though, you're not usually off your game like this, and I don't think we need to beat around the bush with this, so spill. What's going on with you and the Human Thunderbolt?"
Ren opened his mouth, only to close it as quickly as he began. What was going on with them? Was it really something as trivial as- as pancakes that left him struggling with his feelings like this?
"Just… start with the facts," Yang said sympathetically. "Tell me how this started, we can puzzle it out from there."
Ren took a deep breath, then finally said: "Jaune can make crepes."
There was a pause. An overly long pause, before Yang . Then a longer pause. And then Yang raised an eyebrow and replied, "And that means…"
Ren blushed, a feeling that was becoming more familiar than he liked. "I… Nora's really excited for them," he said, making Yang nod, "But I… I've been making pancakes for her for as long as we've been together… not- not together-together but-"
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Yang said, "Keep going. You make pancakes for Nora…"
"But now she- she isn't going to want them when she has Jaune," he mumbled, then went quiet and looked down at his shoes.
Yang was quiet as well, giving Ren time to dwell in his thoughts. What a miserable defeat this was and, not to be catty, but losing to Jaune? Could there be any more perfect expression of how badly he'd dropped the ball, how pathetic his cowardice was that Jaune Arc had exceeded him in front of Nora and-
"That's tough man, it's real tough," Yang offered sympathetically as she gave him another pat on the shoulder. Ren appreciated a break from his increasingly dire spiral. He- he shouldn't be turning against Jaune, and the thought that Nora might be- might have that kind of interest about… breakfast pastries was just absurd!
Yang cleared her throat. "Not to get off topic, but these crepes, will he be-"
Ren raised an eyebrow.
Yang blushed. "Okay, okay, sorry, staying on topic." Then she shook her head. "But man… savory Valean crepes? Team JNPR gets all the luck."
"I… I suppose we do," Ren ventured, suddenly feeling… silly about his concerns. A good thing was happening, and he was making it all about himself!
"Tell you what, if he opened with the crepes," Yang continued, "He'd be in a way better place with his love life. Skip the guitar, just come over, 'Hello ladies, would any of you care for an elegant homemade breakfast, a thing I can easily and personally provide?' he's leaving with a girlfriend!"
"You think Weiss would-"
"Weiss? Weiss nothing, he's promising that and Weiss is gonna have to get in line behind me!"
Ren laughed. A thin laugh, but Yang had an infectious power to punch through Ren's emotional logjams with a casual, almost accidental, directness. He was, at least, he hoped he wasn't presuming, but Ren was fairly certain that Yang's interests did not lie with men, much less Jaune. But Yang didn't let anything like that stop her, she joked, flirted, and lived her life without a care for what anyone thought of her.
How Ren wished he could be more like her…
"But you don't have to worry about that."
Ren looked up, meeting the blazing intensity of Yang's gaze. Even when her eyes were still in lilac rather than the crimson fury of her Semblance, she still had an intensity in her eyes that could hold Ren in place.
"I don't know a lot about cooking," Yang said, a spark of fire in her voice, "But by the Maidens, I have made more Mac and Cheese than any nine-year-old girl ever ought to make, and I learned how to make it good. Maybe Jaune can make Fettucine Alfredo that'd take it to school, but if you asked Ruby which she'd prefer… she'd choose my Mac and Cheese every time. Not a doubt in my mind."
"I'm sure your- your Mac and Cheese is good, but-"
"It's not if it's 'good!'" Yang cried, clapping a hand hard on Ren's shoulder, "I mean, it's good, yeah, but it's store-bought instant noodles! The sauce is made from powder! Hell, it wasn't even the name brand kind. My one actual contribution is that I know to use a lot of butter. Both Weiss and Blake would be appalled if I tried to feed it to them, and do you know how many things there are where Weiss and Blake are on the same side? It is not actually good. The thing that matters is that I made food for my little sister because I love her, and Ruby knows that. Every bowl of Mac and Cheese…"
Her voice trembled, a sudden, wet emotion coming into it as Yang sniffed.
"...every bowl I made in that little saucepan… that was all for Ruby. Cause she was the most important person to me. And I think," she turned her gaze back to Ren, her tone suddenly firming up as she added, "you know exactly what I'm talking about with you and Nora."
Ren was about to say something about his relationship with Nora wasn't exactly like Yang's relationship with Ruby when he realized… that was the matter. That he didn't see Nora as a sister. That he saw something… something more there.
Giving a quiet, thoughtful nod, Ren recognized what he had to do. "Yeah…" he murmured, "Yeah, I think- I think I do. Thanks, Yang, I'll- I really appreciate that."
"Anytime," Yang said with a smile, "And once you've dealt with all the emotional stuff… make sure Yang gets her cut of the crepes, understood?"
Ren felt a smile come to his face as he said, "Of course."
"I am authorized to strike any un-authorized attendees with a broom until such time as they are pacified! Am I understood?"
"Yes!" Pyrrha said, clearly a little bowled over by Nora's act. Ren's "yes" was quieter and said with a chuckle, but… he saw Nora smile as he said it.
But she wasn't about to break character.
"And this applies to you Ms. Adel!" she barked, alerting Ren to the presence of the senior student hovering at the edges of the common area, who glowered at Nora at being caught.
"Are you seriously telling me," she said, her voice rich in theatrical, wounded pride, "that I'm not welcome, me, who is as much a big sister to Arc as a mentor, Team JNPR's most outspoken-"
"WE ARE A SOCIETY OF LAWS!" Nora barked, slamming the broom to the ground with force enough to make even Coco jump back, a rare breach in her always-unflappable bearing, "Now get!"
Coco didn't need to be told twice. "Alright, alright!" she groused, "But I will get my- okay, okay," she threw up her hands as Nora menaced her with the broom, "This is a nice outfit, I do not need straw in it!"
Ren watched as Coco was driven from the common space. It wasn't often that the dorm's shared kitchen got much use—most Huntsmen weren't particularly inclined for the domestic—but ever since Jaune and Pyrrha had come back from Vale with bags full of groceries, there was a lot of interest in what they had planned. Ren idly wondered how things had gone in the city: judging from the smile on Pyrrha's face, the opportunity to go on what was a date in all but name had been very much appreciated.
But the moment had finally arrived as Jaune proudly stepped forward from the kitchen with a plate full of golden crepes, topped with sliced strawberries, blueberries, and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Even though this had been the impetus of a massive emotional crisis in Ren's life, he had to admit… they did look delicious.
With well-deserved pride in his eyes, Jaune set the plate down at the table and declared, "Help yourselves!"
And they did.
Nora swiftly snatched up a crepe, then Pyrrha, and finally, Ren took one of his own. Delicately taking his knife and fork, he sliced through the pastry and brought a small forkful to his lips and chewed. Once more, he had to admit, Jaune was clearly talented in this, the flavors of fruit, cheese, and pastry blending together excellently as he-
"And how many of these do each of us get?"
A glance confirmed that Nora had already scarfed down her first two and had her plate ready to get more. It was a moment that was so perfectly… Nora that Ren couldn't help but be struck by it. Her bold forthrightness, her fearlessness to speak up, just everything about her, a cannonball that crashed through the world of rules and order. And Ren, having been alongside her when they were on the other side of the world of rules and order… he knew how precious she was. As Jaune quickly offered her another helping, Ren closed his eyes and remembered just how much she meant to him.
They finished their first round all as Jaune eagerly listed off what other options there were, the different ingredients and batters and fillings that his family made use of and how he was excited to make this a more regular treat for them to enjoy… a reward after meeting certain performance goals, which he was quick to lay out as part of his plan for the future of Team JNPR. He wasn't just a pastry chef, after all, but a man responsible for the entire Team's future, and Ren noted that he was beginning to show that he had talent in this area, too. He might not have seemed much at first, but from the moment he led them against the Deathstalker to now… he'd grown as a leader. Still a ways to go, but… they'd get there. They'd all get there, together.
With the crepes finished, Ren helped the rest of his team clean up. Ren, of course, volunteered to do the dishes, but Team JNPR wasn't the sort to leave him to do it alone, and soon there was a quick bustle of activity as they cleaned up behind themselves. This was what set JNPR apart from their peers in CRDL and especially RWBY. Yes, Ren recognized that embracing messiness was important for Weiss's personal development and he well understood that perfect fastidiousness could be isolating and sterile. He also knew the difference between private and public spaces, and he understood what courtesy meant for his fellow students!
But getting so wrapped up in his thoughts, Ren didn't notice that Jaune was right beside him, drying dishes. The sudden opportunity, the moment with the two of them alone… Ren couldn't put off the conversation he knew he ought to have.
"They were… your crepes are very good," Ren said with quiet humility.
"Yeah," Jaune nodded, "No substitute for pancakes, though."
Ren's eyes went wide, the plate nearly dropping from his hands. How- how could she-
"Yang told you?" he asked in alarm.
But Jaune's eyes went wide, his head cocked in confusion. "Yang? I… no, I don't- I don't know about… any of… whatever you said to her, or whatever that's about," he said with a nervous, awkward chuckle, "But I- I know you man. I'm not kidding: you really feel like the brother I never had. And I knew… I knew you took pride in your pancakes. Deserved pride."
Ren stared at Jaune for a moment before finally saying, "You… noticed that?"
"I'm not stu- I mean, I'm not that stupid," Jaune said with a self-deprecating chuckle, "I just noticed you had, I dunno, kind of a weird vibe recently, and I figured, might be something with the crepe maker I got cause pancakes are so important to you and Nora. And hey! I get it!"
Once again, Ren was discovering new depths to his Team Leader. And if he was perceptive enough to pick up on the pancakes, perhaps he could…
"You do?" Ren asked in a nervous whisper.
"Yeah, cooking's all about family, man," Jaune said… missing the mark a little, but not by that much, "Everything I know about cooking, I learned from my mom. And I… I've been feeling a little homesick recently."
Maybe he missed the finer details of Ren's feelings for Nora, but when Ren was so reserved about his own… he felt a twinge of sympathy for Pyrrha, the both of them struggling to be a tenth as forthright as their partners and just speak their feelings.
"And in the Arc family…" Jaune continued, "Cooking is always about family. Apparently, my great-grandma made my mom promise that every one of her daughters would learn the family recipes, and, well…" Jaune sighed, "Four daughters in, she'd hit her stride and wasn't gonna skip me just because I was a son."
"Well, we… appreciate her persistence," Ren said, but his mind was starting to turn elsewhere. And in this, Jaune was more than perceptive enough to pick up on it.
"Hey, how about… how about I finish up here?" he asked before jutting his head towards the door, "There's not much left to do, and… I think you've got other things to deal with?"
Following his gaze, Ren saw where Pyrrha and Nora were excitedly chatting. And with Jaune calling Pyrrha over… he figured it was time he faced up to his feelings.
Now or never.
"Hey, Nora…" he said, trying to not let his courage falter as he saw her brilliantly sunny smile as she bounded up to him.
"Hey, Renny! Weren't those just the best? I'm gonna have Jaune-Jaune make me a chocolate-bacon crepe. A whole platter of them!"
Ren couldn't help but smile. "He did say that if you could get your grades up, there might be crepe incentives…"
Nora punched her fist into her palm. "I'm gonna kick the crap out of my next History test!" she boasted, "Dr. Oobleck ain't even gonna know what hit him with how good my test's gonna be!"
But then… Nora's demeanor softened. Still smiling just as brilliantly, but her eyes… Ren was always struck by how subtly expressive Nora's eyes could be. And right now, the way she looked at him, Ren felt his heart skip a beat.
"But the best part about all this is…" she murmured, "it's that, for once, someone else could take on the stuff you always had to do. That just for once, it wouldn't all fall on your shoulders and we could just… let somebody else handle things. You got a treat, and you… you never get that."
"That's not true-"
But Nora cut him off with a firm shake of her head. "I know you've- I know how many sacrifices you make for me. I know you don't want me to know, but… but I do. I know you're always looking out for me, you've always- ever since we were little, you've always looked out for me. Made sure I wasn't just okay, but that I had pancakes and syrup and- and- and-"
He saw her eyes grow wet with tears and Ren was seized by a sudden urge to seize her, to take her in a hug and tell her that he'd always be there for her because he- because he- because-
"Nora…" he croaked out, now feeling his own eyes get wet with tears, trying to put into words feelings he still barely understood even as he could no longer deny how clear they were. "Nora, I- for you- I've- I would-"
"And I've never been able to take care of you."
The words struck Ren like a blow.
"I never knew… never knew what to do for you the way you're always taking care of me," Nora continued with a wistful sigh, before looking back to Ren with a soft smile, "but hearing that Jaune-Jaune could make super fancy pancakes… that meant so much to me because I've never known how to get anything fancy enough or good enough for- Ren!"
She cried out in surprise as Ren was once more seized by a desire to hold her, but this time, for the first time in years, Ren simply could not hold his feelings back. He embraced Nora, crushing her in a tight hug the likes of which he'd been on the receiving end for so many times. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, feeling her body against his, the hitch in her breath from being caught off guard, her heart beating rapidly against his chest, the smallest squeak of surprise…
"There's… always…" he struggled with his words, hoping in vain for some poetic impulse or guidance. But when nothing came to him, when the feelings in his heart didn't unlock some hidden agility in his tongue, he had to resort to blurting out…
"You! It was always- for you, Nora! You were enough, you were worth- worth so much more, seeing you smile, knowing you were happy, it all- it all-"
He squeezed her even tighter before he finally said:
"Because I love you, Nora. Because I love you… making you smile was worth so… so much more than-"
Now it was Ren's turn to be caught off guard as Nora pushed him back… so she had the space to pull him into a sudden kiss. In an instant, all the uncertainties, all the anxieties that were forever running through Ren's mind… they were all swept away. He thought his heart might have stopped beating as he felt her lips, felt how soft and warm they were against his, felt what he'd feared to imagine made so real and so close as he slowly realized he was kissing her back. If it had been seconds or if it had been years, Ren had no idea, but the moment stretched on and on as he felt Nora's kiss cut through all his fears in a single strike.
When time came back… and Ren felt himself pulled away from Nora in a daze. But even in the heavy fog that had settled around his brain, he saw Nora's eyes and saw that they were beautiful. And that was all that mattered.
"Better…" she whispered, "better than- than any pancake, crepe, or anything I've ever had."
"I'm… I'm glad," he answered, resting his head in her hair, feeling her slight static charge tickle his nose and taking in the floral scent of her shampoo. She had been his inseparable companion for years, and yet, he'd never been this close to her. He found he liked it, liked being so present, liked- liked having her in his arms, at his side, in his heart.
And Nora seemed to like it too, the two of them holding one another for another moment that stretched on beyond time and space. But eventually, they came back down to Remnant, gazing into each other's eyes as Ren saw Nora actually blush, a lovely rose color coming to her cheeks as the more Ren gazed upon her, the more she blushed until she giggled and looked away.
"I love you, Renny," she murmured happily, "Love, love, love, love you! I just… didn't know how to ever- if you felt-"
"I just had to," Ren said in reply, "I couldn't wait another moment, I had to tell you."
But then… Nora gave him a sly look.
"Were you jealous of Jaune-Jaune?" she asked.
Ren's eyes shot wide… then he chuckled, confessing, "Yes, I- yes I was."
A glance out of the corner of his eyes revealed the other pair of JNPR watching from the kitchen, then quickly scrambling away as soon as they caught that Ren had noticed them. Though not, of course, before Jaune shot him a thumbs up. He really was like a brother to him.
But Ren couldn't focus on anything but Nora right now. She gave him another squeeze, pressing her head against his chest. "No one could ever compare to my Renny," she murmured sweetly, "Cause you've always been there for me."
"And I always will be."
He gave Nora another squeeze, she gave him one in return, then looked up and asked, "Can we kiss some more?"
Ren paused a moment, then said, "Yes, I- I would like that."
And he couldn't deny that he did.
Thanks to Renarde, Dys, and the other members of my Discord for feedback on this work!
The idea for this fic came from one of the Ruby vtuber Q&As where Lindsay Jones set the canon that Ren cooks for the group and that Yang cannot cook, which 1) goes against my headcanons (unforgiveable!) and 2) kind of undermines what I think is really strong about Yang's character. She's a mess of contradictions, the carefree party girl who grew up too fast, having to hold her family together as a child when tragedy struck, the friendly extrovert who also struggles with a great deal of loneliness. That girl doesn't know much about cooking, but she would have always taken care of Ruby. There are a lot of ways to cook and a lot of ways that cooking is a way of showing love, and I think Yang, Ren, and Jaune would all have unique ways of expressing themselves through food, based on their differing social and economic backgrounds, but they'd all recognize the importance of food in relationships.