Who: ReNora What: Nora finds Ren napping When: Today, a few hours after this log Where: The JNPR apartment Ratings/warning: Low/none Status: Complete
Nora was a busy bee, working two jobs and still keeping up her youtube and blogging gig on the side. Part-time, of course, and only a couple of hours each day, but still. The money was nice--it was more than they’d had most of their lives--and the hours weren’t bad. It did mean that they were apart more than they’d been in a long time.
With an armful of groceries (Nutella! YUM!) Nora came through the front door, humming gently. She went straight to the kitchen and set the heavy bag down on the counter, then called out “I’m ho~ome! Ren? Jaune? Pyrrha?”
Ren was home, though when Nora got home he was sleeping. He needed to to give his aura time to regenerate the blood he had lost in that afternoon’s encounter with Tyler. From somewhere on the outskirts of his consciousness, the part that was just on the edge of sleep, he heard Nora calling, and he grumbled a little about being home, not a terribly uncommon reply from the guy who constantly had trouble getting out of bed in the morning.
Nora unloaded a couple of things from the bag, but she hadn’t heard Ren’s response. She gave up on the bag of groceries (most of it was shelf stable, anyway) and headed down the hall toward Ren’s room. “Ren?” She asked, poking her head into Ren’s bedroom. “You home? Are you sleeping?” Getting up in the morning was one thing, but this was the afternoon, right? Had she lost track of time? Had he?
Ren opened his eyes, frowning groggily at Nora for having disturbed his sleep, but he still rolled over to give Nora space to sit down next to him. “I was,” he answered.
Nora didn’t have to be asked. She sat down on the bed, curling her feet gently under herself. Now she was a little concerned. He looked… pale. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
Ren shook his head. “No, just tired,” he said, wondering if he should go on. Part of him was worried that he’d worry Nora, or that she’d over react, but after a moment he knew that he couldn’t keep anything from her. “Ruby and I had an incident during or picnic this afternoon is all. I’ll be fine in a few hours.”
It was a very weird thing that her concern for Ren’s well-being was instantly and momentarily overshadowed by a strange surge of jealousy at the idea that Ren was on a picnic this afternoon with someone else. Someone named Ruby. Nora did her best to swallow it down and push it aside, though. Confusion over the emotion was the next feeling to well within her. She cleared her throat, trying not to let her mind linger. “What kind of an incident? What happened?”
Ren frowned a little. “We were attacked,” he said. By Caroline’s ex-boyfriend, no less. He still wasn’t sure what to make of that. He knew Caroline was a vampire, and it seemed like her boyfriend was one too. “Ruby took care of him before anything too bad could happen though. I just need sleep.”
Oh, God, of course. Ruby Ruby. What had Nora been thinking? It was so silly that she felt jealous of--wait. attacked?? Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. “Oh my God, are you okay? What happened? Who attacked you? What did Ruby do? What did you do? Where were you having the picnic? When was this?” The questions came out at super speed even as Nora was examining Ren’s face and body as closely as she could--just to make sure there was no huge, permanent damage.
“I’m okay,” Ren assured her, taking her hand in his to help reassure him. “It was this afternoon, and I … didn’t. Couldn’t. Do anything. Ruby’s eyes glowed, and then he turned to stone.” He was sure he had probably missed a couple of questions, but he figured that the answers were less important than Nora knowing he was fine.
Well, the hand in her own was definitely reassuring. But the idea that he’d been attacked. It made Nora’s own eyes want to glow. In a totally different way. The way of anger and fury and vengeance. The way of putting her hammer into whatever it was that hurt her Ren. She leaned way over and pressed her forehead against his for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I don’t like that you were hurt. I don’t like that you had to go through that.” It came out in a gentle whisper. “Can I do anything?”
Ren closed his eyes, bringing his hand to Nora’s hair. “I don’t think there’s anything you can do,” Ren said. “Though, I’d like it if you wanted to stay here.”
Groceries forgotten, Nora was more than happy to stay with Ren. It was weird to have their own rooms now, to be sleeping so far away from one another. They’d spent their whole lives together, cuddled up when it got cold, Nora jumping out of bed at the crack of dawn and letting Ren sleep in most days. But they were always close, always together. (Just not together together.) So it was second nature for her to cuddle by his side.
“I want to stay here.” She said, softly. It was amazing to her how easy it was to lay down beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. One arm snaked across his middle. (It was probably crossing some friendship boundary that she didn’t always cross, but whatever.) “I always want to stay here.”
A small smile crossed his lips, and he wrapped his arm around Nora’s shoulders, pulling her a little closer to him. In not much time, he was dozing again, this time, a little more peacefully.