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Vacuo was a pretty place, Ren decided. Crowded, maybe, but bustling with life, warm and dry in a way that made the cold of Solitas a distant memory, a place where they could catch their breath for a moment and enjoy life.
Downtime wasn’t something Ren usually let himself get used to. Before the Fall of Beacon, there’d been classes, and studying, which he struggled with a fair bit more than he let on; before that, combat school and putting in more than enough hours to learn to fight. And before that, he and Nora had been moving, constantly moving, and he’d always been working on his aura and on keeping the two of them safe, finding someone to do a job for so they could get food, finding a place to sleep, always looking for the things they were always missing.
So… yes, Vacuo was nice. Too crowded for him, but relaxed. He didn’t remember the last time he’d relaxed.
Stars glittered above the city, and it was to the stars that Ren was looking now. It was something he and Nora did a lot as children, wandering the forest or shady parts of towns with no sense of direction. Sometimes, they’d pick a star and follow it until they needed to sleep. Now there was no need for that, but the stars were still beautiful, and here, with a cup of tea in his hands, stars above him, and atop a building overlooking a city, he felt at peace.
“Hey.” At the edge of the building, a pair of hands gripped the ledge, followed by a light grunt as Nora pulled herself up to sit beside him. “Whatcha doin?”
“The stars are very bright here,” he responded, gesturing with the hand not holding a teacup. “I was remembering how much we used to see them, before we went to Vale.”
Nora tilted her head back, gazing upwards. Ren watched her eyes widen and her face soften in wonder, awed as always by the natural beauty of the world. It was an admirable quality of hers, to find and appreciate such beauty, one that he could never quite manage to acquire, but in moments like this - the two of them, the stars, and solitude - it was more inescapable than an inability.
A long moment passed before Nora spoke again. “After Vale and Mistral, I didn’t think any city would have a good view of the stars, but… wow. This is incredible.” She grinned, teeth shining in the starlight, and looked at Ren. “Shouldn’t be surprised you found this, though. You always know the best spots to stargaze.”
Something his mother had taught him, when his father was away. One of the few things they’d done as a whole family.
Once, that thought would have shut him down, caused him to close up and go quiet. But he’d grown recently, and he was still adjusting to this new emotional normal, but this was Nora. He could be his new self around Nora.
Then again… this was Nora. The girl who he’d nearly broken down for. Hopefully, that wasn’t something still likely to happen.
When Ren looked back to the sky, a certain star caught his attention. Or, rather, a certain arrangement of stars - a long, skinny sort of rectangle, with a vertical cluster at one end and a surprisingly empty space at the end. “Nora,” he said quietly, not wanting to overly disturb their peace. “The Cannonball is just to the east, look.”
“What?” Nora squinted, carefully looking down his arm when he pointed. “The Cannon- oh my god!” She let out a delighted peal of laughter, rocking forwards with the force of her own joy. “Ren, you remembered that?! We haven’t seen it in years , I can’t believe -” Again, she dissolved into laughter, so loud and infectious that Ren felt his heart swell in a way it hadn’t since before Mistral.
He hadn’t seen Nora laugh like this in a long time - not since well before they split up in Atlas, honestly not since they’d stayed with the Cotta-Arcs. The sound reached into his bones, his very soul, and brought forth all of the happy moments he’d forgotten over the past few months; the days they’d gone swimming by waterfalls in the forest, the first time Nora used Magnhild, the time they’d made up constellations like the Cannonball and she’d nearly laughed herself sick coming up with stories to accompany them. So many good moments that he’d neglected; he wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Nora stopped laughing long enough to say, “Do you remember the - the story - oh my god, we were so stupid -” before falling into another fit of laughter. Ren grinned as he recalled it; the first time they’d used a diving board, Ren hadn’t known how to swim and had curled up in the air, causing a massive splash that drenched half the pool-goers. Nora had immortalized it in their stars just a few nights later, despite Ren’s protests, and they’d looked for it every stargazing night since.
And, oh, that was unexpected - Ren himself was laughing now. Not as loud as Nora, nor as joyous, but more than a chuckle, perhaps even more than a giggle. He felt his shoulders shake and his face crease upwards, straining his jaw with the strength of his grin, and his newly-shortened hair fell in his face when he ducked his chin towards his chest to try and calm himself. Which - wait, no, he was trying to not do that, he was trying to be more open so the people he loved would stay with him.
The thought sobered him, and for a moment he stared down at his lap, until he realized that Nora had fallen silent.
She was looking at him, surprised, her eyes wide as if she was looking at the stars again. “Huh. Wow.” A pause. “We’ve… I’ve known you since we were little kids, Ren, but… I’ve, um, I’ve never heard you laugh like that before.”
And Ren loved her, and he had promised to try and do better, to try and vocalize his thoughts and feelings, to share them. And this was Nora, the girl he’d once been scared to risk everything for, but he wasn’t scared anymore, wasn’t hurting, wasn’t silent. So it was - not easy, but easier - to say, “Well, before, I never really let myself love you. Or anything, really. But I'm trying to do better, and this is part of it.”
So many happy, quiet, good moments wasted. Ren wasn’t sure he’d ever stop kicking himself over that. Again, he went quiet, eyes looking down, not used to the aftermath despite plowing through the words themselves.
“Ren.”
There was a hand on his. Nora. There was a beautiful woman who he loved desperately next to him. Nora. There was a beautiful woman who he loved desperately, who was sitting next to him, who was holding his hand, who was looking at him with an expression he didn’t quite understand but knew was love.
“Nora?”
And she leaned forwards, and Ren did too, and they were kissing.
Once, kissing Nora had been unexpected and electrifying. Something he denied himself, denied both of them; something he felt he couldn’t let happen or the world would end, or he would break apart, or - something. Now, though, kissing Nora felt calm, felt like his whole body was being cleansed by a summer storm that would let the flowers bloom in its wake. Kissing Nora felt like the best thing in the world. He lifted one hand to her arm, cupping her bicep and all the scars crossing it, a map of her bravery and compassion and determination. He wanted to trace them all, see Nora in all her glory, all her scars and muscles and beautiful imperfections, to appreciate her the way she deserved to be appreciated.
Once, he would have found those thoughts terrifying. Now, he still did - but they were thrilling, too.
Kissing Nora felt so, so right, but they needed to breathe, and with a little exhaled ‘ oh ’ Nora pulled away. There was an uncharacteristic blush on her face, pink to match her jacket, and she didn’t quite seem able to meet Ren’s eyes, even as her fingers squeezed tighter around Ren’s hand.
Giddy, this feeling was called. Ren chuckled, the lightness in his chest undeniable, and said, “We’ve known each other since we were little kids, Nora, but I’ve never known you to be shy.”
Electric blue eyes snapped up to him, still framed by a heavy blush, but Nora was smiling now, her usual ever-present mischievous grin. “I am not shy!” she protested playfully, poking Ren in the chest with her other hand. “Everyone knows you’re the shy one here, Ren, I - you -”
Ren grinned, feeling dopey, feeling light as air, feeling absolutely in love, and Nora rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, shut up,” and pulled him in for another kiss. She was still smiling; so was Ren. Her hand flattened against his chest, right over the lotus pin he’d bought a few weeks ago, and Ren let the hand on her arm slide down to her waist to pull her closer.
Nora sighed happily and kissed him harder.
It was long past midnight when they finally separated, when they agreed to return to the others and get some sleep before they had to work tomorrow. But Ren had long since come to the conclusion: Vacuo might be nice, and the stars here were beautiful, that was undeniable.
But they had nothing, absolutely nothing, on Nora Valkyrie.