Chapter Text
Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren have known each other for what felt like forever to Nora. When she looked back on the short time she spent without Ren, it almost seemed as if something were missing back then, but she didn't know anything was missing until she found it.
Ren had been her family since she was about nine years old. They both became orphans after an unfortunate Grimm attack and had been with each other since. Since Nora was about thirteen, she'd felt this sense of care for Ren. She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but she knew it wasn't something she had ever felt before. She thought of Ren as family for as long as she could remember. But then a new idea dawned upon her, one she was too frightened to mention. She instead kept it to herself and pretended like that feeling didn't exist. At least, she pretended around Ren.
Nora always tried to push the memories of her parents' deaths out of her mind, but sometimes, usually at night, they came crawling back. She would hide under her covers and tremble as she remembered the screams and the growls of Grimm from her past. This was when she felt vulnerable. When Ren wasn't right next to her, always keeping an eye on her, she would become distracted and somehow she would wind her way back to the tragic past both she and Ren had in common. On particularly hard nights, Nora would cry softly to herself, trying not to wake anyone up. She kept everything low and quiet for the most part. However, on many nights, Ren noticed and would have to calm her down.
One particular night, Nora was haunted by the nightmares of her past. Her dreams constantly reminded her how helpless she was back then and it would then remind her of the horrible bloodshed she had witnessed that night. She stood up from her bed and walked out to the balcony. She opened the door as quietly as possible, hoping that she wouldn't wake anyone up. She stood outside for a while, she was alone with her thoughts.
"Nora?"
Nora whipped around to see Ren standing at the doorway, looking concerned.
"Hi Ren," Nora said, swallowing back the impending tears.
Ren saw the tears in Nora's eyes, despite all of her attempts to push them away. He noticed the fear in her eyes and the slight tremble of her hands.
"Come here," Ren said gently, walking towards her. Nora wrapped her arms around him, sobbing loudly on the balcony. All her attempts to be quiet were gone as she felt Ren's hands around her back as she cried. Ren stroked his hand through her ginger hair as he held her.
Nora's loud sobs along with the open balcony door stirred Pyrrha and Jaune. They both looked out the balcony door, but they decided to leave them be. They both fell back asleep.
"Everything's okay, Nora," Ren said softly. "I'm right here."
"Thank you, Ren," Nora said, finally calming down a bit.
He planted a kiss on her forehead, and through her tears, Nora felt her face grow warm. She buried her face farther into Ren's chest, hoping to hide the redness of her cheeks that she knew was there. It was all in vain, though, for Ren already knew she was blushing.