Deck The Halls Ch. 2

“Well damn...” Yang said with a low whistle, “you guys are going all out for Christmas, ain’tcha?”

As Ren gazed over the endless bags of groceries that Pyrrha and Nora brought in, Jaune darting from place to place to make sure the dorm kitchen was fully and appropriately stocked with everything in its right place, he had to admit, they really were going all out. Ren had been surprised to hear that Jaune could cook, even more surprised to hear that he was a very experienced cook, and was, frankly, floored by the fact that Jaune had taken Nora’s request for a “Christmas Goose” and had somehow topped it, preparing a seven course meal for Christmas day.

Yang reached for an apple, only for Jaune to smack it out of her hand, rapping her across the wrist with a wooden spoon. “Those are for the tarte Normande I’m making for Christmas morning. They’re baking apples, not a snack!”

But for once, Yang didn’t seem even mildly put out by the rebuke, merely chuckling as she rubbed the back of her hand.

“This is why Jaune’s Team Leader,” Yang continued, nodding as the man in question turned the chaos of groceries into a well-stocked pantry. A man after Ren’s own heart. “Southern Vale, they take food seriously. Up in the North, they don’t have food. If you were in CRDL, you’d be having baked beans on white bread for Christmas. Almost as bad as all the other parts of being on Cardin’s team.”

Not a day went by that Ren wasn’t grateful that Beacon’s borderline insane admissions policy hadn’t put him and Nora under the leadership of Cardin Winchester. Or worse, if the first eyes Ren had seen hadn’t been Nora’s, smiling down on him from a tree branch as she made her sloth call and booped him. Beacon would be… would be very different if the two of them had been split up. Very, very different.

But Ren could ponder that later—he knew he’d be spending plenty of time today, like he had just about every other day, thinking about Nora—because the thought of splitting up reminded him of something with Yang.

“I… don’t know if I could offer to invite your team to our dinner...” Ren actually knew the answer to that. Jaune would kill him if he unexpectedly added four guests to his meticulously planned dinner, and Ren feared Jaune in this context, spoon of striking still in hand, more than he feared most Grimm, “But if Team RWBY doesn’t have plans for Christmas...”

But Yang waved him off. “Nah, Weiss invited the team to spend Christmas in her mansion, so we’re heading up tomorrow. Chartered flight and everything!” Yang replied with a cheery grin, “And while it’s breaking my old man’s heart, he really can’t object to how well Ruby’s getting on with her partner. Besides,” Yang’s grin softened, her more maternal side coming through as she wistfully added, “I think we’re making the Weiss-Queen’s year by bringing our doltish, disruptive, and destructive form of Christmas merriment up to the frozen north.”

Then her trademark grin returned as she added, “Also, I’m gonna drink my weight in hot chocolate, so we’re all winning.”

“And Blake?” Ren asked, an impish grin of his own slipping across his face.

Yang smirked. “I’m taking bets on how long before she goes off on Weiss’s dad. The Over/Under’s three hours, and the vig’s very generous...”

Never a gambler, Ren waved her off. “Roman Torchwick could learn a thing from you,” he replied with a chuckle.

“Ren!” Jaune barked, his voice more commanding than… well, any time Jaune had given orders on an actual battlefield, but it certainly got Ren’s attention away from chatting with Yang. “Is the nutmeg in any of the bags by you? I can’t find it anywhere and I don’t want to have to go back to the store because we forgot it.”

Ren, feeling guilty for gossiping with Yang rather than helping, quickly set to sorting through the bags. What had happened that Jaune was the one reprimanding him for being inattentive? Things were a lot more topsy-turvy than Ren liked, and if the world was getting this out of sorts, he wasn’t sure what else he could expect. But he quickly got back to work, sorting through the bag to find the nutmeg he knew they’d bought, mostly because it’d started a discussion between him and Nora on what nutmeg was.

He had eventually been able to convince her that it probably wasn’t named such because there was a Megan involved, though did concede that it was possible.

“Oooh, someone’s in a take charge mood!” Yang teased before giving Jaune a flirtatious smile, “Gotta say… seeing you show some authority is a good look on you, Vomit Boy. Bet Cereal Girl would agree…” But as soon as she said it, Yang nimbly switched topics just as Jaune started to blush. “But tell me, is this gonna be a proper Southern Christmas with the snails in butter?”

“Please, it’s escargot,” Jaune corrected, “And obviously we will, Nora wants the full Valean Christmas, not… whatever you do in Patch.”

Naturally, Yang rose to the veiled insult, shooting back, “You mock us all you want, but my old man makes a mean ham. Does this bourbon glaze that’s so good, he’s gotta put me or Ruby in charge of keeping our Uncle Qrow occupied while he’s making it.”

“Wait, is that why I always had to show Uncle Qrow all my Christmas carols every year?” the sudden voice of Ruby Rose piped up, alerting them to the presence of Team RWBY’s diminutive, but never to be underestimated, leader.

Yang just shook her head with a laugh. “Nah, Rubes, half of it was because from the moment you learned a Christmas song at school, you wouldn’t stop singing it!” She glanced to Ren with a grin. “Seriously, it was adorable, she was only thiiiiis tall,” she pantomimed her height with her hand, “and she’d be singing at the top of her lungs every carol she knew while marching through the house. It was as adorable as it was deeply annoying.”

Folding her arms across her chest, Ruby harrumphed at her big sister. “Well, maybe I’m going to make Team RWBY go caroling as a team building exercise, what would you say then, Yang?”

Shrugging, Yang only replied, “I figured we were gonna get kicked out of Weiss’s house for something, so might as well be for hollering Christmas carols at the top of my lungs.”

In a show of maturity, Ruby stuck out her tongue at her sister before turning and saying, “Well, if that’s what you think, then I’m not gonna tell you that Pyrrha and Yatsuhashi are arm-wrestling with winner taking Nora, so..”

“Oh, I am so there!” Yang cheered, taking off like a shot after her sister and leaving Ren and Jaune alone in the kitchen. Like so many encounters with their sister team, it had ended on a sudden and wildly unexpected note. It was a pretty bewildering life here at Beacon, but Ren had adapted to it better than he might have expected. After all, Nora was good preparation for what a life of unpredictability had in store for him.

Well, most unpredictability...

Finding the nutmeg in the bag, having slipped beneath the onions, Ren tossed it to Jaune, who caught it and placed it in the (woefully under-stocked) spice rack. It was another change from Ren’s old life that Jaune could present the full grocery list of everything they would need… and Pyrrha hadn’t even had to think twice to cover the bill. An austere lifestyle coupled with some very profitable endorsement deals meant a full bank account. But as Jaune turned to move to whatever it was he next needed to prepare in advance for Christmas, Ren figured now that the two of them were alone, it’d be a good time to ask his Leader for some advice.

“Jaune,” he began, “I… need some advice… about a girl.”

Jaune’s eyes went wider than Ren liked before he corrected himself and bashfully tried to play it off. “Are you, um, sure you should be talking to, uh, me?” he stammered out in reply, “I mean… my record with Weiss was… not good, and there isn’t exactly a nice, quirky girl out there beating the door down to… ask me out...”

His voice trailed off as Ren stared at Jaune with undisguised, deadpan how do you not see it until Jaune couldn’t meet his gaze. Seriously, how did he not realize that Pyrrha’s crush on him had only grown worse over the course of the year? At the same time, that had only made it more pressing that Pyrrha should just… just ask him out, as Ren and Nora and now Yang (on a long enough time frame, it was impossible to avoid Yang finding something out and offering her unsolicited opinion) had told her. It had taken a lot of Ren’s talents to keep Yang or Nora or, the gods help them all, the both of them from forcing the matter by telling Jaune to his face. But in moments like these, as Jaune’s cheeks turned bright red as he muttered that he had no luck with women, Ren was wondering if he’d be the one to make it blunt.

But at the same time…

How could he be the one to judge Jaune and Pyrrha’s failure to achieve their obvious relationship when he knew he was in the same situation with Nora? Christmas was approaching, he could see that damnable sprig of mistletoe just waiting to get placed on the doorframe like the sword of Damocles, and yet, he still felt the same onrush of cold feet when he even thought about him and Nora beneath it, her lips pursed and…

Sighing, Ren reminded himself that he could hardly judge Jaune when he was being such a coward. Perhaps Nora’s idle worry about Jaune’s opinion of him was more accurate than either of them realized… Screwing up his courage, he continued, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Nora and I… we’ve been… I can’t...” Curse his inability to talk about his feelings! Why couldn’t he have an ounce of Jaune’s idiotic degree of self-confidence where he blasted his feelings in public, guitar in hand, for everyone to see? Failure was better than being a coward like-

“Hey.”

Ren stopped his recrimination as he felt Jaune place a hand on his forearm, a concerned look in his eyes.

“I don’t know if I’m the best guy to ask for advice,” he said, slowly, “but I’ve never seen you get like this, man. And if whatever’s going on with you and Nora is big enough to make you like this,” he gestured towards Ren’s overall situation, “I know it’s important, and I know that whatever you need from me, even if you and I don’t know what that is yet… you’ve got it. Talk it out with you or help you write a song-”

“Not that,” Ren quickly cut in.

Jaune just grinned. “See? We’ve already got one item off the list!” he cheered, giving Ren a hearty slap on the back. “But whatever it is… I’ve got your back, Ren. I’m from a big family, but you’re pretty much the first brother I’ve ever had.”

A brother… it had been a long time since Ren had had family, but helping Jaune prepare Christmas dinner, Ren realized there was a familiar, cozy feeling in his heart. Something he hadn’t felt in a very, very long time. He had always had family, Nora was his family, but he hadn’t felt this sense of… a sense of place, of belonging, the kind he hadn’t felt since Kuroyuri fell. Wiping a tear from his eye, he smiled to his brother, appreciating all he’d done for him to  make a space where he could feel… like home.

“Thanks, Jaune,” he said, feeling a little bit of the weight on his shoulders that seemed to pin him to never moving forward… just drift away. Say what you will about Jaune Arc, but… he could be a damn good friend. “I… I think I just needed to hear that you had my back. I think… I think I know what to do from here.”

Jaune gave him a reassuring smile, carrying with it some of that trademark Arc confidence that caused as many, if not more, problems than it solved, but right now, it helped a lot. But Jaune was also in the moment responsible for pulling together an elaborate, traditional, multicourse meal, and friend-Jaune shifted to leader-Jaune, and not the uncertain, often timid leadership he showed in Goodwitch’s class. Pointing to the groceries, he put some steel in his voice as he said, “Think nothing of it, but if there’s nothing we can do about things at the moment… I’ve got a meal to prepare...”

LINE BREAK REN-CHRISTMAS

Christmas Day.

It was incredible that, with so much uncertainty and anxiety leading up to it, the day of had been such an experience that Ren hadn’t even been able to notice his worries. He’d been woken up at the crack of dawn by Nora, for once the first to rise, eagerly shaking him awake. As they gathered under the tree (and yes, Nora had taken the biggest on the lot), Jaune distributed pastries and cups of hot chocolate, having been fully possessed by some wild spirit of Valean hospitality that would not allow any of his team to go a moment without food or drink in their hands. They had the dorm mostly to themselves, so they’d been able to set up in the common’s space where they exchanged gifts. It had all been a more laid back affair, passing presents around, seeing and feeling gratitude as they unwrapped their gifts… particularly Nora’s. She’d been over the moon with his gift, and the box stuffed to bursting with warm fuzzy sweaters—”Because you’re always so chilly since we’ve been in Vale!”—she gifted him brought a tear to his eyes.

It was a very merry Christmas for JNPR. Stuffed with food and drink, they’d simply reclined on the couches together, Christmas music playing from Pyrrha’s scroll as every now and then one of them would chime in to sing accompaniment. Pyrrha was the only one who had a real singing voice, but they’d all given it a go for a song or two. Ren realized Nora was resting her head on his shoulder—a month ago, this would hardly be even noteworthy—but in spite of all the hoopla in the lead up to Christmas, it just felt… nice. Pyrrha and Jaune had both given him meaningful smiles as Ren just blushed, letting Nora cuddle against him.

And dinner… Jaune’s efforts lived up to expectations. Ren had never once in his life seen a meal where Nora had to turn down seconds. Pyrrha had given a toast, reminding the team that she was not only a tournament champion, but the only one in their group who was well versed in public speaking. In her clear voice, ringing with pride, she reminded them of all they’d gone through together, of the bonds they’d forged, and… what they could look forward to in the future. The years ahead of them, and all the daunting challenges that faced a Huntsman, that they would face together as a team.

They’d completed a year at Beacon. They’d been awarded medals for heroic and meritorious service in the Breach of Vale. They were the reigning champions of the Vytal Tournament. It was… far more extraordinary than anything Ren had expected when he’d first submitted his and Nora’s application for admission to Beacon, pulling together a Transcript of Field Competence from Mistralian Civil Defense authorities who’d seen them in action. Did the old man who hadn’t even looked up from his paperwork as he signed off on Ren and Nora’s qualifications even know that the teenagers he was speaking to would, before a year was out, duel Adam Taurus? Did he recognize their faces while he surely watched them receive the Amity Cup on the CCT?

And yet… as Pyrrha’s speech stirred his heart, reminding Ren that their greatest accomplishments were not their awards or feats in combat, but instead… it was with them. Amongst the four of them, what they’d built together. JNPR. That was what mattered. As Pyrrha finished her toast and they all downed their glasses of authentic Valean champagne, Ren glanced over to Nora, the most important person in his world, and knew… finally knew what he wanted more than anything.

Just in time.

“Alright, people, we’ve got one last thing before this Christmas is perfect,” Nora declared as she got up from her seat, brandishing her champagne flute like a conductor’s baton, “It’s time to hang the mistletoe! For smooches!”

The hour had come. And Ren was… he was okay. He felt no more fear or apprehension about what might happen. He wasn’t alone anymore. He had friends, family, like Pyrrha and Jaune, and they would… no matter what happened, they’d have his back. And he had… he would always have Nora. The bond they’d forged could… it could survive anything. He just had to be brave. Reaching for the mistletoe, he-

“Uh, Renny?” Nora interrupted, before pointing a commanding finger at Jaune, “I think Jaune’s the only one here tall enough to hang that branch over the door.”

Ren raised an eyebrow at that, glancing from Nora to the doorframe to Jaune back to Nora… and realized he had no idea what she meant by that. The door was not nearly that tall, but… all of a sudden, Ren’s earlier serenity seemed to vanish like so much fog under the rays of the sun. Jaune and Pyrrha both gave Ren a glance. He couldn’t meet their eyes. Nora meant… Nora meant everything to him, and yet Ren couldn’t think with the blood rushing in his head, his heart thudding in his ears. A thousand doubts, a million self-recriminations blared at full volume as his eyes went to the mistletoe, then to the door, and knew where it was leading.

Jaune took the mistletoe, giving Ren and Nora a smile that attempted to seem both casual and reassuring but didn’t really work for either as he reached up to the door and hung the little sprig on the hook. It had all the weighty portents of a primed grenade dangling over the-

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Nora yelled as she…

As she placed a hand on Pyrrha’s back and shoved her forward, her ungainly stumbling putting her right underneath the mistletoe… right beside Jaune, who threw his arms out in surprise to catch his partner, just as Nora cupped her hands together to amplify her voice and cry out, “NOW KISS!”

They froze for a moment, both of them too shocked to say anything, Pyrrha caught in Jaune’s arms, her eyes impossibly wide as she stared up at Jaune, before…

Before Jaune kissed her.

How long had it been since they’d first formed as a team, since Pyrrha had started taking Jaune under her wing, since the point when it dawned on Ren that Pyrrha’s loyalty to her Team Leader had more to it than just having a helpful personality? How many times had he and especially Nora commiserated with the Invincible Girl on the one obstacle she could not surmount? And now, now that Jaune’s lips had met Pyrrha’s and there was no way their most oblivious Team Leader wasn’t picking up her feelings from the way their kiss had gone from chaste to… quite passionate, Ren was struck by just how long he and Nora had been waiting for this moment.

No wonder it was on her Christmas list! Their would-they-won’t-they relationship had been dangling over the both of them for so long that of course Neo had hit her limit of how many lingering gazes she could tolerate. It was almost ridiculous that Ren hadn’t thought of it immediately!

And yet…

Ren felt no relief from this reprieve. As much as he dreaded all the ways this mistletoe might signal his failure as a man, he knew deep down, since the very beginning… that it would force him to confront his feelings. That it meant he couldn’t keep running away. He’d reached his peace with it already, even as it was briefly yanked away, and now… now it was up to him to take the first step. To not wait for Nora, to be bold, like she was bold, to show her-

SMMMMCH

Ren blinked.

He put a hand to his cheek, feeling the wetness of Nora’s lips left behind where she had...

“I couldn’t think of anything that I could get you,” he heard Nora’s voice beside him, a sudden and unfamiliar quaver entering her words, “th-that could be better than… finally being brave enough to tell you… tell you that… that I...”

“That I love you...” he finished, his gaze slowly turning to look his partner in the eye, seeing her eyes so wide, so beautifully soft and blue as he said, “I… I love you, Nora. For… for a long time.”

She blinked away her tears. “I love you too, Ren. Just… everything with setting up for Christmas, you were always… always there, no matter how ridiculous I was being or- or how much work it took, I never even had to ask! You were… you were with me for all of it!”

“And you’ve always been the one to make me take risks,” he smiled back at her, “All Christmas, I’ve been… been looking for the courage to just- just kiss you and you…” his voice trailed off as he marveled at how good it felt to finally tell Nora, to finally tell her… he loved her.

“If it’s hard to talk,” Nora croaked, “Y-you can just… kiss me back.”

“I’d like that,” he said, quietly.

“Do you like-like it?” Nora said, her voice light and teasing. But Ren’s only response was with his lips against hers, fireworks going off in his mind as he gave and received the best Christmas present he could ever have imagined.