Greetings, friends. This week finds me in a bit of a pit. It's snowing over here, and is in single digits temperature-wise, which means walking through un-shoveled sidewalks and freezing my face off to get to and from one job, and walking through even more snow to get to the various bus stops required for the other. I'm more exhausted than ever, often collapsing on my bed as soon as I get home. I got another rejection from another magazine for one of my short stories, and was recently told that I complain too much and am not doing enough to try and change my current situation. Because clearly, working two jobs six days a week and abandoning sleep in favor of getting at least some writing done isn't enough.

Honestly, I think this hiatus is hurting me more than it's helping me. I'm working on rebuilding the backlog for my fics, so I won't have to be away from here again. I miss the regular postings at night, and reading your reviews while I sit on the bus.

Well, that's enough gloomy stuff. Let's step away from a cruddy winter, and into a fluffy summer. Enjoy!

Summer. Ren: Age 22. Nora: Age 21.

Ends and beginnings

Dancing in the firefly lights

The rest of our lives

The biggest picnic area in the Oniyuri park was full of people. The grills were blazing as Ren and Nora's fathers cooked hot dogs and burgers. Jaune was playing Frisbee with his sisters while Pyrrha pretended to listen to her mother rattling on about what a college graduate should be doing next. Blake and Yang, who had taken a bus from Vale, were on their way to rescue Pyrrha from her mother's droning.

Ren sat on a picnic table, watching Nora with a skeptical look as she scarfed down her tenth cupcake of the night. "Maybe you should take a break," he suggested.

Nora rolled her eyes, taking a swig of soda. "Relax, Ren. I'm making up for all the energy I lost dealing with finals. I mean seriously! I think they were actually trying to kill us."

"They couldn't have," Ren pointed out. "They wouldn't have gotten their student loans then."

"Yes, they would! Student loans are, like, the only loan that isn't forgiven if you die! Our next of kin would've had to pay."

Ren gaped. "Seriously?"

"Uh huh."

"It's bad enough that we get charged interest while we're at school!"

"I know, right?"

"I hope you two aren't angsting about student loans over here," Mrs. Valkyrie said as she walked over, placing a platter of cookies on the table. "There's plenty of time for that later. Enjoy the party."

"I'm trying, but Ren's telling me to lay off the cupcakes," Nora complained, making a face at her boyfriend.

Mrs. Valkyrie chuckled. "Ren, you should know by now that it's no use. I gave up ages ago."

"You were always a smart woman," Ren acknowledged.

"She sure is," Nora chirped, casually snitching another cupcake.

It was then that Blake and Yang came over. "Okay," Yang said. "Before I forget, did you actually run across a covert drug operation during your last semester?"

Nora laughed nervously, scooting away from her mother's raised eyebrow. "Well, I don't have any actual proof."

"They were girl scouts, Nora," Ren said flatly.

"I swear those cookie samples smelled funny! And there was way too much 'sugar' on top of them!"

"You're exaggerating."

"Also, they all kinda sounded like me. I think someone's trying to make a clone army, or something. We should all be afraid."

Rolling her eyes and looking distinctly relieved, Mrs. Valkyrie walked off to check on the burgers.

Ren chuckled and ruffled his girlfriend's hair. "Don't worry. They could never replicate you."

"Ooh, you were quick on that one," Yang said with a wink. "Look who's becoming a smooth-talker!"

"It's because he's been reading my books," Blake said proudly.

"No, if I took advice from those books, I'd likely have several bruises due to Nora giving me a well-deserved punch."

"Oh, please," Nora snorted. "They can't be that bad. What kinds of lines do the guys use?"

Blake scooted close and whispered something into Nora's ear.

Nora's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Huh. Hey, Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow-?"

"No," Ren cut in.

"I'm an adult! You can't tell me what to do!"

"They'd be a bad influence."

"I dunno," Yang said, waggling her eyebrows. "You may end up enjoying that influence when you kids are alone."

"Yang!" Ren's face turned bright red while Nora burst out laughing.

"I'll send you a list," Blake whispered. "They're all on Amazon."

"Not helping, Blake!" Ren groaned.

They spent some time with Jaune and Pyrrha, discussing what was going to happen next. Jaune, who had started writing songs and releasing them on Youtube, would continue to build up a following while finding somewhere to work that would allow him to save up for an apartment. Pyrrha had been offered a position at a martial arts school near Haven, and would be teaching beginner courses there. Blake would keep writing while working full-time at the Vale library. Yang had ended up going to bartending school, and was already making a tidy sum. Nora would be looking into getting a job as a gym teacher in the Haven district while working on her exercise videos. Ren was preparing for the release of his newest animation, a complex fight scene between a girl with a scythe and a pack of werewolves. He had modeled the girl off of Ruby, much to her delight.

"Real world, here we come!" Nora said with a nervous laugh. "Think we're ready?"

"We've got each other," Jaune pointed out. "And our families. Even if things don't work out at first, we have each other's backs."

"It'll work out, somehow," Pyrrha said confidently. "The years right after college can be a bit disorienting, but I'm sure we'll make it."

Ren nodded in agreement. "I'm sure of it." He glanced at Nora, smiling softly. He knew he'd be fine if he had Nora with him. And, if things went well, she would be with him all the time from now on. He just needed to wait until it got a little darker.

After dinner and a few drinks, Ren passed by his dad, who discreetly slipped a small box into his pocket. He winked once, then went to help Mr. Valkyrie clean up.

"Hey, Nora." Ren approached Nora, not bothering to scold her as she quickly scarfed some more cookies. "Don't choke on those."

"Mmph." Nora swallowed. "Please, Ren. I'm better than that."

"Uh huh." Ren offered his arm. "Come on. Our dads have cleanup covered."

Nora took his arm, her smile tinged with curiosity, her eyes glittering. "Ooh, you're being mysterious! Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

The two walked down the park paths until they reached a familiar area: the camp. No one was there yet, and it looked almost like a tiny ghost town. Nora urged Ren to walk through it, just to see if there were actually any ghosts.

The cabins were locked tightly, and the window blinds were all closed. A few raccoons scuttled from building to building. When Ren spotted a skunk, he quickly steered Nora back toward his intended path.

The firefly field was pretty sparsely lit, considering how early it was in the summer, but there were enough flickering lights around to make it magical just the same. Nora sighed happily as she looked around.

"Not much has changed," she noted. "The log's gone, though."

"It was half-rotten four years ago," Ren pointed out. He led her to the center of the field, where they had a clear view of the stars overhead. Tiny white pinpricks of light above rivaled the larger, floating yellow dots that surrounded them. Nora caught a firefly on her finger and stared at it until it flew off again.

Ren took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Nora, I have a new haiku. I was wondering if you wanted to see it."

Nora perked up. "Omigosh! You've barely written any since we started college. Gimme!"

The corner of Ren's mouth quirked as he withdrew a piece of paper from his pocket. It was carefully folded and had a watercolor picture of a field overrun with pink and green fireflies.

Nora took it, her eyes wide and eager. Ren counted the seconds as he watched her eyes dart across the page. In his head, he repeated the words he had written. It wasn't his best haiku by any means, but it was the most important one he had ever put to paper.

Our pact is still firm

My heart has always been yours

Will you marry me?

The moment Nora's eyes widened, Ren took the opportunity to get down on one knee. He could feel himself shaking and his face burning. He fumbled a bit when he withdrew the box from his pocket and opened it to reveal the ring his father's mother had been given by her husband. Ren had never met his adopted grandmother, but his father had assured him that she would want him to have her ring for this.

Despite his shaking, his voice didn't waver. "Nora, you mean more to me than anyone. You always have, and I know you always will. I've gone through so many changes ever since I moved to Vale, and was only able to handle them because I knew you were there for me. Whatever happens next, I want us to move forward together. I-"

"YES!" Nora squealed, unable to hold back any longer. "Whoops, sorry. Sorry. I'll let you finish. You probably planned this whole thing out. Shutting up now!" She put a hand on her mouth, though there were tears streaming down her cheeks, and she couldn't keep from bouncing up and down on her heels.

Ren could feel himself crying as well. He couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled like this. "Well, now I forgot the rest," he said, letting out a tearful laugh as he stood up, pulling Nora into a long, deep kiss.

Nora moaned happily against him, tangling her fingers in his hair. He could feel her pulling out his hair tie yet again, but couldn't bring himself to care. All that mattered that he was holding the woman he loved more than anything in his arms. My fiancé, he thought, a jolt going through his body at the foreign, but oh-so-welcome term.

They pulled away for a quick breath before Nora pulled Ren in again. It was like they needed this closeness more than air. Eventually, lightheadedness reminded them that they actually did need to breathe properly, and they reluctantly parted.

"Omigosh," Nora gasped. "Ren, I love you so much! I can't- This is just- EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She hugged him tightly, nuzzling against his shoulder.

Ren sighed, kissing the top of her head and closing his eyes. Then, he stiffened. "I just dropped the box."

Immediately, the two were on the ground, searching for the ring. Thankfully, it had remained in the box when it fell. Ren quickly put it on Nora's hand to avoid a further catastrophe. Nora gaped at it, holding her hand up in the limited light. "Okay, this is the part I'm supposed to wake up."

Ren grinned. "Are you saying this is a recurring dream for you?"

"Well, duh!" Nora said, rolling her eyes. "I'm dating the most awesome person in the world. Why wouldn't I fantasize about this?"

Ren rubbed at the back of his neck. "So, how did the real experience compare?"

Nora answered him with another long, excited kiss. "Hm. It'll do," she muttered, winking playfully as she drew back.

Ren touched his lips to the tip of her nose. "Boop." As always, Nora giggled and hid her face against his chest.

It had been nine summers since that first camp, and many more since that fateful first meeting when they were kids. Now, Ren knew for certain that there would be many more summers to come, decades to look forward to with Nora at his side. No matter what, he would always be ready for whatever life would throw at him in the future.

This was the first summer of the rest of their lives.

Have I said already that I can't get enough of these dorks? Because I honestly can't get enough of these dorks! I'd like to thank everyone for following this fic till the end, and sticking around through the several-month hiatus it went through. It was definitely a fun one to write, and I feel like this is the fluffy ending it deserves. I have always enjoyed playing around with Ren in my fics, due to how quiet he is in canon. And Nora is a precious treasure who none of us will ever truly deserve. Just…Team Sloth, guys. It's beautiful.

I'll see you guys hopefully in February, when I plan on coming out of my unfortunate hibernation.

Until then, peace out!