Ren was awakened to the sound of thunder, a crackling rolling boom that seemed to flow over him like an uncaring wave at the shore. Through the large open window the sound of a slow dripping rain peppering through the leaves of freshly budded trees reached his ears, accompanied by the slow, peaceful breaths of Jaune and Pyrrha sleeping soundly and a gentle whisper from the girl lightly shaking his shoulder telling him to come with her.

He quietly arose from his bed and followed the girl's lead out of the room and down the hall. They said nothing, treading lightly on the cool tile floors, barefooted and in their pajamas. It wasn't until they exited the dormitory and stood on the steps leading inside that Nora broke their silence.

"The power went out sometime in the night," she whispered.

Ren looked around and nodded slowly. It was dark. The lights that usually irradiated the campus in their glow had gone out, leaving Beacon Academy shrouded in gloomy night. Here the sound of the rain was harsher as it tinged musically off the metal overhang that protected the two students and loudly flushed through gutters, streaming off the roof in manmade waterfalls.

Nora stepped forward and sat on the steps, paying no mind to their dampness and Ren followed suit, though he took care to sit on what appeared to be the dryer side of the girl. She took note and laughed, bumping her shoulder against his playfully.

It was suddenly light for a brief moment. Lightning, distant and indistinct through the clouds lit the commons and flung shadows haphazardly about for an instant before they were again swallowed by darkness.

"They seem so surprised," Nora said, her words accompanied by the slow procession of thunder. "The shadows, I mean. They're all asleep and suddenly FLASH! A bolt of lightning, a spark of light and they exist! Light usually moves so slow and predictable when the sun moves across the sky, but lightning crashes in and suddenly they're here and they don't know what to do! They run around trying to figure it out, but before they ever get a chance it's over and it's back to being dark again."

Ren smiled, but said nothing. Nora thought like an expressionist painter flinging color at a canvas, letting it spill out and over and simply be what it was: chaotic, random, and often beautiful. His participation would not be unappreciated, but it was unnecessary. He was the audience.

Lightning again lit the sky, closer this time and more defined. The thunder that followed was more disjointed though, stuttering at first before forming into its rolling wave.

"I never got why people didn't like storms," Nora said absently, letting her train of thought jump the tracks.

It wasn't really a question, but Ren knew she was waiting for an answer. They'd had this conversation enough for him to know his role in it.

"They're frightening," he said with a shrug. "They're dangerous and loud, they hide the sun behind gloomy clouds, it's cold and wet and the rain turns everything to muck."

"Nahhhh," Nora said with a grin, stretching out the word to show how ridiculous she found that idea. "They're amazing." Her words were followed by another bolt and another rolling crash. "They're like firework shows. Bright lights and sounds filling up the sky! Flash, crash, boom, bang!" As she spoke the words she threw her arm out, punctuating them with excited gestures. The sky responded with a blinding white flash and deafening boom of its own.

"And yeah, maybe gray skies aren't as pretty as blue, but they're not ugly. They're just different. More serious. Somber. Is that a word?" She cocked her head to the side and touched a finger to her chin in thought. "Somber. Sommmmmber."

"It's a word, Nora, maybe not quite the one you're looking for though."

"Well, whatever," she said, waving a hand dismissively, "you know what I mean. It's calm and cool and you wouldn't think it'd go well with the excitement of the storm, but it does!"

"And the rain?" Ren asks with a smile.

"Who doesn't like rain?" she answered. "It's just water! Helps the plants grow." She pointed an accusing finger at Ren. "And you can't tell me you never splashed around in a puddle, I know you have."

"I have," he conceded with a smiling tone. "I've also been splashed by a certain someone who likes playing in puddles."

"Sorry," Nora giggled unapologetically.

Ren shook his head, still smiling. "I'm not entirely sure you are."

Without another word Nora stood up and walked forward, out from under the awning and was instantly soaked. "There! Are you happy now?" she asked, shouting over the sound of the rain.

Ren laughed as he watched her spread her arms out to either side and slowly spin in the downpour. Lightning forked across the sky, plainly visible now, and there was no pause before the thunder that cackled and boomed loud enough for Ren to feel in his chest.

"Do you remember when we were kids," she shouted to him, "and we sat out on your porch and watched the storms roll in?"

He did remember. Summer days filled with heat lightning turning to sheet lightning and the rains that seemed to come every other day. Nora reveled in it then as she did now, a worshiper of storm, a zealot of thunder. She was always energetic but never seemed to come alive as she did on these days and nights.

She waved to him, beckoning him to her now. Her hair was matted with water, her cotton shirt and shorts clung to her tightly, revealing the curves of the body underneath. Water dripped from everywhere and ran in trickling streams down her bare legs and arms that were already covered in goose bumps.

Ren stood and went to her. He felt the rain hit him, a cool shower he barely noticed. His hands went to Nora's hips and pulled her to him, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Their lips met.

Night turned to day.

And they felt the thunder in their hearts.