A/N: Thirty-three years old, Thirty-four on June 22. When I heard the news I cried. I'll never forget Monty Oum and the masterful things he has created with his hands and his mind. A truly noble, hard-working man... to this day the hardest working man I have ever known or heard of. That used to be my father, but my father had his limits... Monty did not. He worked until he dropped and he would have had it no other way. I have never done a RWBY fanfiction before, not even a one-shot. I am not as in tune with the characters and universe as I am with Red vs. Blue enough to confidently do anything more than this. A tribute, my friend Jaden Silver calls it. I have to. He gave me so much and I want to give him back something, even if in memory. R.I.P. Monty Oum, you will be missed.

Keep Moving Forward,

Your friend FalloutGuy1986.

Nora Valkyrie had never known a colder day in Beacon.

The day had to go on before the celebration of his life could come to order. Things had to be set up on the enormous balcony that led to Beacon Academy, but the normally happy and energetic young woman dragged her feet class to class. JNPR's kind words had no effect on her fragile emotions. They weren't the same words of encouragement... Not without the R in JNPR.

Her face contorted multiple times and at one point she actually did push her way to one of Beacon academy's many restrooms, slammed the stall door and balled the nearest roll of toilet paper to her eyes and cried. Other than that, she pushed on, the way he did every day, working hard with no other respite than her occasional giggles and practical jokes.

But even though she pushed on and put on her best pseudo brave face, she couldn't hide from her other team members, nor from the conglomeration of her fellow peers the eyes of a woman barely holding onto her newest and freshest emotional scar.

The day had literally been the day from hell for her. Nora tried so many times to listen and take in the knowledge that the other hunters and huntresses who trained her tried to instill in her. Virtues of heroism, strength, nobility, sacrifice and honor in the heat of battle went over the top of her head, which most of the time was faced down in shame and memories of the young man she had idolized for so many years washed over her until she had to force them to bay, if only to retain her mask and get through the longest day in her life unscathed, until she could let her emotions out later that evening.

One by one throughout the day Ruby,Weiss, Blake and Yang each lay a hand on her shoulder. As close as JNPR truly was, they all knew that none of them could ever get as close as NR. Nora and Ren. Polar opposites who were the closest friends.

Team RWBY, normally highly active and fun loving, were appropriately withdrawn and somber with their silent physical condolences and Nora appreciated that. RWBY, while they each liked Ren, knew that the bounds of Nora and Ren's friendship were unknown. They had never expressed romantic notions, but their chemistry and closeness was never up for debate.

Finally the daily grind was done and Nora had some breathing room from pretending not to care as much as she did. The deep wound in her soul was finally able to come out of her as she stood at the end of eight other students, each paying their respects as they filed past one by one, each spending a few minutes with him, silently thanking him.

She would have, should have been first in line. If she hadn't taken several minutes to convince her mind that this was truly real, that Nora would wake up in the morning and reach for him only to feel the emptiness in the bunk beside hers, she would have been.

Ruby Rose was in front of her. The youngest huntress-in-training at Beacon tried her best to smile at Nora to comfort her, but her silver eyes held the traces of the weakness that comes with sadness and mourning. The tracks on her cheeks where her delicate tears touched her skin were evidence enough to the red haired girl. But Nora didn't care. The tracks on Ruby's cheeks, the tears in her eyes still to fall all matched her own.

It was comforting to the huntress. There were others feeling the same way she did. She wouldn't be alone, although she felt for the moment that she would be alone for the rest of her days. Oh, God, would she miss him.

She touched the dark emerald wood of the coffin that held him, the pink bar that joined the two halves of the heavy lid were split in two with the lower half closed, the upper half held open. She closed her eyes. She couldn't look. Not yet.

She wished against everything she knew that Ruby had taken more time to touch Ren's body and remember him, but she touched his still shoulder and choked up before running into the arms of her sister. Yang held her and kissed her dark hair, whispering words of encouragement to the smaller girl.

Nora opened her eyes and looked to the ground as she moved robotically to Ren's open casket. She didn't want to meet those closed eyes, to see him so still and cold and lifeless. The last in line had become the most important, closest relationship he would never admit to having.

Nora wished she could fade away in the sight of everyone and join him somewhere far beyond her, but she couldn't. Somewhere in the furthest reaches of her mind, like a still small voice, was a vision of her leader Jaunne, her friend Pyrrah and even the girls on team RWBY.

And so she did the only thing she could do.

She opened her eyes and looked down at him.

So peaceful with his smallish hands clasped atop his flat belly. His burial robes were the same she had seen him in for so many years. His black hair was pinned behind his head, hiding the ponytail he wore to keep it from his eyes, which were closed in a soulless illusion of sleep. The way she had seen him so many countless times at night as she watched him sleep. But without the rise and fall of his chest, she could not allow the illusion to penetrate her suddenly empty heart.

She sniffled, a high pitched gasp escaping her parting lips. She placed her dainty hand to her lips but she couldn't stop them, not anymore. She poured her soul out in front of everyone. She was supposed to be the demure one, a traditional sight of respect and melencholy nobility in black. But instead she cried. She took the hand from her lips, wet with tears and placed them on Ren's lapels.

"Wake up!" she called out to him, like when they were kids.

She would say those words in her chipper voice which was now nowhere to be found. He would start awake and smile up to her, those warm eyes drinking her in and letting her know that through it all; thick and thin, rain and shine, sickness and health, jubilance and pain that he would be there with and for her.

But he did not open his eyes this time.

Pyrrah moved close to Nora where she stood and turned her to face the red maned huntress. Pyrrah wrapped her strong arms around Nora and let her know that she was there for her in this current time of agony.

They stayed there, the remaining members. Team JNPR with no R. Everyone else had left quietly, respectfully and allowing the three who cared about Ren the most to turn the funeral into a wake.

Jaunne stood near the foot of the casket, quietly looking down at the man he called one of his favorite people. But Nora had Pyrrah. The Pumpkin Pete's poster girl sat alongside the most energetic woman she had ever had the pleasure to know, speaking demurely, tears in both voices which had long run out.

"I never... even told him... I loved him." Nora said weakly, blinking back the last of the hot liquid evidence of her pain.

"I think he knew." Pyyrah whispered.

"He was so quiet, all the time. He never did say what he was feeling. I would babble on like..."

"No, Nora. Don't do that." Pyrrah suddenly said loudly, startling her friend.

"Don't start thinking that you annoyed him. He loved you. I could always look at the two of you and know that you cared about each other. It was obvious he cared for you and I know you cared for him." Pyrrah said, her strong voice quavering and hoping she didn't sound like she was yelling at her teammate.

"He didn't just put up with you, Nora," Pyrrah continued,

"He sought you out, asked you to every dance, took care of you. He slept with you, held you at night. He helped you fight when you were strong and he held you when you were not so strong. Neither of you has ever sought out another date, another relationship. So you tell me, my friend, how does that make you any less of a girlfriend and boyfriend couple than Jaunne and I?"

Nora didn't speak for long enough to make Pyrrah feel that she had inadvertantly offended her friend. But then, Nora smiled.

Her eyes were as sad as ever, but they held one element within that made Pyrrah match Nora's facial gesture. They held hope for the future.

"Thank you Pyrrah." Nora said softly. Pyrrah simply nodded and kissed Nora's tear stained cheek.

Nora rose from her chair and approached the coffin one final time as the sun rose and the Pallbearers made their way toward the funeral setting. She smiled down at the young man within and let out a long quavery sigh.

"Just one last thing I have to do." Nora said aloud, but speaking to nobody in particular.

The Pallbearers stood quietly in front of the casket, allowing Nora one final goodbye.

And as Jaunne and Pyrrah looked on, Nora gently placed one finger onto the tip of Ren's nose and smiled.

And finally Nora Valkyrie looked into the eyes of the Beacon Academy priest and nodded her head before turning away and walking back toward her teammates.

A/N: Thank you, Monty.