Never knew a time, when you weren't by my side.

The one thing I could always count on.

Always there for me, you've been my family.

Even when all other hope was gone.

Of all the ways Nora had expected Ren to die, she never would have guessed allergies. It was so wrong, to have her badass best friend fall to something so mundane. Ren should have either died after slaying millions of Grimm or other enemies, or of old age because the only people who were tough enough to kill him were his friends, who of course wouldn't kill him.

Instead, a simple allergy stole him from this world and ripped his presence from her heart. It wasn't fair. She couldn't even do anything to help, she had been forced to simply sit by in the hospital and do nothing as the doctors tried their best to save Ren. And all their efforts were futile, as the news was delivered professionally but not unsympathetically. Lie Ren's death had come not with a bang, but with a whimper.

It served as a somber reminder that no matter how tough or awesome you were, not even the badasses were immune to the same dangers and threats which plagued "normal" people.

She had gone through the stages of denial and rage in the first few minutes after the doctors had informed them of Ren's passing. It was only through Pyrrha and Yang restraining her that Nora's blind anger had not caused undue damage to the hospital. Fortunately, she had soon sagged into a depressed lethargy, in which a somber Pyrrha had gently led her away.

And now here she was. She was the last person standing before Ren's grave after the funeral service had ended. Most everyone else had left to go home, but Jaune, Pyrrha, and Team RWBY were at the graveyard entrance patiently waiting for her to be ready to go. They were far enough away to allow Nora her time alone, but near enough for her to know they were there for her when she needed them.

Nora was glad of the quiet and solitude; it reminded her of Ren, and it gave her time to finally accept in her heart that her best friend was now gone forever.

The normally manic girl was not going to mope and be depressed forever; she knew Ren would never forgive her for that. It wouldn't be today, or even sometime soon, but Nora promised herself she would return to her lively self again. So when she reunited Ren in the next life, he wouldn't scold her for neglecting her duty of injecting joyful, insane energy into the world. And if there really was nothing after death… well, Nora Valkyrie would change that.

But for now, she needed to mourn.

The redhead sighed heavily as she thought about her greatest regret: she never got to tell him how she really felt about him.

Nora did not know when her feelings had changed from mere friendship to wanting to become "together-together" with him. But sometime she had come to love Ren, more than she should have for people who were not "together-together." A part of her had wanted to tell him, but the majority of her was just too scared. Scared that Ren might not return her feelings, scared that even if they tried, something would go wrong, and just plain scared of the new territory. So whenever her heart had swelled to the point where she would burst out the words which would have irrevocably changed their relationship, she instead chirped, "Boop."

Barely more than a whisper, Nora uttered with a slight tremble in her voice, "I love you, Ren."

It was too late to hear what his answer would have been, but at least Ren knew now, if he was listening to her from the afterlife.

Parting words spoken, Nora gave another sigh and slowly walked away from Ren, and to her remaining friends. As she approached, Pyrrha reached out and silently brought her teammate in a welcomed hug. The hammer wielder could feel the hands of her other companions placed on her back and shoulders in comfort.

Pyrrha, Jaune, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. None of them would truly fill the hole left by Ren, but their presence did make the world feel less empty.

When I want to say I love you I'll say, "Boop."

Author's Note: This drabble is my first contribution to the RWBY fandom, written to honor the memory of Monty Oum.

Lyrics in italics are from RWBY Volume 2 soundtrack, "Boop."