Nora wouldn't lie about how hungry she was. She almost always felt hungry, she couldn't help it. Even if she didn't already have an absolutely absurd metabolism, swinging around Magnhild burned a lot of calories. The two together meant she could put away entire tables of food on her own. She normally kept it under control fairly well. Sure, she knew her table manners weren't good, but she knew not to scarf down everything in front of her. Unfortunately, there were some of these things she couldn't help but make exceptions too. Ren's pancakes were an obvious choice, but she liked fresh fruit too, and some sweet things. She also liked vegetables too- ok, that was a lie, no one liked vegetables, but she'd eat them too. She'd even eaten a stick once, just to prove she could.

So, of course, when she and Ren did finally stop to eat, she was going to order something big. Something filling, something meaty. Something that weighed enough she could club someone over the head with it if they were attacked.

Unlikely, but she knew her tastes.

But then Ren went and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked her into the restaurant. When he'd done it, she'd just about lost track of everything. By the time she'd had her wits about her again, they were sitting at a corner table near a street facing window.

Suddenly, she was feeling self-conscious about the fact she could eat a whole cow and its shadow.

So she ordered something small and light. They were only stopping long enough to lose the cops anyway, it wasn't like this was dinner dinner.

Though as she picked at her Bobb Salad, she found herself regretting not getting an extra helping of bacon.

The restaurant the two of them were sitting in was actually a fairly nice place. Almost too nice really. Not some snobby, snotty, upscale and hoity-toity place, but pretty close to it. She and Ren were fairly underdressed compared to what some of the people there were wearing. But at least they'd been let through the door here. There'd been one or two places in the past they wouldn't let them through the door. They were also not allowed back near them either, but that wasn't related. In any way that could be proven, at least.

Ren sat across from her, eating slowly from a bowl of soup that'd been offered. They'd both gone for appetizers. Nora didn't want to even think about trying to run on a stomach full of food, hungry though she was. The soup and salad would be enough for the both of them, something to take the edge off. It helped, of course, that both options were fairly easy on the wallet as well.

"How's your salad?" Ren inquired, spooning his soup.

"Leafy, needs more bacon." Nora answered, pushing it around her plate, trying to get it on the fork. "How's the soup?"

Ren lifted a spoonful of the liquid, before tilting it and letting it dribble back into the bowl. "It's… wet." He answered, giving her a wry smile. She returned it with a grin of her own. As it faded though, the self-conscious thought occurred to her that she might've had a piece of lettuce stuck in her teeth. Ren wouldn't have noticed, actually he would have, he noticed everything, but it bothered her. She quickly ran her tongue over her teeth, as Ren looked out the window. No, no she seemed clean.

"This… certainly took a turn." Ren admitted. "But at least we managed to avoid the police."

"Mhmm." Nora nodded. "We could've taken them."

"But that probably would've made things worse." Ren said.

"Probably." Nora agreed, finally managing another bite of her salad.

"Wonder if the others are having any luck." Ren said, turning back to his soup. "Guess we all should've expected a little trouble."

"I'm sure they're all getting on alright." Nora reassured, again checking for lettuce. "Only ones we should be worried about are Blake and Sun, right?"

Ren nodded, smirking. "Really have to wonder what we're all thinking, going along with something like that."

"It means we trust them." Nora said, smiling. "I trust you, you trust me, and if I run head first into a Ursa-"

"I'll be following right behind." Ren nodded.

"-and it goes both ways Renny, don't you forget that!" Nora chirped. "I can't be the only one leading the way!"

Ren chuckled at her, smiling with that warmth that tickled her heart like down feathers.

The two continued to pick away at their food for a time. They wouldn't be able to stay hidden in the restaurant for much longer, but maybe just long enough that they wouldn't have to worry about the cops anymore. The two that had been chasing them hadn't realized it was them when she and Ren had doubled back. So they were probably safe. She really wasn't worried about it. She and Ren would make it work out. If they didn't, what was the worst that could happen? They'd just be taken in by the cops, have some charges put against them, hauled in front of a judge, probably get called guilty because they couldn't afford a lawyer, get sent back to Ozpin, get expelled because they broke school rules, wind up homeless on the street again, have to figure out how to find Nana Bess-

Nora began shoveling her salad into her face, trying very hard to get the voice in her head to shut up. Now was not the time to start the existential rollercoaster.

So it was better to try something else.

"You think we should tell everyone we had a run in with the cops?" Nora asked mid-chew. "We're supposed to be keeping in touch with each other, so that might be something, right?"

Ren pondered over the question for a moment, before shaking his head. "I don't think it's something we need to let them know about now, since we managed to get away. We'll let them know when we meet up later tonight."

Nora nodded, looking towards the window now herself. It was getting dark out, she could see her and Ren faintly reflected on the window. Reminding her that she was slightly less dressed than she'd started the night. Same with Ren. But she couldn't help but think it made them look a bit more relaxed.

Her thoughts betrayed her, by thinking it looked like they were on a date. She knew they weren't, but that treacherous little thought still bit her. To everyone around them, she knew that's what it almost certainly looked like now. Ren had told her to go with it, when they escaped the cops, meaning he'd figured that much out too. It was a good cover. Nobody had seemed to piece it together.

Not even Ren, who'd suggested the idea! Wrapping his arm around her like some playboy!

There were times she swore he was just as oblivious as Jaune. But she knew that wasn't true, he wasn't anywhere near that bad. He was closer to Six, which itself wasn't good, but still better. Though comparing her situation to Pyrrha's wasn't a good thing anyway.

Nora closed her eyes, turning back towards the table, her food, and Ren. She really, really wanted to boop Ren on the head sometimes. She knew he hadn't really planned for this to happen, but it annoyed her to no end. How hard was it to look at her and ask 'hey want to go see a movie?'? They'd done it when they were younger. Sure Ren was always very reserved and quiet, but they did it more often. Would showing her a little affection really be that hard? Yeah, they weren't dating, and maybe it would be a step outside his comfort zone, but it wasn't easy for her either! She felt like if she went too far it would just make him uncomfortable, but she was the one who was trying.

Then came the uncomfortable thought that, maybe, just maybe… he didn't feel the same way.

Nora let out a slow breath, trying to push the thought away. She and Ren were as close to family as either of them had. She knew it wouldn't ruin what they had. But would it kill him to just try and give her a hug once in a while?

She let out another slow breath and opened her eyes.

And found Ren looking at her curiously. "Is everything alright?"

Nora blinked. Then she chastised herself. Stop trying to make yourself sad in front of him, idiot!

"Everything's ok." Nora answered, giving him a smile. "Just… thinking about all the legs we still need to break."

Ren nodded, not saying anything, but continuing to watch her. Studying her with that quiet intensity and zen he was so good at mustering. Nora wished she could tell whether or not he was actively reading her thoughts when he did that. Because if he wasn't that was fine, but if he knew what she was thinking and was still being a dummy she'd hit him. Softly, and with her hand, not Magnhild.

This was disturbed, by their waitress. A young, nervous looking woman with brown hair. She approached like a shadow, and grabbed both their attention with a minor clearing of the throat. Which turned into a series of unfortunate coughs.

"H-how are we doing so far?" She asked, collecting herself. "We f-feeling like we're ready f-for more, or…?"

Ren briefly exchanged a look with Nora, then answered. "I think this will do for us, lot of stuff tonight. Check please?"

The waitress breathed out, nodding. "I'll get you two love birds your check. Feel free to pay up front."

The waitress sauntered away from them, allowing Nora and Ren to finish their meals. If her words had bothered Ren, he didn't let it show. They hadn't bothered Nora. Nope. Not one eeny teeny bitty bit. She wasn't horking down her salad just to try and choke the voice in her head.

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Once the waitress returned with their check, the two of them finished their meal and returned to the front of the restaurant in short order. The two of them actually split the price between them, which got them a strange look from the cashier. But what had they expected, for one of them to solely foot the bill?

Well, they might've been, considering they apparently looked like…

Nora buried the thoughts. Not now.

With the bill paid, the two of them continued back out onto the sidewalk. Nora didn't make any effort to conceal her wandering eyes. They needed to make sure the cops were well and truly gone. Given she couldn't see any, there wasn't much point in keeping the act up. Without waiting for Ren, she continued ahead. He'd be right behind her, she knew he would be. If they didn't have to keep waiting, she wouldn't. The sooner she got her mask and jacket back on, the sooner they could go back to busting legs. Doing that would be easier than trying to deal with the tangled mess she was feeling in her chest.

She turned down the alleyway and kept walking. She could see where they'd stashed their stuff.

Ren said something, but Nora didn't hear it. She was in too much of a funk-

There was a rush of motion behind her, and Nora began to turn around.

Someone clasped onto her shoulder and pushed her backward. Spinning and leading her so she would be backed against the wall.

"Eh?" she chirped, as she felt herself pinned against the brickwork. Surprised and confused, briefly wondering if someone was willing to help her meet her quota for broken bones.

Instead, she found it was Ren, standing close to her, ever so taller than her. But he was closer than he normally would've been. There was a surprised, panicked look in his eyes. Nora couldn't understand what was happening.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw the cops.

They were standing on the opposite side of the alley, smoking and watching the two of them in confusion. A rush of adrenaline hit her, followed by a warm flush of embarrassment.

Nice going idiot, now what!?

Her gaze fell just as quickly off the cops as it had landed on them. Helped by the fact that Ren shifted his arms to either side of her head. He leaned in close. Making it look like he was trying to box the two of them in, give them some privacy. Nora wasn't even sure what to do, but felt herself relax back against the wall.

"I tried to warn you!" Ren whispered, a nervous gleam to his eyes.

"S-sorry!" Nora stuttered back, matching his volume, not sure where to look with her partner so close. "I-I just-"

Ren shook his head, leaning slightly closer. "It's ok, I didn't notice them until the last second either. We both could've fallen for it."

Nora nodded shakily. "…What do we do?"

"…" Ren remained silent for a long moment, trying to quickly puzzle out an answer, but clearly wasn't able to come up with one. "Uh… um- act natural?"

"… Renny, what part of this is natural!?" Nora hissed.

Ren grimaced, and Nora couldn't help but join him. This was a fine pickle they'd just gotten themselves back into. The only good thing Nora could think of was that the cops hadn't immediately pegged them for her mistake. But the longer they stood there like that, the more strange they would seem. The cops were paying them only some small mind right now, apparently more interested in some conversation they were having.

If she or Ren didn't think of something quickly, things would get bad just as quickly.

For a long silence the two of them stood there, scant inches apart. The cops occasionally paused in their conversation to observe them, only to resume it just as quick. How long before either of them decided to dig a little deeper? Did they know about the stuff hidden in the trashcan next to her? Did they recognize either of them?

Unfortunately, Nora found herself having a hard time focusing on those thoughts. Certain other ones had begun to resurface, now that she and Ren were standing so close together. Trying to hide from the police in a way that seemed all too conspicuous. She tried very hard to think of something, anything else. But it was very hard, ignoring the shape of Ren's jaw, or how tight his body seemed in that black shirt. How intense his eyes looked, even with the nervousness in them. How nervous she felt, knowing he'd unintentionally pinned her in place. If she made any effort of her own to move away, it would attract the wrong kind of attention.

Even more worryingly, she found that she didn't want to move away either. She couldn't figure out what to do, and the longer she stood this close to Ren the less put together she felt. Her stomach started doing flips while her brain flopped about like a struggling fish. Was Ren struggling like this? Did he feel this way too right now?

She didn't know what to do, and the longer they stood together, the more she started to notice that Ren smelled nice. Which made her stomach flip harder because she was almost certain she stank like sweat and that couldn't be pleasant. She didn't want Ren thinking she stank like garlic and a bag of farts, she didn't! It was all the running they were doing and the fighting had made work up a sweat.

Ren turned slightly, looking down either side of the alley. Clearly still trying to figure out how the both of them could run from this place.

Nora tried to take a deep, calming breath, and found it only half worked. Even if she calmed down slightly, the feeling wasn't going away. She couldn't get her dying-fish brain to do anything but flip around aimlessly. This was how it was going to end, with her pinned to the wall of an alley by the boy she'd pictured spending the rest of her life with. Knowing that the moment they did anything, the cops would probably arrest them, or at least question them, and try to figure out what they were doing there. Nora couldn't lie, not good anyway. What exactly were she and Ren supposed to say? Why else would she and him be there…

Nora's fish found a puddle of water to land in.

The longer it had a chance to breathe, the more it found traction in her head. Even if it wasn't an idea she'd have considered under any other circumstance, she couldn't help it. Everything else was going wrong, but it'd set everything else just right.

Her stomach put up a final, brief struggle, trying to muster one last flip. Before it subsided, an electric thrill went thrumming through her veins.

"Screw it!" she hissed.

"Huh?" Ren asked suddenly, turning back to look at her. Right as her arm snaked under his, before running up his back, the other wrapping around him like an iron band. She wrenched him closer to herself, bracing a hand behind his head to help guide him downward.

Then she slammed her mouth onto his.

As far as first kisses go, it was a bad one. He hadn't been ready for it, so their two faces mashed into each other for a moment. Carrying the shock of their teeth pressing against each other. She tried to contort her lips to make it more comfortable, but her mouth was struggling to comply. It almost didn't want to listen to her.

Even more embarrassingly, the both of them still had their eyes open and were staring at each other. She could see the bewilderment in his eyes, and couldn't help but hope he didn't hate her. Making such a rash choice wasn't strange for her, but she couldn't think of anything else. It wasn't going to work either if he stood there like a statue.

After a moment, she found herself hissing, "Play along!"

Though what part of this was supposed to be 'playing' she wasn't sure. It felt pretty real.

Another moment passed, and the shock left Ren's eyes. There was a flash of recognition in them, and he began to move, pushing back against her. His mouth began to play off hers, and his eyes slowly began to slide shut. Nora felt hers close as well, leaving her in a warm darkness. She could hear the sound of her heart hammering, feel the warmth and tension in his arms as they began to fold over her shoulders. The longer they kept the act going, the more Nora noticed an odd taste in her mouth: chicken. Had she eaten chicken recently? No, she hadn't she'd recall if she'd had chicken, she'd had bacon on a salad… But didn't Ren have chicken soup?

This thought sent a jolt through Nora's chest, she wasn't ready for this! But they couldn't stop now, could they? Should they stop? Did she want to stop?

Would it be weird for her to say she almost didn't want to?

She pulled back for a moment, letting her eyes slide open slightly. For reasons she couldn't understand, she was gasping for air like she'd just been running a marathon. Ren was too, he watched her with a half lidded, dazed look. Nora saw his lips and had to resist the urge to immediately go back for them. She kept her focus, looking briefly past him-

The cops were still there. Looking very surprised, and a little amused, but still there.

Nora should've been annoyed.

Instead, she looked back to Ren and locked eyes with him briefly, giving him a nod. Trying to convey they were still there. It was quickly lost as she moved to resume the matter-

Only to be intercepted midway by Ren, who was suddenly moving with much more energy.

Another jolt went through Nora's heart.

They played off each other inexpertly, trying to make it look real, not having a clue what that even meant. But the more time they spent doing it, the more Nora thought she got an idea. She hated when they hit too hard, when it felt like their teeth were going to suddenly connect. She unclenched her jaw slightly, it made it hard for her to try and match with Ren. Try to breathe slowly, deeply, too fast feels like you can't breathe at all.

Soon she wasn't even needing to help guide Ren at all, he was trying to match her. It was making her head swim. That fish was suddenly swimming in a pool of brandy and it was making her knees wobble. She pulled Ren closer to her for support. Felt his chest push against hers, sending a small shudder through him. One of his arms left her, finding a brace on the wall behind her. They stayed like that, close together, balance swaying.

A tingle went through Nora's chest again, so close to Ren's she could almost feel his heartbeat.

Her eyes cracked open ever so slightly. Trying to see things. Her mind was getting lost in a fog she didn't want to see the way out of. But she knew she needed to try.

But the cops were still there. Looking more and more shocked the longer she and Ren went.

'LEAVE ALREADY!'

Incensed, one of Nora's legs came up and hooked itself around Ren's waist. Pulling him even harder against her, causing his breath to hitch. She saw his eyes snap open. He almost looked scared.

However, it had the intended effect.

The cops suddenly paled, pushed off the wall and began leaving the alley at a steady gait.

She held her grip on Ren the entire time, not letting go until the two cops had left the alley. Once they were around a corner, she counted to ten in her head.

Then she lowered her leg off Ren and pulled her head back from his. She gasped for air in his embrace. Lips feeling chapped, mouth tasting like chicken, heart still hammering in her chest as Ren and her embraced.

"T-they're gone." Nora stuttered.

Ren stood there with her, panting, looking down at her in complete confusion as she slowly released him.

"Sorry about that." Nora said, trying to steady her breathing. "I know it was sudden but it was the only thing I could think of and…" Nora tried to find the rest of the words, but couldn't. Now that the trouble was past, she was having second thoughts. Her head had a chance to clear itself, and the gravity of what she'd just done began to weigh on her. "It… it was just an act." She said.

Ren said nothing. He didn't even move.

"… Are you going to let me go?" Nora asked, still off kilter in his embrace.

She'd expected him to do so.

She didn't expect-

"Do you want me to?" Ren asked.

"…"

A sudden war tore through Nora. Every part of her suddenly screaming 'NO!' at the loudest volume. Fully content to pick-up right where they'd left off.

But she knew that wasn't right. He was just saying that to be polite now, after she'd gone and done something so stupid. They had things to do tonight, and the others needed them to do it.

So she chose a non-answer.

"We have work to do, Renny." She whispered, trying to be strong. She was good at that.

There was a long pause after she said the words, and Ren seemed to come back to himself. He released Nora, and she took a breath. He pulled back from her, and Nora took several more. Trying to get her heart to stop thudding in her chest.

It would take a few minutes. For some reason, she felt even hungrier now.

…

Ren let Nora collect her belongings ahead of him. The pair took their time, putting themselves back together. Letting what they'd just been through wash over them.

He felt ashamed. He should've gone ahead of Nora, he'd have seen the cops sooner. They could've avoided getting put in that situation at all.

But despite himself, despite his shame, Ren didn't regret it. Nora's idea had worked. It had been unorthodox for certain, but it had been quite effective. He didn't think he'd have been able to make it happen if he'd been in Nora's shoes. He'd have mulled the idea over until it got them both caught.

He loved that about Nora. Brash as she was, stuff like this didn't phase her. Which he found himself wishing was more the case for himself. What had he been thinking, standing there, holding her like that?

Without words between them, Ren took point as they stepped out of the alley. He knew the way to the next location, and welcomed the new distraction. Silently thanking its existence, despite the danger it might bring.

He was also thankful he'd decided to wear baggy pants