AN: This is my first fic and it is a little experiment, to find my preferred writing styles and what not. I will create two other chapters and if all goes well, create a full story based off of the the characters in this small fic. The main POV of this fic is an OC named Brass Ranth. The other two chapters will explain a little more about his role in the wonderful world of RWBY. Team AZRE is a team of that I have made up and the same thing goes for Eton and Zoe. Enjoy and remember to review. I need that constructive criticism :)
Also I forgot to mention that this would take place between the battle at the Docks and the assassination of Tukson, just before the beginning of the second semester and some event timings have changed. I'm using the timeline provided by the RWBY Fandom as the base timeline.
Everyone is gone.
Well, almost everyone. JNPR are currently in the Emerald forest for training, Blake and Weiss are still in Vale though. While the R and Y of the team are back at Patch. My own team has gone home… except Eton (pronounced E- Tawn). He went with Zoe to be 'properly' introduced to her parents…
I already feel bad for the poor bastard.
Although, when I think about it, they are not really gone...
I have left the AZRE (Azure) dorm. Since the cafeteria in Beacon is closed for the break, most students including myself have to fend for themselves.
Although I am doing pretty well… I have a part time job and I own a nice cozy apartment on the second floor of a complex. Entering through the door, the right side has a small kitchen with the clothes dryer and washer in the far corner hidden in a small closet and on the opposite side, the 'living room' has a small couch facing away from the kitchen while the television faces said couch and a coffee table in between. The bathroom and bedroom have their own little hallway directly in front of the door. With the bedroom being on the left side while the bathroom mirrors it. The small walkway leads to a window that shows the black clouds currently pouring over Vale.
Alas, knowing my luck a new predicament has arrived. And she is soaking wet.
"Neo?" She waves and smiles, ignoring how her hair is sticking to her face. " Where's Di- I mean Roman?"
She shrugs and covers the right side of her face while smiling.
"He is with Cinder? Without you?" I ask while pushing the door wider.
She moves in while shrugging again. Like saying 'Most likely'.
I turn around after locking the door. I see she has already removed her boots and a small puddle is collecting near her feet.
"We will talk more about Dic - Roman's large list of poor life decisions later, we need to get you out of those clothes" I pause "...and maybe a shower wouldn't hurt."
Neo grins like she discovered where Roman and I hid her sweets and starts to remove her pants, however I was faster and grabbed Neo's shoulders and guided her to the bathroom. 'She is freezing' I tell myself
"Nice try. Leave your wet clothes outside the door so I can wash them." I say while moving to close the bathroom door.
She responds by sticking her tongue out and throwing her pants in my face.
"So everything you wear isn't always pink." I say while narrowly dodging her sword/umbrella.
After giving up trying to yank it out of the wall I decide to pick up Neo's discarded clothes and put them in the wash. Next step in operation :'Suck up to Neo before she kills you for peeping' I start to prepare something warm for her to drink.
I need something warm but it has to be sweet in order to convince Neo to actually drink-not kill me. Hot Chocolate?
Screw it I'm a dead man either way.
Almost immediately after I finished making the chocolate Neo seemingly teleports right behind me.
"AHHH SHI- Neo!" I smile nervously. "uh... I made some hot chocolate?"
'Please let me live, please let me live, please let me live, please let me live' I pray to several deities hoping at least one of them answers.
She looks up at me smiling innocently, but I can see the murderous glint in her mismatched eyes.
Neo moves her arms up.
I flinch.
Neo lifts a single eyebrow as if to show confusion and gives me a hug from behind… wait what?
'... I AM STILL ALIVE!' I gloat internally
My triumph is short lived since Neo lifts me up and slams me onto the floor of the apartment as if I didn't weigh anything at all. If it didn't hurt I'd give her suplex maneuver a ten out of ten.
"...enjoy…" I manage to grunt.
Neo sips the warm drink and smiles down on me.
"...nice mustache Neo." I point out smugly
She frowns, wipes off the froth from her lips and kicks my side.
With a smirk I say "I regret nothing."
Another kick
"...I regret everything."
Her smile returns and moves to the 'living room' of the apartment. At that moment I notice Neo's choice of clothing. A large black shirt… that's it.
"Neo…" She turns around and glares down at me.
"...would you like a blanket?" Neo nods happily and plops down on the small couch in the apartment.
After I come back with the blanket I see Neo rubbing her arms for warmth. As soon as she spots me with the blanket she thrusts both her arms out and flicks her fingers as if saying 'gimme.' If anyone else saw Neo like that, I would worry about their lifespan.
"Three years older than me and yet you still act like you actually are only three years old." I tease while sitting down on the same couch next to her. Neo responds with a pout and another cute sneeze. Although the latter was unintentional.
I reach over to feel her temperature. "You are a bit warm, and your face is getting pretty red you might actually be sick." Neo slaps my hand away and quickly covers her head with the blanket.
"Okay?" I say completely confused with Neo's reaction. Before either of us could say or in Neo's case 'mime' anything else, a small chime sound came from my pants pocket. I take my scroll out and see a notification.
"It's from Roman" I told Neo when she leaned on me to see who it was. Neo grabs my hand and moves the scroll toward her so she can better read Roman's message.
From: Roman Torch-D*CK
To: br-ASS Ranth
YO, just a heads up I'm sending Neo over to you.
My eyebrow twitches.
I will be gone for the rest month and maybe longer. Her royal highness wants me to move the dust to the southeast. Don't play goody two shoes this time, otherwise the royal pain in the ass will start to think something's up.
Before you ask, yes i sent money to cover Neo's little ice cream crusades. You can thank me later.
Turning the scroll off, I look over to see Neo already imagining what glorious riches she will plunder now that she has the funding with a goofy smile on her face.
"Neo you're drooling me..."
She snaps out of her daydream by shaking her head furiously. Neo points to me then my weapons -my gauntlets- on the coffee table, points to herself and gives me a questioning look.
"When I go back to Beacon you will either have to get a job or use some of the money from Roman to pay for this apartment." I inform her while wiping off the drool on my pants. She crosses her arms and shakes her head in disgust. Not liking the idea of sacrificing her ice cream money just to stay in the apartment.
"Neo… he sent you 3,000 lien."
She doesn't move.
"The rent is around 750 lien a month…"
No response.
I sigh " If I treat you to ice cream the rest of my break will you use the ice cream money to pay the rent?"
Neo turns around. Her eyes, lips and dare I say it, soul smiled at me all at once. She gets up, still in a blanket, and walks towards the door.
I grabbed her hand and stood up with her . "Tomorrow Neo. Its 10, it's dark out and it's still raining." I tell her. "It is also the weekend tomorrow so I won't have to go to my part time job either." I added with a smile.
Neo looks up at me and grins. She raises both arms up and shrugs, as if saying 'I tried.'
She takes hold of my hand and guides me back to the couch. I put my legs on the coffee table and leaned back. Before Neo sits down, she takes the remote that was on the coffee table and turns on the television to an interesting show.
"You actually enjoy watching Defense against Tyrants?" I ask while watching her use my legs as a footrest.
Neo elbows my side and I swear I've seen a flash of hurt on her small face.
"I watch the show too." I grunted
Neo then relaxes and leans on me.
"The son is a real douche though…"
Neo thrusts her arms into the air as if saying 'I know!'
00ooOOOoo00
There is the scent of fruit, it is faint but it is still there. My eyelids feel heavy and I try to keep them closed, but my brain is already awake. Did I fall asleep on the couch again? I can feel my legs are elevated. Are they on the armrest of the couch? I turn my head toward the coffee table opened my eyes and found a scroll.
My right arm reaches and grabs it.
"What time is it?" I mumble
The scroll says it's 6:39 on a Saturday.
Yeah… Back to sleep.
I reach down to my chest to bring the blanket on me near my face.
The blanket moved up on its own. And it's face is buried in the crook of my neck.
'Blankets aren't supposed to snuggle up next to you on their own' My drowsy thoughts tell me.
At this moment I look at my "blanket" and nearly leapt in shock.
'Neo? What? Where? When? HWAT?!'
Movement interrupts my thought. Neo props herself with her arms and slowly opens her eyes.
Brown and Pink eyes stare at Golden ones. I look anywhere else to avoid eye contact. The wall behind the couch, the actual blanket on the floor, her disheveled hair, the wrinkled oversized black shirt she is wearing, how her legs are also resting on top of the armrest, how her BARE legs are in between mine…
This is not helping.
"M-Morning Neo." I curse myself for making her more aware of her surroundings.
Her colorful eyes seem to focus on her choice of bedding or rather my chest. Neo looks back up to my face and points to the top of her left wrist with a questioning and heavy eyed expression.
"6:40-ish."
Neo soon adopts an angry expression and drops her face onto my chest. Her right arm moves around looking for something. She finds my left arm, tosses it on top of her back and stops moving.
She starts to shiver ever so slightly .
I sigh and move to bring the blanket from the floor to cover the both of us again making sure to keep my left arm still. Before sleep took me over, I could feel her hold on me tightening and a small smile formed on my face.