Turn Away
Lie Ren felt morning brush against his face as a piece of the building was lifted off his face. Blearily blinking his eyes, he gazed upon his savior.
To his blurred vision, it looked as if a tall bowl of ice cream had come to his rescue. Conscious enough to realize that what he saw couldn't be reality, Ren brought a battered arm up and rubbed his eyes.
In the ice cream's stead, he saw a woman that was much shorter than he'd guessed. She did have hair that was similar enough to a swirl of flavors that struck him as slightly odd.
But then again, Nora had orange hair. It wasn't much different.
"Thanks," he said quietly, accepting her hand as she reached to help him up.
The woman said nothing. Upon standing, Ren discovered that he towered over his rescuer. She glanced up at him, met his eyes, turned, and began to walk away.
"Wait," he said, not shouting. Lie Ren did not shout. He did not raise his voice, even in anger. He was the very essence of calm and soft spoken. Everyone felt it, and that was why when he opened his mouth to speak, those around him listened.
The same held true for his savior. The umbrella carrying woman glanced back, not turning around, but stopping in her tracks.
"Your name?" Ren asked, his voice carrying the subtle note of curiosity. The question lingered in the air between them, not knowing whether its recipient would accept it.
Finally, the woman pointed to her throat. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Ren blinked in realization. "Mute," he murmured, loud enough for her to hear.
She nodded, then pointed at her hair. With her other hand (While holding the parasol), she gestured to herself.
"Charades," he realized with the lightest of grins. Contrary to what most thought, Ren was a master at the game. Growing up with someone as…imaginative as Nora had trained him to think flexibly.
"…Neapolitan?" he guessed. It had been the first thing to come to his mind, just like it had been the first thing he thought he saw.
The woman allowed a small smile, but held up her hands in the 'short' gesture. Ren nodded, and spoke again, "Nea?"
The white clad woman made a circle with her free hand.
"Neo?"
Smiling widely, she bowed to receive imaginary applause. With the practiced elegance of a lady, Neo turned to leave again.
"Why?" Ren asked. This question fluttered around in the light breeze that held council in the ruined city. It held a breath of gratitude, and pound of skepticism.
Neo turned back for the second time. What made it different, was how she closed the distance between the two of them.
With a delicate hand, she gripped Ren's. Ignoring the man's stoic surprise, Neo gestured to Vale. The city was destroyed, with Grimm running rampant between piles of rubble. It numbered in the most horrible things Ren had seen.
And Beacon. Even from afar, Lie Ren knew the school had suffered some of the worst damage. Blinking, he felt his eyes water.
Crying? Lie Ren didn't cry. He was steadfast, always constant. Wavering was most unlike him.
He turned to Neo, away from the wreckage of the city that had become his home. She looked up at him, her eyes painting a sad picture. She mouthed a clear word that spoke more than she did: 'Regret.'
Ren nodded. She dropped his hand, and bowed her head to him to the slightest degree. An apology. He didn't know what she had done, but he nodded, accepting the words that hung unspoken in the air.
Neo turned for a third time, slower and more melodic than prior times. An encore of previous performances, though Ren was not giving a standing ovation.
"Come with me?" he asked, wincing as it came out a question.
The request fizzled between them akin to a small fire. It stole Neo's attention, turning her away from the path she walked alone. As the woman turned around to look him in the eye, that fire burned brighter, begging to be embraced.
She cocked her head to the side, asking a simple question: 'Why?'
"If you truly regret this," he said, waving a hand behind him, "then help us. Help us fix the world. There are issues, issues I won't deny having seen. Society is never perfect, but tearing it down is not the way to build."
Ren spread his arms in a welcoming way, "Work with those who want to make this world safe. Come with me and make a difference. Act on that regret, and turn away from whatever holds you to the path of destruction."
The black haired man swallowed, his voice untrained to speaking at such length. Not to mention his lack of eloquence when it came to long bouts of speech. Sighing internally, Ren all but gave up hope.
A small hand riddled with callouses took his hand. Ren looked to his side to see Neo giving him a weak smile. It said more than she could have even if she had the voice to do so.
Ren squeezed her hand lightly, trying to send some measure of comfort to her. She seemed to appreciate it, as her smile grew stronger.
He took a step forward, with Neo following. The two matched gaits, and walked through the ruins of what once was a proud city.
They turned away from the rubble, the ashes, the ruins, the Grimm, the disaster, the horror, the tragedy, the loss. The time to rebuild would come. And the time to stand strong was here.
Author Notes: I have no idea why I wrote this pairing. I ship YangxNeo and RenxNora like no tomorrow. Yet, somehow this held an appeal to me. Probably because no one has done it (To my knowledge).
I kind of just ignored Nora for this. Poor girl, but it would have over complicated things.