As soon as Neo's feet touched the ground, she closed her parasol and turned to look up at the Grimm-filled sky, two-toned eyes searching until she found it: General Ironwood's ship.
Going down in flames.
Neo watched with wide, white eyes as the ship sank towards Vale, disappearing out of sight behind the trees. She felt the ground shake as it crashed.
She began to search her pockets for her scroll, intending to send him a message to find out if he was okay, but she couldn't find it. It must have fallen out.
A nearby Griffon felt a spike in negativity as Neo began to panic-she needed to find out if he was alive, but going to the crash site meant she'd see his fate with her own eyes. And depending on what it was, she wasn't sure she wanted to see it.
She rested her parasol on her shoulder and took a deep breath. But there's no other option.
Just as the Griffon jumped at her from behind, Neo pressed the button to open her parasol, knocking it back. She closed her umbrella and extended the blade from the middle, then turned swiftly and stabbed it through the Grimm's neck, killing it.
As its body evaporated, she looked back up at the sky, at the plume of smoke that was undoubtedly rising from the site of the crash.
With another deep breath, forcing her fears to the back of her mind, she started forward.
When she first arrived, all she could see were broken pieces of the airship strewn all over the street. Her limbs shook, legs feeling like jelly, as she pushed herself to walk forward and search the debris for a sign of him, afraid of what she was going to find.
It didn't take longer than a couple minutes of searching for her to spot the familiar flash of bright orange hair. He was unconscious and trapped beneath a small pile of rubble; his hat and weapon lay on the ground a few feet away.
She cleared the pile and knelt down next to him, pressing two fingers against his throat and bracing herself for the worst. But then she felt it-that unmistakable beat of a pulse beneath her fingertips.
Disbelieving, she pulled off one of her gloves and hovered her hand in front of his mouth, her heart skipping a beat as she felt his breath tickle her palm.
A choked sob of relief escaped her lips and she took a moment to just sit there, tears streaming down her cheeks, allowing herself to take comfort in the revelation that he was still alive.
Roman is alive.
As she began to calm down again, she wiped her eyes and looked down at him-he was a little dirty, had a few scratches, and his clothes were a bit torn, but he didn't appear to have any major injuries. She figured that his aura must have shielded him from the brunt of the impact, although it still knocked him out.
Neo heard shooting nearby, growing closer, and remembered that Vale was currently in the middle of a Grimm invasion and if Ironwood was still alive, he was probably looking for his ship; she had to get Roman out of there.
Setting Roman's hat on her head, she hooked their weapons onto her arm and lifted Roman up, holding him bridal-style.
And just as General Ironwood finished off another Grimm and rounded the corner towards them and his ship, Neo projected an illusion and escaped.
Despite how heavy he was, Neo managed to carry Roman all the way to their apartment, where she laid him down on the bed and undressed him to just his t-shirt and pants.
She stored their weapons in the closet, along with his gloves and shoes, then set his scarf and coat aside so she could sew up the tears in them later. But first, she had to wash the dirt and blood off of his face, then clean and disinfect any of his wounds, just in case.
After she'd finished with all of that, she crawled into bed next to him and gazed at him for a while, occasionally reaching over to touch his cheek or stroke his hair, still not fully convinced that she wasn't dreaming. Then, exhausted, she scooted closer to him, snuggling up against his side, and fell asleep.
When Roman opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was his location.
The last thing he remembered was being on top of the airship, giving "little Red" a much-needed lesson on the real world, when a Grimm had come down out of nowhere and swallowed him whole.
A few seconds later, its body disintegrated and he was suddenly inside of the airship as it plunged toward Vale. He blacked out the moment the ship made contact with the ground.
So when he woke up, he expected to find himself pinned beneath a pile of rubble, back in a jail cell, or in Hell if it existed. Instead, he was in his bedroom, the early morning sunlight streaming in from the window. The side of the bed next to him was disturbed, but empty.
He climbed out of bed and walked to the closet, slipping into his coat and shoes, tying his scarf around his neck, and setting his hat on his head where it belonged. He slid his gloves on, grabbed Melodic Cudgel, and left the room to search for Neo-she had to have been the one that saved him. Again. "Neo? Are you here?"
At the sound of his voice, Neo charged out of the kitchen-where she had been staring into a mug of coffee, just waiting for him to wake up-and tackled him to the floor.
"Ow…" Roman winced. "It's good to see you, too."
Her shoulders began to shake as she cried silently into his chest and he blinked down at her, a bit startled. "Neo…?"
The two sat up and she pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her face. Expression solemn, he reached a hand out to comfort her when she suddenly swung and slapped him across the face.
He sat in shock for a second before turning his head back to glare at her. "Neo, what the-"
Her hands grasped the sides of his face and pulled him into a passionate kiss.
At first, he was frozen, taken aback. Then he relaxed and closed his eyes, his hands settling on her hips, returning her kiss with just as much passion.
When they broke apart, he smirked. "Why Neo, were you worried about me?"
She slapped him again.
"What was that one for?" He scowled and she smirked back playfully.
His scowl dissolved into a smirk of his own and they shared another quick kiss before getting to their feet.
Dusting himself off, Roman glanced down at his partner in crime, who was staring at him as if he'd disappear if she looked away. "So, I take it you saved me again?"
Smiling widely, Neo nodded once, proud.
"Well, then I suppose you deserve a...reward. Wouldn't you say?"
Neo only raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Roman took her hand and led her to the bedroom. He stopped in the middle of the room, told her to wait there, then walked around the bed towards the nightstand, where a small stereo sat, their mix CD inside and ready to play. He hit the button and, as the first song began, walked back to Neo, holding a hand out to her.
"Neo," He smiled softly, a smile he only reserved for her. "Care to dance?"
A warm blush lit up her face and she placed her hand in his. He pulled her close, resting his free hand on her waist while hers settled on his shoulder. Together, they began to move with the music. They were perfectly in-sync with one another-like always-, gliding around the room, their eyes and minds only focused on one thing: each other.
They became lost in their own little world, where it was them and only them-no Grimm to try and kill them, no Cinder to make them do her dirty work, and no General Ironwood to arrest them. Just the music, and them. It was perfect; they actually felt happy.
As the song neared its end, Roman twirled Neo in a slow circle before pulling her close again, ending their dance as they always did: with a dip and a featherlight kiss.
After pulling away, they both whispered the words they rarely said, but always meant, "I love you."
A/N: This is kind of an alternate thing to my story "Still Here", where Roman is alive and, instead of dancing in Neo's dreams, they get to dance together for real.~ I'm not sure which version I like best, honestly.