Cages are so boring.

Roman rapped his fingers against his favorite prison cell. He knocked on the solid metal that had housed him for the past nine hundred and ten days. About two and a half years. He had kept careful track of each day, counting down, day after day, until finally, it was today. Today was a good day.

The cell he was in was, in fact, his favorite cell. He had been shipped around from prison to prison over the years before he had settled down at Vale's primary correctional facility. It was cozy, cedar blocks with rebar concrete behind it and a solid metal grid across the front. It was really not bad for a prison cell, but Roman had always been more of an outdoorsy guy. Well, so long as outdoorsy was out the doors of a prison, anyhow. Mountains, fresh air and never showering weren't really his thing either.

There was a small window in the upper corner of the cell, and Roman could see the stars and moon rising. He grinned to himself excitedly, and walked over to his cot. On top of it rested his fedora, which had been with him for the past few years. He picked it up off his cot and brushed off some imaginary lint. Though his white suit had faded to grey over his stay at his lush home, he had made sure that his hat had never suffered the normal tarnishes of the polished prison life.

When it came down to it, it had been two and a half year. He wanted to make at least some part of this reunion professional, and nothing was better than a hat. After all, Roman Torchwick was nothing if not professional. He had wasted years of his precious life for this job, but all of that was about to pay off.

A flicker of movement caught his eye by the window. Roman walked to the opposite side of the room and looked outside. There was a small styrofoam bowl with three small scoops of ice cream in it, one chocolate, one vanilla and one strawberry. There was a little sampler spoon tucked under one scoop, and out of the chocolate there was a small pink umbrella sticking up.

Roman grinned, picking up the bowl and putting a spoonful of the strawberry ice cream in his mouth. He took delight in the sweet, fruity taste for a moment before walking back to his bed. He flopped onto the hard mattress, laying down. Oh, he was so excited.

Roman lay on his back with his feet crossed, enjoying small bites of ice cream. After only a few minutes, he heard muffled grunts from down the hall, and paused mid-bite. He sat up on his bed, laying the ice-cream down on the floor. He picked his hat up once more, brushed it off one final time, then placed it on his head for the first time in nine hundred and ten days.

He had to admit, he felt a bit more stylish.

The sounds from down the hall had grown silent, and Roman turned towards the cell door, the gridded metal bars. Behind those devilish slats of steel stood the soundest of sights for sore eyes.

A petite figurine she was, standing somewhere on the short end of the five foot five club. Her hair was parted in the middle, one half cascading over her shoulder in soft, elegant brown curls, the other falling in curly strands of light pink. Her eyes, one pink and one brown at the moment, met his evenly despite their disparity of height. She wore a light long tailed coat, one might say of a vanilla coloring, and a brown velvet corset that hugged her slim figure tightly. Around her neck was a collection of silver necklaces, and she wore brown slacks that came down to just below her knees. She had on high heeled boots, and Roman knew that they were practical as well as stylish.

He was glad she hadn't skimped on the style in the last little while. It was important for one's pupils to follow in the footsteps of their mentors.

"Neo, if you would." Roman said, tilting his head towards the lock of his cell. She could have it open in a heartbeat, and then he would be free to roam the streets once more. How devilishly delectably delightful.

However, she didn't obey immediately. A flash of irritation shot through the thief as he looked back at her, before it lifted in humor. She had crossed her arms in front of her chest and cocked her hips, that arrogant and joking grin spreading across her features. Roman sighed in exasperation, but couldn't help the coy grin from appearing on his features. He leaned forward, resting on the grid.

"Ah yes, of course. It's been a while, Neo, pleasure to see you." She raised an eyebrow at him and didn't move. Roman bowed his head in defeat. He looked at the ground then spoke. "Fine, I've missed you too Neo."

No later had the words left his mouth that roman heard a faint click. He pushed himself off the metal bars as they swung to the side. He looked at the line in the dust where the door to his prison had been for so long and hesitated before stepping through.

He looked at that line, feigning remorse. It was all about the theatrics; the long awaited escape from prison. The prisoner, wondering whether life on the outside would really be any better for him. What if it had all changed to him? Was he ready to deal with it all?

There was an impatient tapping of a boot, and Roman looked back to see Neo glaring at him, unimpressed. He grinned and stepped over the line without even looking at it, wrapping one arm around his cohort as the two started walking through the prison again. Of course he was ready to be free, but he might as well make a show of it. There might as well be some theatrical payoff for so long spent holed up in a cell.

"Oh, how I've missed this Neo." He said, his voice partly sarcastic and partially genuine. At times, he wasn't even sure which was the real sentiment. "We're going to have a lot of fun in the coming months."

Neo's only response was to skip a step ahead of him and turn around, looking at him mischievously. She tilted her head to the side, and Roman saw the door she was motioning towards. He stepped towards it and opened it from the inside, pressing himself against it so that Neo could pass through.

"Ladies first," He said cheerily as he stepped out behind her into the cool, fresh air of the night. He walked under a streetlamp and then passed into the shadows. All of the sudden, Roman felt very at home, very comfortable. He was happy, contented, and there was one more thing. He was feeling ready for a little revenge.

He grinned as Neo tossed him his cane, which had been resting at the entrance to an alleyway. He spun it about his hand, then walked off into the darkness beside Neo.

So this is just the first chapter of what I'm hoping to be a new fic if I can get it rolling! I'm still finishing up my other story, so until that's done, the updates here won't be very regular. This story will take place in the students' fourth year at Beacon and my own take on the conclusion of the Cinder arc of the RWBY story. I hope you enjoyed it! This chapter, being an introduction, was pretty short. Most of the chapters for this story should come in ~3000-4000 words, but it will be determined more so by the flow of the story than a set word count. Of course, any comments, thoughts, concerns or tips are very welcome! Thanks for reading!

-Unjax