Valentine's Day: A Holiday of Loneliness

Author's Note: Hey guys. A lot of you were loved and enjoyed my Roman X Neo story The Best Partners of the Criminal Underworld. Since it's Valentine's Day, I decided to make a one-shot sequel to it. However, this story is about how Roman and Neo experienced the holiday themselves and the aftermath of Ep. 11. Anyway, please enjoy the story.


10 Years Ago

"Neo, look what I got!" Roman hollered. It's been a few months since they met, and the two teenagers have been working together to survive the cruel world ever since. In his hands is a large heart shaped box of chocolates. Neo's eyes widened when she saw them and began writing something down.

Where did you get them?

"Oh, I snagged it from some idiot when he wasn't looking. Now we can enjoy some dessert," the orange haired teen told his partner. Neo nodded and blush a little. She wondered if Roman knew what day it is. This is the first time she's spending it with someone. She instantly wrote down a message to him.

Thanks for the chocolate.

"No problem Neo. Anything for my favorite gal," Roman replied. Neo blushed a bit harder. While they weren't dating, she clearly enjoyed the compliment. Together, they created a homemade fire and ate the chocolates around it. Neo rested her head on his arm, starting to get tired. "Happy Valentine's Day Neo." The girl looked up at her partner and wrote something down for him.

You knew?

"Of course, I know the holiday and I saw 'Happy Valentine's Day' everywhere. Only an idiot would know that," Roman stated. Neo gave a small giggle and wrote something to him.

You're the best.

"No need to tell me. Happy Valentine's Day Neo," Roman said.


7 Years Ago

"Run Neo, run," Roman shouted. The two were currently being chased by police officers. This wasn't the first time they were being chased by the police. This happened many times before. However, this time was different because Neo was the one who was caught red handed by them.

"Neo, if we escape from them, I want to know why you allowed yourself to get sighted," Roman told his partner. Neo flashed him a glare. It wasn't her fault that they were being chase, well technically yes, but she had a good reason. The thieving duo suddenly ran into an alley that had a dead end. "This isn't good."

"Hands where we can see them," one of the police officers ordered. Each of them was pointing a gun at the two.

"Look officers, my friend here made a mistake. How about we all go to a bar and talk this over some drinks?" Roman suggested. That didn't work as the officers took of the guns' safety.

Neo suddenly stood in front of Roman and spread her arms apart. She was using herself as a shield to protect her partner. The police officers were confused, but nonetheless wary of what the ice cream girl was planning to do. Roman was confused on why she was willing to throw her life away.

"Stand down now," one of the police officers ordered. Neo shook her head and growled at them. They weren't going to take Roman away, and she wasn't going to let them. One of them fired their gun. When the bullet struck her, Neo shattered into pieces of glass as well as Roman. The officers were dumbfounded at what just happened.

Meanwhile, Neo and Roman were now at another part of the city. They too were confused at what just happened. This interested Roman as this could help them in future robberies.

"Hey Neo, what did you just do?" the male thief asked. His partner shrugged and wrote something down.

I think I just activated my semblance.

"Your semblance, huh? It's pretty cool if you asked me," Roman complimented. Neo blushed a little at the compliment. Now Roman wanted to know something. "What did you do that got the cops to chase us?"

"Come one Neo, you can tell me," Roman told her. She looked at him before looking down. Neo blushed as she felt his hand touching her shoulder. She sighed, knowing that he was going to find out. She wrote him the reason.

I was trying to get something for you. It's Valentine's Day, so I wanted to get something special to thank you. Unfortunately, the cops saw me before I could get the gift.

"A gift?" Roman asked. He chuckled. "Neo, you didn't have to get me anything. Having you as my partner is the best gift I could have." Neo looked at him in surprise.

Really?

"Of course, Happy Valentine's Day Neo," the gingered haired teen replied. Neo instantly hugged him, causing Roman to hug back.


4 Years Ago

Roman was looking through a closed shop. It was the middle of the night, and he was on a personal mission. That mission was simple, getting a Valentine's Day gift for Neo. His partner was the only person he has left in his life. He realized this after yesterday's incident.

Yesterday, some lowlife thugs tried to get their perverted hands on his partner. Of course, Neo was more than capable to beat the shit out of them. However, Roman was the one who wanted to do the shit beating himself.

It was a quick fight. His years of training with his cane proved useful. He felt his adrenaline pumping as he knocking their asses into unconsciousness. Neo was silently cheering, since she is mute, for him to beat the living crap out of them. He would so as the thugs were know lying on the ground unconscious. Neo gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for coming to her rescue.

As Roman looked through the shop, he found something that caught his eye. It was a giant teddy bear. Now this teddy bear wasn't an ordinary teddy bear. It had a familiar scheme. The teddy bear's fur was pink, brown, and white. However, it also was holding a toy cane and was wearing a bowler hat just like his.

The bear was basically a combination of the duo. Roman smiles and knew that this was the perfect gift for Neo. Some could say that his teddy bear was their child. Roman picked up the stuff animal and the store. However, that was after he took all the money from all the cash registers.

When Roman presented the bear to Neo, the female thief was overjoyed. No, that was an understatement. Neo was practically ecstatic. She took the teddy bear from his hands and hugged it nonstop. She kissed Roman on the cheek multiple times, causing the gingered haired thief to blush.

"I take it that you love the gift?" Roman asked. Neo nodded and wrote down a message to him.

Thank you Roman.

"No problem. Happy Valentine's Day Neo," the male thief told his partner.


Last Year

Roman and Neo were under the employ of Cinder Fall, but that didn't mean they can't be a couple. However, they had to keep it under a low minimum. Roman wasn't sure if Cinder would allow romance into the group. However, he decided to hide their relationship.

Neo, on the other hand, didn't care if Cinder wouldn't allow it. But she had to agree on keeping her relationship with Roman considering their boss would use it as leverage against them. There was also the fact that Emerald and Mercury would catch them in the act.

She hated those two. They were Cinder's lapdogs, doing whatever they can to please her. One is an uncaring bastard while the other is a kiss-up with no self-respect. She witnessed a few times of Cinder slapping Emerald. She would have felt sorry for Emerald if it wasn't for the fact that the green haired girl would continue to do whatever to please her. All Neo could do is feel pity for her.

Roman and Neo had a day off. Roman was thankful as Cinder had him do multiple tasks nonstop. Neo was only tasked with assassination missions. However, it would take away her time with Roman. Interesting enough, their day off is on Valentine's Day.

"So Neo, what do you think we should do today?" Roman asked his partner/girlfriend. Neo typed something on her scroll and held it up towards him.

Let's have some fun in the town.

"Sounds good to me," the male thief replied. Grabbing their respective weapons, they left the hideout they were currently in. After taking a few looks, the two decided to go to a bar. The bar was mostly for those who didn't have a date for the holiday. Neo found a table for the two of them while Roman went to get their drinks.

"Hey little lady, how about you and me go have some fun?" a stranger asked Neo. The ice cream themed thief ignored the male and looked away. The man didn't like her gesture and grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, I'm talking to you, you little bitch!" Neo grabbed the man's and flipped him over onto the table, smashing it into pieces.

"Hey, someone get her!"another male said. Roman turned around, with the drinks in his hand, to see what was going on. He saw a couple of guys surrounding Neo. His partner didn't even look slightly intimidated and practically dared them to come after her. One of them charged after her. Big mistake.

Neo flipped over the male and kicked the back of his head, sending the man crashing onto a table. Another man threw a punch at her, but she easily dodged it and smacked him across the face with her closed umbrella. She then kicked him on the chin. Another man chased after her, but Neo jumped and wrapped her legs around his neck. She then used them to throw him onto the ground.

Another man crept towards Neo from behind with a chair in his hands. Neo wasn't aware of her attacker, but Roman wasn't going to do nothing and watch his girlfriend get hurt. He shot the man down with his cane. Neo turned around to see Roman smirking and the unconscious man behind her. Neo gave him a smile, grateful that he saved her.

However, this act caused others to turn their attention on Roman. The male thief sighed as it seems he will officially have to join in this fight. He threw the drinks on his incoming attackers and began using his can as a melee weapon. Despite being outnumbered, the two knew they were going to enjoy this fight.

It didn't take that much time for that bar fight to end. The floor was littered with unconscious bodies. Roman and Neo knew that if they killed anyone, it would bring a lot of unwanted attention from the law and that would make Cinder unhappy. Who knew that a trip to a bar on Valentine's Day would end up turning into a bar fight? It didn't matter as Roman and Neo had the best time of their lives.

"Where were you two?" Cinder asked as they came home.

"We were just having our day off," Roman answered.

"You two didn't cause any trouble did you?" Cinder asked as she narrowed her eyes. She knew that both Roman and Neo tend to cause trouble when they're not being supervised. She knew that Neo behaves better, but she couldn't help but wonder about the girl. However, she turned her attention to Roman as he tends to be loose cannon.

"Of course not, we're not ones to cause any trouble," Roman replied. Again, Cinder narrowed her eyes on him. He is definitely loose cannon.

"Well, I hope you two enjoyed your day off because I have a lot off assignments for you to begin starting tomorrow," Cinder told them. Neo rolled her eyes as she knew that these assignments would take away her time with Roman. Their boss left, leaving the two alone.

"Happy Valentine's Day Neo," Roman told his partner. The ice cream themed girl smiled. Unknowing to them, it would be their last Valentine's together.


Today

Neo is alone. This is the first time she's been alone for over ten years. What's worse is that today is Valentine's Day. What's different is that she won't ever get to spend it with Roman. In fact, she's never going to spend Valentine's Day with Roman ever again. The reason is…Roman Torchwick is dead.

After the airship crashed and the fires died down, Neo gathered whatever that is left from his remains and buried it at their first hideout. The hideout was located at the countryside, perfect for them to get away from the cops. Neo was currently standing at Roman's grave.

Neo cried herself to sleep ever since his death. She blamed herself as the reason he's no longer living. If she could have killed Little Red sooner, then he would still be alive. The two could have spent another Valentine's Day together. However, that no longer be true.

Lying on the gravesite was Roman's trademark cane and bowler hat. It wouldn't be natural if Roman didn't have them even in death. In her arms was the teddy bear that Roman gave her four years ago on this day. She kept it all these years, and it is the only thing to remember him by.

Neo wanted revenge but couldn't. Cinder mysteriously disappeared, apparently dead. Emerald and Mercury were on the run. Neo wasn't sure if they're sticking together or went on their separate ways, but she didn't care. As for Little Red, she had no ways of finding her or her sister. The dragon was frozen and was attracting more Grimm to the City of Vale.

The whole world of Remnant was in panic mode, but Neo didn't care. The only one that she ever cared is no longer on this world. Neo wondered how the afterlife was and how Roman was experiencing it. She has considered joining him, but she doubt Roman would allow her to die soon. She hugged the stuff bear tighter. Just thinking about him always brings her to tears.

So this is how it feels to no longer have someone to spend Valentine's Day with? Neo thought the holiday as cruel irony. At first it's enjoyable, especially if there's someone you're with. However, it's sufferable now that the person you were with is gone. All Neo can feel is loneliness.

Neo doesn't know what to do now. She could just find Emerald and Mercury and take her chances with them. Or, she can live on her own and survive just like she did before Roman came into her life. However, Neo promised herself that she would always visit his grave on this very day for the rest of her life. It's something that she's willing to do.

She used her umbrella to write something down on his gravesite. It's something that she always wanted to say but can never actually say. However, it's her turn. Once she was done, she looked at what she wrote and gave a small smile.

Happy Valentine's Day Roman.


Author's Note: There you have it folks. Valentine's Day is a holiday of love and happines, but not everyone can enjoy it the same way others do. Read and review if you enjoyed the story. Also, please check out my other stories by going to my profile. Bye!