Chapter 21: Confrontation
After an hour or so of tossing and turning in bed, Neo finally came to accept the fact that she wouldn't be getting to sleep any time soon. The encounter with Weiss' mother was weighing too heavily in her mind to let sleep find its way in, as were thoughts of what to do about her tomorrow, and Neo groaned as she realised it was going to be a long night for her. She needed something to take her mind away from everything, but didn't know what to do. A thought occurred to her, and she laughed to herself at how ridiculous it was. Still, she didn't have any other ideas, so despite her better judgment she got out of bed, carefully opened the door, and started to make her way down the hall.
The tile floor for a little cold on her bare feet, but it didn't bother her. She stealthily made her way through the corridors, ducking down and using her semblance to get past the maids and other servants that were still up and about at this ungodly hour. She didn't think she wouldn't be in any real trouble if someone saw her, but avoiding anything that could get back to Weiss' mother and give her the wrong idea seemed preferable. Then again, Neo's current plan went in complete contrast to that, although at the moment she didn't care.
She arrived at the door to Weiss' bedroom and slowly started to turn the knob, thankful that it didn't make any noise. She cracked the door further and further open, beginning to slip inside when a distinct, loud squeak came from the hinges. Neo shut her eyes tightly from the sound, hoping that it hadn't woken up Weiss. After a moment she peeked over at the bed, and the small slit of light coming through the door illuminated the sheets to show the heiress stirring from her slumber. Weiss slowly sat up and turned to see who had come in. "Neo?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What're you doing here?"
Neo stepped the rest of the way inside the room, quietly closing the door behind her before starting toward Weiss. "I couldn't sleep," she said as she took a seat at the foot of the bed. "I was hoping maybe we could cuddle for a little? I always sleep better with you."
"You can't be serious," Weiss replied. "If someone sees us in bed together it will neither end well for us, nor help your case with my mother."
Neo frowned, "Please?" She put on her best puppy eyes, looking pitifully at her less than amused partner. Weiss' face remained stalwart for a few seconds before she finally sighed, smiled, and shook her head.
"Okay, fine," she said, pulling back the covers behind her. Neo happily climbed in to the fill the space and nuzzled in against the heiress, putting an arm around Weiss' waist and giving her a light peck on the cheek. "But no fooling around, alright?"
"Aww..." Neo pouted, pretending to be disappointed. In reality she was actually a little bummed out, but hadn't expected anything to happen tonight. Of course, she would gladly welcome it if it did. "Alright, but that means we're going all out when we get home."
She planted a few teasing kisses on Weiss' neck before moving up and nipping playfully at her ear. The heiress giggled and arched her back from the sensation, which for Neo meant to keep going. She moved her hand up and cupped Weiss' breast, tracing circles around the heiress' hardening nipple with her middle finger. Weiss gave a low moan as a shiver of pleasure went down her spine, and she turned over to face Neo with a look somewhere between annoyed and mildly amused. "If you keep this up I might not be able to wait that long," she said in a rather sexy tone.
Neo raised her eyebrows as her smile went from innocent to mischievous. "What happened to not wanting to do it here?"
Weiss glared, but still wore a faint smile. "You know I can't resist when you're this playful," she replied, pulling Neo in so their lips could tenderly meet again. "But if we get caught, it's all on you."
Neo grinned, "Works for me."
"We have to be quiet though," Weiss warned, but Neo was already fully aware of that.
"Hey, you're the screamer of the two of us," Neo teased as she crawled over to straddle Weiss. She pinned the heiress' arms above her head and moved in to kiss her as light as a feather. "Think you can keep it down?"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Just shut up and fuck me already."
The next morning came at around eleven o'clock when the smell of lunch cooking made its way to the sleeping couple. Neo went back to her room and got dressed before the maids came in to wake her, and it looked as though she and Weiss were in the clear. She met back up with Weiss a few minutes after and the two walked hand in hand to the dining room for lunch, occasionally gigging about last night. By now Neo's awe at the size of the house had all but worn off, so she didn't stop to comment on the size of the dinner table, or the chandelier, or any of the many other things she could've chosen to gawk at.
The two sat down and immediately started attacking the plates of food in front of them. Weiss' father came down to join them not long after, but at the speed they were eating those few minutes meant he would be missing out on a few of Neo's favourite items. "Good morning, girls," he greeted them as he sat down at the other end of the table. "I trust you slept well?"
"Sure did," Neo replied, giving Weiss a subtle grin. "The pillows here are really comfortable."
"Excellent, I'm glad you found them to your liking. Although, I'm guessing that wasn't the only reason you slept so well." Both Neo and Weiss froze at the comment. They exchanged a quick glance, each silently asking the other if he could've found out.
'Uh oh, this isn't gonna end well,' Neo thought as she felt her cheeks getting hot, and noticed Weiss' also starting to turn red.
The heiress cleared her throat before speaking, "I... W-We... Uh..." She wanted to lie and play innocent, but the knowing look on her father's face combined with her stuttering meant that it would easier to just be honest. "H-How did you know?"
Her father gave a small smile and shrugged, "I didn't, but it's nice to know you're willing to be upfront and honest with me."
The blush in Weiss' face only deepened now, and she put her head down on the table out of embarrassment. Neo wanted to do the same, but there was something that felt strange, or at least off about the conversation. After a few seconds she realised what it was and looked up at Weiss' father with a look of mild confusion. "Hang on, you're not mad?" she asked.
"I suppose I could be, but no, I'm not mad," he replied with a remarkably calm expression. "I remember being your age once, and while I don't particularly like the thought of my daughter being at stage in a relationship, I trust she wouldn't jump into something she isn't prepared for. I also know that there's no risk of you getting her pregnant, so there is also that as a comfort."
"Okay, this conversation is over. New subject," Weiss interjected, her cheeks still able to blend in with Ruby's cloak. "Will Winter be joining us this morning?"
"Sadly no, your sister wasn't able to step away from her schoolwork to come home this weekend."
Weiss pouted, "Aww... I really wanted Neo to meet her. They'd get along so well. So... will mother be down this morning?"
"That I couldn't tell you," her father replied, looking a little sad about the subject. "She was very quiet last night after you two arrived. I don't think she plans on coming down unless she has to."
A bit of a silence fell over the table. Neo felt horrible about the divide she was causing, even though it wasn't at all her fault. 'How am I gonna make her like me if she doesn't even want to be around me? Maybe Beo was right, maybe she's a lost cause... No, I'm not about to give up that easily. There has to be a way...'
Neo sighed, "What about dinner? Will she be down then?"
"I'll assume she will be. Perhaps that would be a good time to try to spark a conversation between the two of you."
"Or at least make her acknowledge you," Weiss added. The discussion more or less ended there, and the three returned to their lunch while idly chatting about things like school. Afterwards Weiss took Neo down to the theatre room to relax and watch a movie while they let their meal digest. Of course, there was a lot more kissing than actually watching, though neither girl complained. Once the movie ended the heiress suggested they go to the pool in the back yard, to which Neo happily agreed. It had been a while since she's gone swimming, and after seeing the way everything else here was, she expected the pool to be just as grand.
Weiss let her borrow one of her swimsuits, which was still a little big even though Weiss had outgrown it, but it worked. Neo wasn't particularly a fan of the pale blue colour, but no one else would see her in it so she didn't complain. Weiss now led her out back and down a cobblestone path, surrounded on either side by a wide assortment of blooming plants, until they reached a white fence gate. They walked through and Neo gave an amused sigh once she set eyes on the pool. Not only was it huge, but it was two tiered with a slide connecting the two parts. There was a stone waterfall on the upper tier than also poured into the slide, and a hot tub hidden under a cover of palm leaves off to the side.
Weiss noticed Neo's reaction and rolled her eyes, "Yes, it's big. Were you expecting something else?"
"Not at all," Neo laughed as she set her towel down on one of the pool chairs. "This is exactly what I was expecting. What I was sighing at was more the fact that the water's running right now. I know you didn't turn it on, so is it just always going because you have the money to let it?"
Weiss huffed at the sarcastic remark, "Actually it's motion activated. It turned on when we came through the gate."
"You're not helping your case," Neo grinned, walking over like she was looking for a kiss. Weiss closed her eyes and leaned in without a second thought, but that played right into Neo's trap. With a devilish smile, Neo grabbed Weiss by the shoulders and flung her into the water. The heiress resurfaced with a face so angry it looked like it could boil the water around her, which only made Neo laugh harder than she already was. "Oh come on, that was funny!"
Weiss grunted in irritation and splashed some water up at Neo, who had no trouble dodging it. "Get in here yourself and we'll see just how funny you think you are," Weiss taunted.
Neo grinned and ran to the water, jumping high into the air once she reached the edge of the pool and did a cannonball just inches to the right of Weiss. She came up for air to see Weiss holding out her hand to make a glyph, and soon felt the water around her freeze. Neo struggled against the ice enclosing around her waist, but it was no use. "Hey, no fair!" she shouted, starting to shiver from the cold.
Weiss shrugged, "All's fair in love and war." She made another glyph in front of her that sent a large plume of water toward Neo. Neo smirked and used her semblance, appearing behind Weiss and dragging her under the water as the wave crashed down where she had just been. The two resurfaced, both giggling, and spent another couple of minutes splashing at each other before the leftover ice floating around the pool drove them out and into the hot tub.
"You know, I could get used to this," Neo commented as she turned on the jets at her back. They weren't quite as good as the masseuse from the other week, but they still felt wonderful. "I'm not usually the kind of girl who likes big, fancy stuff, but after we get married we're getting a pool like this."
Weiss smiled, "Agreed. So are you having a good weekend so far?"
"You bet! I have a feeling dinner is gonna change all that, but so far so good."
"Yeah... I'm really sorry about my mother," Weiss sadly replied. "I've never seen her like this, ever. I guess it's better her than my father though, if he had been as opposed as she is, I wouldn't even still be at Beacon."
Neo drifted across the tub to sit beside the heiress, and put an arm around her shoulders. "You say that like it would've stopped us," she said, making Weiss smile. She leaned in for a quick kiss before donning a mischievous grin and taking a moment to look around to ensure that they were alone. "Hey Weiss, ever do it in a hot tub?"
The heiress gave her an exasperated sigh in response, "Seriously? Two things: First, you're the only person I've ever 'done it' with, so no. Second, we're not about to change that today."
"You sure?" Neo asked in her sexiest voice, taking her hand and starting to run it up the heiress' thigh, eliciting a small gasp. In response, Weiss lightly splashed some water up into Neo's face. Not a lot, but enough to make her recoil to wipe her eyes. "Hey!"
"You asked for it," Weiss innocently replied. "And let's not push our luck. The fact that my father was okay with us after finding out about last night still blows my mind."
Neo shrugged, "Maybe he's a cooler dad than you give him credit for." After a while of going between the pool and relaxing in the hot tub the two were called in my one of the maids to get ready for dinner. Neither one of them had realised how long they'd been out here, but sure enough it was nearly quarter after five when they finally got around to looking at the time.
They changed back into their normal clothes and made their way back to the dining room for dinner. They sat beside each other at one end of the table, and were soon joined by Weiss' parents, who took their seats at the opposite end. The table had enough chairs for a twenty people, so there was a considerable distance between the two pairs, but the room was shaped in a way that sound carried very well, and there was no need to yell across the table. The chefs came out not long after with plate after plate of delicious smelling food. Neo couldn't help but wonder how Weiss stayed so thin with this sort of bounty available to her at every meal.
There were a few pleasantries said when the four first sat down, but after that the start of the meal was fairly quiet as everyone dug in. Neo could feel Weiss' mother judging her from across the table, but did her best to not let it bother her. "So Neo, how exactly did you and my daughter first meet?" Weiss' father finally asked, breaking the silence and making an obvious attempt to spur a discussion on her relationship.
Neo gave a small smile at the gesture, and decided to go with it. "Um..." she started, hesitating as she actually had to think of the first time they'd seen each other. "I guess it would be the night under the highway. I was guarding Roman at a Faunus rally when Sun and Blake showed up. They ran off, Roman chased after them in a stolen Paladin, and I caught up in time to stop Yang from putting a hole through his head."
"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that," Weiss added. "Then I passed you on the train when Yang stayed behind to fight you. We didn't actually have a conversation until you were brought into Beacon."
Her father looked intrigued, "Remind me, how exactly did that happen in the first place?"
"Well, after the incident on the train I had a bit of a falling out with Cinder," Neo replied. "She threw me out, and the next day Blake and Yang found me walking around the city. After I told them what'd happened they brought me back to see if Professor Ozpin would know what to do with me. He offered me the chance to enrol, and took it without a second thought. Best decision I've ever made."
"He admitted you just like that?" Weiss' mother asked incredulously, making her first direct statement to Neo since she'd arrived. Everyone was aware of this, and now Weiss and her father both looked nervously to Neo to see how she'd proceed.
Neo simply nodded, "Yeah, pretty much. Although he had me under surveillance for a couple weeks after I arrived, and General Ironwood had his eyes on me for a while afterwards too. I don't blame them, they didn't really have a reason to trust me right away given my history."
"Interesting. You're certainly very upfront about your criminal past."
"I mean, I'm not ashamed of it if that's what you're going for," Neo replied, sounding surprisingly calm. "It's part of who am I. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily proud of it, but it's what got me to where I am now, and I've never been happier."
Weiss' mother went quiet, returning to her food without making any further remarks. Her husband on the other hand still wanted to know more about his daughter relationship. At first he'd just wanted to spur a conversation, but now he was genuinely curious after not getting much information about it from the start. "Not to pry, but when did you first know you were attracted to Weiss?" he asked.
Neo smiled, "Hmm... I think it all started after a dream I had about the two of us dating. It was kinda weird at first, and after that she was in every corner of my mind, so I decided to go for it. I didn't think she'd actually say yes, so I was pleasantly surprised when she did."
"Of course I'd say yes," Weiss said, sounding almost offended to hear Neo had thought otherwise. "What made you think I wouldn't?"
"I dunno, you never struck me as someone who'd be into girls," Neo shrugged. "I guess on that note, when did you first know you liked me?" The heiress had to pause for a moment before responding. Somehow in the time they'd been together this hadn't come up, and now Neo really wanted to know.
"I guess it was after we took that afternoon to get to know each other," Weiss said with a growing smile. "There was just something about you that... I don't know, it's hard to say exactly what it was, but I knew from then on I wanted to be with you."
Neo gave her a confused look. "Hang on, isn't that the night you had your date with Neptune?" she asked, receiving a nod. "So... is that the real reason you said the date didn't go well?"
Weiss shook her head, "No, it didn't go well because all he wanted was to sleep with me, which is not something I'm about to do on a first date. I will admit I was thinking about you for most of the evening though."
"Aww, that's really sweet. The thinking of me part, not the horny Neptune part. I'm guessing that's also why you came to check up on me after that sparring match the next day?"
The heiress nodded, "Mhm. And after Yang asked me about my date and liking girls, I got the impression that someone had put her up to it. Then you came out of the bathroom, obviously acting nonchalant, and it wasn't hard to put two and two together."
"Huh, I thought I was a better actor than that," Neo said sarcastically, making Weiss smile wider. "I'm curious now, would you have asked me out if I hadn't come to you first?"
"After I figured out you liked me, absolutely," the heiress replied. Neo smiled back and pulled her in for a kiss. They kept it short since both of Weiss' parents were watching, but it lasted long enough for both of them to convey how they were feeling. They separated and looked first to Weiss' father, who smiled and lightly shook his head at the display. The girls giggled and now turned to the heiress' mother, whom to their surprise wasn't wearing the disgusted expression they were expecting. Instead she looked conflicted, giving Neo a tiny spark of hope she didn't think she would've gotten tonight.
'Well, I guess this is going better than anticipated. I was expecting a full blown screaming match by now, but Mrs. Schnee almost looks... remorseful. No, probably not the right word for it, but she looks like she's thinking pretty hard, and that's a good sign. I still don't think I'll be winning her over tonight, but I might get to at least have a conversation with her.'
The rest of the meal went by with more conversation about their relationship, school, and a few other subjects Weiss' father hasn't been informed about. All the while the heiress' mother remained fairly quiet, occasionally throwing in a comment that could be taken provocatively, but didn't seem like that was its intent. After the plates were cleared Weiss excused herself to go to the bathroom before dessert was brought out. Only moments later her father got a call from a very important client, forcing him to leave the room to answer. Now Neo was left alone with Weiss' mother, and the tension between them could've been cut with a knife.
'Alright, well... I guess this is my chance to try to get a one on one conversation with her. Should I try to be, delicate, or...? No, I can't count on it lasting long enough to just ease into it. I might as well just put all my cards on the table.'
"Mrs. Schnee, can I ask you something?" Neo said hesitantly.
The woman sighed, "I suppose, go ahead."
"Why do you hate me?"
The following silence seemed like an eternity as Neo waited for an answer. At this point she had no idea what kind of a reaction she would get, and while she was hoping for the best, she was preparing herself for the worst. Weiss' mother looked down at the table for a solid minute before a she finally replied. "Let's get something straight, I don't hate you as a person. However, I believe a relationship should be between a man and a woman, and I can't bring myself to approve of what you have with my daughter. If it were up to me, the two of you wouldn't be together at all, but not out of hatred for you."
Neo's face fell, "But, why? I haven't done anything to make you feel that way, have I?"
"This isn't about you, it's about gays in general, but for the record I will say that your history does give me fair grounds to disapprove of you. It's a matter of principles. If we allow the sanctity of the relationship be ruined like this, what's next? Will we then give in to all the demands of the Faunus? Or how about we encourage interspecies 'relationships' too?"
"How can you be so bigoted?" Neo asked in amazement. "I can see someone having these kinds of beliefs twenty years ago, but certainly not now."
Weiss' mother scowled at her, "Listen to me, young lady. I don't know where you think you can come off telling me what I should believe, especially in my own house, but you are not a person who commands any sort of authority with me. Quite frankly, given your past, the fact that you're not in prison astounds me."
Neo was prepared to give a venomous rebuttal, but before she could she felt an intense rage flowing through her, and didn't even have time to react as the transition took hold in an instant. "NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME!" Beo screamed. "I have been through too God damn much, and come too God damn far to have some homophobic BITCH try to tell me that everything I've worked so hard for isn't fucking good enough! Yes, I was a criminal before, maybe even a terrorist, but that's not who I am now. And yes, whether you like it or not, I'm dating your daughter. Guess what? We even fucked in her bed last night! And do you wanna know something else? I don't give a flying fuck what you think about it. I love her more than life itself, and nothing you'll ever say can change that. I've had to fight through too much to let the opinion of someone like you put an end to this."
The yelling had brought Weiss and her father to the doorway, both of them standing perfectly still as the situation unfolded before them. Her father spoke up, "Let's not do this here. We're having a perfectly nice dinner, let's try to keep it that way, alright?"
His wife spun around to look at him with fire in her eyes, "Are you just going to stand there and let this person speak to me like that?"
"THIS PERSON?" Beo shrieked. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Do you really think you're that high and mighty that you can't even call me by my name, or did you not even bother to learn it?"
"Neo, what's gotten into you?" Weiss asked with concern as she ran to the girls side. Upon looking into the her eyes, she made the realisation that it wasn't Neo she was talking to, and knew she needed to get her out of here as fast as possible. "Father, may we be excused?"
He nodded, "Yes, you may. Now run along, your mother and I need to talk in private." The heiress wasted no time in grabbing Beo by the wrist and pulling her from the room before there was a chance to argue. Neo regained control by the time the two made it back to her room, and she buried her head in her hands after sitting down on the corner of the bed.
Weiss came and sat beside her, placing a gentle kiss on the girl's cheek. "Neo? Are you alright?"
Neo nodded, bringing her head up and wiping her eyes with a faint sniffle. "Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't think Beo would actually be able to come out like that..."
"It's alright," Weiss said with a comforting smile. "What was said needed to be said."
"I guess so... You know, Beo's right. I don't care what your mother thinks of us. I've spent this whole week trying to think of how to make her like me, but that never should've mattered. What does matter is how I feel about you, and there's not a person alive who can change that. I love you, Weiss."
"I love you too," the heiress replied, wrapping her arms around her smiling fiancee. They shared a long kiss before ending the embrace, and for the first time in days, Neo felt like everything was alright again. "So, what do you want to do for the rest of the evening? And don't say what I think you're going to."
Neo rolled her eyes, "Oh relax. After that whole fiasco, I'm not exactly in the mood. I wouldn't mind just laying here and cuddling for a while though. Maybe we could put on a movie?"
"That sounds wonderful," Weiss replied, crawling up the bed to lay down as Neo did the same behind her. They both got comfortable and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels for a few minutes until they found something they liked. Neo felt Weiss' hand resting on her midriff, and reached down so their fingers could intertwine. She let out a sigh of content and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about just how lucky she truly was.
'Why do I feel like there's something I should still be worried about?' she thought as the movie got underway. 'I'm over trying to win over Weiss' mother, and I can't think of anything else that could be wrong. Meh, I'm sure it's nothing. If there really is something wrong I'd know what it is, right? Oh well, I'll worry about it tomorrow. Right now I just wanna lay here with the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.'
Hey guys! So first off let me say thank you to everyone who has read this far. Seeing this many of you loving my writing means so much, so thanks. (: Next chapter will be the finale of A Neo Outlook on Life, so make sure you come back for the (climactic?) ending! Sorry that the time between chapters keeps going up, but this week is finals week, so studying came before writing. Anyway, if you want to know when I release my next story, or the sequel to this one, go ahead and follow me as an author and you'll get those alerts. I'll see you guys next time! Also, if you're looking for another story in the meantime, Cjkarma11 is doing a crossover of this story with Ruby as the main character. If that's something you'd be into, go check it out on his profile.
Oh, and before I forget, be on the lookout for something extra new tomorrow. ;)