I do not own RWBY

Roman stared at the unconscious girl in his bed feeling wholly unprepared to deal with this situation. When the men from the white fang had found her in one of the outer tunnels, he hadn't known what to do. Now she was resting in his bed on the sheets he'd just cleaned, and Neo was giggling at his expression while he sat in a chair beside his bed. It was safe to say that he'd never been in this situation before. It didn't help that Neo was far too amused to help him. Cinder had told him that there could be no interruptions in the plan, he wondered if she would consider a tiny huntress an interruption.

"Well what was I supposed to do leave her to die," he snapped through his voice lacked any real bite. He wasn't actually angry just very confused and slightly panicked. Neo blinked at him before frowning and pointing to the bed. His eye twitched as he said, "yes I know she's in our bed, and no I'm not happy about it either."

Shaking her head, the woman walked over and lifted up one of the girl's hands and showed him what she'd seen. Taking off the girl's glove she showed him a jagged cut covered in dried blood. The injury wasn't very serious, but it was fresh and could get infected. They both knew just how horrible infected wounds could get. Sighing he obeyed her silent command and moved off to find the first aid kid.

Taking a moment to look down at the huntress, Neo sat down on the bed gently. While the girl was just a bit shorter than her, she knew the girl was far younger. Despite her eternally young face, which she was very proud of, the multicolored woman was in her early twenties. According to the files they'd gotten from Cinder, this girl was only fifteen. Tightening her grip on the girl's wrist, Neo couldn't keep herself from scowling at the idea of a child being sent to Mt. Glen. The grimm alone was enough to give seasoned huntsmen a problem with their sheer numbers. Add in the White Fang and it was a death trap.

Hearing Roman return, she held out her hand and was pleased when he obeyed her order instantly. He handed her the first aid kit soundlessly, before moving to sit back down. Glancing at the kid, he wondered how long they had until her team found them. Remembering the last encounter, he had with them he felt mildly sure in saying they wouldn't appreciate the kid's current situation.

Unaware of her partner's thoughts, Neo cleaned the wound carefully having more than enough experience in getting rid of the blood. Once the blood was gone, she rubbed a healing salve over the wound before gently wrapping it in bandages. The wound wasn't bad enough that the kid would need stitches, but it would scar. Roman watched her do the same with the girl's other hand with a fond expression on his face, he'd already lost count of how many times Neo had treated his own injuries.

"Cinder will want her dead," he said sounding more annoyed with himself than anything else.

The words caused his partner to freeze and he hated himself for saying anything. Maybe Cinder had grown fond of the girl or simply didn't want to kill a student. Neither of them had a way of knowing what Cinder would want in this exact moment, all they could do was follow the orders she'd left them and hope they were doing the right thing.

They both hated killing, Neo especially. In another life, he was sure that the woman would have become a doctor rather than an assassin. Threatening and maiming were fine, and they would kill if they had to but neither one liked it. Their days of killing without mercy were gone and he wanted to keep them behind them. Every action had a cost; they'd already paid the price for the blood on their hands. In specific Neo had paid for them both.

When she looked up, he wasn't surprised to see her eyes turn a fearful white. It was also hard to entertain the idea of killing Ruby because of what she was. If this was a full-fledged huntress then he had wouldn't hesitate, however, Ruby was a kid. There was a reason he'd always pulled his punches when they fought. She was fifteen, killing her wasn't something he could just write off and ignore.

"Neo I can't kill a kid, at least not like this."

Not after all they'd lost to get to this point, not when they would never have a child of their own, and not when every scar she kept hidden was his fault in the first place. He couldn't add more red to their ledger just to appease a woman that they both despised. Most of all for all her annoying traits, Ruby didn't deserve to die here in some cave. He liked the little red brat even if it was against his better judgment.

As she finished bandaging Ruby's hand Neo shifted so she could reach out and touch his face. If Ruby needed to die, then she could be the one to kill the girl; he didn't need to tear himself up over something like this. When he looked up and saw the pained smile on her face, he immediately knew what she was offering. Just like always, she was trying to protect him from the world.

"I can't ask you to do that, not again," he whispered leaning forward and resting his head on her shoulder. Why was it that one little brat was bringing all their baggage right to the forefront? There was so much wrong with this situation that he would rather the White Fang had never found the little girl in the first place. At least then they wouldn't be in this situation.

Neo wrapped her arms around him and wished they could go back to the days before they met Cinder; before Roman was forced to work for her. Being a criminal was so much easier than being a pawn in a game of chess. She knew that eventually they would become useless to the woman and be disposed of. This was nothing but a way to delay the inevitable, and she hated it. Running her fingers through his hair she gave him what little comfort she could without being able to speak. It was times like this where she longed to have a voice.

"You'll hate me," he whispered feeling defeated.

Cinder wanted this plan to go off without complications, but for once he wanted the witch here to do her own dirty work. Ruby wasn't part of the plan and if he didn't kill her now then Cinder might turn her anger on Neo. It hurt to admit but Neo was far more important to him than the kid. He might've become fond of the little huntress during their battles, but that was nothing compared to the pain brought by the idea of Cinder hurting Neo.

Hugging him closer she shook her head wanting so badly to tell him that she could never hate him. They went through hell together; nothing would make her abandon him. He was her everything. She'd follow him to the ends of the earth without hesitation and despite her reservations, she would kill anyone he asked her to.

Hearing Ruby groan and start to wake up he pulled away from Neo; they both knew the time for thinking was over with. Hardening his heart, he looked at his lover, "you should leave."

Neo frowned and shook her head. She didn't want to leave him or let him kill Ruby, but she knew she couldn't stop him. That said, she wasn't about to allow him to do this on his own. Backing away she made no move to stop him as he picked up his cane. The final torn look he threw in her direction was met by a determined glare causing him to slump in defeat.

Standing over the little reaper he aimed down at the girl, before lashing out. Swinging back, he hit the chair he'd just been sitting in and sent it flying across the train car. He couldn't do it. Growling he threw his weapon away and stumbled back. Why couldn't he do it? All he had to do to protect Neo was kill one little girl. Cursing himself he leaned against the wall before sinking down.

Ruby's eyes snapped open at the loud sound and she shot up putting pressure on her hands which turned out to be a bad idea. Hissing in pain she pressed her wounded palms to her chest as she searched the room around her. Spotting Roman, she frowned at the expression of utter defeat on his face. While this might not be the way she'd planned on meeting him she was a little relieved to have found him. Turning her attention to her hands since Roman was no threat at the moment he didn't even raise his head when she sat up. She was shocked at the sight of bandages on her hands. Apparently, they'd taken the time to clean and dress her wounds. Clenching her hand, she flinched at the pain but pressed it to the back of her mind. The pain was tolerable, even with low aura and wounded hands she could put up a decent fight. Looking back at Roman she noticed something very important.

Wait… she was in a room, alone with Roman Torchwick on a bed. This was apparently all her hormones needed to know in order to make her face heat up. Resisting the urge to hide her now blushing face, because seriously, she tried to focus on her self-appointed mission. All she had to do was convince him to become hers. By that, she meant to join her side, not anything else. She just had to remember not to say anything completely stupid or insensitive and she would be fine.

"This is not how I imagined waking up in your bed."

Well fuck. There went her plan. Forgetting the fact, she had cut open her hands she let her face crash down onto her palms. The pain from her action didn't even register. It was nice that she chose this moment to be a hormonal teenager; note the sarcasm. Why? Like seriously did she have a brain malfunction the second she opened her mouth. That wasn't anything close to what she wanted to say.

The strangled laugh that broke through his lips didn't help her do anything more than sink further into her jacket. Whining slighting from the embarrassment she considered committing suicide to get away from this situation. She was such an idiot. She just knew that Anubis was laughing at her right now. Hearing footsteps she glanced up just as he sat down on the bed beside her. Quickly hiding her face back in her hands, she felt like bashing her head against the wall of the train car. She should probably apologize.

"So, h-"

"I am so sorry," she mumbled cutting him off before he could talk. She honestly hadn't meant to. It was great to know that she could prepare over fifty different plans for talking to her faunus teammate about the White Fang but not for talking to Roman.

"Really kid? I can't tell if you're apologizing for a vaguely hidden proposition or for being in my bed in the first place," he teased sounding more than a little sarcastic. Sinking further into her hands Ruby wondered if she could hide under the bed to get away from her own idiocy. Deciding that hiding would not make it go away, she straightened.

"Can we just forget everything since I woke up," she asked forcing her voice to stay steady despite how nervous she was. Maybe if she pretended that she wasn't blushing then it would go away. It was doubtful but she could try.

"Sure kid," he said. He was feeling just a little bit better after her act of embarrassing herself. Glancing to where Neo had hidden in the shadows, he wasn't surprised to see her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. She wasn't going to be of any help to him.

"Now how'd you find this place red?"

Thank god. He was going on a normal topic. She could work with being threatened. Yep starting the whole conversation about how she'd found the base; that she actually hadn't found, was a good idea. This was a topic she could talk about without making herself look like a hormonal teenager. It was a step above embarrassing herself.

"My team and I were assigned to cull the number of grimm in this area. I fell through the ground and landed in the tunnels beneath," she said watching him closely. She wasn't surprised to see him nod slowly.

"So, you weren't actively looking for the White Fang," he asked.

"Nope, that was in no way part of our official orders," she said before tilting her head. It was strange to realize that this was the first time they'd actually had a conversation with each other. And she was telling a half-truth. Pushing the guilt to the back of her mind she ignored it completely. There was a time and place for her guilt and now was not it.

"And your unofficial orders?"

The question brought a bitter smile to her face as confirmation of his thoughts. Unofficially they were here to scout for the White Fang and report their findings to Ozpin. The man was smart enough to realize that and all traces of playfulness faded from his face. A team of huntsmen even students, was more than enough to cause trouble. The operation was in danger and Cinder was not going to be happy.

Shifting nervously, Ruby flickered her eyes up to meet his own before sighing and letting her hands drop into her lap. Yep, she was screwed. At least he hadn't killed her yet. She wasn't sure that she would have been as merciful in his position. Her team was most likely already on their way and with Zwei, it wouldn't take them long to find her. She'd most likely not get another chance to talk to him; to convince him to join her. This was the best chance she would get.

"Roman can I ask you a question," she asked as Neo moved out from her corner. Taking a chance to stare at the woman, she knew that the multicolored woman had been there the entire time. She also knew that she'd heard her disastrous comment earlier. That was great.

Seeing the man wave his hand in approval, she watched Neo pull something shiny from off the crate beside the door and frowned. Was that her dagger? Patting the sheath on her thigh confirmed that it was and pouted for a second. She should have expected that they would disarm her, anything else was just foolish. Raising an eyebrow as the woman winked at her, Ruby felt the returning urge to sink into the floor.

"Why are you doing this," Ruby asked once she'd pushed away her embarrassment. She wasn't referring to working for Cinder or with the white fang. She wanted to know why she woke up in a warm bed and not chained to the cold metal floor of the train. It would have been easier for them, unless of course there was a short supply of chains.

"Survival red," he said. Meeting his eyes, she frowned before shaking her head. In canon he'd claimed that there was too much for him to lose by defying Cinder, but that wasn't what she cared about right now. Trying to keep her face neutral, Ruby held up her hand.

"Why am I bandaged up and not chained to the floor," she clarified.

There was blood staining the bandages on from when she'd panicked earlier but it was nothing serious. In a few hours she would have enough aura to start healing her hands. Neo twitched at the question before looking at Roman and seeing the stiffness in his shoulders she knew he was affected by it too. Neither of them liked chains very much; they liked the idea of used them on a child even less.

"Because I don't believe in chaining kids to the floor," he stated trying to keep his voice calm; the very idea was revolting to him. Neo hated seeing him like this but the masks they wore kept them both safe.

"And I'm not dead because you're not a killer," Ruby said standing she forced the fear from her voice and face.

Flickering her gaze between the two, she decided to abandon all reservations and began to pace. Watching her closely, Roman noticed the way her fingers kept twitching in pain, but she didn't acknowledge it. He could see that she was no stranger to pain; the thought bothered him more than it should have. Neo internally praised the girl for her courage. How many would be this brave in front of the top criminals in Vale? When she was Ruby's age, she most likely would have panicked the second she saw them and tried to run away. Feeling her lips tilt into a smirk she decided that she liked this girl. Ruby had more fire than most hunters she'd come across.

"You didn't kill Blake at the docks, and even though you tried to kill me with a crystal when we met you gave me ample time to dodge," she stated as he stared at her.

Roman's lips curved up into a sadistic smile as he asked, "and how do you know I won't kill you now?"

Ruby faltered at his question and her eyes flickered over to Neo. Either of them could kill her before she could blink with the condition, she was in. At the moment even the White Fang thugs outside might've been able to kill her easily. Crossing her arms, she winced a bit as the action sent a rush of pain through her palms. Right she should probably remember that she was injured.

"I don't know, maybe it's because it would have been easier for you to kill me in my sleep," she said bluntly.

"I could have waited so that I could torture you for answers," he said coldly. Watching him stand she wondered if it would be a good idea to put distance between them as he clenched his cane tightly. Instead of doing anything even remotely sane, she raised an eyebrow as a silent challenge.

"Unless you want to hear my plans for world domination, I really don't have any other information for you," she said. Honestly, this was another of those things that she'd said without meaning to but at least he looked intrigued rather than annoyed. Maybe she needed to get a filter for her mouth.

Before he could open his mouth and question her because he was willing to be the kid was being completely serious, an explosion sent them all to their knees. Crashing down hard, Ruby glanced between Roman and the open door before deciding that her team was more important than their conversation. Knowing that she wasn't going to get her dagger back from Neo, she chose to cut her losses and rush out the door.

So that was a thing. Anyway next chapter is part 1 of the breach. So what did you guys think about the chapter?