Seriouslazy- Nerds being Nerds. supa cute. prepare for more

Oscar chopped vegetables. He couldn't bring himself to go to the community garden, even if he hated shopping for something so simply grown. The longing for dirt under his nails ran too deep, and Oscar found himself smoking while creating his salad.

And here I was, trying to take care of myself.

He sensed the familiar blip, the softening of the air, and the slight smell of ozone. She'd been inside here once, so now teleportation could be done freely.

"There is cheese in the fridge if you need."

He didn't need to see her brief confusion to know it was there. Of course, he knew Neo required dairy. She practically worshiped cows; she'd even refuse to eat steak because cheese was a necessity.

A memory of her smiling cutely at him within the first week of settling in his...their farm.

-Dum Dum, I love you. All things dairy has been and will always be my true love-

"That's fine, but that doesn't explain why you brought home a mini cow."

-This is a farm- her fingers plucked a few flowers

His bows pulled tightly together, "I raise foxes and grow wheat."

-Now a cow- she began to weave stems together with her deft fingers

He gestured at its small stature. "It's tiny. It'll barely produce enough milk for one person to drink. I don't know how to take care of it."

She placed a bruised floral crown on the little cow's head -but its cute-

"Take it back, and I'll get you a dog or a cat. Heck, a goat even."

She pouted, yet he did not relent. Neither one could give the mini cow the care required, and the animal did not deserve that.

Oscar blinked back into the present, and there were ounces upon ounces worth of shredded cheese in his large salad bowl.

He shot a glare at this 18-year-old Neo, "I meant for your own plate. Not mine."

Her eyes, wide in innocence as she tossed the salad.

"You!" he grabbed the bowl from and looked down in defeat. "You are going to buy me some cheese, you sneak."

Her chin gestured outside while he served her a bowl of greens as he tried to pick around the gratuitous amounts of cheese.

After dinner, she dragged him outside. He sought to light a cigarette, but she knocked it out of his hands. With her grip on his forearm, the urge was notably lessened. She came to a halt, her fists proudly on her hips.

He honestly did not expect this. Back when he was fifteen, and between battles, Neo had taken him to underground raves in Vacuo, the bass would pulse through them, and they would dance.

Or fuck.

Or both.

He was a teenager, and a beautiful woman wanted him, so who was he to complain?

Qrow tried to talk her out of it.

Ruby called Neo a pedophile.

Yang did punch Neo in the face.

Ren tried to stab her.

Jaune shot Nora with electricity Dust [because he finally got a gun installed on his sword].

Nora hit Neo with her hammer.

Blake suggested a therapist.

Weiss offered to pay for it.

It clicked for Oscar now how messed up Neo being with him when he was 15.

She flicked him in the nose to return him to the present...To where she was actually younger than him. She waved her arms widely to remind him where she brought him. An evening farmer's market.

His people.

Oscar spent a gratuitous amount of time speaking to a guy about mushrooms. Is it better to grow them in sawdust or rice? Well, wild was best, but that is hard to do safely with Grimm lurking in forests. Then he was chatting to a woman about kombucha. The 2nd fermentation process was expensive and unhelpful from a gut bacteria perspective, but people wanted their bubbles. He looked to Neo frequently, who watched him with delight. A wheel of cheese tucked under her arm and eating ice cream.

She was the best woman in the world.

Oscar felt her small hand in his own, "I don't think I have enough room in my freezer or fridge for all this dairy." She shrugged and blipped out of existence before returning.

He smirked, "Oh, I'm sure my boss is going to appreciate all that milk."

Neo bit her lip and femininely tossed her hair back.

"Torchwick has a new lady friend? And she drinks milk?" Oscar clenched his teeth, "Is it that 15-year-old?" Then, he harshly began to sort through the items they bought in his apartment.

Neo nodded and smiled warmly as she placed the rest of the dairy in Oscar's fridge.

"You think she's good for him?"

Her fist to her heart, and she slowly opened it to spread her fingers out.

Oscar scoffed. A single moment couldn't have changed things between Ruby and Roman that much... Or two now that Ruby had evened the score and rescued the criminal.

He looked up at his dingy ceiling with apparent water damage, "Could Roman be good for a huntress in training?"

Neo frowned, trying to piece together why Oscar might care. She closed the freezer door as she shrugged. Neo had no idea. That terrified Oscar.

Oscar didn't get to sit with that fear as Neo pushed him backward in his studio apartment. Falling onto his bed to look up at Neo, who had shimmered into an illusion of orange hair and soft green eyes.

It took a long time for Oscar to convince Neo she was most beautiful outside any illusion. When she was perfectly herself.

Would it be easier to convince her a second time around?

Oscar shook his head. It was wrong to have this. Oscar spent years showing Neo that happiness was no illusion that he was here for her. He would cherish her while they built a life together. His promises turned to ash, as he was shown a fool. Their happiness shattered much like her semblance. Now he was broken from so much loss.

The Neo straddling him right now was bright, beautiful, and yes she was marked with the harshness of the world. Still, she deserved someone whose heart was lighter. Heck, there was even a version of him happily on his Aunt's farm right now.

Her nails traced his collarbone before he shoved her off. "Thanks for the farmers market. It was fun. You are my boss's sister. I'm more of a professional than that."

Neo frowned and rolled her eyes.

"You Torchwicks might not care-"

Her mouth silenced him, and he had forgotten how so very soft her lips were. He could tell that she ached by how hard she pressed herself against him. His arms instinctively pulled her tighter to him, and he nibbled on her lip in that way that always made her gasp.

He stopped himself before slipping his tongue in. Why did Neo have to feel so good? He slipped away and pulled out a cigarette. This is too fucked up. She knocked it out of his hand and grasped his fingers with her own. Her green eyes looked up at him.

"You can't save me, Neo, because I don't want your help. Just go so I can do my job."

She huffed, and he could smell the faint ozone of her farewell.

XXX

Ruby stared at her scroll, and a flush crept up her face. She muttered, "This is a really good photo."

Yang screamed, "O.M.G. Is this the guy that you want to bite? Sending you dirty pictures!" The blonde snatched the phone. And her face fell, "Ruby...um I'm glad you found a fellow hoplophile-"

"YaNg! It's not dirty. We're talking about bullets. Those are plastic bullets, and they just got into mass production!" Ruby jumped off her bed and took Weiss's rapier. "CAN YOU IMAGINE, not having to oil ammunition nor having to use brittle steel for dust rounds. You can pack more fire dust into your bullets without having to risk the whole thing exploding during impact!" Ruby was zooming around the dorm room, visibly flushed to her toes in the thought of the possibilities.

Weiss, "Ruby, what did I say about using your semblance with sharp objects!"

Ruby hung her head, "Only in combat." Weiss snatched her weapon back and nodded sharply

Blake, "The bullet thing is pretty cool."

Ruby threw up her hands, "Bigger EXPLOSIONS." the girl fell to her knees.

Yang pinched the bridge of her nose, "Maybe we should take you to a therapist."

Ruby crossing her arms, "Dr. Miller said I was perfectly sane and agreed that explosions are cool."

Weiss, "Maybe a professional's 2nd opinion?"

XXX

It'd been a couple of weeks of Roman insisting on educating her on hand-to-hand combat. However, Ruby still felt strange using his shower after training. He was always in the kitchen making them dinner, and he wasn't creepy. She kind of wished Roman would be creepy.

That didn't sound right.

So Ruby felt strange as she emerged from the bathroom in the spare clothes she brought. She did try to ask Blake if she could help her pick out something casual but nice for a guy to look at. But, unfortunately, her friend was in one of her moods. Just stared at her and pulled out her pink flask to take a swig. Ruby needed to talk to her friend about her mood swings.

Roman smiled at her, and his bangs were sloppily covering his eye. He put a plate down where he expected her to sit. She was about to thank him, but he cut her off. Gesturing to a magazine about additive manufacturing.

"So Red, got any thoughts on 3-D printed guns?"

Obviously, Ruby Rose had opinions about guns.

"Even the metal ones will only be able to be fired a few times. After that, the structure would not be...interconnected enough and would break down."

His fingers thoughtfully pulled bangs out his face, "Causing misfire. I like the term interconnected more specific than 'strong' or 'brittle'"

"It's not traditional material science talk." she bit her lip. Seeing both of his green eyes made her want to bite something.

"No, but I understood. I disagree though, specifically sintering titanium. I think you'd be able to shoot 50 rounds or so."

She rolled her eyes in a way that was infuriating, "Show me the scientific paper."

"Based off the results of 6 thousand series steel, they shot 70 rounds."

"Steel can sinter. Titanium is much too hard, and 3D printers are too small to retain the heat- Where are you going?"

He combed down his bangs and opened his closet, "I'm going to steal one."

She grabbed the hanger and put it back in his closet, "You can't steal a 3D printer just to prove a point."

"Oh yes, I can."

"No, it's wrong! Neither one of us can CAD well enough anyways!" She grabbed the front of his shirt.

He leaned down on her, "I'll steal one of those too."

"You're willing to kidnap an engineer!" She jerked him closer, and oh, he smelled terrific without the cologne.

"Red, you have no idea what I'm willing to do." He started to remove her hands.

She really didn't want that. She wanted to be closer to keep smelling him. And so she bounced onto her toes and bit his exposed collarbone.

Because sure...that makes sense.

Roman did not throw the weird girl away. I'm not sure if that is to his credit. Instead, he looked about his apartment and questioned if he just somehow made a girl he liked self-destruct. Then he took her by the chin and pulled her into a gentle kiss.

He swore he meant it to be gentle.

Ruby had other ideas.

He wasn't surprised, she literally just bit him.

Her fists still gripping the front of his shirt pulled him bruisingly into her face. Then, working his tongue into her mouth, he tried to direct them into some sort of rhythm.

Then she sucked on his tongue, and he groaned. She squealed and let him push her backward until she fell onto his couch. He looked down on her and pulled a rose petal out of his mouth. She began laughing at his confused expression.

Looking at her fondly, "What are we doing, Red?"

She patted next to her, "Let's keep kissing and figure it out?"

He sat down and let her snuggle into his lap. He nipped her neck, "what a great idea."