Neo always hated boredom, she always needed to be doing something, lest her mind wander too far. Her semblance was a powerful thing. She could create images that seemed so real they could fool anybody, there have even been a few times in the past that she's fooled herself. Neo's semblance required intense concentration to be used at its full potential. In combat, it could only actively be used to create a disguise or a brief illusion. One thing she kept to herself, however, was that it had been paired with a nearly perfect memory. She could reconstruct almost any moment in her life without a detail out of place if given the time. Thanks to the pairing of the abilities, Neo could, and would get lost in her past for days on end if she had no interruptions. In fact, there had been some occasions where the threat of dehydration was the only reason she'd snapped out of her fantasies. Neo was embarrassed to admit that there'd even been more than one instance of Roman finding her on the floor almost literally dying because she'd gone too deep.
She also found there was a certain hollowness to all of them; to both the recreations, and the memories themselves. The reincarnations of loved ones were still and silent as the ghosts they'd stood in for. The atmosphere was entirely visual, the sounds, the scents, and the feel of the world were all absent. Neo's memory did help to negate the latter of the problems though, where her semblance came short, her memory would fill in the rest with the visual reference. She would eventually find that recreating too many of one memory eliminated almost all that made it special to begin with. Did her ability make every memory not as special, then? Maybe, maybe not. Neo often tried to not think about that aspect too much.
The temptation to create a new scene was almost too much to bear as she was reclined on the couch, her leg wrapped in a cast. How long had she been there? A few days? A week? Neo didn't know, it was hard to keep track of time when all you had to look at is a static TV, old newspapers, and a scroll with absolutely no minutes left to use because your boss is too cheap to pay for anything but the basics in his hideouts. Neo sighed deeply. She was really starting to hate this place.
Screw it. Neo thought. One little memory wouldn't hurt.
Neo closed her eyes, and focused her mind. She sifted through her memories, and came across one she hadn't chosen in a while. She opened her eyes again, and put her semblance to work. The glass clinked together lightly as it scattered throughout the room, the colors shifted, and new shapes formed. After a few minutes, she had a perfect recreation before her eyes. It was Vale's park just outside the Emerald forest. The noon Sun hung brightly in the sky, the pines and oaks leaned with the spring breeze. The river sat still alongside the path where Neo, in a pink summer dress, walked alongside Roman, who hardly tried to disguise himself by wearing a white button-up with his black slacks and oxford shoes. She could swear he never took that bowler cap off, no matter who might recognize him. Despite the silence of this recreation, she could still hear Roman grumbling about how he was going to need to wash his whole outfit after their walk.
"Seriously, how do you enjoy places like this?" Roman whined. "I'll take inner city slums over this any day." He sneezed. "And screw pollen."
Neo turned to him and simply smiled. She skipped ahead just a bit to a line of rocks that ran alongside the river. She hopped on top of one, and spread her arms wide to keep her balance as she tiptoed from one rock to the next.
"Well, I guess as long as one of us is happy." Roman said. "Hey, try not to fall in, cause I'm not coming to fish you out if you do."
Neo rolled her eyes, at knowing that was a lie, and him thinking she'd lose her balance even for a second. As luck would have it, the next rock she hopped to must've been wet from the river, as soon as her foot touched down, it slipped right out from under her. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as she descended towards a cold, wet disaster. As she neared her watery grave, a hand caught her by the wrist, and pulled her back inland. Neo turned to her savior, Roman, who wore a proud smirk.
"You know, I could've let you go." He joked. "Then we could've gone back to town, and I would've left all this damn pollen behind for a while."
Neo furrowed her brow at him, and raised a fist.
"Kidding." He said, patting her head. "You know I wouldn't ruin our leisure day like that, it's a bi-monthly-ish tradition." He continued on down the trail. "Come on, now." Roman prodded. "If you keep trying to fall into the river like this, we'll miss the ice cream stand. Only good thing about this place." Roman continued along the path, taking Neo by the hand.
Roman's demeanor towards Neo often confused her. In all honesty, he's a sociopath who's only goal has been to stay on top of the criminal empire in Vale. He'd lie, steal, cheat and on some occasions murder to gain wealth or power. Those he employs are disposable tools, friends only stay that way if they have a use to him, and family was entirely out of the question. Then there was Neo. Roman treated her like she was his own blood. His own blood that he actually liked, that is. He still used his callous words with her, but there was no punch to them, in fact they were endearing if anything. It didn't stopped there either. He had these leisure days that involved only her, she's the only one that has access to the safe houses, and he's never once raised a hand to strike her, even after a time where she'd stolen his prized bowler cap.
What is so special about me? Neo wondered.
Her train of thought was interrupted by Roman shoving a cone of pistachio in her face.
"You gonna take it, or am I gonna have to let it melt on your head?" Roman asked, with a cone of cookies and cream in his other hand. She nabbed the cone from his grasp, and happily took a lick of it. Neo smiled and waved at the stand worker as they left. She wondered if the man had any idea who he's been serving these past couple years. Surely he has to, but maybe Roman pays him off, or he's just too scared to report them, or he's just an ice cream scooper that doesn't get paid enough to deal with it. She decided to disregard that and focus on the ice cream.
"You know, I just don't get it." Roman complained, stroking his chin. "You go through the trouble of having the pink, brown, and white color scheme going on, I name you after the damn flavor, and you don't even like it."
Neo shrugged her shoulders. She didn't get it either, honestly.
The two found a red, wooden bench to take a seat on while they finished their ice cream. Roman had his done in about a minute, the freak with invincible teeth chomps his ice cream. Neo shuttered at the idea of taking a bite.
This would typically be the part where Roman would start on his tangents about the business. This would also be the part where Neo would tune him out. She never was one for balancing the books or keeping records anyway, numbers and letters always jumbled together as she tried to read them. Neo's mute nature came in handy at these times, all the commentary she needed to give was a head nod every now and then.
While her ears were deafened to his words, her eyes were still fixated on his face. She studied his sharp features intently, more specifically his eyes. He had this strange glint in his eye that would occasionally pop in when he was around her. Since the day he found her in that dirty warehouse, when she was standing over the bloody corpses she'd made. Since he'd spoken his first words to her, since he'd given her the name Neo. They even glinted now while he was rambling on about their 'market growth' and other mundane things. She wondered where it came from. Was it love? If so, was it romantic? No, he's never so much as wrapped his arms around her. Maybe it was just a trick her eyes were playing on her? No, she's seen how he looks at others, the way he looked at her was something genuine, almost as if she was the only one who could catch glimpses of the "real" Roman.
"What am I to you?" Words Neo could only dream to ask.
The sky suddenly roared with thunder, Neo tilted her head to the clear blue sky. Strange, she thought. She turned to Roman, he was still rambling on as normal, as if he didn't hear anything. However, something was off, while his mouth moved, he was completely silent. The thunder cracked again, and everything around Neo shattered. She threw her hand out to catch Roman as he fell to the earth in a million pieces. The sounds of shattering glass pierced her ears, and then there was only the dark, boring room of the safe house.
Neo blinked twice, she heard the thunder again. No, someone was banging on the door. She sat up, grabbing her crutch, and made her way to the door. She peered through the peep hole, seeing Roman on the other side, waiting impatiently with a hand on his hip. Her hands swiftly undid the numerous brass locks, and she swung the door open, greeting him with a smile.
"Hey there, Neo." He grumbled, giving her a halfhearted pat on the head as he walked past her. Neo shut the door, and redid all the locks with haste.
"Man, could I have used you tonight." Roman said. "No, in case you were wondering, I wasn't followed." He grabbed a glass from the cupboard, and a whiskey bottle from the top of the fridge, and started pouring immediately. He turned back to Neo, with his full glass in his hand. He took a very long drink, sending half the glass down his gullet. "I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking."
Neo crossed her arms, and frowned at him. She never was a fan of the mute jokes.
"Oh!" Roman exclaimed. "Why do I not seem like I'm in a great mood after what was set to be been our biggest Dust haul yet?" Roman chuckled dryly. "Well I'll tell you why, those god damned meddling Beacon kids and their little monkey Faunus friend showed up, and ruined everything." He summarized, taking another swig of his whiskey. "God damn White Fang mutts weren't any help either. Oh, and there was a new girl, this annoying ginger with a pink bow and god damned laser swords. Laser swords!"
Neo raised an eyebrow at that last bit.
"Yeah, I know. These kids just keep getting weirder." Roman shook his head, and took his glass and bottle to the couch. He groaned as he took a load off on the cheap furniture. Neo hobbled her way back to her seat, and sat beside him. Roman was already pouring his second glass. "I'll tell you, Neo. This deal with this Cinder bitch is gonna kill me." He said. "I would've told her to screw off tonight and walked away if I had the choice." A wry smile crossed his face for a moment. "Hell, I guess I did have a choice, die there, or die on some other ridiculous errand she's gonna send me on." Roman downed yet another big gulp, and let out a deep sigh. "Vale's whiskey is garbage compared to Mistral's." He complained.
He really did need her tonight. Neo cursed her broken leg, even aura can't repair a snapped shin bone so quickly. She extended her arm, putting her hand on Roman's knee, and patted it gently. The two locked eyes, and Neo gave her best supportive smile. Even at his lower points, she could still see that glint.
Roman's eyes broke from hers, and gazed at her hand, still resting on his knee. He stared blankly at her gesture for a time, then his eyes widened a bit. "Ah, hell." He said. "I completely forgot." Roman dug around in his coat pockets for a bit, grumbling as he went about it. "Dammit." He cursed. "I think I left it in there." Roman pointed to a door on the far side of the living room. Neo knew the door. The only one that was left locked, and that Roman explicitly told her not to go in. Of all his requests, that's probably the one she was best at honoring. Neo was a tad afraid of what she'd find in there.
Roman sighed as he dug in his pants pocket, and pulled out a ring of keys. He fiddled with them for a time, maybe his alcohol intake was starting to make it difficult to sort through them. He finally found the key he was looking for and handed it off to Neo. Before she stood, he lightly gripped her by the wrist.
"Top drawer in the night stand, pink box, and no snooping, pretty please." Roman's edged tone made it sound more like a threat than a simple request. He released her from his grip, and Neo grabbed her crutch, then hobbled over to the door. She inserted the key, and twisted her wrist. The lock wouldn't budge. She reinserted the key, and twisted again. Nothing.
Confused, she turned back to Roman, and gestured to the key.
Roman squinted his eyes. "Try the silver one next to it." he suggested. Neo rolled her eyes, and tried that key. "Sorry." Roman said. "Long day."
She twisted her wrist, and the lock went with it. She gently opened the door. As it folded open, and her viewport of the room grew wider, she was surprised to find the most boring room imaginable. The place was dark, dusty, and had one full sized bed, a nightstand, and a dresser with a mirror. No pictures, no decor, nothing. His idea of her snooping through things had to be a joke. She went along the creaky floorboards one leg and one peg at a time to her destination. The wooden drawer let out a small squeak as she pulled the handle. Sure enough, there was Neo's prize, a small, rectangular, pastel pink box with "To Neo" imprinted on the front.
Roman always did have to be a little extra with his gifts, and just about everything else come to think of it. Except for this hideouts.
Neo shut the squeaky drawer, and something caught her eye. On the floor lay a flat, black, rectangular object. A picture frame lying face down, as Neo got a better look at it. She noticed some glass shards surrounding it, it must've fallen. Neo thought to pick it up and put it back, surely Roman wouldn't get mad at that. She bent down to pick up the frame, taking care to avoid the glass.
She rotated the frame, and was shocked at the picture housed inside the cracked glass. It was Roman alongside a woman, and a girl between them, she looked maybe twelve years old. None were looking into the camera, Roman was ruffling the pale girl's curly orange hair with his hand, all while grinning from ear to ear, an expression Neo never thought she would ever see him wear. She also noticed the glint in his eye then. The girl's eyes were closed from her laughter, and her arms were raised as she tried to fend off Roman's attack. The woman opposite Roman was covering her mouth with her hand, though she was obviously enjoying the two's antics. She looked at Roman with sharp, brown eyes. She had curly, dark brown hair that rested on her shoulders, and caramel colored skin that lightly glistened from the flash of the camera.
Neo almost couldn't comprehend that this was even a real photo. It seemed so otherworldly. Roman? A family? Smiling so genuinely? Happy? She was baffled at even the thought of these possibilities.
Neo felt a firm hand clap her shoulder.
"I thought I told you-" Roman's reprimanding was interrupted by a gasp. He quickly snatched the photo out of Neo's hand.
"Where the hell did you get this?" He growled. Neo turned to Roman, his eyes burned with rage. She pointed to the broken glass on the floor, Roman's rage simmered down as he put it together. He closed his eyes, and sighed deeply.
"Right."
Roman's eyes looked back to the portrait in his hand, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Roman cocked his head towards the exit, and she immediately obeyed, leaving the room as fast as she could on one leg and a crutch. She looked back to see Roman still staring into the photo, she could also hear him mumbling under his breath.
Is he talking to himself, or the picture? She wondered.
Neo took her seat once again on the couch, and rested the box with her present on her lap. She uneasily waited for Roman to emerge from his room. Would he be furious with her? This is the first time she's ever really seen him be anything other than scheming, or annoyed. Her mind kept coming back to the photo, too. Truthfully, she still had trouble thinking it was real. She wondered why Roman never mentioned them. Did they split? Were they killed? Did they just walk out on him?
Roman came out from his room, his shoulders slumped and his head hung low. He plopped back down on the couch, and took another quick swig of booze, and took a very long, very breathy sigh.
"Look." He started, then couldn't seem to continue. Neo was at an absolute loss with what to do. Did he need a hug? No, bad idea. Supporting hand on the shoulder? Maybe physical contact should just remain off the table.
"How 'bout we just see what's on TV?" Roman suggested. Neo rolled her eyes, guess we're going with 'forget it ever happened' tonight. She grabbed the remote and put her thumb on the power icon. Neo watched Roman's sullen expression deepen as he was greeted with the static flurries of the screen. Welcome to my world. She thought. "Right." He sighed. "Forgot to pay that bill here."
Neo flicked off the TV, and rested her head on her hand. The two sat in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity. "Well, I didn't want to say anything about it." Roman said. Neo straightened as her interest piqued. Is he about to tell me about them? She wondered. Her eyes were locked to his, she waited with baited breath to hear everything he had to say. "I uh, noticed some glass still dissolving on the floor when I came in."
Oh, come on! Neo screamed internally.
"Don't give me that look." Roman snapped. Neo realized how scrunched her face was, and straightened it out. "I'm not mad, I just wanted to know which one you were, watching, or whatever you'd call it."
Neo was perplexed, he wanted her to show him? Usually he didn't want her making these things at all after how many times he's had to rescue her from them. Neo gestured towards Roman with her hands, imitating construction with some imaginary blocks. "Yeah, go ahead, I'll be here if you go too deep." He reassured.
Neo shrugged her shoulders, and closed her eyes. She reconstructed the scene once again. The park's path, the oaks and pines, the still stream, all of it resurrected as the glass finished clinking together.
Neo opened her eyes, and turned to Roman, who was silently taking in the scenery. "I remember this one." He said, fondly. Roman glanced back and forth through the scene, observing every detail. Neo noticed that the corner of his mouth was twitching again. "They used to drag me here too, you know." Roman said. "Sherise always told me it was to get me away from work, but I think I spent more time keeping Aruna from falling in the river than actually winding down." He paused. "And screw the pollen."
Roman stroked his chin. "It wasn't a bad double life at all though. Most annoying thing was making sure I didn't have any blood on my suit when I got home. Then it was just normal I guess. Sit down, eat dinner, watch TV, ask how Aruna's school was going. I'd even help her with some homework, or school projects, keep her entertained when there was nothing to do, you know, dad stuff. Hardest thing was coming up with stuff to tell Sherise about what was going on 'at the old office'." Roman made air quotes with his fingers at that point. He sighed. "Took her years to figure out the things I got up to." He cast his eyes down to the ground. "Shoulda known she would, woman always was smarter than she'd let on. Very good listener, too."
Roman spoke about them as if he were talking about a distant dream. Neo could feel the longing in his tone for a time long passed. She doubted he spoke of her like that. Neo felt a pang of jealousy with every sentence now.
"Then well, the obvious happened. She walked out, took the kid. I pay child support for 6 years through a few people so I don't get found by the tax man like some amateur." Roman set his empty glass on the coffee table. The cup wobbled rapidly as it settled to its resting position. "I wonder where I'd be if I did it different almost every day. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss 'em. I'd even say they were the happiest years of my life if they weren't mostly a lie."
Neo was wary about the way he talked about them. It made her feel like like a stand-in, some cheap replacement for what Roman had lost. Is this what she was to him?
Roman turned to Neo, who sat with her arms crossed, and her eyes fixed far and away from him. He smirked. "Splitting up wasn't so bad in the end, though. I got to expand my operations, and I found something else."
Neo stubbornly kept her gaze affixed on some rocks that she'd made. Then she felt a hand ruffle up her hair. She tried to swat it away, and gave Roman a glare as he retreated. Roman's smirk faded. "Look," He said. "someone's gonna have to hear you talk about your baggage at some point, you know. Or sign it or, watch it if you wanna go this route." Roman waved his finger around at Neo's illusion. "I've been on both ends of this, so I can guess you're thinking something along the lines of 'I'm just a band-aid on the deep cut of a blade' or something like that."
Did he really just quote Ninjas of Love?
"It's more like a second chance." Roman threw his hands up. "I know, cheesy as hell. But, lemme tell you, when I found you after you gutted the Maraschino Brothers, and we had to fight off their boys together, that was probably the moment I felt alive again."
Neo felt a smile creep up as she remembered their first encounter eight years ago. It was a bloodbath, and one she was happy to make after how the brothers and their posse had treated her. She'll always remember the relief she felt when the dust had settled, and that dank warehouse had only two living souls standing in it. She'll always remember her laboured breaths, and the cold pavement against her knees from where she collapsed. She'll always remember the first words he'd ever said to her.
"Hey kid, looking for a new gig?"
Neo realized that while she was deep in her memories, she'd recreated everything piece by piece in reality. And Roman had just quoted himself. Her eyes met Roman's, that old, familiar glint was shining bright as ever.
"Not a bad replica." Roman commented. "Think you got my nose wrong though." Neo snickered a bit, and smiled. She got it now. She was Roman's second chance, probably not for romance, considering his usual demeanor. Maybe fatherhood, but that could be stretching it. She guessed she was his second chance at having a real partner. Roman couldn't show Sherise or Aruna who he really was, but with Neo he could always be the real him. Granted, Neo is a special case. Not many would be willing to live with a lying, power-driven, kleptomaniac with homicidal tendencies. They have a lot in common in those regards.
Neo let the illusion around them crumble to pieces, and they were once again back in the safe house. Roman pointed at the box still sitting in Neo's lap. "You can open that now."
Neo glanced back at the box holding her present. She'd entirely forgotten about it with everything else going on. She picked it up, and thumbed over her imprinted name on the box, then inserted a fingernail between the creases to pop it open. Inside lay a pair of, black bead necklaces. No not beads, pearls!
Neo was immediately in love with them. She picked them both up and gazed at the shimmering spheres, and let them droop between her fingers as she fumbled around with them. She gave Roman a thankful look, he nodded back at her. "Glad you like them." he said. She wasted no more time getting them around her neck. After a little fiddling with the necklaces and her hair, she brought out her scroll to check herself in the camera.
Oh yeah, these are definitely me. She thought. She rotated her arm so that she could have Roman in the shot with her, and snapped a quick photo.
"Hey!" Roman snapped. "Gimme a heads up next time!" Neo snickered, and set the photo for her background. Roman grumbled some curse words, and Neo gave him a playful grin.
The two sat in silence for a while. Neo kept glancing over at Roman, who was twiddling his thumbs, and couldn't seem to keep very still. "So," he started. "I didn't really get the necklaces as a 'just thinkin' about you' or a 'sorry for locking you in a crap safe house for a week' present."
Neo raised an eyebrow.
"I got it to, uh, soften the blow a little." Roman stammered. "I think I'm done after all this."
Neo's eyes went wide, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. After all they'd built up together, after pulling some of the biggest crimes Vale has ever seen, he just wants to leave? He had to be joking right? Roman's sullen expression said otherwise. Roman took a breath. "Yeah, I know. Just getting bombs dropped on you left and right tonight, huh?" He put his hand on Neo's shoulder. "Sorry about that."
Neo was at a loss for words, well, more so than usual.
"This recent partnership with Cinder's been… rough. Got most of the Vale police force on my back, and those damned, meddling kids from Beacon too. Then if I don't deliver on this, who knows what that flamey bitch'll do to me." Neo grasped Roman's arm and gave him a determined look.
Not a damned thing if I have anything to say about it.
"Appreciate the gusto, Neo, but I think we're a little outmatched this time." Roman removed his hand from her shoulder. "Hell, even if it all works out and we get the job done, can't hide from those hunters forever. And I don't wanna be in the blast radius when Cinder goes through with her plan that'll 'change the world'. That's code for 'everyone gets screwed and I'll be on top'. I think after we make all this noise, all this smoke, we use that as our cover to get the hell out. I was thinking Mistral. Place has fine wine, fine weather, and fine women. Basically all I need to get by. Vacuo would be nice too if you like a little sun, plus the cost of living is pennies compared to Mistral. Atlas is out of the question, I am not freezing my ass off while hiding under Ironwood's nose. Then, I don't know, payment for this job will set us up for life, so maybe we could keep our heads down for the long term."
Neo still couldn't wrap her head around this. Roman wants to settle into a "normal" life after all this? It was all bull, had to be. He had to be trying to get a rise out of her, or maybe all that whiskey was really starting to go to his head.
"We don't have to go over it all tonight, but it's just something to think about." Roman assured.
His words didn't calm the thoughts going through her head at this time. Where would she even begin with a normal life? Her entire life has been killing, sneaking, and stealing with some moments of calm in between. Outside of crime, she truly had nothing to offer. Outside of crime, she had nothing at all. Neo's stomach suddenly felt three times heavier.
"You alright there?" Roman asked, concerned.
Neo felt beads of sweat form on her forehead as her thoughts continued to race. She couldn't do this, but she really couldn't be on her own either. What'll this lead to? She wondered. What would happen if she ends up weighing him down in the civilized world? Would he drop her right then and there? Will he try to get back in touch with his old family? Will he leave her behind once he gets what he lost back? The thought of being alone again tormented her to no end.
"Hey, listen Neo." Roman said, trying his best to do a calm, sympathetic voice. It honestly didn't fit him well. He could hear her steadily increasing breath, and noticed she was starting to quiver. "Shit." Roman said, under his breath. He got up from his seat to face her, gripped her arms, and tried to steady her.
"Neo." He said, firmly. Neo still couldn't seem to calm down. Roman was at a loss for what to do. Did she need a hug? That worked for a few people he had known, but Neo? He wasn't even sure if physical contact were really something she did. This girl was crumbling in his hands, he needed to do something, and he needed to do it now. I hope I don't regret this.
Roman closed what distance there was left between them, and wrapped Neo in a tight embrace. How many years has it been since I've done this? He wondered. He felt Neo's hands dig themselves into the back of his coat as she clung to him. She dug her face into his scarf, and buried herself into the fabric. Roman could feel the heat from her heavy breaths, and her shaking body. Is she really this upset about the news? Roman thought. Now this was really foreign territory for the crime lord. What does he do here? Just silently hug it out? Offer a kind word?
I'm good at bullshitting a mark with a few lines, but this? What the hell can I do here?
Roman could feel a force from within pushing him to do something more for the poor girl. He held it back, fearing that whatever it would be is the wrong call. But what was the alternative? Just do nothing? Roman shook his head, he couldn't believe he was doing this.
"It'll be alright, Neo." He said, his voice unusually calm. "I know it's a big move, I'm not even sure if I'm happy about it. I am sure of one thing though, I wouldn't bother going if you weren't coming with. I mean, come on, you think after all the shit we've been through you'd be left here all by your lonesome? Imagine the property damage if I did." Roman joked.
Neo's breathing was steadying, and her body was becoming more still.
"Well, there are some other long-term business partners who'll never be hearing from me again, but you're the exception. We both got a hell of a lot of things to figure out when we get where we're going." He continued. "We'll figure out how to be two regulars, we'll take it one day at a time. It'll just be us. No Cinder, no hunters, no baggage either. And we'll make plenty of days like those at the park." Neo tilted her face up to meet Roman's eyes. "Just make sure to not always drag me to places filled with pollen, please." He requested.
Neo's mouth curled into a slight smile, and she buried her face back into Roman's scarf. "So are you good now or… what are we doing?" He asked. Some time passed, and Neo still hadn't loosened her grip. Roman had let go a while ago, and was just waiting on her now.
"You know, this whiskey's gonna kick in hard in a bit, you really want me to crash here?" He asked her. Neo still wouldn't let go. "Okay, mushy moment's over now." Roman grumbled, pushing himself away from her. Neo finally relinquished her grip, and gave Roman a cheeky grin as be backed up. "Always have to take advantage of your boss's kindness, don't you?" He complained.
Roman turned and started staggering towards his room. "Please don't be too loud in the morning, I can already tell this one's gonna hurt tomorrow."
Neo rolled her eyes, but her smile didn't fade. She waved as Roman disappeared into his room, shutting the door behind him. Soon after she heard the springs of Roman's bed sharply squeak, then there was silence interrupted by occasional snoring.
Neo sighed. Alone again. She immediately cursed herself for her behavior. How could she let herself get so worked up in front of him like that? Roman must've thought he was talking to a child just then. Oh well, no fixing that now.
She pondered what Roman said for a moment. She's known him for so many years, and she'd never heard him talk like that. Neo never even thought he could talk like that. It sounded genuine. In all her years of working with the man, pretty much everything Roman said was a joke, an exaggeration, or just a lie. Being straight with someone just didn't seem to be in his nature. Could she really be the exception? She had to be, why else would he keep her so close? Why would she get her own safe house when she was injured? Why would Roman bother taking her on leisure trips? Why would he bother letting her pick where to go on those trips?
Maybe he really does care for me that much. She thought.
Neo thought about when she was in his arms, and when he was talking to her, she felt safe, secure, comfortable, and like there was no better place she could be. She didn't want to let go then, and she now, more than ever wanted to wrap her arms around him again. Neo could still feel his warmth against her face, she could still feel his chest rising and falling, and she could still faintly hear his heart beating. Neo had never experienced what she was feeling right now. What was it?
Is this love? She wondered. Neo was quick to put that nonsense out of her mind. She knew neither of them had the time for it. Roman especially.
Neo stretched out along the couch, and yawned. She thought about Roman's "normal life" idea more. It still scared the hell out of her. It was completely uncharted territory, and yet she was comforted knowing she wouldn't be left to do it on her own.
But she thought about Roman's words, and about all they'd been through together. She thought about all those days at the park. She thought about all the heists the two pulled off, and all the running from police and hunters that were involved. She remembered when the two were back to back fighting tooth and nail to survive against the Maraschino Brothers' goons. She remembered how no matter what happened, no matter how screwed up their situation was, they were okay as long as they were together.
Neo slowly shut her eyes as her body and mind began to relax. Her breathing became slow and drawn out. Her mind was finally at peace as she drifted into a deep slumber.
As long as we're together, I'll be okay. Neo thought. We'll both be okay.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this. I'll be real, this story turned out way longer and took way longer than I thought it would, and honestly I'm not sure if it turned out to be one worth publishing. I mostly am uploading this to maybe give some ideas to any of you aspiring RWBY fan writers who may come across this chunk of one-shot. Also, I'm sorry if some formatting got messed up, or if there are words or sentences missing somewhere, this site really likes to fight me when I'm uploading things.