Chapter 56

Neo's eyes shifted from corner to corner. Before her were two beds, one with a red quilt, the other with a yellow one. Ruby's room, and once upon a time Yang's too. She turned to her right and saw various books and items upon a shelf. She approached it as her eyes narrowed at the spines of the books, reading their titles. They were mostly stories of adventure and action, nothing much else. Her mismatched eyes drifted to a peculiar set of wooden carved statues upon the shelf, they were statues of Beowolves and other Grimm. It was a rather distasteful object to put up on display, or maybe Ruby was simply trying to desensitize herself to them?

Her gaze drifted lower down the shelf, finding various objects of no import. Her hand reached to a framed picture as she picked it up. She recognized all three people in the picture, the first that came clearly to her was Yang, she looked younger than she was now but not by much. The second prominent figure was her father, Taiyang who stood in the middle with a hand upon the shoulders of both girls. That second girl of course being Ruby. She wore a bright smile on her face as she looked to the camera that had taken the shot.

Neo stared at the picture, her eyes focusing on Ruby. They narrowed as slowly her expression started to change. She clenched her jaw as her grip tightened on the wooden frame of the picture. What was she smiling about? What did she have to be so happy about? She gave thought to throwing the picture against the ground, to smash the glass and tear up the photo inside. A voice halted her. "Neo?" came Weiss' call, soft and delicate. Neo remained silent and paused for a second before breathing in a slow breath. Her expression softened as her grip on the picture loosened. She placed it back upon the shelf and turned, her face now curious as she looked to Weiss, tilting her head to one side. "What were you looking at?" asked Weiss idly as she approached her partner.

Neo turned to point at the framed picture upon the shelf as she drew Weiss' attention to it. The woman looked to it and Neo noticed a subtle frown upon her features as her eyes glanced to Ruby in the picture.

"They look happy, don't they?" asked Weiss. Neo paused and gave a nod in response. "I hope we can find her..." she added before looking back to her partner with a soft smile. Neo looked rather... indifferent to the idea which briefly confused Weiss. Though perhaps it only made sense, Neo didn't know Ruby like she did. She watched as her girlfriend turned to glance around the room, idly walking forward as she did so. Weiss watched her with her ice blue eyes, following after as she spoke. "Yang and Blake went to the airdock to ask if they'd seen her father, they should be back later" she spoke.

Neo didn't look back at her, more intent on exploring the room as she picked up another object, some sort of snow-globe as she flipped it upside down in her hand.

Weiss looked to the object, inside the globe was a miniature Beacon tower, the artificial snow inside falling over it. "Have you been to an academy before?" she asked. Neo's eyes only seemed to focus on the object in her hand as she never gave a response. "Are you... Hungry or thirsty? I can find you something if you want" continued Weiss. Neo was behaving strangely and she began to wonder if it was something she had unknowingly caused.

The smaller woman's eyes darted to Weiss as she placed down the snow-globe back where she found it. She gave a single nod to her question.

"Oh, really?" asked Weiss, she gave a smile. Perhaps Neo was just hungry? "What do you want?" she asked once again. Neo pointed a finger at her. Weiss' expression dipped slightly, "You... Want to...? Here?" she responded with an unsure expression. Neo nodded once and took a step towards her, which caused Weiss to take one away. "Neo I don't think we should... This is..." she began, glancing around the room that they were in. Neo's eyes blinked, and when they opened they revealed two magenta shades. She took several steps forward towards her partner as she wrapped her arms around her back, catching her arms in the embrace and pinning them against her form as she leaned her head up slightly for a kiss. "N- Neo, wait-" stuttered Weiss as she stumbled, the back of her legs pressed against something as she fell backwards onto a bed, Neo falling with her. Upon the bed Weiss was unable to lean her head away from Neo who locked her lips against her own.

There was... Something different about the kiss. It was as if the love Neo would usually display to her was gone, and replaced only with a desire, an urge. Perhaps she was stressed for some reason, or that she felt a need to unwind or relax. Her mouth was opened as Neo pressed down harder against her, her tongue invading her mouth with a lustful intent. There was a scent in the air, one that was familiar. Weiss opened her eyes as she glanced to the side, the quilts beneath her were red. Her eyes widened, she couldn't do this here, not on this bed. She tried to pull her arms free but Neo still had her own wrapped around them. Surely she would feel that she was trying to pull them away though, and allow her to do so?

She felt Neo's leg press up between her own, she gave out a muffled sound in protest as she squirmed. There was no way she would be able to do something like this in Ruby's bed, her friend's bed. The kiss continued without pause as finally Neo retracted one of her arms from around Weiss to hastily start undoing the buttons of her coat. With an arm free Weiss reached up to Neo's shoulder as she tried to push her back, yet she refused to move as her hand continued to unbutton her dress until she was done. She broke the kiss as she sat up on Weiss, her hands coming down to pull apart her coat, revealing her pale form beneath. "Neo, not here!" yelled Weiss, now finally having a chance to speak as she covered her chest with her arms.

Her partner looked down at her, stunned by the sound of her voice. She looked confused, at a loss. Unsure as to why she didn't want to do what she wanted.

Weiss looked up to her, still gasping for air after the long kiss, "I- I can't, not in this room..." she admitted. She wouldn't mind spending some private time with her partner but it had to be somewhere else. Preferably not in the house they were in at all. Neo glanced around, as if trying to figure out what Weiss meant. "This... It's Ruby's room, she's my friend" she stated as her hands came to pull her coat back together to hide her body.

Neo still seemed confused, bringing her hands to her own coat to undo the single button upon it. Weiss reached her hands up to grab her wrists before she managed to undress any further.

"No, Neo, listen. We can't" stated Weiss firmly and clearly. Neo narrowed her eyes slightly at the rejection before she tried to press herself down upon her partner. In an attempt to halt a second drawn-out kiss Weiss attempted to push back on any part of her that she could. And at the time, her hand landed against her throat. As soon as she pushed against her neck Neo recoiled, falling back off the bed in an alarmed state. Weiss' eyes widened at the sudden response as she sat up, looking over to where her partner had fallen. Neo was staring back up at her, one hand clutching her own throat in an almost protective manner. Her eyes were a stark white. "I'm sorry! I didn't meant to-!" began Weiss, she didn't know why Neo was so sensitive around that area but she gauged that it had to be something traumatic in her past. The way she responded, it was a flinch.

Neo was shaken. The rejection hit her hard as she clambered up to her feet and briskly made for the exit. She felt like a mess, she felt embarrassed and shamed. She didn't want Weiss to see her like that and so the only option she found was to leave her sight for the time being. She got to the door and was halted as two arms wrapped around her waist tightly, pulling her back against the form of her lover.

"It's not your fault..." came Weiss' soft voice, whispering her words into her ear. "You just need to understand, I'm not pushing you away and I'm not saying that I don't want to. But there is a time and a place..." she said.

Neo turned her head slightly at her words, her eyes blinking back into their usual mismatched colours. She felt Weiss' arms tighten around her in a comforting manner.

"I'm sorry I yelled, and I'm sorry that I pushed you back... But you weren't listening..." continued Weiss. Neo's hands came down to her arms, slowly prying them from her. Weiss feared the worst, that she was about to lose this girl she had fallen for. She watched as Neo turned around, reaching out her hand to grasp hers. Weiss looked down to it before back up at Neo who frowned. She brought her hand up to her own heart and lowered her head. An apology. Weiss' smile returned slightly, "It's... It's okay. Just pay more attention next time, won't you?" she asked. Neo nodded once before taking a step back. Her hand still grasped Weiss' as she pulled her through the door of the room. They were now stood in the hall as Neo tilted her head up slightly.

She had pulled Weiss from the room after noting now that she really didn't want to do anything romantic in it. But now that they were at least outside of it... Weiss leaned into the gentle kiss, placing her lips softly against Neo's before parting once more.

Weiss smiled more brightly now, "Why don't we go sit on the couch?" she asked. Neo smiled herself and nodded as the two turned hand-in-hand, making their way to the living room. Yang and Blake were yet to return as they sat down in front of the fire, the sun outside was beginning to set. Neo leaned herself against Weiss as they sat besides one another, cuddling together before the warm heat of the open flames. Weiss lowered her gaze, for a while now she had been thinking further on her relationship with Neo. It was difficult at times with her not being able to speak and she felt like there was a loss of communication between the two as a result. That there would forever be words they couldn't say to one another.

But they were managing, in their own way they were discovering things about one another that only they would know. Weiss was learning that Neo's body language was extremely telling in how she was feeling or what she was trying to convey, as well as her eyes playing a large part in that. So what did she think about them as a couple? She turned her attention to the girl snuggling up to her.

"Neo...?" asked Weiss quietly, catching her attention as eyes came to land upon her. "How do you think we're doing?" she asked awkwardly, her own gaze shifting aside.

Neo tilted her head at the odd question before leaning her head up slightly to kiss at her neck once. That was her answer.

Weiss looked to her from the corner of her eye, "I've... I think I've been wanting to tell you something. I'm not sure how to word it though, and I fear I'll make a fool of myself" she spoke. Neo watched intently, showing that she was listening with attention. "I'm not good with relationships, I've never really had any before so I don't know if I'm making a-... " she paused, she couldn't think that what they shared, and what she wanted, was a mistake. Shaking her head she breathed in a breath of air, exhaling loudly. "Neo..." she stated, looking towards the smaller girl in her arms. "Neo, I am in love with you. Or... I... Yes. Yes I love you" confessed Weiss.

Neo looked stunned by the words, she seemed uncertain, her mouth slightly parted in surprise as her eyes stared unblinking at the woman that had just professed her love to her. She always believed that Weiss loved her unconditionally, but to actually hear it... It made her feel emotions she had never felt before, not even Yang had set off this intense sensation within her. Love?

"I... I know that we've had bumps, and sometimes things don't seem like they're going so well... But I understand. You're... Different, you've obviously had a difficult time growing up. But so have I, so I... I get it. It's hard, not knowing how the world works. Not knowing what's accepted and what isn't. That's why I forgive you for the bumps we've had, and maybe together we can learn how to get by it. We can learn how to be... Like everyone else? Or we can just be us..." smiled Weiss, her face blushing a deep shade of red as she spilled out her heart.

Neo continued to listen to her words with disbelief, her heart was pounding harder than she'd ever felt it before. Her cheeks were blushing and her stomach felt... funny. All this time she had disillusioned herself to what love was, believing to know it before she had even experienced it herself. This had to be it. This was love. She blinked as her eyes took on a form that surprised Weiss. She'd never seen it before. Neo's eyes, they were both hues of varying bright colours. Red, blue, green, yellow, pink, white. They were full of life and splendour. Neo seemed almost like she was lost on how to react, but a smile was appearing upon her face, a bright and wide smile unlike any Weiss had seen on her prior to this moment. Neo sat up straight suddenly, moving her hands away from her partner as she held them together, trying to form the shape of a heart with them. She nodded once, twice, three times.

Neopolitan was in love with Weiss Schnee.

Her lips parted as she tried to speak, soundless words of confession that would never reach her partner's ears. Weiss sat up herself as she halted the movement of her lips with her own. Neo paused her actions as the delicate kiss caught her full attention. Slowly her arms lowered and wrapped themselves around her partner. It never went beyond a simple kiss upon the lips, but that was because it served a different purpose than just one of pleasure or lust. It was a declaration of their mutual feelings. Their hearts were beating as fast as one another and they could both feel it. This moment of bliss felt like it lasted an hour as they parted slowly, opening their eyes to look upon one another. Neo's own eyes still a rainbow of colour.

Weiss gave a soft chuckle, "Is it... Safe to presume you feel the same way then?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer. Neo nodded in response as her hands stroked up and down her back in a loving manner. "Good... Yes, that's good" nodded Weiss before leaning forward to plant another kiss against the lips of her girlfriend. She felt Neo press against her as they both fell upon the sofa into a laying position.

The fire continued to crackle and pop, the sun setting behind the trees outside as the room was lit in a warm hue that flickered with shadows. The fire burned as brightly and intensely as their love for one another at that moment.