Chapter 21

The two women stood there for what seemed like hours.

Neo was terrified. What possibly brought this sudden change of heart? It's as if she isn't even the same girl I left the dorm with…

Weiss frantically tried to come to terms with her thoughts. Understand them; but she couldn't.

Neo wouldn't let go of Weiss's hand; the girl had a look like a spooked deer and she was afraid that Weiss going to try to run away, based on the way her body was shaking.

Weiss felt like she needed to get away. But, if she ran, she couldn't figure out if Neopolitan was really the 'Neo' she's let get so close to her this past week.

Neo wished she could speak. Talk to her friend and try to answer her questions.

Weiss clenched her eyes tight. All she wanted was Ruby to be at her side. Ruby to tell her that everything was going to be okay, the way she always did whenever Weiss started giving into her fears that the worst is yet to come.

It took some time but Weiss managed to regain her composure and clear her head. I have to be overreacting, there's no way things could be anywhere near as bad as my frantic mind is making them out to be. She reached out and took her friend's hand as she resolved to return to the sense of optimism the night started with. Weiss didn't miss Neo's jolt of shock at the sudden movement and she decided that she was going to have a bit of fun with the startled woman. She smirked at Neo as she reached out, grabbed the back of Neo's head, and yoinked the girl to her; forcefully pressing her lips to Neo's, she let her mouth open and began gently probing her friend's mouth with her tongue.

Shocked at Weiss's sudden change of heart, Neo leaned against the fence and did all she could to enjoy the sensation of Weiss letting go and embracing her. Gently slipping her tongue into Weiss's mouth, she stroked the girl's tongue with her own and let her hands wander up and down the girl's sides. Neo firmly pressed her hands into the small of Weiss's back and dragged her nails upward on either side of her spine up towards the girl's shock of white hair, pausing before taking a handful of the luxurious mane to run her fingertips along the nape of her neck.

Weiss enjoyed the chill her partner's fingers were giving her. The sensation combined with the thrill of freely kissing her, heedless of what anyone else thought, filled her with a lightheaded giddiness.

It felt freeing. Knowing that she was no longer hiding who she was. The support her friends gave her, their assurances that she was normal and that nothing was wrong with her for having these feelings, all combined to make her happier than she had been in a long time. Not even the thought of Winter chiding her for her deviance could dampen her mood. All that mattered right now was that she was in her friend's arms. Her girlfriend. Steeling herself, Weiss resolved to do what Ruby would – she was going to trust Neo.

"I'm sorry for all of that, Neo." Weiss rested her head on the small woman's shoulder, "I don't understand why I'm freaking out like this and acting like I don't trust you."

Neo placed her hands on either side of Weiss's face and lifted the girl's head to look into her eyes. She smiled and nodded understandingly at the girl before she planted a firm kiss on her forehead. As she pulled away, she inclined her head towards town. No matter how much she enjoyed Weiss's sudden display of affection, it didn't change the fact that they were both hungry.

Weiss snickered softly and muttered, "Bottomless pit…"

Neo swatted at the laughing girl, turned, and started to walk towards town.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

Neo kept walking while shaking her head in the negative.

"You're impossible!"

Weiss strode towards the small woman and grabbed her hand with a firm tug as she redirected Neo towards their destination. "This way…"

The two women walked together finding comfort in each other's silence and the still nighttime air. For a change, they weren't holding hands, but they both felt incredibly close to the other.

After a short walk, they arrived at Le Chattelaine. Neo shouldn't have been surprised that the heiress choose one of the classiest places in town, especially considering the generous gift she was currently wearing. While Neo felt a little uncomfortable in an establishment this nice, Weiss was obviously in her element. As they were escorted to their table, Weiss noticed with some delight, how many heads turned to take in the beautiful woman with the magnificent green eyes in the jade dress.

Yeah. That's my girlfriend! Neo thought to herself as she caught sight of how many eyes were turning towards Weiss in her elegant white dress. She moved through the crowded restaurant as if she were skating through the crowd. Beautiful. Graceful. And apparently, oblivious to how many people in the room were captivated by her.

They took their seats, positioned across from each other. As they poured over their menus, Weiss trailed the soft silken upper of her slipper over Neo's lower leg. She softly caressed her as she tried to show Neo how interested she was in her and tried to offset any doubts she may have sown earlier in the evening.

Neo tried to enjoy the moment. Enjoy the sensual feeling of the cool fabric against her skin. Weiss was right with her jest earlier in the evening – Neo's thoughts immediately turned towards her plans for the heiress later that evening. While they might not be able to get away with all of the ideas Neo was mentally toying with, on account of being in a dorm with three other girls, one of which was a Faunus with exquisite hearing, she still thought they could have some fun together.

After their server took their orders, Weiss excused herself for a moment. As she left, she draped her arms over Neo's shoulders and gave her a small hug as she kissed the woman's right ear. Neo smiled at the feeling as Weiss's cool warmth lingered on her skin after she left.

The same movement was repeated a moment later, but instead of a kiss on her ear, she felt a pair of lips move against it as she heard a sing-song voice whisper, "Well, if it isn't my favorite little traitor. Have you missed me, Neopolitan?"

Neo's eyes went white at the sound of Cinder's voice.

A/N: Sorry this is late! NaNoWriMo is really kicking my ass and I need to hammer out about 3,300 words per day for the final 6 days of the month to finish this on time. It's doable, but really tight. I think I'm finally at the point of that novel where it's going to start flowing better (I'm out of the set up and into the main dramatic conflict I've been trying to get to).

Anyhow, Chapter 21 here was actually two really short chapters that I combined. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to post another one later today to make up for missing Wednesday or if this will be it until Monday. And, heads up ~ Wednesday's chapter next week might be delayed since Wednesday is the last day for NaNoWriMo and I'm hosting a last-minute-panic-session Write-In in the evening to try to finish up. Sorry! Once Wednesday's over and I can recover Thursday, we should be back to the normal 3x/week MWF schedule.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to follow / favorite this little piece of mine. I hope you stick around until the end!

Best,

~shdwmchn