Work Text:
The warehouse they were in was a fine place for a hideout, but not so much for a living space which was what Roman had to deal with. Neo had already complained to him about the cramped space in the office and the need to split the room in half.
"Do your job, and you'll be out of here quicker." Cinder had told him when the thief told her. The fire woman had more important things to deal with than an easily replaceable criminal.
He hated it.
"Mr Roman!" And then there was this little problem. In addition to working on whatever stage her plan was, he was forced to babysit Cinder's kid. The young girl came running up to him with an enthusiastic smile.
"Aren't the others here?" He asked. It was Mercury and Emerald's day to look after the brat.
She shook her head. "They said they were doing big kid stuff." She pouted. "Even though I'm a big kid too..."
Roman stared at the kid. She still hadn't figured it out? She is an innocent kid, but still...He noticed something being held tightly in her hands. He pointed to it and gestured for her to give it to him. She held it tighter and pressed it closer to her body. Roman narrowed his eyes and held his hand out for her to give him the item.
Ruby stared down at it then at Roman before slowly walking over to him and handing the item over. It was a dust pack. The criminal looked down at the girl avoiding eye contact.
"You mind telling me why you have this?"
"They didn't notice..." The black haired girl muttered. "I was just going to play with it."
And get yourself blown to pieces. Roman added wondering about the girl's mental state and if Cinder knew about her thought process. He tossed it onto the table and sat down.
"What am I supposed to do?" She asked, looking at him like he knew the answer.
"Not bother me." Roman replied. He pulled out the blueprint of his next heist and studied it. It was one of the last dust shops on the list and, surprisingly, it only had moderate security. He and Neo could steal from it alone without trying. Why he hadn't hit it before was beyond him.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a red hood begin to slide next to him. The brat was trying to look at the blueprint. Her interest in a heist was commendable, but he didn't want any distract-
"What are you doing!?"
Ruby looked confused. "I thought your picture could look better."
"It's not a picture." Roman snapped. It kind of was, but that wasn't the point. The point was there was a picture of Nevermores flying around in the corner of his blueprint, and that made it unusable if he didn't want any White Fang members laughing while he presented the plan.
"Sorry..."
Sorry doesn't cut it. Roman wanted to snap at her. He wanted to hit her over the head with the paper until she understood completely what she'd done. But then he remembered Cinder and her little posse. One sign that something was wrong with this kid and the other side would be welcoming him. He sighed in exasperation. "Go find something else to do. Away from me."
Neopolitan had been interested in the kid that Roman's boss had brought. She hadn't had a chance to spend time with her, having her own heists to plan out, but Roman sending the dejected child away gave her one. She put her novel down-ninjas could wait-and followed the little girl as she wandered around the warehouse.
She's adorable...Neo noted when she saw how enthusiastic she was around all the Faunus and weaponry. She was so focused on her, she didn't notice the loose grip on her umbrella until there was a clatter on the floor below her. Neo's eyes widened and she activated her semblance to hide her presence as the child turned around to find the source of the noise. The illusionist watched her pick up the umbrella and look around for its owner. Neo slowly made her way behind the girl before letting the illusion fall and tapping her shoulder.
There was a small yelp as the black haired girl jumped and fumbled the pink weapon. Neo laughed and pointed to it before holding out her hand.
"Is this yours?" Ruby asked. Neopolitan nodded. "Your weapon?" The ice cream woman nodded again. Ruby's silver eyes lit up in excitement. "How do you use it?"
Neo smiled. This would be fun.
"Well Roman," Cinder's voice caused the thief to look up from the new, unfinished blueprint. "I didn't expect you to be so focused on your work."
"You've given me a lot to do."
"I only recall one important job for you to do." The fire woman walked closer to him and put her hand down on the table. Her eyes began to light up. "Where is Ruby?"
Roman shrugged. Cinder's expression went dark.
"It would be best if you remembered, Roman." She said slowly. Behind her, Mercury and Emerald laughed silently, but their expressions were cold.
"I think Neo was going to look after her." As soon as he said that Cinder looked at the street rat and the other one, who went off to find Roman's partner.
"You'd best remember how important Ruby is to us." Cinder said coldly.
Roman nodded. The two looked over at the four arriving people. Ruby was talking about how amazing Neo and her weapon were at fighting while the older one nodded. Mercury and Emerald were listening, but their expressions showed boredom.
"They weren't far from here." Emerald said. It didn't escape Roman's notice that she was looking at him when she said that.
"Ruby, come here." Cinder said. When the child ran up to her, Cinder put her hands on her shoulders. "How was it here when we were gone?"
Ruby shrugged. "A little boring." She said. "Neo showed me some fighting moves. Did you know her weapon is an umbrella?"
"Really?" Ruby nodded. Cinder looked amused. "Interesting. Was Roman good?"
"He didn't really spend time with me, but he was nice." The temperature dropped a little when Ruby said that. Neo looked at him sympathetically while Mercury and Emerald examined him. Cinder didn't look at him, but he could feel the annoyance radiating off her.
"That's good." Cinder stood and looked at Roman. "We have one more thing to do before we go onto phase two. You get one more chance."
"Yes ma'am." The fire woman picked Ruby up and carried her away followed by her followers. Neo sat down on the edge of the table.
'So what are you going to do to make it up to her?' She signed.
Roman pulled out a new sheet of paper and began planning. He had a few new heists in mind.