Belonging

AN: This is something for me. Something, like the title of the story suggest, that I can use as a refuge from the storm of emotions that will assault me in 11 days time. Writing whatever the hell feels good on my birthday has been therapeutic to say the least and writing about the character I've become the most territorial over in all of fiction again feels nice.

Home.

It was a thing that, for most of her life, Neo had never really thought about much. For the longest time she'd just been content following Roman's lead, being his muscle when needed, deciding that her place was at his side, even if it never really felt like she belonged there. She wouldn't call it home exactly, just like she wouldn't call Roman family, but considering how little she remembered of her real home and family, she didn't really have much of a reference. And even then, if Neo was being honest with herself, her lack of any real memories regarding her parents or possible siblings wasn't something that actually bothered her anymore.

In the end, though, staying with Roman was enough for Neo. She didn't have a real home, no place where she belonged, and she was fine with that. It wasn't a necessary part needed for her to enjoy herself, which meant, to her, that it didn't matter in the end.

However, that changed when Roman had started working for that Cinder woman and Neo had been sent in as a spy to Beacon. A job that she had detested at first, but had then soon come to adore. Because Beacon was where she met him. The boy who made her feel like she belonged.

The sound of rain falling from high up above and splashing down upon the roof of Beacon rang—along with the occasional dull rumble of thunder in the distance—drummed in Neo's ears as she laid awake. For most of her life, she'd been a very light sleeper, always up and ready for action within minutes, but when she was with him that changed, and it wasn't often that she got opportunities like this one. From the almost complete lack of light coming from the window to her left, as well as her internal clock, the small, neapolitan haired girl guessed it couldn't be more than four in the morning, a time she was usually soundly asleep nowadays. However, this was far from a bad thing, at least in her opinion, because it let her take in the adorable and amazing sight of his soundly sleeping features.

Neo absolutely loved watching him sleep, it never failed to make her able to forget about everything else going on in her life and just focus on him and him alone.

Him. Her adorkable, handsome, brave knight.

Jaune Arc.

Just thinking about his name made the already serene smile on Neo's soft features become even more happy. She could feel his heat from where his bare upper body pressed against her bra-clad one, the rise and fall of his chest as breathed calmly and evenly, and the reassuring and comforting beat of his heart from where her petite form was laid on top of him—one of his large hands settled comfortably on her cute, almost completely bare rump (one which she totally hadn't urged down from it's original position on her lower back...)—and Neo very much doubted she could feel more happy than she was at this very moment... but then again, she'd also learned that she should never underestimate her knight's ability to make her feel content and happy. He always had something up his sleeve.

Gently, as to not wake him from his peaceful sleep, she snuggled just a tiny bit more into Jaune's broad chest, sighing softly as she couldn't help but take a whiff of that unique scent he always carried, regardless of what he'd done during the day. Tiredness was laid over her body like a blanket, something which was greatly helped by the fact that Jaune's chest was a very comfortable place to lay on, and Neo had to fight herself every so often from letting her lidded eyes close all the way. She didn't want to go to sleep again just yet—she wanted a little more time to just look at her knight.

Being with him let her feel something that she hadn't been able to feel in years, not since Roman had used her as bait in a heist without telling her about it. When she was with Jaune, Neo felt like she was home. Like she was where she should be. There was just something about being near him that made this previously foreign feeling of belonging settle over her. At first, she hadn't even known what it was, just that it made her feel safe in a way she had never felt before, and that had made her confused. She had yet to meet someone she hadn't been able to easily crush beneath her heel so far, after all, so how could someone so far below her when it came to fighting prowess make her feel safe and protected?

Now, though, Neo knew the answer to that. It was because she could trust Jaune. Completely. Something she hadn't been able to do with another person until she met him.

To Cinder, she was completely expendable, no more than a means to an end with slightly more uses than her other goons. The same went for everyone else in her life, with the exception of Roman, but even then she knew that he was a thief and conman to the very core, and as such, regardless of how long they'd been together or how much she did want to, she couldn't trust that he wouldn't justuse her if things went too far. She loved him like the big brother she never had, he'd been her friend and mentor figure when she'd been at her lowest, but no matter how much he'd done for her, Neo doubted anything could change that Roman was still a bad person at heart. Just like her.

Jaune, however, was the opposite of that. He was Roman's antithesis. Where Roman was suave and cool mannered; Jaune was dorky and not afraid to show his emotions. Roman thought only if himself; as opposed to Jaune who seemingly always put his own safety and needs as a secondary priority to those around him.

Roman was deceitful, almost like lying and playing around with words was second nature to him, while Jaune was trustworthy, practically unable to tell a lie without feeling bad about it. And Neo trusted Jaune. Because he deserved it. More than anyone she'd ever known.

Before her eyes, a loose, blond strand of hair landed on Jaune's nose, Neo gently blowing on it until it flew away into the darkness of the room, giggling almost soundlessly as the blonde's cute features scrunched up a little in his sleep. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to wake him, though, and after a moment his expression turned peaceful once again, a blissful hum making its way from Neo's throat as his grip on her tightened just a little. This was the place she belonged at. With her knight. A person she knew wouldn't use or abandon her. A person she could trust wholeheartedly without fearing that that precious trust would be thrown away.

Carefully letting her hand sneak over to his free one, Neo intertwined her fingers with Jaune's, feeling her heart warm when his own fingers closed down over the top of her smaller hand even in his sleep.

He'd given her safety that she hadn't known she wanted, serenity the likes of which she'd never experienced, and, most importantly, love so tender and sweet she felt undeserving of it at times. It didn't matter that they were on opposite sides, that hardly anyone but him knew of her existence, that the things she'd done in the past labeled her as a monster; Neo never wanted to let this go.

She never wanted to let him go.

Roman might be the closest thing she had to a family, but Jaune, wherever he went, was her home.

Jaune might not know of her sins, what she had done and still did, but if it meant that she could stay with him, keep this feeling of belonging, Neo would give that life up. She'd confess everything, accept any punishment, as long as her knight's arms were still waiting for her when she came back.

Quietly, with a voice as soft as a gentle breeze, Neo spoke against Jaune's chest—words she'd only let him and him alone hear—before she laid her head down and finally let sleep embrace her, giving Jaune's hand one last squeeze. A squeeze that was returned by the smiling boy on top of which she slept.

"Thank you for letting me belong somewhere... I love you..."

AN: This is not a one-shot. It's the first chapter of a collection that I will use to vent whenever the feelings inside me build up. I'm not good at expressing my feelings, I guess that comes with having Asperger's, but when I'm writing like this things just feel easier. Sometimes I even let thoughts and emotions I didn't even know I had seep into what I write.

The focus in these chapters will most likely be on my favorite ships or just generally Jaune-centric. Some will be fluffy, like this one, and some will be more serious. If you'd like to follow me on this journey into my head, then please leave a fav or follow. Regardless, though, I want to thank you for reading my crap. No matter what hardships it might have caused me, I'm glad to have taken up writing thanks to all of you.

Until next time... oh to hell with it. For old times sake: Maxaro out! *mic drop*