A proverbial saying, often used in circumstances where it is thought that saying nothing is preferable to speaking.

-X-

The rain had been coming down for a while now. The grey clouds had long since blocked out the sun, turning the entire city into a palate of grim colors.

Neo liked the rain. Water made plants grow, and was the source of all life. How could one not like rain?

Yang, had she been there, would have argued that most people didn't like getting wet. And water puts out fire.

The short woman twirled her umbrella in her hands. She was always prepared for the rain, as infrequent as it came.

The door creaked, and Neo's attention was taken as if it were magnetic. The rickety old thing was only blowing in the wind from the open window, however.

Not Yang, sighed Neo. Would she even show up? At this point, the woman was unsure.

They hated being enemies, meeting up only in worn down locations where no one could find them. This time it was the top floor of a once successful apartment complex. Neo had thought it romantic, the way it gazed over the whole city. Not to mention the pleasant cloudy backdrop.

Her ever changing eyes flicked back to the rain. Several drops came through the window and hit her, but she didn't mind. The cold suited her, just as heat fit Yang.

Had she the voice to do so, Neo would have made the joke about how her name should have been Yin. But she didn't, since jokes just became less funny when having to write them out on paper.

Trapping her mind into a voiceless body was a cruel decision by fate. Neo was smart, she had things to say. Clever retorts, snappy remarks and sarcastic wit were all bottled up inside of her, never to leave except on paper.

The door creaked again, but Neo didn't bother. What was the use of getting her hopes up?

She'd tried sign language. It certainly had its uses, but was limited by the fact that no one ever seemed to know it.

Sometimes she just wanted to scream.

But no one would ever know that. She couldn't very well tell them that.

A floor board whimpered. This time, Neo turned away from the window to see her fiery huntress standing in the room with her characteristic smirk.

"Pretty shady place," Yang commented, stepping forward to take a seat on the window sill next to Neo. "On my way up one of the stairs collapsed through."

Thankfully, Yang knew her well enough that Neo could say volumes with just an expression. Her eyes flickered in worry, shifting to a new color.

"Oh, don't sweat it!" the huntress laughed, to Neo's delight. "I spend my days at Beacon training to kill monsters. I can handle a staircase. You didn't have trouble on the climb up, did you?"

Had she a voice, Neo would have explained how she'd merely used her semblance to get to the top. But instead she only shook her head.

"Probably because I weigh a bit more than you," Yang chuckled, giving her a wink.

Had she a voice, Neo would have asked whether Yang was talking about her height, or the fact that Yang's chest was twice the size of hers.

"So that was a thing," grinned Yang. "But was there any reason we're so high up today? We typically find something closer to the ground."

Had she a voice, Neo would have confessed that she loved the yellow haired huntress. She would have said it with a voice thick with emotion.

Instead, all she did was turn her head slightly towards the rain. Yang followed her eyes and nodded, "That's right, you like the rain. Nice view with the clouds."

Unable to resist the temptation any further, Neo grabbed Yang's face tightly and thrust their lips together in a kiss.

Yang didn't try and stop her, and the two remained like that for over a minute.

When they finally broke apart, Yang cocked her head and said, "Are you okay? That felt intense…not that I'm complaining."

Neo silently giggled for a moment. Then she grew somber and tapped two fingers to her throat. It was her gesture to Yang that she wished she had a voice.

"Come here," Yang said, offering a hug. Neo obliged, resting her head on Yang's breast.

At least being short had its upsides. Too bad being mute didn't. Though she was very good at charades.

"It must be hard to not be able to do something that nearly everyone else can," Yang murmured. "And even harder to see all of us take it for granted."

Neo nodded, sighing silently as she eased into Yang. The taller woman began to rub her back therapeutically.

After a while, the two of them returned to their normal dynamic. They talked and joked until the evening, or at least Yang did. When the time came for Yang to leave, the two embraced and shared a kiss.

Neo smiled, wishing things would never change. That she could always have this and have Yang as she was.

But the two of them were enemies. Each representing a side of a conflict that neither knew much about. Neo wanted to talk to Yang about it.

Had she a voice, Neo might have said something. She might have told Yang to run away with her, to leave Vale and its crime. But that decision was already made for her.

She refused to write it out on paper. At least, not today. She didn't want to ruin this moment, not for anything in the world. For now, it was best to say nothing.

Though whoever it was that thought up the phrase, 'Silence Is Golden,' she wanted to give them a punch in the gut.

Yang left, and Neo was alone again. She settled back on the window sill and watched the last rays of the day's sun disappear beyond the horizon. The rain didn't let up though. It kept pouring down as hard as before.

When she went back to Roman's hideout, she could say her tears were just raindrops. Or rather, write it down.

Had she a voice, she would have said a very long time ago that silence was the quietest scream of all.

Author Note: In the middle of the RWBY hype, so I decided to finally write a oneshot for RWBY. I had to pick Neo as a main focus, since she's my favorite. NeoxYang is just a bitchin' pairing, so I naturally went with that. This was more depressing that I typically write, a nice change of pace for me.