Chapter 21

The Coming Dawn

Roman was feeling better. Not good but better than he had been for the past week. His blood pressure was dropping into the healthy range again and while he found himself angry most of the time he had cooled off quite a bit. Literally. The ship that he had stored all of Atlas's EMP's had no heat or power after what he did. He knew that the EMP from the emitter was going to be powerful but had no idea it would be as strong as it was. He fried most circuits in Atlas which resulted in a seven day long power outage. That combined with the cold made for a very chilly experience. According to the news that was brought back online with the fixing of the Atlas tower, the EMP took out all power in Atlas for seven days, Vale for three, and Vacuo and Mistral for one. Cargo ships and transports could not be used until the tower got back online for directioning systems. He left the ship to the White Fang to take care of transport. After all he needed to get back to school before his cover was blown. He made sure to change back into his Cobalt disguise before getting on one of the first aerial transports out of Atlas. He was finally making his way back to Vale.

With the time he had alone he was able to clear his mind and think properly for the first time in a while. All he thought about was how he was being an idiot. The largest idiot he had ever known. Ruby was in his thoughts every day. That is something that should not be happening. He should be planning how he would kill her not what would make her smile. Had anyone asked him a month earlier what would his reaction to seeing her dead would be, he would say that he would have laughed. Now he found the thought sickening to his very core. He thought that maybe after this time away from her he would get over it but with each passing day he missed her more. He missed her cheery little smile that would light up his day. He missed her laugh that would make his heart flutter. He missed her being there next to him, making him feel whole again.

He mentally slapped himself for being so stupid. He should not be getting involved in something of this matter even if they were on the same side. Romance is chaotic, fickle and unpredictable. If he continued on this path it would only lead to disaster. Knowing this did not deter him though. She had somehow found an emotional chink in his armor and with a surprising amount of determination has been unveiling what was underneath. He was starting to feel parts of himself he thought that he killed off. It was addicting. Just like a drug he knew that it was wrong but could not get over that feeling that it gave him. Even though he knew that the more time he spent with her, the more pain both of them would feel, he could not resist it. Now he was starting to feel the side effects. While he was feeling happier and more alive he started feeling guilt, remorse and regret for the first time in years. To someone with his occupation those are what brings down the greatest of criminals.

He shook his head as he tried to wake himself up. It was in the early hours of the morning and he was almost in Vale but he still did not know how to say hello to Ruby tonight or in the morning. Glumly, he decided that it would probably be best to just stay the rest of the night in his apartment and rejoin classes in the morning. After all, the large bag he was carrying held his traditional clothes as well as Melodic Cudgel which would blow his cover if he brought those to school.

He walked into his apartment to see everything just like how it was before. He looked around at the luxury and wealth before him. From the stolen paintings covering the walls, to the imported rugs, to the silk of his bed sheets. This was only one of several apartments spread throughout Vale that were decorated roughly the same. He remembered coming home each day from whatever work he was doing and looking at such wealth with pride, that he was able to overcome the challenges before him and make a life for himself. Now it did not really mean anything. They were just things. But that had never bothered him before. He scoured the room searching for what was missing, what was it that prevented him from feeling that sensation of pride. That's when it clicked. Sure all of these material goods served their purpose but have they ever cared for him, supported him in his time of need or gave him encouragement? No. Yet everyone that did he just shoved away. Neo, Junior, Ruby, he pushed them all away. With a sigh of self-pity he retired himself to his bed to end the day. He felt his eyelids drooping but he had enough energy to whisper one last thing before drifting into unconsciousness. "It'll all be better tomorrow."

After only a few hours of sleep he got up and left for Beacon in his Cobalt disguise. With the clock reading 6:00 am he should have enough time to sneak back into school undetected. The walk there was dreary although whether it was from the slow drizzle and overcast skies or him regretting his decisions for the past week he was unsure. Making it to Beacon he thanked his past self for making his cloak waterproof. The rain outside had begun to pick up and was now audible no matter where you were in the school. Having procrastinated it enough already he prepared a text to Ruby apologizing for running off and saying that he returned and would like to talk. He expected that she would agree and that they could talk things over privately after classes. What he did not expect is what happened next.

He was just finishing his message and was about to send it when he was turning around the last corner to the hallway that held his room. Next thing he knew he felt like a cannonball struck his chest and felt himself flying backwards into the wall. Now a crumpled heap on the floor he looked up to see the one person he did not expect to see so early, Ruby, in pajamas and rubbing her head. Her eyes were closed as she tried to massage her forehead from such an impact. "Sorry! I was just going on a morning run I didn't expect anyone to be up so early. I didn't mean to run into anyone. Are you alright?" She then opened her eyes and realized just who she had run into. "Cobalt?"

"Hello Ruby. That sure is one hell of a way of waking someone up." He said unmoving from his position. He could feel his aura healing a few broken ribs but the process was exceptionally painful and did not want to move to make things worse.

"Cobalt! When did you get back?! Why did you leave like that?! Don't you know how worried I was?!" After a short pause she asked "Are you alright?"

"Never better." He said stifling a moan of pain. He tried to get up and fell, only to be stopped by Ruby now at his side to help him. "Thank you for the assistance. So how have things been with you?" He said once he was standing with stability.

Ruby began to slap him while alternating cheeks for each slap. It was with a force that was somewhere between playful and actually stinging. Each slap was given its own corresponding syllable in her next string of sentences. "How-do-you-think-things-have-been? You-left-at-the-worst-time-ever. Don't-you-real-ize-how-wor-ried-you-made-me?" She then pulled him in for a very loving kiss. After about five seconds she withdrew and started slapping him again. "Why-would-you-just-leave-like-that? I-told-you-that-if-you-were-up-set-to-come-to-me-and-you-did-the-op-po-site. And-you-did-n't-ev-en-tell-me-when-you-came-back."

"If-you're-done-I-would-like-to-ex-plain-my-self." She stopped and gave one last slap for good measure. "I suppose I deserved that last one. First of all I was going to tell you when I got back. I was typing the text until we had this abrupt meeting. Let me send it now." He said pressing send. There was an obvious vibrating sound coming from her side where she stuck her scroll. Pulling it out, she read through the entire message before speaking again.

"You still ignored what I said. You didn't come to me for help."

"Ruby I-"

He was interrupted by her wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. "No buts. You shouldn't have left. There are people who care for you and you shouldn't leave them when they are willing to help."

Lightly returning the embrace he said "Ruby I learned that the hard way while I was gone. Do you remember how angry I was at the flower shop?"

She paused for a brief moment before saying "Yes."

His voice softened as he calmed down from the contact. "Imagine that multiplied by two and lasting a whole week. That's how I've felt. I didn't want to hurt you."

"But you'd never do that."

"Yes I would!" He snapped. He took a few deep breaths and tightened the embrace. He waited until his anger ebbed away before he continued. "Not on purpose or intending to but I would. I always have. Everything and everyone I care about I just end up hurting."

He had a flashback towards the past week where in his rage he was not afraid to hurt anyone. He had locked himself in his room to contain the destructive forces that lay inside him. If he learned anything from all of this there were two undeniable truths. His feelings for her were growing day by day. But also that the greatest threat to Ruby's safety was the person she was holding right now. His breathing became shaky and he could feel his internal barriers start to break. He tried to fight it but he could not help himself as he let out a soft cry and a tear began to fall down his cheek.

He felt her raise her hand and gently wipe it away. "It's alright. I'm here now and everything will be okay."

"No it's not." He croaked. "I pushed everyone who tried to help me away. I was mean and cruel to my only friends. I practically abandoned you. I screwed up."

"Well you know what you did wrong and the fact that you know that it was wrong means that you can make it right again. I don't know about your friends but the fact that you realize you should've just come to me instead is enough for me to forgive you. I'm sure that they'll feel the same. Just try to learn from this mess up."

"I will."

"There there. It's all going to be alright." She soothed.

"I'm not a young child Ruby."

"Can you give up on the tough guy act already? I can tell when you're hurting and you don't need to hide it from me. It's alright if you're upset about something. You've gone through a lot. I don't expect you to be 'Mr. Macho'… Really… Ever. I like your soft side. I'm not asking you to change… Just… Don't be afraid of being who you really are."

"And just who would that be?"

"A nice and sweet person who just needs to see that this world isn't as cruel as they think it is. I know you've made some mistakes but we all do. Some more often than others, but that does not make you any less of a person."

He could not help but smile and said "Yeah, I guess you've got me there." He leaned in to kiss her again and he felt all his woes leave his mind. All that mattered was having Ruby in his arms again. But the real world kept moving on and he knew they could not stay there forever. He ended up pulling away only to have her lean into the kiss even more to keep it going. "Damn. When did this become so difficult?" He thought to himself.

Reluctantly pulling back even more he broke the kiss and said "I hate to break this up but I've got some people to call and apologies to make. Do you think we can continue all this after class today?"

She seemed a bit disappointed at first but returned to normal when he mentioned that they could continue after class. "Sure. Besides I have to get going. We don't want the rest of my team figuring out that I'm seeing anyone now, do we?" She said with a wink.

"Yeah." After a quick goodbye kiss he watched as Ruby sped off again across the school. He was too lucky. To have someone like her in his life was amazing. Ruby was the most innocent and happy person he had ever met. While he was actually being himself around her he still felt as if he was using her. Sure the information he learned from her was already documented so he had told his higher ups nothing but it was still a form of betrayal. Why did the most cheerful and loving person he had ever known have to have feelings for him? If he was actually being himself did she have feelings for this Cobalt persona or the real him? These questions and more zipped through his head the longer he stood there. That was the one good thing about school in this case. He was forced to think about something other than his life troubles.

A/N: Sorry that this was a tad bit late. I discovered some plot holes and with my schedule I did not have time to fix them yesterday. But better late than never as they always say. I'd prefer it to be late and good than on time and bad.