"Okay, sooo, what's your favourite food?"

Cobalt thought for a moment. "Anything Fox cooks, really," He admitted. "I don't have a preference. Anything involving meat or roast vegetables, he's great at. He makes great casseroles, quiches, and nobody makes better Vacuan crab."

Storm screwed up his nose. "Ew."

Cobalt nudged him. "hey, don't be rude," he admonished lightly. "In the desert, you take what you can get."

Storm winced at his own words. "Right. Judging. Sorry."

Cobalt chuckled. "You're fine. It's not exactly an unpopular opinion."

The two of them were walking back from their third official date, hand-in-hand as they headed back to the Beacon's dorms. They'd had lunch together at a nice restaurant not far from the school, which Storm had insisted on not letting Cobalt pay for. Cobalt had relented, under the condition that he'd be able to pay for the next one.

With each date, Cobalt found his affection towards Storm growing more and more. They'd come so far from when Cobalt had considered Storm to be this super-cool guy, too far out of his league to ever date, and even further from when he'd tearfully left Storm alone on the rooftop. There were occasions where Storm would slip up ever-so-slightly, but he'd always correct himself and apologize, even for smaller mistakes. It was increasingly clear that he wasn't the same impartial person he once was.

Cherry's addition to the team was also probably good for Storm's growth, Cobalt figured. Like him, the younger girl had never hesitated to call people out for discrimination, and Cobalt had wondered more than once if that was why her feathers were so stunted in growth. If Storm were to say anything off-colour around her, she'd be sure to correct him as politely as possible.

"Alright, what about you?" Cobalt asked Storm. "Got a favourite food?"

"Roast chicken," Storm replied instantly. "Definitely roast chicken."

Cobalt chuckled. "Wow, didn't have to think about that at all, huh?"

The two reached Storm's dorm room and headed in. Cherry and Yarrow were out studying in the library, ensuring that Storm and Cobalt would have the space to relax together for a while.

Storm flopped onto his bed. "My mom would make it for me all the time after my dad left. It's kind of a comfort food for me now."

Cobalt sat beside him, Storm's casual revelation coming as a surprise. "I'm…sorry to hear that." He wasn't sure what else to say.

Storm glanced at him. "About my father?" He shrugged. "Don't be. It was years ago, and the guy was an asshole to me after I came out as genderfluid. My mom kicked him out, and I haven't seen him since."

A pang of sympathy ran through Cobalt. "Still, I'm sorry. That must have been hard."

"You know how it is in Atlas," Storm replied, "It would've been too lucky for me if both of my parents had accepted me." He shrugged again. "Never needed a dad around anyway."

Something pierced Cobalt deep within him. His chest clenched. "I think…some of us do."

Storm sat up, looking alarmed. "Oh no, I didn't mean- I'm sure your dads are great! I'd love to meet them someday, honestly."

Cobalt shook his head. "No, it's…not that." He hesitated. "I was…thinking about my biological dad."

Sympathy crossed Storm's face. "Oh, I assumed you didn't…did he leave you?"

Cobalt didn't look at him. "Yeah. In a way. But he didn't mean to."

Storm's face fell as he realized what Cobalt was saying. "Oh…"

Again, Cobalt hesitated. He hadn't told this to anyone but Lily and Astra; Luna and his family had already known simply by being around at the time. But even with Lily and Astra, it had been a simple comment; he hadn't gone into detail. It was too hard to think about, let alone talk out loud about. But something compelled him to open up to Storm.

"He was a great guy," He started. "I only have a few memories of him, but everyone always spoke fondly of him. He was sweet, and cheerful, and always had a positive outlook on things. He used to tuck me into bed and read me stories."

Remembering the good times was nice. Comforting, even. For a moment, Cobalt could slip back into the days of his early childhood and forget that anything had ever happened. But then came the hard part.

"When I was four, he left on a huntsman mission, alone. As great as he was, he had a habit of never wanting to drag his friends into anything. When Coco insisted on coming, he told her that he'd still have other solo hunstmen around, so he'd be fine. He was supposed to come back after a few days, but…" He squeezed his eyes shut. "He never did."

"Mom, is daddy home yet?"

"No, sweetie, but I'm sure he'll be back soon. He's probably just fighting a few extra monsters."

"I can't wait for him to get back and tell me the story!"

Storm was staring at him, his face gentle. "Was it…Grimm?"

"No." Slight bitterness grossed over Cobalt's grief. "He was protecting a village from bandits, but when Grimm started showing up, he and the other huntsman decided that everyone needed to be evacuated. When all the villagers were outside, he saw one about to be struck down by a Beowolf, and killed it to save him."

Thinking of what had happened next, his fist curled, and the bitterness grew.

"The villager repaid him by shooting him down where he stood."

Storm's eyes widened. "What? …Why?"

Cobalt stared at the ground. "The official word from the court case is, he got scared. It was dark and raining, and he apparently thought he was one of the bandits." He gritted his teeth. "He said, out loud with no hesitation, that the ears threw him off." Anger pierced through him as hot as when he'd first fully found out about the situation. That his father had been killed, murdered, because a human had seen a faunus, and instantly assumed he must have been some murderous bandit. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

"…Mom? Why are you crying? What's wrong?"

"Cobalt…come here."

"Coco, what's wrong with mom? Why's everyone so sad?"

"Gods, I don't know how to tell you this…Cobalt, your father isn't coming home."

Storm's eyes were wide and sorrowful, filled with regret and pity. "They…profiled him?" He shook his head slowly. "Did…was the killer at least sentenced?"

Cobalt shook his head. That was the worst part, the most infuriating. "Hardly. He did a month. Just one. They deemed it an innocent mistake."

He felt a sudden warmth as Storm wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin between Cobalt's ears. "I'm so sorry, Cobalt."

Under his touch, Cobalt let himself relax. Storm had never held him like this before. He didn't want to risk taking his anger out on him. Forcing away the tears that were welling behind his eyes, he sighed.

"It's…fine. Let's just get back to the questions. Please?" he didn't want to keep thinking about it. He'd only get angrier. And he couldn't risk a breakdown now.

"Of course," Storm let him go. "How about, uhh…somewhere you've always wanted to visit?"

Cobalt took a deep breath, still trying to calm himself. "Uh…Menagerie, probably. I'd love to learn more about my culture."

"Makes sense," Storm replied, nodding. "I don't really know where I'd want to go most." He flashed a small grin at Cobalt. "Just being here with you is pretty nice."

Cobalt scoffed lightly. "Sap." Storm certainly knew how to make him feel better, even if he was incredibly cheesy. "Okay, my turn for a question…do you have a favourite book? Or book series?"

Storm's face lit up. "Oh! There's this great series called The Night Hunters, about two childhood friends who end up on a quest to find this magical stone, and they end up falling in love as the story goes on. It's really cute."

Cobalt winced. He recognized the title. "Ah…" he wasn't really sure how to voice his issue.

"Is something wrong?" Storm asked, catching his uneasiness. "Are you not a fan?"

Cobalt rubbed his neck. "It's just that uh…that series has a habit of portraying faunus in a…pretty bad light. With how one is the main villain of the third and fourth books, and all the others are portrayed as weak and pathetic or shady tricksters…"

Horror crossed Storm's face. "Oh Gods, you're right. I never really thought about it too much, but looking back…"

"There's also the author," Cobalt added. "I remember a few years ago, how they advocated against a law that would prohibit paying faunus workers less than humans because of their species. He's pretty uh…adamant about keeping humans and faunus separate."

Storm looked deeply ashamed. "I remember hearing about that, but I kind of just dismissed it…" he covered his face with his hands. "Ugh, I'm so sorry. I'll get rid of the books, I promise."

"Ah, you probably don't need to stop reading them," Cobalt assured him. "Just try not to, like…promote or support them, or the author."

Storm shook his head insistently. "No, if all that's true, they're not worth reading at all. It's been a long time since I read them anyway." He shrugged. "They're probably not as good as I remember." He paused for a moment, and looked thoughtful. "Though…do you know of any similar series' I could try out? Ones that aren't written by bigots?"

Cobalt grinned, one already coming to mind. "There is, actually. Stonehearts, by K.C. Fisher, a faunus author. I named my weapon after it. It's got the same fetch-quest and childhood friends-to-lovers tropes, except with the bonus of being pretty gay. And one of the main characters is a transgender faunus."

Storm's eyes glowed. "That sounds way better!" he gasped. "I'm going to need you to show me where I can find this series right away."

"I own all of the books!" Cobalt told him, "I can get my mom to bring the first one up here if you want."

"That'd be great!" Storm was looking more enthusiastic by the second. "Ooh, we could have a secret little book club! Just the two of us!"

Something about his excitement was contagious to Cobalt, and he felt a rush of love and warmth grow in his chest. Acting in the moment, he leaned over and kissed Storm on the lips, realizing what he was doing the moment he did so, before pulling back and ducking under one of the bed's blankets in embarrassment, his face burning red.

Why did I do that? What was I thinking? Even Luna and Astra haven't done that yet!

"Hey," A soft chuckle from Storm sounded as the blanket was lifted from his head. "Why don't you come out of there and kiss me properly?"

Oh.

Hesitantly, Cobalt crept out until he was facing Storm again. Slower this time, he leaned, closing his eyes, until his lips met Storm's in a gentle kiss, and his hands rose to brush his face. Storm's did the same, and for a moment, the two sat together that way, soaking each other in as much as they possibly could.

Any residing anger Cobalt had been feeling melted away. This moment was all that mattered right now. There would be time later to dwell on the past, but not now. This moment was his, his, and Storm's. Dark thoughts wouldn't ruin this. Nothing would. In his mind, Cobalt took a snapshot, and saved it away. No matter what happened, this moment would stay with him. His first kiss, with someone he cared about and trusted. With someone who had turned his morals around after realizing he'd hurt him. With someone so divinely amazing that Cobalt couldn't believe his luck.

Angry thoughts about something he couldn't change could wait for another day.