"So, how many plants do you have now?" Luna asked, peering at the array of plants around Lily and Cobalt's bunk. There was a large fern between the desk and the bed, a few flowering shrubs along the foot of the bed, and some potted ivy hung on the wall underneath the top bed. Lily had brought in an actual lily plant once but had removed it after finding out that Luna was allergic.

"This isn't actually that many," Lily replied from where she lay on the bed. "I've got a bunch more at home. My mom's looking after them." She gazed sadly at the fern. "I think this one needs to go soon though," She climbed off the bed and crouched beside the plant, running her hands over the yellowing fronds. "It's not getting the sunlight it needs in here."

Luna frowned. "That's a shame," She replied. "It's really pretty."

Astra looked down at Lily from where she was perched on her bed. "You seem awfully sad about a plant." She commented.

Lily gave a half-smile. "I know it's just a plant, but I like taking care of them. It kind of gives me…a sense of purpose, I guess." She sighed softly. "I always feel like I've failed them when they start dying."

"Oh," Astra responded. "Well, now I kind of feel bad." She rested her chin on the wooden railing of the bed. "Poor little plant."

Lily sat back on the bed. "I'll give it a few more days, see how it goes. It might still pull through."

Luna hoped it would. Not because she felt any attachment to the plant in the same way Lily did, but because she had grown to quite dislike seeing her teammates upset.

"Is that what you named yourself for?" Astra asked suddenly.

Luna glanced up at her, momentarily confused.

"It is, actually," Lily replied. "They were my favourite flower around that time."

Oh, right. It had never even crossed Luna's mind that the two girls would have picked their own names.

"It was a good choice," Astra complimented. "It's really pretty."

Lily smiled. "Thanks," She replied. "What about you? If that's okay to ask." She added quickly. "It's okay if you don't want to say anything."

Astra chuckled. "Nah, you're good." She sat up, almost hitting her head on the roof. "Astra was my princess name as a kid," She explained. "I already used it for myself before I knew, so when I realized, it just felt right."

Luna didn't know how to compliment her without coming off as patronizing. "It suits you," She settled for, "It's really bright and pretty."

"Aaaww!" Astra grinned. "You think I'm pretty, Luna?"

SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT.

She had not meant to come across that blatantly. Her minds raced as she searched for a response, not helped by Lily smirking at her in amusement.

"W-well, yeah," She managed. "I think lots of people are pretty." Unseen to Astra, she slammed her head into her pillow. Stupid! She cursed herself. She could practically feel Lily's amused grin. Actually, she could feel Lily's amusement, along with a wave of pity and exasperation that practically screamed 'when are these two hopeless lesbians going to figure things out'. Luna wished she knew the answer to that.

Upon hearing the dorm door open, she felt a rush of gratitude towards whoever had saved her from this embarrassment, but when she peered around the bedpost to see who it was and saw a tear-stained Cobalt standing in the doorway, the feeling vanished.

"Cobalt!" She gasped. She threw herself off the bed and rushed up to him as he stood, his face red and washed in pain. "What happened?"

Cobalt just shook his head, tears still flooding down his face.

Luna wrapped her arm around him. "Hey, come on." She led him to her bed and sat down with him, letting him lean against her. She rubbed his back as Astra leaped down from the bed and Lily came over to sit on Cobalt's other side.

"Astra was right," Cobalt sobbed at last. "They're exactly like she said they were."

Astra narrowed her eyes. "What did they do to you?" She growled.

Cobalt sniffed and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his suit. "They seemed so nice and then…then they brought up what happened again," More tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and Luna could feel his intense sorrow, mixed with frustration. "They took the middle ground; said that they didn't deserve suspension when I suggested it." He bared his teeth, anger flashing over his face. "They implied that faunus were to blame for everything that's happened to us."

Sympathy and anger battled in Luna's gut. "Oh, Co…" She wrapped her arms around him as he wept against her, shaking slightly. "I'm so sorry."

Fury was coming off Astra in waves. "I wanted so badly to believe they'd changed," She sighed.

"I should have listened to you," Cobalt replied, his voice breaking. "You tried to warn me, and I wouldn't listen."

Astra knelt to the ground in front of him, grabbing one of his hands. "Hey," She insisted. "It's not your fault. They should have changed. It's not on you that they didn't."

"She's right," Lily added, her hand on Cobalt's shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for someone else being an ass."

"But I should have seen it coming!" Cobalt protested.

"No, it isn't," Astra replied fiercely. "You're a sweet guy; it's not your fault that you want to see the best in people. They're the one who broke your trust."

Cobalt didn't respond, only closing his eyes and swallowing.

"I can beat him up for you," Astra said, in complete seriousness. "Do you need me to do that?"

Cobalt shook his head. "It won't fix anything."

It broke Luna's heart to see him in such despair when he'd always been the one she'd leaned on for support. She wrapped her tail around his arm, the same gesture she often used to comfort herself.

"I'll tell you what," She told him softly. "We're going to make a nice, home-cooked meal and stay up in our pyjamas to do whatever you want, like a little slumber party. Does that sound okay?"

Cobalt sniffed again. "That…does sound nice." He admitted.

Luna smiled. "Great," She replied. "Let's get started on that then, huh?"

Lily stood up. "I can cook something," She offered. "My mom and I used to cook together all the time. I can get stuff from the cafeteria if I need to."

Astra bounced to her feet. "I can find a board game for us to play!" She announced. "Or cards if you prefer. I've got a whole bunch."

Cobalt didn't look at her, his gaze fixed numbly on the floor. "You can pick."

Luna wrapped him in a tight hug, wishing she could see her best friend smile again. "Hey, we're gonna cheer you up," She promised. "You deserve to be happy."

Cobalt leaned into her again, sighing. "Thanks, Lune."

"Come on, now," Luna stood up. "Your eyeliner's running. Let's go get you cleaned up while these two do their thing."

Nodding shakily, Cobalt followed her into the bathroom as Astra began to sift through the games she had in a shelf and Astra began to look through the kitchen cupboards. Soaking a handtowel with warm water, Luna began to dab at his face, wiping away the mix of tears and eyeliner that coated his cheeks.

"It's been a while since you've had to do this, huh?" Cobalt said at last, his voice still sounding strained.

"Hm," Luna gave him a soft smile. "Not since your last heartbreak." She could still vividly remember how torn up Cobalt had been when his boyfriend in combat school had ditched him for another boy, how he'd cried to her and she'd done her best to comfort him without really knowing how.

Cobalt sighed. "I just…I was really started to think this time would be different." He stared at the floor. "They were so sweet, and they seemed so happy to be there with me." His eyes narrowed. "And then they went and dropped that on me. It's not fair."

Luna wiped his eyes with the cloth, as gently as she could. "I know it's not," She replied softly. "You didn't deserve it. They don't know what they're missing." She rinsed the cloth and gave him a dry towel to dry his face with. "But hey," She added with a smile. "You've still got us."

Finally, Cobalt gave her a small smile. "I know I do. And I'm grateful."

Luna placed a hand on his shoulder, happy to see him starting to perk up. "Now, come on," She encouraged. "Let's go and have some fun."

The two of them headed back into the main room, greeted by Astra, who announced she'd selected three different games for them to play. In the kitchen, Astra was already slicing potatoes and had pulled out some frozen chicken. Luna felt a rush of love for them. Just a little over a month ago, she'd been worried about spending time with them, especially Astra. But now, now they truly felt like her friends. More importantly, they were Cobalt's friends too. And they were all going to make sure he forgot about that two-faced asshole.