Cobalt lay on his bed and stared up at the roof. There was a tiny crack next to the wall, thin enough that it could have been drawn with a pencil. He imagined actually turning it into an illustration, but he had a feeling drawing on school property wasn't allowed.
The rest of his team were out at lunch, but he'd not felt like it. For the past few weeks, he'd stayed mostly in the dorm outside of classes, lacking the energy or motivation to do anything else. He was so scared of running into Storm every time he left the dorm and having to chare classes with them was a nightmare. They wouldn't even look at him.
The others had done their best to help him and he'd been grateful for it. Sometimes, they were enough to get him to forget for a little while, but he always remembered again and it always hurt to think about.
So, he lay alone and stared at the roof, waiting for the day his feelings would go numb and vanish.
His moping was interrupted by a knock on the wall and he peered over the bed's railing in confusion; the team never knocked before coming in.
Coco stood in the doorway, looking up at him. Even though she was wearing her glasses, he could see the concern on her face.
"Oh, hey," He greeted her, pretending not to know why she was here. "Did you need something?"
"No," Coco pulled off her glasses, her gaze fixed on him. "But I think you do."
Cobalt looked away. "It's fine."
Coco gazed at him. "I know you better than that, Cobalt," She replied. "I haven't seen you this miserable since that boy in combat school broke your heart. What happened?"
Cobalt sighed. "I just…I don't want to cause any problems." It would be just like Coco to start treating Storm harshly if she found out and while he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea, it wasn't something he wanted to be known for. People would easily connect it to him and people would assume he was some petty guy who used being family with an authority figure to his advantage.
Coco leaned stubbornly against the wall. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong," She insisted. "You're my kid, I'm not just going to stand by while you're upset."
Cobalt there was no point in trying to get her to leave; she'd stand there all day if she had to, and a small part of him decided that he could use motherly comfort right now anyway.
"Okay, he relented, climbing down from the bed and sitting on Lily's. "But promise me you won't overreact."
Coco widened her eyes innocently. "Would I do that?" At the glare Cobalt gave her, she became serious again. "I won't, I promise." She came over and sat beside him. "So? What's going on?"
It hurt Cobalt to think about, but he dove into the story anyway. "I had a crush on someone for a while, another student. They seemed really nice and a few weeks ago they asked me out."
Coco's eyes narrowed. "Did they stand you up?" She asked sharply.
"Mom," Cobalt reminded her.
Coco backed down. "Right. Keep going."
Cobalt sighed. "They didn't stand me up. The date was going great, but then…" He poured into what had happened, Coco's face growing darker as he did. A flicker of guilt crossed her face when he brought up that he wished they'd been suspended.
"So, I've been trying to avoid them," Cobalt finished. "Seeing them around after that, it's just…it's hard."
"Oh, honey," Coco pulled Cobalt into a hug. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. Does your team know?"
Cobalt nodded against her. "They've been doing their best to help me through it." Since that night, all three girls had been showering him in affection and still giving him space when he needed it. He appreciated it, but he wished it was doing more to lift his spirits than it was.
"Well, at least you had someone," Coco sighed. "I wish I'd come and spoken to you earlier, though."
"It's okay," Cobalt assured her. "I'm glad you gave me the space."
Coco released him from the hug and sighed again. "You're right about Rowan and Birch," She admitted. "I should have done more to punish them." She narrowed her eyes. "If they ever do anything like that again, I'll be discussing suspension with Glynda."
Slight alarm pulsed into Cobalt. "You don't need to!" He insisted. "I don't need special treatment."
"It isn't special treatment," Coco replied firmly. "I said that discrimination wouldn't be tolerated here, and I need to follow through with that. You aren't the only one they're hurting."
"Okay, just…" Cobalt looked away. "Don't do anything about Storm. If you start giving them a hard time just for this, people are going to start jumping to conclusions."
"I know," Coco admitted. "But, if I'm being honest, I don't think I'll need to."
Cobalt blinked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
"You hadn't noticed?" Coco seemed surprised before she seemed to realize. "Oh, I suppose you wouldn't have if you've been avoiding them. But they've been studying faunus rights lately," She explained. "I see them in the library, reading books and looking stuff up about it. I've caught them asking Ilia outside of class too. I wasn't sure why they were so interested until now."
Cobalt stared. "You think…they're trying to learn more?"
"I can't say for sure what their intentions are, but it'd make sense," Coco replied. "They've been at it for a couple of weeks now."
Cobalt's head spun. Could it really be that he'd gotten through to Storm after all? That they were trying to be better? Was it a ploy to get him back, or was he really trying to improve?
"Thank you," He said to Coco. "For telling me this. I think…I think I should try talking to them. Maybe I brushed them off too soon."
Coco placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, nobody can blame you for getting angry. You were completely in the right."
Cobalt nodded. "I know, but…I think if they're trying to be better, I should hear them out. Especially when they've had the decency to leave me alone when I asked."
"If you're sure," Coco responded. "It could be a good idea. I think they're having lunch in the cafeteria. Do you want me to walk there with you?"
Cobalt couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the offer. "No, it's okay. I can do it myself."
Coco smiled warmly at him. "I keep forgetting that you don't need me for everything anymore."
Cobalt wrapped her in a tight hug. "There are some things I'm always going to need you for," He assured her. "I love you, mom."
Coco hugged him back. "Love you too, kiddo."
With a goodbye, Cobalt headed to the cafeteria. He hadn't been there in so long that the crowded-ness was almost overwhelming, but he regained his nerves before too long.
At least, until he saw Storm, sitting with Yarrow at the side of the room. Notably, they weren't with Rowan or Birch; a good sign. Cobalt wasn't sure how Yarrow felt about faunus, but he'd at least never acted out towards them. In all honesty, the short boy was rather quiet and just tended to stick to Storm.
Taking a deep breath, he walked over.
Yarrow's eyes widened as he saw him and he nudged, Storm, who looked up and froze in the spot.
"Uh, h-hey Cobalt," They managed. "It's um…good to see you."
Cobalt glanced at Yarrow. "Could you give us the space to talk?" He asked, trying to be polite.
Yarrow blinked. "Oh, uh- yeah, of course." He grabbed his tray and stood up. "I'll go…eat outside or something."
Once he was gone, Cobalt blinked down at Storm. "Do you mind if I sit?"
Storm shifted in their chair, looking nervous. "Yeah, sure. I don't mind."
Cobalt sat across from them. Neither looked at each other in the eye. After a moment of awkward silence, Cobalt spoke.
"My mom- Coco, I mean- told me what you'd been doing," He said. "Is it true that you've been doing research on faunus rights?"
Storm stared at the table. "Yeah, I…I've been thinking a lot about what you said. You were right. I didn't know anything about faunus or what you guys have been through." They managed to look up at Cobalt. "I've been wrong to do what I did in the past. I'm so sorry for all of it."
Cobalt wished he couldn't already feel his heart warming. He had to be safe about this. "I'm glad you're trying," He replied. "Not many others would."
Storm rubbed their neck. "Yeah, I've…been trying to get the others to learn too. Yarrow's been doing okay, but Rowan and Birch have been giving us hell for it." A look of frustration crossed their face. "I just don't get why they're so unwilling to learn. So much stuff they think they know is just…wrong."
"That's how it usually is," Cobalt explained. "Some people are too small-minded to ever acknowledge that what they've grown up learning could be wrong."
"I guess I've been small-minded too," Storm admitted. "No, I know I have been. It's just…the way it is in Atlas. I know that's no excuse though." They added on. "But man, I just…it's crazy. I would always hear so much about the humans the faunus have killed in the wars, but nobody ever told me that almost every instance of it came after humans had slaughtered even more of them. Did you know that?"
Cobalt smiled wryly. "Yeah, it's…kind of common knowledge with us."
Storm looked down. "Right, yeah. That makes sense." They sighed, before looking back up at Cobalt, regret and guilt swimming in their eyes. "Cobalt, I'm just…I'm so sorry. Not just for what I've done to you, but the harm I've caused to anyone else. I wish I'd realized sooner how wrong I was."
"At least you did realize," Cobalt assured them. "It may not be enough to make up for the past, but it's good that you're trying." He hesitated before adding cautiously, "So long as you're doing it for the right reasons."
"Don't worry," Storm amended quickly. "I understand if you're not interested in me anymore and that's not why I'm doing this. I want to be better. For everyone, not just you. I promise."
Cobalt could hear the sincerity in their voice. Part of him wanted to admit that his feelings still lingered, but he knew better. He still couldn't dismiss what Storm had done and had had to be careful.
"I appreciate that," He replied. "I hope you can keep following through," He though for a moment, before relenting to admitting the truth. "I'm not ready to try things again with you, but…maybe one day."
Storm smiled back. "It's okay if you don't," They assured him. "I don't mind if I can't ever be in a relationship with you. But I'd like your respect, at least. Once I earn it."
Cobalt smiled gently at them. "You're getting there, don't worry." At the very least, this was a start.
