Cobalt woke up slowly, peeking around the classroom to make sure that no one had noticed that he had dozed off before catching the eye of a cute girl who seemed to be looking him over before winking at him, taking him completely off guard. He glanced about looking behind him to make sure that there was no one else that she might be checking out just to see Eliana shaking her head at him.

"She's looking at you," Eliana mouthed. Eliana nodded back at him, giving him the thumbs up before he looked back at the girl again, heart beginning to pick up the pace as she licked her lips slightly to create even more tension, leaning down to scrawl something down on a sheet of paper that laid before her on the desk. She handed it to the student in front of Cobalt, leading him to Cobalt with her eyes and he looked at the note for a long moment before sighing and passing it back. Is this it? Is this finally the moment that I have a girl ask me out on a date? Get a grip Cobalt, at best, maybe she's asking you to lunch. Yeah, I'd be down with that! Girl, I would love to get lunch with you, and maybe I can buy you a soda afterward? No, that's awful, just say yes to lunch… but… Stop it! Why am I arguing with myself?

He looked the note over, sweat beading as he attempted to open it in his shaking grip. Maybe it's not anything like that. She's probably going to ask me to pass it to Elli. She's cute, and Elli's cute… that's hot… yeah, better that it is for Eliana… No damn it! I deserve to have a turn at all of this nonsense! Dating and what not! All that I've gotten so far this year was seeing second base with Tawney! Maybe I could try with Tawney again, she did have really nice… No! Focus! Tawney's a good friend and teammate and this girl… Cobalt glanced up at her and she nodded eagerly. … She's easily a nine, maybe even a ten. Open the note dumbass! Cobalt psyched himself out, tearing it open and glaring at it.

"I'm not wearing any clothes?" Cobalt read. He glanced down, finally realizing that he was only in his boxers, folding his arms and slamming his head against the desk. "I'm still asleep!"

"Those are the best kind of dreams, aren't they?" the girl asked. "The world has to bow to your whim, you can do whatever you like." Cobalt smirked before massaging his temples

"Yeah, but this fan fiction is PG-13 so we've got to keep things on the cleaner side," Cobalt said before snapping, now wearing a suit and holding a dozen roses. "Yeah, we can work with this." He leapt out of his seat and presented the flowers to the girl, raising his eyebrows as he held one in his teeth.

"You're quite the charmer," she replied taking the flowers.

"Oh, I can charm," Cobalt informed her. He reached back, grabbing a bottle of sparkling water from behind his back. "Eh?" You're still in the classroom you know… "I can fix that." He snapped, throwing his arms out as the desk was replaced with a table clothed setting, candles lit in the middle as Cobalt poured the girl a glass of champagne. Eliana pulled out his seat wearing dress pants and a white button-up, accented with a dapper vest as she pushed him in and offered them menus.

"So what's the line of work that you're in?" She asked.

"Too far," Cobalt noted. Too far? What do you mean? "I'd rather that we're still in school."

"So what do you like doing in your free time?" She asked. He nodded.

"I'm a bit of an inventor, the head of Team CBLT, second only to NITE in the first year rankings," Cobalt told her. Second? You could have said first. You do realize how dreams work, don't you? "I have to maintain some realism. Go away until I need you." Sure, yeah, why not? Eliana brought them their food, setting their plates before them before looking at the girl.

"He watches those lewd anime videos too," Eliana whispered.

"Hey!" Cobalt shouted. You said you wanted to maintain realism… "Let me run this thing!"

"Is everything alright?" His date asked. "You keep talking to yourself."

"I'm fine," Cobalt denied with a smile. "Never better! What say we move on to dessert early?" I won't write that. "Actual dessert…" Ohhhhh…

"I'm going to go freshen up, I'll be right back," she said nervously. He nodded, leaping up to let her out before sitting back down, fidgeting his fingers. She's not coming back, you know that, right?

"I'm ignoring you," Cobalt growled. "Nothing good has come from arguing with you."

"Cobalt?" Neela asked from across the restaurant as she entered and noted him. The place was now populated, light bistro music played and Eliana was replaced with some faceless crony. Cobalt glanced about.

"Hey, Neela!" He responded without trying to seem confused. Cobalt turned to the side and muttered. "What's happening?" That train wreck was about to hit a dead end and you've complained once before that I never let you have a happy ending during these scenes, you should be grateful.

"I can't believe that you were able to get a reservation here on a Saturday night, it's always packed!" Neela exclaimed. He grinned and leaned back, brushing off his shoulder as he chuckled and took a swig of his alcohol.

"It was nothing, really," Cobalt admitted. "A man as powerful as me is preferred here, it only boosts the image of the restaurant, they actually removed another reservation just to get me in here." That's what I'm talking about. The waiter returned with gelato, placing it on the table before bowing away and Neela stared it down hungrily.

"You remembered our date here!" Neela exclaimed.

"Why don't we do this more often?!" Cobalt asked. You've heard the phrase 'too much of a good thing', right?

"That's what I'm asking," Neela said eating her food happily. She leaned across the table and smiled devilishly. "What do you say we leave this place and have some fun?"

"Not with Neela," Cobalt said snapping. Monika perhaps. "Huh?" Just Monika. "I don't get it." Who then?

"Me?" Eliana asked licking her lips replacing Neela.

"Eh…"

"I'm more than you can handle," Ilia said as Eliana transformed into her, standing up and leaving the table. You're really blowing through your options.

"I'm having a moment!" Cobalt declared. And you always blame me for that. "Shut up!"

"Cobalt-kun?" Bái said sheepishly as she sat down. Cobalt shook his head. You already said no to Tawney.

"You don't have anyone else?" Cobalt asked. Hmmm… you haven't met any of these yet… Ah! Yes!

"Team NITE tells me that you were looking for a little extra credit," Glynda said sitting down, her cheeks flush from drinking. Cobalt stood to leave.

"I'm actually gonna pass on this one too…" He began before Glynda used her semblance to force him back into his seat. "Or not, okay, this is happening…"

"What's happening?" Glynda asked. He blinked and the classroom was back, he sat alone in the front in the only desk in the entire lecture hall, Glynda placing a large stack of paper onto the surface before him. "Extra credit, Mr. Thénard." Cobalt laughed nervously before slumping into his seat.

"Alright, actual extra credit," Cobalt sighed in relief. He looked the papers over, noting that the majority of the stack was blank. "This was the perfect moment for a reference from The Shining." Is that where you'd like to go next? "Nope! No! Fine, thanks!" Halfway down the stack, the papers began to populate with images that he caused him to double-take. "Are these?"

"No speaking in detention, Mr. Thénard," Glynda shouted from her desk. Lewds of Ivory. You should be thanking me. I'm just the author, everything else that happens without your consent is just your subconscious.

"Can we start this whole thing over?" Cobalt asked. If that's what you want. "Let's do that and see what happens…"

"Cobalt!" Neela shouted out of breath as she tore open the door to his room, body heaving as she appeared to have run quite some distance to get there. "You realize that the graduation ceremony is today, right? If you aren't there in person, Mama isn't going to promote you to symbiote!" She took off again down the hall and he glanced out, looking the room over before looking his getup over, some kind of school uniform of sorts with an ugly looking tie.

"This feels like some kind of copy cat thing," Cobalt shouted back. "Have I seen this anime?" He chased after her for a long moment, losing her as she slid into the locker rooms, stopping him in his tracks. "The hell is going on here?" Titus shoved him into the locker room, nearly knocking him off of his feet as he began stripping down to his boxers.

"Don't think that you're better than the rest of us just because you were some kind of prodigy back at the Orchard," Titus bit harshly.

"Just because you change a word occasionally doesn't make this any less shameless of a ripoff," Cobalt shouted. "This is just ******* in the ****xx!"

"Shut up and get in the damn mech, Cobalt!" Lykos shouted at him. Cobalt shook his head and sighed as he got dressed and headed out for the ceremony. He glanced out, noting Bái standing at the end of the dock and he groaned as he chased after her.

"Right, yeah, of course," Cobalt muttered.

"Don't blame yourself," Bái told him. "You're a great pilot and I was just dead weight."

"That's not true, but if the rest of this keeps going like I imagine it will…" Cobalt began before a large mechanical glowing organism burst forth from the earth, interrupting the ceremony and shaking the entire Homestead.

"It's a Grimmosaur!" Bái screamed.

"Shameless!" Cobalt wailed. The beast screamed, red trails of smoke steaming from it's shifting and morphing body as an animalistic mech burst from the earth and crashed into the Grimm.

"Is that an Ozz?" Bái asked him.

"I'm gonna guess that's what we're calling it," Cobalt noted as he slid down the side of the structure, leaping off and landing on its back as he forced it open. Tawney looked back at him with wild and black eyes, her Aura throwing a dark figure that lingered in the air and floated to him, taking his face in its hands.

"You wanna ride me, huh?" Tawney asked with a smirk.

"Honestly, at this point, I think I'm just here to suffer," Cobalt offered. She kissed him before he passed out, the animal transforming into a large humanoid with pointed sunglasses and a drill.

"This is the drill that will pierce the Grimm!" Tawney shouted.

"Kill me now," Cobalt groaned. You're the one that wanted to start this whole thing over, I only did what you asked. "Waking me up is an okay alternative. I was kind of enjoying the first one before you showed up."

As you wish…

Ilia sat at the small round table as the kitchen around her was filled with life and constant movement, amazed with the interaction taking place around her as Blaine sat across from her, his fists propping his chin up as he stared at her amazed, sighing before looking back at his father who was busy helping Pyrrha finish breakfast.

"Is she an angel?" Blaine asked, pointing back at Ilia who blushed slightly and chuckled. She reached out and rubbed Blaine's head, causing him to reach up and push her hand away, hiding his face in his arms as he waited for an answer. Jaune looked at Pyrrha who beamed at him and he chuckled.

"Just like your mother," Jaune replied, turning off the stovetop and pulling the last of the bacon out of the frying pan. "But you might want to try someone a little younger." Ilia looked at the plate that Jaune set down in front of her, eggs, toast, and bacon, something within her turned violently and she bit her lip, holding back sudden emotions that she was unaware of. It was just breakfast, why did it mean more than she could ever hope to express? Ilia inhaled slowly, attempting to keep her tears at bay as Blaine went crazy on his food, prompting a scolding from Pyrrha. He quickly apologized, carrying on with eating in a more civilized manner.

"Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked as she sat down, noting that Ilia hadn't touched her food yet. Ilia nodded, laughing as she ate a forkful of the eggs that melted in her mouth. It was delicious.

"Yeah," Ilia replied. "It's amazing. I just don't want the two of you to put yourselves out on my account." Jaune stared sternly at her.

"I never want you to think that's the case, Ilia," Jaune told her. "We might be your teachers, but we care about you just as much as your friends do." Jaune's expression softened and he smiled as he took a large bite and shoved it into his maw. "Besides, it's impossible not to like Pyrrha's cooking." Pyrrha blushed.

"You helped too, Jaune," Pyrrha reminded him. He waved her off.

"I might have seven sisters, but I was pretty useless in the kitchen before you came around," Jaune laughed. Pyrrha joined him, giggling at a memory that she recalled.

"You did almost burn the apartment down once trying to bake a cake," Pyrrha chuckled.

"Hey!" Jaune shouted. "I got a little distracted!" Ilia smiled and laughed.

"What happened?" She questioned.

"He forgot to add the wet ingredients," Pyrrha said before bursting out into harder laughter.

"Just a little distracted?" Ilia repeated.

"Yeah," Jaune admitted rubbing his face. "That's the reason why Ren won't let me cook together at team reunions." Pyrrha smiled.

"We're so glad that you could join us for breakfast, Ilia," Pyrrha said. "If there's anything that you ever want to talk about, Jaune and I are here for you." Ilia nodded and felt a warmth come over her. This seemed familiar… something that she'd forgotten from long ago, even if she couldn't quite place it.

"Thank you," Ilia replied. "I appreciate it." Pyrrha continued to beam at her before looking back down at her plate and eating once again. They sat in silence for a while, Ilia appreciating their company before her scroll went off and she checked the messages.

"Who was that?" Pyrrha pried. "If you don't mind me asking."

"My boyfriend," Ilia responded. "Vin."

"Good kid," Jaune said. "Parents are rich so he can be a bit spoiled at times, but he's a pretty good egg." Blaine groaned.

"I thought you weren't going to make dad jokes at the table anymore," Blaine complained.

"I didn't go bacon any rules, did I?" Jaune asked with a smirk as Blaine slumped further down into his seat.

"Stop," Blaine moaned.

"Bet you wish you were bread right about now," Jaune chortled.

"Help me!" Blaine pleaded.

"Jaune," Pyrrha scolded.

"Orange you glad I left the juice out of this?" Jaune finished. They all stared at him for a long moment before he shrugged. "What? I'm done." Pyrrha rolled her eyes and Blaine examined his food, poking and prodding at it with his fork before continuing his meal, Ilia's scroll lit up with another message.

"Do you need to go?" Pyrrha asked.

"He just wants me to head down to the beach house to talk about our plans for dinner tonight," Ilia replied putting the scroll down. "It can wait." They nodded to her.

"How was the cookout that you guys had on the beach the other day?" Jaune asked. "I overheard Eliana talking about it to a few people." Ilia chuckled.

"Knowing Eliana, she was probably telling everyone as loudly as she possibly could," Ilia told them. "But it was good. We were there with CBLT, IVRY, and the girls that we saved out in Mistral. We danced for a bit, did some swimming, ate some amazing food, and slept like a rock when we got back to the dorms. It was really fun."

"Good to hear," Jaune said. "It's always nice to hear when you kids are having fun, we didn't get to have that for very long."

"How long did it last?" Ilia questioned.

"Pyrrha was 'killed' about halfway through the first year of school," Jaune noted. "We walked all the way to Mistral, except for taking a boat to cross the ocean, and then trekked all the way across Atlas… everything after that is just kind of a blur, but nevertheless, our fun stopped then. Oh sure, we had moments along the way that were nice, I'm not saying that once you finish school that life can't still be grand. I'm just saying that since there's no risk of the same happening to you kids, you should enjoy school life to the fullest."

"We did a lot in that time though," Pyrrha pointed out. "We had a dance, a few tournament fights, a food fight, we took on that Orochi with Team RWBY…"

"I thought they decided on calling that thing a Hydra," Jaune brought up. Pyrrha smirked and shrugged.

"It could be either," Pyrrha offered.

"Now you're just old and boring," Blaine chimed in.

"You take that back," Jaune demanded, puffing out his chest. "I'm not old."

"You're not boring," Pyrrha insisted, rubbing his shoulder. He smiled before kissing her.

"Thanks," Jaune said kissing her again. Blaine leapt up from the table and ran off.

"Gross!" He shouted.

"Someone day you'll enjoy it too!" Jaune informed him. Ilia's scroll sounded for a third time and the Arcs looked at her again.

"Really, you can go if you need to," Pyrrha assured her. "We were more than happy to have you with us this morning." Ilia stood up and nodded to them.

"Thanks," she said as she grabbed her bag and quickly headed out the door.

"Your welcome!" Pyrrha called out in her typical singsong tone. Jaune stretched, standing slowly as he removed his shield from its stand and headed for the door.

"Guess I'll be on my way too," he began. Pyrrha used her semblance to lock the door as he grabbed the handle and jerked on it.

"Jaune," Pyrrha started walking towards him. "Isn't it your turn to do the dishes?" He laughed nervously.

"You're right, how could I forget," Jaune said setting down his shield and heading back to the kitchen.

"Hello?!" Came a call from the hallway. Pyrrha opened the door, revealing Nora and Ren on the other side, Nora leaping into the room with her hand over her eyes, scanning for Blaine. "I said, 'Hello!?'" The child tore out of the bedroom, leaping at Nora who scooped him up and they beat up on each other.

"Hello!" Pyrrha greeted them. "Are you ready for our day at the spa?" Nora chuckled as she slammed Blaine against the couch who audibly grunted.

"Am I!?" Nora asked.

"She's been going on about it all week," Ren added.

"I haven't been that excited," Nora laughed waving Ren off.

"She slept with cucumbers on her eyes last night," Ren pointed out.

"I wanted a midnight snack, I already told you that I get hungry and don't want to wake you," Nora insisted shoving him.

"So she ate the ones on her eyes and went to the kitchen for replacements," Ren noted. Nora shrugged.

"Okay, maybe I'm… a little excited," Nora confessed. She grappled Blaine who leapt at her before slamming him against the sofa again and tickling him. "There's no escaping the talons of Aunt Nora!"

"Help!" Blaine called out.

"You're on your own kid," Ren said.

"But I have work today," Jaune told them looking at Pyrrha.

"Ren offered to watch Blaine," Pyrrha mentioned as she grabbed her purse and prepared to leave. "You still need to finish the dishes though." She kissed him before heading for the door.

"Uncle Ren and I are going to meditate," Blaine called out through Nora's assault.

"And I might show him some things about being a ninja," Ren added with a smirk. Nora turned to Ren, kissing him on the cheek before placing her finger on his nose.

"Boop!" She declared before leaving with Pyrrha and closing the door. Blaine looked at Ren and nodded.

"Want to let me watch tv while you read a book?" Blaine asked. Ren nodded back in approval.

"Totally."

Maybe someday Cobalt will have some normal dreams for a change? Nah. Next week, Chapter 118 - Cobalt's Compromise!

A big thank you to Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!