Capitolo Secondo: Ambizione (22)

Robert E.O. Speedwagon, a man of morals and duty.

Growing up in one of the worst places in London, Ogre Street, Speedwagon soon learned that life was never an easy thing. He lived in the slums, he learned from the experience made there and his perception of humanity, albeit driven by goodness first and foremost, is a realist one. Good men exist as much as there are bad ones. He once lost himself into the purest form of dismay before being ‘found’ by them. First Hannah, then Dio. There were many things that Robert could say to his benefactors, but one thing he never told them was how bad the situation had been had he not been ‘found’. There were many things Speedwagon regretted about his life decisions, but the one of joining Dio was easily the furthest thing from that. Sure, things were never as normal as they used to be before he joined Made in Heaven, but it would be wrong to assume he didn’t like the strangeness of his work. It was a constant flux of novelty that always grasped his sense of adventure and coaxed him into becoming better to face the dangers or even the good days with a proud smile on his face. He trained, he worked, he gained praises, or was chided depending on his work’s pace. Diligent to a fault, but also laid back and quick to enjoy breaks when one was conceded by him.

Robert Speedwagon was also a loyal friend to those that cherished him as a good one themselves. He was a staunch promoter of the notion that friendship, just like all bonds, was born from mutual understanding and care. Respect from two or more individuals regarding the qualities but also the flaws of the others. Dio was the one that reached out for him despite Robert’s earlier intentions to just be a subordinate. He really thought he would have met the usual snot-nosed weakling that had managed to luck it out and get adopted in a wealthy family. What Robert didn’t know was that Dio was much more than just that. His mind, his drive, and then his physical grasp of anatomy. He was good, too good. It felt like a dream when he asked him to be his friend. Not because he didn’t expect to be asked after catching the oddly positive smell coming from him. No, it was the way he asked for it. So calm, so well-practiced, so convinced, so truthful. Speedwagon could only shudder at the memory. It was so easy to remember, that moment burned in his mind when it first unfolded.

Years passed since he first met them, since he joined MiH, and the man could find no reason to be frustrated with his life. The pay was great, the slums were slowly turning into something nicer through the recent politics unfolding thanks to Dio, and he had started to find girls that were actively courting him back home. He was an eligible bachelor, his scars were considered ‘proof’ of his toughness and his charisma moderated that very sense of roughness to something that women ‘liked’. Dio had explained to him that ladies preferred strong men that knew of restraint, and that it was why many noblemen had grown interested in having him take their daughters as brides. It was concerning at times, but since he was shielded by his boss in case of negative responses at his refusals, he didn’t put too much worry on it. Not when life was already as difficult as it was on a normal basis. So, when Dio mentioned a holiday of work in the US, he thought that it would have meant less worries to face as he would have to work to keep the foothold they had gained in Boston. A few weeks later, Robert could say that it had been an unplanned lie from his boss.

He didn’t blame it on him, not when this adventure came out of nowhere and he couldn’t refuse it. Robert wouldn’t have refused to help himself, not when the situation was presented the way it did. He waited for the situation to be fine in Boston before departing to catch up with the small group embarked for New York. What followed next was a crazy trip across the US. From New York to California. Many foes, all driven to act against them or hired from those that suffered the inequity of the nation by the very same individual. Their mission was clear despite their differences: someone was planning to kill Dio, kill them, and then obtain the means to conquer the world. It was unacceptable, and thus Speedwagon fought forth together with his allies. Some were known companions, but he made new ones along the way. People he could trust, a smell and he knew that Dio found new gems in the rough… minus Kate. In fact, it felt incredibly odd when, as he compared her scent to Dio, Robert had a bit of trouble to differentiate the two. Something bound them to each other, but he knew it was nothing for Hannah to worry about. It was platonic at best, maybe even just close friendship at that.

Currently they were returning inside the borders of Texas, taking a stop in Amarillo. Robert was numbly nodding as he finished listening to Derek as he mentioned that he had visited this city before, and how their wines were quite unique. Speedwagon had learned to rely on the cowboy when it came to wine, mostly because the man had made it a mission for himself to check the bars of the cities he visited. Something that Robert had picked up as his own hobby during the trip as he had been incredibly curious about the differences between European vineyards and those grown in North America. There were a couple of differences, specifically those cities that were once owned by France and Spain as there were some hints that connected to their former overlords’ methods of producing the beverage. It was a fascinating experiment, one that was of course driven by some moderation as Robert didn’t have any interest in staying drunk all the time. After going out with the Stand User to seek their lonely space of comfort by the local bar, Robert took a moment to gauge the overall situation of the town. Amarillo was one of the least populated cities they had visited. It had been recently incorporated since the local population was around 500 at this point and time, and the local bar was smaller than the two blonds could have predicted. Despite the few signs that would suggest that there wasn’t going to be much about it, Robert was still surprised by the warm welcome that the owner and the workers at the bar provided at the ‘strangers’ of the day.

They were given quick service and Robert was also stunned by the quality of the alcohol and the service itself. Derek praised the place much to two waitresses’ amusement, but he made it clear he was ‘already taken and not planning to annoy the missus with anything crazy’, which limited the flirting by a lot. One also tried to approach Robert with a friendly but overall flirty behavior, but he didn’t feel confident enough to make a move here and now. Not with alcohol already in him and putting him in the worst situation to handle that kind of attention. He was no light-weight, but he had seen and heard of men making too many mistakes with too much booze in their body, and how that could easily end up with regrets and worse. So, Robert did the best thing he could and, after quickly paying for his current orders, he decided to take a ‘smoke break’ to clear up his mind. Derek nodded, a bit annoyed by this but understanding a point that they had already discussed about. Robert didn’t enjoy smokes… much. But the scent of a lit cigar taken from time to time was something that cleared up his mind and gave him something for his thoughts to get too messy and conflicting with one another. He was about to get one going when he tensed up at the loud noise of struggle, but also at the dread-filled shriek of a woman struggling against a drunk man in front of the bar’s entrance.

“Shut up! Don’t ya see ye’re making a fuss out of nothing? Ye're gonna be my wife, regardless of what you think.”

The screaming continued, and Robert decided to investigate further. His eyes narrowed as soon as he got his sight aimed at the scene. The woman that was fighting against the man pulling her around was actually tied with a strong-looking rope, with her arms bound close to her waist as the lady, wearing just her nightwear as her red hair covered her face as she was yanked towards the man’s horse. He was planning to take her away, and Speedwagon could see that this was standard kidnapping happening in broad daylight. At that moment, there was no sheriff or anyone with guns to intervene, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and do things himself. A single throw of his hat and the blades did their job in severing the rope in half and freeing the woman shortly after. The snapping of the rope saw them both trip, but the girl was quick to stand up and run away. She looked around, blue piercing eyes soon seen through the red mane she had for hair. She spotted Robert as he retrieved his returning hat, her trembling legs still allowing her to quickly move towards him. The kidnapper snarled in anger as he rushed up towards them but paused as soon as he realized where the woman had run to.

“You-”

“How dare you try to kidnap a woman, sir?”

The harshness in Speedwagon’s voice was enough to slap any effort to appear strong from the unknown guy.

“W-Why do you care-”

“Why wouldn’t I care! You mean to tell me this is normal? To kidnap women because you are not able to properly court them? Shame on you, sir. It’s clear you’re but just scum.”

Gritting his teeth, the man took another step, but he paused as Robert’s eyes sharpened to manifest his own disgust. Having experienced many atrocities himself, some of which were common life issues for a man his age and with his upbringing, the glare itself was nothing short than deadly. It was a chilling reminder that deep down that jovial and helpful personality, there was an individual that had experienced enough to break ‘tough men’ into pieces.

“Y-You- You are-”

“Go away and don’t bother this lady anymore,” Robert interrupted again, this time managing to silence the kidnapper and sending him running. It was clear he was going to get back to them, but for now he could get to help this girl for any injuries she got. But before he could speak up and address her, the redhead looked up, teary blue eyes looking up at him with relief.

“T-Thank you.”

But what really got him surprised wasn’t that. It was the noticeable scar that seemed to have gotten close enough to claim her left eye. It stretched from the middle of her cheek up to just below her eyebrow. It was an old one from the lack of blood on it.

“You’re welcome,” Robert replied quietly, just now realizing he held back his breath.

How was that even a thing now?

He had never felt so surprised to see a girl this closely, but the gentleman still managed to help her to enter the bar. Water was dispensed, Robert gave up his jacket so she could be better covered and there was an instantaneous reaction from the waitresses to help the sobbing girl. There was some unease when they spotted the scar, but they looked quick to react as soon as Speedwagon prodded them to move with some quick comments.

“This is so much. I’m- I’m so sorry for the inconvenience-”

“You were almost kidnapped, miss. There is nothing to apologize for.

“I’m… thank you.”

“It’s alright. My name is Robert Speedwagon. This is my friend, Derek Horse.”

“Nice to meet you, lass.”

A tiny smile formed on her face. “D-Daisy. Daisy Mccullough.”

Daisy looked more at ease after the introduction. The wine was forgotten, same for the cigar, as Robert preferred to focus more on the girl. Something about her just made him so intrigued and interested in her. Which was a novelty since this was the first time he felt so invested in a girl beyond her looks. She was beautiful, her frame was petite, but not lacking the womanly curves which were just barely hidden by his jacket. Her red hair was vibrant, and there was something so soft and sweet in her blue eyes that made his heart quicken at the mere thought. Yet, beyond all of this, one element stood out to him the most and was what really got him interested in her.

That scar looks… pretty.

Not only in an aesthetic way, but also in a mysterious way. He could tell there was a story, perhaps a bad one but… she carried herself without care about it, even though she spotted him looking at it plenty of times and said nothing about it. In fact, she didn’t even react beyond the usual blush of a man staring at a woman’s face for too long. The inner tension grew steadily until he decided to be honest about it.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“What’s the story behind… that?”

“Uh? You mean my scar?” The girl innocently inquired, unsure if that was really the point or maybe there was something else she missed in that struggle. A nod from Speedwagon had her speak up with a somewhat calmer tone. “I will tell you, but only if you tell me about yours, Mr. Speedwagon.”

He nodded, having long shed any form of embarrassment about the story behind his own.

“That’s fair.”

So she started to narrate how she came to get that scar. There wasn’t much to say beyond the fact that it had been there for many years now. Daisy was roughly his age, maybe two to three years younger than him, so the scar had been there for about two decades, when her father struck her with a dagger while she tried to defend her mother from him. He was a violent drunk, and the violence ended the same day she received that scar as the sheriff finally got involved and sent the father to the nearest jail to Amarillo, which was back in Austin. From the way she described it, Robert could tell that the reason why she didn’t mind the staring is because she saw it as a prideful moment.

“If I hadn’t moved, my mother would have died. If this is the price to pay to save her life? Then I’m fine with it.”

It sounded so valiant and impressive. She looked fragile and quick to waver when before someone stronger than her, but it was her mental fortitude that really stood out from this. In fact, it became even more evident when it was his turn to the story. Despite his confidence in telling her that tale, now that he heard hers, Robert couldn’t help but feel that the reason behind his own scar was more childish. It all started when he heard one of his oldest friends had been killed because of a debt. He got infuriated because he knew that the guy had been setting up enough money to pay everything back and he had been possibly scammed, with his life taken and his money used as ‘compensation’ by whoever did that. When the younger Speedwagon rushed to attack, ignoring the warnings from others, he was met with a brutal fight. The killer, a masterful knife-user, managed to put him to the corner very quickly. He was precise, coming close to actually cutting important sections of his body and came close to blind him for good through the cut he now had across the face. His luck was what prevented the worst from happening. And it had been a wet floor which offered him the opportunity to snatch the dagger off the assassin’s hold and stab his head.

Not his proudest moment, he quickly admitted despite Derek mentioning this was perhaps something he could imagine a boisterous, younger Speedwagon to do. Even Daisy seemed positive this wasn’t really a tale of revenge. In her words, he also stopped a dangerous man and that it was alright to feel angry when someone you care about is killed off like that, like nothing. The way she described had him surprisingly uneasy, but still completely taken by her genuine opinion that felt so refreshing and nice. Derek stared at the exchange with glee, but decided to not tease them. Not yet, he thought as a possible reason. Still, while the encounter left a positive aftertaste to the trio, Daisy had to leave to get back home and, as she moved to return the jacket back to its owner, Robert told her that it was a gift he gave her. He had already taken all the important things in it and that he had a few spares to rely on from now on.

More tears, Robert at this point was incredibly close to just hugging her. Was that normal? Was that the normal feeling Jonathan had towards Erina? Or Hannah towards Dio? Was this love? The last question came as she left through the doors, and the blond looked ready to give chase to try and speak more to her until something else happened. Something that shocked him into action. A familiar shriek, this time the doors of the bar were slammed open as two masked men tried to rob the place while a familiar bastard and a minion of his put some rope around the struggling lady before placing her near the saddle of the horse their boss owned. Bandits, that’s how the locals called them as they were armed to the teeth to make a massacre within the building. Once the guy settled himself ready to go, he rushed out with the animal, leaving his minions to delay or kill the ones behind his previous humiliation. Derek snorted and his Stand made easy work of the trio without even much of a hassle. The real problem was catching up with the escaping figure as there was just a horse there.

“Take the horse. My back doesn’t allow me to pull through riding fast and with attention, and you have more reasons to not let them go.”

A nod, Robert didn’t hesitate to suddenly give chase to the bandit leader. But as he proceeded to catch up and quickly arrive right behind them, he realized things weren’t going to be as easy as he would have wanted. He wasn’t going fast enough. The horse was young and fast, but not faster than the one they were chasing. This was going to be a problem if he didn’t stop him from reaching his destination and he knew that. He thought about possible solutions, with Robert ultimately recalling some discussions with Dio about a possible solution to this problem.

Dio once said something about the Spin and Horses. But what was it all about?

It’s been years since this topic had been brought up, and the current intense situation he was in didn’t help him think as swiftly as usual. Still, he tried to muster the spin with one of the steel balls he had on himself. While the hat was his favorite Spin conductor, Robert was also prepared to rely on the basics to achieve something out of this matter. So, he charged up the ball with the Spin, and it was there that he realized something was odd. The power in it was more intense than usual, but also more controlled. He could tell the energy heightened the horse’s speed by a small bit, but it was also the prelude of something bigger. Something that Dio hadn’t expected for his friend to develop, but, then again, this was an unexpected emergency. Something so unexpected that still presented itself as a solution. The white lines of the energy he had manifested turned gold, and Robert felt… a pair of warm arms grasping around him, not as a restriction but as a… call for support. He was stunned by this, but not as much as the arms actually proved to be real and the owner of said arms ‘tied to him’ somehow. The green-colored humanoid didn’t say anything, but it acted on instinct, on impulse- by Speedwagon’s own command. This light feeling, it felt immensely powerful and yet difficult to grasp fully at. The floating figure zeroed the distance between him and the two, the figure soaring close to the horse and he touched it. The animal seemed to tense up before slowing down to a halt. It was steady, but it infuriated the man as he failed to get the dejected creature to move. Robert stopped his horse as soon as he was close enough and jumped to tackle the distracted man down. Daisy fell too, but the fall was mostly cushioned by both men as she fell on top of them. She scrambled and moved away from the two as they started to fight one another.

Without a gun to help him out, the bandit was easily overwhelmed by the brawler that was Speedwagon, and the blonde emerged victorious as he managed to untie the girl, offer her a helping hug and, after wrapping up the unconscious bandit and setting him on his horse, he started to take everyone back to the nearby town. The sheriff thanked Speedwagon for his good work and the bandit was swiftly escorted to jail. An hour later, as it was time to go back to the train, Daisy decided to drag him on a nearby alley for a private discussion. Derek was nearby, but he allowed this to happen as his teasing look suggested that he expected something ‘funny’ to happen there.

“Mr. Speedwagon- No… Robert, I wish to thank you again for saving me. That man had been trying to kidnap me for months now and… now I feel safer knowing he will remain in jail.”

The blond offered a sheepish look. “It’s alright, Daisy. It was the right thing to do.”

There was a brief moment of quiet; they both enjoyed staring at each other.

“Daisy.”

The girl blinked. “Yes, Robert?”

“I… I would like to return back here once I’m finished with my current work. It will not be much but… I want to see you again since I… I think something can happen.”

“Something… Can it happen?” She inquired with a small smile. “Robert, are you asking to court me?”

His face burned. “I-I’m not sure just yet. It’s… I think you are incredible. You had so much happening to you and when I look at you, I can tell you can overcome all of that and bring out even more strength from it.”

Her eyes watered. “I-I’m not that special. I’m just… I just know that giving up is not in my mind.”

“Which is why I love you for it.”

…

The girl looked at her feet and Robert decided to lift his hat and offer it to her. Daisy glanced up to it and frowned.

“I want you to keep it. This promise- my interest is not a lie. This hat is… important to me and I want you to keep it while I am away. I’ll be back for you and it.”

Her smile was back, her tears flowing a bit faster.

“I-I’ll keep it as my greatest treasure,” Daisy promised with a bright blush on her face matched, if not outmatched, by a brighter smile. “But, I would like to give you something in return for this.”

A confused look appeared on the man’s face, but it melted in a shocked one when he was rewarded with a soft peck on the lips. The young woman smiled and nodded, happy and satisfied.

“I will wait for you too, Robert. I hope you can tell me more of this adventure as soon as this is over and you come back to see me.”

This last moment together left Speedwagon… stunned. If before there was any doubt of that raw and intense feeling being love, now that doubt was no longer there to prevent him from seeing the sunny sky up above his head.

“This truly was a good place to visit,” Robert commented to himself, a pleased smile on his face as he still digested the chaste kiss he just received.

...

“So… how was that?”

Robert refused to answer that, preferring to keep quiet despite Dio’s best efforts to understand what the cowboy had been referring to and where did he ‘lose’ his hat. The only reason he managed to avoid getting pushed around too much was because he shifted the attention to his newest ‘trick up his sleeve’ and Dio looked surprised when he called out the fact he now had a Stand which… prompted a discussion about the possibility of the Spin was the trigger for new Stands beyond upgrading existing ones. The final decision on its name turned out to be ｢Ball Breaker｣ since it formed through the Spin and was seemingly dependent on it. But as the trip resumed and they were back to thinking about the next stop, Robert couldn’t help but sigh at the sweet thought that he finally found someone that he could love beyond mere friendship. He knew this was going to see him teased a lot once it came out, but he would mind it if it meant being around her once more and maybe forever too.

What a curious thing, a love-stricken Speedwagon.

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