Capítulo 1837: 68
Chapter 68 Notes:
A bit of emotional conversation, with some fluff at the end
Chapter Text
"Penny, if…" Ruby started quietly, chewing her lip as she curled up in her girlfriend's arms, the two of them sitting out in one of the few wooded areas on campus and watching the fireflies go by. It'd been a long day for every one- classes and explanations and lots of tearful hugs draining the energy out of everyone until the combined forces of Team CMNE, Team RWBY, and Team JNPR all ended up huddled together into Team CMNE's room for a sleepover in lieu of trying to do anything else. Uncle Qrow had long since left, probably to go chew Professor Ozpin a new one for dumping the fate of the world on yet another group of ill-suited teenagers.
"If?" Penny asked, tightening her hold around Ruby as she raised her internal temperature to provide warmth, her eyes glowing faintly in the darkness just like Ruby's own mix of silver and yellow-orange. "Is something wrong, Girlfriend Ruby?"
"I just… with everything we know about this Salem woman, with how I've had dreams about her… with everything that Uncle Qrow told us… do you think we can trust Professor Ozpin? Does… does he really have our best interests in mind? A-and… what if I really am a monster? What… what if I… what if Salem comes and… and I can't…" Ruby trailed off, tripping over her own words as she looked down at her hands and forced the claws to retract, to try and regain some semblance of her humanity as she let her thoughts roil around in her mind. "Uncle Qrow said that she can control grimm. What if… what if that means she can control me? What if I end up becoming just another monster doing what she says because I wasn't- what if I'm not strong enough?"
"Oh Ruby…" Penny murmured quietly, biting her lip as she held Ruby close, her core pulsing with sadness as she squeezed her girlfriend tightly and buried her face into the thick mane of hair that Ruby had grown, shaking her head slightly as she did her best to comfort the grimm girl. "I cannot tell you with any certainty what will happen. I cannot give you the certainty that you will be able to resist Salem no matter how much I wish I could. I… am sorry. I am so, so sorry. But I know that, even if you were to fall to Salem, you would fight every step of the way, and all of us would do everything in our power to save you. No matter what. So please do not worry, Ruby."
"I- thanks, Penny. It's just… hard to think about it. I'm supposed to be the strong one- the protector. I know Yang wants to protect me because she's my big sister and Cinder is the same way, but…" Ruby shook her head, grimacing as she leaned back against Penny and tried her best to let the warmth of Penny's body fight off the chill in her soul. "I'm… I'm me . I'm as strong or stronger than almost any other grimm, and I'm pretty sure that if I went all out there wouldn't be much of anyone who could stop me for real. And… that's the problem . I want to be a protector, I want to help people, but I can't stop thinking about… if I turn evil… then…"
"It won't happen, no matter what," Penny shook her head and nuzzled against Ruby some more, bringing one hand up to gently stroke at her beautiful gemstone's hair, freely running her fingers through the deep red, almost black locks and smiling ever so softly. Her emotions surged within, palpable to Ruby's senses even if they still felt somewhat confusing, slowly becoming clearer and clearer as the days passed. "You have a good heart, Ruby. You're better than you know, and I won't let anything happen to you, just like I know you won't let anything happen to me. You may want to be our protector, but I want to protect you. We'll… we'll be protectors of each other."
Ruby smiled, wavering and small as she turned and straddled Penny's lap, the two of them sitting face to face with their noses nearly bumping into each other. "Protectors of each other… that sounds amazing. I- thanks, Penny. I… really needed that. And… I trust you. I- I think you're the best, honestly. No- you are the best. And… I don't think I tell you that enough, even if you're my super bestie better than the restie."
"I still do not think that 'restie' is an actual word," Penny pointed out dryly, then laughed as Ruby pressed herself into the hug and buried her face in Penny's neck, nuzzling into the synthetic flesh as best as she could while Penny did much the same. "But for what it is worth, I think you are the best too, Ruby. Additionally, how do you feel about nicknames? I have a list of several dozen ready for you to peruse as needed."
"Mmh? Nicknames?" Ruby asked, blinking as she perked up a little without actually moving, her voice slightly muffled by Penny's shoulder as she simply breathed in and enjoyed the familiar scents of what felt like home now, in a way that was similar, yet different, but no less important than the scent of home that came with Yang or Cinder or even Neo and Emerald and Mercury or even Blake and Weiss (for all that Blake seemed to still occasionally have flashes of weird panic whenever Ruby did seemingly random things). She was… coppery. Smooth and soft and smelling faintly of dry shampoo and alcohol wipes, scented oils and a small amount of baby powder to keep her synthetic skin from cracking or wearing out too much that the self repair systems embedded within stopped functioning. Her hair was soft and curled inwards, tickling Ruby's nose a little and brushing against her ears in such a way that made Ruby want to sleep and just enjoy the sensation of being curled up against a body in a way that even Yang sometimes had a hard time doing. Her sister was, occasionally, slightly too warm for comfort. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I have been told that nicknames are important to bonding as a couple, but my favorites are sugar plum , cookie , honey, dearest, my beloved, and, above all else , wishing star, " Penny explained glibly, smiling even as she recited her chosen nicknames to Ruby- almost whispering with how intimate they were and giggling a bit as the words themselves made her feel strangely warm in her core.
Ruby blinked, pulling back for a moment and tilting her head slightly as she met Penny's glowing eyes with her own, silver dilating so large that the tiny red dots in the center almost faded entirely into normal pupils. "Ah- uh… wishing star? What does that have to do with anything?"
Penny… smiled, eyes closing slightly as she traced her fingers along Ruby's waist and let her dexterous digits dance there for a moment with a tap tap tap . "It is because… before I came to Vale, before I learned much about the world, one of the first things I heard about colloquialisms and superstitions was the concept of wishing upon a star. I was quite lonely at the time, this being about two years ago, and as such… every night before my bedtime when I would be tucked away to recharge what little Aura and power I spent the day earlier, I would wish… no. I would pray to the stars that they would give me someone who I could call a true friend. I wished on every shooting star, on the north star, on the day star… I wished on everything I could have until I had wished upon every star in every constellation listed in the Atlesian star charts. And then… one day… I met you . And despite our rocky start… you were everything could have ever wished for. As a friend. As a partner. As a girlfriend. And… I know that we have only been together for a short time, but… I think I can confidently say that… I think I love you Ruby Rose. With all of my mechanical heart."
Ruby… simply stared, jaw agape as Penny explained everything. She froze, her entire body almost shrinking on itself as her grimm plates faded and her cape thrashed around them, in tune with her emotions when she herself felt a thousand miles away and yet so close. After a moment, Ruby snapped out of it and teared up, thick globs of grimm fluid welling at the corners of her eyes as she leaned in and pressed her forehead to Penny's as well. "I think I love you too, Penny Polendina. I don't… think I've ever felt like this so much with someone else. You make my heart burn in a way that hurts so much in all of the best ways. I don't think I ever wanna be apart from you, Penny, and… and…"
Ruby paused, chewing her lip awkwardly and looking side to side for a moment, ears flicking and twitching with her roiling emotions as the grimm bones on her body flared red with swirling heart shapes etched into the gleaming surfaces.
"Can… can I kiss you?" Ruby asked nervously, an awkward smile on her face as her eyes flicked down towards Penny's cheek. "O-on the cheek, I mean!"
Penny's smile grew wider, gaze softening with love as she reached up and gently stroked Ruby's cheek with her thumb. "Of course, my beautiful wishing star."
In the pale moonlight in a wooded clearing just outside of Beacon Academy, surrounded by fireflies and crickets and the sounds of the night… Ruby's lips met Penny's cheek in a gentle, ever so delicate and chaste kiss.
And, for a moment, they forgot about everything else.
For that moment, all was right with the world.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder