Capítulo 1834: 65
"Salutations, Ruby!" Penny cried out as she met her very best Friend in the world in a tackle hug, the two of them crashing together in front of Beacon's library steps as the red Huntress came sprinting out in the wake of sensing Penny getting closer- an urgency of purpose having flooded the gynoid's soul so strongly that Ruby couldn't help but sense it even though her own empathic abilities were muddled by the strangeness of Penny's mechanical core.
Not that it made the girl any less human- she had an Aura, she had a soul. As far as Ruby was concerned, that meant Penny was every bit of a real girl as she was. Which… actually, Penny was every bit of a real girl as Yang was.
Ruby just smiled, meeting Penny in the middle and returning the hug with just as much ease and force- to the point that both of their spines started creaking a little from the sheer tightness of the hug. "Penny! How are you- you seem like you really need to do something, are you okay? What's going on?"
"O-oh! Nothing much, I just…" Penny huffed, shaking her head as she rested her head against Ruby's shoulder for a moment, her servos whirring ever so quietly as she adjusted their position and began leading them over to one of the benches outside of the library. "I wanted to speak with you, actually. And… perhaps have some snacks? There is a wonderful bakery on campus- student run, actually! I picked up some cookies while you were away- would you like to sample some?"
"Oh, are they from Sleepless Cookies!? They're like my favorite store on campus! Yang doesn't ever let me go there by myself cuz I'd blow my entire allowance on cookies instead of actually useful stuff so it's always soooooo annoying waiting for Yang to go there like once a week," Ruby groaned, flopping dramatically down onto the bench as though faint from hunger, her tail wagging happily as she looked towards the bag Penny held. "Mmm~ I can smell 'em from here- can I? Can I can I can I? They smell so goooood~!"
"Of course! I bought them just for you!" Penny nodded, smiling as she tugged her bag from her shoulder and opened it up- the treasure within revealed as an entire paper bag stuffed to the brim with as many cookies as the bakery could fit in there. Plus a few muffins on the side. And chocolate bars. And an entire wedge of Ruby's favorite cheese. "Please, help yourself! I… will abstain for now."
Ruby huffed, pausing with her hand already halfway in the bag so she could fix Penny with a light stare. "Penny no, just because you can't digest food like a normal person doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it- I mean, you can taste food still, right? Here, have a cookie! I know you like eating them and- and you're the one who bought them, you should get to enjoy the sweet, sweet taste of Sleepless Cookies too!"
"Ruby, these are for you," Penny shook her head, pushing Ruby's hand away and smiling a bit wider, bumping her shoulder against her best friend's as she reached into the bag and held up another cookie to Ruby's lips. "I truly do not mind if you eat all of them. These are yours."
"Nuh uh! The best kind of food is the kind you share with your family, friends, and loved ones!" Ruby shot back, shaking her head just as hard and insistently bringing her hand towards Penny's mouth, cookie brandished like a weapon as she threatened to feed Penny with her own two hands if she had to. "So eat it already!"
"I-... if you insist," Penny sighed, clearly not agreeing but going with it anyway. She really did enjoy the texture of cookies, and even if her sense of taste was objectively more muted than that of a true, proper, human tongue she could still enjoy things a lot more than her sensors would normally let her do so. It turned out that mixing Aura with dozens, if not hundreds of sensory input nodes created a map of sensation across her body not unlike that of an actual human being… just… less, apparently. As Ruby continued to press the cookie to her lips (and she pressed another to Ruby's lips that… did they have a hint of gloss on them?) she took a small, dainty bite and hummed appreciatively, her mechanical heart soaring a bit as she watched Ruby take a much larger, much more enthusiastic chomp of her own cookie.
Ah… so cute…
Ruby, meanwhile, just whined happily as her ears and tail flicked about joyfully, the taste of perfectly baked cookie and chocolate chips filling her mouth with pure happiness. Ahhhhh, so good… and it was all for her! And Penny! Because she wouldn't dare let Penny not enjoy some of the bounty that she'd bought for Ruby! It just wasn't right! Sure, she was greedy about her cookies when it came to just about anyone else because Yang was a no good cookie thief and Cinder preferred spicy food and if she gave Nora an inch the lightning girl would take a mile … but Penny was different! Penny was nice, sweet, cute, and was so earnest and open that Ruby couldn't help but want to give her all to their friendship- or…
Was it friendship?
She thought silently as they sat there, eating cookies and assorted snacks at a sedate pace (the satchel had more than just cookies and muffins in it, thankfully) and enjoyed the breeze as it passed by. It was… nice. The weather was warming up slightly now that it was in the beginning of March, days growing ever so slightly warmer and longer in response to the change in seasons. Ruby hummed, thinking about Penny as she looked out over the ever-green expanse of Beacon's campus, the soft, temperate winters acting more like a chilly spring rather than a true winter like further north.
What was their friendship, she thought. She'd never really had a friend that wasn't affiliated with the school system, somehow. At Signal, the few people she'd talked to in the single year she'd attended had been teachers, lab partners, sparring partners, group project leaders… Yang's friends, too. At Beacon, now, all of her friends were on her team and on Team JNPR- the other Teams in first year were there of course, but… Penny. Penny was different.
She'd met Penny before she ever knew the other girl was going to Beacon. Penny was… bad at the social thing, just like Ruby. Penny had a weird knowledge base that mostly consisted of combat knowledge and robotics, a lot like Ruby. Penny loved fireflies and stargazing and cinnamon and nature and killing grimm and weapon upgrades and working in the Beacon forges and looking through weapon catalogs and the idea of social interaction but not much of the reality of it and comic books and…
Ruby hummed around another mouthful of cookie, thinking about how she'd only known Penny for a month now, but… In that time they'd spent so many nights sitting up together in the common room, lights dimmed to near darkness with Penny using the extended cord so she didn't have to plug directly into her recharging station, that Ruby almost felt like she'd known the girl all her life.
Was it maybe a little weird to think about how Penny was just… the cutest person she'd ever met? Probably. But Ruby did think that Penny was adorable- sweet, kind, thoughtful, and a million other good things. Not amazing at cooking without help, but good at just about anything else if she had a little time to research it and acquire the proper tools.
Penny was… awesome. Amazing. The nicest person alive, maybe. The coolest, in Ruby's books. Her super bestie better than the restie. Penny was…
Maybe more?
Ruby… wouldn't be the first to say that she wasn't great at social interaction. She kinda muddled along just fine most of the time by getting excited about weapons or staying quiet most of the time and responding with monosyllabic grunts with various emotional indicators, but… she felt like herself with Penny. She could ramble about this or that, talk about random things that crossed her brain without fear. They spoke at length during the night, cuddling on the couch in the common room, making breakfast or snacks together… maybe… maybe Penny was closer than Ruby thought? Was…
Was their relationship like that?
What was their relationship anyway?
Ruby… really wanted to hold Penny's hand more. And not let go. And…
"Ruby? Are you alright? You've been awfully quiet even with the cookies," Penny spoke quietly, gently shaking Ruby's shoulder and tilting her head slightly, naked concern in her eyes as Ruby snapped back to the present.
"Huh- oh! I'm alright! I just spaced out for a moment," Ruby waved off Penny's concern, startling slightly as she smiled a bit awkwardly and flicked her ears a bit. "Just…"
She paused, looking down at her hands- they'd long since finished the entire bag of snacks, Ruby having not even noticed until Penny touched her shoulder.
"Hey Penny?"
"Yes, Friend Ruby?"
"What… are we? Like… as a relationship. You're…" Ruby huffed, struggling to put her feelings into words as she leaned against the redhead and bumped her head into Penny's. "You're amazing. Awesome. The coolest . You're just… I don't know. I think we just… clicked together when we first met… in a way that I don't think I've managed with anyone else, really. With Weiss and Blake, I still don't really talk to them as much as I'd like- I usually just cuddle with them and hang out quietly. With Yang, it's different because I've known her and Cinder and Emerald and Mercury and Neo for years now and they're basically family… well. Yang and Cinder are family… you know what I mean. But… it's easy to talk with you, y'know?"
Ruby shook herself slightly, trying to shake herself out of the introspective mood she'd fallen into- it was almost weirdly chilly now as she tried to put her thoughts to words. "I dunno… it's like… you're my bestie now, and it's… a lot more of a friendship than I'm used to."
"I understand, Friend Ruby. I am not very well versed in social interactions either, and I am quite surprised at how fast we have become friends," Penny started, scooting until they were pressed up close together, the bag Penny had brought moved over to Penny's other side so there were no obstacles pressed between them.
Penny was warm, a soft hissing coming from her back as she quietly vented heat. Their thighs were touching, and… with Ruby in her modified Beacon uniform, it felt so much more intimate than usual.
She blushed, looking away quickly, ears flicking while her tail wagged furiously behind her.
"I actually… wanted to speak with you today because I have been thinking of similar topics," Penny continued, entwining their hands together and squeezing gently, Ruby unconsciously rubbing her thumb along the back of Penny's hand and reabsorbing the grimm plates on her uniform as she squished herself against Penny. "I… wanted to confess something. I know we have only been friends for a month now, but you've very quickly become important to me- extremely so. You are…"
Penny paused, irises briefly glowing as she accessed her internal database to try and put her thoughts to words.
"Special. You are special . You never had any expectations of what I should do or who I should be. You just… wanted a friend. And we talked. And… I think that, over the course of the last month… talking with you, sleeping with you, going to class with you, eating with you, watching movies with you, and just… hanging out… with you…" Penny sighed, smiling at Ruby with a wavering, nervous expression that seemed so… oddly teary despite her inability to cry. Ruby shuddered, feeling pulses of something from Penny's core- an emotion muddled by her mechanical nature, but so warm and familiar… and yet unfamiliar all the same. "I think that… I like you. More than just a friend. More than a bestie . I think… Ruby Rose, would you do me the honor of… of being my girlfriend?"
Ruby stared, eyes blown wide as she took in what Penny said- unable to properly react as her mind went into full panic mode in an instant, her entire body rippling with grimm matter as she tried and largely failed to process just what she'd heard.
Even so- even with all of her mental process on hold as she continuously failed to really process , her body knew what to do.
So Ruby leaned forward, wrapped Penny into a tight, tight, tight hug full of every last bit of pure affection that she could pour into it, throwing those thoughts to the side as she squealed loud enough to be heard across campus.
"Yes!"
[Post confession selfie uwu]
[And, of course, the meme versions]
Notes:
I hope this was worth the wait, because god did it make me feel fluffy while I was writing it... y'know... a month ago...
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