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Even after years of it, Penny Polendina wasn't used to a human-- er, normal sleep schedule. Nestled in the dark peace and quiet of the apartment she shared with her best friend, Ruby Rose, the android couldn't help but think; literal gears turning in her head. She tossed and turned under the piles of blankets Ruby had said could give her a sounder sleep, burying her face deep into her pillow. No matter what she did, her mind still raced with thoughts.
Thoughts that were already years old.
That didn't stop them from keeping her awake for hours, though. She couldn't think of anything else.
"Penny?"
The robot drew the pillows tighter around her ears and winced. Yang, Ruby's older sister, wasn't even in the room, but she heard her voice loud and clear.
"Yang? Ruby?" She spoke without even opening her mouth. The voice belonged to a younger version of herself, far too relieved for the moment in hindsight.
"Ruby's… face…" Yang could hardly bring herself to say anything, as her younger sister looked up and Penny felt sick for the first time.
Almost three years ago, her own best friend had lost an eye in the heat of battle, and Penny wasn't even there to see it. She wasn't even there to stop it. She wasn't even there to comfort Ruby when it happened. It was hours until the two were able to reunite and they ran into each other's arms, not wanting to let go.
Penny found herself feeling that way with Ruby's hugs more so than anyone else's.
Thousands of reassuring words and hundreds of hugs could never stop Penny from regretting not being there. She was the Protector of Mantle, the Winter Maiden, and the android personally commissioned by General James Ironwood himself. Penny wore many titles, but the one most important to her was the friend of Ruby Rose.
And from the moment she had first seen that look on her best friend's face to now, she couldn't help but feel as though she had failed every one of those titles.
It was dark, still, quiet nights like this that Penny's mind tended to wander. Nights when it seemed like the peace could disappear any second and she wouldn't even know it. The fact that a low haze seemed to hang over the sky didn't help matters either, almost as though the air itself was hiding something, or hiding from something.
It wasn't much different from how she felt.
"Penny?" There it was again; Penny pulled her knees to her chin beneath the covers and held tight. No matter how many times she had that memory, it never seemed to get any better.
But her own voice never came.
"Penny?" The voice repeated itself, and she realized then that it wasn't Yang.
She must have heard the tossing and turning, even from her room, because as the robot pulled blankets from her face, where light once poured in from the hallway stood the shadowy figure of Ruby.
Just the sight of her made Penny feel safer already.
"Are you okay?"
"I had a nightmare." Penny spoke softly, almost inaudibly.
Ruby drew closer. There was a weight on the end of her bed as she sat down. Penny felt herself able to relax as she sat up, watching as her best friend fidgeted with her hands.
"...Me too."
Penny reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. "About what?" she asked patiently, tilting her head with interest.
With a hand on her eyepatch, Ruby shivered a little, eyebrows furrowed. That told the android all that she needed to know.
"Oh, Ruby…"
"It's okay." She sighed audibly. "Everything's okay now. So I don't get it, why am I still so scared? I don't know…" Her voice lowered. "I… still think about Beacon, too. It sounds crazy, right?"
"It's not crazy, Ruby." Penny readjusted her legs as she spoke. "I have the same personal feelings. Beacon… getting framed, being there for that nice old lady as she… well… I still think about all of those things sometimes." Her hands tightened into fists as they rested on her legs. "In my nightmare, I thought about what happened to you, too. A lot of things, actually. Even though it has been a few years, those scary things never go away."
Ruby smiled warmly as she let herself lean onto her robot friend. "At least we're not alone."
"You're right," Penny said.
Though, she couldn't help but notice that Ruby still seemed to be deep in thought.
"If you want to keep talking about it, Ruby, that could help get your feelings out too…"
The dark-haired girl sat up from Penny's shoulder. "Oh, no, that's not it. I'm thinking about… something else."
"What is it?"
"Well, it's early, but…" With a quick glance over to the digital clock beside Penny's bed, she confirmed that it was nearly 5am. "I was thinking we could go for a walk?" The robot's ahoge flicked up attentively, and Ruby giggled.
"A walk?" Penny felt herself smile for the first time that night. She nearly sprang up out of bed and ran to her closet. "Let me go get my hooded jacket!"
Ruby laughed as she got up, too. "Penny, you mean a hoodie?"
The android poked her head out of the closet for a moment. "Hm?" There were a few sweaters already lined up on her arms. "Sorry Ruby, I'm just not sure which one to…"
She was suddenly grabbed by the arm as Ruby dragged her to their front door. "Any one is fine!" she said in an excited whisper. "C'mon!"
"Ruby, wait-- don't you need a hoodie, too?" Penny asked.
In response, the dark-haired girl grabbed one that Penny was holding; a grey one from Atlas Academy, and pulled it over her head. Her already spiky hair stood up with static, and she grumbled.
"Oh!" Penny gasped, barely able to put her red sweater on and lock the door behind them before her and Ruby nearly crashed down the stairs and out of the flat building's front door. Before she could open her mouth, Penny was swept away in a mesmerizing spiral of red and green roses, the world spinning around her when they finally came to a full stop.
"R-Ruby?" Penny grabbed onto one of her shoulders to steady herself. "What is the hurry?" she asked genuinely.
"Sorry, I just got really excited." She took the robot by the hand as she adjusted to her surroundings; appearing to be a rooftop overlooking a familiar alleyway. "But there was something I wanted you to see."
Penny squinted. "I don't see any--"
"Not that way, silly!"
"I still don't… oh--" Penny's breath hitched mid-sentence.
Even through the early morning fog, the imposing spires and glowing street lights of the new Beacon Academy could be seen, bathed in the orange light of the rising sun. She had seen it a few times since the fall and after peace was restored to Remnant, but never like this. Something about it made all the memories come flooding back, the good and bad. It was then that Penny realized where she and Ruby were standing, and she squeezed Ruby's hand tight and leaned her weight against her.
If she could produce tears, they would be streaming down her face.
"What do you think?" Ruby smiled, her voice sweet and warm.
"Ruby…" Penny sobbed as her head fell onto her friend's shoulder.
The dark-haired girl returned the gesture, pulling the robot into a hug. "What I said that day is still true; and you're one of the realest people I know, even despite what you're made of." There was a pause. "When I found out you could see Beacon from this corner of Vale, I knew I had to take you here someday, I just had to wait for the right time. We were talking about Beacon earlier, and so I just thought…"
"Ruby, I…" Penny was struggling to get any words out. "I…"
"It's okay, take your time," Ruby reassured.
"W-what I said that day was true, too." She pulled out of the embrace and avoided looking Ruby directly in the eye. "You're the best friend I've ever had…" Penny was looking at the ground now. "...and I almost lost you."
"What?"
"That night you lost your…" One of her hands began clanking against her leg as it trembled; Ruby grabbed her arm to help steady it. "I… we almost lost more than that. You could have perished, Ruby," she said bluntly.
"Penny." Ruby's voice dripped with emotion as she took the android's other arm. "Where… where are you coming from?"
"I should have been there," Penny said under her breath.
"Huh…?"
"It was my fault!" the robot nearly shouted, before gasping and covering her mouth as Ruby's grip seemed to loosen on her.
"No… oh, no, Penny… you can't blame yourself for that." Albeit her kind words, Penny still looked downtrodden. "There was no way you could have known that would happen." Ruby sighed as she looked to her feet. "But I understand."
Penny didn't say anything, allowing for her to continue. "When you were destroyed," Ruby spoke quickly, like she wanted to get the words over with. "I spent a lot of time wondering if I could have been faster, if I could have stopped it. If I could have stopped the entire Fall of Beacon. I know now that there was nothing I, or any of us could do. We couldn't have known. And for a long time, I had no idea when or if I would see you again."
It was then that Penny began thinking about Ruby, not how she could have lost her, or even what did happen those few years ago, but about her now. As she stared into her silver eye, still shining just as brightly as ever, Penny felt herself questioning her feelings.
Ruby was her first friend, her first real friend…
She grinned as she wiped her tears away, sniffling loudly. "But we're here now. And everything's okay. That's all that matters, right?"
...but was there something more to it all?
Penny responded wordlessly, returning the smile as the two finally took each other's hands, glancing out at the sight of Beacon.
And they stayed like that for a while. It may have been five minutes or fifteen; neither was sure, but they couldn't be happier in that moment.
They couldn't be happier, that is, until the clouds above them burst open, and it began drizzling.
Penny squeaked as she pulled her hood above her head, wrapping her arms around herself on instinct. "Oh, no!"
"The rain!" Ruby gasped, her single eye having been completely lost in Penny's. "I'm so sorry, Penny! I completely forgot you don't do good in water," she rambled as she pulled her sweater off and wrapped it around the robot, "I shouldn't have dragged you all the way here, and…" She took the red cloak she could never be found without; even wearing it to bed, and placed the hood over Penny's head. "I'm so sorry!"
"Ruby," Penny said simply. "It is okay… You could not have known it was going to rain."
The silver-eyed girl blinked, then grinned in spite of herself. "Hey!" She lightly elbowed the robot. "My own advice, used against me!" she called out with a dramatic flair. Despite her words, she couldn't help but laugh, and neither could Penny.
"C'mon," Ruby finally breathed out, linking their arms together. "Let's get you inside before it gets any…" The rain began to fall a bit harder. "No! Forget I said anything!" She began to sprint, and Penny followed suit, not wanting to get caught behind.
Beneath layers of sweaters and not wanting to rust her nose off, Penny could hardly look up. "Is any place open, Ruby?" she had to yell over the rain and their running.
Ruby's eye shone with determination. "There!" She took a sharp right and Penny yelped as they ducked into a warm little café. The android began removing layers, glancing over to a now drenched Ruby as she wrung out her hair. With her sweater off, her shoulders were completely exposed, and that's when Penny came to the realization that Ruby hadn't struggled to carry her weight this entire morning. Her face began to warm quickly-- almost too quickly-- although they had only just left the cold.
Okay-- there's definitely something more, but wha--
"Hm?" The dark-haired girl finally looked up, and Penny pretended to struggle with untying the second sweater.
"Ruby, I was not staring!" She hiccuped. "I don't know what gave you that idea!"
"Oh, I didn't say anything--" A tiny laugh escaped Ruby's lips. "You need help?"
"No!" Penny hiccuped again, covering her mouth this time. "I mean… yes? I mean…"
Ruby's giggles continued as she went over to help, tossing the Atlas sweater over the robot's shoulder in case the rain didn't let up for a while. "You look warm, Penny, are you feeling okay?"
"Oh yes! It's just very warm in this building, don't you worry Ruby."
"Oh, okay." Penny let out a visible sigh as Ruby turned away at the sound of a voice from the café's counter.
"You girls are lucky you got in when you did," the worker, a blue-haired woman said while moving a few boxes around. "Looks like it's getting pretty bad out there, huh?"
There was a low rumble of thunder, and at that, Ruby couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly. "Yeah," She looked down at her feet. "Sorry about these huge puddles, though."
"Don't worry about it…" the woman said, "...as long as you buy something," she added jokingly, though Ruby was already at the counter in a flurry of rose petals.
"Now you're speaking my language, got chocolate chip cookies?"
"Sure, but cookies? This early in the morning?"
Ruby was practically bouncing now as she said, "Never too early for cookies!"
Penny had busied herself with hanging up her and Ruby's hoodies (and cloak), though she couldn't help but smile at the silver-eyed girl's excitement. Even though she was crying no longer than a half hour ago, she never stopped being a literal and metaphorical light in everyone's life. That was one of the things that made Penny so happy to be her friend; her constant confidence that always managed to pick her up when she was having her doubts. Penny was a ray of sunshine herself, but with the recurring nightmares, she found it difficult sometimes. It was Ruby who seemed to know exactly what to say to make her problems fly away and oh my gosh am I staring? I am definitely staring again and she definitely knows, she's looking at me right now oh my goodness… am I overheating?
"...want anything, Penny?" Ruby was now facing her, a cookie already in hand.
"Oh… I…"
"Wait… oh gosh, I'm sorry, I totally forgot about the elephant in the room."
Penny gasped and began looking around. "An elephant? I don't see any…"
"Not an actual elephant!" The dark-haired girl chuckled into her hand. "The reason we're in here in the first place, you know, beep-boop does not compute?"
Penny couldn't help herself, joining Ruby in her laughter.
The two found a table, talking and laughing amongst themselves as though they didn't have a worry in the world, though that couldn't be further from the truth. Almost two hours and three more cookies later, the storm outside was nothing more than a few drops, and they finally grabbed their things, thanked the worker and headed back out.
"Really, though," Ruby continued her thought from an earlier conversation, "I really am sorry that you can't enjoy food, those cookies tasted amazing and I wish I could have shared it with you."
"That's all right, Ruby," said Penny, who was happy just watching how much Ruby loved chocolate chip cookies; she would have to remind herself later to learn how to make them. They would be perfect for a late-night, or early morning, nightmare cure, she thought. It would make Ruby very happy! She felt warm at the thought.
"Oh-- wait! I just thought of something!"
"Really?" Penny blinked. "What is-- mmph!"
Faster than a heartbeat, though Ruby could swear hers was beating even faster, she pulled Penny's face to hers, and the android met her in the middle as their lips touched. Illuminated by the weak orange light of the streetlights around them as it reflected on every wet surface, they shared their very first kiss. It was warm, soft and sweet; just like the two of them, despite everything.
Maybe in another universe, they could have been two normal dumb kids in love, without the nightmares and the trauma, but right here, right now, neither of them could ask for anything else. As their lips separated, Ruby lifted Penny in the air and they spun around, laughing as they went, and in that moment, everything else seemed to disappear.