Chapter Text
Ruby is exhausted. A whole day of tearful goodbyes, of warnings and preparations and questions – it takes it out of you. It was funny really – she was only doing this at all because of all the people she’d lost, but as the time for it drew closer she only grew more aware of all the people she still had.
Of the one person she still had to say goodbye to – maybe the hardest of all of them.
A knock came at the door, and Ruby couldn’t help but smile as she got up from her seat on the bed. Penny didn’t need to knock – even if this wasn’t her bunk just as much as it was Ruby’s, there wasn’t a door on the base that wouldn’t open for her. Probably not a door on Remnant, to be honest – not with some of the upgrades they’d worked on together.
She still always knocked, though. She was sweet, like that.
“Hey,” Ruby says as she opens the door, wincing at the sound of her own voice. Even she could tell how awful she sounded, especially in comparison to her usual cheer – voice raspy from all the sobbing, worn out from all the convincing. “I, uh – I’m glad you came.”
She can see the way Penny’s body tenses at that – knows every signal that’s being sent, every strand of dust-infused carbon that’s contracting. Penny looks exhausted, too – an impressive feat, given that she can’t suffer the physical effects of tiredness, but the grubby clothes and hastily packed bag and drained expression on her face do all the telling for her.
“I am very angry at you, Ruby Rose,” Penny says – Ruby winces again. Penny only really slips back into using her full name these days when she’s really excited or really mad, and by the way the air in the room feels like it’s literally starting to freeze she can guess at which one it is right now.
“Penny, I know I should have told you sooner, but we really didn’t know if it was going to work and then – “
“Ruby,” Penny interrupts, and she startles as she feels mechanical hands reach for hers, pulling her closer. “I have every intention of admonishing you, and you have a lot of explaining to do, but there will be plenty of time for that. Right now I have two priorities – kissing my partner who I haven’t had a chance to see in several months, and then explaining to her exactly how much of an idiot she’s been.”
Ruby’s mind catches, stutters – what she was saying didn’t make any sense, the whole point was that she didn’t have any time left with Penny, not with this Penny – but then blissfully cool lips meet hers, and she can’t think at all.
“It’s cute,” Penny says as she finally draws back, “how that still happens every time.”
“I – what?” Ruby says, still dazed, before she notices the roots that have punched their way up through a floor that doesn’t have any dirt beneath it, the petals still forming around their feet. She blushes. “It’s – that’s not – I haven’t had these powers as long as you, alright? It’s tricky!”
Penny just smiles, reaches into her pocket, and passes her what looks like – a computer drive?
“My second priority,” Penny says, seeing her confused expression. “That’s how I’m coming back with you.”
Ruby’s heart wrenches, and she turns around and walks back into the centre of her room.
“You can’t come with me Penny, you – no one can! The crown will only take one of us back, and the lamp only transfers memories in person – “
“If only,” Penny’s arms reach around her waist, pulling her back gently, “you knew someone who’s memories could be removed, and say, stored on a device of some kind?”
Ruby freezes.
“I – you – the crown only gives you an hour in the past, the drive would disappear when I did – “
“Which isn’t a problem, given that I’ve formatted the data so that it will fit on a standard scroll, and set it to transfer immediately when connected to one.”
“But – how did you get the data that small – unless – “
“Unless I used the memory compression algorithm you designed to increase the amount of sensory data I could store?” Penny snorts at the small groan she makes. “It couldn’t store everything – the memories are mostly just comparatively low quality audio and visual data alongside emotional content – but it’s still at least twice as detailed as human memory by my calculations. You know you don’t even maintain the vast majority of visual data in your memories? Your brain just fills in the gaps, like a frankly over-charged form of compression – “
This time it’s Ruby that gets to cut Penny off with a kiss, not caring that she can feel the room fill up with life as she does so, effusive and unstoppable – it’s not like this room, or this timeline, will last much longer anyway.
“You were right,” she says as they drift apart and sit down on the bed, side by side. “I am an idiot.”
“Statistically, I am right a very large percentage of the time – which is why,” Penny’s eyes light up with green fire, patterns of ice starting to form on the leaves around them, “It is very important that you consult with me before making decisions like these!”
“I know,” Ruby says, trying her best not to smile. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“You do not sound very contrite, Ruby Rose,” Penny says, crossing her arms – she’d maybe be a little bit worried, if she couldn’t tell Penny was trying just as hard to conceal a grin.
“I’ve spent the entire day saying goodbye to the people I love, and I just found out that the one person I care about more than any of them can actually come with me – that I’m not going to have to try and befriend a version of the love of my life that’s 10 years younger than me, that I’ll never get to be with, and pretend I’m okay with it.” Ruby tugs Penny into her arms, resting her head on a bed of fiery hair. “That I don’t have to bear the entire weight of saving the world alone. So – yeah. Struggling to be too upset.”
Penny laughs, and presses a small kiss to the base of her neck.
“You won’t be able to hold me like this, when we go back. You’ll be tiny again.” Penny says, voice full of laughter.
“I mean, I’m not complaining that you won’t have any excuse not to be the big spoon anymore – “
“Oh, right, I forgot that there was a reason I deliberately remained at the same height through progressive updates – “
Ruby cuts her off with another kiss, and they sit there for a while, arms around each other, just – breathing it all in.
“We won’t be maidens anymore,” Ruby says, voice quieter now. Penny hums a note of agreement, pressing herself a little tighter into their embrace.
“It’s a shame,” she replies after a while. “I didn’t know how to feel about it at first, but now – it is almost like a part of me. It is a part of me. I will be sad to lose it.”
“At least you won’t be losing any muscle mass,” Ruby comments. “I’m just praying that the lamp transfers over muscle memories as well as the normal kind, or I’m going to be useless in a fight.”
Penny snorts. It’s as cute as it always has been.
“I cannot ever imagine you being useless in a fight, darling. We are going to need to have a session together as soon as possible, though – I don’t want to go without my more recent upgrades for too long.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Ruby says with a grin. “Besides you having to get out from under Ironwood’s thumb, of course.”
“I am not worried,” Penny replies. “I have plenty of experience of – how did you put it? ‘Scaring the ever-living shit out of Ironwood’? I do not think it will be a problem.”
Ruby laughs at that, bright and clear and ringing true. She’s going to change the past, with her amazing partner right by her side – she’s going to save her sister, and protect her teammates, and kick the ever-loving shit out of Salem. For the first time that day, she doesn’t feel an ounce of worry.
“Babe,” she says, smile threatening to split her face open, “We are going to take the world by storm.”