Chapter Text
After the harrowing journey to Atlas, and their eventful arrival in Mantle, all Ruby and her friends wanted to do was rest. Especially seeing as they would be back in action as soon as the upgrades to their weapons were finished. However, it seemed fate, as well as one Penny Polendina, had other plans for Ruby's first day in Atlas.
The first thing Ruby heard when she left her dorm room was the same cheery "Salutations" she remembered from Beacon. Despite her exhaustion, Ruby's heart still swelled with joy at being reunited with one of her most precious friends. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite so overjoyed to hear Penny's plans for the day. She wanted to take Ruby on a whirlwind tour all over the cities of Atlas and Mantle, to show her all the incredible sights of her home kingdom. Of course, it's not as though Ruby didn't want to spend time with Penny, she was just hoping to do it while relaxing in her dorm. But still, when she saw that sparkle of excitement in the android girl's eyes, she found herself unable to say no.
And so began Ruby's express tour of the Kingdom of Atlas. Before Ruby could even get a chance to take in the sights, Penny was already dragging her to their next destination, chattering non-stop about her memories from each location. A Grimm attack she stopped. Some people she saved. Sometimes just something as simple as a cute dog she saw once. Ruby couldn't complain too much though. Running through the city with Penny, while she excitedly rambled about whatever came to mind. It was just like being back at Beacon, almost as though all those horrible events had never happened. That feeling was helped by the fact that Penny hadn't changed a bit. The only differences Ruby noticed seemed to be purely physical. A little taller, some cool new rocket feet, a cute new outfit, a bit prettier--
'Woah, where did that come from?'
As much as she was enjoying Penny's company, Ruby found herself running out of energy a few hours into their journey, as Penny showed her around one of Atlas's public parks.
"Hey, uh, Penny?"
"Yes, Ruby?" Penny turned to her with her usual beaming smile, causing Ruby to hesitate a bit.
"L-Look, I'm really enjoying this tour, but I'm kind of exhausted after the past few days..." Ruby rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "So, I would really like to just relax back at the academy today."
Penny's whole being seemed to droop, as she looked down at the ground with a guilty expression. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were feeling that way."
Ruby suddenly felt like she had kicked a puppy. "Hey, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. I know you're just happy to see me. Believe me, I'm thrilled to see you again too, and we can still catch up back at the academy if you want."
Upon hearing that, Penny immediately perked back up. "That would be wonderful. Oh, but can I show you one more thing?" Noticing Ruby's hesitant expression, Penny rushed to clarify. "Not to worry. What I want to show you is back at Atlas Academy anyway."
"Oh, in that case, sure. Why not?"
"Great! You said you were exhausted, right? Here, allow me to carry you back to the academy." Before Ruby could respond, Penny had already scooped her up, with one arm supporting her back, and the other carrying her under the knees. Ruby's cheeks reddened as she recognized the pose from various romantic scenes in movies she had watched.
"Um, Penny?"
"Hold on tight," Penny instructed. Ruby complied, and nervously wrapped her arms around Penny's shoulders. With Ruby's grip secured, Penny blasted off into the Atlesian sky.
As soon as Ruby felt the wind in her face, all her prior embarrassment was forgotten. She looked over her shoulder to see a magnificent view of the city below them, she was even able to spot several locations Penny had taken her to throughout the morning. But just like everywhere else they had been so far, the flight was over far too soon get a good look at the view, and Penny touched down at Atlas Academy after only about thirty seconds.
"Penny, that was incredible," Ruby said, as she climbed out of Penny's arms. "Can you take me flying again sometime?"
"Of course, but if you thought that was good, I have something even better to show you." Penny grabbed Ruby by the hand, quickly leading her through the halls of Atlas, into the lab, and to a door in the back labelled 'Penny's room.'
"You have your own room?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, I may not need to sleep, but Dad insisted I have somewhere I could go if I ever wanted some privacy. It's also a good place to keep my stuff. Here, let me show you," Penny explained, as she opened the door, and led Ruby inside.
The room was fairly small, about half the size of the regular Atlas dorms. There was a desk with a computer on it, as well as a dresser with a mirror on the right side of the room. Both the desk and dresser had various little knick-knacks on them, each of which Ruby was certain must have had some story behind them. The most notable feature of the room, however, was the other side, where a collection of fish tanks were resting upon several shelves. Each of the fish tanks seemed to contain a single small, colourful fish, with fancy, flowing fins.
"Ta-da!" Penny announced, directing Ruby's attention towards the collection of fish. "These are my new fish friends. Aren't they amazing?"
"Yeah, they sure are," Ruby said, somewhat awestruck, as she wandered over to the fish tanks to take a closer look. There seemed to be about twelve fish in total, each one with its own unique colouration and pattern. Each tank was decorated uniquely as well. There was one designed to look like a stream from some tropical rainforest. One that was scattered with tiny ruins. There were even four containing miniaturized versions of each of the kingdoms. As pleasant as they were to look at though, Ruby did find the vast number of separate tanks to be a little odd.
"Why do you have them all in separate tanks? Why not put them all in one big tank so they can swim around together?"
"Oh, no. You should never put multiple Betta fish in the same tank. They'll fight each other if you do."
"Huh. I see." Ruby had to admit, it was hard imagining such elegant-looking fish fighting each other. She also found it odd that someone who valued friendship as much as Penny would collect such a standoffish pet. But, before she could ask about it--
"Let me introduce you to them." Penny immediately led Ruby to a black Betta with bright red fins, swimming around the miniature version of Vale. "This was the first Betta I got. Isn't he pretty? His name is 'Ruby'. I named him after you."
"Oh, uh, th-thanks," Ruby stammered out, her cheeks growing pink. Still, despite the embarrassment, Ruby couldn't help but think about how this was one of the things she loved most about Penny. Most people wouldn't want to admit something like that, but Penny does it without the slightest hint of hesitation or shame. 'I wish I could be that free-spirited.'
"So," Ruby continued, "why'd you start collecting Betta fish?"
"Well, I was visiting a pet store, because I like looking at all the animals--"
"Heh, I know that feeling."
"Then I saw Ruby here, and he reminded me of you, so I decided to buy him. That way, whenever I looked at him, I would be reminded of all the wonderful times we spent together."
Ruby felt her heart flutter at that statement. 'Why do I keep reacting like this today? Do... Do I really...?'
Her thoughts were snapped back to reality as Penny continued her story. "I enjoyed having him here so much, I decided to get some more fish, and before I knew it..." Penny spread out her arms, gesturing to all the fish tanks around them. "I had an entire collection of wonderful Betta fish. Hey, would you like to try feeding them?"
"Um, sure." With Ruby's confirmation, Penny eagerly passed her a bottle of fish flakes. "How much should I feed them?"
"Exactly 1.8 grams."
"Uhhhh..." Ruby looked blankly at the bottle, then at Penny, then back at the bottle.
"Hm, maybe I should feed one first, so you can see how much to use," Penny said, taking the bottle back from Ruby.
"Yeah, good idea."
Penny gently tipped some flakes into Ruby the fish's tank. He immediately responded, eagerly swimming up to begin his meal.
"Isn't he adorable?" Penny whispered, leaning forward until her face was barely an inch from the tank.
"Yeah, he sure is." As nice as the fish was to look at, Ruby couldn't keep her eyes from wandering towards Penny's pure, wonderstruck expression. Now that she finally had a moment of quiet, Ruby thought back to all the strange feelings she experienced throughout the day, and everything was finally beginning to make sense...
"Do you want to try feeding the next one?"
"Heh, okay, Penny."
'Well, I can worry about that later.'