A/N:
Hi friends!
Welcome back to RWBY: The Selection!
Originally, I wasn't going to post this chapter tonight, but then I figured it's probably time to end this Thursday already, so, without further ado, PENNY!
Penny is a small bean who deserves to be protected at all costs, and this date is a truly adorable time. It is indeed based on a RWBY Chibi episode, and if you haven't watched it yet and want to, it's Season 3 Episode 8. There are plenty of Nuts and Bolts moments to come, but I hijacked this one and turned it into Jaune/Penny because I thought it was adorable :D
Quick side note: it is entirely possible that Penny does have a semblance (and some sources say that she does and that it's called Inertia and lets her control her blades). The fandom wiki and the amino have totally different takes on this, and I haven't found an RT statement on it (not to say that one doesn't exist), and it's hard to tell with Penny what would be a 'semblance' v. what would be just 'robot powers', so I decided to go ahead and give her no semblance in this fic. It's totally possible that this deviates from canon, but I had to make a decision on the fic.
(Also okay so I just checked and the next chapter ALSO takes place on Thursday, but I need to stop posting or I will run out of pre-written content. This one needed to go up tonight though. Partially because we can't end a night on Ciel's stress and partially because we need some better vibes than the terror and tragedy that is Tyrian Callows. So I hope you enjoy! :D)
Once again, please review with any comments/thoughts/questions/concerns/date ideas/ships/favorite chibi episodes/anything else that strikes your fancy!
Without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter 56: Penny
"Come on, Jaune!" Penny exclaimed, grinning. She had been chosen for the Thursday night one-on-one date, and she was ecstatic. Penny had never been on a date before. This was so exciting!
To make things even better, she and Jaune were going camping in the forest of Forever Fall. It had been Jaune's idea, but Penny could not have thought of a better date idea. She loved nature.
"I'm coming," Jaune called.
Penny turned to see him carrying bags of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. She cocked her head. "Why do you have all of that?"
"You'll see," Jaune winked as he caught up with her. They walked a little further into the wild, Penny gaping with wonder at every tree. "Do you not have forests like this in Atlas?" Jaune asked, concerned, as Penny stared up in wonder at a typical oak.
"I wouldn't know," Penny explained. "I've never left Atlas Academy,"
Jaune blinked, confused, and Penny quickly internally scolded herself. Real girls went outside.
"Well, hey, I've never left the Isle," Jaune said. His smile was sad, and Penny wondered why. He had everything he could ever want here. Sisters, nature, and tons of friends all over the castle. "We're here, by the way,"
Penny followed his finger, and saw a clearing in the forest, with chairs surrounding a stone firepit. Her eyes lit up. "Sensational!"
Jaune set down the food on an empty chair. "Let me just start a fire, I think I have matches somewhere." He dug around in his pockets to no avail. "Crap. I'm sorry, Penny, I-"
"Don't worry," Penny said. She stretched her hand to the pile of wood and sent a small ball of fire. Instantly, the logs lit up.
Jaune's eyes lit up. "Is that your semblance?" he asked, excited.
Penny looked away. The short answer was 'no'. As a robot, she didn't have a semblance like other humans. At least, not one that she had unlocked yet. Her ability to set things on fire, to control wind, water, and earth came from another power, one that had originally belonged to her friend, Fria, before the old woman's unfortunate passing. She couldn't explain any of this to Jaune, however. The General had made her promise to keep it a secret.
"What's your semblance?" Penny asked, hoping that Jaune would be so intrigued by her own question that he'd forget his own.
"I… haven't figured it out yet," Jaune admitted.
"Oh. Well, don't worry, I'm sure that you will soon, and when you do, it will be sensational!"
Jaune smiled. "Thanks, Penny,"
Penny nodded happily. She liked Jaune, she decided, and she liked Ruby, and she liked the Isle, and she liked the Selection, and she was so happy she had come here.
Jaune pulled out the strange foods from his bag and explained to Penny the complicated art of making a s'more.
"Did I do it right?" Penny asked, sticking the graham cracker on her poker and catching it on fire.
"No!" Jaune panicked.
"Did I do it right?" Penny asked again, this time impaling and burning a large bar of chocolate.
"Penny!"
Once Penny had finally learned that she was supposed to roast the marshmallows, not the crackers or chocolate, the two had a blast. They made s'mores, they talked, and, when night fell, they both laid down in the grass and stared up at the moon and stars.
"Why do you think the moon is broken?" Jaune asked.
Penny thought for a second. "I don't know," she admitted. "Perhaps it was a laser,"
"Or a dragon," Jaune mused.
"A laser dragon," Penny decided.
Jaune smiled. "When I was younger, I used to ask the same question. My dad said it was because the moon was made of blue cheese that crumbled,"
"The moon is not, in fact, made of cheese," Penny informed.
"I know that now!"
Penny laughed. "What did your mom say, about why the moon is broken?"
Jaune bit his lip. "She never really answered. She just got kind of sad, so after a while, I stopped asking,"
The two lay in comfortable silence for a while, before Penny saw a star flicker out. "Huh?" she thought. It flickered back on, but then more flickered out, then back on, then out, then on. Penny grinned as some of the stars grew closer. They weren't stars at all. They were fireflies.
"My friends!" Penny cried. She leapt up, and Jaune did too, confused.
"The… fireflies?"
"They came to make sure you're worthy," Penny explained.
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Hi, Penny's friends," he called out to the fireflies, feeling rather silly and not expecting an answer. "Am I worthy of dating Penny?"
Penny tensed, her eyes glowing in rhythmic, morse-code like beeps. Jaune's mouth fell open as the fireflies responded in similar beeps. Penny's face fell. "They said, try again, and next time, don't forget the matches,"
Jaune rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and grinned. "That's fair,"
