Author's Notes: Oh, wow... One chapter in and currently, this story already has 448 followers and 298 favorites? THANK YOU ALL SO FRICKING MUCH!
Seriously. Just like when I was writing my very first fanfic here, I promised myself to continue writing the story even if only around 1 to 10 people were genuinely interested in reading it. Then someway... somehow... Next thing I knew I got a few hundred people like... following my story. I'm like... What?
I don't know what you guys (dare I say) "like" about my work so much. English isn't my first language so I'm pretty darn sure I have a major disadvantage when it comes to vocabulary since mine is very limited, and I think it's safe to say I have below average grammar. But I'm very glad you peeps seem to like this still. Hopefully, this chapter entertains you guys and won't disappoint.
Chapter Update Schedule and other few announcements are in the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter, and I have a question for ya'll down there.
Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!
Jaune was walking around campus in search of Penny's father. He already received the directions to get to him through the calling card Penny gave him.
"Hm…" He took the card out of his pocket and took another look at the address written on it, double-checking the directions. "Guess I'm already here?"
He stood before a very familiar building. It was the Cross Continental Transmit System tower. It was the tallest building located at the very center of the campus. Entering the establishment, he made his way inside the elevator. He selected the floor just under the top one.
Seconds later, the elevator stopped moving. The door opened. He walked inside the large room, marveled at seeing a lot of robotic parts lying around the floor, on the table and countertops. Though he didn't let it distract him from his goal. "Hello? Mister Polendina sir?"
"Be right there, sonny. Hold on."
Heavy metallic steps could be heard from the corner of the room. Shelves were blocking the thing approaching from view.
Jaune took a few steps back from how intimidating the sounds were. He could already imagine a giant, hulking cyborg dude approaching.
Only to be met with a sweet-looking old man with glasses on a big-looking chair with mechanical crab-like legs. "Oh, hello there! Come in. Come. Come! You must be Mister Arc."
"You know about me… Uh… Sir?"
"Please. Call me Pietro. No need for such formalities, son." He pressed a button on his chair, pulling up a holographic video of Jaune dancing in a dress, coming out of the end of his left armrest. "My daughter brought you up a few times. Quite the display you've made. Made me chuckle a few times. Haha."
"O-Oh, well… Uh, glad to entertain. Nice to meet you." He took a quick look at the calling card in his hand and put it back in his pocket. "Sir? I-I mean. Mister Pietro sir? I came to take the job."
He took a quick look at Jaune's hands and noticed he was already wearing the ring. "Penny convinced you? That was quicker than expected."
"Y-Yeah, I kinda am in a tough spot right now. So I was looking for a job."
"Well ain't that convenient." He cleared his throat for a bit, as he turned his mechanical chair around and began looking at the cabinets near his desk. "Oh, please take a seat while I look for some paperwork for you to fill in. Pardon the mess. I recently just moved in from Atlas and I'm still trying to organize the place."
"It's no problem, sir." He obliged. Looking around, it seemed like a lot of work for an old man to handle "You… Organize by yourself?"
"I do have Penny to help me. She's just out with her friends eating lunch, I believe."
"Oh, right." He felt a tad bit dumb for asking that.
Pietro didn't seem to mind it though.
He took out the contract from a filing cabinet. "Found it. I need you to sign this. And please do read everything on it before sealing the deal. Everything you need to know, including the job description and anything like that is already there. Still, if you have any questions, please do ask away."
"Alright, sir. Uh… Pietro."
Jaune was handed a pen as he began reading. The contract had 3 pages in total with text that is a bit small. Doesn't seem to have fine prints though. It was the very first thing he looked for before actually starting to read the paragraphs of text in order.
Pietro gave the blonde a warm smile. Out of nowhere, he asked, "So… What do you think of my daughter?"
"Uh… She's… pretty nice, I guess?"
"You... find her attractive by any chance?"
The blonde got a bit nervous. He knew how fathers normally act around their daughters whenever it involved boys, or at least that's how he perceived them to be. Trying to choose his words carefully, he struggled with whether or not he should tell the truth. "M-Maybe? Just a little, I guess. S-She's... cute, sir."
Sensing his anxiety through the shakiness of his voice, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now don't be nervous around me, Mister Arc. She already told me that she's interested in you quite a bit even before we got here in Vale."
"Oh, she did?" His face turned slightly red.
"Indeed."
"..." Not sure what to say, he remained silent and kept reading the document before him.
"I trust my little Penny's judgment, and you have my blessing. I won't force you to be her boyfriend either if you don't want to. All I ask is to try not to hurt her too badly if you do end up refusing her."
"..." Still, no answer from him.
Pietro had his mechanical chair take him behind his desk. "You see, she's been mostly used as a sentient weapon in the Atlas Military. She doesn't get to interact with a lot of people of her age and, well... You know how it goes."
Pietro's words convinced him, writing his signature on the document. "So given the chance, I guess you wanted Penny to live a somewhat normal life?"
"Pretty much. You should've seen how overjoyed I was to hear that she made friends. Since then, I've been trying to look for ways to somehow free her from the Military. And let me tell ya, it wasn't easy." The old man turned his head towards a picture on his desk where Penny was taking a selfie of herself and her arm around his shoulder "But it all worked out in the end."
"Well, that settles it." Jaune approached the man with a warm smile. "I've signed the contract, sir. I promise that my friends and I will take good care of her."
"Glad to hear it!" The man was so happy that he set his chair to menacingly approach him.
This frightened the blonde a bit, leaning back, before receiving a vigorous handshake from him. Constantly being shaken, Jaune's voice came out a bit choppy. "H-Ha-Happy to be of se- service, sir."
He stopped and gave a hearty laugh. "Pietro, son. Just call me Pietro."
"Oh right. Sorry." Now he couldn't give eye contact and had a hand behind his neck. "Just to be clear, I'm not sure yet if I should... woo your daughter."
"Why not?" He asked as he was taking the signed papers back inside the file cabinet.
"Well, I... I actually have someone else that I currently like."
"Oh... Oh, dear." Instead of asking him, the first thing the man did was to pull up his scroll and open the app he was developing. Just above Penny's name, there was a girl who is listed higher than her. Someone Jaune is more attracted to. "Is this...? Is this Miss Schnee?"
"I-I... U-Uh..."
"Oh! Pardon me. I know this is part of your job but... Maybe I shouldn't be so intrusive in front of the test subject."
"It's completely fine, sir. But yeah... I uh... There's someone else I like."
"That is a bit of a problem. Poor Penny..." This time, Pietro frowned.
It was highly infectious which made Jaune feel a bit bad.
"Are you two currently dating?"
"Well, not really. B-But... I... I don't know... I'm not even sure if Weiss even likes me to begin with."
The old man's eyes lit up. "I see. Seems like an unrequited love situation in our hands. Well... When you feel comfortable about moving on, maybe you could consider my daughter as a potential partner. I know she can be a bit awkward to talk to at times but, I believe people can learn to love with just a bit of getting used to. Love can develop, you know? Even the worst of enemies can turn into best of friends. Could turn into sweet couples even."
"I'll... I'll consider it." He gave a nod.
"Thank you, young man. That would make my Penny very happy." Pietro smiled and put away his scroll. "You run along now. I'll have your salary sent to your account each time the timer on the ring hits the 24-hour mark. Oh! I'm not sure if Penny told you this yet, but the ring is waterproof. You do not have to take it off whenever you have to shower or swim."
"Alright! Thank you for the job, sir- I-I mean, Pietro. Your daughter is in good hands!" With that, he stood up and headed for the door.
The man chuckled and waved him goodbye. "I know she is."
Meanwhile, at the cafeteria...
Ruby, Yang, Penny, and Pyrrha were left at their table. The rest of their friends already went back to their dorms.
"So... Um... Pyrrha?" Ruby turned to Yang for a moment.
Arms crossed, her sister responded with a simple nod.
The robot girl and the red-head sat across her, waiting for what she had to say.
"I kinda just wanted to let you know that... I like Jaune."
"Same here." Yang casually raised her hand.
"Oh..." The girl seemed slightly dejected but instantly hid it with a forced smile. "Well admittedly, I should have seen this coming. I wasn't expecting you of all people to like him, Yang."
She shrugged. "Meh, just a teensy weensy little crush. But yeah. Hope you don't mind too much."
"I-"
"Could we still be friends?" Ruby interrupted and she instantly asked.
Everyone's eyes were now on Ruby.
"I... I just don't want us to be... not friends... just because of this... thing we have for Jaune. I know you like him and all."
Pyrrha had closed her eyes and slightly chuckled before replying. "We'll be friends, Ruby. I promise. We can be rivals too at the same time."
Now Pyrrha changed her tone to a sound a bit more confident. "Plus it's not as if I don't have the advantage. Just like we saw earlier, Jaune seems to be a bit more attracted to me compared to you two.
"Pffft... Hah! As if~ It took you what? Two years now and still haven't told him about your feelings? You'll see what I can do in two minutes~"
Ruby elbowed Yang hard on her hip.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"It sounded like you were gonna sexually harass the guy."
"Nah~ I'm not the type to do that sort of thing."
Ruby gave her a stern look. "No, Yang. You are. Didn't you tell us about what you did to that guy in the club? That Junior guy you beat up?"
"Oh yeah... Forgot about that. Heh..." She slightly leaned back with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Excuse me."
Eyes turned to the 4th person with them.
Penny was there, unphased with what they were talking about as usual. "Pardon me for interrupting, but I'm pretty sure I'm in the lead if you do not count Weiss."
The rest of the girls stopped for a moment to think about it.
"Yeah, but that's just because you pretty much confessed to him the moment you guys met," Yang said. "I'm sure he'll like us more if we let him know~"
Just then, Penny's scroll began to ring. She took it out. It wasn't a phone call. It was the app. Seeing what's on it made her happy, and her cheeks even began to heat up. "Jaune likes me even more now!"
"What?!" They said in unison.
Pyrrha, who was closest to her, leaned in closer to see. Same with Yang and had to place her hands on the table to take a better look. Ruby used her semblance around to sit beside her robot friend at the table as quickly as possible.
This is what was displayed...
Attraction Update:
Weiss - 30 (- 5) % = 25% - Yellow Heart
Penny - 5 (+ 10) % = 15% - Green Heart
Pyrrha - 95% - Blue
Ruby - 80% - Blue
Yang - 75% - Blue
"B-But... How?" Pyrrha asked?
"My father probably said something that might have influenced Jaune's feelings." Penny placed the scroll back in her pocket. "I'm glad to know that the app seems to function properly."
"Wow... You have your dad as a wingman." Yang remarked.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Ruby's head. "Penny? Could you please send me a copy of the app? I can help beta test it for you and your dad! Free of charge! Pretty please"
"Hey! Count me in!" The blonde girl already took out her scroll. "Pretty please?~"
Snapping out of her dejection, Pyrrha also asked. "I would very much appreciate it if you could send me a copy as well."
"I..." Feeling the peer pressure, she stood up and backed away from all of them. Their expectant gaze was too much and made her a bit nervous. "I would love to share the app with all of you..." *Hiccup!*
Penny's eyes widened and then covered her mouth with both hands.
The three other girls look at her in confusion.
"B-But I'll have to ask my father. Sorry." And with that, she ran out of the cafeteria.
The girls remained silent for a while...
... until Yang spoke up. "Wow, I didn't know robots could get the hiccups."
"..." Ruby frowned. "Yeah... Me neither. Maybe we were a bit too pushy."
With Weiss and Blake...
As they were headed back to their dorm building, they could see a white a tall white figure from a distance, about to head into the entrance.
Recognizing who it was, Weiss ran towards it with utmost joy, even forgetting about Blake for a moment as she left her behind. "Winter!"
The woman turned to see her little sister and approached her. She kept a serious look on her face, hands behind her back.
"I missed you so-!"
Winter simply raised an eyebrow.
"O-Oh." She turned back to see Blake almost right behind her. Weiss curtsied before the general's right-hand woman. "Your presence honors us."
Before she knew it, her big sister already had her hands wrapped around her, pulled into a tight yet loving embrace. "I was just messing with you, Weiss. I've missed you too."
Weiss was a bit shocked that she would do this. She wasn't the affectionate type but didn't complain. Instead, she closed her eyes and seized the rare opportunity to hug back.
"How have you been? Did you sustain any injuries from the recent grim invasion?" Winter pulled away to take a good look at her.
"I'm fine! No injuries whatsoever and I maintained perfect health up till this point in time." Weiss reassured her in a proud tone.
"Good."
As Blake approached, she remained silent and stood a few paces behind Weiss, not wanting to interrupt the moment.
However, she caught Winter's attention. "Greetings. You must be Miss Blake Belladonna? My sister has told me much about you in her letters."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Schnee. Your sister has told us about you too." She stood next to Weiss and asked, "Wouldn't it be easier if you just sent your message through your scroll?"
In response, the girl in white elbowed Blake's arm.
"Ouch..." She said in a monotone voice.
In a hushed voice, Weiss replied. "It's a Schnee thing."
She then cleared her throat and turned to her big sister. "So Winter! What brings you back here in Vale?"
"Classified..."
"Oh! Of course." She gave a quick and respectful nod.
"I am joking, Weiss." She got a chuckle out of that and petted Weiss on the head.
She giggled along with her but stopped to ask a question. "Are... Are you okay? You're usually... not like this."
"I'm fine. Never better even. If you must know, the general gave me a few weeks to go on a vacation. The last task I was given is to safely transport Penny and her father here in Beacon." She pulled her younger sister back into a warm hug. "I... would just like to take the opportunity to catch up with family without having to be so formal all the time. I won't make promises though. I still have my habits."
Again, Weiss hugged back tighter this time, feeling very comfortable.
"If you are not busy, may I spend some time with you for a while?" She then turned to Weiss' teammate. "If you don't mind me borrowing my sister for a bit."
"I would love to!"
"Not at all, ma'am." She shook her head and then headed inside the building. "I'll be in our dorm room. You two have fun."
Blake waved them goodbye as she headed inside the building.
Outside the CCT tower...
Penny was on her way to her father, looking very sad and confused about what to do...
Until she crossed paths with Jaune.
The blonde just got out, and immediately saw Penny as the door opened. "Oh, hey! Penny! I met your dad and he hired me." He gave her a thumbs-up.
"Congratulations! Thank you for taking the job offer! Not everyone is willing to sell their privacy, even for a high price."
Thinking about how she put it for a bit, he was starting to feel slight regret. "W-Well... I just hope I didn't mess up big time with my decision."
Taking this opportunity, she decided to ask him. "Jaune? May I talk to you for a bit? Maybe somewhere private?"
"Uh... Sure?"
"Follow me, please." Penny went ahead and led the way.
Beacon Academy had two dormitory buildings. East of the building where Team RWBY and JNPR's dorms were was the one for the exchange students.
Eventually, Penny took him inside her dorm room. The place wasn't really that different from the others. Four beds... A bookshelf at the back by the window with red curtains...
Though Jaune noticed something a bit peculiar... "Uhhh... Is that your spare... arm?"
Jaune pointed at the table. Aside from the arm, there were nuts and bolts around it, a screwdriver, a bunch of scattered wires, and a soldering iron.
"Whoops! Sorry, I forgot that was still there." Penny opened a drawer and began placing everything in it. "I'm helping father upgrade my body so I won't easily malfunction due to some dismemberment. Fun fact! I have a detachable head now! Wanna see?"
The girl placed both her hands on the sides of her head.
"N-No thanks! It's fine! Don't need to see it." Taking a step back, he immediately tried to change the subject. "So... You wanted to talk to me about something?"
"Oh! Of course." Penny then took a seat on the side of one of the beds. Then she held out a hand pointing towards the bed across her. "Please take a seat."
He simply nodded and sat down.
"So, I will get it straight with you." Her hands on her lap clenched. "I-I was wondering if I could ask you something personal?"
"W-Well... It depends, really. I mean, we just met. We haven't actually established a whole lot of trust yet..." Jaune was noticing her frown at his words and immediately backpedaled. "... but I'll at least hear you out."
"Thank you." Penny took out her scroll and opened the app.
Seeing this, Jaune was already feeling the pressure. This girl had access to his feelings. He gulped, a bit of sweat was trailing down his neck.
"Jaune? You saw the app earlier when I wore the ring, correct? Since then, I wondered. Are you... okay with me having a crush on you?"
"..." His face began to turn slightly red. "I don't mind. Really, I don't. It's kinda flattering, actually."
"But... You like Weiss more."
"I'm almost certain that you might turn me down on the spot." Penny turned away, downcast. "I wouldn't blame if you did."
Remembering what he had talked about with her father earlier, he felt bad for her. Jaune couldn't come up with an answer this time and remained silent.
"Sorry if this conversation is making you uncomfortable. I'm not the best when it comes to these types of issues."
"No no! It's fine! I just... really don't know what to tell you."
The two avoided eye contact for a while before Penny asked. "What would you do if you were in my shoes?"
"Huh?"
"I mean... What would you do if you knew your crush likes someone else?"
"Oh! I'm glad you asked. I got a story for you that I'd like to share. I've been in your situation before."
"Really?!" She got her undivided attention. "Please, do tell."
"Alrighty then. There was a time where I was actually gonna ask Weiss out to the dance." He looked at her briefly to check if she had any sort of negative reaction.
But she didn't seem to have any. "How did it go? What did she say?"
"She didn't exactly say anything. It's more like... She got to Neptune first before I could say anything."
"Neptune?"
"Blue-haired guy with yellow goggles. He's a well-known pretty good-lookin' dude. Popular with the ladies, I think. You might meet him someday."
"Okay."
"Um... So... I overheard Weiss ask him to the dance. I'll admit... it kinda stung."
"I am sorry to hear that." She stood up and sat next to him. "If it makes you feel any better, I would have gone to the dance with you. I would've asked you even!"
He blushed a bit from her words and their close proximity. "Yeah, I bet you would."
She simply smiled at him.
"But that was a long time ago. And even if I got rejected, I would've still been pretty happy for them both. Uh... Technically, I wasn't 'rejected' but... You get the idea."
"Both? Even for this Neptune person? Why?" She leaned her face closer to his. "Aren't you jealous?"
"G-Getting a bit too close there." He scooted away before continuing. "And I was. But I don't see love that way."
She gave him a confused look.
"Well... How do I put this... When you genuinely like someone, you don't mind if they like someone else as long as they're happy."
"I think that makes sense... But..." She was getting all mopey again. "Does that mean you completely gave up on her?"
"Well, as far as I know... She and Neptune aren't a thing yet. So of course I haven't. In fact, I actually still try to get with Weiss. Not as frequently as I'd like to though. It's pretty rare now."
He had a sheepish grin on his face. "But hey! If Weiss ends up with Neptune, I wouldn't mind. I mean, he looks good. He seems like a great guy. Probably smarter than me... and could take better care of Weiss than I ever could. Sometimes, it's about doing what's best for the person you care about..."
At that point, Jaune hunched his back and placed his head on his hands, elbows on top of his knees as he was seated, looking more depressed than Penny was.
"... even if it means you have to let them go and be with someone else."
"I have never thought of it that way."
It took her a moment in her thoughts to think and finally came up with an idea.
She then stood right before him and asked. "And if that's the case... I would like to formally ask if I could court you."
"Uh... What?" His cheeks began to redden again.
"Since Weiss does not seem to be interested in you, maybe I could convince you to have me instead!" She leaned in closer, both hands on the side of the bed.
"Gah!" Her face inching towards his, Jaune pulled back and ended up laying almost fully down on the bed. "G-Getting a bit too close again there, Pen."
"Please?"
"I am a firm believer that love can develop, even if you currently don't like me as much as I like you. That is what my father told me..."
Jaune recalled her father saying something like that during their talk earlier.
She backed off and gave him some space. "Maybe we could hang out more and get to know each other a bit better? And in the end, I genuinely won't mind if I don't get you in the end as long as you're happy."
"..." He sighed and then smiled. "Okay, okay... I'm convinced. I'll give us a shot."
"HURRAY!" She suddenly pulled him into a tight hug and jumped up and down. She was strong enough to lift him up effortlessly with each hop.
"Aack! Penny... Crushing... me..."
"Whoops!" She loosened the hug. "I'm sorry..."
"It's fine! Heh... Just be careful next time, please." His arms made their way around her back.
"I will! I promise. Thank you so much for your time. I feel so much better now." Happy that he was hugging back, she began to nuzzle her face against his chest.
"Same here. The talk was nice. Opening myself up kinda felt good, especially when talking to a good listener." He turned away, too embarrassed to show how red his face was from being hugged by a cute girl.
"Yay! We should open up to each other more often then."
"I-I guess that would be nice."
She eventually pulled away. "See you again tomorrow! I'll have to tell father about the good news."
He chuckled and headed out the door. "Alright. See ya."
They waved their goodbyes.
And as he left, Penny's scroll began to ring again. Taking it out to have a look, the app was showing her an update of Jaune's attraction level.
She began fist-bumping adorably while hopping around the room from the excitement.
Looking at the results again, she was suddenly reminded of what Jaune said earlier.
"Doing what is best for the person you care about... Hm..."
In team RWBY's dorm room...
Ruby and Yang we're already there, playing a fighting game on the screen in front of them, using their scrolls for controllers.
Blake was laying down on her bed, reading a book as always.
Suddenly, Ruby's scroll's incoming call alert went off. This disconnected her controller.
"No! My game! I was winning!"
"Good luck next time, Rubes!~ I'm taking this one~" Yang proceeded to take her down in-game.
"Ugh..." Ruby groaned and looked at her scroll. "Penny's calling?"
Yang and Blake's heads turned to their leader.
She took a deep breath and tapped a button on her scroll. "Hi, Penny... I wanted to say sorry for earlie-"
"It's completely fine! Are your teammates there with you? Could you please put me on loudspeaker? I need all of you to hear this."
"Uh... Sure?" She obliged. "Done. We're all here except for Weiss. She's hanging out with her sister."
"Oh, that is alright! I'll just send her a message then."
"Penny? What's this about?"
"I will request my father to give me permission to distribute the app to my friends, all of you included."
"Really?!" Yang said, scooting closer next to Ruby.
"Yes. But! In turn, you both have to accept my challenge."
"What challenge?" They said in unison.
With Weiss...
She and her older sister were enjoying the view of the Emerald forest by the launch pads when Weiss scroll began to vibrate.
On it was a message from Penny.
Winter noticed that Weiss clenched her fist tightly. Her body was tense. And her face... She was very... very... furious...
"Weiss? What's wrong?" She placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and took a peek at the scroll.
'Hello! I just wanted to tell you that... I know how much you don't like Jaune and how much his advances annoy you. So I had a heart-to-heart talk with him earlier. I think I have convinced him to stop.'
Below the message was a screenshot of the app's Attraction Level update:
Penny - 15 (+ 60) % = 75% - Green heart
Weiss - 125 (- 60) % = 65% - Green heart
'You're welcome!'
Author's Notes: Made it to the end! Hopefully, this chapter did not disappoint. Spicier stuff happens next chapter! And speaking of the next chapter.
Announcement/s:
1)Next chapter will be updated on or before July 25, 2021. Sorry if this is a bit too long of a wait for you guys. It's because I'm working on another story called "Jaune's Video Diary" which I'm gonna try and update on or before the 15th of July, but might get pushed to the 18th. For those who have been following my JVD fanfic for a long time now, I meant to update it July of this year, 2021, and not next year. xD
2) ... Yeah, nothing comes to mind at the moment. Might update this part if I finally remembered what else I was supposed to announce. Saw the RWBY Volume 9 sneak peek though! Excited for the new Volume. Maybe RWBY gets a beach episode and Jaune gets a harem. Hehe...
Question: Do you people prefer every next chapter of this story to be done and ready to read (by everyone for free) on my P a treon account? Or should I keep it the same where I just put my drafts there (still free for everyone to read) and constantly update it? Because right now, each time I update a chapter, I instantly work on the other story and write my draft for its next chapter.
That means, I'll be writing the next chapter for JVD on there this week, and then the next chapter for "Love is Measured Literally" a week after once I update JVD.
Just wondering which you guys prefer.
Lastly, you guys don't have to... but this is an option to those who would like to support me.
P a treon . com (slash) AngeloGene
Currently, I have one guy on there! Please don't laugh... I feel very blessed that someone is supporting me no matter the amount. So huge shout out to username, "Robert Walker" for the support!
Regardless, thank you all so much for taking the time to read my story. Much love to you all! And please take care of yourselves. Be safe and healthy. Don't let the pandemic get you guys.