Author's note: Well shit, this one got super long.

Penny raised her hand to press the button to call, but hesitated. Was she ready to do this? It may turn awkward, but she needed to speak to someone with more...experience. She wasn't sure how much experience they had, but they had more life and social experience than she did, so they would hopefully be helpful.

"Penny? This is a...surprise. How can I help you?"

"Hello Special Agent Schnee! How are you doing today?"

"I am well. How are you?" Winter still sounded a little confused.

"I am doing wonderfully today thank you." Penny paused and Winter stayed silent as well, waiting patiently for Penny. "May I ask you for some advice?"

"Certainly."

"I am confused about some personal feelings I'm having."

Winter's eyes widened slightly but she showed no emotion otherwise. "What sort of personal feelings? Do they involve someone?"

"I'm not sure of my feelings, but I think so yes. I think of them almost constantly, I greatly enjoy spending time with them, I have saved a folder of images of them smiling as it makes me very happy to see, and I like looking at them before I rest in the evening." Even though she didn't need to, she let out a breath, she'd seen other people do it before and thought it might help.

Winter was quiet as she looked Penny over. She knew exactly what the other girl was describing. But how to explain it? "How long have you felt like this?"

Penny rolled through her memory. "It has been 23 days, 5 hours and 17 minutes."

"You remember exactly?" Winter couldn't help but be surprised.

"Yes. I noticed how I felt happier when looking at them smiling and it's when I saved the first image." Penny smiled softly thinking back: It was still her favourite of all the images she had of Ruby and Weiss.

"Do you feel this strongly about other people?"

"No." Penny didn't hesitate, she knew that she didn't feel like this about anyone else.

"The feelings you're describing sound like you like them very much, and that you like them as more than a friend."

"Like them more than a friend? Do you mean love?" Penny tilted her head slightly; she hadn't considered it would be love.

"Maybe not love, not because you're not capable of feeling it, but because most people don't fall in love very quickly. It can take time." They were both quiet for a moment. "Do they know that you're an android with an aura?"

"Yes."

"That's surprising. I thought you weren't supposed to tell anyone?" Penny at least had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "And how did they react when they found out?"

"They said that as far as they were concerned I was still a person. That it didn't matter if I had been born or made, because I was still a person to them. That I still mattered."

Winter didn't say a word after that for a minute or two, Penny staying silent as well. When she finally spoke, it was measured. "If they know about what you are, and they reacted that positively, then they sound like a good person. I don't have a lot of experience in this area, however one of the things I do know is that it is always best to tell the person that you have feelings for them."

"I understand. Thank you very much Special Agent Schnee! I will definitely tell Ruby and Weiss how I feel about them in the near future!"

Penny leaned forward and ended the call, although not before Winter's eyes popped and she spluttered out "Wait, Wei..." before the call cut off. Penny smiled and headed back to her room, skipping slightly.

When she got back, she looked up 'Love' and the things it entailed to remind herself. Whilst she wasn't sure what love felt like, after her talk with Special Agent Schnee she felt a lot more certain that she liked both Ruby and Weiss as more than friends, so it may be what she felt.

"Ah! Are you in love? A questionnaire to determine if you're in love."

Question 1:

Do you find yourself thinking about them?

All the time

Frequently

Sometimes

Never

"I do think about them more than just frequently, so I would have to say, 'All the time'."

Question 2:

Do you check your scroll?

Yes

Occasionally

No

"I don't understand why this would determine if I was in love or not, but I do check my scroll a lot to see if I have new messages from either of them."

Question 3:

Why?

To see if I have new messages

To check work

To check if my in-game tree has grown

I don't check it very often

"Oh. That makes more sense."

Question 4:

How do you view this person?

They are flawless

They have flaws but I accept them for who they are

They have good and bad

They are mostly bad

"Ruby and Weiss are not flawless, but I do think they are very pretty."

Question 5:

Do you re-read messages or think about moments together?

Yes, because I like reliving the moment

Sometimes, it makes me smile

From time to time

I think it's a waste of time

Penny knew what answer to put here, her folder of saved images and memories of the three of them smiling and laughing together was something she viewed almost every single day.

Question 6:

What do you feel when you see this person?

Nothing

Mild happiness

Excitement

Butterflies in my stomach

"I'd be very worried if butterflies had managed to get into my stomach."

Question 7:

Do you tend to imagine a future together with this person?

Yes, I love to imagine us together

Sometimes, it makes me feel nice

Rarely, but it happens,

Never.

Penny hadn't actually stopped to think of a future with Ruby and Weiss, and realised it came to her mind easily. A large house, room for the three of them, Ruby and Weiss very happy, which in turn made Penny happy.

Question 8:

Are you afraid of losing this person?

It's my greatest fear

It would be very tough

I would move on quickly

There are plenty of other people in the world, so no

She thought about losing them and felt her stomach tighten and feel like it had dropped downwards. "I think I wouldn't like it very much at all."

Question 9:

What is the thing you like most about this person?

Their smile

Attractiveness

Personality

Kindness

We share the same job

"I really like their smile, but they're both very kind, and very pretty too."

Question 10:

How would you feel if you couldn't see this person for a long time?

Sad

The same as normal

Worried

Nervous

Penny thought back to the time when she had been told to stay away from Ruby and her team originally. She had followed her orders but hadn't been happy about it, and now she sometimes deliberately ignored orders so she could see Ruby and Weiss.

After entering the final answer, Penny sat back and looked at the results: "Oh. I'm in love." Having figured it out with the help of Special Agent Schnee and the quiz, she smiled to herself, and, looking out her door, before slipping away into the evening.

"Err Weiss? Ruby? You've got a visitor." Blake was standing next to the curtains about to pull them shut, staring out into the night sky. Ruby stuck her head out from the edge of the bed, putting her scroll to one side, whilst Weiss turned around in the chair, pausing in brushing her hair to see what Blake meant. Yang leaned further out of her bed so that she could have a look as well, never one to resist poking her nose in.

"Oh my Dust Penny you didn't..." Weiss whispered as she dropped her hairbrush and rushed up to the window to look at the girl hovering outside their dorm window, a grin on her face and one hand raised in a wave. She threw the window open and grabbed for Penny's hand, pulling her inside, at which point Penny shut the jet pack off, stumbling to the floor. Weiss looked at her with a furious glare and crossed her arms. "Penny you absolute dolt!"

"Weiss?" Weiss felt her heart drop at the hurt in Penny's voice but soldiered on.

"We said not to come, why did you ignore us?" Yang and Blake looked at each other before quickly pretending they were either asleep or not paying attention; Yang rolling over in her bed and facing the wall, whilst Blake pulled a book out and buried her nose in it, covers pulled up to her chest.

Penny looked to Ruby for help and she answered, dropping to the floor and kneeling next to Penny, a hand on the small of her back.

"I...I wanted to spend even more time with you both. And you'd said a sleepover would be lots of fun, we can paint our nails, and try on clothes!"

Ruby looked up to her partner, a slight warning tone in her voice that Weiss had rarely heard before, "Weiss..."

She sighed, "It's not that we don't want to do it, or that it won't be fun Penny..." She crouched down in front of Penny and looked into her eyes, noticing that she could barely see anything different between them and a normal pair of eyes, the vibrant green irises shone like no human eyes could, but other than that there was practically no difference. "You snuck out of an Atlas military ship to have a sleepover with us. General Ironwood is already a little annoyed that you keep coming to see us without your guards, so you could really get in trouble for sneaking out at night." Weiss looked at Ruby meaningfully, hoping she'd back her up.

"What Weiss is trying to say is that we do want to spend time with you, we love spending time with you! We just don't want you to get in trouble because of us, it's not fair on you. But seeing as you're already here, we might as well enjoy it!" Ruby ended on a high note grinning at Weiss, who rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly, but both Penny and Ruby could see the corners of Weiss' mouth curling up a little.

She crossed her arms and looked away from both of the girls on the floor, "The sensors on the ship will be designed to stop people trying to sneak in, so it's probably more dangerous for you to try to sneak back in tonight."

Ruby's face lit up and Penny ran through Weiss' words in her head a few times. "So, what you're saying is that it's better for me to stay over rather than try to get back onto the ship?" Weiss gave a barely noticeable nod, still looking away from the two. "That's wonderful!" Penny jumped up and grabbed Weiss in a hug, who only hesitated for a moment before relaxing into it.

Penny had improved a lot when it came to her hugs, one weekend whilst Weiss had been intent on studying, Penny and Ruby had practiced them. Once Weiss had finished studying, the other two had tested it out on her to check she'd got the pressure and strength right. Weiss was still a little unused to being hugged, something Blake had bonded with her over...although Weiss wasn't sure why. Which, whilst it irked her that she didn't know the full background of her teammate, she accepted, as the others didn't know the full depths of what she'd been through at the Schnee Manor back in Atlas. She might reveal it in time, and they might reveal their own pasts too, but Weiss didn't know when, or if, that would happen.

Weiss still cringed if Neptune or Jaune came too close to her, or tried to touch or hug her at all, but she figured that was because she wasn't interested in them at all and found them distasteful. Jaune for his never-ending attempts to go out with her (Couldn't the guy take a hint?) and Neptune for his downright flirtatiousness with literally anything with a pulse. If somebody was going to flirt with her, then they should just focus on her alone, it was common courtesy! On that point she had to concede that at least Jaune didn't try to flirt with anyone else...although she wished he would!

Weiss was brought back into the world by Penny letting go and Ruby starting to tear the sheets off Weiss' bed. "Ruby what are you doing?!"

Ruby paused mid movement, sheets bunched up in her hands and a look on her face as if she hadn't expected it. "I'm taking the sheets off your bed?"

Weiss closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, "I suppose I did ask what...but why are you doing it?"

"Well if we're going to have a sleepover then Penny needs somewhere to sleep, and just sleeping in one of our beds is unfair to one of us, so if we get both mattresses down and put them on the floor there should be enough room across both of them so all three of us can sleep, and nobody feels left out." Ruby smiled at Weiss hopefully.

Weiss blinked slowly and then shrugged. Her team leader may have been a dolt quite a bit of the time, but she did make good points from time to time. She walked over and started to remove the sheets with Ruby, and the two of them lifted the mattress up, Penny helping out on that point, before placing it in the middle of the floor between Blake and Weiss' beds. They repeated the process with Ruby's bed, except Penny did the majority of the lifting of the mattress, especially after Ruby stumbled and nearly ended up dropping the whole thing on herself.

"Now that's all done, what should we do now?" Ruby was sat in the middle of the two mattresses, legs crossed and grinning.

"Oh! I know! Why don't we brush Weiss' hair?" Penny clapped her hands and they both looked at Weiss.

"Err..." She looked between the two girls, a look of ecstatic happiness and hope on both of their faces and sighed. She wasn't so heartless as to turn the two of them down, not when they looked that happy. "Fine. Just please be careful? I might not be as protective of it as the blonde brute up there..."

"Hey!"

"I thought you were pretending to sleep?" Weiss said pointedly.

"...Shit." Exaggerated snores started to come from Yang's bed and Weiss rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face. Yang had grown on her considerably over the last year or so, not that she'd ever admit it.

"...But I still care about my hair."

"Don't worry Weiss my friend! We will be extra gentle with you." Penny grinned and headed over to the desk where Weiss had been sitting before, picking an extra chair up along the way. Ruby copied her and soon they were sat either side of the chair Weiss had been in, looking at her invitingly.

Weiss walked over and sat down between the two girls, smoothing her nightdress out as she sat down and looked forwards. She felt a soft hand collect her hair from the base of her neck and gently pull it out over the back of the pale blue nightdress and chair.

"We'll take it turns alright? I'll do it for a little bit, then Penny, and then swap until you're happy with it alright?" Ruby's voice was calm and lacked the majority of the excitement that normally ran as an undercurrent throughout the day. Ruby slowly started to brush the end of Weiss' hair, slowly working out the few tangles and knots that were still left. Weiss had barely begun to brush her hair before Penny's impromptu arrival, so there were still things for Ruby to work through. Weiss was amazed at how gentle Ruby was, her own short hair was a lot easier to manage, and Weiss had seen her run a quick hand through it and wince as she caught the odd knot, but other than that she had never shown this gentle of a side to her before.

Weiss could only describe the feeling as one of complete calm and relaxation. The three of them didn't talk as Ruby brushed, Weiss content to sit there and be pampered, Ruby happily brushing away, a look of concentration of her face, and Penny watching the pair of them, running through the emotions she felt in her chest and head, trying to make sense of them.

After a few minutes Ruby leaned back and passed the brush to Penny, who took it gingerly. "Umm Ruby?"

"Yes Penny?"

Weiss also looked up, opening her eyes to stare into the mirror so she could see Penny.

"Could you please help me get the rhythm and strength right? I don't want to hurt Weiss."

Ruby's smile was so wide it nearly reached her ears, and Weiss quickly looked away from the mirror so the two girls behind her wouldn't see the smile on her face that almost matched Ruby's. It made Weiss' heart swell to hear that Penny wanted to be gentle for her. Penny's android body was incredibly strong, and she had troubles at time working out the right amount of force to use. Until she'd practiced hugging with Ruby, her hugs had almost felt like the life was being squeezed out of you. Now they were just tight enough so you felt them, but loose enough that you could still breathe. The fact that she wanted to be shown how to brush her hair gently made Weiss feel even warmer inside.

"Okay, so you take the brush like this…that's good. Now, start about halfway down her hair and then do it with me." Weiss felt Ruby's hands guide Penny's hand and the brush from just between her shoulder blades below her neck, all the way down to the small of her back. A moment after their hands and the brush left the bottom of her hair, she felt the brush go back into her hair, a little to the right of where it had been previously.

A couple of full strokes later, Ruby let Penny's hand go and left her to brush Weiss' hair on her own. Weiss looked and saw a look of intense concentration on Penny's face as she gingerly brushed the long white strands of hair, getting slightly more confident the more she did it. The other two swapped over again, Ruby taking over the brushing, doing it from the crown of Weiss' head all the way down, holding it gently in the other hand as she did.

"Your hair is so soft right after you wash it, it's gorgeous." Weiss felt her cheeks go pink, although her eyes were closed so she couldn't see just how bad it was. The next few minutes were silent aside from the sound of Penny and Ruby gently brushing Weiss' hair, and Weiss felt herself fall into complete relaxation, the room drifting away and the only thing that she could focus on or think about was the sensation of her two closest friends gently brushing her hair. Her shoulders dropped slightly as the tension flowed out of them with every stroke. It was slightly relaxing when she brushed her own hair, but it was, well, maybe not a chore exactly, but a well-practiced habit that she engaged in every night. She found it a little therapeutic but never to this extent.

Weiss could barely remember the last time she'd felt this calm and relaxed, everything since her tenth birthday had been a source of constant pressure and stress to live up to her Father's expectations that she had almost forgotten what it was like to just enjoy life. When was the last time I felt like this? A small memory crept in from the outer edges of her brain, an older woman, hair pulled up into a graceful bun, sat behind a younger Weiss, just under ten years old, her mother singing to her as she brushed her hair. Why does that memory come back now? It had been the last time Mother had been sober enough or cared enough to make me feel loved. So why is it coming back to me now? I'm happy and calm, maybe even stress free, but that doesn't explain why I…

Oh.

Her eyes flew wide open as the realisation hit her like an explosion of fire dust. Where she had been calm before, now thoughts sprinted through her head as she tried to make sense of what her feelings meant. Was it Ruby? Was it Penny?

Oh.

Oh no.

It was both of them wasn't it? Weiss thought about Ruby, the adorable dolt that cared so much about other people, going out of her way to become a Huntress just to help she had never met before. Someone who had, despite the terrible start they'd had, spent so much time making sure that Weiss always felt a part of the team and that she belonged. She'd long since stopped complaining and whining the whole time when Weiss forced her to study, except she didn't need to force her anymore did she? Ruby groaned about it once, but never with the same strength as she used to before, usually agreeing to it immediately. Her excitable and bouncy attitude just added to the overall cuteness, hair bouncing and cloak flying behind her any time she ran.

Penny though? Well, it was undeniable that Penny was cute too. Freckles dotting her cheeks, green eyes that shone like emeralds, despite the technological nature of them, the ginger bob curling on top of her shoulders, and her over enthusiastic and naïve view of life was just endearing overall. Yes, Weiss had been a little less than happy to meet her originally, and had been a little concerned by Penny, but once she'd actually spent a decent amount of time with her, she'd grown on her. Penny knew that she wasn't the most normal person, her strength was absolutely incredible, but she actively tried to learn to manage it, revealing the caring nature that had been built into her from the start. Penny did what she could to learn so that she could be a good friend, and it had been very successful, as aside from Ruby, Weiss didn't think there was anyone closer to her.

But…both of them? Was…was that normal? Weiss had never really thought about whether she preferred boys or girls before. She'd tried to flirt with and ask Neptune to the dance to fit in but had never really been that interested in it. When she thought of Neptune now, she felt a roll in her stomach that felt similar to when she had been ill a few weeks ago. Not an enjoyable sensation.

But what if she thought of Ruby and Penny?

Dust it felt amazing. Her heart would beat faster, her body would feel like she was made of air and floating in the clouds. The light brushes of their fingers on the back of her neck when they were brushing her hair sent jolts of electricity down her spine and through her entire body.

But what about her Father? Surely, he'd have something to say about it all, and it would be nothing good. But did she care? Weiss racked her brains and came to the conclusion, no.

Weiss didn't know much about…the emotion she was feeling that she refused to name just in case, but she knew that being rejected would be absolutely horrible, especially when the people she…yeah. Especially when they were her closest friends and one of them was her partner!

She couldn't say anything to them. She couldn't run the risk of either of them finding out.

All of those thoughts went through Weiss' head in the space of a few seconds, and she reached the conclusion of them just as Ruby said, and flicked the brush away with a final flourish, "Done!"

"So! Umm. What next?"

"We don't have any nail polish, so painting our nails isn't an option." Ruby tapped a finger to her lips in a thoughtful pose, a slight grin on her face that made Weiss roll her eyes fondly.

"We could watch a movie! Quietly so we don't disturb Blake reading or Yang sleeping." Penny's suggestion elicited even louder 'snores' from Yang that left Blake smirking into her book.

"Yeah! I've got a bunch of movies downloaded on my scroll, we can all cuddle up under the covers and watch it together!"

"Oh that would be wonderful!"

"Cuddle? Under the covers?" Weiss felt her face flush again, going nearly as red as Ruby's name. She wasn't sure her heart could take that.

"Well duh, I mean how else are we gonna sleep together after the movie's done?" Ruby shook her head in disbelief and Weiss heard Blake choke back a snort at Ruby's unfortunate phrasing. She herself meanwhile felt the blush reach her ears, and at this point wouldn't have been surprised if her snow-white hair started to turn red as well.

"If you're going to do that won't Penny need to get changed into some pyjamas?" The three looked at Blake who shrugged, "I mean, I doubt it would be comfortable sleeping in your skirt."

"What an excellent point Blake! It would be uncomfortable to sleep in my skirt. However, I did forget to bring a change of clothes." Penny was still smiling the whole time and didn't change her facial expression.

"That's fine Penny, you can borrow some of ours!" Ruby got up and headed towards the chest of drawers that held hers and Weiss' clothes.

"I don't think Penny would fit in one of Weiss' nightdresses, it might be a bit short. Although I don't know if that would be an issue or not." If looks could kill Weiss thought, Blake would be very dead. Either she had superhuman abilities that could read minds, or she was annoyingly perceptive. The wink Blake threw her way also made Weiss feel that she was spending just a bit too much time with Yang.

"Oh, that's a good point Blake, you can borrow mine Penny! They'll still be a bit short in the legs and stomach a bit because you're still taller than me, but they'll cover most of you." Grabbing a tank top and pyjama bottoms covered in roses she turned and handed them over to Penny. "Just head in the bathroom to get changed okay?"

"Will do Ruby!"

Weiss tried to get her breathing under control whilst Ruby set the holo screen up at the end of the bed and brought a couple of options up on her scroll. Pretty quickly Penny came out of the bathroom wearing Ruby's pyjamas and holding a folded dress in her arms.

"Penny! Oh my Dust you look so cute!" Ruby squealed when she saw Penny, and Weiss couldn't help but agree. The pyjamas were a little short and showed a small amount of her stomach, perfectly smooth, and the pyjama pants cut off about two thirds down her shins and showed her ankles and feet. She had also revealed her joints, which weren't perfectly smooth, and did reveal a little more synthetic design than the human looking design of the rest of her.

"I…I am?" Weiss gave a small smile as she saw that Penny was holding the clothes close to her chest and refused to meet their eyes.

"Yes Penny, you are." Weiss decided to help her out and try to make her feel more comfortable.

"Thank you Friends! That makes me very happy to hear!" Penny looked up with her eyes closed and a massive smile on her face that reinforced everything Weiss had felt when her hair was being brushed.

Ruby sped over in a blur of petals and lifted one of her arms up, examining her elbow, "This is so amazing! Your joints look so cool, is this why you always wear long sleeves and those thigh highs?"

Penny nodded, "Yes. My father thought it might be strange to see someone with visible joints like I do so he suggested covering them up as they need to be open like this to help with my movement."

Weiss tried to avoid looking at her joints as she found it a very private and intimate view, but she also felt very warm and thankful that Penny trusted them enough to show them, although maybe Ruby was being just a little too handsy right now…

"The movie Ruby?"

"Right! Yes. I'll stop now." Ruby let go of Penny's arm and shot back to the top of the bed and picked her scroll up, "We've got several choices, there's an action, superhero, or a comedy."

The three girls sat down and discussed it briefly before deciding on the action movie and then lay down, Ruby in the middle, Weiss on her left side and Penny on her right. As they were watching the movie Ruby looked to each side and saw the two girls watching the movie, Weiss' porcelain, almost unblemished skin flickering with the reflection from the screen, eyes like cool diamonds, a few strands of hair dangling over her cheek. Penny's freckles were dotted across her cheekbones, her eyes intently watching the movie and Spruce Willis fighting through an airport.

She felt such a warmth through her body and a level of happiness that she hadn't felt before. Why do I feel so super happy? I've not had a ton of cookies and am on a sugar rush; I'm just spending time with my two best friends…

Oh.

Is this what Yang meant? When she talked about how she felt around Blake? Am I in love with Weiss and Penny? Ruby thought about it, watching the movie but letting it wash over her and instead thought through her feelings. Would I want to spend the rest of my life with them both? She thought of the future, going on missions with the two of them, and then going back to a living room in a house, curling up on the sofa and watching TV with them. It invoked a sense of longing she hadn't felt before, and a need for it to happen.

Yeah. I'm in love with them.

Ruby smiled widely and went back to watching the movie, content in the knowledge that she was in love with her best friends.