Androids don't cry. Sometimes Penny envied the ability to create tears, partake in that cathartic action of simply weeping. Her eyes remained dry but the odd heavy feeling in her chest remained.
Ironwood has ordered her confined to her quarters for the next day or so. The beginning of her punishment for disobeying his orders to remain with her father during the intruder, likely he wanted time to think up some more fitting form of discipline. So far being confined to her room was proving a very effective punishment in her opinion.
She had read every book, memorized them as she would everything. Her positronic brain never forgot anything, unlike regular humans she remembered everything with perfect clarity. Her mind recorded everything, and could even be downloaded and viewed by others. And within her involuntary solitude she found herself only thinking about Jaune and replaying his last words to her in her mind.
Despite spending the last week confined in Atlas Academy she'd rather enjoyed herself. Enjoyed her days with Jaune, walking the academy, watching movies and talking about small meaningless things that didn't have any real consequence to their lives, about movies and comic books and anything else they thought of.
But it seemed he hadn't been feeling the same way about her and their time together. Go bother someone else! Those words he'd yelled at her echoed through her mind. She felt weighed down by them as she sat here alone in her room. Jaune was probably out running missions or huntsman contracts now that he was cleared again for duty. But right now she was stuck here alone to think about his last words.
Penny had considered trying to take her mind off the knight. She had tried rereading the book series she'd borrowed from Blake. Even though she remembered the novel perfectly word by word she'd hoped for a small distraction by trying to read it again. Sadly it proved to be a fruitless attempt, Jaune wouldn't leave her thoughts and the story didn't grip her interest half as much now. As Blake had told her the book left her with a cliffhanger, with the romantic triangle between the princess, the knight and the spy left in a rather awkward scenero. The more explicit scenes that Blake had warned her about didn't interest her as much as they first did the first time she'd read through the novel. And the moments of tender kisses, romantic words just made her feel sad.
She'd thought about watching the movies she'd downloaded but it only made her think about the number of movies she'd watched with Jaune in the past week.
She also considered simple letting herself enter into sleep mode. To limit her cognitive functions for the duration of her time confined to her quarters until they were done. But she dismissed the idea, it wasn't real sleep, not like humans experience, her functions would only be limited but not halted, it felt like being suspended in a dark void with only her thoughts and limited as they'd be she knew the knight would be there in her mind.
A knock came at the door, surprising her. No one had ever actually knocked on the door to her room before, usually they just called if they had any actual need for her. "Who is it?" She asked not really sure if she should let anyone in considering she was being punished currently.
"It's me," Winter's voice informed her. "I have the General's order for you."
"Come in," Penny said hoping that the General was about to release her from this solitary confinement.
The door opened and Winter stepped in giving a casual glance of her room. She'd never been inside her room before, few people had really. The door closed behind her and she fixed Penny with her usual icy stare. "Starting tomorrow you are to spend a week of patrol duty in Mantle."
Penny nodded. Patrol duty wasn't particularly excited most of the time, she usually just flew around the city and listened into the police scanner dealing with whatever happened. Usually petty crimes and normal accidents, nothing challenging or interesting. "Alright, beginning tomorrow. Is that all?"
"How are you?" Winter asked, taking her by surprise.
"I am well," Penny answered only to immediately hiccup and expose her lie. She envied the ability to tell a lie, to simply fib like most humans did every day, but even the smallest white lie was impossible for her to give without a hiccup.
Winter raised an eyebrow at her. "So something is wrong." It wasn't a question and it only made Penny feel bitter being called out so easily.
"It is… Jaune," she confessed knowing that she'd get the information out of her sooner or later. The look on Winter's face didn't betray any surprise that she'd mentioned the blonde knight, but the eldest Schnee sister rarely expressed much emotion in her facial features.
"What about Mr. Arc?" Winter asked her.
"I do not think we are friends anymore," Penny explained, she felt a tightness in her chest from saying the words aloud, "last night, after the attempt on the General's life… I was trying to be helpful but he yelled at me, he told me to go bother someone else and he did not need a robot babying him."
"Babying him?" Winter asked.
Penny nodded, "I wanted to help him. I've been trying to help him after what happened, but it seems I only made him angry."
Winter nodded, "I do not know the details of your situation myself, but yesterday just before the incident I happened to speak with Mr. Arc myself, I asked him about the time you two were spending together."
Penny was quiet for a long moment dreading to think what he could have possibly said to Winter. "What did he say?" She asked as her curiosity finally won over.
"He said that the two of you had become good friends, and I saw no reason to doubt the sincerity of his claim," Winter told her.
"But that was before he said that to me," Penny argued.
"Penny, sometimes friends fight," Winter told her, her expression softened, "and sometimes when people are frustrated they say things they don't really mean."
Penny looked to the floor, "then why say it at all?"
"Because when we're angry or frustrated we don't think clearly," she explained to her. "When I left home to join the military my own sister said she hated me, I knew she didn't mean it but it wasn't easy to hear, I felt guilty about leaving her, about leaving her in that house with our father. But the very first day I received a letter from her, and she apologized for everything, she said she was happy for me and she knew I needed to pursue my own path and she needed to pursue hers. I am sure whatever disagreement has come between the two of you can be mended."
Penny considered her words in silent contemplation. "You really think so?" She asked hopefully.
Winter nodded, "I do," she said simply, "but I am afraid I was not intending to ask about your fight with Mr. Arc, I wanted to inquire about yesterday's actions."
Penny frowned again, "you mean about why I disobeyed the order?"
"I do, I am afraid it has the General and I concerned," Winter explained.
"I will not do it again," Penny assured her.
"But why did you do it?" Winter asked her.
"I already explained," Penny said, "I was concerned."
"Concerned about the General? Or Mr. Arc?" Winter pressed.
Penny averted her eyes from her once more. "I would have protected them both," she assured her.
"But it was about Mr. Arc," Winter said.
Penny reluctantly nodded unable to deny that Jaune had been the focus of her concern, "I did not want him to get hurt," she confessed, "not again."
"He's a huntsman, he doesn't need your protection Penny. In fact Mr. Arc handled the threat quite admirably." Winter explained.
"I know he can fight, but that is not always enough," Penny told her, "it was not enough against Vasily and I was afraid it would not be enough again."
"You are not responsible for what happened to him," Winter told her firmly.
"But I am! Vasily was trying to kill me! Not Jaune, he was just caught in the crossfire. And I was not able to protect him, he almost died and it's my fault." He told her.
"Have you spoken to Mr. Arc about this?" Winter asked, "does he feel that you are responsible for what happened to him?"
Penny shook her head. Jaune hadn't shown any desire to speak about what had happened and Penny was comfortable with that. She didn't want to admit to her failure, not to his face.
"I think you should," Winter told her, "I understand that confronting what happened might be difficult for the both of you, but you endured that hardship together, remember that."
Three knocks rapped at the door interrupting their conversation. Penny looked to the closed door in surprise. Winter acted first, taking a step to the door and opening it.
Jaune stood in the hall outside, he flinched at the sight of Winter standing in the doorway instead of Penny. He stammered for a moment but Winter was the first to speak. "Mr. Arc, are you aware that Penny is currently being disciplined and not allowed visitors?"
"Uh… yeah," Jaune said scratching the back of his head and averting his gaze from Winter. He looked past the endear Schnee sister and locked eyes with Penny looking guilt ridden.
"So you deliberately came here anyways? In defiance of the General's orders?" Winter pressed on.
"Yeah," Jaune admitted guiltily.
"What do you have there?" Winter asked.
Jaune looked at a brown cardboard tube he clutched in his hand. "A gift," he answered, "for Penny… I uh… I just needed to talk to her."
"So you came here in defiance of General Ironwood's orders to give Penny a gift and talk? And this couldn't wait?" Winter continued on questioning pointedly.
Jaune looked at her, "no it couldn't wait."
"I see," Winter said stiffly, "you have fifteen minutes."
Jaune was silent for a long moment, confusion coloring his expression. "Fifteen-?"
"Minutes Mr. Arc, you have fifteen minutes, I would not waste them if I were you," Winter stepped out the door and past him, urging Jaune inside and closing the door behind him.
Jaune stood there with his back against the door alone with her. Silence hung between them and the blonde knight looked around the small room before looking again at Penny sitting on her bed.
"Hello Jaune," Penny greeted him, breaking the silence.
"Hey Penny," Jaune said scratching the back of his head nervously again.
Penny looked at the cardboard tube in his other hand. "You brought me a gift?" She asked.
"Yeah," Jaune nodded and stepped close, handing the tube to her.
Penny popped the plastic cap off one end and let the contents spill out. Several glossy paper posters rolled together slid out and Penny looked at the images. Various movie covers revealed themselves to her, every one she'd watched with Jaune in the last week.
"I know it isn't much," Jaune admitted a little guiltily. "I was shopping around Mantle all day and honestly this was the best I could do. Nothing else really felt right to me."
"I love them!" Penny assured gazing at each of them and wondered where they should go on her empty walls.
Jaune gave her a weak smile, "Penny… I am so very sorry for what I said to you!" He said to her, "I was agitated and frustrated and I know you were just trying to help me, I should not have lost my cool and just asked for some space. I hope you can forg-."
Penny stood up in a flash and pulled the young knight into a hug. "Jaune, I was afraid we were not friends anymore." She told him.
"I'm sorry," Jaune wheezed as her arms clutched him tightly. Penny ease her hold on him, sometimes she forgot her own strength.
"I thought that you hated me." Penny told him.
"I don't," Jaune assured her, bringing his own arms up to embrace her. "This last week… it's been nice, but I guess I felt a little smothered."
"I guess I took it too far," Penny admitted.
"I still should not have lost my cool," Jaune told her, releasing his embrace to look into her eyes. "Can you forgive me?"
Penny pulled him into another bone crushing embrace squeezing him against her. "Yes, of course."
"I feel like I'm getting off a little too easy," Jaune admitted awkwardly.
Penny released her embrace and looked at him curiously, "should we make this more difficult than necessary?" Penny asked him, "I do not want to be angry with you Jaune, I do not desire to hold a grudge against you."
"That's… really kind of you," Jaune said scratching the back of his head again. "I wish I'd at least thought of a better gift. I think if I knew you a little better I'd have gotten you something better than a couple of posters."
"I love the posters," Penny assured him, "and I'd like for you to get to know me Jaune, that is what friends do. Is it not?"
Jaune smiled and gave her a nod. "Yeah," he said, turning to look at the door a little nervously.
"We still have eight minutes and forty three seconds," Penny told him, "we still have some time."
Jaune nodded, "I wish I'd thought of more to say," he admitted to her.
Penny looked at her hands folded in her lap. "Winter told me that it would be good if we talked about what happened with Vasily."
"What's there to talk about?" Jaune asked, deflating at the mention of the assassins and the events that'd led them here.
"Jaune," Penny began, "I failed to protect you, I-."
"Stop!" Jaune commanded cutting her off. "Penny, it wasn't your job to protect me! Is that why you were trying to do everything for me? Guilt?"
Penny continued to stare at her hands in her lap. "Maybe," she admitted, "but you were roped into that situation because Vasily was after me."
Jaune stepped forward and lowered himself onto the bed, sitting next to her. "Penny," he said firmly looking into her eyes, "I don't regret being there to fight by your side."
"You do not understand Jaune, I am a protector." Penny explained. "I am programmed to protect others, it is what I was made for. You almost died, and it would have been because of my failure."
Jaune frowned and shook his head, "I was the one that kept throwing myself against him," Jaune told her, "and I was the idiot that pulled the knife out so I could bleed everywhere, what happened to me was my fault Penny."
"You saved me," Penny told him, "if you hadn't faced that assassin I would be gone."
"I protect my friends," Jaune said.
"But you should not protect me!" Penny told him. Jaune's eyes widened at her and he opened his mouth to protect only for Penny to cut him off. "Jaune your life is more valuable than mine, it is irreplaceable, I have died before Jaune, it is different for me."
Jaune's expression hardened. "So what? I should have just stood back and let that psycho kill you?" He asked her pointedly.
"It would have been better than you dying for me," Penny explained.
"It's not that simple and you know it," Jaune said, "that assassin wouldn't have simply left you to be fixed later, your life was just as much on the line as mine was!"
"Still though," Penny said, "even if my life was permanently terminated it is simply more favorable that I perish instead of you."
"I don't believe that!" Jaune said firmly.
"It is what I was made for, to protect humanity."
"I don't care!" Jaune said.
"Jaune," Penny pleaded, "I would have never forgiven myself if you had died on my behalf!"
"I know that feeling Penny, I have lost someone," Jaune said, he gazed into her eyes and set his hands upon her shoulders.
Penny gazed back at the knight as he held both her shoulders gazing sternly into her eyes. "You are talking about Pyrrha Nikos?" She asked him tentatively.
Jaune nodded, "yeah, she died facing Cinder," he said with a mournful sigh. "I know what it feels like to lose a partner Penny, I know how it feels to be powerless to save a friend. That's why I don't care why you were built, I will never sit by and let my friends die, not if I can help it."
Penny was silent for a long time as she gazed into his blue eyes. She'd only met Pyrrha once, at the Vital Tournament where she had been killed. Logically Penny knew she hadn't intended to kill her, but everytime she thought about the champion she couldn't help but feel a bit of fear for the woman. She'd killed her by accident, a mere trick orchestrated by the terrorist Cinder had been enough to snuff out her life. The memory of made her feel weak and fragile, an unfamiliar sensation to her.
"I do not want to ever feel like that either Jaune," Penny told him breaking her gaze away. "After you fought Vasily and freed me from his trap, I used my laser to cauterize your wound closed. I felt so guilty hearing you scream in pain, it was horrible. But then you went quiet and for an instant I thought you might have died, and I cannot describe how awful I felt, or how relieved I was when I felt your pulse. I was feeling your freeze to death in my arms and I tried to tell you everything would be alright, but it was a lie."
Jaune's hands tightened comfortingly on her shoulders and Penny found her being pulled back into his gaze. "I'm sorry you went through that," he said. "I can hardly even remember you closing my wound or passing out, but can you see why I cannot stand by and let a friend get hurt, why I can't let you get hurt?"
Penny nodded, "I understand," she assured him. "And I am afraid we are out of time."
Sure enough he heard Winter's knuckles rap on Penny's door, perfectly punctiona. "Mr. Arc I am afraid your fifteen minutes are up," she said opening the door.
Jaune sighed and released his hold on Penny's shoulder. "That's alright," he said standing up from her bed, "we can talk more later."
Penny gave the blonde knight a smile and nodded. "Goodbye Jaune, I am glad we talked."
"I'll see you later Penny," he waved goodbye and stepped out the door.
"Goodbye Penny, you start patrols tomorrow morning at zero four hundred hours," Winter said sternly, her hand on the doorknob.
Penny grinned and nodded to her, "thank you Winter."
The door closed and once again Penny was left alone in her room. She looked around at the empty walls considering where best to display Jaune's gift to her. Again she was left with her thoughts and still they lingered on the blonde knight.
Next chapter should cap off this story arc. Hope you are still enjoying this. As usual please review and leave your thoughts with me. And as always I'd like to thank MidKnightMoonglow99 for the help and support he's given me. See you all again next week.