Penny's knuckles rapped on the dorm room door and she stopped waiting for an answer. She heard light footsteps on the other side watched as the knob turned and it opened a crack. Silver eyes met hers.
"Oh, hey Penny," Ruby chirped, stepping back to open the door for her, "how's it going?" She asked as Penny stepped into the dormitory.
"Where is the rest of your team?" Penny asked her when she saw that indeed the rest of the room was vacant. A bit of relief passed through her helping to calm her nerves.
"Blake and Yang took a contract together and are still out," Ruby explained to her taking a seat on one of the bunks, "Weiss is currently training with her sister so I found myself with a bit of alone time."
That was good, Penny thought. "Uh Ruby… can we talk?" She asked her tentatively, turning her gaze towards the window showing the academy grounds, she idly wondered why her room didn't have a window and found herself wishing it did.
Ruby's brow furrowed with concern. "Yeah Penny of course we can talk," she assured her, "what do you want to talk about?" She asked cautiously.
Penny tried to meet Ruby's eyes but found herself too embarrassed to manage holding her gaze. She instead looked at the floor by Ruby's feed and crossed her arms sheepishly over her chest. "Boys," Penny quietly confessed.
Ruby was quiet for a long moment and Penny wondered if perhaps her friend had heard her. "Boys?" She finally answered, "you want to talk about boys?"
Penny nodded. She looked up to Ruby to find that her face was slightly pink from embarrassment. That helped ease a little more of Penny's tension.
"What about… boys?" Ruby asked her.
Penny steeled herself and looked up into her friend's silver eyes. She couldn't dance around this, and Ruby was her friend, her best friend, if she could talk to anyone about this it would be her. "How do you know if you like a boy?" She asked her.
Ruby's eyes widened at her, "Penny… Do you like someone? Like, like like?" She asked flabbergasted.
"I do not know," Penny answered her, "but I keep thinking about him and I want to see him more and every time he smiles at me I feel very happy."
Ruby nodded and released a sigh, "yeah that sounds like a crush to me," she agreed motioning to a chair for Penny to sit down in. She took her seat and folded her hands in her lap.
"How long has this been going on?" Ruby asked her.
"Not very long," Penny admitted, "I only started to suspect it last night when I was charging my power cells, I was reading one of Blake's books she leant me and I noticed a similarity to how the heroine was acting towards the hero and it made me think."
"I see," Ruby said, seeming to relax, "are you going to tell him how you feel?" She asked her.
The very idea sent a flood of embarrassment and apprehension though her. "I have not considered it," she explained to her. "I do not know if he feels the same way or what would happen if he did not share my feelings. Do crushes fade?"
Ruby sighed, "Some do, mine certainly have. But it can grow into something more if you let it, wouldn't you like to see if it does?"
The thought certainly had an undeniable appeal to it. Penny could only imagine being held and kissed like she was in one of Blake's books. Those experiences, along with others, had yet to come. "It sounds…. nice," Penny admitted, "but I do not want to risk changing how things are between us."
Ruby nodded, "who is this guy?" She asked her, "if you don't mind telling me."
Penny looked down at her hands in her lap embarrassed to confess his name. "You will not tell him right?" Penny asked her, voicing her fear, "you will not tell anyone?"
Ruby nodded assuringly, "your secret is safe with me Penny, what are friends for after all?"
Penny took a long moment of silence to gather her courage and speak his name. "Jaune," she muttered quietly, feeling bashful at even speaking his name.
"Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed.
The door opened just as Ruby said his name and Penny turned to see the rest of Team RWBY stepping in.
"Oh hey Penny!" Yang greeted her with a smile before looking over to her little sister, "what's this about Jaune?"
"Nothing! Goodnight Ruby!" Penny stammered as she stood straight up and made for the door only for Ruby to catch her by the arm.
"Wait Penny, stay with us. We can all talk about this, just us girls." Ruby offered her looking at the confused looks on her teammate's faces. "Right? They're probably more qualified to talk about this sort of thing than me?"
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked them with a confused look on her face.
Penny looked to the face of every girl. "This will all stay between us right?" She asked them, shaking with nervousness.
"Yeah sure," Yang agreed instantly.
"We can keep a secret," Weiss added in assuringly.
Blake simply gave a silent nod.
"Alright," Penny admitted sheepishly as she moved back into her chair and sat down. Everyone else took seats of their own. Penny felt weighed down by their gazes transfixed on her.
"So what is this about?" Blake asked, turning to Ruby.
"Uh you see, Penny and I were talking about… boys." Ruby explained to her teammates.
"Boys!" Weiss exclaimed in surprise. "You mean like… boys?"
"Ooh!" Yang said excitedly. She pulled her legs up on the bunk sitting criss cross and leaning forward, "one of my favorite things to discuss."
"A… boy," Penny clarified, not sure if she found Yang's exuberance to be encouraging or not.
"A boy?" Blake said her brow furrowing, "so you mean… Jaune?" She asked, putting the rest of the pieces together.
"You like vomit boy?!" Yang asked excitedly, wearing a huge grin on her face.
"Do not call him that!" Penny said, "he does not like it!"
Yang threw her hands up in mock surrender but the gleeful expression on her face shone brighter. "Woah I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult your boyfriend!"
Penny opened her mouth to retort only to witness a pillow smash into Yang's face silencing her. To her surprise she saw that the feather stuffed missile had been thrown by Weiss who quickly donned the air of a calm and dignified lady once more.
The youngest Schnee sibling cleared her throat as if she'd done something rather inconsequential. "So you like Jaune?" Weiss asked her, remaining calm and dignified as she spoke. "As in… romantically?"
"I think I might," Penny explained to her, "I have never felt this way about anyone before, especially not a boy."
"You have been spending quite a bit of time together," Blake commented.
Ruby nodded in agreement, "and the two of you have gone through a lot together recently."
Yang shrugged facetiously, "seems like this was enviable to me," she said, "what are a couple of kids to do am I right?"
"Yang you're not helping!" Weiss argued, "Penny is dealing with some serious feelings right now!"
"I'm serious too!" Yang said looking at Penny, "I'm just happy is all, Vomit Boy's been needing to catch a break with the ladies."
"Do not call him vomit boy!" Penny insisted.
"Nora said he's actually become quite popular with some of those single moms he's been helping," Weiss interjected, "though I doubt he's even noticed."
"Exactly!" Yang said, "Jaune never notices, or he crushes hard on the wrong girl."
Weiss cleared her throat pointedly and stared dangerously at the blonde brawler. "Case and point!" Yang said, earning another thrown pillow from the girl.
"Jaune likes you?" Penny asked looking at the younger Schnee sister.
"Liked! Past tense! That was a long time ago," Weiss clarified. "It was back at Beacon, he asked me out like a dozen times and kept using cheesy pick up lines. One time he even sang a song asking me to the dance, it was so annoying!"
"I see," Penny said quietly, "I did not know about that, it sounds like it was difficult."
"It was… but," Weiss said as her features softened, "he apparently encouraged another boy I happened to fancy to spend the dance with me." Weiss took a breath. "Jaune is a bit… much for my tastes," she explained, "but since all of that I've come to see that he is quite kind and considerate."
"I never thought I'd hear such a ringing endorsement of Jaune from Weiss of all people," Ruby said, "it's kind of weird."
"Just because we didn't get off on the right foot doesn't mean I haven't come to recognize his more positive qualities," Weiss said looking back at Penny. "I suppose what I am saying is you could do a lot worse than Jaune."
"Yep definitely weird," Yang said, "Penny might have some competition."
Weiss's cheeks went pink and she reached for another pillow to toss at the blonde only to find that she had none left. "Looks like you're out of ammo Ice Queen."
Penny couldn't help but smile as she watched Weiss cross her arms in a huff. She glared icy daggers at Yang who turned her attention to Penny. "There's a smile!" The blonde proclaimed proudly, "I knew I could loosen her up! You looked like you were on your way to a funeral, not a girl with a crush. You should be excited!"
"It is just very overwhelming," Penny answered her, "and I still do not know if I have a crush on Jaune or not."
"I'll make this easy," Yang proclaimed. "Do you feel happy when a Jaune is happy?"
Penny nodded, "yes… but I feel like that whenever my friends are happy."
Yang nodded, "ok… but have you been thinking about Jaune a lot lately and ways to make him happy?"
Penny nodded again a little apprehensively this time, "I have been thinking about him a lot lately," she admitted.
"Have you thought about Jaune holding your hand? Hugging you, kissing you?" She asked her. "Do you like the thought of that?"
Penny was only able to respond with a silent nod. She had thought about it more than once. And even now thinking about doing those things she'd seen in those romance movies or more embarrassingly in the books Blake had been lending her the idea of Jaune kept invading those fantasies.
"Well there we have it! That's a check for all three. Congratulations Penny you have a bonafide crush on Jaune, we're very happy for you." Yang smugly crossed her arms over her chest beaming proudly.
Penny nodded, "Alright, I have a crush on Jaune. But it is just a crush, right? It shall fade as Ruby said right?"
"That kind of depends," Blake answered speaking up, "crushes can fade Penny but they can also grow into something more, something serious."
Penny looked to the cat faunus, "so what should I do?"
"Tell him how you feel," Blake told her. "Just be honest with him, I may not know Jaune very well but I'm sure he'll hear you out."
Weiss nodded at that, "I agree with Blake, even if Jaune doesn't reciprocate your feelings I have no doubts he'll be a gentleman to you."
"That sounds… scary," Penny admitted, "Ruby already suggested telling him, but being rejected just sounds… painful." She shook her head unable to bear the thought. Even if Jaune was kind and understanding in his rejection the pain of it seemed unbearable.
"You're gonna have to face that sooner or later Penny," Yang said, "Or you're never going to get a hot date!"
"I've never seen you with a date Yang," Weiss said only to be quieted as Yang tossed one of the pillows at her.
"That's besides the point," the blonde explained looking back over to Penny. "My point is that if you want things to progress with Jaune you're going to have to find your courage and be honest."
Penny nodded to show she understood. Of course she'd have to tell Jaune, it wasn't like she expected him to suddenly confess to her. "I understand that, I just… I keep thinking that he might reject me because… because I am not a real girl."
"Penny," Ruby said seriously. "You are a real girl, your thoughts and feelings are just as real as the rest of ours. And Jaune is my friend too, I know he won't reject you because of something so… shallow."
"Yeah," Yang agreed with a nod, "and if he does then just say the word and we'll teach him a lesson."
"I do not want you to hurt him!" Penny protested.
"Come on! Just a black eye?" Yang asked her, "I mean he'll have earned more than just that."
"Do not hurt him," Penny insisted, making her feelings on the matter clear.
"Ok ok, I was just joking, well half joking." Yang said with a shrug. "My offer stands in case you ever change your mind and he acts like a jerk."
"Uh…" Weiss paused, looking a little flushed as the eyes in the room.
"What is it Weiss?" Ruby asked her partner.
Weiss's usually pale white face was as crimson as Ruby's cloak. "Well um… I do not want to be insensitive Penny, but since we have addressed that you're… different than most girls I cannot help but wonder if certain things might be… different in a relationship."
"What are you talking about Weiss?" Ruby asked, fixing her partner with an odd look. "What things would be different for Jaune and Penny if they started dating?"
Penny didn't think it was possible for Weiss's face to turn redder but under the stares of her teammates it did. "What I am saying is uh," Weiss cleared her throat, "could you and Jaune have a… physical relationship?"
If Penny had blood it would have all rushed through her face in embarrassment.
"That's uh… I did not think about that," Yang said, breaking the silence that preceded Weiss's inquiry.
Weiss looked like she was devastated from embarrassment, it was felt by everyone it seemed and Penny wished she had a clear answer. It had been something she herself had wondered the other night while recharging her power cells while reading a copy of Ninjas of Love Blake had leant her.
"I am built to resemble a real girl anatomically… but I do not know. I might have to discuss this with my father." She told them feeling their gazes upon her.
Yang released a heavy sigh, "I do not envy you, I still got nightmares from when Dad gave me the talk."
Ruby shuddered alongside her sister at the mention of this talk. And Penny felt her own embrace rise. How could she ask her father about this?
"That is something you might want to figure out," Blake told her, "Jaune might want a physical relationship so it'd be good to know if he could have one with you."
Penny nodded silently. "Until I speak with my father I have no idea if… that is even a possibility. Can we discuss something else?"
"Yes please," Weiss begged, her face was still crimson from embarrassment.
"You're the one that brought it up," Ruby told her, looking rather flushed herself.
"And I regret it!" Weiss snapped at her partner.
"Cool off Weisscream we're dropping it," Yang affirmed and looked back to Penny.
"Who else has liked Jaune?" Penny asked looking at Yang. "Earlier you said he never noticed when someone else liked him. I would not want to interfere with someone else that has feelings for him."
Everyone frowned and looked down at the floor sorrowfully. Penny wondered if she had crossed a line with her question.
"You don't need to worry about that Penny," Ruby told her quietly.
"Pyrrha, Jaune's former teammate, she used to have a crush on him," Blake explained to her. "I don't know if Jaune ever knew about her feelings towards him though."
"Jaune hasn't talked very much about it," Ruby said, "not to me at least… but I think he learned of her feelings, before she died."
Penny thought about how Jaune had mentioned Pyrrha when they had spoken about what happened. How he spoke of the pain to lose a friend and his determination to never let that happen again. About his drive to protect her against all odds. She couldn't begin to decipher the emotions that flooded in through her. Jaune had spoken about losing a friend and partner, but he had lost more than a friend. He'd lost someone very special indeed. Did Jaune wonder what it would be like if Pyrrha was still with him? Did he think about what a relationship with her would be like?
"I see," Penny said tentatively. "I did not know about that."
Weiss sighed, "We didn't know for awhile ourselves, it felt kind of strange to have him asking me out when I knew she harbored feelings for him."
"Do you think that he misses her?" Penny asked them all.
"We all miss Pyrrha Penny," Ruby told her. "She was our friend, I don't know if Jaune misses her as more than just a friend or not. I don't know if Jaune would have returned Pyrrha's feelings or not but it's sad that they never got that chance. And I think Jaune has been regretting how things happened for some time."
Penny looked up to the team of huntresses gathered around her. "When we were being hunted by that assassin Jaune tried restoring my aura, I told him not to and we had a bit of an argument. He was weakening himself to help me and at the moment I did not understand why he was doing it. But several days ago we talked a bit about what had happened, he said he knew what it felt like to lose a friend and refused to let it happen. I thought I understood then but now… I see that he lost what could have been."
Ruby nodded, "yeah… it sucks," she said, "but I know Pyrrha would have wanted Jaune to be happy, and I don't know if you can make him happy like that but… but maybe."
A stifled yawn cut the tension and they all looked over to Weiss as she covered her mouth. "Sorry," she apologized, "it's getting late and it's been a long day."
Yang opened her mouth and delivered a loud yawn of her own. "Damnit Weiss that's infectious." She said bitterly.
"We do need to get up early in the morning," Blake interjected.
Penny nodded and stood up, "you should all sleep then," Penny told them, "thank you… all of you."
Yang gave her a thumbs up, "anytime girl," she said, "now go get yourself a man!"
"If you ever need to talk to someone Penny we're here for you," Ruby assured her. "Just send us a text or something."
Penny stepped forward and pulled Ruby into a tight hug. "Thank you Ruby, I really needed to talk to someone about this."
"No problem," Ruby said as Penny released her.
"Goodnight Ruby," Penny said.
"Goodnight Penny," Ruby answered.
Penny stepped out into the hall. Her mind was flooded with a million thoughts and emotions as she considered their words. She thought about Weiss's experience being the target of Jaune's affection, about Ruby's assurances that Jaune would not reject her for being a machine. And the question of if she could have a physical relationship with Jaune, or anyone for that matter. She was not eager to approach her father with that question, she wondered if she could avoid telling him about Jaune specifically.
"Hey Penny, wait up!" She heard his voice and froze for a moment to compose herself. She turned to face him.
He was smiling and if Penny had a heart in her chest she was sure it'd be fluttering just like in Blake's novels. "Hello Jaune," she greeted. Behind him his dorm room was open and she could see Ren and Nora behind him observing. "How are you?"
"I'm good been working harder than ever with missions and contracts," he said with a grin, "I won't keep you long but you know that movie night we talked about?"
Penny nodded silently.
"I was thinking Ren and Nora should join us," he said pointing his thumb over his shoulder at his teammates. "I haven't exactly been hanging out with them a lot of late and you haven't really hung out with them either."
"Sure," Penny answered him, "they're more than welcome to join us." No she had no idea how to feel about Lie Ren or Nora Valkyrie joining in on the movie night. The idea of being alone with him was as intimidating as it was exciting. Others being there with her seemed safer at least.
"Great," Jaune said, "I'll text you the movies we're thinking of watching, we'll put it to a vote."
Penny nodded, "I look forward to it," she said.
"Great, see you then," Jaune said turning with a wave goodbye, "goodnight Penny."
Penny watched as he moved to enter his dorm with his teammates. "Goodnight Jaune."
Hope you all enjoyed this week's chapter and the beginning of the third arc. This arc will be more about Penny exploring her feeling for Jaune and the drama that comes with such emotions. I hope you enjoyed Penny and Ruby talking about boys. Since it was brought up in the first season I was curious on what that'd look like. The rest of Team RWBY giving their two cents of Jaune and romance was interesting to write. How do you think I did? As usual please review and leave me with your thoughts. I'd like to thank MidKnightMoonglow99 and Firefly25 for listening to my ideas and giving me their own, they rock.
See you all again next week.