Crocea Mors edge thrust through the throat of a Beowulf. Jaune pulled away and watched as the monster flailed and bleed out, getting only slower before Jaune could finish it with a couple of cleaving strikes to its head, splitting it open. It wasn't his cleanest kill but every part of him felt weak and slow.
Mantle's perimeter defenses had been damaged thanks to an explosion knocking out power to many of the city's automated defense systems and the confusion and fear had only helped draw the grimm in. So far Atlas military regulars had assisted in the bulk of the fighting but occasional grimm managed to slip through their line leaving Jaune and other huntsmen to clean them out.
So far the only news they had gotten was that this was this was an act of terrorism but Ironwood had made clear he had no idea who had orchestrated tonight's series of firebombings but he promised that all resources were being focused on bringing the perpetrators to justice. He had also begged citizens not to panic and remain vigilant in these hard times but it had seemed like a flat request as technicians had been rerouting power to the city's defense system leaving many without power. Not that he could blame Ironwood, panicking only attracted the grimm and he suspected that was precisely what these terrorists wanted.
He took watch for more grimm breathing in the cold night air as he defended his assigned secretor from any grimm that might try getting past him and into Mantle to wreak havoc. The quiet had at least given him some time to think Penny.
That dance, it had almost winded him in the intensity, her unique mechanical grace and her ability to learn and adapt to the dance had led him to get lost in it. Her confession, the way she struggled to confess her own intense feelings that she had only been able to convey through a kiss.
And that kiss, he could still feel a phantom of it upon his lips and how her body had melded against his. He hadn't expected such intensity from her, she barely permitted him a chance to catch his breath and even say her name before stealing his lips once more. It had only been after the kiss hand ended and they parted ways that he even realized that he had been kissing a robot. Not that he could tell when his lips were locked with hers or he was running his fingers through her hair, he had been lost in that moment and now he was left to ponder what happened next.
His scroll beeped and he pulled it out finding a group call waiting for him to answer. He hit the answer button to find Ironwood looking at his face. "All teams report back to Atlas Academy," he told him, "your relief has been deployed and we're sending a pickup, you have all earned a good rest and I expect you to do just that."
Jaune pocketed the scroll and released a sigh of relief. His sword felt like a lead weight in his arms and his eyelids were heavy from exhaustion. His aura was at forty percent and while he could keep killing grimm he needed rest, but even more than rest he wanted to see Penny, he wanted to talk to her about their kiss about what she had told him.
He sheathed his blade, he had luckily been able to change before coming here. Thanks to rocket propelled lockers similar to Beacon he had been able to call his gear to his location and changed into his armor back at the club.
Ren and Nora were already waiting for their bullhead pickup with numerous other huntsmen and Atlas students he didn't recognize. Everyone was exhausted, it was a half hour after four in the morning and they had been fighting grimm for most of the night with little to no sleep. In Jaune's case he hadn't even eaten yet and a part of him wished he had at least tried to get a bite to eat back at the club when he had a chance. He'd kill for a simple cup of coffee right now.
"What's your kill count for the night?" Nora asked him, "I totalled twenty six," she said a little proud but obviously tired like he was.
"I didn't count," Jaune told her suppressing a yawn, "probably less than that."
"Lady killer here probably has too much on his mind," Neon teased him as she sat down upon the ground. Her makeup was smeared from a long night of combat, it was strange that despite her disheveled appearance and exhaustion she was still able to tease him.
"Yeah…" Jaune sighed, scratching the back of his head as he blushed. Gods, everyone at that club had to have seen him locking lips with Penny.
Nora grinned triumphantly at that, "at least our plan worked," Nora said beaming proudly at Neon.
"Plan?" Jaune asked wearily.
"Yup… we got Penny to confess, and she did a brilliant job at that," Neon explained to him.
"You knew?" he asked and looked at Nora as well, "You both knew?"
Nora smirked at him, "Well yeah… everyone knows," Nora said, "She told just about everyone, except Ren, I told Ren."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jaune asked, feeling a wave of embarrassment crash over him.
"Because that's Penny's job, she worked so hard to pluck up the courage to confess. I wasn't expecting her to be bold enough to kiss you." Neon explained.
Jaune let out a long groan of exhaustion and self depreciation. "Why am I so stupid?" He asked no one in particular, "Am I just blind to these kinds of things?"
The roar of engines overhead stopped anyone from answering him as their bullhead finally arrived and lowered itself onto the ground to pick them up. The doors opened for them and everyone piled in filling each and every seat.
Jaune luckily enough managed to grab a corner seat being one of the last to pile in leaving him with a wall he was able to comfortably lean against as Neon sat to his left.
"Hey," She said to him, speaking low and privately.
"Yeah?" Jaune asked, trying to relax for their short flight.
"You're not stuipid Jaune," She told him, "But you might be a little blind."
"Thanks," Jaune said sarcastically.
"No I mean… I think you never considered the idea that Penny might like you because you don't really think of yourself as the kind of guy to attract anyone." She explained to him. "That night I asked you out. I kept trying to flirt up a storm with you, and you were still surprised when I asked, most guys would have seen it coming a mile away but you didn't, why?"
Jaune shrugged, "I just thought you were being nice," he explained.
"But did you have a moment where you thought maybe I was being more than just nice?" She asked him.
"No," Jaune said, "I mean… maybe but I didn't take it seriously, it seemed silly to think about?"
"And why would that be silly Jaune? The voice was right after all."
Jaune sighed seeing her point, "Because I'm not the kind of guy who attracts girls," he sighed, "But I never had that little voice with Penny, I don't think I even considered it once until that kiss."
"That might be so," Neon told him, "trust me Penny wasn't being that obvious, I was clueless until she said something, hell I even asked her if you were single. What I'm saying Jaune is that the next time you hear that silly voice in your head take it a little more seriously."
Jaune nodded wearily at her, "I will," he told her, "thank you."
Neon returned his nod, "so what's gonna happen now?" she asked, "between you and Penny I mean."
"We still need to figure that out," Jaune told her honestly, "we didn't really talk much before she left."
Neon giggled, "too busy sucking face huh?"
Jaune chuckled, "I actually tried getting a word in but she wasn't really interested in talking," he admitted to her.
"Well whatever happens next good luck," she told him, giving him a pat on her back.
The rest of the short flight passed in comfortable silence. Almost everyone aboard was quiet with exhaustion only sharing light conversation or simply waiting in the dark as they passed over the spires of Atlas. In minutes the bullhead touched down and everyone piled to return to the academy. Jaune pulled out his scroll, the white light of it shone brightly in the dark interior of the bullhead as he checked his texts. He had sent Penny a couple during some quiet moments standing guard against grimm but they still remained unread. He hadn't said much, he had only wished her well and reassured her that he was still planning to meet her to talk when this was all over.
A few minutes later their bullhead touched down on the landing pad and opened its doors allowing them all to depart and walk back into the academy and back to their dorm rooms and beds. Jaune parted ways with Neon and Team FNKI but as they approached his dorm room he looked at Ren and Nora.
"I'm gonna go get some food and caffeine," he told the two of them.
Ren raised an eyebrow, "caffeine?" He asked, "Are you not going to bed?" Ren asked, even his usual stoic demeanor was weary and worn after their long night of fighting without food or sleep.
"No I… I promised Penny I'd try to see her," he explained to them both.
"Ah," Nora said cracking a grin at him and pumping her eyebrows suggestively, "I see, you're eager to pick up where you left off huh?"
"It's not like that Nora," Jaune told her with a little groan, he wasn't in the mood for her to tease him about that right now. "We're just going to talk, figure things out."
"What's to figure out?" Nora asked with an exaggerated shrugged, "I'm pretty sure you said plenty kissing her back the way you did."
"Goodnight Nora!" Jaune groaned feeling to be in now mood for her antics.
He turned and walked away giving them a wave farewell as he made his way to the academy rec room where a number of vending machines and coffee pots waited for him. The earthy brew called to him as he prepared to at least wait for Penny and make good on his promise. A part of him felt silly for making himself do this, he had no idea when or if Penny was even going to come back before the end of today, she hadn't really said anything to him saying as much, she had only given him her heels before running off.
But hadn't Neon just told him to sometimes listen to that silly sounding voice? He doubted this was exactly what she had meant but ultimately it made sense to him. He grabbed a cardboard cup and poured himself a cup of the hot coffee and took his first sip of the black substance and seeing that the temperature was tolerable to say the least he downed the rest of the bitter life giving drink and immediately refilled. If he was going to stay up and wait for Penny he'd need all the energy he could get.
Dawn colored the sky over Mantle and Atlas a bright brilliant orange. It was strangely scenic to Penny as she watched from the comfort of a bullhead returning to Atlas Academy. The last night had been hectic as she flew across the city from disaster to disaster helping rescue citizens from explosions pulling them out of the rubble or assisting in the areas where the grimm incursions were fiercest assisting however she could as the city barely kept itself from descending into chaos.
She touched down on the Academy landing pad and walked the halls swiftly. This section was empty and still in the early morning as most of the students here were asleep and she envied them able to find rest despite everything that was happening, despite the attack and the fear and uncertainty that came with it as some faceless enemy struck a seemingly aimless blow. She supposed that maybe she was not so different as her internal batteries were only now operating at eight percent and needed recharging, so like many before she was in need of rest in her own way.
Taking the elevator up to her floor she departed and walked barefoot through the hallway to the sanctuary of her room. She needed to do so much before she pluggled herself in for her recharge. A shower for one which considering she had already had one last night before going to the club seemed troublesome but after sifting through the rubble of multiple explosions and disposing seven hundred and forty three grimm of various species she was a mess, her body and hair were stained with soot and dust and the nice dress Neon and Nora had gotten for her was shredded leaving her exposed in the lacy black lingerie that'd been provided. When Penny had asked why she would need to wear such underwear Neon had simply answered that it could help her feel confident. She hadn't really understood but she didn't argue with Neon.
"Jaune?" Penny exclaimed as she turned the corner to find the blonde knight sitting on the floor in front of her room. He looked up at her with weary tired eyes and smiled at her.
"Hey,' he greeted her. A paper coffee cup was beside him along with an empty bag of beef jerky from one of the Academy's vending machines.
"What are you doing here?" Penny asked him, feeling suddenly awkward with how much her now ruined dress exposed. Modesty was never much of a concern with her but with Jaune she felt a churning mix of emotions at the idea of him getting an eye full, both a strange pleasure in the idea but an embarrassment that she was such a mess.
"I told you I'd be here," Jaune told her standing up. Thankfully his gaze was focused on her face and not the rest of her.
He had but she hadn't expected to find him sitting in front of her door half asleep.
"Did you get my texts?" Jaune asked her.
Texts? Penny immediately knew the problem, "All communication towers have been limited to emergency traffic," she told him, "I never got them."
"I see," Jaune said standing up and extending his arm to her, "I uh… I brought you your shoes." he said holding out their pair of heels she had given him before rushing off. She took them from him, they were the only thing left completely intact from Neon and Nora's work of primping her up for the evening.
"Thanks," Penny said to him completely at a loss of what else to say to him.
"I can go if you want," Jaune told her, "I uh… I thought this might be a stupid thing to do."
"No Jaune," She said, taking his arm, he hadn't made to leave but as off guard as him being here put her she did not want to be left alone. "It is not stupid, I am very happy to see you I just… I do not know what to say after how we left things."
"How about we inside," Jaune asked her, "if you're alright with that."
Penny nodded and stepped past him and into her room closing the door behind them. Jaune stood in the middle of her small room and took a breath. "I've had a lot of time to think about what you said to me," Jaune told her, "and about that kiss.
Penny listened with a sense of dread. "I should not have kissed you like that," Penny admitted, "I was caught up in the moment and I did not know how to tell you and I just did the first thing that came to my mind and I should not have done that."
"Penny!" Jaune said stepping forward and placing his hands on her bare shoulders silencing her rambling. "It was a great kiss, thank you for being honest with me."
Penny fell into his arms and rested her head against his shoulder listening to him speak. "I had no idea you felt that way about me," Jaune explained, "but… I know that in these past couple months I have come to care greatly for you too."
Penny smiled at that, "So what happens now?" she asked, comfortable in his arms.
"Penny," he said to her, "I want to give this a chance," he told her, giving her a small pleasant squeeze, "I want to give us a chance."
The words were pleasant to her ears and she wrapped her arms around the tall knight hugging him tightly in return. "Really?" She asked him, burying her face into his shoulder.
"Penny, I don't want to wonder what could have been if I never gave this a try," he explained, "I don't want to miss out again on a chance to be happy Penny, not again."
She looked up at him as he held her, "Jaune… do you like me?" she asked, wanting to affirm what he was saying.
"I think I just started to," He said, bending down to deliver a kiss but she pulled away from him. What's wrong?" He asked her.
"Jaune I am a mess," she giggled, "I am gross and covered in ash, I do not want you to kiss me while I am like this, I need a shower."
Jaune chuckled a little bit at himself, "yeah I guess that was a dumb move," he said, "I kind of need a shower too I've been fighting grimm all night. But I want to give you a kiss goodnight."
"Maybe you do not need to kiss me goodnight," Penny suggested, "Maybe you could… sleep here," she suggested tentatively.
Jaune took a moment to ponder that and nodded, "just sleep?" he said.
Penny nodded, "and maybe kiss a little more if you want," she suggested hopefully.
"Alright," Jaune said with a nod, "I'll go shower and meet you back here."
Penny nodded with a grin and watched him leave stopping for only a second to look back and give her a smile. "See you soon," he said before closing the door behind him.
Penny stood silently staring at the door in disbelief. Was this really happening? If she was capable of dreaming she might think that she needed to pinch herself. The whole night had seemed to be part fantasy and part nightmare but for it to have concluded with her finding Jaune in front of her room waiting to talk to her, to tell her what she wanted, that all this had not been for nothing.
They were a couple now. An actual couple. He liked her, or at least he was starting to, which was about as much as she could hope for. She still needed to thank Nora and Neon for everything and tell team RWBY everything but right now she wanted to simply spend what time she could with her new boyfriend.
Boyfriend, it felt weird to suddenly think of Jaune as her boyfriend but unless she had seriously misread his words that was what he was to her now, was he? She had a boyfriend, it seemed impossible but it was the truth.
She stripped off the ragged dress that she absolutely had to repay Neon for, it had in fact worked to help her confess and she was sad that she could not keep the special dress. At least Jaune had returned her heels. Discarding the ruined dress and lacy underwear she stepped into her own personal shower and let the water wash away all the ash and grime that had clung to her body and hair.
She took extra care to ensure that her hair was cleaned out of any dirt and ash. Penny had never put particularly much thought into her appearance but she was rather fond of her copper red hair and after her quick and efficient shower she took time to dry and comb it out to its former glory before she dressed herself in a plain Atlas Academy sleep shirt and shorts and sat on her bed. She pulled part of the oversized shirt up and set a plug into her back to start recharging her batteries.
She waited for Jaune on the edge on her bed trying to calm her nerves. She had hoped that confessing to Jaune would end this nervousness but it seemed that it was not so simple. What did come next to them? Just more dates? But there was more wasn't there? Jaune had asked if the plan was for him to just sleep here, it had taken a moment to realize the unintended implications of asking a boy to sleep here in her bed. But did that physical aspect lay waiting in their future? Her father had told her it was possible and true to his word has forwarded her files with the more technical data sparing him the embarrassment of having to explain it to her directly, she was thankful for that.
A knock came at the door, Jaune had returned. "It's open," she told him.
The knob turned and the door swung open. Jaune too was dressed in one of the simple white Atlas shirt and a pair of shorts. His short blonde hair was a little damp but he looked slightly more awake thanks to the hot water.
He stared at her.
"What?" Penny asked, feeling a little self conscious with him gazing like that at her.
"I'm just not used to looking at you like this," Jaune told her, going a little scarlet in the cheeks, "you're really cute."
Penny smiled as a wave of flattery struck her, he had called her cute. At a loss for words she simply patted the mattress for him to sit next to her. Jaune sat down as directed and Penny didn't waste her time in giving Jaune that kiss she had denied him.
He kissed her back, he put his hands on her waist and pulled her close as he did. She felt his hand brush against the power plug in her back and for a moment she worried that it might off put him or give him second thoughts but it hadn't seemed to bother him he didn't stop kissing her or slow down.
Eventually they slowed down and as much as she wanted to kiss him all day he was still weary and tired from a long night and she urged him to lay down to sleep. He didn't argue and laid out on her bed as she remained sitting upright watching him and running her fingers through his blonde locks.
As wonderful as this all was there was one worry that would not leave the back of her mind. "Jaune… last night when I responded to one of the explosions I saw one of Vasily's drones," she explained staring at the wall, "I am scared Jaune, I think he is still alive and has had in hand in what happened and when I think about him and how close we came to ending us before we even got here I feel scared, I am worried."
She looked down at him sleeping easy and carefree, he even snored lightly and despite her worries she smiled down at her sleeping boyfriend feeling her fears fade knowing that whatever was next she was not alone.
Hope everyone enjoyed this week's chapter. We are now starting the final arc of this story and I am very excited. I am rather pleased on how this has all turned out. As usual please review and leave your thoughts and opinions for this story. And as always I would like to thank MidKnightMoonglow99, Firefly25, MajorBrony95 and DrknssRules1 they have all helped me greatly in this story, you guys rock.
See you all next week.