The glaring lack of Penny/Ruby fics, also known as Nuts and Dolts fics apparently, was screaming at me, so I wrote this steamy little ficlet for my Adult!Ruby AU, because I just like the idea of the robotic happiness muffin and the adorably perky dolt together (please excuse my weird names for them). So here ya go!
(PS: I don't like 'Nuts and Dolts' so I came up with Red Gear instead. Or maybe Crimson Gear. One of those.)
Ruby Rose POV
The sobs just wouldn't stop. I sprinted through the streets of Downtown Vale, tuning out the cries of my friends to come back.
"Ruby wait! Please come back!" Weiss's voice rose above the rest, at least in my mind it did. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. Can you blame me? The rejection was still fresh in my mind.
"U-um, Weiss?" I shoved my frozen hands in my pockets and hunched my shoulders a bit, wondering if my voice was loud enough.
She turned and looked at me, smiling a little. Blake and Yang kept walking, shooting little glances back at us and giving me encouraging smiles.
"Yeah?" The word was accompanied by a puff of steam that curled from her mouth like an angel's breath. I swallowed the lump in my throat, gathered my courage, and took a deep breath.
"W-well, I-I just. . .I feel, um. . .I-" I squeezed my eyes shut. "I think I'm in love with you!" I peeked at her from under my lashes, and my heart dropped as I watched her smile disappear. She suddenly looked embarrassed and wouldn't meet my gaze.
"Er, well Ruby. . .This. . .This is a bit difficult to say but. . .I don't think I can return your feelings." Her words lodged in my chest like shrapnel, sinking farther toward my heart by the second. Is this how Tony Stark feels? Was the first thought to slip through my numb brain. Weiss rubbed her gloved hands over each other nervously.
"I-I like you a lot, and you're a wonderful person and a better friend. . .but," I wanted her to stop speaking and my arms twitched, my body itching to slap my palms over my ears. "I can't see you as anything other than my best friend." All my breath left me in a rush and I felt dizzy and faint.
I stumbled sideways and clutched a building for support.
"Ruby!" Weiss reached for me but I backed away.
"No!" Blake and Yang ran back, their faces worried, hands clasped together.
"What's wrong?" Yang looked between us and Blake stepped toward me. She reached out to touch my face, but I backed farther away.
"Don't." I sniffled, looking away. "Please don't." Yang rounded on Weiss.
"What did you do?" Weiss flinched.
"I-I didn't mean to-"
"Stop!" I shouted. "Leave her alone, it's not-" My voice cracked. "Not her fault. It's mine." Weiss had a look of pain etched on her features. She was still so beautiful. Like an angel.
"Ruby, please try to understand that I-"
"I get it." I spat. "I was an idiot to think. . ." I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. I'm so stupid." I turned and sprinted away, bawling and wanting to put as much distance between us as possible.
I ducked into and alleyway and emerged on another street, the calls of my friends ringing out behind me. I stumbled through small piles of snow and tripped clumsily as I accidentally ran into other people on the sidewalk in my haste.
I continued on like that for a good twenty minutes, doubling back and taking random turns to lose my pursuers. I slumped against a large, snow-laden tree near the edge of a park I didn't recognize and hugged my knees up to my chest, weeping loudly.
Eventually, though, my tears slowed and my breathing evened some. I laughed bitterly.
"Weiss is right. I really am a dolt. What do I know about love?" I curled up on my side and let the tides of crying induced exhaustion envelop me in warm nothingness.
"I don't think this is a very good place to sleep." The familiar voice dragged me kicking and screaming from my sweet oblivion and I sat up, feeling the painful stiffness in my body flare up. Weiss? The thought sent a jolt through me and the emotional pain came rushing back, proving much harder to bear than the physical pain.
A hand extended into my field of vision and I looked up at my would-be alarm clock. She gazed concernedly at me with big, green eyes and I took her soft hand, letting her pull me effortlessly to my feet. She dusted snow off my cloak and coat, adjusting my muffler a little with cold fingers.
Her thick orange curls swayed slightly with her movements and she pulled my hood up, her hands brushing my face.
"There," She smiled happily. "Now you're Cold Weather Ready!" I smiled weakly.
"Th-thanks P-P-Penny." She nodded and took my hand, leading me away from the tree where I'd been asleep for. . .
I looked up at the darkened sky. The sun was just beginning to set when I ran, I thought, surprising myself with my clinical attitude. Penny hummed sweetly as she towed me along behind her, going Monty knows where.
Soon, we arrived at a small apartment in the residential district and she slipped a key from her pocket, then unlocking the door and opening it. She stepped aside and gestured for me to enter.
"Welcome to my home, friend!" She said with a wide smile. I couldn't help but return it, albeit a bit weakly, as I passed her. She stepped in after me and closed the door, throwing the room into darkness.
She crossed the room silently and confidently, switching on a couple lamps as she went, and picked up the phone, dialing a number and waiting, the smile never leaving her face.
I took a moment to scan the room and was unsurprised to find everything neat and precisely placed. The glass coffee table sat in the middle of the room, between the couch and the TV, which were placed against opposite walls, the couch to my left and the TV to my right. A doorway just beyond the couch led to what I assumed would be the kitchen area, and a doorway directly across from it led to what I assumed was the bedroom and bathroom area.
She glanced up at me, then gestured to the couch.
"Make yourself at home." I nodded gratefully and unlaced my boots, leaving them next to hers, and hung up my coat and hood. I padded across the plush carpet to the couch and sat down heavily, listening to Penny's side of the conversation.
"Hello, Yang!" She chirped. She listened for a while then nodded.
"Absolutely, she's right here with me." She listened a while longer, then nodded again.
"Uh-huh, here she is." She held the phone out toward me, but I shook my head. Her eyes widened and she put the phone back to her ear. "Er, she. . .She doesn't feel like talking now, sorry." She nodded for a while, then gave them directions to the apartment before hanging up the phone.
She walked over and plopped down next to me, one leg tucked under her butt and her smile not absent, but just a bit dimmer than usual. I noticed her shirt said:
I'm not weird, you're just too normal.
It almost made me laugh. Almost.
"What's going on? I got a call from Yang saying that you ran away and they couldn't find you!" I pulled my knees up to my chest and leaned my chin on them.
"I-I. . .don't really want to talk about it." I muttered, avoiding her innocent emerald gaze. She wrapped an arm around me and I surprised myself yet again by letting her. Something about Penny always made me want to relax and just enjoy her company, ever since we met in college a couple years ago.
"You'll feel better afterwards." I knew that, but for some inexplicable reason, I didn't want Penny to know I'd told Weiss I loved her.
"I-I know, but I just can't." She nodded easily and I leaned against her subconsciously, drinking in her warmth and relishing her presence. She hummed softly, rocking me back and forth slightly.
Before I knew it, tears sprang to my eyes and I was sobbing like a child, soaking Penny's white shirt with my tears. She stroked my hair and murmured quietly to me.
"Don't worry, Ruby my friend, everything'll be fine." Without conscious thought or decision, I was suddenly spilling my guts to her, pouring my heart out onto her shirt.
She listened patiently and sat in thoughtful silence when I finished. Finally, she said:
"It'll all turn out fine, I know it. Somewhere out there, someone feels the same way about you, and I know you'll find them someday." She smiled at me so reassuringly and said it so confidently that I had no choice but to believe her.
"Thank you, Penny." She smiled and kissed my forehead.
"Don't you worry, friend, I'll always be by your side." A thought crossed my mind and I blurted it before I could stop.
"Penny, do you like anyone?" She blinked and looked at me then stared off into the distance.
"Yes." She murmured. "But I know I don't have a chance with her. Her heart belongs to another."
I stared at her wistful expression and her sad smile and it all clicked.
Of course! The smiles, the eagerness to help look for me, all the hugs. . .Everything.
". . .You're in love with Yang!" Her brow furrowed and she frowned.
"Um, no." Now I was confused.
"Blake, then?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Still no." I rubbed the back of my head.
"Weiss?" She rolled her eyes.
"Let me stop you right there." She leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips. "I'll be blunt, I am in love with you, Ruby Rose." My jaw hit the floor.
"Wha?" Was my supremely intelligent response. She played with a lock of my hair and smiled lightly.
"You were my very first friend. Did you know that?" I shook my head numbly. This wasn't computing. She nodded. "I was a bit of a sheltered child. I was homeschooled until I went to college, and my father never allowed me near other children." She looked down. "I applied to Beacon (A/N: It's a regular college in this Universe)without his knowledge and I didn't tell him that I was accepted until I was packed and leaving." A single tear rolled down her cheek and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it away, but I hesitated and she did it first.
She turned to me and smiled. "I remember first meeting you guys so clearly." We paused and thought back on it, remembering the thief who stole Weiss's purse and ran, causing her to chase him and accidentally crash into Penny. We giggled a bit, clearly think about the same thing. "I was so nervous at first." She said, staring down at her hands. Then her eyes met mine and the emotions swimming in them made my stomach flip.
"Then you called me friend and I was so elated that I couldn't wait to see you the next day. And the day after that. And every day afterward." She swallowed and her voice became thick with emotion. "Before I knew it, I started wanting to hold you and kiss you and. . ." She blushed. "Well, you get the idea I'm sure." I nodded, touching her leg.
"I do." She trembled under my touch and she stared longingly at me. I flushed and looked away, suddenly feeling naked.
"C-can I kiss you?" I blinked and was surprised yet again that my heart leaped at the prospect of kissing her again. I nodded before I could stop to think about it. She pounced on me eagerly, her mouth crashing on mine and her tongue delving deep into my mouth, bringing a moan bubbling up from my throat.
Her hands roamed my body, brushing my thighs, stomach, breasts and back.
"Penny." I moaned her name breathlessly and she kissed my neck tenderly. I wrapped my arms around her neck and she shifted me so I was completely on my back instead of awkwardly on my side and stared down at me, her green eyes clouded with desire.
"I love you so much it scares me, Ruby." She attacked my lips again, devouring them like a starved beggar at a king's table. She pulled back to take a breath but when she kissed me again, it was more tender and loving than desperate. "I've never felt like this before." Her lips pressed against my neck again, her tongue tracing patterns on my skin. I threw my head back and buried my fingers in her thick, silky curls as she rubbed her palms on my thighs, making me shiver and arch my back against her.
Through the lustful haze that shrouded my thoughts, I silently contemplated the pleasurable bubbling in my stomach that I was having trouble identifying. What is this feeling? I've never felt it before. I had a flash of insight and suddenly I knew what the feeling was. No. I have, but it was a little different.
"Penny," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "I think. . .No. I know I love you." She pulled away from my neck and sat back on her heels, staring down at me as I propped myself up on my elbows. She looked dazed.
"R-really?" I nodded and tears flooded her eyes. "Sensational." She whispered and she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me close. I hugged her back tightly, savoring the feel of her body against mine.
We laid on the couch, content to just hold each other, until the knocks on the door started.
"Penny?! Ruby?!" It was Yang. Penny looked a bit sad, but she got up anyway, straightening her tear-stained shirt and finger-combing her hair.
"Coming!" She turned back and winked at me, her bright smile back in full force. I smiled back, my happiness genuine.
She opened the door and sidestepped as Yang, Blake, and Weiss tumbled inside, clearly having been pressed up against the door. Seeing Weiss twisted a knife in my gut. But now I have something to hold on to. I thought, watching fondly as Penny enthusiastically greeted them.
"Hello, friends! How are you?" Yang dove onto the couch and squeezed me tightly, pressing my face into her ample chest.
"Dammit, Ruby! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" I wrapped my arms around her and nodded.
"I won't." I choked, feeling awful for making her worry. Blake smiled at me and Weiss was looking at me guiltily. A weight settled on my chest and I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to forget my feelings for her, but I knew that the more time I spent with Penny, the less it would hurt. And that's all I need.
Boom. Something for you crazy Crimson Gear fans out there, and me of course. ;D Anyway, hope you liked it. Good night.