Ruby didn't realize just how cold deserts could be at night. She had assumed the campfires and fire dust lamps in the camp were for lighting first and foremost, but out in the open desert even her her hood was not enough to completely dull the harsh bite of the wind. They had setup makeshift watch posts with sandbags to hide behind. While that made the wind less bad, Ruby was one cold gust away from shivering. As she did another scan of the area with her scope she felt a tug on her shirt.
"Ruby, why are my limbs moving on their own?"
Ruby looked at Penny and saw her practically vibrating in place.
"Oh Penny you must be freezing. I guess Pietro never had to make your clothing with cold weather in mind."
"Freezing? But my body is already a solid."
"It's an expression Penny, it just means you're very cold. You need thicker clothes to keep your body heat from being swept away by this wind."
"Oh. Are there any spare clothes for me here?"
Ruby thought for a second and blushed. "You could always join me under my hood. It's big enough for two if you squeeze in tight"
"Excellent idea Ruby." Penny said, hugging Ruby and snuggling under the girl's thick cloak.
"You did say hugs make you feel warm inside." she chuckled awkwardly, her face flushing a deep red. Why was she so embarrassed, it's not like they hadn't been this close when she was a robot. She practically napped on her shoulder after every mission they did in atlas.
"If you want to warm up faster you can also try to rub your hands over your legs."
Penny followed her suggestion and was shocked at the texture of her legs.
"Ruby, why are my legs so bumpy?"
"Oh. I don't know. Human skin just does that when we get cold. It's super weird"
"It's so, different. Here feel it." Penny grabbed Ruby's hand and placed it on her leg.
"Yeah Penny, it's really bumpy. You must have been really cold." The heat in Ruby's face was so intense she could probably take half her clothes off and still be warm. What was wrong with her?
Penny looked at Ruby, "Why is your face so red? Are you sick?"
"No, no Penny, I'm fine." Ruby lied, absentmindedly running her hand up and down Penny's lower leg.
Penny placed a hand on her cheek. "Your face is so warm. Are you sure you do not have a fever? Someone else can take our place if you need to recover."
"Oh, yeah that just happens sometimes," she laughed awkwardly, unable to look Penny in the eyes.
"Ruby if something is wrong you can tell me. That's what you told me back in Vale, right?"
"Nothing's wrong Penny I'm just, I don't know... flustered."
"What's that mean?"
"That there are too many thoughts and feelings in my head and I can't make sense of them."
"What kind of thoughts?"
Ruby didn't know she could blush harder than she already was. She struggled to find any sort of words to describe how she felt without outright saying it. She wasn't even sure what her feeling were if she was honest with herself. "I don't know. I've never really felt or thought them before."
"Well I haven't felt or thought a lot of things." Penny said matter of factly. "But I'm enjoying learning about them with you."
"Yeah, me too Penny." Ruby rested her head on her friends shoulder, the two ostensibly keeping watch but hopelessly distracted.
"Ruby?"
"Yes Penny?"
"Why does being around you make me feel different that being around your other friends?"
Ruby turned the color of her hood. "Different how?"
"It hurts…" Penny said, unsure of her words, "But not in a bad way."
"Penny I-"
"It's like my stomach feels like it's full of butterflies. Is that normal?"
Gods no it wasn't normal. "I… you make me feel that way too Penny. I don't really have much experience with it either."
Penny's face began to turn red. "Why are my cheeks getting warm?"
Ruby put a hand on her face. It was indeed warm. "You're blushing Penny."
"What does that mean?"
"It can mean a lot of things."
"Why are you blushing then?"
Ruby froze. "Well- I-" Ruby struggled to find the words. "I just really like being next to you."
"But don't you feel that way about your friends too?"
"Well yeah…" Ruby tried to think of some explanation. "But like you said, it feels different with you."
The two sat silently for a few minutes, just enjoying each others proximity. Ruby only moved her hand off of Penny's leg to grab Crescent Rose and take another look. She wanted to actually do her job, but there were clearly no grimm around, and if they were, they certainly wouldn't go after her. She was much too happy to attract even the hungriest of grimm. As Ruby was lost in thought, Penny broke the silence.
"Ruby, what does love feel like?"
If she had been drinking water it would be all over Penny after hearing those words. "Well there's different kinds of love Penny," Ruby replied, completely shook. "Theres the love people feel for their family, the love people feel for their friends, and the love people feel romantically."
"That's pretty confusing. What do people mean when they say they're in love?"
"Well that usually means they love someone romantically."
"Like Yang and Blake?"
"What no they're just good frie-" Ruby cut herself off. Penny was probably right. After all, she seemed to see a lot of things Ruby didn't figure out. "Yes like Yang and Blake"
"So what does that love feel like?"
"Well I've never really felt that before Penny." Ruby blushed. "I've really only read about it in books."
"Oh?And what do the books say?"
Ruby didn't want to answer. She was scared what might happen if she did. Penny was her friend, nothing more. Right?
"Oh just some sappy stuff."
"Can you show me some of those books? I want to know what it's supposed to feel like."
"Didn't you already have feelings Penny? Why are you asking about emotions anyway?"Ruby asked trying to change subjects.
"While I did have feelings, I know that human brains release chemicals when experiencing emotions that a robot body cannot replicate. Like when I give hugs. It felt good before, but it feels better now. There are also expressions that I was incapable of before, like blushing."
Ruby stared at her blankly, pretending to understand. "uh-huh"
"So I want to know what part of my emotions feel different due to my human body, and what part feels different because it's a new emotion."
"I guess that makes sense. But why are you so focused on love?"
"Because I feel so much better than I've ever felt before, and I don't really know why."
Ruby's heart skipped a beat.
Penny was the same girl she was before, but it was clear that something was different about her. She smelled better, her skin was so soft, her body felt warm to the touch. Ruby had never felt nervous around Penny before yet here she was barely able to form sentences. What had changed? Was it really just because she was human now? But she was always human, she was always Penny. Was it okay to look at her differently because she wasn't made of metal? What about what she said to her when she first learned what she really was? Would it make her a hypocrite if things changed? She didn't know.
"Maybe how you feel is a combination of being human and feeling a new emotion," Ruby mumbled.
"Do you think so?"
"I think the way I feel right now is because of that."
"And how do you feel right now Ruby?"
"Like I'm in love." The words left her lips before she could think. Her heart rate shot up, fear took over her brain. "I mean- I didn't mean to say that- I don't want to make things weird." She tried to backpedal but it was too late.
"Is that why your hugs make me feel the warmest inside?" Penny asked, seemingly unfazed by Ruby's confession.
Ruby wanted to disappear. Did she not feel the same way? Did she hater her? Why wasn't she reacting? "I don't know Penny, I don't know what I'm feeling."
"I think I am in love with you too Ruby," Penny said matter of factly.
"Penny you don't need to say that just to make me feel better."
"I've thought about it and can't come to another conclusion. If as you say it's a mix of new emotions and me being human, the only logical conclusion is that being human has impacted the way that we feel around each other and made us feel new emotions."
"Penny I don't want you to think I cared less about you just because you were a robot."
"It's okay Ruby, emotions are a biological reaction to stimuli. It makes sense that changing the stimuli would change the emotions."
Ruby looked up at Penny and wrapped both her arms around her.
"So you won't hate me if you becoming human made me fall in love?" Ruby said, almost on the verge of tears.
"It would be unfair, since being human made me fall in love with you too." Penny replied, wrapping her arms around Ruby. The two looked into each others eyes deeply, Ruby couldn't help but cry tears of joy and relief.
"Thank you Penny." she managed to choke out. "I don't know what I'd do without you." She buried her head into Penny's neck, resting her head on her shoulder. She had never felt so relieved.
"I'm happy that we met as well Ruby Rose."
As the sun rose on a new day the two headed back from their posts, hand in hand, smiles on their faces. Ruby thought about how chaotic the past few weeks had been, and how hard things were going to be in Vacuo. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared. But she was also happy, and hopeful. Despite the grueling battle ahead, all the struggles she would inevitable go through in the coming months, there was a new ray of light in her life. And no matter how dark things got, there'd be a light at the end of that tunnel for her.