My first fic for the nuts and dolts ship week this year! Written for the prompt Outfit Swap. Set in an AU where Penny didn't die at the end of V8. Enjoy!

One of the many (many, many, many) perks of Penny's new body is that she can now try out new outfits, instead of only clothes that were specifically made to fit her mechanical body. Since arriving in Vacuo, Ruby and Penny have had a lot of fun checking out the clothing shops and developing Penny's fashion sense.

It turns out to be a lot more enjoyable than Ruby would have thought, helping her friend pick out outfits and watching her try them out, giving her feedback when Penny asks. It feels like the two of them are in their own little world, talking and laughing and not caring about what anyone else might think.

Maybe this is the appeal of playing dress-up that Ruby had missed out on when she was little. It sure is a lot better when she has a friend to do it with.

And maybe it's a bit selfish to be messing around like this when they both have so much on their plates to deal with, but since she's just gotten Penny back after almost losing her again, Ruby thinks that maybe they should be allowed to have some fun. The rest of her team keeps encouraging her to go on these shopping trips anyway, so Ruby might as well enjoy it.

(They always have these knowing smiles on their faces when she returns from hanging out with Penny, and for the life of her, Ruby can't figure out what that's about. Whatever. They're probably just messing around.)

They're just finishing up at one of the stores when Ruby notices that Penny has been kind of quiet for a while, a thoughtful look on her face. "What's on your mind?" she asks, before realizing that Penny might not get what that means. "Sorry, I mean, what are you thinking about? You've been pretty quiet."

"I was wondering," Penny pauses for a moment before finishing her thought. "If I could maybe try on your outfit sometime? It looks so cute on you."

"Um," Ruby replies intelligently, feeling her cheeks flush slightly. "Sure, why not?" She starts heading for the changing room that Penny had just finished using.

"Thanks, Ruby!" Penny says brightly. "Wait, you want to do it right now?"

By now, Ruby is sure that her face is about as red as her cloak. "Well, we're still in the changing rooms," she points out, trying to sound casual. "We might as well."

Ruby is worried that she might chicken out if she thinks about it too much. She's weirdly nervous for no reason that she can explain.

The two of them squeeze back into the small room that Penny had been using, pulling the curtain shut behind them. Ruby takes off her shoes and slips off her cloak, before moving onto the rest of her clothes. She's changed in front of her teammates countless times, so she doesn't understand why she's so nervous about getting undressed in front of Penny.

As she takes off each item of clothing, she sets it on the small bench behind them, not quite making eye contact with Penny as she glances in the mirror. After a brief moment of hesitation, Penny begins to undress as well, neatly folding each piece of her outfit and setting them next to Ruby's clothes.

"Do you want to try on my clothes as well?"

"Sure," Ruby replies quickly. It seems less awkward than just standing here in her underwear. Penny beams, and the two of them begin change into each other's outfits, pausing to help the other with stubborn buttons or zippers or ties.

Once they're finished changing, Ruby glances at their reflections in the mirror. Penny looks lovely in Ruby's clothes-although really, she looks lovely in everything. She can't help but notice that Penny is blushing too. Ruby opens her mouth to say something-although she's really not sure what-when she's interrupted by the voice of one of the store clerks.

"Are you ladies almost finished in there? The store is closing in about fifteen minutes."

"We'll be out in a few minutes!" Ruby calls back, before hurriedly starting to change out of Penny's clothes.

Looks like time for dress-up is over.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.