in4apounding | All-Purpose CMO

It doesn't bother you?

[There's a hopeful note in her voice. Still incredibly nervous, but hopeful.]

I'm the only one like me at home. My father and Mister Ironwood said it might scare people if they knew.

[Cleo smiles, and gives Penny's hands a comforting squeeze.]

Duh, of course not. I was made in a lab too, remember? You being a robot doesn't scare me.

Oh. Oh. Ooooooh.

[It's Penny's turn to rotate a couple puzzle pieces. Or mostly just one, labeled "clone", that hadn't quite seemed important enough to actually connect to anything until this moment.]

[She ducks her head a little, not quite smiling sheepishly.]

I hadn't- Guess I was being a little silly, huh. Thanks.

[God, Penny is so adorable. Always, but especially when she's being shy like that. Cleo gets a little distracted by it, but just for a second.]

So, like. If we ever see each other again...do you want to go on a date with me?

[Cleo's heart is thumping a hundred miles an hour, which is weird. Maybe because it's a question this time, and not a demand like usual.]

I'd like that. I think I'd like that a lot.

[She looks back up, beaming.]

And it will be 'when,' not 'if'. I promise. Again. ...More this time.

Really?

[Cleo feels her whole face brighten, and she has to calm herself down. Chill. She schools her expression.]

I mean, yeah, duh. [She snorts.] Whatever.

[But the smile is creeping back onto her face at Penny's promise. Cleo squeezes her hand.]

Good. I'd be, like, really mad if I never got to kiss you.

You're doing that thing where you act like you don't care but you really do care, right?

[Just. Just checking.]

[ oh god

does she do that

she does, doesn't she. ]

....Yeah.

Okay.

[She smiles, with zero judgment.]

Just checking.

[She doesn't get it. At all. But obviously it's important for some reason.]

...does. Um. Hm. Does it actually need to be a date? For that to happen. If you wanted.

[Cleo gives Penny's hand a squeeze, comforting, where their fingers are still laced together between them. And then Penny is asking if they need to be on a date for her to kiss her, and Cleo's dark eyes go wide, just for a second. Her mouth is dry, which is weird, and she can feel heat rising in her cheeks.

What is happening.]

...No way. I just didn't want to, like. Scare you off. [She cups Penny's cheek with her hand, slowly, looking uncharacteristically serious.]

Can I? Kiss you, I mean.

[Oh. Oh.]

[Oh.]

[That question suddenly seems a whole lot less hypothetical than it did a few seconds ago.]

[Penny should probably say something.]

Yes? I mean if you want to. I mean I'd like it too, but only I you want to, too. I don't want you to feel like you have to, which you don't if you don't want to, and I've never done it before but I never really thought I'd have a chance to but you asked and I really like you and even though I promised it wouldn't be I'm a little scared this might be our last chance and it'd be really nice anyway even if we get to do it again in the future so if you want to-

[She's talking very fast. Cleo suddenly seems very close. She's very close, and Penny has never done this before, and she can't stop talking.]

[Cleo tries a few times to edge in and reassure Penny that absolutely does she want to do this, and absolutely is she sure, but eventually she just resigns herself to taking an actions over words approach. She leans in close, eyelashes lowering, and cuts Penny off right there by pressing her lips to Penny's in a soft, warm kiss.

It's a cliche, but hey. They only have so much time to do this thing right.]

[Action's probably the best option when trying to interrupt someone who doesn't need to stop for breath, honestly. Penny has time for one last nervous eeping sound before her lips press to Cleo's, eyes closing.]

[Penny can't feel it physically, the way Cleo can - it's just a sense of pressure. But mentally, emotionally, it brings a moment of stillness. It's peaceful, after her rising anxiety.]

[She leans into the kiss, raising her hand to rest on Cleo's. Waiting for but not wanting it to end.]

[When it finally breaks, it's a second before she speaks again.]

That was nice. Did I do it right?

[Cleo's eyes flutter closed, and even though it's a simple, chaste kiss, it's better than anyone she's kissed since she can remember. There's a feeling in her stomach that's either carsickness or butterflies, but she's pretty sure it's the butterflies. Penny's hand covers hers, and Cleo lets the world around them, the bus, the Vengaboys all fade away. When they pull back, she smiles, her voice uncharacteristically soft.]

Yeah. You did a really good job. I couldn't tell you were a robot at all.

Thanks?

[That was really nice, but how do.]

...I couldn't tell you were a clone at all?

[Cleo grins, and leans in for one more soft, brief kiss.]

Thanks. Penny, you make me feel....totally original.

[It's something she's just now realized she's always wanted. To feel like her own person. Not just a copy.]

Hee. Thanks. You ARE totally original.

[That phrasing sure hits close to home, though, in a very sudden moment of clarity. That how closely they've bonded might not be so unexpected after all.]

[Penny leans in, resting her forehead against Cleo, eyes closed.]

[But then a few seconds later her eyes snap wide.]

Wait, does that mean there's another Gandhi.

All-Purpose CMO

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