• Art by maria-moonlight on tumgir •
• As a note, I have aged up the characters to 15-16 years old, but characters are still set in the same kindergarten from the second game •
• !Protective!Penny x !Gender Neutral!Reader •
• Angst/Fluff •
• Curse Warning •
• Penny stronk •
• Enjoy~ •
The five times Penny saved your ass you and the one time you saved her's.
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You weren't exactly the strongest kid of the Kinder-group. You weren't exactly the weakest kid, either (sorry Ozzy, but you were getting that last pizza slice if it killed you. Or him). But in this case, you weren't feeling very strong at all. But who would when Buggs had them against the wall with a knife to their throat?
"C'mon, I can practically smell the money in your pocket!" He leered, leaning in way too close for comfort. Geez, had this dude ever heard of a breath mint?
"Fuck off Buggs! It's my lunch money" You attempted to shove him off but this dude was built like a brick wall. He just scoffed and slammed you against the wall again, effectively stunning you into a silent stupor.
"I'll give you one last chance" He hissed, the blade of his knife pressing against your skin to the point you could feel a faint stinging sensation from the cold. You gulped, knowing that none of your "friends" (really just your kindergarten group) had any qualms about murder.
You just gave up and reached for you pocket, silently accepting the fact you'd go hungry for the rest of the day... again.
He looked all too happy to grab the money out of your palm. All to happy until a faint whirring sounds picked up behind you.
"Tch, figured you come and rescue 'em, Metal Detector" Buggs turned around to meet Penny face to face, jabbing a thumb in your direction. An uncharacteristically dark scowl was twisted on to her face, and her cyan eyes glowed with pinpricks of red.
With a deep breathe, Penny righted herself and grew a saccharinely sweet smile. Keeping her hands folded politely in front of her, she hummed and took a few more steps closer.
"Buggs, you know that what you're doing is against the school rules" She chided in a singsong voice. Buggs barked out a laugh.
"And whadda ya' gonna do 'bout it?" He finally released his grasp on you, letting you scurry out of his reach, lunch money still in hand. You made a mental note to buy Penny an extra cupcake on the way home.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to send you to the princi-" "Yeah, yeah, I get it" Buggs scoffed, hiding his growing panic before power walking away. Penny watched over her shoulder, waiting until he was fully out of sight before walking over to you.
Neither of you said anything as she pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped the small cut you had be ever so kindly given by Buggs and his knife.
"You okay?" She gave you a gentle smile, eyes shining as she grasped your hands in her own. At first you thought her touch was weird. Synthetic skin feeling just a little too loose and her touch was just a little too chilly but over time it became endearing to you. At least whenever someone hugged you from behind you could tell instantly it was her.
"M'fine. Managed to keep all my money this time, so that's a plus!" You grinned at her, shoving your money back into your pocket before intertwining your fingers again. Penny frowned, small and almost unnoticeable before it was replaced with a smile.
"Maybe a few lasers would teach him a lesson" She mused, giving you a cheeky glance. You just shook your head, chuckling quietly.
"Carla's a bad influence on you" You both shared a laugh on your way back to class. "I could say the same thing about you. Midnight coffee runs, no wonder your sleep schedule's awful!" Penny scolded you, trying to look serious as she reprimanded you but ultimately failing.
"Hey, my sleep schedule was fucked before Carla and I started doing that, don't blame it on her" Penny just rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to her as you walked into class.
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You hated being outside. Usually it was fine, but today felt like you were burning in the boiler room of Hell for some punishment you'd never committed. And looking around you noted that everyone else seemingly felt the same way. I mean, either they were scowling at the heat or scowling at Ozzy for hogging all the single tree's shade.
And you were double unlucky as apparently the heat was especially getting to your current supervising teacher, Ms. Applegate, who looked like she was ready to beat a student over the head with her wooden teacher stick, namely you. No reason either, other than the fact that you were the closest to her and it was too fucking hot.
'I should probably try and find shade... I'm sure Penny will understand me trying to find some semblance of shade' You stood up and brushes the grass off of yourself. It seemed like the wrong move because as soon as you did, a large shadow silhouetted you form.
"Uh, hello Ms. Applegate.. Did you need something?" You turned and looked up at the teacher, your expression a mixture of acceptance of your fate, a twinge of fear, but mostly just indifference.
"SHUT UP! I HAVE HAD IT WITH THIS HEAT AND HITTING PEOPLE MAKES ME FEEL BETTER" You blinked once and managed to dodge her first strike, much to her annoyance. It only added fuel to the fire and made her swing harder with her next, which managed to connect with your shoulder.
Despite Ms. Applegate's... uh.. stature, she didn't hit you hard enough to knock you over, but it still hurt like hell.
The second strike was right over your head, just like she used to hit Cindy back when you were in kindergarten.
The third strike never came. It confused you, as stopping only after two hits was something Ms. Applegate never did, in fact she would always try and get the end of her teacher's stick in her chosen victim's eye.
"You! You little android freak! What the hell are you doing?!" You opened your eyes to see Penny staring at your teacher with a blank expression, though you were certain she had the red glow in her eyes. Her voice was clipped as she responded.
"Ms. Applegate. Hitting students is strictly against the school's rules as well as the law. I will have to inform my mother about this" She wrenched the teacher's stick from her grasp and promptly snapped it in half. Ms. Applegate stared at her stick before reaching Penny's glare.
"And why would I care what your mother thinks?" Penny held her gaze before smiling.
"Because she is the one who signs your pay check, ma'am" She said earnestly, a sharp undertone lacing her words.
Ms. Applegate huffed and stormed back in side, shoving a surprised Stevie to the ground before the doors slammed closed.
Everyone just regarded the scene with unamused looks before going back to what they were doing. By the looks of it, Monty was bartering with Kid, Ted was playing Monstermon with Billy much to the chagrin of Felix, Carla was shoving Cindy off the trampoline and Nugget and Lily were nowhere to be found.
You interests were soon enough brought to the painful throbbing in your head and shoulder. Tentatively touching the spots where you were stricken drew a hiss of pain from between your lips and you knew then and there that they were definitely going to bruise, and quite painfully too.
"Do you need an icepack? Something to drink? Maybe we should go inside, I don't think anyone is going to care" Penny knelt before you, one hand holding herself steady while the other was gently threading and parting your hair to check on your bruising. She quickly cut you off before you could respond.
"Actually, never mind. You are getting an ice pack and a drink of water you are going to get checked on by Margaret because I'm pretty sure you have a concussion" Penny hefted you up with ease, slinging an arm around your shoulder to keep you steady. You were grateful for this as the moment you stood up a bout of dizziness struck you and almost sent you tumbling back to the ground.
This was going to be hard to explain to your parents.
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'Oh shit, oh fuck what the hell do I do?!' You could feel the sweat trickling down the back of your neck. You could feel the knots of fear twisting and turning and pulling themselves tighter in your stomach. You could feel the dread clouding you mind, threading all sorts of images of possible outcomes. None of them were good, as much as you wanted them to be.
You never though this would happen when you transferred schools. You thought that it would be like your last school, boring, plain, nothing interesting happening at all! But here you were, in the evil lair of some supervillain wannabe principal who also happened to be the mother of your girlfriend. Who, by the way, was an android that could shoot laser beams from her eyes.
The barrel of some sci-fi gun stared your down, silver with highlights of toxic sludge green. 'Which is probably what it shoots' You thought bitterly. Well, if this is how you were going out, you at least wanted to tell Penny you loved her.
It may not've been the best place to do so, what with the goo canon and the giant pit of goo and the dead monsters who used to be students hanging from these giant claws in the ceiling.
You felt her beside you, trembling as she reached for your hand. Synthetic skin brushed against yours as your fingers twined together.
"Penny, if this is the end... then I just wanna say I love you... damn that was cheesy.." Penny brought her other hand up to make you face her. Tears were streaming down her face, which was contorted into an expression of sadness and pain.
"I love you too" She whimpered and pulled you into a one armed hug. You could practically feel the holes her mother was drilling into the side of you head with her glare, but you had zero fucks to give right now.
"And I hope that means you'll forgive me for this" You blinked your eyes open, about to question Penny's words before you were shoved away from her. You skidded painfully across the floor, but the sight that greeted you absolutely broke you.
Penny was hunched over, one arm spread out to balance herself, the other trying desperately to cover the giant hole in her torso. Sparks flew and sputtered in and out of existence, green goo sloshed and spilled on to the floor mixed with crimson. Her once blue dress was now an odd shade of purple and cyan.
She looked over and gaze you a weak smile, blood and goo dripping down her chin as she coughed. Several of her internal workings were trying their hardest to remain operational, but you could practically see her power shutting down as she stumbled.
"Love... you" She managed to squeak out before falling to the fall, right into a puddle of her own goo and blood.
No one said anything as a breath passed, then another.
And then she exploded.
Kind of, at least.
Her head was now decapitated, laying right before you with her eyes rolled up into the back of her head.
Then you felt a sob rack you form, tears spilling over your cheeks and blurring your vision as you shakily leaned down and picked your girlfriend's head up, hugging it to your chest.
You didn't even care as the remaining goo stained your close, the explosion already did most of that beforehand.
"Love you too" You sobbed quietly.
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Well this was fun!
Who wouldn't want to be shoved in a food storage area or whatever with your friends while being hunted down by some crabby monster? Sounds like a blast, doesn't it?
Well it isn't, because you might actually strangle Billy if he keeps threatening to wipe whatever condiment he managed to find on your cheek, no if ands or Lily-s trying to stop you.
"Billy I swear to whatever god that Nugget believes in if you get that shit on me I am going to strangle you" You hissed from between clenched teeth. All you got in response was a raspberry from the little shit as well as a disapproving glare from Lily.
"Everyone shut the fuck up cause I think I can here it coming" Carla promptly slapped a hand over your mouth, prompting Lily to do the same to Billy.
You all waited with baited breath, hearing the little tip taps of the monster's hilariously undersized feet. Although the clicking from it's claws and crab hand was not as funny, much like the smell that permeated the room as it entered. You were actually grateful for Carla slapping a hand over your mouth, at least you didn't get hit full force by the odour.
You heard it, that slimy sound of the drool dripping from it's open maw on to the ground, that huffing sound that made the monster sound like it was constantly out of breath.
As you hid, you let your mind wander. What were the other students doing? Were they still alive? You were pretty sure Nugget had made it into the vents if the banging sounds and the cries of 'Nugget does not want little rats as friends! They eat his nuggets!' was anything to go by.
Buggs would probably be safe, what with the knife and human sacrifice (read, Ozzy) he had grabbed when the monster first appeared. Monty was definitely safe, you didn't want to be the monster when it met the end of his laser canon...
Laser...
How was Penny?
She wasn't exactly fond of the monsters, but she could sure as hell kill them just as quickly if not quicker than Monty. A laser beam through the eye usually worked. But you wondered if she was panicking. It was no secret that she constantly thought about your own safety rather than hers in situations like this. More, shoot it with lasers first to make sure (Y/N) was safe and ask questions later.
Agh, you couldn't handle the suspense! And your train of thought wasn't helping, more like making you more anxious about everybody else's safety!
Against your better judgement, you slowly shuffled away from Carla and closer to the door. She only really noticed when you began peeking your head around the door and slightly over the tabletop bench.
"What the hell are you doing? Get down" You felt her tug roughly at your clothes, trying to pull you back to safety.
"Just a quick peek, I need to know if it's coming over here" You unfurled yourself ever so slightly just to get a better look and immediately regretted it.
It was staring right at you, milky eyes zeroing in on your position.
"Ah shit" You gave up on trying to make sure it didn't hear you. You were pretty sure they were almost deaf anyways.
"Yea, 'ah shit'! What the hell are you thinking?!" Billy leaned over Carla, much to her annoyance. You just chewed your lip thoughtfully, mulling over your next action. Were you really about to do this?
"I'm gonna distract it. No questions, just make sure you run when I do" You gave everyone behind you a smile. Why were you doing this? Hell if you know, but you were pretty sure Monty would kill you anyway if anything happened to Carla and you didn't want Lily or Billy to live the distraught that was dealing with the death of their own twin.
"Hey, ugly!" You called out, standing triumphantly on the table. You kicked a few plates of burgers off in the monster's direction and made a mental note to apologise to Margaret later.
It huffed and snorted and growled, those weird tentacles on its face wiggling almost gleefully as it started in your direction.
"Yeesh, uglier than I thought" Was all you could say before you jumped off the table and landed perfectly between the monster and the exit. A spring in your step as you rushed towards the door with the monster hot on your heels.
Except you didn't.
Instead you slipped and fell face forward, a little closer to the monster than the exit than what you would prefer.
"I saw that better in my head" You managed to squeak out between the now pounding headache and clip clops of the approaching creature.
"If this is how I die let Penny know I love her!" You called out, hoping that at least one of your friends would carry on this message.
Before anything else could happen, you heard something weird whiz over your head at extraordinary speeds. Kinda silent to the point you wouldn't of noticed it if it weren't for the faint, hair-raising whistle.
You, not really liking the sound of that, rolled over and under a nearby table to avoid any debris. Lucky for you, you just managed to avoid the falling body of the monster that was just about to dig its fangs into your shoulder. Neat
"I said it before and I'll say it again, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" You kinda wish the monster had killed you so you wouldn't have to listen to Carla's scolding. You really weren't looking forward to Lily's 'older sister' brand lecture later.
"I didn't want any of you to get hurt" You said simply. peering out from under the table. Carla looked like she wanted to be mad at you, but either she couldn't bring herself to be or was just too tired.
Penny on the other hand, who you just realised must've been the source of the laser and by extension the smoking hole in the monster's head, was just staring at you blankly. Her eyes seemed glazed over, and the glowing red was slowly decreasing as her laser's powered down.
"Uhm, Penny? Are you ok?" You slid out from under the table and stood up, brushing yourself off. She didn't respond, and still had that same glassy look.
"I'd say someone got her so worried over putting themselves in danger that her chip fried" Carla piped up, giving you this look. You instantly felt any fear from before increase tenfold.
"Before you say anything, yes, she'll be fine! I just need to reboot her" Carla walked over to Penny, flipping open a small latch on the back of her neck. "Now do me a favour and stand right... there" Carla pointed to a spot right in front of the android.
Before you could question why you had to stand in that spot specifically (while doing so, mind you), Penny quickly rebooted and promptly fell over as if struck with a dizzy spell. Right into you.
The two of you fell to the ground, you mostly cushioning Penny's fall. Her eyes widened as she registered everything that happened in that past five seconds before nuzzling into the crook of your neck, scolding you while peppering kisses on your cheeks.
"Have fun you two" Carla flashed a smug grin in your direction as she left, Lily and Billy following after her.
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She kneels down in front of them and asks them what's wrong. They try to deny it and wave it away but Penny gently takes their hands and tugs them in for a hug. Though they don't cry and only whimper, Penny continues whispering encouraging words to them.
Contrary to popular belief running around the school, you weren't the happiest of people. You could smile and laugh and go along with any joke your friends through like any other person, but inside and behind closed doors was when you felt those surges of self-doubt. That irritating voice reverberating in your mind, chastising you for every action you performed, scolding you for every little mistake you made.
You just needed to be alone. Which explains why you were huddled underneath a tree in the schoolyard trying your hardest not to cry while everyone was having fun playing dodgeball. Or they were suffering in science but that was their own choice.
Well, not exactly everyone was enjoying dodgeball.
Penny sat on the bleachers, tapping her shoes together awkwardly. She may be an android with almost limitless stamina, but that didn't mean she was very sporty. Quite the opposite, actually, and the fact she'd seen you sneak out earlier looking like you were trying not to cry kept playing in her mind.
Her teammates seemed a little disappointed she didn't want to play, but Ms. Applegate sure has hell didn't care. In fact she'd run off after Jerome a while ago, waving her teacher's stick around wildly with rage set in her tiny eyes.
With a huff Penny sat up, brushing the wrinkles from her gym outfit. No one glanced her way as she silently left the gymnasium, and even if they did no one moved to stop her.
First she checked the bathrooms. Just by peeking through the door she could tell none of the stalls were occupied. Stevie eyed her suspiciously as the android wandered the halls, going up and down the stairs with an almost lost look in her cyan eyes.
The hall monitor grumbled and sighed as he watched her, knowing that if Penny were any other kid he could just send her straight back to class with no questioning. But despite that lost look, he knew she was doing something important and everyone knew not to disturb Penny when she was on a mission. Or at least do so knowing the risk of getting a laser through your eye.
Eventually she made her way into the cafeteria. Maybe you'd snuck in for a quick snack? Penny noticed you weren't really hungry during lunch.
You weren't in the cafeteria. Not hidden under the tables for whatever reason. Not getting a snack from the vending machine in the teacher's lounge. But what Penny did find was the door to the playground slightly ajar, the faintest of breezes sending a chill into the room.
And that's when she finally found what she was looking for.
You were curled up under the tree, head buried in your legs. You didn't look like your were crying and from where she stood Penny could see how shaky your breathing was.
Without saying anything she walked over to you. You were vaguely aware of someone standing in front of you, but between the stinging tears clouding your vision you couldn't make out who. 'Although... it is probably Penny' you thought bitterly to yourself. You didn't want to drag your girlfriend in on your stupid thoughts.
No one said anything, neither of your really knew what to say anyway. Instead she simply chose to cup your face, gently guiding you to look at her. Your gaze met her cyan one, laced with concern and tears. You tried to say something, something like 'I'm okay, don't worry!' or 'I'll be fine, just go back to gym and I'll be there soon'. Instead you just whimpered. The thoughts in your head hissed, coiling like a snake before striking, each strike sending another venomous thought through your mind.
Penny froze, hands still carefully holding your face. No matter what you said next would persuade her you were fine. No amounts of excuses or hand waves and instances that you would okay would tear that gut wrenched expression from her face.
You opened your mouth to retort, but instead Penny wiped the tears from the corner of your eyes before hugging you, wrapping her arms around your shoulders. Like a swathe of sun, Penny's inner mechanics always kept her at a constantly warm temperature, like a heated blanket.
Instead of listening to the negative thoughts plaguing your head, you zeroed in on the soft whirring that the android emitted. Like the gentle hum of white noise, soothing and soft playing the back of your mind.
Among the white noise you could hear Penny whispering. Gentle promises, soft words of encouragement. You were loved, you were appreciated no matter what those voices said. And not just by her. All your friends cared about you, and nothing would change that.
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You watched them with a glower, flipping and throwing the gear repeatedly in your hand.
As much as you didn't want Dr. Danner to kill Kid over failing to find the aforementioned gear in your hand, you didn't want Penny to have her head ripped off more.
The android had always been the more protective one in the public eye, always going out of her way to make sure Buggs knew that messing with you meant a laser through the head. She went out of her way to directly disobey her coding to make sure you were safe.
But that didn't meant it was only a one way thing.
You did you fair share of shielding Penny from the harsh realities. Realities such as the cruelty of people, the reality that her mother really loathed having a daughter and only saw her as a means of power.
Or, kids trying to brown-nose Dr. Danner by giving him a gear to fix his giant ass magnet.
Yeah, no way in hell that was happening.
You also had to apologise to Carla later, but being in this place made you cynical at best. Murder wasn't too bad around here, in fact it was more a normality than teachers caring for their students.
You didn't even flinch as the lights flickered off, bathing the entire hallway in darkness. The only sparks of light came from Penny's laser.
As the lights turned back on and revealed the now dead forms of Kid, Buggs and Carla, you flashed a grin at Penny as she returned to the classroom. She looked like she wanted to scold you for being out of class, but it was probably better than whatever the hell Applegate was doing to her students right now.
Instead she chose to blow you a kiss, eyeing the gear in your hand for a few moments before it all clicked. She gave you an appreciative look, her eyes shining as her gaze grew soft and fond. You pretended to catch her kiss, winking in her direction as she quickly opened and closed the door behind her.
You just stood up from where you were leaning against the wall, pocketing the gear and leaving school early. No one would notice, and it's not like anyone would stop you either.