It's been awhile since I did any fanfiction. Since my old laptop died and marriage occupied my time I fell out. But I'm hoping to get back in starting something new on my tablet. I noticed that Jaune x Penny fics are quite scarce, it's honestly sad because I find there to be a lot of potential. I've taken to calling the ship Copper Knight, hopefully I don't need to explain it to anyone. This Fic will be taking place during Volume 7 while the teams are in Atlas. I don't know how close I'll be following the events of Volume 7 but they'll definitely be in Atlas for awhile getting to know each other and develop a relationship. I haven't completely figured this story out so any ideas or suggestions on plot points or scenes are most welcome.

"Salutations Jaune Arc!" The enthusiastic greeting echoed off the walls of the vehicle depo making a blonde boy blink at the ginger haired girl in front of him. Her smile was easily the brightest things in this industrial setting of grey metal and helmeted soldiers, she herself was easily the most colorful thing here with her copper hair, green dress and an evidently sunny disposition.

"Uh… hello Penny," Jaune answered looking at her grin happily, "how are you?" He asked a little dumbstruck at the sheer enthusiasm that emanated from her.

"I'm just swell, thank you." She moved walking beside him, "we're partners today so we'll be sharing escort duty today."

"Oh," Jaune said a little surprised as he walked towards one of the heavy trucks. He was called again for another escort mission transferring material out for Ironwood's Amity project. "I thought I'd be riding with Blake today." He wasn't exactly thrilled to be spending time with a Team RWBY's quietest member, they were both amicable to one another but shared almost nothing in common.

"Blake requested trading shifts so she could join Yang on a contract. I happily obliged." She explained falling into step with him a carefree smile on her cheeks.

Jaune supposed it was definitely an improvement from Blake spending a long cold drive with her nose in a book as he ran the battery in his scroll dry playing games. At least he assumed, her upbeat attitude seemed to suggest just as much but he couldn't remember sharing so many words with Penny before today.

Jaune opened up the back door to the truck stepping up into the back. He held his hand out for Penny to help her up but she ignored it climbing aboard with ease. He closed the double doors and took his usual seat between a couple of crates. "All aboard," Jaune called to the driver to move. The vehicle lurched forward and in no time the dark streets of Mantle gave way to the snowy tundra.

Jaune unzipped the backpack he'd laid at his feet. After a dozen or so of the long boring missions sitting in the back of the trucks with little to no action save for a few occasional Grimm attacks he'd learned to come prepared. He packed everything from a blanket to some snacks and a couple of comic books he'd already read.

"Are you cold?" Penny asked sitting directly across from him. Her hands rested in her lap and she sat perfectly upright compared to the blonde knight slouching back in his cramped little seat.

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed unfolding the blanket and draping it over his legs, "it's always freezing in the back of these trucks and using my aura to stay warm is just wasteful." His breath came out as smoke it was so cold. He almost asked her how she couldn't be cold when he noticed no warm mist emanating from her mouth and nostrils. He'd almost forgotten that she wasn't human, she was a machine.

"Well in that case I will assist you," she announced. Her hair bounced as she stood up with little warning and sat down right next to him.

"Uh," the blonde knight began not quite sure what was happening but stopping himself as he felt warmth emanating from the girl next to him. It was subtle at first but it very quickly grew in intensity, the numbing cold receded from around him. "How?" He started feeling warmth blooming against his body.

"My systems can generate quite a bit of heat, I'm designed to ventilate it through my artificial skin, currently I'm concentrating my cooling systems to my left towards you," she explained smiling at him again as he felt her unnatural heat emanate towards him.

It felt like he was sitting next to a space heater. He didn't say that to her, he wasn't sure what an android like her would find insulting but being compared to a home appliance definitely seemed to be likely. "Thank you Penny," he said sincerely grateful for the warmth.

"My pleasure," she affirmed. A few moments of silence passed between them and Jaune noticed her looking at him. "Can I ask you a question Jaune?"

"Uh… sure," he answered wondering what she could possibly want to ask him of all people.

"What's it like to feel cold?" She asked him bluntly.

"Well it's-uh," Jaune stuttered as he tried to find the words to answer her questions, "it's… really hard to describe," he admitted feeling a little defeated. "Do you not feel cold?" He asked not really understanding how just what she felt.

"I can sense changes in temperature," she explained to him a little apprehensive. "I suppose in a sense I do feel cold in my own way, but I am never bothered by it like you, I never shiver or chatter my teeth, I do not experience it like you."

"I see," Jaune said feeling like maybe he'd upset her. "I guess cold just feels… oppressive? Like emptiness of a sort, it's uncomfortable but sometimes pleasant. That's a contradiction, uh… does any of this make sense to you?"

Penny shook her head no at him, "Not at all, I still do not understand." Her tone remained surprisingly chipper despite his inability to explain the concept of cold to her.

Jaune scratched the back of his head, "I'm not very good with words," he offered a dopey smile to her feeling defeated. Jaune wondered if this was like trying to describe a color to a blind man.

"Thank you for trying Jaune… I am curious to understand more about humans and some things I find rather confusing," she explained to him. "What does warmth feel like?"

"Warmth? It's pleasant most of the time," he found the words coming a little easier, "it feels good… relaxing like… like being hugged… does that explain it?"

"I… I think it does," She said offering him a smile.

The blond knight smiled back happy that his answer was at least acceptable. Sitting next to her in a pleasant comfortable silence with her, he felt her shoulder brush against his as hours slipped by. Conversation came and went between them, usually Penny asked about something like his scroll games or how some of his snacks tasted.

"The candy bar tastes like excrement?" She asked him with a look of obvious confusion on her face. "How do you know?"

Jaune couldn't keep himself from laughing as he forced himself to swallow the rest of the very bad candy bar. "No it's an expression," he told her, "it tastes awful, nothing like real chocolate."

"So what does real chocolate taste like?"

"It's like… it's wonderful… it melts in your mouth and it's warm and deliciously sweet and savory." He explained knowing he couldn't possibly justly describe chocolate to her.

"It sounds wonderful," Penny said her green eyes looking wider than usual.

It is, it's-," a rumble cut the blonde off from his explanation into the wonders of chocolate. The truck bumped up and down, Jaune was knocked against Penny. A speaker in the ceiling crackled to life as the driver spoke up, "we got grimm on the road!"

Jaune sighed standing up from his seat throwing off the blanket that draped his legs. "Guess it's time to do our job," he grumbled actually disappointed that their conversation was interrupted.

Jaune activated his aura before opening the door, even with it, the air was so cold he felt like he'd been cut and he needed a moment to shiver before jumping out. Ice crunched beneath his feet, Crocea Mors hissed at he pulled it free from the scabbard and deployed the shield.

Penny flew out the door, her hair whipping with the harsh winds as she soared over the truck her boots rocketing her towards the danger. Jaune sprinted around the side of the truck finding several dead sabyrs felled by Penny's Floating Array. One of the massive feline bodied grimm charged him swiping its claw only for the blow to be deflected by the shield, Crocea Mors was quick with the repost cutting off a planted leg and sending the beast down for him to finish off delivering a coup de grace.

Jaune rolled and brought his blade up decapitating another. He spun shield raised only for him to look at the snowy field littered with her black grimm bodies turning to black smoke. Penny had easily dispatched over a dozen sabyrs shaming his score of two.

"More on the way!" Penny announced out where dozens of the grimm charged sprinting their way. Floating Array shifted as the blades formed a circle around Penny shifting into themselves to form a number of guns firing green beams of light, cutting down the charging sabyrs.

"I'll take the stragglers!" Jaune said charging out in front knocking one of the vile creatures down with his shield and decapitating it. Penny's lasers were taking out most of them leaving only a handful left for Jaune. In little time the herd began thinning.

"I think we are done here," Penny said observing, "the road seems clear for now." The many blades of her Floating Array shifted back together and returned to her. The rockets on her boots died down and she stepped foot on the snow. "Good work Jaune!"

Releasing a breath Jaune watching the black bodies fade to smoke. "Thanks, we-," he stopped as an electric buzz cut through the howl of the icy winds. Penny dropped to her knees sinking into the ice, her arms fell down to her sides as if chained to the ground.

"Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Jaune," Penny cried spasming uncontrollably, "ru, ru, ru, ru, ru, ru, ru, run!"

The blonde froze for a moment in disbelief, he tried to process what was going on when he felt an unseen force grip and pull at Crocea Mors and his armor. A magnet?

Jaune turned and sprinted towards the truck. Someone planned this, and that meant their troubles could only be beginning. A geyser of snow erupted in front of him giving him a face full of ice, a distant crack of a rifle followed close behind, a sniper. Jaune kept his path jagged and erratic to not give the sniper an easy target as he reached the truck waving to the driver.

"What's going on?!" The driver demanded opening his door and stepping out.

"We're under attack," Jaune explained as a round shattered the window just by the drivers head making him duck as glass shattered everywhere. "Penny's down I need your gun!" He told him sheathing his sword into the shield scabbard and holding his hand out for the soldier's pistol.

The Atlas soldier gave him an odd look, "my gun?!" He asked clearly reluctant to surrender his only weapon.

Jaune grabbed the pistol from his holster not wanting to waste time talking while penny remained pinned and vulnerable. He sprinted back out away from the cover provided to him. He held his shield out covering himself as much as possible towards where he suspected the shooter was.

He felt a round strike his shield, the impact making him stumble. His ear rang from the sound of the impact but he didn't slow as he sprinted clutching the pistol in his hand. Penny was still pinned shaping uncontrollably as if she was having a seizure. He aimed his stolen gun down at the snow beneath Penny and fired, the snow fountaining with every shot. Sparks shot out from beneath Penny and the electric hum died as the ginger haired girl fell down onto the snow.

"Penny!" Jaune cried moving to her side and grabbing her. She appeared unconscious and he pulled her into his free arm and pulled her over his shoulder to run back for the cover of the truck.

Jaune didn't get far before another round struck his shield making him trip. He fell face first into the snow. "Damnit!" He cursed trying to scramble up holding his arm out to shield them activating the hard light dust in his shield to better conceal the two of them.

"Jaune?" He heard Penny whisper from beneath him. He didn't get the chance to answer her when another shot struck his shield. He dropped Penny as the force of the impact knocked him onto his back. He rolled with the fall trying to stay on his feet, he needed to keep his shield up, as long as he could keep his shield up he could protect Penny.

He looked up as a spark flashed in the air right in front of him. "Jaune!" Penny said already on her feet blades dancing. She'd just deflected a bullet with his name on it. "We got more grimm incoming?"

Jane scanned the landscape to see that she was right. BlacK figures again raced towards their position, agile Sabyrs, lumbering Ursai and frighteningly hughe Megoliath. Another shot was cut out of the air by Floating Array. "Enemy located to the east, bearing one forty six at thirteen hundred meters," Penny listed off the location of the sniper as several of the blades shifted into their laser guns releasing a volley of green bolts off into the distance. "Target suppressed!" Penny announced as the grimm closed the distance.

"We need to get out of here!" Jaune cried ducking an Ursai paw and thrusting his sword up into the monster's throat killing it. "Back to the truck!"

Penny nodded as her blades slashed down several grimm while the several lasers kept firing, "I will cover you!" Penny told him as he moved towards the truck. A set of headlight flashed on at him as the truck turned on and rolled their direction knocking away grimm and crushing them beneath the wheels. Jaune grinned hoping that the driver was moving to pick them up but his anticipation quickly melted away as the vehicle swerved away and sped right past them.

"OH COME ON!" Jaune shouted watching their ride roll away. He supposed their driver panicked. Leaving them behind and Jaune dumbfounded. "COWARD!" He cursed moving to run after it as it continued to bulldoze through the grimm leaving a trail of smoking corpses.

"Here!" Penny said grabbing hold of him and pulling him against her body. Jaune stuttered wondering what she was going to do when they lifted off the ground carried by her rocket boots soaring for the truck.

Ice wind stung Jaune's face as they flew and he squinted. The truck struck a Ursai and sent it under the tire, it raised up and tipped falling on its side stopped dead for only a moment as the tusks of a Megoliath rammed into the side sending the truck rolling. It crunched as it rolled across the ice, the sound of twisting metal and shattering glass making Jaune's stomach sink as their transportation became a wreck. The grimm descended upon the truck ripping through the doors and the shattering windows and Jaune knew their driver was dead even if he had survived the crash.

"There goes our ride!" Jaune groaned feeling nauseous at the sight of grimm crawling across the wrecked truck.

"We need to get back to Mantle," Penny said banking around, "at least get CCT coverage and call for help." She explained to him rocketing across the sky speeding back towards the mantle.

"How long will that be?" Jaune asked her clutched in her arms as his nausea worsened from the flight. His airsickness was acting up and he wasn't sure he could keep his lunch down for very long.

"Not too long at this speed," Penny assured him, "just keep your aura-." A sudden jolt interrupted Penny sending them into a spin as they dropped .

The thundering echo of a rifle shot told him everything, that damned sniper. He looked down seeing one of her legs trailing smoke, with no thrust being generated they quickly began losing altitude.

"Here," Jaune said, feeling his stomach drop with them. He pushed his nausea down as he put his hand in hers lacing their fingers as she let him go. He deployed his shield over their heads catching the air as he activated the hard light dust slowing their descent. He held her hand tightly as her one working rocket boot helped guide them back down to the icy ground.

He hit the ground sinking into the snow next to Penny. He couldn't keep it in any more, he retched, hurling out his last meal onto the snow. "If that shooter wants to kill me," he said gasping at the cold air feeling it burn his bile coated throat, "please shoot me now."

Penny inspected her leg looking at the sparking wound in her left leg that left a hole clean through the angle exposing a number of wires and various mechanics. "We are not within sight of the shooter and I haven't detected anyone or anything else within our vicinity." She looked over at the blonde knight down on all fours vomiting, "are you alright Jaune? Can I assist you?"

Jaune shook his head before wiping his mouth and spitting out the remains, "air sickness," he explained, "I've been getting better but that was a hell of a ride… you can do one favor for me though."

"Yes anything," Penny offered.

"Don't tell team RWBY," he begged, "I don't want to have to deal with Yang calling me Vomit Boy for a whole week."

Penny giggled, "Your secret is safe with me."

First chapter, hope everyone likes it. Please review and share any criticism or ideas you have for the story.