The initial reasoning was sound, Weiss had to admit that much, but right now no amount of sense could compensate her increasing will to just let go of the steel bar above her head and allow it to end her suffering.

She and Ruby were never the most muscular members of their team. Actually, for a good while Yang was their only source of raw physical strength. The blond brawler took high pride in her position for the team, but for one reason or another Blake ended up dragged along on her partner's intense training routine.

Now, at the beginning of their third year at beacon, Ruby ad Weiss stood on the squishier side of the four. That had to change, at least according to Ruby.

Weiss particular skillset was far more dependent on grace and precision than on brute strength. If anything, a body like Yang's would only hinder her movements, but she could list one too many times when her lack of physical strength proved to be a liability, not only for her, but also for the whole team. So, when Ruby suggested that they should hit the gym more often together she had few points to stand against it.

In reality, the solo prospect of spending time alone with the brunet was more than enough to drag her into the torture room, but she would never admit it as a reason.

Especially not now that she was serious reconsidering her affections for a girl that would make her go through this.

"Come on Weiss, just eight more!" Ruby said while looking down at her on the press bench. Honestly, there should probably be better ways to do this.

"Come on, keep going!"

Sure, Ruby said that they could try something lighter on the first days, but if the brunet suggested this particular exercise, it was because she expected Weiss to be able to handle it, and Weiss would by no means appear weak-willed, especially not to Ruby.

"Great, keep going Weiss"

Not that the girl would judge her as that. Of course, Ruby was more than excited for the training, but she also seemed genuinely focused on how it might help her… Well, survive on her own.

"Just a few more Weiss, you can do this!"

She even did a fair amount of research on it. Ruby was by no means a scholar and had a worryingly short attention span, but when Weiss agreed to train with her the girl jumped headfirst on it, going as far as preparing full training schedules and a special diet. She was surprised that the concept of an agenda even existed for the girl. She definitively never applied it on her other school obligations. At least not without a good amount of incentive from Weiss.

"Come on Weiss!"

"I swear for Dust, Ruby- If you repeat that again- I'll bludgeon you to death with this bar!"

"That would count as two more!" The girl answered with a giggle that disarmed Weiss of every drop of her latent rage and reached down to help the bar back on the supports.

That was supposed to be a chest exercise but she felt ready to amputate her arms. She probably did something wrong, but before she was able to question it Ruby had already add a few extra weights to the bar an assumed her position on the bench.

"That seems like a bit too much. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Pfff, don't worry Weiss" She dismissed in a mocking tone "Crescent Rose weights waaaay more than this!"

"Probably" The brunet added after bringing the bar down for the first time.

Weiss copied Ruby's previous position and stood just behind the bench, facing down at the bar and her partners face, ready to help if needed.

She noticed how Ruby stuck the tip of her tong out, just like when she was playing a videogame or working on her massive weapon, a face she only made on the pinnacle of concentration. It was cute beyond reason and Weiss quickly forgot what she was supposed to be doing there. Instead, she allowed her eyes to wander around her partner's features.

The small droplets of sweat forming on her face, the hunfs of exertion coming from her throat and those deep, silver eyes. Ruby was definitely a beautiful girl and she achieved it with zero effort. It was just her nature really. Like a rose, she was beautiful just because she was. But her eyes, they burned deep into her mind the first time she actually looked into them. So honest and expressive, so full of life. And now, those pools of molten iron were trained into her own ice-blue.

It was a fixed, completely uninterrupted gaze that made Weiss forget how to breathe.

"Weiss"

Those eyes called for her. She could not dare to look away.

"Weiss-"

Wait…

"Weiss help-"

Snapping out of her trance Weiss noticed that the girl's face was in a shade much similar to the crimson tank top she was wearing, with the bar pressed heavily against her chest. It took less than a second for Weiss to reach down and relive the smaller girl of the weight, but she could not escape the guilt that crushed upon her. She was standing there to avoid just that after all.

"Ruby, are you ok? I'm so sorry, I got distracted and didn't notice you needed help, I'm really sorry!"

The girl just laughed it off.

"It's ok Weiss, You were probably too impressed because I pulled more weight than you~"

How could she dare to be so cute and teasing at the same time? Flustered, Weiss quickly changed her tone.

"Well I told you it was too much! Maybe we should consider removing that new heavy barrel from Crescent Rose if you can't-"

"What? No! I-I mean, Crescent Rose is waaaay lighter than that! No need to touch the new barrel!"

"Hm?" Weiss responded, trying to hide her amusement "but before you said that-"

"Oh look at the time! We should hurry and shower or we'll be late for class!"

With that Ruby as much as leaped from the bench and reached for Weiss' hand, dragging the white-haired girl towards the lockers without giving her a moment to say another word.

Not that she would, having with such a smooth hand grasping her own to concentrate on.

I really intended to bring something a bit different to the table this time, but have some silly fluff instead. And look, it is not even marked as complete! I don't really have a training- I mean, writing schedule for this one, but I'll probably add more to it in the future.

Again, if you notice any mistakes or strange wordings, let me know through a review or PM, it helps me a lot! Ooooor just review anyway, I love hearing from you guys!

Hugs,

Scribe Assistant