Disclaimer: RWBY and all characters associated belong to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. Not GrimGrave.
The Anthologies of a Sun Dragon
What Happens at the Gym
When General Ironwood had asked Taiyang for a favour regarding lending a hand with training manuals and instruct Atlesian Huntsmen and Huntresses with a new training regimen, the blond dragon from Patch had eagerly accepted right away.
What made the deal sweeter was that his daughters and their team were currently in Atlas! It had been too long since he had last seen them and as both a proud father and teacher Taiyang was over the moon to go to Atlas and take the chance to spend some time with his family. And though he had enjoyed catching up with his dear children and brother-in-law, the Ace-Ops had been a mixed reception; the leader, Clover, had been friendly and looking forward to this, same with the Faunus member named Marrow and one of the women had showed some interest in the new regimen Tai was going to implement.
The negative reception from some of the others was a bit of an insult to Taiyang's pride as a Huntsman and combat teacher at Signal, but he wasn't about to let it get to him. He had structured a new training regimen based on the Ace-Ops performances, joint exercises/missions with fourth-and-third-year academy students, and special lessons for first-and-second-year students, all of which had been approved by Ironwood himself. Marrow had been excited about it too and Clover was willing to give it a shot with guarded interest, and so far two weeks later everything seemed fine, but…
"Hey, Xiao Long."
Turning around had him face to face – or rather face to bust – with the pillar of the Ace-Ops, a swarthy, imposing woman named Elm Ederne. As strong as she was tall, Elm was the powerhouse of the team; Tai had seen proof of it himself. According to Ironwood's notes Elm is the second strongest and skilled out of the Ace-Ops, having a peerless track record and being noted as an excellent agent.
"Ah, yes? How can I help you, Ms. Ederne?"
Elm scrutinized him, arms securely crossed over her chest. "I want to spar with you."
Tai was taken aback by her bluntness and straightened. "Oh. Uh, sure, I guess. But why?"
"The General speaks highly of you and it's not in my place to question him. However." She firmly cracked her knuckles, her eyes narrowing as she cracked a small grin. "I want to see for myself if you're really worth the praise and hype."
Tai scoffed, mildly affronted, but who was he to deny a good workout? He knew what he was capable of and so did Ironwood.
"Alright then, a quick one before dinner," he replied and the mirth in the brunette's eyes lit up as she smirked and led the way to one of the training rooms.
Tai couldn't help but smile confidently. This would be interesting.
x.x.x
After haven gotten changed for the occasion (with Tai opting for his fire-yellow wrestling shorts and a simple brown tank-top, and Elm going for a black compression shirt and grappling spats) it hadn't escaped the father of two's notion that the Ace-Op was absolutely chiselled. The contour of her arms was enough to give him a good idea of just how robust she was and Brothers knew Tai had a healthy appreciation for athletic women.
The thunderous stomping as the two dashed over the training room reverberated throughout the floor. This test of strength was purely unarmed close quarters combat and so far – twenty minutes in – they were even.
Elm was swift for someone her size; she was able to dodge and weave and quick to counterattack and predict Tai's strikes, but he still had the edge in fleet-footedness. He maintained his balance in body and mind while Elm was a bit sluggish as she stumbled forward with each missed punch.
But when she did hit – oh boy, did she hit hard.
Tai braced himself and slid several feet backwards, his forearms smarting even with his Aura active. No wonder she could swing around that massive hammer; she had the strength of a hundred Hunters!
"Had enough yet, blondie? I'll admit you're pretty impressive, so there's no shame if you walk away now before I really hurt you!"
Not about to throw in the towel, Tai rushed forward with a series of chain-punches and kept the brunette on the defence with her arms taking the brunt.
"Whoa there! I admire your youthful enthusiasm, but—"
She grabbed a fist and followed by punching back straight at his face.
"Don't push yourself too hard, old-timer!"
Tai staggered backwards, wincing from the throbbing pain in his nose before maintaining his balance and retaliated with a high kick that returned the favour of striking the tall woman's head.
"Hmph!"
As she stumbled back he pressed on and charged in to tackle her down, but found himself stopped entirely in his tracks.
"Not bad, blondie!"
Her strong hands hoisted him up and it was then that Tai saw her Semblance – Aura Roots – had her anchored firmly to the floor, making the mountain of a woman immovable as she threw him around like a discus across the chamber.
He crashed against the floor and tumbled a few feet further before he jumped back up on his feet only to have Elm rushing headfirst into his field of vision.
He dodged to the side, but her arm hooked him in.
They stumbled back down on the floor, scrambling to vie for control as the combat became a wrestling match.
An awkward, distracting wrestling match.
One moment they were fighting with neither of them gaining the complete upper hand, and in the next…
"Colour me impressed, Mr. Xiao Long! Forty minutes in and you haven't even broken a sweat!"
And neither had she for that matter.
Elm's sparkling grin was infectious as Tai grinned back. She looked better when she was happy and in her element.
He could appreciate a woman who wasn't afraid to get sweaty.
Unfortunately, her bosom was pressing up against him way too close to his face and their tangled position of intense body-heat and contact was a bit too much of the blond's liking.
He tried to break free, but Elm doubled down on her hold and managed to shuffle her body—
"Huh?" Her leg brushed up between Tai's. "Is that…are you—?"
He quickly flipped Elm over onto her and pinned her down, hoping to end the match right away before things became even more awkward, but the Ace Operative was quick to turn the match back in her favour and somehow locking him in the cross-face cradle.
Her strong, sculpted arm was across his face and her breasts against his back. As much as he hated to lose, to add to his mild humiliation and embarrassment, Elm's scent distracted him; somewhat pleasantly earthy and an herby body-wash.
"Looks like it's my win."
"…Yeah. Looks like it," he croaked out and tapped out. With Elm's release her scent faded as well.
Mildly disappointing.
"You're plenty strong, Xiao Long, I'll give you that! Though I think you enjoyed this a little bit more than I did, hahaha!"
Tai managed a sheepish smile and rubbed his neck, his embarrassment flaring up over his cheeks. "I'm so sorry about that…"
The tall woman laughed it off heartily. "It's fine, really! It caught me off-guard, but I get it! The heat, the close, physical contact, it's perfectly natural!"
"Right…Yes, well." Tai dusted himself off and got back up, his blush severely prominent despite his attempt to not let it get to him. "I hope this clears up any doubts you might've had of me, Ms. Ederne. I'll see you at dinner."
"Leaving already? Okay then. Catch you later."
She offered a wave as they parted ways, but Tai was making a straight line for his room. A cold shower would do him some good, but the image of Elm in her gym-wear and the feel of her body against his own were forever seared into his brain.
x.x.x
Dinner last night had been interesting; Elm had made no mention of his…mishap during the quick spar and hopefully it would stay that way. Tai had also learned more about Elm's love for good food, which he found endearing given his own love for cooking.
The Ace-Ops new training regimen continued the next day under Tai's supervision and would be followed by their first joint missions with student teams from the fourth year. With the General's permission and access to the mission board, Tai handled the requests of each operative that they felt they and the individual teams could handle. Each operative so far handled about three-four teams of fourth year students so the missions were more advanced, but feasible. The only one who hadn't chosen any or was assigned with any students was—
"Xiao Long."
"Ms. Ederne?!" Tai cleared his throat. All of a sudden he had trouble fighting the heat over his face. "Ahem. Have you finally been assigned a team of students? The others have already left."
"I was thinking of doing something different," she said with a shrug, but her expression quickly became athirst. "I'd like to change my regimen for today to something else, with your permission."
"I would appreciate if we stuck to the plan for the first few weeks, but…" He glanced around and the down at his Scroll with the assigned teams. There were only a couple of teams left of the fourth year students and Winter had elected to participate in this project as well. "I suppose I could make a new arrangement for today. What did you have in mind?"
"Simple; you, me, in the ring, lightly sparring to start things off and trying to work up a good sweat," Elm told him with a bright, playful grin. "Then another round in the ring, no holding back. Sounds fun right?"
Perplexed, Tai rubbed his neck and ignored the heat creeping up. "…Just sparring then? I guess it wouldn't hurt to get another session in…"
"That's the spirit, old-timer!" Elm cheered. "Alright, I'll see you in a bit then!"
"I didn't agree to do it right away— ugh." He shook his head. "At least she doesn't seem awkward around me."
Unlike himself.
Perhaps he was overthinking about what happened and worried over nothing. Noting the change in today's schedule on his Scroll, Tai headed to the men's locker-room and changed to appropriate wear.
Elm, however, had changed hers up a bit; a black sports-bra, black compression shorts (with padded guards), and black compression stirrups. The combination left her hale abdomen exposed and what a body that was! The Ace Operative was ripped as the youths would say, but not bulging with muscles, and the bra-shorts combo hugged and accentuated her bosom and curves in all the right places.
His body once again reacted to the Ace Operative.
The `light spar´ had been as intense as a real fight, but the moment they stepped into the ring the intensity amped up; Tai kept dodging and blocking Elm's punches, relying on his fluid fighting-style to outwit her, but no dice.
He rounded her and rushed with a flurry of punches and elbow strikes, each of which the young woman blocked reflexively.
Impressive.
She countered with a double fist punch and, though Tai managed to block it, the force of the impact sent him skidding back several feet.
Adrenaline pumped in a mighty rush.
It had been too long, Tai realized, that he had felt like this. This was his element much like it was Elm's.
He hadn't felt this compatible in combat since Raven back in the good old days.
They traded blows in a flurry, their tussle gradually becoming wild. Blows slowly shifted into grapples as both of them vied for control. They were like two immovable objects (though it was a little truer for the Ace Operative given her height and Semblance) clashing at each other, but someone had to give.
Tai, with his hands occupied with Elm's, sharply kicked the brunette's side and quickly took advantage of the small window as the tall woman buckled, disengaging her and quickly clapped her ears to disorient her.
He rounded her and crouched as he wrapped his arms around her midsection as tightly as possible, ready to perform a suplex and lifted—
Elm didn't budge.
She heartily laughed. "Did you forget, Xiao Long?"
He blinked. Then glanced down. Her feet were firmly rooted to the floor, hindering him from performing the move and had him stand there with his face preciously close to the Ace Operative's lower back, right over the curve to her-
Tai gulped, locked in place as he mentally berated himself.
Elm chuckled and grabbed him by his shoulder, dragging him back around and forcing him into a head-lock, her bosom pressing against his face. "Gotcha!"
It was unsurprising that she proceeded to throw him onto his back and pinned him down.
"I know I've got a great ass and all, but there are better ways to go about it. I think?" She cracked a wide, hearty smile. "Then again, I like getting up-close and personal."
"I didn't mean to—" Tai grunted and struggled against the Ace Operative.
"Hey, like I said yesterday; it's perfectly natural!"
Tai swiftly kneed the young woman in her abdomen and threw her off of him, followed by rolling over to quickly pin her against the floor.
He cracked a grin as he pressed his weight down against her back, his arm hooked underneath her throat, and her earthy scent once again filled his nostrils. "Giving up?"
"Tch. Really impressive, blondie…" Elm unenthusiastically tapped out. "You, uh, seemed to have enjoyed yourself quite a bit again."
Tai went stock-still and suddenly self-aware of their position; his boner was wedged between her butt-cheeks through the articles of clothing.
He immediately jumped backwards onto his feet with a mortifying blush across his face. "I-I'm so, so sorry about this, I—" Tai shook his head. "This is inexcusable. I should have better self-control…"
Elm propped herself up and guffawed. "I'm not mad or offended you know. There's no need to apologize."
"No, I insist! This behaviour—"
"I told you, I get it! Sure I was surprised since most men don't usually look twice my way; can't handle a woman being taller than them or physically hale, hahaha!"
Tai shot her an incredulous look as she got back up. Was it that uncommon to have such preferences? Amongst Raven's many qualities her physique had been incredibly attractive, same with Summer's lithe build, but still…wouldn't people who were into Huntsmen or Huntresses like their strong, athletic forms?
"Besides, what's the point of working out if no-one is going to compliment you on occasion? Not that I would've only preferred words; I'm just saying there were other ways to go about it than, you know…" She gestured towards between Tai's loins as he instinctively covered up the area to her amusement. "Haha! Little late to hide it now don't you think?"
"Yes, well, it's unbecoming of an older gentleman like myself. I hope we can keep this between us…"
"Why would I tell anyone?" Elm questioned. "I mean, I'm quite excited as well."
He looked at her, perplexed. "You…are?"
"Can't tell because the compression shorts are dark," she claimed and gestured downwards at the front of the article. "But yeah, you better believe it! I like a strong, athletic man and getting into a tussle like that kinda gets me going." She offered a sheepish grin and rubbed her neck. "I told you, I understand."
Tai, astonished, averted his gaze as his cheeks took on a crimson hue. "Wow…Okay. I…wasn't expecting this."
"Hahaha! Neither was I, but here we are! But since you clearly like what you see and I like what I see, maybe…"
"You do realize I'm a father of two, right?" Tai admitted. "I'm…flattered, but—"
"I don't care; you're a healthy man who has checked off more than one box for me and you look good for your age. I told you already, I like what I see." The Ace Operative smiled at him. "Age is just a number, isn't that what they say?"
Tai was taken aback. "I…Well, I have to admit that you're an incredible woman Ms. Ederne, and…" He chuckled. "Well you already know that I find you beautiful."
"`Beautiful´? Now that's one word for it, haha!" Elm beamed. "But yeah…Look, I…Actually, do you wanna go out and grab a bite to eat?"
As if on cue, Tai's stomach growled loudly.
Elm chuckled. "A resounding `yes´! Come on, I know a good place not far from here. I'd love to talk to you and…umh, maybe you could tell me about your fighting-style? I've love to know about it and…maybe you could give me a few pointers?"
At first he didn't know what to say. Between his embarrassment regarding his hunger and his impromptu boner, and the flattery of being sought after for advice on close combat, Tai was at a loss for words. But if Elm could laugh it off…
"I'd love to, Ms. Ederne. It's a date then."
"A date…" Elm cheerfully grinned. "Yeah. It is."
They exchanged knowing looks.
"Maybe later we can head back here for a demonstration?"
The mirth in the brunette's eyes was disarming. "A hands-on approach is it?"
Tai chuckled, now a bit more confident and at ease around the Ace Operative, and smiled back at her. "I feel like we need to settle the score between us; a tiebreaker."
Elm guffawed and slapped the broad of his back. "Hahaha! I knew I liked your style, Xiao Long! So, tell me;"
"Hm?"
"My sports-bra clad bust or my compression shorts-clad ass?"
Tai sputtered, prompting the tall woman to laugh again as they exited the gym—
"Both. Both are good—really, really good."
A/N: I didn't want to drag it out, so a second chapter will continue their little outing. Kind of thought this would make for a somewhat wholesome chapter for a change.