Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.
Yang walked into the gym ready for some serious work. It had been three days since Yang met Nora in the library and she had enjoyed every minute of it so far. Nora was fun and crazy and as full of energy as ever, so much so that Yang found even she had trouble keeping up with her sometimes. But, it was never a struggle, it never wore on her nerves like Ruby sometimes did because Nora was also incredibly sweet and caring in little ways Yang had never even thought of. Every morning since they started dating Nora had met Yang in the hallway, waiting and ready to go. She said it was because Pyrrha always woke her up so early but Yang wasn't going to complain. Getting to see that wonderful girl's face right away every day and saying bye again in the hallway every night meant they were able to spend nearly all of their time together. Nora was also extremely affectionate in ways that Yang really appreciated. She wanted to hold hands wherever they went, always had praise for Yang and every once and while, only twice since the time at the bar, she would plant these little kisses on Yang's cheek that just made her go silly. She couldn't quite explain it, but she always grew this stupid grin and forget what she was saying, even if she was mid-sentence.
So, when Yang entered the gym and saw her red-headed little girlfriend already in her adorable pink and white gym attire, ready to lift, she couldn't help but smile like an idiot.
"You look ready to go." Yang smiled and gave Nora a firm hug.
"You don't. Hurry up slowpoke, it's time to lift." Nora flexed both arms impressively and Yang felt a bit of pride that her girlfriend was as concerned with her musculature as she was.
"Alright, alright I'm going. Don't start without me though." Yang gave Nora a playful shove on the shoulder with her free hand and trotted off for the locker rooms to change into her gym clothes. She reached the locker and stripped down to her bra and panties quickly tucking away her school clothes and removing her sports bra and gym shirt and shorts from her bag. She unclipped her bra and threw it down into her bag before slipping her sports bra on and then took a half second to look around as she fixed the bottom hem, making sure it was laying flat against her skin. There were other girls in the locker room changing as well, though most of them seemed to be moving at a much more leisurely pace than Yang. There were quite a few cute girls at Beacon, everyone was fit and most had a very unique style to their hair or dress. As Yang glanced around though, she didn't feel really attracted to any of the girls. Of course she wasn't staring and didn't even let her eyes linger on anyone in particular but still, not a single pang of desire.
She threw on her bright yellow shorts, little yellow and black sneakers and slipped on her black top which had a bright yellow stripe running down the sides. She grabbed her lifting gloves and tossed the rest of her things in the locker. Fitting the fingerless leather gloves as she exited the locker room making sure the straps were tight, she couldn't risk a glove slipping in front of Nora their first time at the gym together. She came back out into the weight room and saw Nora in the corner, stretching one arm back over her shoulder, pushing on the elbow with her other hand to lengthen the stretch. Her body was on full display like that, arms up above her bright red hair, chest pushed forward by the stretch, long white legs slipping out of her little pink shorts and ending into a bright white pair of athletic sneakers. Yang forcibly closed her mouth and shook her head to stop from staring. She walked quickly across the room to where Nora stood, wanting to hurry over but also not wanting to run in the weight room or appear too eager to Nora.
"Alright, I'm all ready. Let's do this." Nora turned at Yang's voice and smiled.
"Ooohh, we may have to come to the gym together more often. You look great." Nora put her hands on her hips and shamelessly gave Yang a once over. Yang struck a pose for her and whipped her hair behind her, making sure Nora could take it all in.
"You don't look too bad yourself." Yang smiled deviously and Nora giggled.
"I told you we were the hot ones." Yang laughed and pulled one arm in front of her, pulling on her wrist to stretch her upper arms before they started.
"So what are we doing today? Just please don't say it's legs, I just did legs yesterday we both know you'll kick my ass at legs." Nora grinned and Yang laughed and switched arms, Nora turned and looked around the gym for a moment.
"Uhhh, what day is it?"
"Wednesday."
"Oh well then it's chest and back. Legs are Tuesday, Thursday for me." Yang grinned, their routines already matched. This was gonna be great.
"Awesome, that's the same as me." Yang released her arm and swung them both back and forth in front of her, crossing them in front of her chest. Nora walked over and grabbed a set of dumbbells, easily wrenching them from their holders by the wall and bringing them over to a bench near Yang. She then went back over and grabbed the next size up of dumbbells and deposited them by the first set. Yang replicated the stretch Nora had been doing when she walked out and made her way over to her, arms pushed high above her head and arching down to her back. Nora looked up from setting the weights down and caught Yang mid-stretch.
"Okay, you're gonna have to put that," Nora waved her hands in Yang's general direction, "away. How am I supposed to focus?" Yang grinned and lifted the larger pair of dumbbells.
"Maybe you'll just have to close your eyes." Yang lifted both dumbbells in front of her, arms straight out and then slowly pulled them to the sides until she looked like a giant 't' and then pushed her arms back together. She didn't wait for any sort of reply from Nora but just started in on her reps, focusing on her form and doing her best to ignore the girl doing the same by her side.
They worked through the exercises, taking advantage of the impressive array of weights and machines that Beacon had to offer. The students here were all capable of lifting incredible amounts, even those that didn't focus on lifting like the rest of Team RWBY were far stronger than the average human just because of their aura and the strength needed to wield their weapons effectively. But Yang and Nora were bodybuilders among super humans and throughout their workout routinely lifted hundreds of pounds and could each bench the equivalent of a small car. Yang stood over Nora and spotted her as the redhead finished out a set on the bench. Nora lifted the final rep and dropped the bar into its slots on the bench with a resounding clang. She sat up and wiped at her brow with a sweat rag and then reached for her water bottle.
"Alright, my turn." Yang swung around the front of the bench and sat next to Nora, giving her a second to rest before they switched. Nora leaned over and rested her head on Yang's shoulder and sighed.
"I'm so hungry." Yang laughed and put a hand around the girl's waist, "No really, can we go eat right after this?"
"Sure, I heard the cafeteria has pork roast tonight." Nora's eyes lit up and she lurched to her feet.
"Let's power through our last couple sets and get over there then." She hurried behind the bar to spot her girlfriend and waited for Yang to lie back then snickered.
"What? I'm hurrying." Yang looked up at Nora's grinning face, seeing her upside down.
"I can see down your shirt from here." Nora giggled and stuck out her tongue. Yang blushed and looked down to see that, due to her large chest and the tight fitting workout shirt, Nora could indeed see down her shirt. Although all it gave her a view of was Yang's sport's bra it still flustered her slightly. Yang blushed and put her hands on the bar.
"Come on, stop oggling me or we can't work out together anymore." Yang's voice was playful and Nora stifled a final giggle so she could help Yang lift the first rep off the rack. Yang fell into an easy rhythm for the set and had pumped them out before long. The effort worked up a slight sweat but nothing out of the ordinary. She racked the final lift and sat up with a small pant.
"Wooo," Nora cheered, "Only two left and then it's pork roast time. Yang grabbed her sweat rag and both of their water bottles, handing Nora's to her as she stood. They made their way to their next set of exercises and continued much the same process. Yang did her best to not further expose herself to Nora, but didn't let it interfere with her workout. They were here to exercise and that came first. Judging by Nora's physique she obviously put as much importance behind the routine as Yang did so she had no doubt she could contain herself. They worked through the rest of their planned workout and reached the final set without much else happening.
Nora was kneeling, pulling a kettlebell, which weighed two hundred pounds, up and behind herself like she was trying to start Remnant's worst lawnmower. Yang was watching her, making sure she stayed in form and doing her best not to make her stares overly obvious. Nora really was incredibly fit and it showed in her every movement.
Yang lifted her eyes from her girlfriend for a second and glanced around the room at the others exercising. Most people kept to themselves in the gym, it was something they all did and most people were here to get it over with and get onto other things. Yang saw several other pairs or small groups such as herself and Nora but it was a lone exerciser in particular that caught her eye. Cardin Winchester was doing squats on the far side of the room and was watching Yang and Nora intently. Yang realized he was staring and glared at him across the gym, he jerked his head down and stared at the ground several feet in front of him and kept going with his exercise. Yang sighed.
There was a loud thunk and Yang felt a hand on her leg. She looked down and found Nora had finished her reps and was trying to get her attention, waving her hand for Yang to come closer. Yang crouched down, putting herself much closer to the little redhead.
"Don't let him bother you. Cardin's just a creep." Nora lifted herself to a crouch and put a hand on Yang's knee.
"Yeah I know. Doesn't mean I don't hate the guy's guts." Yang smiled and Nora snickered.
"He tries to mess with us though and he'll learn his lesson." Nora grinned devilishly and Yang remembered her threat when Cardin had been bullying Jaune.
"Now, now. We probably shouldn't break his legs Nora." Nora's face fell and she turned puppy dog eyes on Yang, "Unless he really deserves it." They both laughed and Yang went to one knee to finish her workout with the kettlebell. After she was done, she and Nora racked their weights and headed for the locker room.
They went straight to their lockers, on opposite sides of an aisle from each other and went about changing.
"You wanna grab a shower first or just head straight to dinner?" Yang threw the question over her shoulder without turning to regard her girlfriend who was most likely mostly naked right now. It was just the locker room, Yang knew that, but still it seemed like there should be some barriers between the two until they willingly broke them down.
"Let's just grab dinner. We didn't do any cardio so it should be okay." Yang smiled, happy to know that a little sweat didn't bother her. She was pretty sure going into this that she had a good grip on Nora's personality, her general likes and dislikes. But, every time one that she preferred was confirmed it made her happy. Not to know she was right, but to know that it was another thing she and Nora wouldn't have to argue or disagree about. They finished changing and raced over to the cafeteria. On the way out Yang looked around but saw that Cardin was no longer in the gym. Where he was, she didn't really care, as long as she didn't have to deal with him.
They reached the cafeteria hand in hand and Yang opened the door for Nora. Nora smiled for Yang and they entered together. The couple made their way to the long line of food, all spread out in separate steamer trays or under warming lamps. Nora immediately spied the hulking pork roasts near the end of the aisle. She grabbed trays for herself and Yang and looked to her girlfriend, hunger burning in her eyes.
"Oh my Oum. Yang it looks delicious!" Nora almost ran to the end of the row and began heaping the roast onto her plate in huge clumps. Yang laughed and made her way down the row, she grabbed a pile of rolls for them both, a small loaf of bread which was probably meant to be cut and then spied steamed asparagus. Yang smiled and grabbed two separate helpings of the green stalks then slid her tray down to where Nora was finishing loading her plate with pork.
"You think you have enough there?" Nora turned on Yang and looked at her tray. She saw the asparagus and sighed a little, her shoulders dropping. Yang chuckled and put one of the serving of vegetables onto Nora's tray and then began taking her own hunks of the roast. She looked up and saw that Nora was still forlornly locked on her asparagus. She smiled, "Here Nora. Come here." Yang grabbed Nora by the hand and drug her back towards the vegetables. They reached the large array of deep greens and bright reds and yellows and Nora looked around at what was there, nothing looked better than what she already had. Yang reached down and picked up a ladle of liquified cheese, drizzling a modest amount onto Nora's asparagus. Nora looked up and smiled at Yang. "Ren said you had to eat your veggies right? He didn't say you couldn't put anything on them." Yang smiled and applied some cheese to her asparagus as well.
"Yeah that's right." Nora happily picked up her tray and turned, scanning the cafeteria for any friends who might still be here eating. She spotted Blake and pointed her out to Yang, they both headed off towards Yang's partner.
Blake lifted her head as the two approached and tucked the book she had been reading away. They sat down and Blake twitched her nose ever so slightly.
"Oh sorry Blake, we just left the gym." Yang apologized to her overly scent sensitive Faunus friend and seated herself across from her. Nora plopped down beside Yang and waved to Blake.
"Yeah sorry. She had me all hot and bothered the whole time, made me sweat way more than usual." Blake nearly choked on her food and Nora laughed. Yang stuttered and tried to find a response but had none. Nora looked back and forth between the two of them, "What? It's true, your gym clothes should not be allowed."
"You're one to talk. How long were those shorts? A whole inch maybe?" Yang found her voice and couldn't help but poke fun back.
"Well my legs aren't miles long like some people." Nora stuck her tongue out at Yang. Yang smiled and then had a realization and turned to Blake.
"Sorry Blake, you know how the gym makes me." Blake sighed and shook her head.
"I'm not much better." Nora gave Blake a winning smile and then immediately began eating.
"So what's up?" Yang began eating but slowly enough that she could respond to Blake.
"Well I was quite enjoying my book," she motioned gently to the novel tucked neatly beside her tray.
"Oh yeah is it a good one?" Blake went to respond to her partner but was cut off.
"There's no pictures are there?" Nora swallowed quickly and blurted out.
"No. There aren't any pictures." Blake set a hand on her novel. "This is an introspective on the Faunus condition immediately after the events of the Great War and leading up to the start of the Faunus Rights Revolution as told through a young Faunus boy living in Mistral." Yang coughed a little and Nora was so overwhelmed by the information that she had stopped eating.
"Wow that's so cool. Are you really into Faunus history?" Nora began eating again and waited for Blake's response.
"Yes, I find the Faunus struggle very…" she paused in thought, "interesting. We should all know more about it." Nora nodded her head in agreement.
"I still wish it had pictures though." Nora smiled and went back to eating when Blake didn't immediately respond. For a moment they sat in silence and ate until Nora spoke up again.
"So Blake, you got your eye on anybody?" Nora wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at her and Blake's face remained calm.
"Not at the moment, no. I am rather focused on my training." Blake took an overly large bite of her tuna sandwich.
"Oh come on. There's gotta be someone right?" Nora put her finger to her chin and tapped thoughtfully. Then she jumped with excitement, "Oh are you still pining after that Faunus boy from Mistral?" Blake quickly swallowed her bite, choking a bit.
"Nope, no, definitely not." Nora giggled and Yang started with a shock.
"Really Blake? Sun?" Blake looked at the floor and tried unsuccessfully to hide her face.
"Be nice Yang. Sun is super cute isn't he?" Nora looked back at Blake, trying to get her a little further out of her shell. Blake didn't react, she kept her eyes down and took another bite of her sandwich, trying to hide her embarrassment. "You two went to the dance together didn't you? I can't believe you got him in a tie." Nora laughed and Blake allowed the faintest hint of a smile to tug at the corners of her lips
"I thought that was because I made you go?" Yang had set her fork to the side by now, engrossed as she was by this turn of events. Blake shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"Are you kidding Yang? C'mon you saw his abs! I mean he never closed his shirt." Nora laughed again and Blake's blush deepened. "What about that tail though? It was kinda cool wasn't it?" Blake jerked her head up. "I didn't know you had a thing for Faunus guys." Blake grabbed her book and went running off.
"No Blake, I'm-" Nora was shocked at her departure and almost stood to go after her but Yang put a hand on hers.
"Don't Nora." Nora turned to Yang, concern on her face.
"Oh Yang I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, I was just playing." Yang gripped her hand and squeezed a little, comfortingly.
"It's okay, she's just really shy. I mean, I'm her partner and I didn't even realize she had a crush on Sun," the tension on Nora's face didn't ease, "Really it's okay. I'll talk to her tonight."
"Should I apologize to her?"
"No, I think it will be okay. Maybe just say sorry when you see her in the morning. But really don't make a big deal out of it, that might make it worse. Like I said she's really closed off about stuff." Yang had a sudden idea and decided to go for it, she leaned over quickly and gave Nora a quick kiss on the cheek. Nora's face flushed and she stammered slightly.
"Oh, okay, thanks." Nora squeezed Yang's hand and turned back to her meal, "Let's eat, yeah?"
"Yeah," Yang smiled at the effect she had had and turned back to her food, keeping her hand entwined with Nora's.
A/N - So I spent the first few chapters doing basically every moment of the day, but now that they are together I will be sort of hopping to important moments. I won't ever make a drastic jump, just a few days at a time like this chapter.
I've gotten some questions about what other ships will be present in this fic. I don't exactly have plans for say Velvet and Coco to have a recurring presence, but this chapter should have answered some of the questions you might have in that area.
I'm still plugging away at my longer piece, although I have become engrossed enough in this one lately that it has taken center stage in my writing efforts. The other piece may be delayed a little compared to my original release plan but it is definitely still on the way.
I still love hearing from you all, I've gotten some great responses and ideas from your comments so please keep it up. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you continue to enjoy.
-Zach