Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Pyrrha pulled more air in through her nose as she put one foot in front of the other. Running had become nearly automatic for her at this point, so simple and easy that she could allow her mind to wander as she completed her daily distance. But today wasn't one of her normal runs, today she had a partner with her, her partner.

Jaune was plodding along beside her, doing much better than she had thought he would, but still not doing great. He had only been really pushing himself for about a week now but his commitment was already showing results. He woke up earlier and felt less tired, he was eating better and hitting the gym every day, his sword play had started getting better faster, and he was lasting longer and longer during their training and workout sessions.

The pair approached a bend in the path they were on and some other students were approaching from the opposite direction, walking and talking amongst themselves. Pyrrha let back just a little so she could fall in behind Jaune and give the others room to pass on the opposite side of the small, concrete sidewalk. They had been running for perhaps an hour or so and had to do this every so often as other students made their way around the campus

She and Jaune were going to complete ten more laps of Beacon's main tower and then head back to the room for work on their aura. It had been a long night of working out for both of them, right after classes they had jumped straight into their sparring routines. Their last classes of the day involved wearing their armor so it made sense to do that first. Then they broke down into their gym gear and hit the weights. After what happened the other day Pyrrha had asked that Jaune always bring someone as a lifting partner to help spot for him and said she was available any time. He had graciously accepted and together they moved through their respective workouts with ease. Jaune was lifting even more now since he felt safer with Pyrrha being there to catch the weight if need be. He was well above two hundred pounds now and quickly approaching three hundred. He had passed Ruby and Weiss in his time in the gym and was about even with what Ren could lift, though the quietest member of their team did not make a habit of visiting the gym. Pyrrha was impressed with his progress to say the least. He had been getting better since they started working together in their first semester but now he was really taking strides to grow.

The path straightened back out and Pyrrha lengthened her strides just enough to come back to Jaune's side. She glanced at him as she passed and saw nothing but determination on his face. She knew that to keep pace with her, he was having to push himself and was probably focused entirely on steadying his breathing as they ran. It was admirable, the way he never complained anymore, he just kept working. Pyrrha could see that he had thrown himself at his training with one hundred and ten percent effort and she couldn't be happier. This is the kind of work that it took to be really successful, the kind of work the rest of them all put in and he was finally doing his part.

She kept staring for a moment and let herself get a little lost in his features. The way the sweat ran down along his chin and glistened on his neck in the light of the setting sun. His hair bounced just slightly with every footfall, light as air on top of his head. He never let his gaze waver from straight ahead, clear blue eyes locked on an imaginary target to run towards. His jaw was firm, held in place by that rigid chin with just a hint of blonde stubble.

Something caught Pyrrha's attention in front of her and she whipped her head forward in time to see another student who was walking the same way as them, right in front of her. Pyrrha planted her boot in front of her, spun on the ball of her foot off towards Jaune's side and pulled her arms in tight to avoid hitting the other student. She avoided the impact, but felt her hair whip out against their back as she spun off to the side. She stopped herself at the end of her dodge and turned to the student, beginning her apology before she had even seen who it was.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Pyrrha bowed her head just slightly before raising her eyes to the victim. "I'm afraid I lost focus for a moment while I was running and didn't watch where I was going." She finally lifted her chin far enough to see their face and was surprised to find none other than Velvet Scarlatina. Pyrrha looked to see who she was with and was happy to see her hulking partner, Yatsuhashi.

"What?" Velvet asked, startled. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." She seemed more flustered than Pyrrha and she hadn't done anything wrong. Pyrrha saw Jaune stop as well and turn to see what had happened.

"It's my fault, I'm sorry really. It's just that I almost ran into you." Pyrrha looked down in embarrassment as she explained herself. She noticed when she glanced at the ground that Velvet and Yatsuhashi were holding hands, her tiny fingers clasped in his massive grip.

"That's okay," Velvet waved off Pyrrha's embarrassment and her apology, "I really didn't even notice." She giggled lightly and Pyrrha raised her eyes. Velvet was always so kind and unassuming. Pyrrha didn't think she had ever even seen her be angry except for when Coco refused to take off her sun glasses inside. Really, that was more frustration than anything else, like Weiss when Ruby talked too fast.

"Hey guys thanks," Jaune walked over to them with his hands on his hips, breathing hard. "If she hadn't stopped I think I might of passed out." Jaune laughed loudly and Pyrrha could hear that although he was breathing hard he had not been in danger of fainting any time soon. Even now with his constantly increasing abilities, Jaune was still modest. Pyrrha watched her partner as he laughed and felt a smile creep across her lips, "Oh hey, " Jaune started, "Are you two dating?" He had obviously noticed their clasped hands as well. Pyrrha wasn't aware the two were dating, but she also didn't really follow the lives of anyone other than her close friends. She had just assumed this was something she had overlooked.

"Yes, we are." Yatsuhashi said in his deep, but gentle voice. He always sounded so serious and a lot of people thought he was rather humorless, but Pyrrha could hear a tone of happiness in even his voice as he confirmed that he and the girl at his side were dating.

"We have been since last year." Velvet smiled up at her towering partner and apparently boyfriend. She looked impossibly sweet and happy, standing there by his side. Like if she had his hand around hers that she could take on the world and never lose that cheer.

"It isn't weird though? Dating your partner?" Jaune's breathing had regulated somewhat and Pyrrha was reminded that they needed to resume their workout, but the comment drew her attention far more. Jaune was asking about someone dating their partner. Did this mean he was starting to think of her that way? Had he finally noticed her and the way she felt about him? Pyrrha's breath stopped in her chest as she looked at him, trying to read his intentions, how interested he was in their answer. But her respect for the couple across from them got the better of her.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha gasped, "That's very personal." she slapped playfully at his shoulder, hoping that their friends from Team CFVY wouldn't feel obligated to answer or that Jaune would rescind his question. She wanted to know how Jaune felt, but she didn't want to intrude on Yatsuhashi and Velvet's relationship or their evening. Simply the fact that Jaune asked meant that he was at least thinking about it.

"No, no it's alright." Velvet laughed sweetly, "We honestly worried it might be at first. But I think we've found that we are better partners than before and it helps with the relationship too."

"It's good for both parts of our lives. And Coco and Fox don't seem to mind at all." Yatsuhashi said calmly, looming over all three of them but without appearing imposing at all, he had a nice, gentle face that made him entirely approachable. "Aren't your teammates Ren and Nora dating as well?"

"Yeah but that's different, they've been together for ever, like way before they came here." Jaune laughed easily, "They became partners because they couldn't imagine being with anyone else I think." Everyone chuckled and Pyrrha imagined what Nora might do if Ren had been partnered with another girl or anyone really besides herself. She simply shuddered at the thought and was glad it had worked out the way it had.

"We really should return to our run." Pyrrha offered a polite smile for their friends. "I really am sorry Velvet, I'll watch where I'm going." Velvet giggled lightly and waved as Pyrrha and Jaune set off at a light trot.

"Goodnight guys, have a nice walk." Jaune called and waved over his shoulder as the distance between them grew. A few meters in Pyrrha slowly began increasing their speed, lengthening her strides and moving more quickly. They had to get back up to the where they had been before, that was their pace, and even though it was her fault, stopping to talk with Yatsuhashi and Velvet had put them a little behind. The fact that it was her fault probably made her feel even more guilty about the whole thing.

They kept running, around and around the huge looping path at the base of the massive building. Pyrrha stayed completely focused on her running for perhaps four or five more laps as she was determined to not allow a repeat of the incident with Velvet. Not that talking to them hadn't been nice and she hadn't gotten a little insight into Jaune's thoughts. But what if she had bumped into Velvet? That would have been terribly embarrassing. As they kept moving though, the sun dipped further and further beneath the horizon until the lamp lights began to flicker to life around campus.

As it grew darker the number of students milling about dwindled down until they were most likely the only ones still out and about in this part of the school. Ren, Nora and the sisters were supposed to be out rather late. They hadn't left until after class and wanted to go the salon and probably dinner of some kind after since they were already down in the city. So she and Jaune still had plenty of time to themselves before anyone got back.

What did Jaune's question mean? Was he just curious about their relationship and trying to learn more about them? That was completely possible, Jaune was friends with lots of people and seemed to be liked back just as well. They all knew Team CFVY so it wouldn't be surprising to know they were close like that. But, then again, he hadn't even known they were dating to begin with so he probably wasn't that close with them. Had he been asking for his own personal reasons then? Was he trying to see if others had had success dating within their teams and with their own partners. No doubt after the situation with Ruby he was concerned about alienating team members and creating awkward situations. That is, if he was looking at Pyrrha in that way.

Pyrrha's mind raced faster and faster around in circles as she tried to figure out what Jaune was doing, what was going on behind those blue eyes. The cool breeze whipping against her face was pleasant and was probably the only thing keeping her at all in control of herself, that and the steady pounding of her feet against the path. She passed the door to the building and realized that was her final lap for the evening. Pyrrha slowed herself to a stop and glanced around for Jaune. She looked back and saw him pounding down the path a few dozen yards back along the way they'd come. She must have gotten so caught up in her thoughts that she outraced him or didn't realize he was falling behind. She cursed herself internally and leaned down to stretch out her calves while she waited for him to finish. Eventually he came up to her side and nearly fell over panting. He leaned over onto his knees and breathed hard and ragged, trying to take in lung fulls of air.

"Are you alright Jaune?" Pyrrha placed a hesitant hand on his back, he really looked like he was in bad shape.

"Yeah… Yeah I'm… fine." He pushed out between breaths. He stood up, unfolding his body and trying to stand straight like she had told him to. Bending over like that actually made it harder to breathe and could lead to cramps, she had told him that the very first day he had run with her and it looked like he still remembered. "I…. didn't know…..we were gonna sprint." He started to forcefully regulate his breathing, taking long deep breaths through his nose and exhaling slowly to get control of himself.

"I'm sorry Jaune," Pyrrha had to stifle her response. She had not been sprinting, just running faster because she wasn't pacing with him as she got lost in thought. He had started working harder, but he still wasn't caught up by any means. "Come on, let's do one more lap real slow to warm down." she offered and waved him forward.

"Yeah, okay." Jaune swung his arms to both sides stretching out his back and chest muscles as they started their last lap. They headed off together, moving just slightly faster than a normal walking pace to keep their legs loose and try and ease their bodies out of the workout. They were about halfway around the loop when Jaune finally spoke again. "So Yatsuhashi and Velvet huh?"

"Yes, they seem to be very happy together." Pyrrha felt her heart jump into her throat at him mentioning the other couple. He had brought it up again, that must mean that he was thinking about them, as in the two of them. That must be why it was still on his mind.

"That's crazy. I guess I never really noticed it before but it totally does make sense. I mean, their team has been through alot together and I guess Yatsuhashi is really the protective type. Plus Velvet is just so sweet isn't she?" Jaune spun his torso at the waist, pulling himself as far each direction as he could to stretch. So, did he think that maybe they were only dating because of the experiences they had together so far? That those kinds of moments, dangerous or otherwise could pull two people together. She and Jaune had not any of those moments yet, so perhaps he wasn't seeing her that way.

"I suppose so." Pyrrha maintained her calm pace. The run really had not tired her out overly much and she was just fine with the warm down walk the way it was, it gave her an excuse to talk to Jaune before they started up their aura training. But where was he going with this? Was he going to ask her what she thought about partners dating?

"I don't know. It's just weird to me now to think about dating people while we're here. Like, we all have to be so close as a team and even just as friends. But, Ruby won't even talk to me anymore." Jaune went to put his hand in the front pocket of his hoodie but realized he was wearing a t-shirt to run in and caught himself, raising his arms and lacing his fingers behind his head instead. Pyrrha wanted to smile at his little awkward movement but was so dreading what he had said that it was all she could do to keep her face neutral.

"But surely she will come around." Pyrrha wanted to grab him by the shoulders and tell him that Ruby was being a fool and she would never act that way if anything ever arose that was able to drive them apart. But she just walked as calmly as she could by his side. "It has only been a week."

"She's so unlike herself though. I mean, have you ever seen Ruby go for more than a few minutes without talking non-stop or coming up with some crazy plan?" Jaune shook his head, "It's been a whole week already and she's barely talking. Not just me, she's not talking to anyone." Pyrrha had a flash of hope, he was worried about her, of course he was. Jaune was always worried about others before himself. But Pyrrha knew that Ruby would be back to normal in no time. She was heartbroken right now because Jaune had been her first relationship and she had broken up with Jaune. Wouldn't anyone be heartbroken after that. Jaune and Ruby hadn't even been dating that long so surely she would be better soon.

"They did all go out together today, perhaps she will be better when she gets back." Pyrrha hoped that she could drive Jaune's mind off this track of thought. The last thing she wanted during their night together was for him to be worrying about Ruby and how she was doing the entire time. She realized that was slightly selfish and even more hypocritical since one of the things she liked most about him was how caring he was.

"Maybe, I don't know." Jaune stopped and turned to her. They had almost finished their lap and would be headed back to the dorm soon so Pyrrha didn't mind stopping, it would prolong their talk if nothing else. "Do you get what I mean though? Like, if you date someone here and it doesn't work out, what if it even ends really bad? That could be so terrible." He looked up and over her head, into the distance. "What if I made the wrong call in a fight because I was worried about someone, or what if the two people didn't like each other after a break-up and it ruined their teamwork?"

"Jaune," Pyrrha stepped forward slightly and lifted her hand from her hip maybe an inch or so before she caught herself. She had been going to put her hand on the side of his cheek but she shouldn't. She took a half step back and lowered her hand back to her side. "I think you are worrying too much. You and Ruby's friendship will be fine, I'm sure of it." She wanted to smile for him but couldn't. She wanted to hug him but couldn't. She wouldn't to kiss him but couldn't.

"I hope so." Jaune dropped his hands and started walking again slowly. Pyrrha matched his pace and wished he would cheer up a little but she didn't know how to make that happen for him. So she just decided to be there for him until she could think of something better.

They walked back to the dorm room together in what should have been companionable silence but Pyrrha spent the entire time worrying about Jaune's mood and trying to come up with some way to cheer him up. She hoped at least that their aura session would help him forget about his worries and maybe then they could relax a little together before Ren and Nora returned. They would be able to tell Jaune if Ruby was feeling any better as well so he could stop worrying. Pyrrha was sure that after going out with her sister and friends that Ruby would feel better. It was very hard to spend time with Nora and stay in a bad mood.

"Do you mind if I take my shower first?" Jaune asked once they were inside. Ren and Nora weren't back yet, just as they had expected. They hadn't heard from them that they were on their way back either so they probably had plenty of time.

"No, of course not." Pyrrha nodded to him and moved off towards her bed. Jaune slid into the bathroom and closed the door with a click. Pyrrha removed her tiara and the spare pieces of armor she was still wearing before moving to the bed and sliding her shoes off. She set each piece of bronze armor gingerly on the bed and left her shoes on the floor. The armor looked to be in good shape but she wiped it down and checked all the straps anyway. She rested for a moment and listened to the shower water running in the bathroom. What was she going to do?

She stood and began stripping off her gym clothes. Despite what she knew everyone always said about her looking so wonderful after workouts and looking as if she didn't sweat at all, she was hot and sticky and miserable. If she could get into some fresh clothes it would help her relax and sort through her thoughts while she waited for Jaune to finish. So Pyrrha slipped her shorts off and found a pair of clean pajama bottoms in her drawer and slid those on, then found a clean, overly large t-shirt and did the same. It felt so nice to wear loose clothing after a long day. She still had on her undergarments, but even though she was sure Jaune was going to stay in the shower for a bit longer she refused to risk removing those with someone else around. She would get to them when she had locked herself in the bathroom and could have some guaranteed privacy.

Pyrrha sat on the floor once she was finished changing and cleaning her armor and leaned into a deep stretch. It felt nice to pull on her tendons like this after a long run and an even longer day. Even if it had been rather slow, it had still made her tighten up all over and the stiff chairs in class didn't help either. She inhaled deeply and breathed out slowly as she leaned into the stretch. So, Jaune was interested in the complications of dating a teammate and the possible implications of a break up. Okay, that was normal, those were normal anxieties to have. He was worried because of what had happened between himself and Ruby, their break-up had definitely put a strain on the relationship between the two teams. Team Practice had been awkward and quiet compared to the usual, lunches were strained and jokes all felt subdued or more tame than normal, even classes were a tad awkward because they all felt the need to follow this informal seating chart that put Ruby and Jaune at opposite sides. So it made sense that after that he would have some fears about that sort of relationship again.

What could have spurred him to bring it up is what had Pyrrha's mind spiraling around though. She leaned up and out of the stretch and switched legs. Was it just because they had run into the couple from Team CFVY. Surely, running into a pair of students who were partners as well as being romantically involved would put it at the forefront of his mind. But, over an hour later at the end of their run he had still been thinking about it so it was more than that. Ren and Nora were dating and it's possible that Jaune was concerned about what might happen if they were ever to split, what that might do to the team, to their partnership. He was their leader and had been taking that role more and more seriously lately so that was part of his responsibilities. But Ren and Nora behaved as if they were already married. They clicked together so well and never appeared to have any issues that they weren't perfectly capable of resolving in a healthy manner.

Pyrrha lifted off that leg and sighed. Jaune was taking longer in the shower than usual. She pushed up on her hands to lift her butt from the ground and arranged her legs so she could drop into the splits. The stretch pulled on the insides of her thighs just enough to make her groan a little in pleasure, stretching was Oum's gift to athletes, a reward after their hard work. So, was Jaune thinking about inter-team dating because he was thinking of her? Was it because he was starting to notice her affections or develop feelings himself that he was concerned about what that might mean? But, he had brought it up to her. If was feeling nervous about something that had to do with her, wouldn't he have asked someone else? Pyrrha sighed and let herself fall out of the stretch onto the floor, laying face first against the carpet. She groaned as she realized that him being interested in her was probably the least likely thing. He could be needlessly worried about teammates, fretting over his own failures, even just stuck on it because he didn't have anything else to think about. But, if he came to her with his concerns then there was no way that she was the cause.

"Pyrrha, whatcha doin'? Jaune asked skeptically from the door to the shower. He was wearing his dirty pair of gym shorts from before and toweling at his hair and she was lying face down in the middle of the room in baggy clothing. She jumped up embarrassed beyond belief and patted at her clothing in an attempt to try and make it look okay, she knew it did not.

"I was just uhh, stretching. And then I laid down." Pyrrha said slowly, hoping he would take her excuse at face value and say nothing else. She sincerely wished that he would step back into the bathroom and come out again so they could do it over. But she knew that wouldn't happen so she just had to hope he didn't think it was too ridiculous.

"If you're too tired, we can skip the aura stuff tonight." Jaune offered hopefully as he moved towards his bed and his dresser. He tried to appear nonchalant but Pyrrha knew that he was being playful, and also probably hoping he could get out of his least favorite part of their routine.

"Now, now, you aren't getting out of your training that easily. Pyrrha made her way to the bathroom, "I will feel just fine after a quick shower." She closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had just had to make it through their aura training without making any more of a fool of herself than she already had and everything would be fine. He wasn't interested in her now and she needed to deal with that and stop being such a hot mess around him. Pyrrha began to strip off her clothes to jump in the shower and then slid them right back on because she realized still needed a washcloth. She stepped back to the door and breathed slowly to steady herself, why was she so lost and uncontrolled around him? She opened the door slowly, not wanting to draw much attention to the fact that she was forgetting something as simple as a washcloth.

She eased the door open just enough to slip through and darted directly for her bed, it only took her three long bounds to pass Ren and Jaune's beds and make it over to her own. She grabbed a washcloth from the dresser and turned to dash back towards the bathroom. But leaning over in the corner by his own dresser was Jaune, wearing nothing but his boxers and rummaging around for some real clothing. All the lines of his body were hard and firm. Apparently the work he had been putting in really was having an effect. His legs were hard and bulging with strength, the muscles on his back rippled ever so slightly under his tan skin as he moved his arms around in the drawer, his shoulders and biceps were much larger than when he had arrived at Beacon. Jaune was so fit and muscular now, this was not helping. Pyrrha dashed back to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She knew he had heard that but it was really better than turning and catching her staring at his rear end and nearly naked body. She sighed, it was going to be a long, bothersome night.

A/N - It's been awhile since we've heard from Pyrrha hasn't it? We get a chance to see what she thinks now that the break-up is just about resolved. She is a terribly flustered girl and hunky, buff as hell Jaune is not helping.

Also, What? Not Salon Day Part Two? I know, I know that's a little weird, but I wanted to break it up since the Salon day and this day happen at the same time in the story. Imagine it like cutting back and forth between two locations in a show. The next part of the salon trip will be on Thursday.

Thanks so much for reading, I can't wait to hear from you.

-Zach