Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY or any of it's characters; those belong to RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum.

Rating: T

The slight hint of M is the 'situation' below, but otherwise, nothing is actually indecent. And this obviously happens after 'Together Together'. Still, enjoy XD

"Ah..."

When it came to cleaning himself, showers usually sufficed - but sometimes, when it came to rubbing something off every part of your body, it paled in comparison to a bath. At least the all-around warm/hot sensation always felt good, as did the moment of quiet it provided. Such moments were a rarity for him, and though he knew something might inevitably disturb his moment, he planned to enjoy it every second he could. The built-in heating jets also did their job well, quietly bubbling in the four corners, keeping the temperature fairly consistent.

During his thoughts, he slowed, glancing at his hand. Speaking of something disturbing the moment, he could count the number of times it hadn't happened on his fingers...

Depressing? Possibly, but it was interesting to him regardless.

He was about to end the job, until a darker hue near the right elbow drew his attention; a particularly stubborn residue of soot.

He sighed a bit, rubbing at it with soap mindlessly, much like he'd been doing seconds earlier. And in the back of his mind, he thought he might take a shower later, just to make sure none of the residue clung to his skin afterward.

Nora was not the best cooking assistant, bar none, if you could call her that (it had not been his choice, or even something he controlled).

"Three seconds is all it took for this to happen" he reflected, mentally sighing,

The sound of a knob turning-

He paused.

There were only three people who knew he was in here. Of those three, and everyone else who didn't, only one person could enter without knocking first.

"What is it, Nora?" he asked wearily, glancing to his left.

Nora was sheepish, as well as fidgety in her couldn't-stay-still movements, hair still freshly wet from her own shower. "Well, I just wanted to say I didn't know it was going to explode" she said mildly. "I didn't think adding cinnamon would do that."

"It was far more than cinnamon, Nora" he answered, remembering the 'mess' she'd dumped in. "And I appreciate that, but this couldn't have waited?"

"If it was the only thing I wanted to say, then maybe" she said, a little cheekily.

Okay, a little more reasonable, so he just sat there. And contrary to the usual reaction, he was not mildly concerned that she was in here with him: most of his body was hidden by the soapy water; he knew better than to stand up (no matter what she might say); and even Nora wasn't that kind of bold (he'd seen a glimpse of her checking to make sure he was 'hidden' before she properly looked at him).

"So there I was, cleaning myself" she continued, with some sort of grin as she got down beside the tub, on her knees. "And somewhere along the way, I thought you might be doing the same. And somehow I thought that meant a bath."

When the seconds passed by, Nora looking at him simply with a smile, he got that she was obviously waiting for him to ask why. He glanced up for a second before: "And?"

"And then I remembered" she said dramatically (and loudly), "we used to take baths together, way back when!"

"When we were seven, Nora" he answered calmly, but he saw where this might be going. "Modesty and puberty changed that."

"I know" she said, giggling, really close to him now. "But I didn't say I wanted this to turn into something bad."

"Define bad" he said carefully, but slowly preparing himself for the kiss she was building up to.

Her breath touched his mouth. "I wouldn't see you, you wouldn't see me, and no touch anything below the shoulders" she said, really breathy against him. "Oh, and kissing is good, of course. I'm not that silly; we haven't done anything near this yet."

He was surprised, actually - Nora was taking the whole relationship-takes-time thing seriously. Not that she didn't know some things needed such seriousness, but he'd been half-prepared to stop her from doing anything extreme regardless.

After this registered with him, he slowly glanced at the dimensions of the tub, not moving his face. If he folded his legs up, and Nora did the same on the other side, they'd have enough space between not to touch each other (unless they stretched their legs of course). Also, the water was high enough that they could 'lean forward' on their knees, and they still wouldn't see anything. So overall, unless they did any extreme motions, it wouldn't be too hard to do right.

He brought his attention back to Nora, who continued to breath slowly against his face, her turquoise eyes blinking cutely.

Yes, he just thought that was cute. Sue him.

"I guess that'd work."

"Geeee" she breathed brightly, her little mini-squee, then she kissed him.

He enjoyed that part, even if it was relatively short, then after she pulled away after a few seconds. After that, he quickly looked away; whether Nora began immediately or not, they'd agreed that he didn't need to see this part.

Roughly thirty seconds later, the water rippled somewhat as her foot entered, then considerably more after that.

"Ready!"

He slowly glanced over carefully, just to make sure, then he looked at Nora - who was open-mouthed smiling, only an inch below her shoulders showing.

"She looks like she's enjoying the warm water" he thought vaguely, though out loud was a different story. "So, we just sit here talking, Nora?"

"Pretty much" she said with a grin, head tilted. "Oh, not the entire time, but just a little, because neither of us has much cleaning left to do. Unless we wanted to do some more together-together-Mmph!" she continued, until that last part, where she'd stopped herself at the implications.

He merely sighed a bit. "You wanted to say something?"

This relieved her: "Oh! Yes!" she breathed quickly, giggling. "What do you think about pet names?"

He didn't get a chance to answer verbally, but his expression must have done that for him: "Oh no, of course you wouldn't know what to say" she said brightly, grinning and leaning back. "You're not that kind of guy, but I am! Well, I'm a girl, not a guy, but, you know what I mean. And in either case, I got to lots and lots of thinking, and-"

"You have a pet name for me?" he asked mildly.

"Oh yes!" she called, dramatically sitting up (and for further emphasis, she leaned forward), though luckily nothing showed. "I think I might call you my little sloth" she breathed softly.

He slowly blinked. "Why?"

She giggled. "You said you didn't think sloths made a lot of noise" she said, still softly. "Maybe they don't, but oh well. And you don't make a lot of noise, unlike me, because well, I'm me."

Hmm. That wasn't an entirely inaccurate pet name when she put it that way, not to mention it didn't sound bad at first glance, or even after that.

Even as he thought, Nora kept herself in leaning position, but she did move one hand onto the edge of the tub.

He noticed this in his peripheral vision, and this made him aware that they hadn't held hands yet. And for those wondering why, Nora was not the sit-still type, or even the keep-pace-with-you type - so they hadn't had a chance to. Yes, even after their first kiss, because Nora had been too full of happiness that day (or the entire week) to even think about it. What better reason than to do so now, when also giving his answer to a soft question?

"I don't think I'd mind, long as it's only when we're alone" he said mildly, his fingers rising from the water, gently touching themselves to hers. "And even then, only occasionally."

Her reactions were as followed: a building squee response to his 'I wouldn't mind', surprise when his fingers touched hers, absolute glee/squee over this, then surprised confusion over that last part. "Why?" she drew out, almost pouting.

He slowly chuckled, just a little, further surprising her. "Maybe it's the fact you've always called me Ren" he said, lightly brushing his fingers over her knuckles. "I like that, and while I'm sure I'll like 'my little sloth', I don't want you to stop saying my name."

What followed was a cross between that maniacal grin, and her sweetest happy grin... a maniacal happy? She near-instantly rushed toward him, only to stop in mid-motion when her hands nearly landed on his legs, this result sending little waves throughout the tub.

While a little surprised, he slowly raised an eyebrow.

She gave off a sheepish look, a little more still than her usual. "Uh, please lean over here so I can kiss you" she breathed, glancing down at the water before back up at him.

He smiled a little; despite a near-slip, she was keeping things decent like they'd agreed.

Adjusting himself, he leaned forward while at the same time taking her other hand, which had sprung up just seconds earlier. This only made her happier, and even more willing to lean forward, as much as she was allowed. Before he started leaning in though, he took a moment to appreciate her open lips, which were just waiting for him.

Probably out-of-character of him, but it was only for a moment.

"Mmm..."

Okay, he liked her little enjoying-this 'Mmm' too, even as he enjoyed her moist lips the most.

Much like the (second) first time, they stayed together for awhile, moving their lips against each others. Unlike last time though, their hands remained intertwined, something Nora definitely seemed to like, the way her fingers kept rubbing against his skin.

Nora was the first to break apart, and he might have been surprised, but he was too busy catching his breath. And when he looked at Nora, she had a sheepish grin on her face.

"So, it was my turn to look away, right?"

He blinked, glancing at the tub, then back at her. "Yes, but why?"

The grin became open-mouthed, for a moment. "Oh it's just that I realized something" she said airily. "When we kiss, I like it better when we're hugging than not, much much better."

He merely smiled a little, touched. "Same here."

Some surprise, then another grin. "Geeee!"

I say 'don't come out on a regular basis', and yet about five days later, this happens :P Surprising hehe, a good kind, but still surprising.