A Conundrum in Cardiology (Private)

[Nova Starr]

A bead of sweat rolled across her forehead, just crossing the scar on her left eyebrow when she wiped it away with a handcloth. Workouts weren't Nova's thing. They were about as far from her thing as a thing could get. She preferred the comfort of cooking, the calm of night, or even the ease of a jolly walk through the park. Gentle activities, ones that made her feel as if her heart wasn't about to burst from her chest.

Be that as it may, the Grimm weren't going to go easy on her because she was a lazy bones. They'd try to tear her limb from limb all the same. In order to stave off this eventuality, Nova decided to dedicate a couple of hours per week to the gym at the Academy. With an expansive array of equipment and state-of-the-art combat simulation capabilities, she was sure to find something there that would enthrall her within the world of exercise and entice her to keep at it.

Nope. Her arms hurt. Her legs hurt. She lay on the mat beside the pull-up apparatus, appendages sprawled out as if to imitate a starfish, pondering how on Remnant anybody derived enjoyment from physical torture. Her chest heaved as she struggled to draw in breath, and Nova trembled as she reached across to take a sip of her water - instead managing to knock the bottle over and send it rolling across the gym floor.

"Grr- okay," Nova sighed, defeated, head resting on the mat beneath her. "Fine. Great." She breathed a heavy breath. "I don't deserve water anyway."

[Sean McCabe]

Despite her obvious unenthusiasm at the prospect of a workout, this girl had been going at it with the same vigor as some of the more gym-bro types and Sean had to say, he admired her dedication to the aspects of training she didn't enjoy.

He couldn't help but root for her as she did a set of pull-ups, and broke into a wide grin as she finally collapsed to the ground next to the bar, limbs splayed and chest heaving. When her attempt to grab her water bottle only ended up sending it rolling toward him, he snatched it up and took a quick tumble over.

"I don't deserve water anyway," she mumbled just as he reached her.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, gorgeous." He held the bottle out for her to reclaim as he flopped down on the ground next to her. "You're doing great."

[Nova Starr]

Nova rolled onto her left, or was it her right? Sensing direction took energy that she didn't have. What little energy did have went into her eyes pinching together as she stared at her fellow gym-goer. He was holding out her water bottle, kindly retrieving it after its short-lived crusade across the floor.

"Are your eyes not right?" she asked, half-genuinely, as she took back her bottle and hurriedly guzzled a mouthful of water. "*Swallow* You can be honest, I know I look like two strings of spaghetti pulling up a meatball." She gestured to the pull-up machine, lips twisting slightly into a disappointed frown. Nova recalled having an easier time at all of it in combat school, her lack of upkeep was painfully transparent at Beacon.

"Uh, thanks, by the way. For the rescue." She shook the bottle a little. "Do you always watch girls having a hard time at the gym?"

[Sean McCabe]

Sean wasn’t sure he agreed with the spaghetti simile. ”Hard to argue with a good carbonara,” he replied with a smile.

”Do you always watch girls having a hard time at the gym?”

Always tell the truth if you can get away with it, right? ”I watch people who give their all in a workout despite an obvious lack of enthusiasm. I admire those who have the mental fortitude to do the stuff they don’t enjoy.”

After a quick kip up, his toned physique from a life of acrobatic shenanigans on full display, he offered his hand down to the purple-haired girl. ”I’m Sean.”

[Nova Starr]

Nova appreciated Sean's pasta pun, even if it made the thought of being in the cafeteria all the more delicious compared to the gym. She appreciated his answer to her rather blunt question as well; He was being actually supportive, not weird. Nova's expression softened in an instant, struck by a little bolt of guilt for being too on the defensive. "Oh."

At the display of acrobatics, she (miserably) failed not to gawk. Standing there was a man that probably spent more time on his body than she did doing schoolwork; Meanwhile, she was ground-ridden after one set of pull-ups. She took his hand and, letting Sean do most of the work, managed to get on to her feet again. "You're also, like, ridiculously in shape. How long'd it take get... that?" She gestured at his general body with an open palm. "For the love of Remnant, please tell me you're on some magical fibre-rich diet and that it doesn't take you hours of exercise every day."

[Sean McCabe]

How long did it take to get this in shape? "Uhh, I'm not sure?" he offered, scratching his head. "I don't remember a time where I wasn't in this kind of shape, so anywhere from a couple months to many, many years?"

That was probably not very encouraging. "I grew up in a circus," he explained, turning a sidewinder into a one-armed handstand before leaning his legs back to return to his feet, turning back around to face her. "Ta-da..." He shook a pair of jazz hands at her. "As to diet, I'm not really keeping to anything strict? I only spend a few hours a week in the gym itself, so I'm actually starting to fill out a little." He gestured to his arms, which were starting to look more like human arms than bodybuilder arms - a good thing in his mind. "We can probably put together a good workout routine for you without too much trouble, depending on what kind of shape you're looking to be in and what you need to be able to do in combat to best use your style." He hadn't designed a routine in a while, and if this girl was half as dedicated to maintaining a routine as she was to doing the actual workout, it would be fun.

[Nova Starr]

Many, many years? It was, indeed, not very encouraging, and her eyes fell in tandem with any hopes of instant gym-related gratification. To learn that Sean grew up in a circus alleviated a bit of the pain; That being the case, it'd be weirder if he wasn't somewhat superhuman-looking. She bowed her head a little and clapped after his show of... flips. Manoeuvers, tricks, ones that she wouldn't dare try to classify nor name lest she further highlight her lack of athletic knowledge. Then, Nova grew quickly distracted by Sean's arms, which her eyes followed, then her own arms, which looked perfectly bland and uninspiring by comparison.

"Hm... I don't know, I wanna be able to do more than a few pull-ups?" She realized how pathetic that must have sounded, shortly reconsidering. "Or... being able to run, what, thirty minutes before I need to find a couch to lie on. Or fight for more than a few minutes without feeling like the next day's a write-off." None of those goals sounded too unrealistc in her mind. "I do, like, alright in combat right now. I've killed a couple Grimm without much of an issue, and my weapon's not that heavy. But I rely on my semblance and my grappling hook to do most of the fancy stuff, I don't have many... 'tricks' up my sleeve, especially when it comes to fighting other people." Nova blew one cheek to the side and shrugged, leaving her hands on her hips. "Very vanilla, no spice at all."

[Sean McCabe]

Those were reasonable, if a bit self-deprecating, goals. "That sounds doable for sure." It wouldn't even take that long if she stuck to the routine the way she'd stuck to today's workout.

"Very vanilla, no spice at all." Oh?

"We'll just have to get spiced lattes or something to make up the difference later, then," he smirked, giving a dismissive wave. "Once you're doing pullups for days we can work on finding you something... exotic to use as a shtick." His personal schtick wasn't so much exotic as a VERY specialized niche of conventional acrobatics, but the more exotic a shtick, the more it complemented a more vanilla style - just look at that chick who launched herself all around the combat training room with her Semblance only to stab you with a perfectly normal sword once she got there.

[Nova Starr]

"Right, because you think I'm so basic that I obviously like spiced lattes?" Nova cocked an eyebrow at the mention of spiced milky beverages, feigning insult. Her cheeks lifted when she smiled shortly after. "Just kidding, I would love that." She raised a finger, "For clarity, not because I'm basic." She wanted to at least try and seem interesting, but of course, Nova knew she was totally basic: Her favorite ice cream flavour was vanilla, favourite genre was anything with the word 'pop' in it, spicy foods made her cry, so on and so forth. She'd deny the stereotype for as long as she could, anyhow.

What was actually interesting was Sean's 'exotic schtick' remark. To Nova, it brought an equal sense of dread and intrigue. Shifting her body weight to one foot, she crossed her arms together and watched him curiously. "Hm, I think we have very different ideas about what 'exotic' is. Is it gonna be 'ten pushups, ten situps, ten minutes nap, repeat' exotic or 'do a McTwisty flip into... nose tuck dive... head spin... something something fall-on-my-face-flat' exotic?"

[Sean McCabe]

"What? No, because I'm so basic that I love spiced lattes." He looked her up and down. "Besides, there's no way anyone that looks as gorgeous as a spiced latte could possibly be called basic." He grinned. Vanilla, maybe, but not basic.

"More like 'get you into a good exercise routine and then find some exotic combat shtick to complement your style and throw off any opponent who thinks they have your measure'. Though we could absolutely get you doing McTwistys if that's something you think you'd be into," he added - about a second before he realized what that sounded like.

Whoops.

[Nova Starr]

Despite trying desperately hard to hold it back, Nova broke into a laugh at Sean's well-intentioned compliment; something about being compared to a coffee tickled her heart in just the right way. She calmed quickly, clamping a finger to her lips to seal them shut while a faint red hue began to paint her cheeks. "S-sorry," she began, getting the last giggle out of her system. "You're kinda funny. It's a date."

In her blissful ignorance of anything gymnastics-related, she glossed over the McTwistys remark; she was proud of herself for (seemingly) naming an actual move. "Gotcha. Do we start with putting a routine together then, huh?" She grimaced as her eyes drifted again to the pull-up machine. Her arms were still throbbing. "I'll try anything besides that. Whoever designed this is pure evil." She looked to Sean. "Maybe you could... show me your routine? For some inspiration."

[Sean McCabe]

Sean gave a mental fist-pump as she laughed, and another when his comment about McTwistys flew right past without incident.

"I think I should get a look at how you fight before we get to that. That way I know what we should have you work on first: enhance your strengths before shoring up your weaknesses, y'know?"

Show her his routine? He could, but... "Don't get me wrong, you are cute as hell, and I will absolutely be asking you to get at least two drinks with me at some point, but I normally like to know a guy, gal, or nonbinary pal's name before I go taking my shirt off." He winked and cracked a grin as he reminded her that she'd yet to give her name.

[Nova Starr]

"Oh, right, good point." In hindsight, of course he'd need to see how she fought to put together any sort of plan. She did wonder what he had in mind; Wail on some dummies? Practice sparring match?

With an eyebrow cocked, the girl went to say something in response to his shameless flirting. "Is taking your shirt off really necess..." The cat quickly caught her tongue when she realized what he was asking for. Instead, Nova looked at Sean confusedly, her eyes debating his. "Wait, I already- didn't I?" The girl cringed, dying just a little on the inside as she threw a palm to her face. "That's so embarrassing." Soon reclaiming her composure, she sighed and met Sean's playful gaze, a subtle rose glow about her cheeks.

"I think I need those drinks now," she joked, sounding more nervous than intended. She tilted her head left just a little. "Okay, smooth talker. I'm Nova."

[Sean McCabe]

Watching her slowly deteriorate into a blushing mess was very funny, but Sean managed to keep a smile on his face rather than laugh.

"Nice to meet you, Nova." He glanced over to where his duffel bag was before clapping his hands as though deciding on something. "Alright, you've convinced me. Let me grab my bag and let's go find a drink or two. Any maybe also food," he added after a moment as he rubbed his stomach. "I may have skipped lunch because I was busy trying to stay ahead of the reading for Hapta's class," he admitted sheepishly.

What time even was it? His scroll was in his bag, so he didn't know for sure, but given that he'd finished his last set on the elliptical it was probably about time for dinner anyhow.

[Nova Starr]

Leaving the gym for drinks with a stranger wasn't how she thought her day would go, but anything was better than spending another minute in there. He seemed innocent enough, anyhow. "Definitely also food." After awkwardly stretching her arms above her head, she relaxed, then shifted around to pick up her things. Everything in hand, she turned for the exit, waiting for Sean to join. "Right, mhm. The reading. Because I also remembered to do that," she commented, trying not to make it obvious the note she was frantically typing on her scroll for later: '1) figure out what Hapta's reading is, 2) do the reading.'

"I could turn a Grimm's stomach with how bad I smell right now. Meet up in... twenty minutes?" In what was becoming somewhat of a habit recently, she held out her scroll so that Sean could fill in his contact details.

[Sean McCabe]

"Right, mhm. The reading. Because I also remembered to do that."

Sean laughed, her words not being very convincing. At her mention of smell, he sniffed his armpit and made a face. "Yeah, a shower would definitely be advisable for me too. Twenty minutes it is, Nova." He flashed her a grin as he typed in his details, then took a silly selfie and set it as his contact photo.

[Sean Ruadhri McCabe ]

"I wonder which of us will have the bigger post-shower glow-up?" he asked, flashing her a finger gun as he handed Nova back her scroll.

[Nova Starr]

She took back her scroll, all too obviously rolling her eyes at Sean's goofy contact photo. "Cute." His middle name did catch her attention. For the sake of making as few assumptions as possible, she wouldn't try to guess which kingdom he was from; not without a drink or two first. She was certain it wasn't a Valean name, though.

"I mean, obviously I want to say me," she boasted with a little hair flick, though Nova looked up and across to him with earnest defeat. "Buuut, as long as you look better than a curly-haired sewer rat, my money's on you."

Once they reached the doors leading out from the gym and toward the dorms, she quickly snapped an equally ridiculous selfie - a thumbs up with her cheeks puffed out and eyes crossed - for him to use as a contact photo. "There. Alright, Sean, I will see you in twenty minutes. Better not keep me waiting," she warned him with a smile.

[Sean McCabe]

Sean would take 'cute'.

"Don't sell yourself short, gorgeous," Sean replied. "I'd have to be a very pretty sewer rat."

Her contact photo told him a lot about her, and he liked what it said. "Wouldn't dream of it," he responded with a smile of his own, before turning toward the showers and giving a mock salute without looking back.