Refresher Course

”1...2...3…”

God, Mariah never got tired of watching her wife workout.

She was sitting in the Friction gym, one of their usual haunts on a rainy Saturday evening. Ostensibly, she was there for a shape-up, looking to cut off a few calories and get her body tuned up. She’d been considering a small in-ring return after their fun time with Sister Agnes a couple of weeks back, an option that was always available in her AFW contract, but her body needed some ironing out before that could happen. Her wife, ever the bodybuilder, had used her expertise to craft an effective, full body workout plan.

She had intended to stick to it, too…but then Bubbles had to go and hit the bench press while she was working on the curls, and damn it, that was a show she could not miss.

”...4...5...6…”  She sat on the bench beside Bubbles’ legs crossed and dangling. She’d worked up a small sweat, one that gave her blue shorts and white tube top a nice shine, but that was nothing compared to her wife’s attire. She was practically bursting out of her black sports bra with every push of the bar, muscles straining and swelling as she went up and down with practiced ease. After every other rep, she’d look at Mariah from the corner of her eye and smile or blow a kiss her way, before she went right back to work, hammering away on the iron with a machine’s tenacity.

People thought Bubbles was all fun and games, that she was nothing but a sex hound, and that wasn’t too far from the truth...but when she was serious about something, she could dedicate herself to it like no one else, and Bubbles was damn serious about working out.

”7...8...9…” She powered through the last rep, gritting her teeth as she hauled the massive weight up. Mariah started to stand, thinking she might have to come over and give her an extra hand. It turned out not to be needed - Bubbles got it all the way up on the wrack, finishing her set without incident.

She sat up and wiped the sweat of her forehead off, exhaling before she looked back at Mariah with a sly smile. ”Appreciate the audience, but you’re not going to get stronger by watching me. Exercise doesn’t work through osmosis, sorry.”

”Pity, that.” She sighed and flopped back on the bench, scooting back to start a set of her own. A less impressive one. ”What I really need is a sparring partner.”

Bubbles reached over and grabbed her towel, drying off with it as Mariah reached up to grip the bar. ”I’m not good enough for you.”

”One that won’t annihilate me in a match, babe. I can’t even do a lot of my moves on you.” She snickered and started her set, planting her feet on the floor before she lifted off. ”1...2…”

If Haruka was as big as the size she was back then, the sight of a rainy day would put her off the idea of going out at all, let alone the gym.

Rainy days in a late Summer evening would be more of a reason to snuggle inside and just be with her girlfriend all night. Unless if there was a good reason to go out, Haruka would have preferred to stay put. The idea of being close to Sakura, the current champion at the time would be enough of a reason to keep the rose behemoth stuck in that couch, making out all day long. If not the couch then definitely another session in the bedroom. Letting her breasts mash on hers, her abs sharing breaths as the flesh expands with each breath. Their fingers tenderly wrapping around each of them before they share a loving embrace that is a kiss on the lips. Just thinking about this was heaven to Haruka. Dreaming isn’t close to the real deal, however. Her mind racing at the thought of making this real…

…Once she managed to pull herself out from dreamland and into reality.

She didn’t realize she had been standing there with a barbell at her feet all this time. Most likely a few gym patrons would be wondering why she’s hogging the deadlift spot for so long, but the pinkette had a reason, dammit. At least, she wants to believe. Back to the reality where Haruka has a more cut, muscular body than before, not even the rain could stop her from going. As much as Haruka enjoyed her time relaxing (although one time resulted in a match), the pinkette was looking forward to going back to the gym with a fresh mind. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that saying has been confirmed with the gym. She hoped that her time away hasn’t made her lose her gains, however—a weird fear she had shared with her girlfriend, which she dismissed as silly. Lucky was the expert on things, but Haruka couldn’t help but see if it’s true.

Which brings the pinkette here. It had been a while since she had busted out some deadlifts and that was first in her gym agenda today. The barbell had been already filled with weights prepared for her. 450lbs was at her feet, something that seemed obscene to many, working out here, but not to Haruka. She had hoped to set a new personal best that day from 490lbs, but it’s better to ease back into things before smashing PBs.

Rubbing chalk on her hands, she gripped the steel bar tightly, planting her feet flat on the floor beneath her. There used to be a time where Haruka was so intimidated by the free weights area. That fear rooted in the belief that she ‘didn’t belong’ in that area. It was a form of impostor syndrome, where she internally downplayed her own agency and believed that she wasn’t ‘worthy’ in some bizarre way of being in the free weights section of the gym.  

Logically, that was nonsense. It took a while for Haruka to realize that.

"One...two...three!"

She exerted a lot of energy to pull the weight up, keeping her head forward, her back straight and using her legs to lift this massive weight off the floor. It wasn’t slow, but to Haruka’s standards, it did take time to stand up straight. Rather than letting the weight go immediately, she held it for a good few seconds before her hands let go of the bar. The solid steel landed on the floor with a tremendous thud, something that would grab the attention of everyone in the gym. Considering it sounded like someone dropped a nuclear bomb again, that is to be expected. The pinkette breathed heavily, stopping the bar from rolling off. Loud clanging of steel is prevalent in the gym as well as the grunts and screams that come from the patrons themselves. However, the rose behemoth knew that some can have a problem with dropping weights like that. She hoped that wouldn’t be the case today. The last thing she needed was to deal with more negativity…

”Who. Is. That?”

Mariah was just about to ask her wife about some pointers on their routine, when she interrupted by her pointing out one of their fellow gym patrons. She’d been half aware of the woman since they came in here, but she hadn’t devoted much mental capacity to really processing her. Friction had plenty of young, sexy women, and while she could appreciate a fine form, she wasn’t in much of a shopping mood at the time. Bubbles was enough, right now.

She found herself changing her opinion when she saw who Bubbles was pointing at. Right away, she could see the appeal. Fine, defined muscles. A pleasing form. Breasts that looked like they were just begging to be touched. She looked not unlike the stereotypical Friction hentai wrestler, only far stronger than most of the women at that level. Heck, she was even buff as standard competitors went...men included.

And more importantly, she was familiar. Quite familiar.

”Haruka.” Mariah snapped her fingers. ”Haruka Kanami. Up and comer in the hentai division, one to watch. She was on a short list of girls I want you to take on, actually.” She rubbed her chin and leaned forward on the bench, narrowing her eyes as she watched the woman work on her set, deadlift with impressive form. ”Don’t recall her being so tricked out, though. Nice.”

”That a fact?” Bubbles stood up from her bench and started to stride forward, hands on hips. ”I’m thinking we should go introduce ourselves, then.”

Side by side, the two of them sauntered over to the deadlift area, standing a safe distance away until Haruka finished up with her final rep. When she brought the wait crashing down, Bubbles stepped forward with a clap and smile, looking the pinkette over and admiring that rippling body of hers up close as she approached. ”Not bad, there.” She whistled. ”Not bad at all. Mind if we share the space with you for a little bit? Putting on a good show, here, want the best view.”

A loud noise like that would have gotten the attention from everyone and Haruka wasn’t really the type to ignore it, her cheeks readen as her eyes focused on some not pleased at this. With a weight like this, it was hard to really bring the bar down gently. Although that could be a good enough exercise, this wasn’t the main point of this deadlift set. She wasn’t focusing on reps, more focused on getting the weight up as cleanly as possible. Making sure the barbell didn’t roll away from the area, the pink behemoth prepared to do another set.

Already the white sports bra was getting a bit of shine here and there, her muscles swelling and straining underneath the soft skin. Deadlifts do take a lot of effort, especially with heavier weights like this. She took a deep breath before hoisting the weight up yet again, getting a bit difficult to pull it up this time. But the pinkette managed to get a clean rep once more, the mirror giving her a good sight on wherever she needs to fix her stance or not. She didn’t have to revert to sumo deadlifts. Very nice.

And again, the barbell was let go with a massive thud, though this time a few wouldn’t turn round to see the pinkette. Which was good, nobody came along with any complaints. Some men were giving her a few thumbs up at her. Which felt nice. It was a massive set, after all. Not as heavy as she liked, however.

A third and final rep would be finished, Haruka’s mind was more in the zone than before. Which was needed since this time took a lot of effort. That’s to be expected. She shouldn’t be pushing too hard though, the voice nagging in the back of her mind which belonged to her girlfriend, Sakura. The rose behemoth wondered if things are okay with her. With the next PPV coming, Lucky was always busy doing so much promotional work. Haruka wanted to do something special for her once she gets back home. She just hopes that she isn’t sore by the end of this.

The sudden clapping and the voice calling out to her snapped Haruka back to reality once more, her moment of peace ruined again. But what she saw in front of her wouldn’t get Haruka mad, not that she would ever. Haruka blinked as she saw the woman standing in front of her.

Bubbles Burste.

Her foot managed to catch the barbell just in time before rolling off the area. While she knew the Virgin Killer back when she started in AFW, she didn’t expect to meet her like this. Well, maybe she should have. Bubbles was big. Strong and defined, dedicated to honing her body, just like Haruka nowadays. It’s perhaps significant that she met her like this and not what she was back then…

“Oh, hi! That’s nice coming from you.” Haruka blushed, wiping the chalk off her hands, onto her cut, taut abs. “And I don’t mind at all. Though I dunno if I got another set in me, ehehe…”

Bubbles knew that Haruka knew who she was right away. It was all in the look, really. She knew the look of a woman who was seeing her for the first time versus the look of a woman who was seeing her live for the first time, and Haruka was definitely in the latter category. She had the look of someone who was just realizing that she wasn’t a special effect - the muscles were real, the tits were real, the height was real. She was impressed, clearly.

But the look that Bubbles gave back wasn’t too far off from the same one. She remembered the look of fresh, new muscle, of a woman who was really hitting the weights for the first time, and few things were juicier. Haruka was probably a fine meal before she got buff, but now she was blossoming into a wondrous little flower, ripe for the picking. Just standing here, she had to chew on her lip to keep the feelings at bay, exercising self control with extreme concentration.

”Easy, girl.” Mariah saw her wife’s state and reached back to give her a rub on the butt, hopefully enough to keep her satiated for the next minute or so. She looked back to Haruka and nodded as she stepped to the side, getting out of their way. ”Haruka, right? It’s good to meet you. I’m Mariah Burste, and this is my wife, Bubbles.” Yeah, she clearly knew them, but that didn’t mean they shouldn’t do the customary greetings. Start off on the right foot.

”Nice meeting you.” Bubbles stepped to the side and started chalking her hand. ”Very nice. And you can’t handle another set? With that body? Don’t believe it.”

It was unsurprising that Haruka knew who Bubbles was. Being in the hentai scene before, she had seen the Virgin Killer before when Johnny was showing some examples of her matches. It wasn’t really the best example that she was given to follow at the time. Haruka wasn’t known to be this strong before. Her ability to lift up a person was abysmal, and she couldn’t really push someone down on their back if they were to put up resistance. To see herself comparing to that, it was like comparing apples to durians. Then again, Haruka at that time didn’t really come to terms of the latent strength she actually possessed, Johnny not being the one to teach her that but her girlfriend Lucky. That ‘match’ they had was the first that showed the pinkette’s potential and Haruka was sent in the right direction to better herself mentally and physically. Everything was thanks to her girlfriend. Especially the body Bubbles was drooling over.

Okay, that was an exaggeration, but it was close. Within her years as a sexfigher, Haruka has seen many looks before. Especially the look of lust. Animalistic lust. That look was seen a few times in her heyday, mostly because her voluptuous body might not be all enticing to some people. She was far from fat, sure, but people had their tastes. So this was the first time she had that look in regards to her new body.

Well, maybe Claudia could be added there. And her girlfriend…

Still, Haruka was prepared to deal with someone at that state. She returned it with kindness, the same kind she would give to anyone she’d meet. Besides, Haruka knew Bubbles, but she didn’t know a lot about her wife. Customary greetings were expected, and Haruka was exemplarily courteous. “Good to meet you, Mariah-san.” She replied in a cheery tone. “And lovely to meet you.” She turned to Bubbles as she would chalk her hands up. “Ehehe, well I don’t want to go too hard coming back. Injury via deadlift would suck.” Not for matches but for Sakura too. But it was pleasing to hear Bubbles have so much faith in her. “And I just built this body up too, so it would suck even more if I'm careless and destroy it!” Haruka gave a casual, yet teasing bicep flex to Bubbles. That probably might send her crazy.

‘Mariah-san’

Mariah couldn’t keep from giggling at that little description, finding that she liked the way that sounded. With just a few words, Haruka had managed to ingratiate herself, made them feel so invited and welcome. She supposed that was a talent any hentai wrestler worth her salt would need, and the pink-haired woman had it in spades.

”Please, don’t be so formal.” Mariah gave her a frilly wave as Bubbles stepped around her and dipped her hands in the chalk. ”No need for ‘sans’, here.”

Bubbles was too busy admiring Haruka’s body to care much about her manners, especially after the teasing little flex that woman gave her. It was so rare to see that kind of physique, especially from the Japanese women in Friction. It suited her. All that rippling, straining flesh, begging to be caressed…

”Oh, yes. Wouldn’t want a body like that to get destroyed.” She smacked her lips. ”Not before I get the chance to break it in.”

Bubbles started to step towards Haruka, biting her lips as she approached, before Mariah gave her the predictable slap on the side of her thigh. ”Down girl, down.” She shooed Bubbles off and stuck out her tongue. ”Hit the weights before you hit anything else.”

Bubbles had a mock pout, but skipped her way back over to the dead lift without protest, dipping down to grasp the bars as she prepared for the pull off. While she got in the proper place, Mariah spun back to their new acquaintance and stepped back to lean up against a nearby wall. ”So, what led to the muscle makeover? You look like twice the woman I remember. In a good way, of course.”

The pinkette had to remind herself that there’s no need to be very formal to everyone she first meets. And that especially goes to foreigners, who don’t really mind about honorifics and titles. It is a casual setting, after all. This is simply out of habit, but Haruka can acquiesce to Mariah-sa…sorry, Mariah’s request.

This made even more sense as Bubbles mostly saw Haruka as an absolute snack. Evidently, she was hungry to get up close and personal, which is something that Haruka would have no qualms over. It was why she was willing to tease the hungry beast, giving her something to salivate even more. Every flex of her body, from the shoulder muscles to the calves was deliberate. Besides, even she would like to press a tall, clean-cut, and muscular body like Bubbles. Just that overtime her own insatiable sexual hunger had been tempered to the point where its no longer a hindrance. Which is needed when meeting newer folks. Can’t get too sexual on the first date…okay that might be a lie, considering the nature of Friction’s gyms.

But for now, Bubbles would have to wait. Mariah would tell her to hit the deadlift, which would be considered working up that appetite. Haruka would give her a wink as she would move away from Bubbles so that she can have space to lift, not without giving a nice spank on her buttcheeks. Mariah inquired, wishing to know more about the pinkette. And mostly why she was this tricked out. Which is understandable, only a few people nowadays remembered the kind of body Haruka had before she would work on herself.

“Oh, yes! Well, I have my girlfriend Sakura to be thankful for that. She was more into fitness than I was and encouraged me to join with her. It was then when she made me realise that I had more strength inside of…that…” Her hands gesturing wider curves on her body—no need to say what she meant considering her old form. “…and I have worked out ever since. I wanted to be a great wrestler like she is and while I can somewhat get away with it back in an old league I was in, that past self wouldn’t have been acceptable in AFW’s Hentai Division. I had to be evaluated and get basic training to be accepted. It’s a much different beast.”

Bubbles did as told, moving over to the weights and getting ready for the lift. Though she put on the front of being miffed, she wasn’t, really. She was always hitting on women, getting all the fun, taking the most advantage of the freedom in their relationship. It was only fair that her wife get the chance to test the waters, too. She could sit back and watch for a while, let her take point.

Besides, there would always be time for her to get her fill in later.

As Mariah listened to Haruka, she perked up, thinking about a particular detail she’d brought up, something familiar. She didn’t dive into it at first, though, letting that seed grow for a bit until she started plucking fruit from it.

[color:e544=#Grey]”Different beast, indeed.” She gave a sage, approving nod as she leaned back and forth, getting a good eye on her from different angles. ”Can’t wait to see you in action - you look strong enough to do some real damage. Put you in a hardstyle hentai match and watch you go.”

She took a look back at Bubbles, watching as she went into her set. Up and down, up and down, her form on point, no wasted motion. It was always a treat to watch her wife do what she did best, the bodybuilder in her never truly going away, but she did her best to avert her gaze for a few seconds and manage some coherence. She wanted to confirm, though.

”Sakura, though...do you mean ‘Lucky’ Sakura?” She wasn’t looking Bubbles way, but she knew her wife was perking up at that name. Sakura was a fairly common name, so maybe it was just another woman, but she had a feeling that wasn’t the case.

Looking back at it, Haruka felt it was slightly weird for her to have an examination for her to get into the division. Many wrestlers in AFW’s Hentai division has made do with less than the pinkette, and it wasn’t so much a prerequisite to know much about wrestling, striking, or at the very least, ground-based submission grappling. But in hindsight, hentai in of itself was growing to be a lot more different than the progenitor league Sex Wars. Pure sexfighting still had its place in AFW, but it was clear that it’s an added bonus to have a bit more knowledge in other styles to make it more well rounded. Similar effect to MMA, where you can’t just coast off Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If you haven’t developed a striking game, then you’d be KO’ed quicker before the announcers could finish their promotions. Not to say you can’t, but it would be a steeper climb to victory.

With the growing love of pro wrestling and individual Hentai stars looking to prove their legitimacy in other aspects of combat, it is wise to have that extra something, other than knowing how to bring someone to eternal bliss. Something which Haruka was excited to show to the vast audience.

“I dunno about hardstyle hentai, I’m still a softie underneath that muscle.” She teased. Of course, being put in the more brutish variety of hentai matches was an inevitability. “But in all seriousness, it would at least give a gauge on how much I’ve improved. There’s still a lot to prove.”

All the meanwhile, Bubbles looked flawless as she went into her deadlift. Despite the slight contrast between powerlifting and bodybuilding, the latter doesn’t skimp when it comes to sets, mainly to achieve the bodies they strive for. There was much to take in from looking at Bubbles, from the way she breathed to her muscles, engaging in perfect form. Even though most think of her as some sex-crazed beast, she was stalwart and committed to honing her body. Truly admirable.

Mariah would bring Haruka’s attention to something that needed clarification. And Haruka was happy to help. “Yep, that’s the one!” The pinkette beamed when she heard the other name Sakura goes by. “She helped me believe that I can be something greater, and I wouldn’t be where I am without her.” Her hips swayed side to side, looking up as she longingly thinks about her girlfriend. “She’s just the sweetest, beautiful, lovely, stunning, cutest and bestest woman that I know. And that’s why I love her!”