sport; au

For as long as he'd known her, Lightning had made it clear that her time at the gym was her time. A lot of women went to a spa or did some shopping as a way to relax; Lightning instead worked those endorphins. Hope supposed it made sense. Wasn't exercise supposed to relax you?

At any rate, he'd always respected the fact that gym time was her alone time. It'd only take two offers for him to join her until he'd gotten the hint.

On this day, however, Hope had started to wonder what the penalty was for interruption - they had plans to go out to dinner, but Lightning wasn't answering her phone. He didn't know if she'd lost it at the gym - oh, who was he kidding, she never lost anything - but he'd made reservations, and he'd lose them if they didn't show up to eat on time.

Finally, he decided that, screw it, he'd look for her at the gym. Worst case scenario, they'd just miss each other and he'd have to make the drive back home. No big deal.

Hope hadn't been to this gym in ages, but he found he was still pretty familiar with the layout and went about looking for Lightning. He didn't find her in the room with the treadmills, nor was she with the weightlifters. And she definitely wasn't in the aerobics class.

After roaming around for about ten minutes in confusion, wondering where the hell his girlfriend was - or if she was even here - he heard some loud noises coming from a room down the hall. Curiously, he opened the door, slightly relieved to see Lightning going to town on a punching bag. Duh - somehow he'd forgotten that kickboxing had always been her sport of choice.

Instinctively, he opened his mouth to greet her, but it died when he really took in the sight in front of him. She hadn't heard or noticed him standing there, so she remained oblivious to any eyes on her and kept up with her workout.

Hope stared. And stared.

Clearly she'd been at it for quite some time - her tank top was practically sticking to her skin with sweat, leaving very little to the imagination. In fact, the intensity of what she was doing had left a light sheen of sweat over every inch of visible skin, and there was quite a lot of that considering those biker shorts she was wearing. Even her hair seemed extra curly due to the heat surrounding her, and she hadn't bothered to pull it back, so it stuck to her face in a manner that just made Hope's hands itch to brush it out of the way.

How long he stood there, he couldn't say - he was completely mesmerized. It wasn't just the fact that she looked incredibly intoxicating, but it was the intense determination on her expression that really threatened to do him in. She was completely into what she was doing, like she had no other goal in mind. That focus had always been something he loved about her.

While he definitely could have stood there and watched her for days, the portion of his brain that still had some logic reminded him of those dinner reservations. Eventually, it was with great hesitation that Hope cleared his throat to gain her attention.

Lightning abruptly stopped and spun around, her expression one of utter annoyance for a moment, but it immediately faded to something a lot more calm. She even smiled somewhat.

Whew.

"Hey." She spoke rather evenly, despite trying to catch her breath. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh…" Even the logical side of Hope's mind was going haywire when Lightning turned to face him fully in all of her sexy, sweaty glory, but the dangerous glint in her eyes luckily made him speak. "Er - we have dinner reservations for later, and you weren't answering your phone, so I just figured I'd…come look for you."

She frowned slightly in confusion, wandering over towards her bag to retrieve her phone, eyes widening a bit when she unlocked it and saw the time. "Sorry." She put her phone away, grabbing a bottle of water instead. "I lost track of time. I guess I got really into it."

Hope had been about to answer, but Lightning chose that moment to drink from the water bottle. Her head tilted back, allowing some drops to escape unknowingly from her lips, and he watched in rapt fascination as a droplet trailed down her chin and slooowly over her neck, slowing as it approached her chest…

"Uh - " He cleared his throat again. "…Yeah. I guess so."

She quirked an eyebrow, finally putting that blasted water bottle away and stood up. To Hope's ever-dwindling logic, her arms rose over her head in a stretch, a satisfied little groan escaping her when her back arched. That little motion made the hem of her tank top ride up a little and oh hey, Lightning apparently wore her navel ring while she worked out.

"…Are you all right?"

Too late, Hope realized that he'd made an extremely unmanly, obvious squeaking noise while watching her. Luckily, Lightning didn't seem to understand the context, since she still looked confused, though he had to wonder if she was really that oblivious.

"Uh. Yeah." Again, he cleared his throat. "Fine, fine. Um…are you feeling any better?"

"I am, actually." She bent over to retrieve her bag, and Hope couldn't help but let his eyes wander, since her shorts left very little to the imagination. "I'll need to stop by at home and shower before dinner, though. Can't say I'm all that fond of public ones."

"…Yeah." Hope's lack of a proper response was due to the fact that his mind had instantly become flooded with extremely improper images at the thought of her taking a shower. Lightning remained oblivious, however, and simply gave him another confused look before leaning down to hoist the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

Hope would have been perfectly fine with that, except when she started walking to leave the room, she just had to brush against him. Instantly, he became aware of the scent of sweat clinging to her skin - something he was usually only privy to in the bedroom - and how her clothes were clinging to her body like they'd simply been poured there. Her muscles seemed even stronger and more visible, which just made her lean physique look even more attractive.

Not for the first time, Hope wondered how the hell he'd gotten so lucky.

All of those sweet, nostalgic thoughts instantly gave way to ones a lot more primal. Completely on instinct, he reached out and grasped her arm, swiftly pulling her close to him, just barely taking in her surprised expression as he swallowed her gasp with a hungry kiss.

Given that they were in a public place and that she usually abhorred PDA, Hope was momentarily stunned when she didn't immediately push him away. Her hands rested on his shirt for a moment like she wanted to, but apparently the intensity of the kiss kept her rooted, her fingers curling into the fabric instead as she kissed back just as hungrily. A low moan escaped him at her response, which was definitely preferable to that unmanly squeak earlier.

The only reason he pulled away a minute later was for air, since he certainly could have stayed in that liplock for ages otherwise. A wave of satisfaction hit him when he opened his eyes to see Lightning's face even more flushed than it had been during her workout, breathing heavily like she'd done another hour of kickboxing.

"What…" Her voice was as dazed as her expression.

Hope chuckled breathlessly, feeling like he'd done some working out himself. "Maybe I could keep my hands to myself if you didn't look so irresistible after a workout."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Workout clothes are hardly irresistible."

He tried not to sound sheepish when he answered her, thinking he succeeded when he ran his hand lightly down her back and side, reveling in the way she leaned into the touch. "They are when they're clinging to you."

For a second, her brows simply knitted in confusion. Hope could practically see her mind putting all the pieces together - his lackluster conversation earlier, those unmanly noises, the kiss just now…

When she finally answered, it was, luckily, in amusement. "How…male of you."

"Sorry." He grinned, definitely relieved she wasn't mad. "I am what I am."

"Tch." With a tiny smile of her own, she lightly punched his chest, leaning down to grab her bag, which had fallen down at some point during their kiss. "Let's get home and put that manliness to better use."

"What about dinner?"

A smirk formed on her face. "I'd rather have dessert first."