Blonde on Blonde

”And 1, 2, 3, and 1, 2, 3…”

Valley, as she had many times in the past few months, found herself in the middle of the AFW sparring ring, limbering up with a few stretches. She was ready to fight, as anyone with a pair of eyes could tell. She had on her pads, her white and pink training shorts and bra, her mouth guard resting in a cup off to the side. It was a common sight, as management was making it a pattern to put her up against new recruits for sparring evaluations, using her like a measuring stick to get a feel for new talent.

But that wasn't why she was here today. This was more personal. She wasn't here to go up against some fresh-faced recruit or even a potential up-and-comer, but one of the best, strongest, most experienced wrestlers she personally knew: Chris Morgan.

It had been a while since the two of them had some time together, but that wasn't by design. Their paths hadn't crossed and hadn't had the chance to. Valley was busy with Natasha Han and intensifying her training, improving her style and smoothing out the edges. Chris had a lot of stuff going on with her fellow Angels, stuff that she would’ve asked for the Slamazon’s help with if she’d needed it. They’d kept in touch, texts and instant messaging and Skype here and there, but this was the first time instance in a while where they could get some serious, long overdue facetime with friend - and one-time lover.

Getting more anxious by the moment, Valley popped to her feet and started running the ropes, hoping she could get rid of some excess energy and calm down. But not too much. After all, she’d be needing a lot of that pep if she was about to take on one of the AFW’s strongest competitors...

"Sorry if I kept you waiting, Val..." Chris called as she entered the gym.

Clad in a set of white and gold spandex workout shorts and matching sports bra, the Californian carried a gym bag with her slung over her shoulder. She had suffered a harsh injury at the hands of Panther Risako awhile back, her arm separated from her shoulder. Once she had been given clearance from the doctors, Chris had thrown herself back into her training, working to regain her lost strength in that limb. Between that, and her efforts to help Mikoto Kusanagi and her family gain the financial backing to help them take care of, and keep, the shrine they tended to, she regretfully hadn't had the chance to speak face to face with Valley in a good long while.

To tell the truth, Chris was feeling a bit of nervousness. She and Valley hadn't actually seen each other since their passionate exchange while taking shelter from a sudden storm. She knew her friend and Ace were back together, and was honestly happy for Val. But, Chris had never taken a friend as a one night (or late afternoon in their case) stand. Not that she had many of them, but whenever she felt the need, Chris had always relied on the the tried and true, if old fashioned, bar scenes and the newer Tinder. It wasn't like she had many friends to choose from anyway. Even back in California, when she was working in business finance, she had kept people at a certain emotional distance. Work acquaintances, sure. Gym and running buddies, you bet. But really never anything you could call a close personal relationship. Valley had been her first confidant in a long time, and Chris really wasn't sure happened when you threw sex -even if it was really good sex- into that.

Act normal...it happened once, and then it was done. she thought to herself. It only gets weird if I make it weird. Focus on the sparring, if nothing else.

Setting the bag down outside the ring, the blonde unzipped it, producing her own sparring pads. Climbing into the ring, she set the pads aside, doing some warm up stretches as she said "How've things been? God it's insane how long it's been since we saw each other in person..."

Valley’s attention immediately centered on Chris the second she entered the room. It wasn’t an unusual response, either - everyone else in the gym was doing the same. The shimmering giantess had a way of standing out, especially among the AFW's smaller crowd of women. She was tall, lean, well-built, powerful, with an indomitable presence. Her title as the Phenom of Heaven was earned, because that was exactly what she looked like as she made her way to the ring.

And Valley was staring. Dang it.

She ruffled up her hair and remembered that she and Chris were friends and just friends. They’d had a moment of intimacy - great, explosive, mesmerizing intimacy - but that was over a year ago. Valley was back with Ace now. She was happy. If she wanted to stay happy, she wouldn’t be jeopardizing that. This was a spar. Just a spar. Didn’t have to become more than that. If she wasn't able to handle this sort of thing maturely, then she would never have came to the AFW.

”Yup, it’s been way too long.” Valley started bouncing from foot to foot, eager to get started. It'd be easier to stop stealing glances at Chris's firm backside once they got going. Fine form, she had. ”Great on my end. You? How’s that arm coming along?”

Valley was a beautiful woman. There was just no way around it. She was lithe, well toned, with legs that anyone could admire. But, the only reason this was even an issue was over one incident. She had to mentally remind herself to not stare, to look away before her fellow Californian caught on. Chris had climbed in the ring with many gorgeous women before with scarcely a thought about them that wasn't related to things going on on the ring. Just another spar, thats all.

Turning her back to Valley, she grasped the top rope and then squatted down low before lunging back up to a standing position. She would repeat this a few times, stretching out her arms and legs before turning back to Val, grateful for the chance she got to compose herself there.

"It's fine. I'm actually really impressed with the doctors the AFW refer you to. And I relearned an old lesson: Nothing wrecks your heart and body more than having a match with your ex. It felt a little stiff at the beginning of the first match i had after the staff cleared me fir action. I think it was in my head though. Once the match really going i didnt notice anything off at all." Chris replied. "By the way, you're really pulling off the short hair. I couldn't do that...." she added sincerely.

"So,  do you want to strap the pads on and go all in? If you're going to be kicking, let me put on some headgear. I really don't have time for a concussion..." Chris would say with a grin.

”I'm pretty sure I can't beat you without kicking. Not 100% sure I can beat you with them. So yeah.” Valley tapped her noggin. ”Might want to suit up.”

Valley was teasing, but not all the way. She hadn’t forgotten the way things went down during their match, the first time they met - it was hard fought, intense, but she’d come up short against the Wrestle Angel. Things had changed a bit since then, she’d improved and managed to beat numerous opponents, including three of Chris’ fellow Angels...but it wasn’t like time stood still for the Phenom while she polished her technique.

Valley threw out a few practice kicks - high, middle, low, low middle, high - making sure everything was in working order. She'd gone through a particularly rough match a couple of weeks ago, with an opponent that did a great job targeting her best weapons. It felt like she was healed up, but it could never hurt to be sure.

”And yeah, I know how rough fighting an ex can be. Firsthand.” She spun around with a swift spinning heel. ”Taking on Haley was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in a match, wouldn't wish it on anyone. Especially you.”

Chris gave an impressed shake of her head at Valley's spinning heel kick. Much like Risako, she moved with a near deadly sense of grace that the bigger woman couldn't hope to match with her own speed and agility.

She took a moment to strap on her pads and some headgear to protect herself from some of the impact from Valley's legs. Chris definitely remembered nearly being knocked senseless by a direct hit from those legs in their first match together.

"Saw your fights with Natasha Han. I think it's pretty impressive that you hold such a high win to loss ratio against her. I remember her being a force to reckon with back in our league. You've come a long way, Val....not that you were bad when you first got here, by any means." she said. "And thanks for that sentiment, about Risako. But...I think it needed to happen. The bad part is, I don't think that match solved anything. I scored a win, but it wasn't a complete victory...."

Once she was suited up, Chris nodded to Valley.

"Ready when you are." she called.

Valley had a long groan at the mention of Natasha Han. Not that she had any animosity against the Siberian Submission Machine - quite the opposite. She held her in the highest guard, but, well…

”Honestly, I think I got a little bit lucky with her.” Valley decided it was only fair that she take the same precautions Chris was, and put on some headgear, too. ”Kind of felt like she was a little out of it, especially the second time we fought. That Iron Man match was hell, though.” Valley took a deep breath. ”Good. Challenging. But not something I want to do again for a few years. Never been so exhausted in my life.”

Valley latched on the headgear, finished her prep and started to move in towards Chris, bouncing on her toes as she neared. She didn’t try anything, not yet, wanting to suss her opponent out and get a feel for the giantess’ style all over again before she started committing.

”So,” Valley darted into Chris’ range, then quickly hopped back out. ”If beating her in a wrestling match won’t solve your problem with Risako, what will?”

As Valley darted towards Chris, the taller blonde raised her guard, ready to block and try and get a hold of her faster opponent. But it turned out to be a feint, Valley testing her defenses and reactions.

Circling to her right, Chris considered Valley's question.
"Well, it was a narrow win, Val. I mean, I stunned her with a weak chokeslam and got the three. Early on in the match, Risako would've kicked out from that. And in the end, well, you know what she did to my arm and shoulder." she replied with a sigh. "But...what got me was her behavior after that. Did you happen to see what she did to Suzumi Ishikawa? Suzumi managed to put her down with a sleeper hold of sorts, and after she helps Risako wake up, Risako nearly breaks her face in!"

Getting worked up, Chris took a deep breath to steady herself. That incident was still fresh in her mind, and the disbelief and anger she felt had come bubbling up to the surface. Definitely had no place here in this ring.
"Sorry Val, I'm still reeling from that. I'm good, though." she apologized. "With Risako, I don't know. Stuff her in a box and mail her to Alaska?" she grinned ruefully.

Stepping forward, Chris would flick a jab at Valley's head, a test to see how the smaller woman would react to an incoming strike....

Valley had never known Chris to be too much of a striker - oh, she certainly could throw a good punch, of that she had no doubt, but it never seemed to be the not-so gentle giantess’ specialty. Throwing people around like ragdolls was Chris’ thing. Not smacking them.

But nonetheless, there it came. Not the fastest blow in history, but with Chris’ strong height advantage, it had enough reach to make the difference. Valley narrowly ducked under the blow and moved away, staying on the periphery of Chris’ range, trying to get a good feel for just how far she could go. That was the trouble with facing big girls, so little room to manuever, such dire consequences if you couldn't do it.

”Summer Splash is in Alaska this year, so no, wouldn’t work. Boomerang.” Valley darted in and threw a low roundhouse kick, aiming at the side of Chris’ knee, before she moved back against. Trying a little hit and run.

”Maybe you two should just have a sit down. Meet in a calm place, try and talk it out, see how far it goes.”

Chris nodded as Valley sped back out of the way. As expected the smaller blonde was more than able to dart in and out of range, as long as she didn't venture too close to Chris.

"Maybe you're right. Last time we talked, we just ran into each other...things were said. But that was awhile ago. Maybe now that we've beaten each other halfway to death, we can have a civil conversation." Chris gave a grim chuckle. "God, that sounds utterly dysfunctional."

Valley lunged in, her leg lashing out in a kick at one of Chris's knees. Some of the less experienced 'big girl' wrestlers would attempt to dodge away from strikes such as this one. Chris felt though, that sometimes they presented an opportunity to bring a fight to much closer quarters. The former Wrestle Angel would lunge towards Valley as well, shortening the effective range of the kick, her knee taking a hit from Valley's softer thigh rather than her foot or ankle. It still smarted to be sure, but far less so than what Val was probably hoping.

It also allowed Chris, after turning slightly, to slam her shoulder into Valley's chest. Although she didn't have a full running start behind her, she hoped the blow would be enough to send Valley backwards in a way she didn't expect to when she first started that kick...

"You like that one, Val..?" she say with a grin. If the blow sent Val to the mat, Chris would lean down to offer a hand up to help her back to her feet...