Learning the Ropes Ch. 06

"What now?" Hilbane couldn't hold in his frustration. Ever since he and Lai Chan started 'training', it seemed like every time he stepped foot in there, someone had a problem with it. He was frankly sick of it. He paid good money to use the gym and even more for lessons, many of which he had to miss because of his pseudo exile. He didn't even care that his tone was aggressive towards a man who could snap him in two.

In fact, one look at the man's face made him regret his tone. Slightly. The coach looked... nervous. And a little guilty. HR felt that if they had met wearing anything else the man would have a literal hat in hand.

"Yeah... yeah. I know. Hilbane, I-uh. I don't know how to ask this but. I got a deal I wanna offer you." Given the fact that someone at the gym actually called him by his name, HR felt that he wasn't going to like the terms of the deal.

"What kinda deal?"

"One that you might not like. We here at the gym can see how fond of each other you and her are." He glanced back over his shoulder to look at Lai Chan and HR's eyes followed suit. Before being told to get back to hitting the bag, she managed a smile at HR and a scowl at the coach. "Some of the other trainers have been thinking. Ever since you two started bumpin' uglies-," HR decided to not interject as denial is a sign of guilt, "she's been better than ever, and that's sayin' somethin'."

It was, in fact, saying something. HR could see how learning your prodigy wasn't even working at full power the entire time you knew them could be a bit of a shock. HR, however, interjected the word he felt coming next.

"...But?"

"But she's also been a bit too enthusiastic about you. Not to say that she shouldn't. You're a fine young man. And not to say that you aren't... but some of the others think that she's lost sight of... what's important." Coach looked like he expected HR to blow up at that remark, but if anything HR was just confused.

"What's important?"

"We mean the title match." Oh, right. That. Truth be told, despite it having been the talk of the gym since its announcement, he had kinda forgotten about it. Spending time with a hot woman tends to make people forgetful.

"What about it?"

The coach looked at him in bewilderment, but continued nonetheless. "Well, it's in a week an-"

"Oh shit." HR's inner thoughts became outer thoughts. That was next week. She really needed to trai- actually, he looked over to her now rolling around with the jiu jitsu trainer, she should be resting. He must have made the common mistake of wearing his thoughts on his face.

"Relax, kid. It's just a light workout, nothing strenuous. Just making up for the past few days of her being 'sick'." HR didn't like the emphasis on the work but decided that keeping his mouth shut was the best course of action. "She'll be stuck at home until the fight comes after tonight. Which is why I-we wanted to offer you the deal." Oh right. That. The coach continued.

"This title is important to us, Hilbane. And yes, having a belt holding champion would be great publicity and all that, but more importantly than that it's important to her." Another look over to Lai Chan. "Everyone here," he spread his hands out, gesturing to the entire gym, "believes that she can do it. Everyone wants to see her do it, even if the only reward is to see that smile. And we know she would smile win or loss, assuming it was a good fight. But..." the coach tried ot find the right way to phrase it but HR knew what was coming next.

"I'm distracting her."

"Yes!" Coach pulled back a bit, his outburst disturbed some of the nearby gym goers. "That. She would be happy no matter the outcome provided she fought to her fullest ability. We worry that with her head occupied with thoughts of you, she may not be able to reach that ability." HR understood completely, and a wave of guilt overtook him. He'd taken this up and coming star and distracted her from what was trul-

"Not to say that thinking of you is wrong. Everyone had been worried for quite a while, but seeing her head over heels for you puts everyone at ease. And we can't exactly police her thinking. But we figured we could maybe solve two birds with one stone." Anything to not be a burden to her.

"What are you suggesting?"

"If she is going to be thinking about you anyway, what if we use you for motivation? Almost like a reward for winning? Not saying that there's a penalty for losing but you know what I mean right?" HR nodded. "So we were hoping that maybe you could... not see her, at least until the fight. Really let her focus on the match." Made sense, remove the distraction until after she wins. But that didn't mean HR had to like it. And she definitely wouldn't. Seeing the inner turmoil within, the coach sped through the sweetened side of the deal.

"But! In return, win or lose, I'm comping all of the missed time you paid for. You can be ringside at the fight, and if she does win, free membership, lessons, whatever you want for life!" A pause. "Please, if not for us, then for her. She's worked so hard for this." HR had almost tuned the coach out, starting over his shoulder at his girlfriend.

Everything he said was true. She'd been working towards this goal since she took her first lesson, or so people told her. As far as he was concerned, she was always destined for greatness, with or without him. But he would hate for the with clause of that statement to be an obstacle for her.

She wouldn't like it. She wouldn't like it and he didn't like it. But it might be best for her. He could see her upset. Pouting, maybe even some tears.

But he could also see the end of the fight. Tears in her eyes as her fist was raised in victory and years of hard work came to fruition. He wondered how bright her smile would shine then.

But he dared not visualize her loss. If it was instead the current champ's fist raised, the coach was right. She'd still be happy if she fought with all she had. But if she didn't, or at least felt like she didn't... he dared not think what expression would replace that smile.

"Fine." HR never returned his gaze to the coach. He didn't even hear the man's thanks, or the trailing off of his voice as HR made a beeline towards Lai Chan. She noticed his approach and quickly broke out of the lock she had been in, appearing on her feet as the black belt still wondered how she had escaped his perfect hold. She appeared to almost be holding her breath as they maintained eye contact.

Upon reaching her HR just kissed her. He pressed his lips against hers and tried to push a week's worth of emotion into the act. But it could only last a few seconds, as she naturally went to escalate things, their location be damned. HR casually grabbed her wrists and returned them to her side as he pulled away.

"See you next week." And with those words, he turned and walked out of the gym, ignoring the confused look on Lai Chan's face, and the hooting and jeering from the rest of the gym members.

---

Lai Chan was surprisingly understanding when he told her later. That didn't mean she wasn't pissed, but she didn't push to break his agreement with her coach. Or even to inflict violence upon him. She just pouted.

The hardest part was actually Lai Chan taking the week break seriously. Having grown accustomed to the past several days of being connected remotely, their messaging and calls were limited now to only good morning and good night texts. All of Lai Chan's time was occupied prepping for the fight, be that reviewing footage of her opponent, getting deep tissue massages, or whatever else needed to make sure she was in tip top shape. 'Twas a lonely week for our hero as he could do nought but hope she would win when the time came.

HR was surprised when he was called in a day early. Turned out both Lai Chan and the coach wanted him at the weigh in. When he arrived, he found he had misinterpreted what the coach meant by 'ringside.'

Turned out Coach meant being in her corner during the fight. And that meant also showing up for the press junket and weigh in. Upon arrival he was shoved into a shirt representing the gym, that may or may not have been a size too large, and made to stand with the other professionals and pretend he knew what he was doing.

Lai Chan, on the other hand, was natural in the spotlight. Made sense. Being a daughter of the most popular singer ever, and a sister to many other extraordinary performers meant that she had to learn to be comfortable with eyes on her.

It was kinda surprising eyes were on her. At least most of them. Several of her family members had shown up to be in the crowd, including Ai, Veronica, and Mai Fan. The three of whom gave him differing greetings. A flirty hello, a single glance with red cheeks, and the usual glare. Same old same old.

What was different was Lai Chan's smile. Her behavior was slightly off as well, simply waving at HR when he showed up instead of tackling him. But her smile made him uneasy. It was much like the animalistic smile she gave him right before Ai interrupted them, except without the horniness. And way more dangerous. It grew ever so slightly when she came face to face with her opponent.

After taking the photos and weighing in (just barely under weight, as always) everyone went their separate ways after the coach explained to HR what his job was the next day and what time to show up. He wouldn't actually enter the ring, as only two people are allowed to, but he would set up the materials needed during the rounds. Lai Chan didn't say a word to him the entire time.

---

The next day of the fight HR arrived as told. They met up at the gym and traveled to the arena through the back streets and crowded roads. He just followed along in silent wonderment at the process of entering the venue through a guarded back door and being led through several hallways to the women's side of the prep areas.

As they walked, HR had a faint feeling of being somewhere he wasn't supposed to be, but no one paid him much mind as everyone was in the process of warming up and otherwise prepping for their fights.

Being the challenger to the main card, Lai Chan got a whole room to herself. Speaking of the woman of the hour, she was along the same lines as the previous morning, even more so in fact. She hadn't acknowledged him at all. She hadn't really acknowledged anyone for that matter. It was strange to see her so...docile? That's not the word. Complacent? No. Muted? No, there was definitely a dangerous aura about her.

Whatever the word was, she wasn't herself. She'd usually be talking and interacting with everyone, showing off that smile and charisma. But now she was an ominous level of calm. As if before the storm.

After getting situated in the room, they split up into three groups. The first group was her usual corner, checking over their supplies and confirming things with the event staff and refs. The second team was the Coach once again briefing HR on the do's and don'ts of his role. And the last 'team' was Lai Chan alone. Wordlessly, she set down her bags and began warming up, shadowboxing.

HR was half paying attention to the lecture as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. Her movements were sharper than he'd ever seen. Even sparring against her trainers. The textbook didn't have shit on her. He wouldn't last a second against her if they sparred right then. It made him wonder, was she always holding back, or was this improvement a natural response to the challenge that awaited her in the ring?

---

When the time came for the match to start, she lit up, slightly. She occupied the walk to the entrance with more shadow boxing, this time to expend excess excitement, or so it looked to HR. When they announced her name, the group walked to the octagon with a full stadium cheering. She only stared ahead, eyes locked on the ring with the same dangerous smile. The smile only grew bigger when the two of them were made to touch gloves in the center of the ring.

And when her opponent threw the first punch and she slipped it, she was back to her usual self.

---

HR had never seen Lai Chan fight beyond spars, but he was simultaneously surprised and not surprised to see that Lai Chan behaved much the same as a spar. Mainly that she was obviously having fun. Her usual smile had returned to her face in all its giddy glory. He swore he could hear her giggle between exchanges of blows. It was slightly unnerving to him, to be completely honest. But no one felt worse about it than her opponent.

If you've ever seen a fight, most of the time the smiles come before and/or after the match itself. Not during. And on top of that, Lai Chan's opponent was the current champ. What else could her smiles and laughs be but a sign of blatant disrespect?

Frankly, HR was jealous of the champ. Lai Chan seemed way happier fighting her than in any of their training. He guessed that having an actual challenge was an exponential increase in fun. But jealousy was easily overridden by how wonderful she looked.

She looked as good as someone could be expected to, covered in sweat and fighting. But while each round left both competitors more and more fatigued, her aura of enjoyment increased. She looked like she was having the most fun in her entire life, and the entire arena was there to witness it. HR was content enough to watch her excel from the sidelines, but it was a lot harder to handle face to face.

The fight had been going pretty evenly, both contenders performing their very best. The coach decided to call an audible. Something to give Lai Chan an edge. Right before the end of the latest round, he clapped HR on the back.

"You're up, kid." HR's attention was torn away from the fight as the world's anxiety enveloped him.

"What?" Coach took the water bottle and towel HR had just handed to the assistant coach and gave them back to him.

"Just give her some water, wipe off some sweat, and give her a pep talk." Before HR could ask what exactly he could say to a fighter leagues better than him, the round ended and both fighters returned to their corners and he was pushed towards the gate.

Once in the octagon, HR froze, which gave the other trainer enough time to set down a stool for Lai Chan to all but collapse into. Despite the smile on her face and obvious enjoyment, she looked drained. Her body heaved with every breath while her shoulders and arms went slack to conserve energy. Her eyes stared off into space, entirely concentrated on the fight ahead. Seeing her in such a state spurred HR into action, less because the Coach would kill him and more because he felt a deepseated need to help her in some way.

Given the towel and bottle of water in his hand, he kneeled down and wiped some sweat off of her head. She opened her mouth without really looking at him and he squirted some water into it. Thankfully the other cornerman was on the ball as a bucket appeared for her to spit it into after swishing it around her mouth. With little else to do he just started wiping down her neck and arms with the towel as the other guy put ice on her back.

While looking for more sweat to wipe he felt her focus on him and so he met her eyes. As she recognized him, he watched as her pupil dilated slightly. Her smile took on a warmer feeling as she took him in. It was the first time she'd looked him in the face in over a week.

"Hi." She let out the breathy word as if they had just bumped into each other in the hall between classes and not in the middle of one of the most important (currently) events of her life.

Before he could respond, their minute was up and he was being rushed out of the octagon. Before he left though, he looked at her with all of the conviction he could muster and said, "You got this."

She smiled even wider around her mouthpiece.

---

Turns out she really did have it. About three minutes after his 'pep talk', Lai Chan landed a seemingly innocuous body blow. One of many, and it definitely wasn't the cleanest one. Even the champ appeared to not have noticed it. Until she doubled over in pain.

Not missing the chance, Lai Chan's body accelerated forward. Only to be stopped by the ref, her knee a mere inch from the champ's face.

The stoppage of the fight meant that she had won. That Lai Chan was the new champ and the best of the best. All fighters celebrate differently. Some prance around the octagon, egging on the already screaming spectators. Some fall to their knees in prayer and thanks. Others taunt the opponent or others in the crowd who doubted them. Some even scale the fence of the octagon to sit atop it, taking their place above all. Lai Chan did none of these things.

Well, technically she did half of one.

After giving it a second to make sure the fight was really over, she disappeared from the ring. At least, in HR's perspective. Those in the crowd would see her bound to one of the walls and all but jump atop the fence. From there, with zero hesitation, she would dive towards that new elf on her corner team.

Back to HR's perspective, time slowed for him. Having to spar with a now champion regularly, his reaction time had gotten faster. As quickly as he noticed her absence in the octagon, he noticed a shadow being cast on him. Looking up he saw his wonderful girlfriend flying towards him.

He caught her as best he could, but she was still another, fully grown, person. He half caught her and half acted as her landing pad as they crashed to the ground.

Before he could even register the pain of the crash landing, he felt his lips roughly smashed against hers. When the kiss ended, his visual sense took in the sight above him. Silhouetted by the flood light above them, and highlighted by those around, was his girlfriend.

She glistened in the light, covered in sweat that now dripped down onto him. Having been beaten by her so many times, he could tell that despite her face, she was exhausted. Her center of gravity was non-existent and her body simply rested on him instead of the usual tensing in preparation to counter whatever move he made to get out from under her. He wasn't even sure if she'd be able to stand when they did get up. But you wouldn't be able to tell that from her face.

She looked radiant. Absolutely glowing. Her patented smile was planted on her face, but it felt so different. The emotion so much deeper. In this moment, she wasn't just on top of him. She was on top of the world. But another part of her look made it much more than that. She was looking at him. Sharing this experience with him. Her first thought was to go to him. She didn't feel like she was on top of the world just because of the fight. She felt like she was on top of the world because of the fight and because she had him to share the moment with.

An unconscious smile spread on his face. Though it wasn't the only part of him that reacted. With her laying atop him he could physically feel how hot she was. Her body radiating heat with the worksout she just got, her sweat seeping into his clothes and falling onto his face, her post workout smell flooding his lungs. Reminded him of the last time they'd been together.

His mouth began to water.

He saw her look change as well. Another sort of happiness crept into her. A primal glint in her eye. Anticipation. Need. Lust.

Before she, or he for that matter, could act on the impulse though, their moment was cut short by the coach. He wordlessly yanked her to her feet by her forearm and dragged her back to the cage. All while wearing that strained smile parents get when their children embarrass themselves in public.

While waiting for the announcer to announce the obvious winner, Lai Chan was visibly antsy. Bouncing on her feet impatiently as she waited for the ref to raise her hand in victory.