Built to Endure (for HotWheels)

[Underdoggo]

Kyo couldn't believe this was happening. He had always prided himself on his relentless focus and on his mental discipline, but all it took was one second of distraction by a pretty girl and now he was on his back.

His quick reactions saved him...to a point. If Juno had been planning to go for a grapevine then Kyo putting his legs together prevented that; moreover he managed to stall her a little by grabbing for her wrists. But only a little: in a fluid motion Juno slipped one of her wrists free and wrapped it around Kyo's head, forcing his cheek against the damp, round warmth of her sports bra as she cinched in a tight grounded headlock.

"Kkkkghh--!" came his ragged gasp of a reply as Juno squeezed into him, pressing her body firmly against his. The fact that he was being squeezed against Juno's chest was bad enough, but the wai her hair almost teasingly tickled his cheek, and the way her firm abs were pressing up against his own, was proving to be VERY distracting. Eyes shut, panting ruggedly against Juno's chest, Kyo found himself fighting his own arousal as well as her.

He had to escape. He reached up, cupped Juno's chin with his free hand and arched his back, trying g to roll the two of them over. At the same time, his other hand released its grip on Juno's wrist and instead alid down to grab for one of Juno's knees, knowing that he had to prevent a possible body scissor if he managed to roll the two of them over onto Juno's back. All the while, though, he would still be trapped in her tight headlock, breathing hard as he fought to escape...

[HotWheels]

The flex of Juno's bicep against the back of Kyo's skull sent a little thrill through her. She could feel him struggling, feel the ragged exhale against the side of her chest, and damn if it didn't make her grin widen. She'd gone from bored out of her mind on a pec fly machine to having a gorgeous, sweaty opponent pinned beneath her in under five minutes. That had to be some kind of record, and way better than reps.

She caught a glimpse of the crowd from her position - a couple of phones up, a few impressed nods, one guy elbowing his buddy and whispering. She flashed them a quick grin and a wink, playing to the audience for just a second before refocusing on Kyo. Her thighs squeezed tighter around his midsection, trying to dig into those well-defined abs she'd been admiring earlier.

"You're a lot harder to fit around than an hourglass," she teased, her voice breathy from exertion but still carrying that playful edge.

But then she felt it - his hand coming up to cup her chin, his body arching with surprising power. Her eyes widened slightly as he used leverage and core strength to roll them, and suddenly the world tilted. The mat rushed up to meet her back with a soft thud, and she found herself staring up at the gym's fluorescent lights with Kyo now on top. Good on him.

Her headlock held - she'd locked it in tight enough that the roll didn't break her grip - but she felt his other hand slide down and clamp onto one of her knees before she could fully execute the body scissor she'd been planning. Smart. Annoyingly smart, actually. He'd read her intention and countered it before she could sink the move in.

She managed to hook her free leg around his lower back, reaching up with her one free hand to hold onto her foot to at least keep him caged in her body. It wasn't the full scissor she'd wanted, but it gave her something to work with - a way to keep him pulled down and close, trapped in the headlock. Her abs flexed as she tried to use the leverage to keep him from posturing up.

"Nice," she admitted, genuinely impressed even as she squeezed her arm tighter around his head. Sweat dripped down her temple, and she could feel the heat building between their bodies where they pressed together. "But I'm happy to... keep you here all day if you'll let me."

[Underdoggo]

Okay. Kyo had managed to roll the two of them over. Good. He had also managed to prevent her scissor, keeping one of her legs at bay. Good. But she still had her arm around his head, and was currently squeezing all of the air out of him in a tight frontal headlock. Not good. Barely a minute into the match, and he already had to admit, Juno's ground game was excellent: he was forced to work extra hard just to keep her at bay.

"Kkkkh..." He clenched his teeth and tried to wiggle his head in Juno's grip in an effort to loosen the hold, inadvertently rubbing his head against the side of her chest. He felt her free leg sliding around his lower back, her free arm grabbing onto it to keep his waist under control. He responded by shifting his legs, his thigh pressing up against that of Juno's other leg to force it to the side; if he managed that then he would pull his arm back from her knee and instead focus both arms on grabbing at her wrist; his back muscles tenses and heaved as he struggled to breathe, already starting to break a sweat as he worked to free himself.

"I'll...have...to decline..." he managed to reply, his voice muffled against the side of Juno's bra. WIth a grunt of effort, he would try to pry Juno's arm away from around his head. If he managed to free himself, then he would immediately shift his weight and try to return the favour, folding Juno's arm across her own throat and pressing the weight of his chest down against it to keep it down, in a move that would end with the two of them staring eye to eye on the mat...

[HotWheels]

Juno's grin widened as she let her eyes sweep over the edge of the mats - the crowd growing, more phones angling for better shots, a few people leaning in to get a clearer view of the action. Even while her lungs worked hard and her muscles strained to keep Kyo locked down, she couldn't help but appreciate the audience. This beat the hell out of solo machine work, and having witnesses made it all the better.

For all that she had him trapped in the headlock, she could feel the coiled strength in his body, the resistance as he fought against her grip. His head shifted against her, trying to work free, and she felt the friction of his hair and forehead rubbing directly against the curve of her breast through the thin, damp fabric of her sports bra. Not the worst place she could have him stuck for her benefit, either.

"If you wanted a closer look, you could've just asked," she quipped breathlessly, her voice strained but carrying that teasing lilt.

But then she felt him shift his weight, his thigh pressing harder against her trapped leg. The pressure built as he forced her knee outward, spreading her legs wider than she wanted, and a sharp ache bloomed in her inner thigh and groin. She winced, her breath hissing through her teeth as she tried to tuck the leg back in to relieve the stretch, but his positioning kept her stuck.

"Hey-" she gasped, half-laughing despite the discomfort, "I need that part of my body for later, thanks!"

The distraction cost her. While she focused on trying to close her leg and ease the strain, she felt Kyo's hands shift from her knee to her wrist. His grip tightened, and with a surge of power fueled by his back and shoulders, he wrenched her arm away from around his head. Sweat slicked between them, making the grip slippery, and he had leverage and determination on his side. Shit.

Before Juno could yank her arm back or throw a counter, Kyo captured it completely and drove it down across her own throat. Her eyes flew wide as her forearm pressed into her windpipe, her own limb turned into a weapon against her. A surprised, choked sound escaped her lips - half gasp, half cough - as the pressure cut off her air.

She found herself staring up at Kyo, his face close enough that she could see the intensity in his eyes, feel his chest pressing down to pin her arm in place. Her pulse hammered in her ears. For a split second, she almost managed an amused smile at the reversal - he'd gotten her good - but the need for oxygen overrode the humor and her lips lolled open to suck in more air.

Her legs kicked up, feet planting against his thighs as she tried to create space and leverage. She pushed hard, using the power in her thick legs to try and shove him back, to squirm and slide her body out from under the chokehold before the lack of air became a real problem. Her free hand scrabbled at the mat, trying to help her wriggle sideways, her hips bucking as she fought to escape.

[Underdoggo]

For all of his struggle, Kyo still found himself caught between a rock and a soft place...so to speak. Juno had her headlock applied tightly, and knew precisely what she was doing as she compressed his face against the side of her bra. It was taking a lot on Kyo's part to ignore the warm curve of the generous orb and focus on escape; further down, their legs were fighting a battle of their own, with Kyo's knee managing to press down against the side of Juno's thigh. This momentarily elicited a sharp hiss of pain from Juno as her legs were uncomfortably spread; the intention was not to for this to be a deliberate submission hold, though. Not yet, at any rate.

With his mostly free, Kyo was able to focus on Juno's encircling arm: with sharp, muffled breaths, he pushed, muscles bunching in his arms as his chest burned from a lack of air. Quickly, decisively, he managed to push Juno's arm clear from his head, using the slipperiness of his damp hair to slide free from her grip.

And then transition, neatly, into a modified arm triangle choke.

Kyo let his weight fall down against Juno's trapped wrist, pressing her own forearm against her throat. For a moment, they were eye to eye as it was Juno's turn to struggle for air. For a moment they were close enough, eye to eye, that he could feel her sharp, stifled breath against his nose and cheek. Her eyes were intense, concern flashing across them.

"You okay?" Kyo asked. This was just a spar: he had no intention of choking Juno into unconsciousness. His answer came in the form of her body shifting under his, her feet pressing up against his thighs as her chest abs and pelvis arched up against him. In an instant, their bodies separated, the leverage allowing Juno to roll them sideways, the gulf between them widening...

Kyo released the triangle choke and rolled with the push, putting some distance between them as he spun and rolled up to his knees. Around them, the gathering audience clapped, impressed so far at the display of skill between these two competitors. Breathing hard, Kyo watched and waited for Juno to start getting up as well.

"Try again?" he asked, sweat starting to drip from his hair.

[HotWheels]

Juno wasn't a woman unaware of herself in most situations. She had a pretty strong sense of self, had developed a great deal of independence and a nature that helped her get what she wanted - though sometimes it resulted in situations she wasn't exactly planning for. Situations that other people might deem... reckless? Inappropriate? Yeah, sometimes. She also knew herself well enough to know she liked thrills and dangers, perhaps too much.

That was why, when her body registered the rise of sensation from having her own arm looped over her throat, mashed down under Kyo's weight, air constricted, face staring up at his - behind the momentary flash of panic in her eyes, she chalked it up to that little love of hanging at the precipice of danger.

Until it started to intensify. Until the burn in her lungs and the pressure against her windpipe created a sensation that made her almost not want to kick him away. Until she felt the traitorous impulse to nod when he asked if she was okay - which was quite nice of him, honestly, compared to most people around here - and hope that somehow encouraged him to keep working the hold.

But she went through with the escape motion anyway. The crowd needed to see her perform well, needed to see her fight back, and she wasn't about to give them a show that ended with her tapping to a choke in the first two minutes. Her feet pressed hard against his thighs, her core engaged, and she powered them sideways until the pressure released and he rolled away.

As he propelled back to put distance between them, she let out a few heaving breaths and coughs, gulping down air. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, the red fabric of her sports bra straining with each inhale. For a moment, she lay there staring up at the harsh fluorescent lights and the ring of faces peering down at them, and she found herself beaming - a wide, bright grin that probably came across as sporting confidence and competitive fire.

The crowd clapped, impressed with the exchange, and Juno rolled onto her side before popping up to her feet with surprising brightness given she'd just been choking on her own arm. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, flicking it away theatrically as she grinned across at Kyo.

"Hey, like I... said, I'm not that fragile," she called out, her voice still slightly raspy but carrying that trademark playful edge. "I could go back and... forth like that all day."

She shook out her body - rolling her shoulders, bouncing on the balls of her feet, making sure everything still worked properly. Her muscles felt warm and loose, her pulse still hammering. Instead, she bent forward at the waist, hands resting on her thighs just above her knees, and fixed Kyo with a challenging stare. The position put her weight forward, ready to react, and gave her a clear view of him across the mat - but she would let him make the first move this time.

[Underdoggo]

More and more, Juno was demonstrating her great technical skills, correctly knowing that, with her arms immobilized, she needed to rely on her legs. And rely on them she did, pressing her knees up into Kyo's midsection, widening the physical distance between them. Even as Kyo fought to hold on, he could see a wild glint in Juno's eyes even as she laboured to breathe, and the faintest edge of a dangerous smile at the corner of her lips.

And then Juno's legs did their work and pushed Kyo off of her. Rolling away from the blonde, Kyo got back to his hands and knees, just as Juno was hopping back to her feet. The American was smiling, looking bright and chipper for someone who has been struggling to breathe only a few seconds ago. No doubt about it, this girl was something else.

And then they were circling again. Kyo mirrored Juno's movements, his limbs tensing, his adbominal muscles bunching as he dropped into a crouch. Juno was not attacking yet: instead the smiling blonde seemed intent on letting Kyo take the first move. It was an invitation he was happy to oblige.

He surged forward, looking like he was going for a grapple: instead he batted Juno's arms aside and tried to spin around behind her, aiming to wrap his arms around her waist and bring her down to her front for a classic takedown...