Chapter Text
Mitsuki was, in her soul, an introvert. That didn’t mean she was opposed to praise.
Only that she was careful about hiding the fruits of her laborious summer break up until the exact moment when she was helping Aya clean up the classroom once school was out, and she stood up on her tip-toes revealing what her loose fitting tee shirt had been obscuring.
Aya let out a shrill squeak. A compliment would have been preferred. Asking for a touch even better. But this was good too.
They were both blushing. Mitsuki let out a surprised chuckle but immediately apologized. Aya said not to worry about it, smiling ear to ear, still staring at the now hidden abs as if still in disbelief they were real.
Praise wasn’t the only thing that felt good though.
“You can feel them if you want.” Mitsuki said because she thought it would come off as cool and confident. It did but that didn't matter. Aya would have been fervorously nodding even if she'd made the offer through a meek stutter. Awkwardness was a double-edged sword though. Backtracking by stating, “Actually you'd probably prefer my biceps.” damn near put Aya in the hospital. The fact that Mitsuki pulling up her sleeves and flexing one of her massive arms didn't, was straight up miraculous.
Aya immediately accepted her offer. That was when the praise began. “D-Damn. You look amazing!” Followed by a stream of praise Mitsuki had no hope of butting in on to accept any of the compliments.
As much as Mitsuki enjoyed being helplessly pulled around by her energetic girlfriend, and as much as she certainly wasn’t the kind of person Aya had first taken her as, she wasn’t opposed to the role it entailed. Not as much as she would have expected.
She didn’t want to be a guy. Hell no. But flirting with masculinity felt strangely enticing.
Trying it on wouldn’t hurt. Right?
Just the parts she liked. Parts that weren't necessarily partisan in the gender dichotomy.
She didn’t want to be some giant beefcake. Just a little muscle. Or a moderate amount.
Enough to scoop Aya up while she screamed about how bizarre this felt and to put her down. Sneaking up behind Aya just to wrap her arms around and surprise her by just how hard squirming free had become. Getting all sweaty from a workout and letting her girlfriend drool over the results.
If only there was a way to just be strong for Aya then immediately turn off all that muscle when she was manning the cash at the records store.
As unfortunate as it was, if she somehow did get her biceps as big as she wanted them, there would be no hoodie able to keep them obscured. Customers' eyes would be drawn to them. People would suddenly have a hard time forgetting the previously unremarkable androgynous cashier now that they were a muscle-bound butch heartthrob.
This was all so complicated. All she knew for sure was that she loved hearing that sound from Aya.
Poor Mitsuki was completely oblivious that things were about to get even messier.
“No way! How are we the exact same size?!”
Mitsuki hoped the stunned stammering she choked out was as cute as that tiny peep from Aya only a single week prior, had been.
There wasn’t anything she could think to say to reward her partner's gains. She just stood there gaping, arm next to Aya’s, both girls mid-flex. The only way to tell them apart was through the rolled up sleeves and Mitsuki's slightly paler skin.
All this off less than seven days of working out. Albeit, if Aya was to be believed they were a lot more rigorous than Mitsuki’s. Even with her explosive gains though, Aya still pouted.
“No fair.”
“I should be saying that.”
The thought slipped out before Mitsuki had the chance to subdue it. Her stomach lurched. Worried irrationally about what sweet Aya would do to her, until her worst fears were confirmed as that once thin armed reached towards her and shoved her against the wall.
“W-What are you doing?”
“Finding out who's really stronger.”
In Mitsuki's experience dreams had a weird way of making you want things you never desired before. A sudden need to visit a travel destination you'd barely even thought about before. A longing for a dish you haven't eaten since childhood.
She hated it when she woke up halfway through, before her newfound craving could even be satiated. What she was tentatively calling a dream rather than a nightmare, had ended before Aya could properly humiliate her. Worst of all—and as was common for these experiences—, the real deal seemed so unattainable.
“You want me to workout with you?”
“Unless you'd rather just call it a day.” Mitsuki said.
So far the date they'd planned had been blown off course as her and Aya were forced to run for cover under the terrace of a cafe to escape the freezing rain. As the two had sipped their mochas, Aya looked like she was starting to worry mother nature would ruin their last meet-up before winter break ended.
This was, for better or worse, the perfect opportunity to make her suggestion.
“Sounds fun.” Aya said. “But in this weather?”
“There's a gym I go to. It's not that far from here and hardly ever busy. Plus if you want, I could show you how to use the machines.”
Wait, no. That probably sounded patronizing. Aya was thin but she may have worked out before. At some point. So long ago that any traces had vanished, leaving Aya as the dazzling but unfortunately dainty girl smiling back at her, silently giving her approval before loudly declaring, “One condition! I get to choose the workout playlist!”
“Sure thing.” Mitsuki replied, shrinking back as even with her biceps (which were now a full six inches thicker than her partner's), she was completely helpless against the omnipotent force of Aya's extraversion.
“Sick!”
Her hands were clasped over Mitsuki's. Fingers rubbed her almost-dry knuckles, daring to stroke her wrist. Despite her confidence though, she clearly wasn't yet ready to feel Mitsuki's arm. Not in public like this. They both remembered how Aya had reacted in that empty classroom. Mitsuki would certainly never forget being pulled forward so she landed on top of Aya and being told to do whatever she wanted.
“There's some songs on it I want you to check out. You better not have already heard them!”
“I can't make any promises.”
Mitsuki couldn't blame Aya for being apprehensive. She was relieved by the prospect of spending most of their date with earphones in. If she were to hear Aya panting up a storm, muttering expletives as she brought a towel to her face, all that training would be worthless as Mitsuki's thick, sculpted legs turned to jelly.
Just as Mitsuki had suspected, the place was empty. Crashing rain was muffled as the door shut. Now the only sound that could be heard was the dripping water from the two soaked lovers.
Peering around the corner, Aya suddenly froze.
“It's open.” Mitsuki breezed past her. She made her way to the front desk, expecting Aya to do the same. “We just have to sign in.”
Almost every inch of the building's interior fell within view of the cameras, excluding changing rooms of course, so more often than not the owner was in his office catching a ball game, or chatting up a storm at any of the nearby restaurants. Mitsuki hadn't seen him in any of their windows but she'd mostly been focused on just reaching somewhere dry. With the backroom quiet, it looked like they had the place to themselves. How terrifyingly intimate.
Hesitantly, Aya jotted her name down then quickly followed Mitsuki into the locker room. Mitsuki wanted her to feel comforrable here. Unfortunately Aya turning the corner into the changing room only to walk right into a towel held out for her only seemed to succeed in embarassing her. “Sorry about your clothes, again.”
“Don't worry about it.” she started drying her face.
“I usually keep a spare. Would you be okay with that?”
That was a lie. Mitsuki had specifically gotten this extra pair just for Aya and it had sat unworn alongside her usual garb for several weeks. She could only hope the scent of vigorous exercise had rubbed off on them, overpowering that fresh smell they came with, with her own sweat. Either it did or Aya was so excited to wear something of Mitsuki's that she didn't notice.
She did comment, with a growing smile, how big they were. Shamelessly, Aya began checking out how the loose fitting tee shirt obscured her subtle curves and how the shorts which appeared oh-so tight on her girlfriend were anything but on her scrawny legs. Her gaze wandered to Mitsuki's body too. Not that Mitsuki blamed her.
She wasn't just fit anymore. She was jacked.
Ironically she'd been worried gaining all this muscle would make her appear more feminine. Place emphasis on her legs and hips. Instead her look remained ambiguous.
A flat waistline and a pretty evenly distributed physique meant that if she wanted to, she could probably fool a lot more people about her gender than just Aya. Not to say she planned on doing so any time soon. Just that this was how her body looked.
Her workout crop and tight shorts didn't exactly give a masculine appearance but still. More importantly with her hair done up in a ponytail so her earrings were still visible, Mitsuki knew how good she looked. That was why she drank in Aya's reaction as she tied her hair, subtly flexing in the process.
Just what part of her did Aya like best?
Mitsuki would happily show her any as long as she submitted and worshipped it.
“Is that alright?” Mitsuki asked.
“Huh?”
“Wearing clothes that are too big for you. If that's a dealbreaker, you could just sit by and watch me pump iron.”
Maybe, Mitsuki thought, she ought to enjoy Aya fawning over how much stronger she was while she still could. “No! No! No! It's fine. I probably look silly in something like this though.”
“It looks good on you.”
That wasn't a lie but she'd find Aya even prettier had she been groaning about that baggy shirt being too tight only for her traps to shred through the fabric mid sentence, and with it her femininity.
Fantasies like that were merely something for Mitsuki to swoon over. Aya's beaming reassured expression was real. It made Mitsuki's heart race. It made her want to…
“Eek!” Aya screamed. Suddenly her feet were off the ground and legs dangling over Mitsuki's arms. Not her first time being princess-carried. Not by a long shot. But usually she needed to pester or beg or whisper a sultry command into her lover's ear until she finally budged. “Where the heck did this come from?!”
“You look so light. I had to.”
“O-Okay. Now put me down.”
Mitsuki was finally starting to see the appeal of being scooped up in the protective arms of her lover. Unfortunately for Aya, she was suddenly a lot more willing to answer that wish herself. “Nah. I kinda like this.”
Another stammer and attempt at crying out Mitsuki's name didn't stop Aya from being lifted even higher. She was now sitting atop a single, flexing bicep.
“Damn. I'm stronger than I thought.”
“Mhm!” Aya agreed, pathetically.
“That makes me wonder.”
Aya was gently set down, shoes scuffing lightly against the floor, face still red. She seemed not to notice Mitsuki's bedroom eyes until the girl had already placed her request.
“You try.”
“Lifting you?”
“Who's to say you don't have some untapped power yourself?”
This was what it took to finally bring Aya back to earth after being carried by an angel. She burst out laughing. “I sure hope not.”
Mitsuki quietly agreed. She hoped her forced response didn't register to Aya as odd. Mitsuki had gotten pretty good at playing off her desires so far. She could only hope it would stay that way once Aya started working the machines.
As was to be expected, just twenty minutes in and Aya was already out of breath. Her makeup was starting to come off with the sweat but she insisted they keep going. That didn't stop her from fretting over her appearance. It just meant she had to be surreptitious as she checked her pocket mirror and made sure no one had come through the front door.
Mitsuki supposed they ought to have this conversation now.
Her and her lover shared a bench, gulping down water. Having just finished with the treadmills, she next wanted to show Aya how to use a lat-pulldown. Before that, she had to clear some things up. “Anything particular you wanna work on?”
“Thighs. Please just get rid of this useless flab!” Aya whined, dramatically squeezing the offending fat.
Truth be told, Mitsuki hadn't even noticed it. As far as she was concerned Aya was bordering on being a stick figure. If this was what her lovely girlfriend wished however, who was she to question her? “And you don't mind building some muscle?”
“Depends.”
“If you're just looking to get into shape you shouldn't have to worry about getting big. It's a lot harder to bulk up than you think. If it's looking like a man you're worried about, don't be. I'm a special case.”
Aya laughed softly. “What about if I wanted to look even more feminine?”
Barely managing to subdue a smile, Mitsuki answered. “It can be arranged.”
“Good.” Aya clasped her hands, immediately looked nauseous then forced a grin. “Let's keep going!”
“Hold on! Don't wear yourself out.”
Aya glared.
“You should take a break for now.”
“If you insist.” Aya sighed then pulled Mitsuki to her feet. “Just don't keep me waiting any longer, got it?”
With that her workout began.
She hated doing these at first. At one point she hated just about every exercise. Once she got used to it, once it became routine, rhythmic almost, she loved any excuse to slip on a pair of headphones and get her heart racing.
Whether it was building more muscle, or lazily undoing the fly of her jeans, hair spilling over her pillow, or sharing earphones with Aya. All of it amplified and recontextualized joy of the music she already loved. Whenever two of those feelings blended—(Lifting weights with grunge blasting in her ears. Stumbling into her bedroom, still riding the adrenaline high from a workout ans needing to blow off steam. A vision of Aya flashing through her mind when she was almost there.)—those were the best.
Today was on a completely different level.
Pushing her body as far as it could go, soundtracked by songs hand-selected by the same girl who was no doubt staring at her.
This felt almost trance-like. It was better than sex.
In this altered state of mind however, Mitsuki didn't notice movement. The music masked Aya's footsteps. Maybe it was audible as a light buzz or maybe Aya had memorized the playlist, waiting for one of the heavier songs to sneak up.
How long she'd been kneeling down just behind her, watching the sweat roll down her back, fighting the urge to rub her face against those lats.
Mitsuki only noticed when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She couldn't take it anymore.