[oom] training ground

[nerves_of_ice]

He'd made a promise, and he intends to deliver. He just also intends to make sure it's not the sort of thing that draws an audience - especially not any of the kids.

It takes a little while to find a clearing further out but within reasonable distance of the hut, then a little bit longer to set it up with a waterproof chest and some basic equipment. But eventually it's ready, or good enough as.

Once the goats are taken care of for the morning, he takes up position under the usual shade tree to scratch out a few notes in his latest journal and to wait for Sharon to drop by. If she's got time this afternoon, if she's not busy with Shuri or Ayo, well, then they'll see.

Comments

[from_the_outside]

She grins at him, and falls into stance.

This time there's no hesitation, only focus and discipline. She tests her range, mixes up her strikes, takes angles where she can. The running analysis in the back of her mind reminds her to slip in an out of his range, if she can, not to stay in one spot long enough to get clocked.

It goes against her preferred style, but she can do it.

[nerves_of_ice]

He's careful to keep his own strikes pulled, but he throws them; careful as well to keep his speed notched down from full, but fast enough to make her work for it. As they spar, he makes mental notes about things they can work on, and which of them they need to work on first.

"Pretty textbook," he observes, as he blocks a knee and counters with a strike to her center.

[from_the_outside]

Her knee comes up swiftly to block his punch; when her foot comes down, it's to take an angle so she can send a shovel punch to his ribs. "It would be."

She's had the best instructors, and she'd trained with single-minded discipline. In a street fight, she'd be able to take almost anyone up to her same level of skill.

But it's not as adaptable as she wants to be.

[nerves_of_ice]

The expected response would be another block and twist away. Instead, he twists in, moving inside the angle of her punch so that it skids across his back instead and drops to his knee, bringing his hand down on her thigh just above her knee in a blow that would have broken the joint if he'd put force behind it.

"So what we need to work on," he says, "is you becoming so comfortable in your body that you can react to the unexpected with the same trained skill by instinct, rather than pattern."

[from_the_outside]

"That would be a good start."

She folds her arm and drops, elbow-first, in a strike that would crack his skull – if this were a real fight, and if he weren't a basically unbreakable super soldier.

[nerves_of_ice]

He uses his knee as a fulcrum and pivots, ducking to take the blow on his shoulder and tucking into a roll that brings him up on his feet a short distance away from her.

"That'd have hurt," he approves. "But like you said before, what would that have done to your mobility?"

[from_the_outside]

"Against one, go to the ground," she says. Her chest is lightly slicked with sweat, and rising and falling in light, rapid breaths. "More of a problem if there's more than one opponent."

[nerves_of_ice]

"So here's what I suggest." She's showing the effort, but not exhausted or anywhere near. Besides, she needs to build up her stamina, too.

"For a while we do a regular routine. Stretching, sparring, then a series of tumbling and acrobatics and new moves from different styles for you. Once those come naturally, we'll start mixing them in and changing things up. A lot."

[from_the_outside]

She nods and lifts a hand to swipe sweat-sticky hair off her forehead. "Sounds good."

Sounds like a challenge, which she needs, and which he's well-suited to give.

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky grins at her. "Come on then, Carter. Time for calisthenics."

[from_the_outside]

She groans in mock exasperation, but follows him through the series without complaint. Calisthenics. She hasn't done any in a long time, and she's definitely going to be feeling it later.

But it feels inexpressibly good to be moving her body the way she knows she can; to extend it and stretch her muscles and work them just past the point of endurance, so that the next time she can go a little longer, a little harder.

The series ends with a solid minute of burpees, and Sharon stays flat on the ground once it's up, her chest heaving. "Wow, I can't believe I let you do this to me."

She can't believe she let herself get this rusty, but that's beside the point.

[nerves_of_ice]

"What's the saying? Careful what you wish for?" He goes to the chest and pulls out a couple of the water bottles he'd stashed there earlier, along with a soft cloth that'll work as a towel, and carries them over to her.

"Here," he offers.

[from_the_outside]

She sticks her tongue out at him and rolls up to sitting to accept a water bottle and the cloth. Cracking the first, she takes a deep swallow of water to parch her dry throat as she wipes the sweat from her chest and neck with the latter.

"I hope you're having fun," she teases.

[nerves_of_ice]

“You know, I kind of am,” he admits, sitting down across from her with his own bottle.

[from_the_outside]

"Good."

It might be something she needs to do, but she wants it to be something they both enjoy.

Sharon grins over at him. "Me, too."

[nerves_of_ice]

“I’m glad.” He flashes her a quick, mischievous grin.

“We’ll see if you still say the same thing in the morning.”

[from_the_outside]

"Well, we can't go too hard today," she says, disingenuously. Her eyes are laughing.

"I had some plans for tonight, and they'll get ruined if you tire me out too much."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Plans?” He gives her a curious look.

“I figured you were off the hook for the rest of today anyway,” he adds. “I was going to suggest you soak in the bathtub up at the Citadel.”

[from_the_outside]

"That does sound nice."

She may even take him up on it, if she has time.

His curious look gets a bland glance in return. "Well, I guess it depends on whether or not you have plans already."

[nerves_of_ice]

He glances pointedly around the clearing and back at her. “This was the only thing I had planned for today.”

[from_the_outside]

"Okay."

She shifts her foot forward, nudging him with the toe of her light sneaker. "How about a date night, then?"

[nerves_of_ice]

He leans over to wrap his fingers loosely around her ankle and smiles.

"I like the sound of that."

[from_the_outside]

"Great."

She smiles back at him and tips up her bottle for another long swallow of water. "But I'm going to need you to vacate the hut for about an hour beforehand."

[nerves_of_ice]

He chuckles. "Am I supposed to go anywhere in particular?"

[from_the_outside]

"Wherever you like," she says magnanimously. "Why don't you go to the lab and give Steve or Nat a call?"