What Fades Away

chapter 9: kiss with a fist

cw: we got it all folks...SMUT, chase kink, knife kink, blood kink, gore (not sex related), a dash of dirty talking Bucky. my first attempt at this kinda stuff, so be gentle. *hides face*

Mara wakes up the next morning with a jolt, sitting up to find Yelena standing at the foot of her bed. On top of Mara's blankets lies some black material that is hard to make out in the early morning light. The sun is barely up. Mara wipes her hair from her face and grabs the pile. It's workout clothes consisting of new leggings, a sports bra, and a thin gray tank top.

"Come with me." Yelena says in a monotone voice, walking out before Mara even has a chance to argue.

She groans, peeling herself out of bed and changing into the gear. Bucky and Peter were up late last night and Mara couldn't sleep until she heard Bucky's door close across the hall. Her mind briefly flits over what happened with Bucky last night in the alleyway and she feels her face get all hot.

Mara didn't even get a chance to properly hate Bucky before he swept her off her feet just by being in her presence. Honestly, it makes her a little angry to think about how easy it was. She just sees him and her mind goes to mush.

Mara pads down the hall and takes the elevator up to the gym. She's been through here a few times but never actually stopped. Based on the clothes Yelena left, Mara just assumes that is the destination.

As she walks through the door, Mara is just in time to see Kate get her back slammed onto the mat in the middle of the floor. Yelena is standing above her, not even breaking a sweat.

"Kate, Yelena left my room thirty minutes ago. How are you already on your ass?" Mara says with a smile, helping Kate up off the floor.

Kate blows a stray piece of long black hair out of her face.

"Alright then, Miss All I Do Is Read Books, let's see how much better you do against the queen of assassins."

"I thought that was Bucky's title."

All three women turn around to see Sam walk in, smiling at his own joke and holding his coffee. Mara snorts a little and stands facing Yelena with her hands on her hips.

"Yelena, what am I doing here?"

Yelena grabs tape from a bag near the edge of the mat and walks over to Mara. She takes Mara's hands and starts wrapping them up.

"You are going to learn how to defend yourself. What happened last night was too close to home, and the chances of you dying if you were attacked by someone on the street are a lot higher than the rest of us."

Sam nods in agreement as Yelena finishes taping up one hand and moves onto Mara's left one.

"She's right," Sam states, taking a sip of his coffee. "We don't want to take the chance. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I'd feel a lot better if you knew how to throw a punch."

"I can punch!" Mara huffs, annoyed. At least she thinks she can. The only fights she's ever been in were with Kate and those were mostly slapping and hair pulling before Kate's mom broke it up.

Yelena finishes wrapping Mara's hands and takes a place opposite her.

"Alright, let's see what you can do."

Mara looks over at Kate and Sam hesitantly. She knows Yelena is a fucking badass and doesn't want to end up looking like an idiot. Kate makes a "go on" gesture with her hands before following Sam outside for a run.

Mara braces her shoulders and takes a deep breath. Forming a fist, she brings her arm back and follows through with all her strength.

Yelena catches Mara's hand before it even comes near her face, green eyes widening.