Unexpected

Getting the Hang of It

The next week was grueling as Natasha kept pushing my limits physically. My joints and limbs ached, my back was sore, and I discovered that my virtually nonexistent abs could feel like they had caught fire after only a few minutes under Romanoff's promptings. However, it was during my first boxing lesson on Tuesday that the pair of us figured out a decent motivation for me.

Punch. Punch. Duck.

Punch. Punch. Duck.

I had gotten into the rhythm Natasha had shown me, punching each of the pads she was holding then ducking as she swiped at me with one of them. To be honest I was feeling good. It was easy enough to get into the rhythm, I didn't have to put much effort into my punches, and I could almost let my mind drift off somewhere else where my residual soreness couldn't go.

Punch. Punch. Duck.

"Good." Nat smiled.

It felt kind of silly, repeating the same movements over and over again. I didn't get what this was supposed to do for me, what this was teaching me about fighting, but I went with it. Questioning the super assassin as she was swinging at my head, progressively quicker and harder looking blows that I barely missed a few times, didn't seem like the best idea.

Punch.

Suddenly Natasha's padded hand swung out catching my cheekbone as I wheeled back in surprise.

"What the heck?" I exclaimed, my hand rising to my face.

"You gotta stay focused, Penny." Nat shrugged, back in position for me to start punching again.

"What was that for?" My cheek didn't hurt too badly; most of it had been surprise, but still.

"You need to learn to be on your toes, expect the unexpected. Don't get comfortable in your rhythm."

"You told me to do that rhythm!" I pointed out, hesitantly punching again.

"True, but you were zoning out. Focus, Penny." Natasha swung after my second punch like before, "Now quit complaining and hit."

I sighed and put some effort into my next couple of throws, flinching after the first hit just in case she swung at me unexpectedly again. Romanoff laughed as she watched me, making me sigh and shake my head.

"You speak Russian, right?" I asked after a couple punches, relaxing a bit as I got back into the rhythm, though I kept myself on alert for any more sudden movements.

"Yeah..." Nat gave me a weird look, "So?"

I laughed as I ducked under a swing that almost caught the top of my head, "How do you say "You're a butt" in Russian?"

"Childish much, Penny?" Natasha smirked.

"You were the one that hit me." I teased back.

"Вы являетесь Попки."

"Way you-blay des-bok-en."

"No, Вы являетесь Попки." She repeated slower.

After a few tries, I got the pronunciation down. As soon as she told me that I had gotten it I ducked at her swipe grinning with my success, but as I came up to get ready to punch again she swung at me with her other hand, catching me off guard.

"Focus, Penny."

"Вы являетесь Попки." I retorted back, rubbing my sore cheek.

After that Natasha started teaching me vocabulary words as I went through my exercises, saying a word in Russian and its meaning.