From the Shadows | PETER PARKER [2]

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Eloise ducks the fist aimed at her head and springs up with intent to strike Bucky's temple. He catches her fist with his metal hand and pushes her away with his arm's strength. She slides back on the mat but keeps her balance. She leans back and raises her fist to punch, but she takes too long preparing the strike and Bucky has time to deflect it with his forearm.

When Eloise punches, she tucks her chin and moves her hips and torso as her weight shifts to her left foot. Bucky blocks the blow.

Usually when the two are training hand-to-hand combat, they keep going until Eloise calls a time out or Bucky stops to adjust her form. However, Bucky straightens after the last punch he deflected. Eloise gets back into a defensive position after her strike, but when Bucky drops his hands to his sides, she relaxes.

"You're pulling your punches," Bucky notes as he adjusts the wrap around his knuckles.

Eloise releases a huff of air. "I'm not."

"You are." Bucky's eyes lift from his hands to the girl trying to catch her breath standing in front of him. "I've seen you hit a punching bag before with ten times more force than you just hit me, plus I've felt what your punches actually feel like when you've accidentally punched me in the face. You're pulling your punches, kid."

Eloise sets her hands on her hips and looks away. Bucky secures the wrap around his knuckles and shakes out his hands.

"Do you want to keep going or take a break?" He asks, looking to her for an answer.

She wipes the sweat from above her lip. "Let's keep going."

A ghost of a smile tugs at Bucky's lips. The two work on defensive positions and how to pin down opponents. Eloise doesn't know how long they spend practicing; it's like time doesn't exist when she steps into the Avengers facility. Although Bucky doesn't put his everything while helping Eloise, he isn't going easy on her. She sweats so bad that her shirt sticks to her back and the hair that fell out of her ponytail is stuck to her face. Her muscles aren't aching like they did the first few days of training, nor is she so out of breath. She can feel herself getting stronger, and it makes her feel like she has more control of herself in a way. Like she can put up a some-what more equal fight against the monster that has taken over her body and mind.

Eloise isn't aware anyone else is in the training room besides herself and Bucky until she catches a glimpse of a figure in the doorway when she pins Bucky down onto the mat. Her eyes widen slightly when she sees that it's Steve Rogers. No matter how many times she has seen Captain America, she still gets a little starstruck every single time.

Bucky notices Eloise's distracted gaze and follows her line of sight. He gets up, Eloise releasing him and standing back as Steve walks over with a vaguely amused expression.

"How come I wasn't invited to the party?" He asks with a smirk.

Eloise subconsciously fixes her hair.

Bucky shrugs and crosses his muscular arms over his chest. "I was just giving Eloise some self-defense lessons."

Steve's eyes shift to Eloise. "Isn't it a school night?" He scolds playfully.

Bucky frowns. "What time is it?"

"It's almost eight o'clock," Steve replies as he looks down at his watch, then turns to Eloise. "Don't you have homework or something?"