Untangling a Memory

Metal meets skin

"So, Shuri says it's ok?"

"Oh, come on, old man. Show me what you've got!"

"If we do this, I'm not going to go easy on you..."

"I'm counting on it."

Natasha's smirk and sassy tone were the end of it. Bucky was all in.

Natasha had been eagerly waiting for Shuri to tell her that she could resume her normal training and workouts, and the day had finally arrived. While Bucky was still a bit tentative, Natasha wasn't going to have any of it. So, as soon as she got the go, she told Bucky to get ready to spar.

Natasha was already waiting in the middle of the sparring area in the training room, goading Bucky to join her, as he changed into his sneakers. And while he would never say it, he was honestly thrilled to be fighting again. He hadn't had the opportunity to since the team had left on their assignment, since he didn't feel comfortable enough to spar with any of the warriors in Wakanda. Sparring with friends allowed him to let his guard down, where as strangers could make him feel uncomfortable. Friends knew his past, his strength, and they didn't have the same fear written all over their faces that others might have.

Bucky was going to limit his normal attacks, both in strength and quickness, wanting to still be mindful of Natasha's recently healed injuries and her time away from practice. He didn't want to take advantage of that or hurt her. Thankfully, he had an excellent ability to quickly identify his opponent's weaknesses. Rather than exploiting them, he would be careful of them in this sparring session.

Bucky finally entered the sparring area, Natasha pacing opposite him and challenging  him to attack first. Bucky's expression turned dark and mischievous, ready to fight. A split second later, they were on each other. Bucky went for a punch to Natasha's stomach, but she dodged it easily, sweeping his legs instead. He landed on his hands and feet in a pushup, rolling over and launching up grab and twist her arm behind her back to restrain her. She used this to flip him in response. Normally he would have gone for her legs at this point, but the second he used to reconsider, Natasha used to land an elbow to his stomach. Clearly, she wasn't going to be pulling her punches.

They continued like this, Bucky launching skillful attacks utilizing his size and muscle, Natasha's attacks taking advantage of her speed and nimbleness. She used her signature move of wrapping her legs around his head to flip him, while he grabbed an arm around her waist to launch her. If she was going to play rough, he would, too.

Bucky was impressed with how they moved around each other like a synchronous tornado. When he sparred with Steve it was muscle on muscle, blow after blow, hitting and kicking. While Steve had more strength than Natasha, she was significantly better at predicting Bucky's movements and flowing her actions around them. She knew how he sparred, how he fought. She read him like a book and it made her a much more formidable opponent. Bucky couldn't remember ever fighting against someone who understood his tactics so well.

Natasha's heart rate soared, full of adrenaline. She had missed so much being on the mats and taking on any opponent, but Bucky was always her favorite. Before she'd had a chance to fight against Bucky, she'd spar against Steve and Sam. Sam was always an easy take down. He would flirt and she would be sassy, and while his moves were strong, they were predictable. Steve was more challenging because of his super-soldier strength and at least he could throw her. But he too had plenty of weaknesses in his style and Natasha read them like a book. That was all thanks to her training with the Soldier when she was young.

Sparring again with her former teacher felt like she was both learning and proving herself all over again. He was at least a challenge. Fighting against him forced her to not only be physical, but also use her mind in her attacks, exposing every fault and weakness of her opponent and playing to her strengths. It was something that Steve and Sam had never learned particularly well because they'd always relied on their strength. The Soldier had been and excellent trainer and sparring against him (or the evolution thereof) let her advance her skills even now.