InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm a Goofy Goober, yeah!"

Moon Knight (giftshopist) wrote in spinningcompass,
@ 2022-04-14 21:30:00

Entry tags:

!closed, moon knight (mcu), ~aaron cross

Who? Aaron Cross, totally Steven Grant honestly
Where? A gym area near the University, wheel 3
When? Thursday night, almost midnight
What? Grumpy boys
Spoilers: If you haven't seen Moon Knight or if you know nothing about it, this kinda explains the whole deal. However, Steven is still coming from before the show starts, so there are no show-specific spoilers.

Every night, when Steven went to sleep, Marc took over. Khonshu explained what he needed explored or what he needed to find out, and Marc did his duty to the best of his abilities until it was time to return to the apartment and get a couple of hours of sleep. Tonight, it was to simply explore more of the station.

It had been easy to work out the route to the food court, since the walls of this place were metal and there were vague reflections everywhere. So he'd tagged along each time Steven went to the coffee shop to say hello to the Avenger woman (Wanda Maximoff, he knew that from before) or Captain America's friend (Barnes, he also knew that from before) or the Canadian lady that made the stew that always smelled amazing but that Steven would never touch (Lacey, he'd learned). Walking the route at night only cemented it in his memory, and most of his night-time adventures in this weird place Steven had brought them to started with a trip to either of the coffee shops where he made himself some food and drink. Khonshu had bitched at first, but even he had to admit that an Avatar that keeled over from hunger would be pretty fucking useless.

Soon enough, Marc was making mental maps of the bit of the wheel that Steven had referred to as the "University". He found the lecture theaters that their weird face-twin had mentioned on Sunday at "magic class" - Steven had written it down in his notebook, and Marc had read it that night - and then kept going. Soon enough, he found an area that seemed to have work-out rooms full of all kinds of weird equipment and a running track with a small park in the center of it and... was that the sound of someone beating the shit out of a punchbag? It sure as hell was. Marc walked close enough to locate the room, and then turned to leave the area again.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

inthecrossfire
2022-04-15 07:49 pm UTC (link)

"Three rounds, first to win two doesn't have to clean up the equipment," he smirked again; okay, so he'd left the place a bit of a mess and some of it needed putting away, of course. He had a habit of that - dropping things where they lay because they weren't important - cabinet doors in the kitchen wide open, towels wet on the floor, socks on top of the laundry basket instead of inside. It's a wonder Marta hadn't killed him in his sleep, thinking about it.

At least this guy might put up a bit of a fight, even if Aaron did lose and have to clear away his own crap from the gym. Just to be free to fight an opponent who might actually win was fun enough for the potential loss.

"Wanna shake on it, Marc no-last-name?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

giftshopist
2022-04-15 09:48 pm UTC (link)

"I can do that, Aaron Cross," Marc said, and stepped forward to shake Aaron's hand. "No broken bones. First to two wins, loser tidies up," he repeated as they shook, and then stepped back. Sure, the rules were pretty fucking sparse - 'No broken bones' still left a hell of a lot that was on the table, after all - but he could work with that.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BREAK ANY BONES TO PUT HIM IN A CHOKE-HOLD AND THEN YOU NEED ONLY WIN ONE MATCH AND YOU CAN CARRY ON WITH YOUR TASK FOR THIS EVENING

Marc ignored Khonshu's 'helpful' suggestion, even though it was much less violent than usual and dropped into a ready stance, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet as he waited for the spar to begin.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

inthecrossfire
2022-04-16 07:15 am UTC (link)

Aaron shook the man's hand in kind, trying to get a feel out for him in the split second. He definitely had a good grip, and something icy in his eyes. No, Aaron didn't think this guy was Marta's ex; that man had an iciness to him, yes, but a pity and empathy deep down too. He kind of wanted to test Marc's limits all the same.

He made quick stock of the man's stance; he stood looser, bouncing on his feet to make a quick dodge. Aaron rolled his shoulders, letting the tension go out of his muscle as he could feel the adrenaline pumping - this was what he had needed, what was missing. An actual opponent who could react, hit back, take a punch on the same level with any luck.

He drove power into his shoulder, punching Marc's jaw with a thud and a reverberation down his own arm, relieved when the man didn't immediately crumple to the floor.

Finally.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

giftshopist
2022-04-16 11:20 am UTC (link)

Marc took the hit to the jaw, already moving with the punch, and then simply kept turning in that direction. Elbow up as he snapped his head round, he rammed the point of it into Aaron's ribs and then danced back a couple of steps so he could reorient himself.

YOU SHOULD HAVE HIT HIM IN THE HEAD, MARC. END THIS PLAY FIGHT NOW, HE IS NO MATCH FOR YOU.

Comments from the peanut gallery were still being ignored as Marc saw a chance and went in for a quick flurry of punches, a couple to the head and one aimed at the sore spot on Aaron's ribs.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

inthecrossfire
2022-04-16 06:37 pm UTC (link)

Aaron felt the wind knock out of him as Marc hit him with a flurry of punches, unable to dodge the man's speed or his voracity. He grinned at the stab of pain that went through him at the hit to his ribs, taking a second to get the air back into his lungs.

"Come on, man," he chuckled, bouncing back on his feet. "You always pussy foot around like this?"

He double kicked in quick succession, two blows landing either side of Marc's chest, socking him twice in the jaw with his fists too. He still had his style, his quick reflexes and elasticity in his joints from Marta's marvellous medicine.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

giftshopist
2022-04-16 11:17 pm UTC (link)

"Never know when someone's an amateur or not," Marc replied, giving his jaw a quick check. "Talking the talk and all that," he continued as he kept moving, "and then it turns out they've got a glass jaw."

He stopped chatting after that and swung for Aaron again, before moving in close almost instantly and pressing hard. He moved with ease and grace, taking the hits where he could afford to and blocking what he could, trading blows and kicks, parrys and blocks with the other man. He wasn't in the suit so he didn't have to hold back, nobody was angry, and neither of them had weapons, so this was almost enjoyable. Relaxing, even.

FINISH THIS echoed round the room. Marc didn't react, other than to throw himself over to the side to avoid Aaron's fist before dropping down to sweep the other man's legs out from under him while he was momentarily overextended.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

inthecrossfire
2022-04-17 06:22 pm UTC (link)

Glass jaw, Aaron scoffed in his head, starting to like this dude. Alright then.

For his worth, Aaron kept up his own defence as much as he could - it'd been a while since he'd been able to use his training against another enhanced person and boy, Marc was kicking his fucking ass into submission. But at the same time, Aaron felt... alive. There was no danger to this, no risk to anyone he loved, nothing at stake except pride and experience. They traded blows and could kick the ever-loving-shit out of each other with barely breaking a sweat. It was a damn close match-up if you asked him.

He even laughed when he landed smack on his front side, having missed the sweeping leg until it was too late.

"Time-out, time-out," he laughed, groaning as he turned over, slack on the floor. "Fuck, you're fucking good. Where the hell you been hiding yourself?" he pushed himself up from the floor. "Round one to you."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

giftshopist
2022-04-17 10:50 pm UTC (link)

Marc grinned at the praise, and would have held out a hand to help pull Aaron up to his feet except he was already standing up. "I've just kept myself to myself, mostly," he replied, "and you're pretty good yourself. Your fucking left hook, man, I'll need to learn to watch for that."

He shoved his messy hair back from his face after that, and continued to pace a little, since there was at least one more round to go. "Is there any water here I could have?" he asked after a few moments.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -