Air whooshed out of Kate’s lungs as she hit the floor with a resounding thud. She huffed as she tried to regain her breath, glaring insolently up at her attacker.
Sparring with Natasha had gotten easier over time. Well, not easier, but she’d learned enough to better anticipate and counter her sister’s moves no matter what she threw at her. Before Nat, she’d been all chaos, even with her martial arts training under her belt. No one (namely, the Tracksuits) actually fought so honorably and gracefully, so she had shifted to match chaos with chaos in a close combat fight.
It wasn’t the smartest idea, but it was effective.
(Barely, Natasha would counter, and Kate would roll her eyes.)
She held her own much more skillfully these days. Nat’s moves were a mix of more formal training and street fighting, and her awareness of what was happening around her was insane. Kate had always been a quick learner, and she had picked up on the new style without much trouble. The awareness – she was still working on that part, but she was pretty sure the improvement was notable.
But she wasn’t perfect, and Nat knew her, and going for the back of her knees – she tended to tense, standing too straight when she was all-in with her upper body – knocked her to the floor every time, without fail.
She grumbled, kicked up at her sister’s leg, then sprawled out like she was going to make snow angels on the gym mat. The idea of moving was not a fun one; her back was stinging in protest, despite the spongy surface she’d collided with.
“I’m staying here until you say sorry!” she announced, raising her voice to be heard over the heavy metal cover of “I'll Make a Man Out of You” blaring over the gym’s speakers. Thankfully, the sensors took that as a cue to lower the volume.
Natasha easily avoided the leg kicked in her direction as she moved around to stand nearer to where Kate’s head had thudded against the mat. Though her posture looked relaxed, she was still ready to move at a moment’s notice, should Kate try to swing any other limbs out in her direction. She leaned forward so she was positioned directly above Kate’s scowl and grinned. Her red braid hung down over her shoulder.
“You’re right. Kate, I am so very and sincerely sorry…that you still can’t see a leg sweep coming.”
“You’re the worst,” Kate groaned, glaring at her with the fire of a thousand suns – or so she hoped but doubtful. Realistically, she probably looked like a dramatically sad puppy at best. She wasn’t truly mad, but she was sweaty and tired and not a fan of losing. “You’re so worried about me getting concussed, what do you call this?”
“I call it working out your weaknesses in a heavily padded environment.” She was more than used to Kate’s temper being directed her way during training. Natasha knew how competitive she was and didn’t take any of it personally. In fact, most days she was incredibly proud of how much Kate had improved since they’d started training together. She knew that competitive nature was a big part of that improvement. Kate had so much drive and raw talent, Natasha was really just there to smooth the edges and help keep her as safe as possible in their line of work.
“You all right?”
“Fine, I’m fine,” Kate grumbled. She knew Natasha was right; it was better to get her head whacked here than out on the streets where her brain would get juggled too much. She’d had enough minor brain injuries last year to last her a lifetime and didn’t plan to go for a new record in the new year. She knew it scared her family, and that wasn’t exactly something she aimed to do.
She pushed up onto her elbows and pulled herself up into a sitting position, holding her hands out at Natasha. “Water break? Gimme and come sit, I wanna ask you something.”
It felt like a reasonable request, so Natasha nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you’ve earned a break. Hang on.” She quickly made her way over to the corner where some towels and their water bottles were set aside. She snagged them into her arms and returned back to the center of the mat.
“What’s on your mind?” She handed Kate her bottle (purple, of course), and settled herself down beside her sister. She took a gulp from her own water, then pulled her left arm across her chest to stretch it out.
The water bottle was popped open and a good stream poured into her mouth before Kate picked up the towel (also purple, duh) to wipe her face of some of the excess sweat. Even with the gym equipped with icy AC, working out with Nat never failed to hurtle her right to the border of overheated.
“It’s for Em, actually. She wanted me to ask you if you’d take her on for self-defense training. Vallo being Vallo finally got to her. I guess the man-eating mushrooms were the final straw.”
Natasha’s expression brightened at the request. She liked Emily. Not just because she made Kate happy and treated her well, but also just genuinely liked her as a person. She was tough and capable, she didn’t shrink away from the things that scared her. The Christmas spirit could be a bit much sometimes, but hey, if December rolled around again and Emily decided to train in a Santa hat, then so be it. “Of course, I’d be happy to train her.”
Kate grinned. “Knew it.” She took another swig from her bottle. “She thinks she’s been around too much so you and Lena are annoyed by her.” A roll of her eyes followed but a fond one. She adored Emily, and she knew, if they were lucky, they had a long future ahead of them. She would adjust to Nat and Yelena eventually. Maybe some one-on-one time with Natasha would help.
“She knows we live with you, right?” Natasha deadpanned. “Our annoyance tolerance is pretty high.” She switched arms and began stretching her right arm over her chest.
Kate huffed and reached out to smack her sister’s outstretched arm. “Rude.” It didn’t matter that she’d said the same thing to her girlfriend when she’d expressed her worries. It was the principle, damn it. “How would you know I love you if I didn’t annoy you every once in a while?”
Natasha shrugged. “I’ve heard that some people just … communicate, but I don’t know. Sounds fake.” She dropped her arms to the ground and leaned back on them. “Things are still going well there, I assume? You still get that goofy look on your face whenever anyone says her name.”
Cue said goofy look, most prominently a wide, dopey smile. “Everything’s going great. I really, really like her. I know it got intense fast, but I don’t know, it just works.” They were alike in a lot of ways, but Emily also had that caretaker vibe that Kate needed surrounding her. It was grounding in the way that didn’t push her toward concussion-level recklessness.
“What about you and the good captain? Is he being gentlemanly? I meant it when I said I’d kick an old man’s ass.” Not that she would be anywhere near needed if Natasha ever truly felt the need to kick Steve’s ass, but she loved her sister fiercely. It made her very protective, even unnecessarily so.
That look most definitely brought a smile to Natasha’s face. There were few things she liked more than seeing her family happy. And honestly, she didn’t disagree with Kate. While things with Emily had gone extremely fast, it also felt very natural. The two seemed well suited for each other. Emily was a great grounding influence for Kate, and Kate seemed to provide her with a much-needed sense of security. “Good, I’m glad to hear that. I like you two together.”
Natasha didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve the way Kate did, so when the conversation rolled around to Steve, there weren’t any goofy looks and giant smiles from her. There was, however, a certain softening to her features that was easy to read by those who knew her. It was a look that meant she was incredibly happy. “No ass-kicking necessary, we’re very good. As always, I appreciate the offer, though.”
Nat’s approval made Kate sit up a little taller. Had they not already been sweaty from their workout, she’d have gotten a big bear hug. This wasn’t news – it was obvious Natasha and Yelena both approved of her relationship but hearing it still meant the world to her. Her sisters’ opinions were always important to her.
Her smile softened, too, watching that change in Natasha’s expression. It was a change most might not notice, but she knew well enough to see it. She liked it and reached out to loop Nat’s braid around her finger, tugging gently to show affection. “I like seeing you happy. You deserve it, сестра. Probably more than anyone I know.”
“Your pronunciation is getting much better.” It wasn’t. Honestly, Natasha was so genuinely touched by Kate’s determination to start learning Russian that she just wanted to be encouraging, no matter how poor Kate’s actual pronunciation was. “And I like seeing me happy too.” It had been a long, long time since she’d really had the opportunity to be as happy and content as she was currently. That hardened part of her wanted to worry about when the bottom would drop out, but most days she ignored it and just enjoyed herself.
Kate chuckled. “It’s definitely not, but that was very big sisterly of you. Спасибо.” She was definitely trying, and she actually appreciated Nat lying to her for encouragement’s sake. She had picked up a few little phrases from hearing Natasha and Yelena at home and had made it her New Year’s resolution to learn herself. It had involved downloading the murder owl app (oh, Duolingo, never change), and of course, James had begun gleefully teaching her all the swear words the moment she’d expressed interest. But it was a work in progress.
Nat grinned in response as Kate managed to see through her lie so easily, and gave her a small shrug. “It’s the thought that counts.”
With a sigh and a belated roll of her shoulders, Kate leaned in to press a sticky kiss to Nat’s cheek, then stood up, offering a hand down for her to take. “C’mon, shorty, I still gotta win a round to earn my breakfast doughnuts. Let’s go!”
Natasha accepted Kate’s offered hand and popped back up to her feet. “Keep calling me shorty and see what happens.”
“I could probably just pick you up and win,” Kate teased, straightening her back to make herself seem even taller. Never mind that Natasha had put her on her back twenty minutes ago, competitive Kate was back out in full force. “Bring it on.”
Natasha gave an exaggerated eye-roll. “All right, baby bird. Let’s see what you’ve got.”