VITALITY ↝ B. BARNES [1]

[13]

Elysia huffed out a sigh, rolling onto her side in an attempt to finally get some sleep. The movie she'd put on to help distract herself had long ended, and she'd hardly been able to close her eyes for more than a minute before opening them again. Every bump in the distance, each individual sound had the girl on high alert, wondering if HYDRA had already arrived and gotten through Wanda's first line of defense protecting the compound.

Opening one eye to glance at the clock on the nightstand to see 3:45 blinking in red on the screen, Elysia shut her eyes tightly for a moment with a groan before sitting up in bed, finally admitting that she was in no state to sleep, even after the little bit she'd gotten the night before helping Bucky from his nightmare. She pulled the covers off of her legs and climbed out of bed, swapping the cupcake pajama pants for a pair of black joggers and her oversized pink t-shirt for a black sports bra before pulling her shoes on.

Elysia wandered back down to the training center, figuring another round with a practice dummy might just be what she needed to get her mind away from the impending HYDRA attack, to feel less like a sitting duck and release a little more pent up energy so her mind would finally let her fall asleep. At the very least, she knew she could try and work more on the distance her electricity would travel, as she had during her last training session with Steve. However, when she stepped off the elevator, she noticed she wasn't alone, even if the figure already in the room was too into his training to notice the elevator doors opening.

Bucky's fists pounded against the practice dummy, almost too quick for Elysia's eyes to process. The metal of his arm glinted in the glow of the overhead lamps, and he finally stopped to take a breath, reaching back and pushing a few stray sweaty strands of hair from his face with his human hand.

When the glass door slid open to the training room, Bucky turned around, instantly on high alert until his eyes landed on Elysia's. He visibly softened at the sight of the pink-haired woman before him, and she stepped closer, bridging the gap between them until she stood next to him and the dummy.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Bucky asked with a humorless chuckle, and Elysia shook her head with a shrug.

"Not really," she agreed. "Figured I'd come down here, get a few good shots in, but somebody already beat me to the punch." she joked, gesturing towards the practice dummy between them.

"That's smart," he assured her, his eyes falling to the ground briefly before looking back up at her with a nervous expression. "I'm sorry if I upset you earlier."

"You have nothing to apologize for." she said.

"I'm the reason they're coming," he insisted. "Everyone's in danger because of me."

"You didn't ask for us to pull you out of the HYDRA base, Buck." Elysia reminded him. "You're one of us now, and we're going to protect you. And when I crack that code, they won't have any power over you anymore."

"Come spar against me," Bucky said, gesturing for her to move closer and holding his arms out. "Learn my weaknesses, just in case the time comes."

"Bucky-"

"Please?" he insisted. "It'd make me feel a whole lot better if you had even the slightest idea of how to get one up on me if the time comes."

Elysia stared back at him, awestruck before she finally nodded. "Okay," she agreed finally, her hands clenching into fists as she held them up, small tendrils of electricity moving over her knuckles.

"And don't hold back," Bucky insisted as they began to circle one another.

Elysia continued to circle Bucky on the mat, and she went in for the first punch, which he dodged, catching her arm in his. She pulled back, aiming again as the Winter Soldier blocked each punch. As she continued to advance, Bucky letting her gain the upper hand, she allowed her mind to fade away from the impending attack, and instead focus on the fight in front of her.