𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐄 » avengers x reader

51. Healthy Competition

"You should never try and predict your opponent's next move," Natasha taught as she stood on the other side of the mat, "You wait for them to attack and you just have to think fast. It's all about action and reaction."

Natasha and I had booked the training room for ourselves since Rumlow was out training the STRIKE team and Rogers was doing his own training.

Since he'd been out of action for so long, and the world has evolved a lot more, Steve needed that extra training to get him back up to speed. He was a really fast learner so that wasn't a problem for him.

I wanted to get better and learn more since my training was mostly military-based. Natasha had elite-level training since she was one of the most skilled assassins in the whole world. On top of that, I just really wanted a rematch against Rumlow.

As I predicted, word got around that Rumlow had allegedly knocked me out with one punch:

"No, he didn't knock me out. He punched me in the face and I fell," I explained to Maria Hill and Jasper Sitwell as we sat in the conference room before a briefing.

"Is that not the same thing?" Sitwell asked as if he has any knowledge of fighting at all.

"Last time I checked, you don't actually have any combat training," I scoffed.

"I am a Level 7 agent!" He argued, "That is the same level as you. Espionage is my thing."

I shrugged my shoulders as I couldn't exactly argue with the truth.

"Okay, so how did you end up in the medical room?" Maria questioned, folding her arms.

Rogers insisted that he didn't tell anyone about the medical room thing. And he promised he'd make sure nobody saw us.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I denied.

"Rumlow saw you walk in there with Cap. He was walking out of the meeting with Fury when he caught you guys." Sitwell informed me.

God, this guy never gives up, does he?

"I had a dodgy ankle from over the Holidays and I needed a bandage for it," I lied, it was a good enough excuse especially since Rumlow would have seen Steve's arm wrapped around my waist for support which doesn't match up with a head injury.

"So what are the Advil sticking out of your belt for?" Maria pointed out.

Fuck, they got me. I still wasn't knocked out but everything that Rumlow said, and the pills just make it seem like it's true. I sighed and rubbed my temple, "I know it looks like I was knocked out but I swear to you I just hit the ground hard. And can we please stop talking about it!" I begged and the two of them laughed.

"We're world-class agents, Sergeant, you can't hide anything from us," Sitwell reminded me before the meeting started...

That only made me even more desperate for that rematch. I wanted to beat Rumlow's ass so hard he wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. Natasha was the only one who could help me. She was insanely good at what she does.

We sparred for a few minutes before taking a break and sitting down on the bench to recuperate.

"So...your training..." I began. I knew what she had been through was tough, but I wanted to know exactly what happened. How she went from being a Soviet spy to working for an American organization.