The next morning found Steve walking into the gym at seven forty five to see Liz, dressed for sparring. He nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight. The lean assassin wore a purple sports bra beneath a sheer black top, the majority of her long legs bared in black spandex shorts, and was hanging from the ceiling when he entered.
"Oh.. Good morning, Captain." Liz smiled shyly, dropping from the stretch, landing neatly in a crouch with one hand on the floor for balance. She stood, bundling her brown curls into a ponytail. Steve just stared at her.
"I'm sorry... I didn't meant to intrude." Steve murmured, when he finally remembered his manners. She nodded at him, pinning back her bangs.
"It's no intrusion. I was merely preparing for sparring with Tasha. You're early." Liz smiled at the soldier, humming gently under her breath. Natasha entered soon after, watching Liz and Steve talk about nothing, the female half of things twisting her body into impossible positions to stretch before the training sessions. The redhead was impressed with Steve's composure, because not many men could watch a woman do what Liz was doing without outward signs of arousal.
"Good morning, Steve." Natasha nodded at the captain, shooting a dark look over at Liz, who smiled and wiggled her fingers. She'd never been one for the spy's game of emotion unless a mission was involved. Natasha resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Clint came in just after that, pressing a kiss to 'Tasha's forehead. Bruce was next, yawning but content, cradling a mug of tea in one hand. Pretty soon the entire team, minus Tony, was assembled, Maria Hill standing as supervisor.
"Alright. Have at it, ladies." Hill nodded towards the two female assassins, and they stepped to the mats. Liz shed the black top, kicking off her shoes and slid just inside the circle painted onto the mats. Natasha followed suit, and the two paused, eyes dark as they studied each other. "You stop at first blood, or when one of you gives. Go." Hill snapped, and the blur of movement began. It was nearly impossible to tell who was winning, each separate attack and defense invisible with speed, the flashes of color from their clothes and hair giving the only real indications. Steve couldn't take his eyes off of them, tracking each movement he could, until suddenly, Liz had Natasha pinned, a triangle choke on her head with powerful thighs, her weight balanced over the redhead's back, and strong hands pressing Nat's legs into the mats.
"Give?" Liz asked, breathing just a little fast. Natasha was swearing in Russian, fighting the hold, but it was no good. She was pinned, and immobilized.
"Yeah, I give. Now, get up, damn you're heavy." Natasha sighed, going limp. Liz grinned, and stood, pulling the redhead with her. Steve blinked, impressed. Liz shook her shoulders out of habit, taking her hair down and running her fingers through the mess of curls.
"Woah. You're going to teach me that?" Steve asked, and Liz smiled at him.
"Yep. Well, some of it. We'll see just how much you can handle. Where's Stark?" Liz murmured, twisting her hair back into a bun, leaving her bangs hanging into her eyes. Tony strolled in as if summoned and Liz rolled her eyes.
"Morning. You're with Natasha. Shoo." Liz waves a hand at the brunette, who arched a brow and glanced over at the redhead.
"Well, shit. This should be fun." Tony muttered, heading her way and Bruce chuckled. Liz sent a wink his way, and he nearly choked on his tea. The assassin clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.
"Right. Steve, you're with me, Tony with Nat, Bruce with Clint. Thor... You'll be with Agent Coulson." Steve flinched at the mention of his friend's name, wondering if Liz really didn't know about his death.
"Uh... Ms. Erskine? Agent... Phil's dead." Steve said softly, noting the pain on Tony's face as he did, and Liz's arched brow. Confusion colored her cheeks, and she looked over at the door.
"Well unless that is a very good animatron, I'd say you're wrong. Good morning, Phil." She stepped over, hugging the SHIELD agent with a delicacy that surprised a lot of people. Coulson sighed, patting her shoulder.
"Fury... I was under orders, team. I was severely injured in Loki's attack on the helicarrier, but I wasn't killed. Ms. Erskine is aware of this, as I was with her for my leave, assisting her with her reaqquaintence with her training." The agent was calm and unflappable, right up until Steve charged across the room and hugged him, a smile blooming. Liz stepped back to let the team crowd around, patient as she leaned against a wall. Bruce sidled over, offering her a water bottle. She took it gratefully, watching the team hover around Coulson.
"Not going to fuss over Phil?" She asked quietly, humming faintly. Bruce shrugged, taking a sip of his nearly-gone tea.
"I didn't know him well. I'm pretty sure we've never actually spoken." He admitted, smiling faintly at her and she laughed.
"He scared the hell out of me when he showed up at my door, bandaged to the gills and exhausted. I had orders to keep him safe while he recovered. It was nice, I hadn't been around him in a while." Liz murmured, gazing over at the older man fondly. Bruce smiled, watching her.
"I figured you'd know him. He was Clint's handler, right? I expect he worked with you as well." He said, his voice quiet in the din of their teammates bustling over Coulson. Liz nodded, batting her bangs out of her eye to smile at Bruce properly.
"He's the Avengers handler, which bespeaks his experience and personality. Not many people would want a gig like this, with such a diverse group of egos. For example, Natasha and Clint are the best spies I know, and I know a lot. So they're naturally calm, but Clint has an ego that match's Stark's. Tony is not one to take orders and he's easily annoyed if proper attention isn't paid. Rogers is a military man, but emotionally unstable, which is understandable given his circumstances. Thor has culture shock and loves Jane, which opens her to a potential disaster. And you, sir, are a wonderful man, intelligent and shy, but your other half is destructive and powerful, which scares you. You're never sure you can control yourself enough, and the lack of knowledge of what's happening when you're shifted is terrifying. You don't remember much after an episode. Then you add me to the mix, intelligent, ruthless, but emotionally scarred and just as easily angered as Tony, with a lack of self-control that is lethal in my profession." Liz surprised him with both her knowledge of the team and herself and the stunning amount of information. She was so smart she shocked Bruce sometimes. He stared at her, shock clear on his face.
"You got all this from our files, didn't you?" Bruce asked quietly, eyes still locked with Liz's. She shook her head.
"Some, yes. Most from observation." She tilted her head, her hair falling against her forehead softly. A cleared throat forced them both to look up, spotting Tony's smirk directed their way. Liz wrinkled her nose in distaste, smiling after.
"Are you two done flirting or can we go on?" Tony laughed, winking at Bruce, who sighed and rolled his eyes as he stepped away to go to Clint. Liz followed, patting his shoulder lightly as she passed before grinning at Steve. The sparring went pretty well that morning, Coulson holding his own against Thor, Tony getting murdered at Natasha's hands, Bruce revealing a surprising agility and speed as he grappled with Clint, and finally Steve ended the session by pinning Liz efficiently. She smiled up at him before slipping out of the grip and standing.
"Nicely done, Steve. Okay, guys, same time tomorrow. Let's get some food, yeah?" Liz grinned at all of them, pinning her bangs back and smoothing back a few loose curls back into the bun. Bruce stood up and nodded, laughing when she threw a towel at him. The team watched in surprised confusion at the simple happy friendship between the two. Tony whistled as they left, and Steve smacked him.
"Let them be happy, Tony. I have to go to the lab today, so I won't be around until dinner. Seven sound okay?"
