WinterWitch: Control

Chapter 10

Wanda POV

"Uhh," I groaned, being pinned down on the mat. Again.

James and I had been sparring for half an hour. I lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and sighed. "Come on..." James blocked the light above my head, casting a shadow over me. Sighing, I looked up at his face cut from god and couldn't help but feel a little disgusted with myself. I was covered in sweat and most likely sporting a double chin from my position on the floor.

"Wanda?" James said, raising his eyebrows at me. I shook my head a little and blinked, snapping myself out of the daze. I didn't want to put myself down about it, at least not right now. I pushed myself to stand and James stepped back to let me. "What was that about?"

I shook my head and put my fists up. "I'm just annoyed I'm not getting this," I lied.

He frowned as he shook his head. He reached forward and took my hands, pushing them down to my sides. "Don't look for movement, look for openings," he said softly. "Openings are where you want to punch, but don't lose focus of other openings when you punch. Be alert to what I do and pay attention to my movements. Everybody has a favourite fighting style, so look for repetition."

I nodded and stepped back slightly, going over his instruction. 1) Openings 2) Be alert of his body. I hadn't thought about the openings thing before he mentioned it. My last trainer was more focused on my abilities, which meant I didn't really need to think of openings, more the movements made and how to block them.

I took a breath and brought my fists back up. He raised an eyebrow as if he were asking whether I was ready, but I immediately pushed my fist out. He immediately dodged my attack, moving his head smoothly away to the side to avoid it. He did everything so elegantly, unlike my own body movements in battle. His body was so different to mine - his face, his body, his hair, everything. He didn't understand how beautiful he was.

He batted my arm away and stepped forward. I noticed his arms rising to attack, but noticed an 'opening' as Bucky called it. I immediately kicked him in the chest, shocking him slightly as he stumbled backward. I was concentrated on the fight, pushing myself to focus on surprising him with punches.

I sprinted forward and tackled his waist in a split second. I slammed him to the ground, pushing past his strength, and pinned him. My hands were clasped tightly around his wrists with my legs locking him waist between the mat and me. I was breathing heavily, watching as his eyes looked up at me with slight bewilderment.

I smiled at him for a few seconds before I pushed myself off of him to stand. He slowly stood up and I saw his lips begin to pull into a smirk. "Where did that come from?"

I shrugged. "I take instructions well," I quipped back. I couldn't contain my grin as I aimed for another blow to his face.

An hour later

"It was so intense." Natasha and I were speaking in the living room, away from the boys who were in the kitchen with Maria and Pepper. I was speaking to her about earlier this afternoon, reliving the moment that James told me he would try not to hurt me with our foreheads together. "For a minute, I genuinely thought he was going to kiss me."

I didn't know how I would react if he did that. Would I have kissed him back or not? He wasn't thinking clearly at the minute, perhaps a little clearer than a few weeks ago, but not clearly. I didn't know how I felt about it all, but Natasha knew how to feel about it.

She barely raised her eyebrows. "That's a bad idea."

I gave her a look that said 'well, duh!' Obviously, I couldn't form a relationship like that with James. He was too troubled to sort that out as well. Even if we did, I could turn into a lifeline for him, which would make him lose his independence. Thinking about it though, James was the most independent person I'd ever met. He was perfectly capable of surviving alone and did for two years, not that it was a good idea.