Atlas | Avatar!OC x Bucky Barnes

27 - Action

Wednesday, July 1st, 2:07 pm

All the Avengers this morning woke up feeling better, including Steve, whose shoulder was now fully healed. Everyone had scratches and bruises here and there, but everyone was in good condition. Steve and Tony had asked around, to see if it was okay with everyone, and scheduled a team training session for the afternoon.

Bucky watched Atlas and Steve closely as the two of them fought. Steve had every advantage; size, strength, even speed. Atlas's cat-like reflexes were comparable to a super soldier's, but Steve was feeling extra energetic today because of his newfound recovery - thanks to Atlas. The beginning of the week had tired Atlas out, whereas Steve only felt better and better as each day passed.

Steve managed to catch Atlas off balance and trip her. "She's getting her ass kicked," Natasha muttered, who happened to be standing beside Bucky, close enough for him to hear her.

"I know," Bucky said back, not actually realizing who he was talking to.

Natasha looked up at the soldier. "She can usually hold her own against him. And she's usually more grounded when she fights. Even after she lands those flips," she said to the fellow assassin.

It had been a few days since Atlas and Bucky had talked, the last time being when Atlas ended things. Bucky thought that there would've been no way that Atlas's current emotional state would be affecting her fighting, but that's exactly what it was. A part of Atlas was filled with regret over Bucky, and that regret was leading to hesitancy in her fighting. Half of the airbender's focus was on the fight, and the other half was on Bucky.

"She likes to predict fight patterns," Bucky said to Nat. "But right now she's just reacting in the moment," he realized. Bucky looked from Nat to Atlas. The girl usually had a more confident and alert look in her eyes when she was sparring, but right now, all Bucky could see was worry and panic. He looked at her sympathetically, sad that he wasn't able to talk to Atlas about what was going through her head. Neither one of them really knew how to approach the other without making things awkward, so neither of them had tried ever since things ended - even though they agreed to be friends.

"Whatever reason you think she ended it with you for isn't the reason she ended it, y'know," Natasha said quietly, catching a downturned look on Bucky's face. She caught him off guard.

"What?" Bucky asked more inquisitively, now completely focused on Nat's words.

"She heard you, Steve and Sam talking the other night when she was coming back from work."

Bucky thought back to that night, about what Steve and Sam were saying to him. He had realized that some of what they had said was true regarding Atlas's age, but there were other things that he knew were most definitely not true. He remembered feeling doubtful for a moment during that conversation, and maybe Atlas saw.

Bucky was pulled from his thoughts as Steve kicked Atlas to the ground, she grunted in pain as Steve pulled one of her arms behind her back. She quickly tapped out, knowing that the position she was in was unescapable - especially in her mental state. Steve quickly let go of Atlas and stood up while Atlas laid on the floor for a few moments, catching her breath and waiting for the ache in her arm to fade.

Natasha walked away from Bucky and over to Tony. She had told him something and Tony nodded in agreement. The Black Widow walked back over to Bucky and smirked. She nodded towards the sparring mats, towards Atlas. "You're up," she said.

"Let's get Atlas and Bucky," Tony said to everyone in the room.

Bucky stepped up onto the sparring mats. "You've gotta be shitting me," Atlas muttered as she sat up from her spot on the ground. Bucky smirked to himself as he barely heard her. He moved in front of her and offered his hand for her to take. Atlas sighed before she took Bucky's hand and hoisted herself up off the ground.