Dancing With Our Hands Tied- Natasha Romanoff

04- relax

"Untouchable, burning brighter than the sun
And when you're close, I feel like coming undone"- Untouchable

Quinn

Nothing happened in the kitchen. Natasha just helped me complete a useless chore. And yet, I can't stop thinking about the way she was looking at me. But I needed to get it out of my head.

Especially considering I was waking into the gym to train with her. The only comforting thought was that she was going to ignore me like she did the last time we trained together.

When I pushed the heavy door open, Natasha turned in my direction as she walked across a large mat.

"Morning." I re-adjusted the water bottle in my arm.

She nodded to me and continued her way to the pull up bar. Right ignoring me. I walked up to the punching bag and began to wrap my hand.

"Where's the red lipstick?" Natasha asked while doing a few upper body stretches.

"Figured I should skip it, considering I'm about to get all sweaty." I moved on to wrapping my other hand.

"A shame." She muttered before turning around and beginning her pull ups.

For about 25 minutes, I practiced with the punching bag, trying to ignore that Natasha kept glancing at me, and the way I could see the muscles in her back contracting through her tank top. Eventually she dropped down from the bar and turned to stare while she drank some water.

"You're too stiff." She eventually commented.

"No I'm not." I said defensively as if I could possibly know more than her.

She sighed and walked towards me, stopping when she was right behind me. I took in a shaky breath. I tried to turn around but she stopped me. Natasha placed her hands lightly around my waist, slowly she dragged them down until they were on my hips.

"Relax your hips." She whispered into my ear. I could feel her warm breath on the back of my neck. When I followed her instruction, I leaned against her hip and thigh. I had to put all my focus into repressing the shiver that was running down my spine. "Good." She whispered again. She turned her head and her nose brushed against the shell of my ear.

Heat was growing up my neck to my forehead. Natasha's thumbs rubbed in their place. Every time she took a breath her chest hit against my back.

"Don't focus so much on the form." She looked back towards the punching bag. "In the field, perfect form won't help you. You need to be able to focus on the opponent."

Her hands tighten around my hips before letting go. She took a step back and returned to the pull up bar. I try my best to continue focusing working out and not on the warmth left behind on my hips.

*****

"Take your shoes off before stepping onto the mat." Natasha reminded me when I walked onto the large black mat.

"Right." I slipped off my shoes and pushed them off the mat. Natasha and I met in the middle and prepared for a spar.

She came toward me first, throwing a kick towards me which I barely missed. I responded with with a punch that skimmed her shoulder. Using the momentum of my missed punch, Natasha kicked my feet out from under me. My back hit the mat and I let out a loud sigh.

"Ouch." I muttered under my breath, and I got back to my feet.

"You alright blondie?" A slight smirk pulled at Natasha's lips.

"Yeah." I prepared for a second round.

This time I moved towards her with a kick, which she expertly dodged. She kicked back, landing right in my lower ribs. I coughed slightly and threw a punch. Her hands wrapped around my wrist, turning my arm until it was behind my back, leaving my unable to move.

For the second time in the span of an hour, my back was pressed against Natasha's chest.

"I already told you this," She whispered harshly, her breath hitting the back of my neck. "relax your hips." She let go of my arm with a slight push.

When we meet in the center of the mat again, there is an intense look in her eyes. It is the same scary predator eyes she always uses with me.

She came towards me, kicking me in the same spot as the round before. Before I could get a chance to rebuttal, she tried to kick my feet out from under me. I took a step back to avoid her attack. I kicked my foot up, trying to hit her abdomen, but she caught my ankle. With a sharp tug, she pulled me off my balance. Once I was on my back, she let go of my foot.

"That was a little better." Natasha moved until she had a foot next of each of my hips. She outstretched a hand towards me.

Maybe it was the fact I was clearly losing, or her the mocking look in her eyes. But I felt that familiar warmth builds up inside me. So, before I could think, I was acting on my impulses.

I kicked my feet up, hooking them on her hips and pulling her to the ground. When she hit the ground, I quickly sat up and got on top of her, straddling her hips. I tried to grab a hold of her wrists, but she broke free. Her hands moved up to my ribs and pushed my off of her. She immediately got up, moving until she was on top of me, her knee pressing onto my chest.

"That's more like it." She said slightly out of breath.

I tried to move out from underneath her knee, but she just pushed down more, keeping me in my place. The heat that was building up in my chest was now spreading down my back.

"You look like you want me dead." She moved her knee of my chest and sat down beside me.

"I don't." I sat up, rubbing my hands on the back of my neck to try and cool myself down. "I just get . . . worked up sometimes." I explained vaguely while avoiding her stare.

"Hmm." She nodded to herself. "That was better, you relaxed your hips. Of course, it was after I threw you on your back."

"Ha." I mocked as I stood up and picked up my bottle of water. "I think you bruised a couple ribs." I rubbed my side while taking a sip of water.

"I didn't kick you that hard." She stood up and walked off the edge of the mat. "We can train again tomorrow; I don't trust Sam to give you good advice." She grabbed her water and walked out of gym before I could respond.

So... she didn't ignore me.

****