For the Love of a Patriot || 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 ✔️ [#wattys 2018]

33 | No Instructions Required

~Let's Get It On~
~Marvin Gaye~

•••
May 26th.

One, two, three, four, five.

Breathe in.

One, two, three, four, five.

Breathe out.

"What is the purpose of this exercise?"

Endurance. Three, four, five.

Breathe in.

One, two, thre—

Lightning struck in my mind suddenly, a brilliant fluorescent lavender bomb exploding, catching me off guard.

I squeezed my eyes shut. My concentration was nearly knocked off course, as were my nikes on the extremely fast running track of the advanced treadmill.

"You must learn to concentrate."

Damn you Oya. I scowled, taking my final breaths before the timer went off.

I didn't even take the time to catch the breath I didn't need as I removed my oxygen mask with irritation.

"Congratulations." Bruce was looking down at his pad, surveying my vitals. He looked up. "Fifty-one miles per hour and you're not even sweating."

"That's because," I picked up my water bottle. "My sweat glands no longer work." I leaned against the counter.

"You're almost as fast as Steve on his good day." He grinned, inputting data.

"Mm," I muttered, taking a swig and lowering it from my mouth. "Thank you for the insult." I folded my arms. "Steve can run a mile in a minute and a second. If it takes me a minute and ten, then I'm obviously not trying hard enough." I shrugged.

"You think you can run faster than Steve?" Bruce raised a brow and I cracked a smile. "Wouldn't be hard."

"Oof." Bruce playfully blew his cheeks, turning around. "You can take that up with him."

I smirked. "Gladly," I said, tilting my head. "There's a ton I can do to tire him out."

The scientist was disgusted, turning back to give a distasteful expression. "That's most definitely not what I meant."

I snorted. "I know."

He rolled his eyes to try to get the image out of his head. "How's Oya doing." He changed the subject.