Pulling on the white shirt he always wore, he headed through the hallways to the gym. It was surprisingly empty where he was at; it must've been a slow day at SHIELD. Only an intern or two passed by him. Steve stopped by the door to reach over and tie his shoe that was slowly becoming undone when he heard grunts and kicks coming from the gym.
Holding his head up to listen better, he waited a few seconds before finishing the knot and going inside. He peeked his head around and saw a small figure punching and kicking furiously at a dummy. It was her. His heartbeat seemed to quicken as he watched her fight the dummy. She was giving it all she had. Her arms and legs seemed to be moving faster than the sound of the impact; as one hit would ring out, her leg would already be kicking its side. She stopped for a moment, breathing heavily and pulling her back, wiping her sweaty face with the back of her hand. Getting back into fighting position, she threw an arm out again, swinging her leg out and knocking it over as she twirled through the air.
Something about the way she fought was graceful. While others fought in rougher and grittier ways, the way she balanced herself on her feet and timed everything just right seemed as if it was almost rehearsed, like she knew exactly what was going to happen.
Steve felt his face go hot again as he realized he shouldn't be watching. He wondered to himself if he should just announce he was there and if he could join her, but he didn't know if that was okay or not. Engrossed in his little internal battle, he almost didn't hear her.
"I can see you, you know."
He flinched as her voice pierced through his thoughts. She wasn't looking at him; instead, she was punching at the dummy that was now standing upright again. Her hits were much slower this time. She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "Why are you here?"
"I was just going to practice."
The small grin from lunch came back to her lips. "Feel free to join. I was just finishing up."
He merely nodded, watching her as bent over to grab a water bottle a few feet away from where she was previously standing. He observed the way her clothes fit around her; it was strange seeing her in an outfit other than the SHIELD uniform. Her tank top still squeezed her waist, flaunting her curves in the same way her uniform did, but it was much looser at the top, the fabric bunched up at her shoulders. His eyes moved down to her legs; everything under her gym shorts was bare. He wasn't used to seeing her legs, but they were strong and muscular, and he knew that she could take anyone down, no matter what her size.
"Are you going to work out?"
He shook away his thoughts once again and looked at her. Inquiry was displayed on her face, but humor was in her eyes, as if she knew what he was thinking about and she was used to it.
"Yeah," he answered. He moved towards the mat as she left. Glancing at him one last time, she left. He could've sworn he saw a smirk on her lips.
