I smiled as I switched the safety on and laid the gun onto the metal table next to me. I watched as Clint pushed a button and the target zoomed towards me…the whirring sound had become so familiar the last two weeks. I glanced over at my teacher and saw him swell with pride; a wide smile on his face as it finally came to stop in front of us. He passed it to me and I let my fingers slip in the jagged holes perforating the paper. The satisfaction I felt when I saw each shot had pierced the head and chest of my target was astonishing.

I looked up from the paper in my hand when I felt a pat on my shoulder and saw Clint nodding approvingly at me, "Well…I think you can officially say you know how to fire a weapon. How does the weight of it feel?" he asked, gesturing to the gun now lying on the table.

"Great…much better than the ones we have been using. The kickback isn't too bad either. Of all the guns we've practiced with the last couple of weeks, this is the first one that feels completely comfortable in my hands" I told him.

I saw him nod, a small smile creeping onto his face as he reached down to pick up the gun. He made sure the gun was completely cleared and the safety was on before he placed it back into its case. He snapped the clamps down on the gray case and then held it out to me, "I'm glad you like it because I bought it for you...go ahead take it" he told me.

"...Clint…I can't accept this, it's too much…" I said, taking the case in my hands as I looked up at him.

He put his hand up to stop me, "It's a gift Eden…I insist. Let's just say it's a thank you for being such a good student and putting up with me the last two weeks….I realize that I, uh…have a tendency to be a little intense at times. Besides, I'll feel better knowing you have it…just in case"

I laughed at his remark about him being a little intense at times. Clint was a perfectionist, evident by his flawless precision with his bow. I know the first day we met to train, I probably initially made him regret agreeing to my request. I had never fired a gun before…never even held one in my hands, but I was eager to learn. Our first hour of weapons training that day was spent just getting me comfortable holding the gun and then perfecting my stance. He never even let me fire a single shot that day and it had quickly frustrated me. Clint had gently reminded me that I agreed to do things his way.

On day two, I had hit the target the first time I shot…maybe not exactly where I had aimed for but close enough that I had gotten a smile out of Clint….he declared me a natural. That day he showed me how to aim properly…how to breathe out slowly as I squeezed the trigger. Each day after that, he had me practice on a different gun so that I could get use to firing different calibers and models….we had even spent a day shooting a few different rifles.

I heard Clint say, "It's a Sig Sauer P226 9mm pistol. I've been having you practice with different guns so I could see which ones suited you best…I thought this one would be a good fit for you"

I ran my hand over the case in my hand, "You picked out the perfect one….thank you" I said, leaning forward to give him a quick one armed hug, "I'll have to put it someplace where Bucky won't be able to find it"

Clint sighed, "Or you could just tell him the truth Eden" he said softly.

I shook my head, "I've almost told him a couple of different times. He's just been acting so differently lately Clint. I don't want to worry him"

"Different how?" Clint asked inquisitively.

I thought about how peculiar Bucky had been behaving lately. He had been strangely over protective the last two weeks…even more so than usual. Anytime I started to leave the apartment to go run an errand or pick up something, Bucky would insist on coming with me or doing it himself. He wouldn't let me out of his sight for any period of time. At first I thought I was just being paranoid because of the secret I was keeping from him but I was pretty confident now that there was something up with him. Every time I asked him about it, he would just act like he didn't know what I was talking about.

I told him about how odd Bucky had been acting, watching his reaction closely as I talked. Clint was tough to read but I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes as I described Bucky's recent behavior.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"I think that you and Bucky need to sit down and have a long talk Eden" he said seriously.

I eyed him curiously, "What are you not telling me Clint? You know something, don't you?"

He shook his head, "Talk to him" he said, a tone of finality in his voice "Come on, weapon training is over, it's time to move to the mat and spar. Put your gun in your duffel bag and go change" he said.

I sighed in frustration but did as he asked. Clint knew what was going but he wasn't going to share…I would have to get it out of Bucky. I tucked the gun case at the bottom of my duffel bag and stepped into the small locker room off the training room to change into my workout clothes. Clint was waiting for me on the mat when I walked out. I sat my duffel bag to the side and made my way over to him.

I had a big smile on my face as I stepped onto the mat…I enjoyed this more anything. Clint had been impressed with how fast of a learner I was…sure, I hadn't run consistently in a couple of months but I was far from out of shape. I was light and quick on my feet and once he showed me a move, I was able to copy him. If someone grabbed me from behind, I now knew how to get out of their grasp and successfully break their nose in the process….that was the first thing he showed me. He taught me the best way to throw a punch and how to get even the biggest man off his feet….a quick kick to the knee is all I would need.

Clint would practice attacking me and then tell me what to do to get out of each situation…we would run through it several times until I felt confident that I had it down before moving to the next scenario.

"Today, I want to work on how to defend yourself against someone who has a knife" he said, watching me carefully to see how I would react. My thoughts immediately went to the night Lister had attacked me in my apartment…the memory of the way the cold metal had felt when it sliced through my skin caused the hair on the back of my neck to raise.

I nodded, "Okay"

He walked over to a small table and pulled off a large knife…he walked over to me to show it to me, "It's dull Eden…we use these to practice with so no one can get hurt" he said.

I reached out to slide my finger over the edge, the blade was cold and smooth but he was right about how dull it was…it would not draw blood from me. Once he saw that I was comfortable he told me to take my place on the mat.

"I want you to think back to that night Eden…the night he attacked you. You said he held you down and had the knife in one hand, right?" he said carefully.

"Right…he had my arms pinned down with one arm…he was on top of me…the knife…it was…it was in his other hand" I whispered, closing my eyes so I could think back to that night…the feeling of helplessness he caused me to feel suddenly making me angry.

I opened my eyes and knew by the expression on Clint's face that he could see the rage in them…he had done this several times in the past couple of weeks to get a rise out of me. Clint said I fought better when I had that fire lit inside of me.

"You ready?" he asked.

I nodded my head at him and lay down on the mat so I could get in position. Clint kneeled down beside me, careful not to move too fast until he was sure I was comfortable. I put my arms above my head and gave him a look to let him know he could proceed. He took a deep breath and then put one leg over my body so he could straddle my waist before putting one hand onto my wrists to hold them in place on the mat. I sat as still as possible, my eyes closed tightly as I felt the panic start to rise in me…it felt too familiar…too much like that night.

It's just Clint…it's not him…not Lister. Clint won't hurt you!

Clint must have felt how tense I had suddenly become, "We don't have to do this Eden…just say the word and I'll move"

I shook my head and swallowed hard, "No, it's fine. Just tell me…how could I…how do I get out of this?"

Clint proceeded to show me different ways to get an attacker off of me without getting myself stabbed or cut. Once I had successfully managed to do each one a few times, he helped me up off the mat.

"Damn, that last one was perfect Eden. I think even Natasha would be impressed…she is the one who showed me that move" he smiled.

"Well, I have a long way to go before I'm anywhere near her level but I appreciate the compliment" I laughed.

"I think you're ready to move on to something different. How about we do a little freestyle sparring? I want you to really try and hit me, no holding back" he insisted.

"No holding back? What if I hit you?" I asked quickly.

He looked at me skeptically, "No offense Eden, I want you to try and hit me…I have no intention of actually letting you though"

I smiled cockily, "You may have no intention but that doesn't mean I won't succeed…you're a pretty good teacher, I might surprise you"

He grinned at my sudden boldness, "I'll take my chances…no holding back. I want you to really fight me. I'm going to really come after you…I promise I won't hit you. Bucky would go nuts if you came home with bruises or worse yet a black eye"

I didn't want to imagine Bucky's reaction to me coming home to find me hurt…he would make me tell him what happened and my secret would be exposed.

We took our places on the mat and faced each other. He lunged for me first and I dodged out of the way quickly, smiling at his nod of approval. Instead of waiting for him to make the first move again, I rushed him and threw a right hook which he quickly blocked. He looked surprised for a moment, "Nice" That one word gave me a burst of confidence and put everything I had into sparring with him.

We went back and forth like that for a while, he was careful not to throw me around too hard. He would never follow through with a punch…he always stopped before he landed it, pausing long enough to let me know what would have happened if he had. He swept my feet out front under me and I landed hard on the mat…he lunged at me, fist raised like he was going to hit me and I rolled quickly out of the way. He was smiling when I jumped to my feet to face him again, "Excellent….you're getting…"

I cut him off as I lunged at him again…I nearly laughed at the surprise on his face when I pulled my arm back in preparation for a blow to his stomach…I stopped before I landed the blow. He promptly swept my legs out from under me again and I hit the mat harder this time but the shocked look on his face was worth having the wind knocked out of me.

I was breathing hard when I pulled myself off the mat and faced him. I felt a little better when I saw that he was a bit out of breath too.

"I said don't hold back Eden" he instructed.

"Did you…" deep breath "…want me…" deep breath "….to punch you…." deep breath "…in the stomach?" I panted.

"I'm a skilled fighter Eden and you are only a beginner…if I let you land a blow, then I deserve whatever pain you cause…makes me remember to not get so cocky" he said, reaching for his water bottle on the floor to take a sip.

I nodded and reached for my own water to take a drink.

"Okay, our time is almost up. How about we go one more round and call it a day. Care to make a bet?" he asked.

I eyed him suspiciously, "Like what?"

"First one to get the other on their back wins….loser pays for lunch" he said with a smile.

Clint and I had gone to lunch a few times in the last couple of weeks after my training was over. He was quiet and reserved at first but over time, he had started to open up a little and I found holding a conversation with him was easy.

"Deal" I said, placing my water bottle back down beside the mat and picking up the towel beside it to wipe my sweaty face. It was getting hot in the training room…I was wearing a tank top underneath my shirt it so I reached down and pulled it off so I could cool off a little.

I stepped back on the mat to face Clint. He watched me carefully as I walked around the mat. I knew the only way I was going to win this bet was to take him by surprise.

He said not to hold back Eden…give him everything you got.

I fake a step toward him and chuckled when he stepped back in anticipation. I cocked an eyebrow at him and shot him a smug smile. He pointed at me, "Don't get too cocky"

I lunged for him for real this time and threw a punch which he easily blocked. I ducked when he tried to retaliate and moved away from him. We started to really get into it…punching, blocking, dodging blows. I was ready to end this and win the bet. Clint got ahold of my arm and wrenched it behind my back, causing me to gasp in pain. I relaxed against him like he had shown me and then countered his attack, freeing myself from his grasp. I turned quickly and reared my arm back to attempt a right hook, knowing he was going to block it…my plan was to sweep his feet out from under him as soon as he raised his arm to block the blow. The moment I threw my punch, Clint got distracted and looked to his left. My fist connected with his face exactly like it was meant to. I was surprised but instead of stopping to see if he was okay, I followed through with the rest of plan and swept his feet out from under him. The bet was over the moment his back hit the mat…I quickly kneeled down beside him and raised my fist.

He was looking to the left but turned to face me with a shocked look in his eyes when he heard me laugh, "You said not to hold back…looks like I win….hope you're ready to buy me lunch, I'm starving"

He shook his head, "…I'm sorry Eden" he whispered before glancing back to his left. I turned my head to see what he kept staring at. My heart sank when I saw Bucky standing in the middle of the training room, halfway between the exit and us.

Fuck!

I saw his fists clenched tightly by his side. Clint and I both stood up quickly the moment he started angrily stalking towards us. His eyes were dark and dangerous and they were not focused on me…he was glaring in Clint's direction.

Oh shit!

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clint's body tense up beside me…Bucky was zeroing in on him and I did the only thing I could do…I stepped in front of Clint and put my hands out to stop Bucky.

"Stop" I demanded. Cold eyes that were full of fury stared down at my hands…I had them planted firmly on his muscled chest, keeping him at a distance. I could feel his heart racing under my fingertips…his body was so damn tense.

He tried to step to the side and go around me but I moved in front of him again and placed my hands back on his chest.

"Stop" I said it again, softer this time, pleading with him. I slid one hand up his chest and rested it on his cheek. He shook his head angrily at my touch…it hurt my feelings a bit but I kept my hand there, "Look at me" I demanded. He ignored me and kept glaring at Clint, "Look at me dammit!" I said, louder this time.

He finally looked down at me, "Get your hands off of me" he said coldly.