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-Ecorley

Eden POV

When we had stepped onto the mat and faced each other, everything else in my head went silent and I only focused on the task at hand: take him down!

Our first round had started just like it always had...with Clint simply saying, "Begin"

Before he had a chance to even make a move, I took two bold steps forward. Clint reached his right arm out to grab me and with speed I didn't know I possessed, I snatched his wrist with my left hand and twisted it until I heard him yelp in pain. My right foot kicked out and connected with his left shin, bringing him down onto one knee. I released his left wrist and swung my fist, executing a perfect right hook across his cheek. He never had a chance. I had taken him down in 10 seconds flat...a record time for me.

Clint raised his hand to his face and rubbed the cheek where my fist had made contact. He looked up at me in disbelief but I saw the small, proud smile on his lips. Usually, getting that smile from Clint was the most gratifying part of my training each day. It meant that I had done something good and I always felt a surge of pride...it fed my slightly over inflated ego. Today was different. Training was no longer about getting a gold star or a pat on the head. It was about learning to survive. It was about learning to protect the ones I loved.

I took two steps back and reset my position, ready to go on to round two. Clint still sat on the mat looking up at me expectantly, waiting for my usual cocky retort. I only said one word.

"Again"

It came out sounding cold and angry, so unlike me...an almost unrecognizable voice coming from my lips. I didn't let the shock I felt show on my face because I knew what it was. The fury I had felt last night, all the anger I had built up and then released in one single blow against that man with the gun, it was back! I thought it was all gone, used up in my time of need and now lost to me forever. I was wrong. Standing there on that mat, I felt that spark. I knew it was still there, deep inside of me, just waiting for the time to come when it would rear its ugly head again. As frightening as it was to feel that darkness in me, it was also oddly comforting. It had been my shield last night. It had been my weapon. It could be both those things again.

The war is coming Eden. Soon.

Clint stared at me in surprise for a moment before giving me a sharp nod and lifting himself from the mat to face me again. This time he stood much farther away from me, a good 12 feet of distance between us.

"Begin"

The word had barely left his mouth before my instincts kicked in. Once again, everything in my head went quiet and I took off, closing distance between us in a sprint. I watched Clint's body tense up the moment I went for him. He stood in front of me, waiting to see where this was going and prepared to defend himself. Once I was over halfway to him, I fell to the mat, slipping on my hip and elbow the rest of the way and kicking his legs out from under him. It was a daring move, one I had never used before and something he never expected. Clint landed on his back and rolled out of the way before I could land another hit. We both leapt up, facing each other again. I gritted my teeth and launched myself at him once more. I threw my right shoulder into his stomach, the force pushing him back a couple of feet before he fell onto his back once again. He used the momentum of his fall to roll us both over with him landing on top of me. He gave me a light punch in the stomach and then pressed his right forearm across my shoulders, pinning me in place. Before he could declare the round over and himself the winner, I raised my leg and hooked it around his neck, cutting off his air supply. His arm left my shoulders and I raised myself up enough to grab the back of his head with my left hand and deliver a punch to his face with my right. The hit knocked him back to the mat and I held onto him with my left hand, holding his head tightly. The force of his fall pulled me up until I was on top of him. As we had fallen, I slid my leg from his neck and moved so that when we landed my knee was pressed firmly into his chest. I raised my fist over his face and let it stay there hovering in the air, frozen in place. I didn't have to take the hit, Clint already knew the round was over and I was the winner.

Where the hell did that come from Eden?

I could feel him breathing heavily under my weight so I rolled off of him and got back to my feet. I stood over him, watching as his chest heaved up and down from the exertion of the round. I hadn't even broken a sweat and my breathing was still perfectly controlled. I didn't like the look he was suddenly giving me. This one wasn't a smile of pride. No, it was a look of concern.

Great! Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

I reached my hand out to him and forced a small smile on my face. He took my hand tentatively and allowed me help him up. As soon as he was on his feet, I turned my back to him and walked away a few steps, going over in my head what had just happened.

"Eden..." he began.

"Not a word Clint. I need this" I said, not bothering to turn around.

I heard him give a soft sigh and start again, "Eden..."

I cut him off quickly, "Let's go again" I said, turning to face him finally and moving back to my position on the mat. I didn't want to hear what he had to say. All I wanted to do right now was train and I was dead set on doing just that.

I saw his jaw twitch angrily and I knew he was reaching his limit. Clint cared about me and because of that, he let me push him far more than he would let anyone else. I also knew however, that his feelings for me would only allow him to extend that courtesy to me for so long, eventually enough would be enough.

"I understand Eden" he said, still trying to remain patient with me.

"Do you?" I challenged.

His eyes narrowed suddenly and I knew I had went too far, "You know I do" he said angrily.

I knew he was referring to the incident with Loki. It was something Clint didn't like to talk about very often and I had been surprised when he had opened up to be about it at lunch a few weeks ago. He spoke of the guilt he had felt afterwards...the shame of knowing that so many people had died by his hands. He was powerless to stop it at that time so he really couldn't blame himself but I knew what kind of man Clint Barton was. None of it was his fault but a tiny part of him still believed he should have been able to stop himself, should have been able to fight Loki for control of his mind and body. It was a feeling I shared with him after everything that had happened last night...I could finally understand a little of what Clint was feeling.

Because he was my friend and because he was one of the last people I would ever want to hurt, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down before speaking. I didn't want to lash out at him.

I said the only thing I could to keep from ending our session right then and there.

"If you understand, then please do this for me" I said.

I didn't beg. My voice wasn't pleading. I said it plainly and quietly. I said it with the hope that it would be enough to get him off my back and let us get back to training.

Clint stared at me for a full 10 seconds before he finally nodded his head, "Let's go again"

I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding and returned his nod, relieved that he didn't put up a fight.

For the next hour, I did things I didn't know I was capable of...fought in ways I didn't know were possible. I focused all my energy on one single thing: training to fight. I cleared my mind, becoming more and more comfortable with the silence and letting my body run on pure instinct. There were no distractions. There was just me and Clint and my determination to prepare myself for what was coming.

Round after round we went, each time getting more intense as the time passed. Clint, who had always held back just a little so not to hurt me and incur Bucky's wrath, finally started to give me his all. It was more challenging and I could see Clint was growing exceedingly more comfortable with the punches he was throwing at me. The first few times his hits connected with their intended targets, I could see his hesitation. Once he saw that I was actually blocking more hits than I was taking from him, he lightened up and got just as intense as me.

Clint and I had always practiced in a relatively small area that was covered with padded mats; the rule was to stay within those bounds. As we progressed more with our fighting, we eventually began to extend beyond the limits of our arena until finally Clint called a time out and rolled up the mats, shoving them to the side so we had a much larger area to spar. I knew he was testing me...seeing how far I willing to take this.

I stood in front of him again, my feet now stepping on solid ground instead of the cushiness of the mat. Falling to the ground would hurt more now but the pain was something I needed to learn. When the war came, there would be no safety mats to keep me from getting hurt.

"Begin" he said.

We traded a few blows moving around our larger training area as the fight continued. Back and forth we went, blocking and punching with the goal of besting the other. This round was going on for much longer than the previous ones and I was finally ready to end it. Clint had given me a particular hard punch to the stomach and then maneuvered himself behind me, reaching his arms around and grabbing me tightly at the neck. He expected me to head butt him and I felt him move his face and neck further away to keep me from doing so. Instead, I reached over with my left arm and grabbed his right wrist, pulling it from my neck and twisting it. I turned my body around, ducking under his extended arm and punching him hard in the stomach with my left fist. As he recovered, I jumped up high and kicked both feet into his chest. As I fell back to the hard floor, I raised my hands above head to take the force of the fall and flipped myself up into a standing position. Clint looked from me to the floor in shock. I used the distraction to kick him in the leg and bring him down to one knee. I rotated my body counterclockwise and spun on my heel, turning around to execute a perfect roundhouse kick across his face and knocking him to the ground.

After that, Clint declared it was time to try something different. He left the training room and returned moments later with two cases I was very familiar with. One held the wooden fighting sticks we had practiced with before. The other case held the knives we often used, both the dull practice ones and the sharpened ones we used to throw at targets.

He set them both on the ground and motioned to them, "Which one?" he asked.

I eyed him curiously, raising my brow at him. He rolled his eyes at me but smiled, "Worried?"

The seriousness I had been feeling all day broke momentarily and I let out a chuckle, "Worried for you? Absolutely! Fighting sticks" I said, making my choice.

He nodded his head and gave me a grin, "Fighting sticks it is then"

He opened the case and handed me two of the short wooden sticks before choosing two for himself.

"Go easy on me" he said as he walked over to take his spot.

I flipped the sticks expertly in my hands, familiarizing myself once again with the smoothness of the wood and gave Clint a wink, "I won't"

"Figures" he muttered as I made my way to stand in front of him. I took a position and raised both arms in a fighting stance in preparation.

"Begin" he said.

I rolled my shoulders back and cracked my neck before taking a step towards him. For the next few minutes all that could be heard was the clack of the sticks against each other and sharp intakes of breath as the wood made contact with flesh.

We were moving around the room, no longer confined to the boundaries we had previously set for ourselves. I connected a rather hard blow to his forearm, knocking the stick in his left arm to the floor which I quickly kicked away from him. It was still skidding across the floor when Clint lunged at me, raising his remaining stick above his head. The weapon was whistling in the air as it raced towards me. I threw my hands up, effectively blocking his lethal blow by crossing my sticks and catching his between them. The force of his blow caused me to lose my grip on the stick in my right hand and it clattered to the floor, rolling away.

I switched my remaining weapon to my right hand and advanced on Clint. He planted his feet firmly on the floor and waited for me to make a move. I lifted my stick to attack and watched as Clint raised his to block. When the wood smacked together, I shifted my body and swung my left fist around to punch him in the face. The hit caused him to take a step back and I moved forward, raising my foot and kicking him in the stomach. He stumbled back but managed to catch himself before he fell to the floor. I tried to keep the momentum going and raced towards him again.

He shifted his body to the side and avoided the blow I had intended for his stomach. He countered with his own hit and nailed me in my right arm. The wooden stick sent a sharp tingling pain down my limb and I dropped my weapon. Clint was looking at me triumphantly for a moment before he saw that I wasn't ready to give up. I stepped forward and lifted my leg high in the air to kick his right arm, causing him to release the stick and let it fly. He took a step back and clutched his arm, watching as his weapon fell towards my open palm. I caught it in my right hand and faced him again, taking a fighting stance.

He held up his hands in defeat and nodded his head at me, "Good job"

I wasn't ready for this to end though and I tossed his stick to the side and gave him a long, hard look. I didn't need a weapon to beat him and I was willing to fight fair...if he didn't have a weapon, I would simply give up mine. My mind was racing and all I could think about was my next move would be.

"We aren't finished yet" I said, clenching my jaw.

I saw the confusion in his eyes but disregarded it as I once again stalked towards him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Break time" he said, retreating back a few steps. I stopped walking towards him and dropped my arms, suddenly realizing what I was doing.

Enough is enough Eden...settle down!

"Sorry...got a little too into it I guess" I said, relaxing my body and taking a few tentative steps towards him. He nodded his head and lowered his hands as I approached.

We both grabbed our water bottles and made our way over to the rolled up mats, taking a seat on the floor and leaning our backs against them.

"Well you weren't lying when you said you weren't going to take it easy on me" he said, twisting his arm around to examine a red welt I had caused.

I swallowed the mouthful of water I had just taken but said nothing.

"I've taught you a lot in the last few weeks Eden..." he said, glancing over at me once before going back to examining his muscled arms, "...but most of what I've seen today, I know Nat and I didn't teach you. Care to explain?"

I honestly couldn't even begin explain it to him because truthfully, I had no idea myself. I had never taken karate. I had never taken a self-defense class. I had never even been in a fight growing up. In fact, before meeting Bucky, the only fighting I had ever seen was while watching television and eating Pringles on my couch late at night. It made absolutely no sense that I was able to instinctually know what to do and how to move. Director Fury might have been right...I may have missed my true calling in life. Bucky might not want to believe it, may not want it to be true, but there was no denying that I had did have the skills to be a SHIELD agent. I was starting to think that maybe it had always been there, something I had kept buried deep inside. Maybe it only took the threat of losing everything, of losing Bucky, to bring it to the surface. As much as I wanted to talk to Clint about it, I knew it was better to keep it to myself for now. Clint might not be able to understand...Bucky certainly wouldn't. I didn't want them worrying about me.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know Clint, it just happens. I can't explain it"

That unsure look appeared on his face...the exact same one I had seen on Bucky's face this morning. It was hard enough seeing it on my boyfriend's face; I didn't need to see it from Clint too.

"I'm just that good I guess" I said it jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood a little. Clint gave me a half-hearted smile but dropped the subject, knowing I didn't want to discuss it any further.

He stood up suddenly, walking over to collect the discarded wooden sticks that were spread over the room. I watched as he placed them back into the case carefully before shutting it.

"I think I've had enough of getting my ass kicked today. I'm going to put these up and then we can work with the knives. Okay?" he asked.

It wasn't. I wanted to fight. I needed to fight. I knew the last thing I could do right now is argue with him though so I just gave him a firm nod before standing up and walking over to the case holding the knives.

I placed the silver case onto a small table and began to open it, pulling out the knives and laying them out in a straight line. I could hear Clint making his way to the door of the training room and I turned to look at him. He had reached the door and stopped, glancing once over his shoulder at me, that unmistakable look of concern still etched on his face. For some reason, a surge of irritation flowed in me. I was rapidly getting tired of both him and Bucky looking at me like that. Bucky thought I was going to fall apart at any moment and Clint...well, I wasn't exactly sure what Clint was thinking right now.

Scared for me? Maybe. Why though?

Whatever the look was, I knew it wasn't good.

Stop worrying about it Eden. Let them think what they want. All you have to focus on is becoming stronger...becoming better.

I locked eyes with Clint and held his gaze before reaching down to pick up a throwing knife. Without looking at the target, I reared my arm back and threw it with so much force the resounding thunk of the metal piercing the wood echoed through the room. Clint looked from me to the target and I followed his gaze. The knife was directly in the center of the target, a perfect throw.

Without a word, he opened the door and left, closing it quietly behind him. I knew I had unnerved him but for the moment I didn't care. He and Bucky would both learn soon enough that they didn't have to worry about me.

I picked up another knife, flipping it quickly in my hands before flinging it towards the target, making another solid hit in the wood. It didn't provide as much satisfaction as fighting did but I would take what I could get. Clint returned moments later and made his way over to me. He stood back and watched me throw another knife before he spoke up.

"I ran into Bucky in the hallway" he said plainly.

I was reaching for the last knife on the table but froze at what he said next, "He wants you to spar with his trainee"

Now that was absolutely the last thing I ever expected to hear. I picked up the knife and flipped it in my hands.

"Roland?" I asked, the surprise evident in my voice, "Why?"

I heard the hesitation in his voice, "He wants to see how you're doing?"

"Uh huh" I said, unconvinced. I was more than happy to spar some more...the only thing I was unsure of was if I really want to spar with Bucky's student

I watched as Clint walked over the mat and started to roll it back out.

"Leave it" I said, finally throwing that last knife and turning to face him.

Clint shook his head, "No. I'm already going to get my ass kicked for those welts there..."he said, gesturing to my arms, "...Bucky will be furious if he knows I let you fight without the mats"

I rolled my eyes but knew he was right. I looked down at my arms and was glad to see the red marks were slowly fading. Although we had fought hard today, I had come away pretty much unscathed. The only mark on me was the bruise on my back where Brent had pushed me into the bar top on Saturday.

It was getting hot in the training room so I reached up and unzipped my sweat shirt and threw it on the ground beside my water bottle. Clad only in my spandex work out pants and black sports bra, I made my way over to Clint and helped him get the mats back in place. I didn't want Bucky mad at him...especially after everything Clint had done for me.

"What did Bucky think of your new tattoo?" he asked as we waited for them to show up.

I gave him a genuine smile and thought back to this morning. When Bucky and I had finished making love in the shower this morning, we had watched each other's hair. In the chaos of the last couple of days, I had completely forgotten to tell him about it. It hadn't even occurred to me until I felt his fingers tracing along the line of music notes, careful not to touch it.

"Eden?" Clint said, waving his hand in front of my face.

I snapped back to reality and gave a chuckle, "He liked it" I said, shivering a little when I thought about the light kisses he had laid along my back.

The door to the training room suddenly opened and I turned to see Bucky walking in with Roland trailing behind him.

I placed my hand on my hip and smiled, "Speak of the devil" I said, turning to face the two men now making their way over to where Clint and I stood.

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BUCKY POV

I thought about what Clint had said as I made my way back to my own training room to get Roland.

"I've never seen her so dangerous"

Clint's words were still echoing in my head. I could use a lot of words to describe Eden: Beautiful, strong, brave, smart, loving...but dangerous was never an adjective I would pick for her. She was the kindest person I had ever met. The day I had told her about my past, she didn't look at me with fear in her eyes...she had looked at me with a face full of compassion. She was the kind of person who stood in front of the pet store and watched the puppies play with each other. I had seen her almost cry during a Hallmark commercial once. Those weren't the actions of a dangerous person. I knew dangerous people...hell, I was one of those people...Eden wasn't.

I entered my training area and found Roland exactly where I left him, patiently waiting for me to return. He looked surprised when I explained to him what we were about to do. I had never told him about Clint training Eden. I wanted my personal life to remain separate from my work and there was never really a need to tell him. He looked unsure as I finished explaining but I gave him a reassuring pat on the back and he returned it with a firm nod.

"Yes sir, I understand" he said.

He followed me back to the other training area in silence. When we reached the door to the Clint and Eden's room, I turned and gave him one last nod before opening the door.

I took a deep breath and walked in, Roland right on my heels. I swallowed hard when I saw Eden standing there. Her hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail and she wore tight black spandex pants and a matching sports bra.

I took a good long look at her, realizing right then how much she had changed since she began training with Clint. In my opinion, Eden had always been thin, even though I had heard her refer to herself many times as "squishy". After the last several weeks of intense training, she could no longer use that word to describe herself. Her stomach was now flat and hard and her arms were nothing but lean muscle and sinew. I had always found her beautiful but seeing her standing there like that, her hand on her hip and that sexy grin on her face, took my breath away.

"Speak of the devil" she said huskily, a wicked look on her face.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roland walk up to Clint to shake his hand and begin chatting with him.

Once I was sure they were engrossed in conversation, I made my way over to Eden, stopping right in front of her and leaning down to kiss her cheek gently.

"So I'm the devil now?" I asked coyly, reaching out and running my hand down her arms. I felt her shiver a bit under my touch and look up at me with those blue eyes of hers.

How could Clint ever describe her as dangerous? She's seems just fine.

She shrugged her shoulders and gave me a cheeky grin, "More or less" Her smiled faded as she looked over at my recruit, "Why do you want me to spar with him?" she asked.

What am I supposed to tell her?

The truth you idiot!

No, I don't want her to know how worried I am. Hearing Clint say she's preparing for war scares me shitless.

But there is a war coming...

It doesn't involve her!

It will old friend...it will. You know what's coming for us...for me. It's only a matter of time before Kaine finds what he is looking for...

SHUT UP!

"Bucky?" Eden said, reaching her hand out and touching my cheek softly, shaking me out of the argument going on inside my head.

I recovered quickly, "He hasn't been able to spar with anyone since Christine left. I thought it would be good practice for him"

I saw her lips tighten at the mention of my former student. I looked down to see her fists clenched tightly at her side and I lovingly reached down with my left hand to uncurl one fist and slip my metal fingers through hers. Her face relaxed into a smile as I raised our entwined fingers to my lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"You guys ready to fight?" I heard Clint say. I had been so into the moment with Eden that I hadn't even noticed him leave the room and return with those damn wooden fighting sticks.

I turned to see him and Roland both giving us knowing smiles.

I looked back at Eden and felt my blood run cold as I saw her smile fade and a look of seriousness suddenly appear. I noticed her eyes had darkened and her body had gone stiff. She pulled her fingers from mine and stepped away from me. As she started to walk past me, I grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. I could feel just how tense her body was under my touch.

"You okay?" I asked quietly so Clint and Roland couldn't hear.

Eden looked at my hand on her shoulder and then up to my face, "I'm fine Bucky" She didn't yank herself out of my grasp...she just pulled away gently and made her way over to where the two men were standing.

I turned around and caught Clint's eye, sharing a look with him. He was right, something was wrong with her...something was different. One moment she had been herself, my beautiful and sweet Eden. At the mention of fighting, a completely different person had appeared right before my eyes.

"I thought we could make this a little more interesting" Clint said, opening the case and glancing over at Eden. She gave him the barest of nods and then looked over at me, noticing the frown on my face.

Roland had looked down and was giving an appreciative nod, "Nice. Sergeant Barnes and I have worked with those several times"

"No" I said forcefully.

Three pairs of eyes landed on me.

Clint took a deep breath and held up his hands, "Look Bucky, I know you don't like it but Eden is more than..."

"No" I said it again, just as forcefully as before.

"Bucky!" Eden said angrily, "You don't get to decide what..."

I gritted my teeth and glared at her, "I...said...NO!"

She shut her mouth but returned my glare. I knew I would pay for it later but I just didn't think I could watch her taking hits from those things. I wouldn't be able to keep my temper under control and I didn't want to slip up and hurt Roland out of anger.

The case was left open but forgotten on the side of the mat.

As the two of them went to the mat and took their positions, I felt Clint come up beside me, "Sorry" he apologized. I looked over at him but said nothing. I gave him a nod and watched as he turned to face Eden and Roland.

"Ready?" he asked.

Roland nodded his head, "Yes sir" he said politely.

We both looked at Eden to see her eyes were locked on Roland.

"Eden?" Clint asked.

I cringed at the loud crack I heard when she tilted her head from side to side and popped her neck. She rolled her shoulders and then took a fighting stance.

"Ready" she said.

Clint let out a soft sigh, "Begin"

I realized as soon as the fight started what Clint had been talking about in the hallway. Eden was completely focused and in total control.

She took one step forward and reared her right arm back and hit Roland hard in the face...once, twice and then a third time. He stumbled back in shock, reaching up to touch his face and regain his composure. He glanced over at me nervously and I watched Eden follow his line of sight. I knew he was worried about incurring my wrath for hitting her but I gave him a quick nod, reassuring him that it was okay to proceed. He turned back to Eden and stepped forward, throwing a punch in her direction. She blocked the hit and returned one of her own, which Roland quickly blocked. The two of them went back and forth, taking random hits at each other and then blocking the attack that followed.

I was watching them carefully when I felt a nudge in my side. I glanced over at Clint before he leaned in, "She's toying with him" he whispered.

"What?" I said, grimacing as I saw Roland finally land a punch in Eden's stomach. I bit back my anger and looked over at Clint questioningly.

"She's toying with him Bucky" he repeated, "During our first round this morning, she took me down in 10 seconds. He nodded when he saw my eyes widen in surprise. Clint was a very experienced fighter in hand to hand combat. Hearing that bit of news made me watch Eden even more carefully. After observing her give him a few half-hearted punches, I knew he was right.

I wanted to see what she could really do but I also knew Eden would be pissed if we stopped the fight. I needed to get her riled up enough to make her really start going after Roland. I suddenly knew exactly what I needed to do.

I clapped my hands loudly, "Come on Roland, take her down. You got this!" I yelled.

Clint looked over at me with a knowing smile. He lowered his face so Eden wouldn't be able to see the grin while I continued to cheer on my recruit. Eden's eyes narrowed and I watched as her entire demeanor changed.

One moment they were fighting at a slow and steady pace and the next, Eden did exactly what Clint had described in the hallway...she kicked it up a notch.

The switch in her head flipped and she lunged at Roland with speed that even someone injected with the Super Soldier serum could appreciate. He reached for her and she grabbed his arm, giving it a twist before she rotated her body and threw her free elbow into his gut. She released his arm and reared her leg back for a hard kick to his face. Roland fell back to the mat and quickly scrambled to his feet. Eden gave him no time to recover. She ran at Roland and right before she reached him, she slipped to the mat and slid between his open legs, reaching up and punching him hard in the thigh. Roland let out a grunt of pain and fell to one knee. Eden was on her feet again, circling him like a shark out for blood.

"Get up" she spat out as she walked around him. She was completely oblivious to me and Clint standing there watching her. She was only focused on one thing at that moment: my trainee.

Roland looked up, his face suddenly contorted in anger. He now knew she had going easy on him at the beginning and he didn't appreciate it. He stood up and faced her, an even more determined look on his face.

"Don't hold back again" he said coldly, raising his fist in a fighting stance once again.

Eden let out a chuckle, "I won't", she promised.

Eden took a position and waited for Clint to give the signal.

"Begin"

Eden didn't lunge for him this time. In fact, they both stood perfectly still, staring each other down. I held my breath waiting for one of them to attack the other. It was Eden who made the first move but it wasn't what I expected. I watched Roland's body tense up as she calmly stepped to the side of the mat and pulled two of the fighting sticks from the case. She looked back at him and smiled before tossing him one which he caught easily.

"Eden" I warned.

She ignored me but Roland didn't...he glanced my way in uncertainty. I shook my head at him furiously.

"Don't look at him" Eden demanded.

Roland's eyes left mine and settled onto her. She flipped the stick in her hand expertly and smiled when he did the same.

I stepped forward to put a stop to it but felt Clint's hand on my shoulder. I turned to him, shaking with anger. He had been the one to pull those damn things out in the first place...this was his fault.

I grabbed his hand and yanked it away from my shoulder, "You son of a bitch...if she gets hurt I'm going to..."

The sound of wood hitting wood stopped me in mid-sentence and I turned to see the most incredible sight. Roland and Eden were going head to head, blocking each other's hits with lightning speed. I took a step forward again, determined to put an end to it before Eden really got hurt.

"Don't Bucky...you'll only make her angry" Clint said hurriedly. I stopped, knowing that what he said was the absolute truth. I bit back all my anger and planted my feet firmly on the ground, willing myself to stay still and endure the scene in front of me.

Each time Roland's stick made contact with Eden's skin, I felt a surge of anger hit me. I had to admit that Eden was very handy with those damn things. Her hands and body moved so fast that it was almost a blur. I could tell Roland was getting worn out but Eden showed no signs of tiring. In fact, as the fight progressed, she only got faster and her hits became harder.

When she finally knocked Roland's stick from his hand and kicked it away, I thought she would stop. I thought the fight would end. I was wrong. Instead of taking the win, she threw her own stick away from her and went after him again in hand to hand combat. Roland wasn't expecting it. She ran at him, using his knee to launch herself up and hook her leg around his neck. She threw her weight forward and flipped Roland onto his back. It was a move I had seen her use during her fight with Martson and Grayson but it still shocked me to witness her perform it. This was something the Black Widow had taught her last week and she executed it perfectly. She was now crouched on the floor in front of him, watching as he scrambled to his feet again. The look on her face is what scared the shit out of me. It was her face but the coldness I saw in her eyes was not something I ever wanted to see from her. I had seen more than enough.

"Stop this" I said to Clint softly.

He looked over at me, noticing the look on my face. He knew that I had seen what he had been talking about earlier in the hallway. He gave me an understanding nod and a pat on the back before turning to the mat.

"Enough" he said loudly.

It was like Eden's "dangerous" switch had been flipped off again. She stood up straight and walked forward to shake Roland's hand, giving him a genuine smile. He looked positively shocked for a second before finally returning her smile and taking her hand in his.

I looked over at Clint, flabbergasted at what I had just witnessed.

He walked over to me and leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Don't let her know"

"Don't let her know what?" I asked, still watching my girl in amazement and she chatted with her opponent.

"Don't let her know that what you just saw scared you shitless" he said. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing would come out so he continued, "I get it Bucky...it scares me too. She knows how to do things that even Nat and I don't. There's no logical explanation for it. Maybe Fury was right" he said.

"Right about what?" I asked, tearing my eyes from Eden and looking over at him.

He let out a long sigh and turned to glance at Eden, "Maybe she missed her calling in life...maybe she was meant for more..."

I was shaking my head in disbelief as he continued, "...maybe the two of you were always meant to meet that night on the bench..." he let his voice trail off as we stood there watching the two of them.

I swallowed hard and lowered my head. I had always known from the beginning that Eden was the one. Though it made no possible sense, especially since a lifetime should have separated us, I always knew she was the one I had been searching for over 70 years ago...before the war, before HYDRA.

Why?

Because you need her and she needs you...

But why?

Destiny my old friend.

Destiny?

She's meant to be your absolution Bucky...our absolution.

The words of the Winter Soldier echoed in my head and I looked up, catching Eden's eye. She smiled at me, one full of so much love and devotion...all for me.

We have to keep her safe now Bucky. We have to keep her out of the fight. We can't lose her.

We won't old friend...we won't!