Because somehow, simply saying it doesn't feel like enough.

-E-

As she ruminated over her current predicament, a part of her subconsciously filing away the warmth of his chest flush against her, she couldn't stop cursing how unforgivingly tall he was. She'd attempted to pull away, but his arm was wrapped firmly around her back, gripping her wrists. With enough twisting, she might be able to break an arm free, but she needed something else on top of that plan, otherwise he'd simply recapture her wrist and would be on the lookout for more wrist-breaking-free actions in the future.

She was definitely too close to get a solid kick in. Besides, while that trick had worked once, she didn't think it would work again.

She jerked roughly away from him, the power behind the pull enough to cause him to step forwards to maintain his balance, while also roughly ripping her outer wrist free from his grasp. In the small moment where the space between them widened to an inch, she dropped downwards, using his hold on her other hand as an anchor while she slipped between his legs.

The thing about Running was that if one wanted to survive, one had to be adaptable, able to change tact at a moments notice, able to read the small movements that gave away actions a fraction of a second before they were executed.

Not for nothing had Ronon survived seven years as a Runner.

He dropped to his knees before she'd slid her chest through and found herself unceremoniously trapped beneath him. He grinned victoriously at her as he brought the rod to her throat in what was a perfectly executed capture. She was gracious enough to admit that he really had done a spectacular job.

But not for nothing had she survived twelve years as a Runner.

From this point onward, if he ever managed to pin her like this again, he'd know to sit on her waist and not her chest.

Her legs wrapped around his neck and yanked him backwards. The rod went flying and her wrist was freed as he grappled with her legs.

She also noticed the gym was packed. A wide circle had formed around them, shouting and whooping.

Ronon landed with a grunt and rolled over, which suited her just fine because now she was on top. Before she could do anything with her advantageous position however, the world slid beneath her. Or rather, she slid up Ronon's body as he yanked on her legs and rose.

She couldn't exactly get into a good position since her rear was behind his head and not resting against his chest.

She punched him in the soft spot of his back and he grunted. She did it again, harder, and he cursed.

A rod glinted on the ground, out of reach.

He let go of one of her legs, and with the suddenly freed limb, she kneed him hard while he grabbed her by her hips.

She realized what he was doing a fraction of a second before he did it.

Sure enough, her world was turned upside down as he effortlessly tossed her to the ground. Having anticipated the maneuver, she'd managed to twist herself such that she hit the ground rolling, grabbed the rod she'd spotted while hanging from his shoulders, and came to a rest on her knees.

She used the small moment where they both evaluated the other to eye Ronon appreciatively. As much as he looked like a lumbering tank, he had a certain graceful fluidity that made him a compelling opponent. Hopefully, he was finding beating her to be just as much of a challenge.

If the bright glint in his eyes was any indication, he was. He paced in front of her like a predator. For one ridiculous moment, she imagined that if he had a tail, it would be slashing through the air.

One of the abandoned rods lie behind him. She spun the rod in her hands and he used his foot to move the rod in front of him, his eyes never leaving hers. Unspoken challenge oozed off of him as if seeping out his pores.

He flipped the rod onto the tip of his other boot, still not breaking eye contact. She waited for him to step on the edge and flip it. He waited to see what she would do.

For a moment, neither of them moved, and the crowd around them was silent.

Then everything happened at once. His boot moved the fraction of an inch necessary to start the flip, and she spun the rod in her hand and threw it at him as if it were a knife. She ran at him half of a second after her throw, jumped, and double kicked him in the chest while he knocked the rod away. He staggered backwards and she retrieved the rod he'd been about to take and rose.

If he wanted a rod, he was going to have to work to get one.

She was starting to feel the strain of their extended sparring match and noticed, with some gratification, that Ronon was breathing a bit harder than normal.

He rushed her, undoubtedly recognizing that close quarter combat was the best bet to take her down easily. She snapped the rod against his hands, but he'd tricked her with his punches and crashed both of them to the ground. Her head bounced sharply off the mat. She ignored the pain and tried to twist away from him.

Grappling with him was foolish.

As she rolled away his boots connected roughly with her side and she flipped across the mat and landed roughly on her side, facing away from Ronon. The wind had been thoroughly knocked out of her.

Conventional methods weren't working. She purposefully didn't rise, though she did open an eye and winked at Sheppard who was standing ten feet from her. His eyes twinkled, but he didn't give her away.

She felt Ronon loom over her. His boot nudged her back before he kneeled. She breathed evenly, waiting.

His hand fell on her shoulder and gently rolled her over. Surprise etched his eyes as she made eye contact, whacked him hard enough with the rod to cause him to fall backwards, and swung her legs around his neck, tucking his shoulders into the soft spot of her knees as she firmly held him in place. His head was pinned against her belly, rod pressed firmly against his neck. If he so much as sneezed, he'd choke himself.

Green eyes stared up at her, misted with surprise, amazement, and something else she couldn't quite identify. He nodded, conceding to her.

She released her hold, but he didn't move. "I guess that won't work again," she said.

Ronon grinned up at her, "Probably not."

Neither really noticed that they'd agreed to an 'again.'

-E-

AN: I uh, hope you'll forgive my deviation from the self-imposed 1,000 word limit on this chapter. I've been pretty merciless about cutting content, but couldn't find enough in this chapter for the chopping block.