WELL HELLO THERE

A/N: Well, I've already said hello. Either way, here you go, cause I'm sort of bad at author's notes... Eh.

Enjoy!

"Hey, Blue," Tony said playfully, holding his StarkPad again.

I rolled my eyes, a smirk settling on my face.

"What's with the new nickname?"

"Figured it suits your eyes," he replied nonchalantly.

I was tempted to roll my eyes again. Why was he talking about my eyes like they're some sort of... natural beauty? They're artificial, injected with a serum and more of a curse than a blessing. I wanted to point it out, but he kept talking.

"So I heard from Cap that you still wanted to take the tests. You sure?"

I nodded stubbornly, not even sparing a glance to my side where I could see Bucky stirring out of my peripheral. After all, I'm having stupid mixed emotions, and he'd just ignored me for at least two weeks. Two can play that game.

"Okay then," Tony finally replied, clapping his hands together. "If you want, we can start now and get it done and over with sooner."

I thought about it for a moment before making my reply. "What do we start with?"

Tony tapped through his StarkPad, skimming through information.

"I was thinking we could start with strength or fighting skills."

"Who would I fight with?" I countered, carefully reading the emotions on his face. I made sure my mask didn't drop as I heard his next reply.

"You'll be sparring with... Capsicle and his pal."

I would fight my two best friends, with one of them currently making me feel mixed emotions?! Oh, great. Just your luck, Charlotte. Just your luck.

"Who am I fighting with first?"

Tony smirked, and I knew that I was in it now. I couldn't - no, wouldn't - back out.

"Well, because I'm curious, you get to fight Rogers first," he giggled, glancing over to see Steve shifting.

I knew Tony was challenging me right now. To back out. To just drop my stuff and say 'no'. But he wants a fight, I'll deliver him a storm.

I got to my feet, giving a daring look to Tony.

"What are we waiting for?"

I dodged another punch oncoming from Steve.

We had been going through this routine for several minutes now, with me being pinned down once and me knocking Steve out once. I felt like he was going easy on me, like if his opponent weren't me, he would've knocked them clean.

I finally caught Steve off-guard, socking him in the stomach. He went flying backwards with a groan and now I was worried.

Did... did you kill him? Oh, man.

I quickly stepped over to Steve, keeping my defence up. "Hey," I panted. "You okay?"

He gave a crooked smirk. "Fine."

Then, he tapped the floor, quickly staggering to his feet. "I'm done now," he said. "Good job, Charlotte."

I smiled at him, giving a mock curt bow. Then, I turned to the sound of the door opening, to see Bucky step inside.

Oh shit.

I knew Bucky - or, the Winter Soldier - well enough that he wasn't going to go easy on me. He would be merciless, and I could already see his emotionless facade going up. I sighed, rolling my shoulders and curling my hands into fists.

"Alright," Tony's voice came over the speaker. "You good to go?"

I saw a hidden smirk on Bucky's face as I replied a quick "Yeah".

Well, now you're screwed.

I got into a fighting stance which he quickly imitated, and I side-stepped.

Before I could blink, his fist went flying to my face. I dodged by a hair, hoping not to damage my face today. Then, I kicked his right leg, knocking him to one knee. He dodged my punch in return, grabbing my wrist and flipping me over.

Shit.

I quickly landed on my feet, not even having enough time to turn as he tackled me to the floor.

I landed on my stomach, trying not to get winded. I turned over, dodging a punch from his flesh hand.

Bad move, Charlotte. You're an idiot.

He grabbed my flesh wrist, pinning me down. Then, he edged towards my face, and I tried to writhe away. He was inches from me now, and we shared breaths.

I tried not to remember what happened last time I was in this position.

He laughed lightly, a mischievous glow in his eyes.

"Going easy on me, doll?" He asked cockily.

Okay. Where is this side of James Buchanan Barnes coming from and why is it only showing up now?!

Suddenly, I smirked.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Then, my vibranium fist which he had pinned faded away into my stump of arm, and it reappeared as it connected with his face. I manoeuvred my legs so his gave out, and I rolled us over, with me now pinning him.

His wicked smirk had disappeared, and he almost looked shocked.

"That's cheating," he pouted.

"Cheaters win," I whisper with a breath, pinning his struggling legs with mine.

Stupid legs.

His knee connected with my stomach, and I winced as he threw me on the ground again.

He pinned me again.

"Indeed they do," he replied now, the glint in his eyes returning.

"Okay, that's enough, lovebirds. Good job."

What the - okay, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?!

Almost immediately, he let me go, and I gave all my curses to Tony. What the shit does he mean, lovebirds?! He's my friend!

I flipped to my feet to see Tony entering, with Steve trailing after him, looking slightly flustered. Good to know I wasn't the only one who thought Stark lost his mind.

"Well," he began, his smirk deepening. "After you sparred with your two buddies here, I can definitely see some super strength there. So, turns out I do want a blood test."

I nodded silently, wiping some stray hairs out of my face. I probably looked like a mess, a thin sheen of sweat covering my... well, everything.

"Okay, so you can take five, then we'll do those blood tests. I just need a sec."

Tony jogged out again, and I took the towel Steve had kindly offered me. He had a funny look on his face, and I could practically hear what he was thinking. Something about me or Bucky. If there's two things Steve has to learn, it's 1) stop making weird assumptions and 2) stop making his face so damn readable.

"You okay?" he murmured to me, obviously telling I was shaken from Tony's 'lovebird' statement. I may be an assassin, but making comments about my friends like that, especially the state they're in right now... it sort of throws me for a loop.

Wow, Charlotte. You're getting awfully awkward in life.

I nodded again, wiping my forehead with the soft material. Then, I squared my shoulders, stoic mask settling in its place, and dodged a friendly hand Steve offered to me. Instead, I walked out of the gym, pulling myself together as I ran a hand through my hair.

Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Steve's POV

Steve had been taken aback by Tony's phrase. He knew it was playful, but did it really look like that? Was everything a joke to Stark?

He followed after, quickly grabbing a towel and handing it to Charlotte, who had edged further away from Bucky as did he. They were treating each other like... poison. How could Stark see any romance in this.

He sighed as he thought about what memories this might've brought back for his two best friends. They probably sparred in HYDRA together, so this was probably like a weird deja vu. Tony uttered a few words to Charlotte before rushing out of the gym.

Steve helpfully handed the towel to Charlotte, who took it gratefully, wiping it on her forehead. She had a flustered look, just like he did, set on her face, and he knew something was stirring beneath her cold exterior.

"You okay?" he murmured to her, careful so Bucky didn't hear. He was sure he did, though, but right now he wanted to take a crack at figuring out the two most complicated people he knew.

She nodded numbly, not even bothering to reply. He wanted to reach a nice hand to comfort her, but she'd already strutted out of the gym, along with the towel.

Only then he turned to his friend.

"Hey," he said, quickly taking the used towel from Bucky.

Bucky gave a grunt acknowledging his presence, continuing with unbinding his hands.

"Did you- are you okay?"

Bucky stopped with what he was doing. He then glanced up, a pained expression on his face.

"She still cheats. Just like when we were in... HYDRA."

Steve took a deep breath. This wouldn't be fun, considering his best pal would probably be more on edge now.

"Old habits die hard, I guess?" Steve offered sheepishly.

Bucky just nodded again, and kept unbinding his hands.

"You know," he said, a small smile setting on his face thinking about the old times. "She's a better fighter than back then."

Bucky didn't stop what he was doing, but gave a quiet reply of,"Yeah."

Steve put a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon," he began again. "Let's go find her."

Bucky finished unwinding the bandages, finally looking up again. Something stirred in his expression which Steve couldn't put his finger on.

"Okay."

First sparring scene/s! Some weird tension! Things!

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