Winterfall

I was the first to arrive in the arena, allowing me to warm up. I was nervous getting back into the swing of things. I may have trained with Quinn, but only briefly, as she was picking up the slack from his absence. I knew I would be a bit rusty, but I could only hope he would be as rusty as I.

"Well, this is a first." His voice echoed through the training area as his footsteps fell heavy on the duty floor. "Usually, I am here first." I heard amusement in his voice as he approached me.

"Things have changed, captain." I couldn't help but grin at him.

"I'd say. You are stepping up here. I'm impressed." He watched me complete five sets of stretches that he had taught me in the very beginning. He then joined me in the remaindered ten minutes. Basic stretches, like lunges, squats, push-ups, sit-ups, the works.

"Now remember, try not to utilize the bond."

He reminded me of our last fight when I used the bond to figure out his moves.

"Please, I have been training with Quinn; if I can take her, I can take you." I spoke sarcastically but radiated it with confidence enough to make myself to believe it.

"Your confidence amuses me. If I recall, some of your "training" just involved gossip." Theoden said in a disapproving voice.

Damn it, I forgot about that. Our training sessions did involve a lot of gossip. Between who could be leaking privileged information and my relationship with Theoden - which he hated, but I enjoyed. As it had been a long time since I had a girl best friend. I also listened to her talk about her own messed up life.

"Whatever." I grumbled.

With that he swung at me as the word left my lips. I thankfully I ducked. He aimed higher than he had anticipated, that I could tell by his expression on his face. I responded with a quick strike on his lower abdomen. One he did not see coming. Grunting on impact and stopping him in his tracks. To my surprise, he looked down where my fist struck and then grinned at me, "Stronger." He breathed as he produced a small burst of healing, healing his wound.

As soon as the burst of radiant energy left his palm and into his abdomen, he lunged himself at me, pinning me against him and a pillar. I felt his stare intently as he glared down at me. "You've gotten stronger." He repeated as he placed his right forearm against my throat. He was cutting off the circulation to my lungs. My eyes widened at his course of action as a familiar pull of fear crept into my body as I struggled to breathe.

He wasn't using his total weight against me, that I knew. If he were, I would have been unconscious by now. He was giving me a chance to fight back. To which I took. I thought briefly of my options and decided to knee him in the groin. Yes, I am sure I will regret that one later, but it was either that or no, and there was no other option here.

As I kneed him, I felt the sheer force of the impact within my own body. This caused him to release me as he half collapsed on the ground with a grunt. Thankfully, I didn't knee him hard enough to cause any popping noises to be heard. "Fuck!" He groaned loudly as he tried to collect himself.

I took that moment to run across the arena and catch my breath, as I was afraid of his next course of action. "You deserved that one."

He stood back up, shaking off my blow, and sprinted towards me. He swung hard at my left side as a few cracks filled the air. He then didn't hesitate to utilize his knee and shove it hard into my stomach. He was causing me to slump to the ground, gasping for air.

He pulled my chin up, causing me to look him in the eye, "I went easy on you before. The more you train, the rougher it will get." With the last words spoken, he squeezed my chin tightly, then released it harshly.

I knew the knee to the groin pissed him off. I was considering it had been a week since we slept together. But damn, that was cold.

"Theo, I…"

He cut me off with another kick to my abdomen. Causing me to spit up a bit of blood as a loud pop could be heard. He knelt down and healed my wound as quickly as he had caused it.

"Let's take a five. You need it." He sat next to me and used his own healing to further heal my wounds. He sighed, "Sorry for being rough. I have to remind myself that you are not one of my guards." His face fell apologetic as he saw the damages his kicks and punches had caused. By the look his face wore, he was surprised at the outcome of the strength that went behind the attacks.

I smiled up at him as I cleaned off the blood from around my mouth, "Please, you hit like a girl." I elbowed him in the side lightly, mimicking that of a week girl's hit.

He glared at me with a grin, "I can hit you harder if that is what you wish."

My eyes widened in fear. "That wasn't your hardest?"

He laughed, "Not even close."

"For fuck sake." I rested my head against his chest, letting my body work its healing magic. He just stared down at me, observing me. "What?"

"Just admiring your beauty."

I laughed, "My beauty? The kick to the groin didn't change your mind on that?"

He winced as he thought back to my knee impacting his groin. "Nope. If anything, it makes me love you more."

I kissed his cheek. Only to follow that up with a swing of my fist to his right shoulder. "Let's get back to it." I jumped up and moved quickly to the other side of the arena. I could tell my fist impact surprised him, but it did not halt him. He ran at eminence speed and kicked my shin, causing an immediate crack.

At this point, bone breaking didn't phase me. Though they still hurt like hell, I knew I couldn't let every crack, every break, and every pop phase me. I had to keep moving. I swung both fists at either side but failed to make contact as he jumped back out of the way.

This went on for five more minutes: swing, crack, kick, dodge, repeat. When we both had enough, we tapped out, collapsing on the floor as our bodies began the regeneration process.

"You've gotten better." He pointed out as he began to crack each bone back in place that I had managed to break.

"Thanks, captain. That means a lot."

We sat like that for a few minutes, resting against each other. Our bodies healed themselves and each other as we tapped into our own healing to further the others' process.

"Are you still up for tonight?"

"If you are asking if my groin is alright for our date night, yes, it is." He leaned over and kissed my lips softly. "I'll see you tonight, your dreams."

I watched as he stood up and left. He was readjusting himself once more as he walked out. I couldn't help but laugh. I knew I kneed him hard, and I was just damn glad I hadn't done any permanent damage.