The training room at the old Avengers compound echoed with the steady rhythm of fists against reinforced metal and the occasional crackle of electricity from malfunctioning equipment no one had bothered fixing yet.
It smelled like sweat, gun oil, and burned rubber.
Typical.
Yelena walked beside you, twirling a knife lazily between her fingers while she talked about something Alexei had done that morning involving six protein shakes and a fire extinguisher.
“I am telling you,” Yelena said with complete seriousness, “the man should not be allowed near kitchen appliances.”
You snorted softly, rolling your shoulders as you stepped into the massive training room. Across the mat, Ava was phasing through targets while Bob awkwardly attempted stretches in the corner like he’d watched one yoga video and decided he was an expert.
Alexei stood near the weapons rack yelling encouragements no one asked for.
“Again! More aggression! You fight like sleepy accountants!”
“Shut up, Dad,” Yelena called automatically.
At the far end of the room, Bucky leaned against a table cleaning a combat knife, blue eyes immediately lifting the second you walked in. The hard lines in his face softened almost instantly.
There it was.
That look he only got around you.
The one that remembered snowy HYDRA hallways, shared cells, blood on white floors, whispered promises to survive another day.
His wife.
His partner.
His home.
You gave him a small smirk before walking toward the hanging sandbag suspended from thick steel chains in the center of the room.
John Walker was nearby wrapping tape around his knuckles. The second he noticed you approaching the bag, he straightened with that familiar cocky grin.
The one that made Bucky visibly irritated within seconds.
“Well,” John drawled, “this should be interesting.”
You ignored him.
One punch.
Thud.
The bag barely moved.
Another controlled hit.
Thud.
Yelena leaned against the wall beside Bucky. “She is holding back.”
“No kidding,” Bucky muttered.
You were barely using any strength at all. The reinforced bag was designed for enhanced individuals, but everyone in the room knew there were levels to super soldiers.
And then there was you.
John crossed his arms. “C’mon, Barnes,” he said loudly. “Your wife always hit this soft, or is she trying not to chip a nail?”
Silence.
Ava visibly winced.
Alexei muttered, “Ah. He chooses death.”
Bucky didn’t even look up from his knife. “Walker,” he said calmly, “you should stop talking now.”
John laughed. “What? I’m just saying. No offense, sweetheart, but men are usually stronger than wo—”
Your fist connected with the bag before he finished the sentence.
BOOM.
The sound thundered through the room like an explosion.
The steel chain snapped instantly.
The entire sandbag launched across the training room like a missile, slammed into the reinforced metal wall hard enough to leave a massive crater—
—and exploded.
Dust burst outward.
Shredded padding rained from the ceiling.
Silence hit the room so hard it rang.
Bob froze mid-stretch.
Ava stared.
Alexei let out a deeply impressed, “Holy shit.”
Yelena slowly lowered her sunglasses. “That was expensive.”
The smirk vanished completely from John’s face.
You flexed your hand once, unfazed, then looked over your shoulder at him with a perfectly calm expression.
“What were you saying?”
John blinked.
“…Nothing.”
Bucky finally looked up.
And the absolute smug satisfaction on his face made Yelena start cackling.
“Oh, he is NEVER letting this go,” she wheezed.
“Not a chance,” Ava agreed.
Bucky stood, twirling the knife once before setting it down. He walked across the room toward you slowly, eyes flicking briefly to the destroyed wall before returning to you.
“You break another training room?” he asked casually.
You shrugged. “He annoyed me.”
“Fair.”
John looked between the two of you. “You could’ve killed someone with that.”
You raised an eyebrow. “Good thing I aimed at the wall.”
That shut him up fast.
Alexei barked out a laugh loud enough to shake the room.