Mi Hermana y Yo

Carmen winced as Amy's outburst drew the attention of the entire restaurant, and maybe the one across the street. Army's new friend had been kind and well-mannered so far, but she was starting to guess those weren't the qualities that drew the two of them together.

Nathan seemed to be on the straight and narrow, which made her ache a little at the thought of punching him in the face. Which she was going to have to do before they were through, most likely. But there'd be some regret, there. "You can either find out from me or you can find out in the ring." She finished off her glass and sat it on the edge of the table for a refill. "With me, you don't take a hit to your W/L record."

Carmen propped her elbows on the table and steepled her fingers, looking at him from across the table. He was willing to learn and that was a good start. Rust was a problem, but she'd worked with people who were far less experienced. Women, but she doubted it would make all that much of a difference. "I have a-"

"We have."

Carmen threw a quick glare Army's way, then locked back on Nathan. "We have a gym nearby our house that you can train at, should have every thing you need. Meet me there, two days, we'll start blowing the dust off."

Nathan would have preferred some time to think it over. He wasn't the sort to make important decisions so easily, particularly moral ones, and he wasn’t even sure that he’d been entirely convinced. But it was sounding like he was being offered a chance to train under a former Olympian. Even if he weren't a part of a professional fighting federation, he'd have to be an idiot to refuse.

Nathan nodded gratefully. “Okay. Two days. Let me know where to be and what to bring, and I’ll be there. And thank you, I appreciate this.” He stole his fork back from Amy and ate another piece of meat. "This is quality stuff."

----

Once they had paid and they were outside the restaurant walking Nathan back to the station, Amy sidled up to Army, a teasing smile on her lips. Carmen and Nathan were engaged in their own discussion a few steps away, but Amy still spoke softly so that they couldn't hear. “Hey there, Ace. You don’t think I can take you without resorting to sex? I don’t know how you think things went down back at the stadium, but the way I remember it is that I was kicking your ass, and you seduced me."

Shouldn't have ordered those steaks medium rare. They were going to kick Army's ass all the way down to the bottom

He was having a one-on-one fight with indigestion when Amy came over and whispered his way, and having an upset stomach didn't help him decipher what she was saying. It sunk in after a few moments, though.

"Oh, the kick." He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a rub. "You're reading it wrong. When Carmen was talking about tough girls, I kicked you because that's, well...you. You can beat guys without fucking them, I can tell." He leaned down and placed his forehead against hers, looking right into her eyes. "Though, for the record? I had you. I so had you. Your scissors were good, but I could've gotten out."

"Oh." She had read that wrong, and she was slightly embarrassed. For a moment, she looked away. "So long as you know."

But she could always count on Army's cocksure attitude to pick her right back up again. Army placed his forehead against hers, and Amy stared straight back into his eyes, a new smile tugging at her lips. "There’s an easy way to settle this. I’m good to go anytime, anywhere, big guy. Ball still on the line. No sex." Amy tilted her head back, and gave Army a quick peck on the lips. She put a hand up to Army’s chest, then pulled away and bit her lip. "Wear something baggy."

Army was skeptical about a match with Amy that didn't involve sex. Not that he didn't want to try, but he just didn't know if they could pull it off when fighting seemed to get them both so excited. Keeping themselves in check was going to be half the challenge.

He was looking forward to it. "MC Hammer, got it."

Two days came, two days went. Carmen got everything set up for Nathan and cleared a ring for his training around noon - not that it was a hard thing to do. The gym was still fairly low on membership, and only a handful of people were using it right now, sparring dueling with the bags off in the corner and working out on the machines upstairs. The place was a long way from the rat-infested hovel it had been a few months ago. Carmen had cleaned it up, made it look presentable, modernized it a bit. But they still had a long way to go, and they'd need more funds to get there.

For now, though, she pushed those thoughts away and waited in the middle of the ring for Nathan to show up. She was in her training gear, decked out in her black track pants and red training bra, and she had some equipment around the ring. Pads, tape,  headgear in case things got a little rough, and a few other things they might need tucked away in her gym bag. It wasn't enough for an extensive workout, but this was going to be more mental than physical, anyway.

Nathan still couldn't get over how cold things were. During winters like this back home, he'd need some serious persuading to get him to leave the warmth of his covers. The cold was also a big reason why he'd chosen to attend school in sunny southern California- it just wasn't something his body was equipped to deal with. Therefore, he was extremely grateful to be indoors by the time he arrived at Carmen's gym at 12:05. His ears and nose were red from the chill, despite having bundled up, and he carried a black duffel bag over his shoulder with his workout clothes in it.

It wasn't hard to spot Carmen; she was standing in the center of a ring, dressed to sweat and staring intently at the entrance. Nathan felt guilty, though he had no reason to be. "Hey. Am I late?"

Carmen had started to work on her leg exercises when Nathan showed up, letting a blast of cold air in as he opened the door. She couldn't help but have a little chuckle at the look on his face, because it was one she'd had many times. Globetrotting had gotten her more used to the frigid temperatures than her brother, but still, she'd grown up an island where no one had even seen a natural snowball for over a century. Japan was a shock.

"Five minutes. And hey." She brought her legs out to the side and stretched them as she leaned forward. "Let's see, let's see...one push up for every six seconds you're not in the ring, sounds about fair. So that puts you at about fifty pushups you owe me, so far." She had a soft, light, hint of a smile. "And the clock is still ticking, mota."

Nathan groaned inwardly. She was gonna be one of those trainers. True, he'd expected it to be tough, but not right away. Not from the first minute.

Nathan took a hasty step to the left. Then he looked to the right. Then he looked back into the ring; another six seconds had passed. "Where can I change?"

Maybe it was a little unfair to go so hard on Nathan right out of the gate. Maybe. But Carmen meant everything she'd said at their lunch. Tension was getting more and more competitive these days, and she had a limited time to get him working order, mind, body, and soul. This was not going to be a gentle process, but she'd get him through it. Kicking and screaming, if need be.

Carmen pointed to the left, where the men's lockerroom was setup on the side, then twirled her finger through the air. "Andale, andale, arriba, arriba..."

Nathan came out of the locker room another three minutes later, still pulling his shirt over his head and his shoes unlaced. Once his vision was clear, he ran up to the ring and climbed into it with as much dignity as he could manage.

He looked at the clock, then at Carmen. "I, uh, probably won't be able to do all those push-ups at once if I get too many more. But I'm ready now, just..." He bent down and tied his shoes. "Okay, I'm ready."