(steel meets skin, laughter turns to breathless stillness)
Training Grounds & Bruised Pride
❛ You’re getting better… but not good enough to beat me. ❜
❛ That swing would’ve taken my head off if you weren’t distracted staring at me. ❜
❛ You call that a punch? Try again. Harder. ❜
❛ Careful—if you keep touching me like that, I’ll forget this is just training. ❜
❛ You’re supposed to disarm me, not pin me down. ❜
❛ If you wanted to get me on the ground, there are easier ways. ❜
❛ Oh, so now you’re blushing? Didn’t expect that from you. ❜
❛ Don’t hold back just because I’m close. Hit me. ❜
❛ You like this too much to call it practice. ❜
❛ You’re bleeding. …and you’re smiling about it? ❜
❛ Stop moving—if you do, I’ll let you go. Maybe. ❜
❛ You’re enjoying this way more than you should. ❜
❛ I could feel your heartbeat when I had you pinned. ❜
❛ You’re supposed to block, not get distracted every time I breathe. ❜
❛ Funny how you only get serious when I get close. ❜
❛ Is this still a fight, or are we pretending it is? ❜
❛ If you wanted to touch me, you could’ve just asked. ❜
❛ That smirk’s going to get you in trouble. ❜
❛ You’re trembling. Adrenaline or something else? ❜
❛ You’ve got a death wish standing that close. Or maybe just a bad idea. ❜
Verbal Sparring & Tension
❛ What’s wrong—afraid I’ll beat you? Or that I won’t stop when I do? ❜
❛ Keep taunting me and I might forget to pull my punches. ❜
❛ You talk too much. Let’s see if I can change that. ❜
❛ Didn’t realize arrogance was one of your fighting styles. ❜
❛ Don’t act so calm—you’re shaking. I can feel it. ❜
❛ You like pushing me, don’t you? ❜
❛ Admit it—you only challenged me so you’d have an excuse to touch me. ❜
❛ I thought you were dangerous. Turns out you’re just distracting. ❜
❛ You keep saying this is training, but you keep looking at my mouth. ❜
❛ Try again. And stop pretending you don’t want to. ❜
❛ You should really get off me… unless you plan to stay there. ❜
❛ You gonna move, or are you enjoying the view? ❜
❛ You’re heavy. …Don’t you dare move. ❜
❛ Your hand’s still on me. Not that I mind. ❜
❛ Is this where you finally admit you like losing to me? ❜
❛ You can let go now. …anytime. ❜
❛ I said training, not straddling. ❜
❛ If anyone walks in right now, I’m blaming you. ❜
❛ Don’t look at me like that. You’ll make me forget we’re supposed to be fighting. ❜
❛ I thought this was about technique, not temptation. ❜
❛ You’ve got blood on your lip. …Here, let me— ❜
❛ You hit harder than you should. I liked it. ❜
❛ I should hate how close that was. But I don’t. ❜
❛ You’re shaking. Here—catch your breath. ❜
❛ For someone who swears they don’t care, you sure looked worried when I fell. ❜
❛ You didn’t have to pull me that close. ❜
❛ I’ve fought a lot of people. None of them ever looked at me like that. ❜
❛ Are we still sparring, or… something else? ❜
❛ Tell me you didn’t feel that too. ❜
❛ Maybe next time, we skip the weapons. ❜