Morning Gymnastics || Stacey & Nathan
Morning exercises were harsh, and this morning was no different. Waking up had been easier, though. Or at least, it had felt easier. Maybe the lack of late night trips around the Bunker made a difference, maybe they didn't, but Nathan felt slightly better each morning he woke up. The light had switched on just as the clock hit 4 am and Nathan had opened his eyes a few seconds after that. After his morning routine, he'd changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt along with a dark blue zip up, feeling a little chilly despite the perfect temperature that Division always managed to maintain. Walking out of his room and into the hallways, Nathan didn't spot anyone yet to his surprise, but went to the gym anyway, bare feet making soft 'pat pat' on the ground. He preferred bare feet to shoes (nobody wore just socks, let's be honest) even though it might give him a disadvantage if someone stomped on his foot. But until now, Nathan hadn't sparred with anyone seriously, and they hadn't stomped on his feet yet, so he was good.
The Gym was empty save for a two recruits hanging around. One of them was already doing pushups, the other lifting weights, but Nathan left them alone and settled in an empty corner where a treadmill was. Starting with a slow jog, he warmed his muscles, a quick glance at the clock telling him he still had about ten minutes until their terrible morning exercises started that forced them all to become lean and supple as well as strong. At the start of his arrival, it had been pure hell. Waking up at four in the morning to have you sweat your whole body dry with grueling exercises. Now, it was still terrible, but not so much. Speeding up, Nathan's feet landed quicker in succession, his bare feet giving him a disadvantage right now as well, because it was just a lot more uncomfortable to run on a treadmill with bare feet than it was with shoes.
Now he was panting, breathing coming heavily as the whirring of the machine intensified. When he couldn't go faster and he felt his muscles aching a little, he counted to sixty, pushing his body to endure a minute longer. When the whirring faded away, it was replaced by the sound of blood pumping through his veins and slow breathing. Along with the breathing of someone else. He wasn't alone. Whirling around, he was met with the sight of Stacey.