14095/Nothing Like A Workout To Clear Your Head

Nothing Like A Workout To Clear Your Head
Date of Scene:	10 February 2023
Location:	Carnegie's Gym
Synopsis:	Lara sees Carnegie's Gym. After a workout and sparring in the boxing ring, she and Cap decide to begin renovating the place towards eventually opening it to the neighborhood.
Cast of Characters:	Steve Rogers, Lara Croft

---

Steve Rogers has posed:
By now Lara is aware that along with the apartment which was originally obtained for Steve by SHIELD back when he came out of the ice, they also got him a private workout space. Which happened to be an old boxing gym, long since closed, just a few doors down from his apartment building.

Carnegie's had been a big part of the neighborhood back in Cap's day and for decades after before finally going under when the grandsons of Leon "Pops" Carnegie finally moved on to other careers.

It has since undergone a simple restoration, much of it was Steve's doing though SHIELD gave a start on at least making it functional. The windows are covered over for privacy, but one can tell from the streets that the lights are on. Only a few people passing by take notice, mostly because it is rarely lit up these days.

Within, Steve Rogers is wearing a pair of sweats and a white t-shirt. He's already worked up a sweat and is currently working out on a speed bag. Not hitting it with his full force, but instead focusing on his timing and form with it as the small bag nonetheless rattles back and forth at a furious pace from the punches.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had been intrigued by Steve mentioning his own Gym. He'd brought it up several times through the past few months of them getting to know one another. Finally, though, she arranged a bit of free time where they could both go to it and check it out. Lara had been in gym's like this before, back in London when she was in college making her own way as a bike courier...

There'd been a local gym just like this, if a bit more modern, where she'd exercised religiously to keep herself toned and in good condition for work and otherwise.

Here and now, Lara is wearing a pair of black and white track pants, a set of light blue and white sneakers, and a black and blue sports top with a loose fit black tanktop over that. She's got her hair tied back, and has been doing some crunches on a mat across the room from where Steve is, but then she appears beside him, and she's just grinning.

"You're going to absolutely destroy that thing..." She says in her soothing British tone.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers doesn't pull his attention away from the speed bag, but his smile grows at Lara's comment. "I had to admit, there have been a couple of times of trying to break the stitches. Not on this so much as the bigger bags," he says, probably referring to the pair of larger punching bags that hang from chains nearby. "Back when SHIELD was covering it all, after I went through about eight of them they had someone make a few special for me that have lasted," he says.

He stops, the speed bag finally falling still and one can almost imagine it panting and glad for the break. Steve turns to face Lara then. "Glad to still have it. While the Avenger's training room is nice, all the high tech stuff, plus the weights that can handle even Thor's... this is... you know. Kind of home," he says, glancing around the gym and then back to the Englishwoman.

"I don't normally have someone I can spar with though," he says, expression mildly hopeful. "Though if you say yes, you're going to have to go easy on me," he says straight-faced. He pats the outside of a thigh. Which was pretty scraped up last night when he got back. He'd said something about 'having to leap off the roof of a car to avoid a rotary cannon, and ending up being dragged behind an SUV for a bit'.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara holds a bottle of water in front of her stomach, held between both of her hands. She'd had the cap twisted off and had just taken a swallof of the water when she smiles at what he says. She knew of his injury, to be sure, and always worried about him now... but, he'd been through a lot, he was the most capable man she'd ever known in her life too. He took care of himself, and she didn't really truly fear for his safety. He was smart about the dangers he faced too.. much like she tried to be.

She laughs, very lightly, and looks to her left toward the heart of the gym, before she looks back to the custom punching bags he has had made for his strength. "Well..." She says, looking back on to him with her brown eyed gaze. She steps up to him and leans up to kiss his cheek.

"I'll go easy on you." She says in her naturally sultry voice, played up in the moment before she flashes a grin, then parts from him to take her water over to where the rest of her things rest. She sets the bottle down, then adjusts her ponytail some with her hands held up behind her head as she walks to the sparring area... "Boxing then?" She asks. "I trained in it when I was in college...."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve grabs his own water bottle, taking a few sips and then grabbing a hand towel to wipe a bit of the perspiration from his neck. "Boxing it is. We have some gloves over here," he says, for no former boxing gym would be without them, plus they have the restored rings right there.

Steve walks over to where there are an assortment of equipment in the cage. Not just for him obviously as there are things for people of differing sizes and capabilities. "In the early days, after the ice, Nick would send some SHIELD trainees, and then agents, over to spar with me sometimes," he tells Lara. "Hasn't done it for awhile, not since I started spending more of time at the Mansion. I think they had some kind of rivalry going about it," he says.

Of course they do. There's a record kept by the cadets and trainers for most of the different activities that they do. In this case it is probably how long they last. Though without others on hand to verify, it's the kind of thing that probably spawns a lot of arguments, razzing and disbelief on some of the claims.

Steve selects a pair of gloves and grabs two rolls of tape. He brings them over for Lara to inspect while he begins taping up his hands. "So was this a college class? Or a boxing club in college?" he asks, looking from what he's doing over to the woman as they talk.

Lara Croft has posed:
"When I was attending university at UCL, I worked as a bike courier... riding all over London." Lara explains after he asks that question of her. She slips a selected bit of headgear on over her hair, and sorts it out before she looks back at him then with it on. "I wanted to make sure that I had a bit of training, incase I ever got in to a scrap in the city. There were a lot of stories of people robbing bike couriers who ventured too close to the wrong avenues..." She explains before she is taking a pair of gloves for herself...

Another look is given around the gym before Lara looks back on to him. "You should bring new life to this place... I mean... you should find some quality people to bring in, give them a nice place to work out. Perhaps some military veterans, perhaps some youth who need quality role models of that ilk too." She says, showing him a light smile before she offers her hands for him to tape up next, wiggling her fingers just a little.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve doesn't comment that he imagines the Boxing Club's membership went up considerably after guys noticed Lara taking part there. And just as likely dropped again after those guys had finished sparring with her. Coming to terms with one's own inadequacies can be humbling. Especially at the hands of a beautiful coed like Lara.

He begins taping up her hands. "I've been giving that some active thought for awhile," Steve confirms. "While it's ok for personal use, there is a list of things that would need to be done to bring it up to city codes before opening it up for something like that."

He turns to look around the gym rather fondly. It still has a feel of something from back closer to his day and age, even in the lighting which is a little more yellowed than modern LED lights would be. "I have been whittling away at the list, but I'm afraid not very quickly. I did get the hot water going again," he says, finishing up one of Lara's hands and starting on the other. "That was first. Because I've had more than enough time in cold water already," he says as if making a jab at the Arctic Ocean. "There's some electrical work that needs doing. Think I can manage it without electrocuting myself, when I find the time." He glances over towards what serves as a locker room. "Going to need to replace some of the tile to prevent water leaks if it's going to see more use," he adds.

Lara Croft has posed:
Quick expressions strike across Lara's face as she listens to him, watches him, and considers what he's saying. Another quick look is sent out to the gym before she looks back upon his face once more. "I wouldn't want to push you in to changing the place." She says, picking up on something in his mannerisms, or a presumption about them. "If this place... has a sense of home for you, that is to say, I'd hate to strip that away and bring it up to something abhorant like all the contemporary stuff you're assaulted with on a daily basis."

She flashes him a warm grin then. "Unless... you want to aim the place for an authentic theme... early 20th century gym experience? It might draw people in just for that..." She's playing with him now though as the tape is finished up, and Lara starts to wiggle her hands in to the gloves she'd chosen, small and a deep blue leather.

Steve Rogers has posed:
The little shake of Steve's head and the smile he gives Lara will let her know she's not pushing for something that he's not interested in. "No, I'd love to see the place getting use again. I think I would like to keep the feel of what it is. Not that so much as I had a city inspector in to find out what it would take. It's been a long time and the codes have changed quite a bit," he says.

Steve glances over towards the locker room. "Would want to split the locker room in two so there's a spot for ladies," Steve comments. "And there's some old insulation that apparently isn't used anymore for some reason or another, though it's only in the one wall there. The place next door had used it apparently," he says. "Which will mean some dry wall work getting back behind it and then replacing the wall."

He turns his focus back to Lara, smiling as she's teasing him. "I mean, we could replace the weights with some boulders connected by logs like back in my day," he counters with a playful smile back to her. "But nah, I would hope maybe keeping the feel of what it is would be appreciated. Would be nice to give kids an option to get off the streets. And there's always a few who could stand to learn some self-defense. I remember a kid from these parts back in the day... got beat up a lot," Steve says, his rueful tone making it kind of clear who it was. "Too dumb to stay down either, according to his best friend. More bruises than sense."

Steve gets his hands taped and then pulls on his gloves, tightening the strings on the last one with a tug of his teeth. "Shall we?"

Lara Croft has posed:
"The family that lives in the apartment on the other side of Alexander's, in my building, the husband is a contractor." Lara says then as she gets her gloves sorted, then steps off to the side. "I bet he'd be thrilled to do some work for you here. If you'd like, I could stop by and ask them. They're a nice family, their son walks Max sometimes when I've been away." Lara comments, throwing out a mention for her loyal loft apartment guardian.

"The women's locker room has to be nicer than the men's too. That is part of the modern codes." She further chides him, just being silly, of course.

Once they're in the sparring area though, Lara looks up to the brighter lights shining down upon it than anywhere else in the gym, then she looks over to him. "Honestly, this would be a fun side project." She adds before moving about to limber herself up some, finally turning to face him she grins from inside the headgear. "I didn't bring a mouth piece. So don't knock my teeth out, huh?" She asks him as her gloves come up then, waiting for him to tap them.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers breaks out in a grin and chuckles about the women's part having to be nicer. "I heard Clint say that they put nice couches in ladies rooms, but I'm pretty sure that was one of those times he was just playing with me. Like when he said that the reason men stopped wearing hats to work was because of a wool felt shortage in the early 1970s," Steve replies.

He climbs into the ring with Lara but pauses to look around. "It would be. I haven't done much in the way of construction sort of stuff since before I went into the army. Not that I was the best, but you did more stuff yourself back in those days I think, so picked up a few things. Bucky's dad was pretty good about showing me things," he tells her.

Steve moves over to take a ready stance with Lara. "Sure, we can talk to your neighbor, show him the list and if nothing else maybe he can help point us in the right direction even if he can't help directly." He gives the Englishwoman a quick nod. "Affirmative, no lost teeth. I'm not sure what SHIELD's dental plan is, but I imagine I'd get all kind of disapproving looks," he says teasingly. He tabs gloves with Lara and drops into a ready stance.

Lara Croft has posed:
"If it's something you'd like to entirely focus on for just us, we could do that too." Lara says while they're still close. She even shows him a little smile before they're tapping gloves and she's backing up away from him a few paces. Her gloves are up now, her stance is pretty solid... she's clearly trained... though far from a professional. She's bouncing around on her feet tooo, to keep light and moving. "But yes, the thing about combat sports is that they teach you how to focus your aggression in healthy ways. Women do have the desire to punch things too, afterall... We just so very rarely get a chance to immerse ourselves in that world."

She's on him then and sending some punching motions in to his defenses. "You're not still feeling the pain from yesterday, are you?" She asks him. "Your healing is a bit of a mystery to me still..." She comments when able too.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve is giving Lara a target for the most part, but then using his own gloves to block the blows, or bobbing and weaving his head to stay out of range as Lara makes those first few exploratory punches. "I heal a bit faster than I used to," he confirms. He throws a jab at Lara, then another one, though neither of them are something that she should have much issue with. "It's not too bad today. Scabbed over and probably back to normal tomorrow. Just a little bit sore if I bump it against something," he confirms.

A few deft steps are made to move Steve around Lara then, as he watches how her weight shifts as she's forced to turn to stay facing him. Another little jab is given before Steve is dodging back a punch thrown back at him. "If you wouldn't mind the time it'll take, I actually think that would be something nice for us to work on together," he confirms about the restoration of the gym.

"So how was it being a bike messenger anyway?" he asks, leaning back to avoid a punch then following up with a jab, then more footwork to keep Lara moving. "Any interesting stories from those days?"

Lara Croft has posed:
The jabs are absorbed by Lara's defensive guard. She keeps her footwork going to keep herself aligned with him, and her eyes are watching his own, as well as his shoulders. She fires back with a rapid few jabs of her own before she goes for a body swipe hook to his 'good' side. She's not hitting even as hard as she could, but even if she were, he'd probably think of it little more than being hit with a nerf noodle!

"I know absolutely nothing about such things." Lara admits with regard to refurbishing this place. "But you know I'm a fast learner." She adds with a little quick grin while she keeps her breathing focused on her movements.

Again she jabs at him, before she defends again, and is soon worked in to one of the corners, as he's just a bit of a looming presence, intimidating even in a spar!

"Deftly avoiding being absolutely run over, and turned in to a street pancake." Lara replies about her college income source. "I did see a few muggings, and even saw a few glimpses of some of Britains lesser known super hero types... though they are far less flamboyant back home, than your spider-men and Mighty Women here in the States..." Har har.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Whether Steve lets the blow through to his body or Lara is just good isn't clear, but Steve turns, taking the hit where it will hurt less, and throwing a jab back at Lara's midriff. He jabs and moves. Then jabs again and moves. "Excellent footwork," he comments to her before he starts to make his movement more strategic, backing Lara into the corner.

"Yes, Spider-Man," Steve says, his voice sounding troubled though his focus doesn't seem to have been pulled from their sparring. He throws another jab and then quickly follows it up with a little more solid of a blow towards Lara's side.

"I didn't go into detail about last night. The truck that was being attacked was the one that had the Vulcan cannon in the back. Like the ones that helicopter's use. Well, after it shredded the car I was on and I jumped to the SUV's bumper and get scraped up... Spider-Man suspended the truck in the air with his webs. And then he manipulated the truck, spraying down the area with the cannon. Bad enough that it was going to kill people, but it was pretty indiscriminate. Just missed me and a Japanese agent who had responded and who got me off the back of the SUV onto his motorcycle."

Steve gives a slight frown. "And he was completely dismissive about it and swung off afterwards. I haven't seen him like that before. Wonder if he's going through something."

Lara Croft has posed:
Something Steve is very familiar with by now, Lara's midsection is probably the most well exercised part of her body... arguable with her legs anyway... What shots she takes there are absorbed through her thin tanktop, and her taught muscles. Her arms are nothing to shake a stick at though, and she's even got definition in her shoulders when she works out like this, her muscles swelling as she takes more shots at Steve in return, their leather gloves making smacking sounds that reverb through the otherwise empty gym, along with their sneakers gliding across the ring's canvas floor.

"That reminds me of the first few months of my time here with SHIELD." Lara comments. "Just a few years ago this Spring... There was an escapee from the Triskelion. I happened to be on the highway and saw him zip past me..." She says between jabs and footwork. "The bastard lit up my Jeep with an uzi of all things. It was... unsettling. But, we got him, and my new Jeep got taken back to the dealer, full of bullet holes." She huffs out a little laugh between her more rapidly increasing intakes, and exhales of breath.

"I'm glad you had so much help there at that situation last night... I saw bits of it being shared online. It was... hard to watch." She adds, hinting at her discomfort with watching him 'exist' whilst in life threatening situations. Not that she's one to talk!

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I was worried with all the gunfire going on. We got lucky that more people weren't hurt. There was a grenade launcher but someone with T'Challa took it out early. Another was throwing grenades at the pursuing vehicles," he says, shaking his head and then dodging one of Lara's jabs. The follow up catches him in the shoulder before he pivots away, moving lightly on his feet. His expression does soften a little as Lara mentions it was difficult to watch, his eyes sending the message he knows it was and is sorry for that. Not that either of them would shy away from such a moment.

"We're still not sure what it was about. Who either side were or what they were fighting over," Steve says. "Traced the convoy back to some company called Thropmore. Police are talking to them first though their lawyers are stonewalling. Given the Vulture was involved, we might have to do our own investigation to get to the bottom of this," he says.

Steve throws a jab and then follows it up by a combination. He immediately moves inside then, tying up Lara's arms with his own. A clinch. "With certain opponents, this could become my favorite part of boxing," he tells her teasingly.

Lara Croft has posed:
"I'm happy to help however you think I could." Lara says whilst focused on their spar. She wasn't a law officer, nor did she have any military experience, but Steve was assuredly seeing just how absurdly perceptive she was by now, as well as a innate ability to solve puzzles in mere moments... she likely could've been a stellar detective if her life had gone down such a pathway.

But, in this ring, Steve truly does have the edge, and he's got her back up against one of the sets of ropes, near to one of the corners, and he ties her up. She's breathing heavily and she hears his words.

She laughs, warmly, before she exhales. "Put that on the advertisement when we get this place open, and you'll have all kinds of new clientele just looking to find themselves in a similar place as this..." She says to him with another little laugh before she just stares at him. After a moment though, she shakes her head. "I don't think I can kiss you while wearing this headgear." She says, with another little laugh. "Not in a very romantic way at least..."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers picks Lara up just the same, in a way which the Marquis de Queensbury would probably have frowned upon during a boxing exhibition. Though it's kind of nice for Steve. "So you're saying we should have done jiujitsu instead. You look great in a gi," he tells Lara with a warm grin, leaning his forehead against her headgear before setting her back down.

"What do you say we head up to my place, get cleaned up, and order a pizza before it gets too late?" he suggests. "I can dig up that report from the inspector. Think it's in a desk drawer somewhere. See just how much there is left to do," he suggests. Steve glances around at the gym and rests a boxing glove on Lara's shoulder. "It'll be good to spend some time getting her restored," he says.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had laughed softly again before she'd settled down once more, feeling the glove on her shoulder. She looked to him and smiled, with a little happy exhale. "That sounds like a wonderful plan." She says in that perfect way that her voice hits every syllable when she's calm and happy.

Separating from him, she's faking a walk-away toward the side of the ring that they entered from, but she fakes that and jumps back to jab him again. Not hard! That'd be super mean. Just to make him jump, if possible!

Then, she's celebrating. Her blue leather gloves held up in the air, Lara dances to the middle of the ring. "Champion...." She says, doing a little dance for a non-existent audience, soaking up the non-existent cheers that she's imagining in her mind.

But then, she's running, fleeing really, from him before he can retalliate!