440/Cue Eye of the Tiger song.

Cue Eye of the Tiger song.
Date of Scene:	11 March 2020
Location:	6C - Matt Murdock
Synopsis:	Combat training ensues, with mixed results!
Cast of Characters:	Matthew Murdock, Daisy Johnson

---

Matthew Murdock has posed:
2018...

As it happened Skye had spent the night there, and in the morning Matt rose early, making them both coffee and a light breakfast, eggs and bacon, protien, they'd need it for what came after. Training.

Just from being around Skye again he could tell SHIELD had given her some combat training, it showed in how she moved, how she carried herself, she wasn't just the hacker who only had her wits to defend her, she had a deeper arsenal and he wanted to see how deep that arsenel went, as he went about figuring out how best to train her new abilites, if nothing else, it would be a good exercise in control.

So, whan breakfast's finished, Matt dressed in his sweats and t-shirt, tosses Skye a pair of training gloves, sized large enough to fit over the ones she already wore to keep her powers in check as he pulled on his own.

"Okay, breakfast's over," he tells her a smile on his face. "Time to see how many rounds you can really go," unable to keep the corny boxing reference out of their banter.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Training was just what Skye needed this morning, specially after such a breakfast. She had been smiling through it all and even venturing to help in preparing some breakfast. Or well, the last part of it at least. She wasn't big on early rising.

Skye had noticed the way Matt moved had changed too, and now without the pretense of being just a regular, blind lawyer she could see this was someone that could certainly go toe-to-toe with her. Oh, who was she kidding? She'd probably get a beating.

Still, she was determined to get the best out of it. She brought a little bag with her so at least she had some shorts and a training tight shirt as well, strapping on the gloves.

"We are still doubting my stamina?" She replies, arching an eyebrow in amusement and then chinjerking towards Matt. "Care to ring the bell?" she offers, bare feet stepping forward.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt gladly takes the help with the tail end of breakfast, though for a guy who can't see what he's doing he's pretty good in the kitchen. Of course being able to smell, taste, and feel heat like he does certainly helps.

Then it's time to train, "Pretty much," Matt taunts still grining, his stance shifting subtly up onto his toes like a boxer. A sign of what's to come. "Sure," Matt says about ringing the bell.

He throws a straight jab right at Skye's face.

"Ding, ding," he says while the punch is flying.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The cheat!

There were a few things on her life that Skye was pretty certain of. One was that Matt was the honorable type, unable to resort to such low-

Her hand starts to go up almost by instinct at the thrown punch, but it's clearly too late. She is still hearing to one of May's earlier teachings when the punch connects 'Assumptions are your worst enemy.' Yep. But she takes it like a champ. Which means her head is tossed back a bit and she jumps back. Still, she has good instincts, that near block not too bad.

"So, we are going orphanage rules, is it?" She rolls her neck, keeping some distance from Matt before moving in. Jab, jab, low kick. Mostly warm-up for now.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Skye could be excused for her miscalculation about Matt. She's never met Stick and seen what a total bastard he could be, or how much he wanted Matt to be like him. Matt had avoided that fate for the most part but he definitely had a ruthless streak when it came to fighting. Would he hurt Skye? No, but he'd certainly push some buttons to see what she'd do.

So far, she'd done well, she took the punch, hand ready to block it then got the hell back to give her some room to manuever. Whoever handled her training knew their stuff and now so did Skye.

"Seemed fitting," he says as he slips snake like out of the way of the first jab, then the second, and slides backwards to avoid the kick, "Thanks for reminding me I need to work on getting out of the way quicker," he tells her with a smirk as he throws a right-left-right combo and follows it up with a kick of his own.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I am just setting you up for the big fall." Skye replies with a similar smirk to Matt's. She moves well on the floor, her bare feet sliding about with quite the impressive agility. In fact it seems to be where most of her fighting comes down to, being agile to counter stronger opponents. As the first two punches find nothing but air, and then the low kick that makes her pivot about herself also misses she immediately brings her hands up for defense.

The first lands on her gloves, making her fall back a little, then she ducks her head under the second, attempting to move under Matt's reach so he can't use his height and size as too much of a big weapon against her.

Of course that it means she takes the kick, just barely lifting her leg so as to not be put flat on the floor.

But she uses that momentum to spin about in an attempt to drive her elbow against Matt's chest. She's moving faster now, but she's no master.

Her heartrate still seems fairly normal, just starting to pick up pace now.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
It's a good angle for a small, fast opponent like Skye, agility, keeping moving getting under the bigger guy's reach. It almost pays off for her until that kick connects but to Skye's credit she doesn't just take it, she uses it turning her momentum into a counter-attack. He smiles, he smiles catching that elbow in a gloved hand, drawing her in close.

"Good instincts, but you don't want to grapple with a bigger opponent, they'll take you apart," he says his face close to hers in the hold. "Fortunately for you, I'm a softy," he says, and merely tries to turn that close grapple into a take down to drop Skye on her ass.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
It makes her smile, the way Matt catches her elbow and brings her closer to him, Skye's warm breath felt at their closeness. She watches his face for a moment, a brow quirking up just so, her back against him, "Maybe that's just what they want them to think..."

In truth she has had quite a bit of ground training, exactly to counter that weakness. Of course that she has only been training for around a year, even if she is an excellent student. But no more than that right now.

"And maybe I will take advantage of just that softness..." Just when Matt goes to toss her down to the ground she attempts to twist and turn around herself so as to tangle one leg with Matt's and drop him down as well. But she indeed does go down, falling with a 'oof' on the floor.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt's grinning too in that close moment, feeling Skye's smile in her voice, and how her heart picks up just a little. "Prove it then," Matt challenges, still smiling, enjoying the game of it.

"Still waiting..." Matt says before he moves to toss her to the ground only to have her pull off a counter he hadn't anticipated, taking him down with her, catching himself just above her so they were all but face to face. "Guess you proved it, still pinned though," he says, smile still on his face as he waits to see what Skye will do now.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Skye falls with Matt atop her, that leg of hers still tangled with his. She keeps her gaze up on him as she catches her breath, a bit of a wriggle but there is truth when people say stronger, larger opponents have an advantage on the ground. Specially when their skill is so different too. Her heartrate has picked up now, both at the exertion, the proximity or even the way Matt holds her.

Yet those gloves do make wonders. There is a hum that courses through her body but seems to gather at a point in her gloves just before it dissipates. No help from her powers there, at least until she learns how to control them in combat.

So she uses the oldest trick on her book, the manipulation she has learned since she was so little. "I have many powers." She whispers. Reaching up she goes to bump noses with him in that very familiar manner, but it's all a ruse! All an attempt to have him lower his guard so she can twist from under him and gain some measure of an upper-hand. But that is readable on her demeanor, specially for someone with such heightened senses.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Stick would kick Matt's ass if he caught him messing around like this and calling it training, but at least he coudl justify it in that the he is getting a good sense of the hum that goes through Skye's body and how the gloves seem to help to dissipate it.

He also finds out that Skye was as much of a dirty cheat as he was, which was gratifying in it's own ways. What with the nose rub and the attempt to squirm loose of his hold. He counters quickly and efficiently keeping her pinned for a moment longer, as he says, "Not bad, but never use a full measure when you can go for a full one," he says before leaning in to kiss her, letting go of his grip on her so if she wants she can take that moment to escape.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Stick is such a .., stickler to serious training! And he might be right if Skye was the stronger opponent than she is right now. No matter how much of a cheat she is! But hey, got to find your chances where you can get them. She shifts and attempts to turn but ufffs when her efforts are countered and she ends up helplessly down on the ground, head back, close to breathless and her arms pinned.

"I demand the ten coun---" She was just about to through one of those boxing quips until she finds those lips on hers, blessedly cutting off what she was saying. She finds herself 'melting' under that kiss, closing her eyes and reaching up to hold his cheeks with her fingertips once her arms are released. It doesn't seem like escaping is on her mind right now..

Matthew Murdock has posed:
There's a hint of a smile from Matt as their lips meet, those boxing references weren't ever going to die. Best to just accept that. Then he relaxes into the kiss, not looking to let her go so quickly now as he wraps her in his arms.

It's a little while before he breaks the kiss, smiling, bumping his nose to hers. "See, /that/ would have distracted me," he tells her with a grin before he sits up and offers her a hand up as well.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
It's easy to let herself sink into those comfortable arms, kissing and being kissed, body relaxing with each passing moment. Of course that it doesn't exactly help their training too much! When it breaks she takes a moment to recover her breath, letting herself lie down on the ground and looking up at Matt. "I will keep that in mind..."

And for sure she will, in more ways than one. She does take that hand though to sit up though, gripping it firmly and sitting on the floor with Matt. She laughs out softly. "Seems I still have a long way to go to be your match." not that it seems to bother her.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt too seems to be taken in by the kiss, forgetting what it is they were supposed to be doing until he's sitting up right and had taken a moment to clear his head.

"Yeah," he says throwing his arm around her shoulder and kissing her cheek. "But I've been doing this since before we met at St. Agnes, you'll get there when you've put in the time," he tells her. "In the meantime though, what do you say? Couple more rounds, no kissing," he gives a wry smile. "And then we hit the showers. What do you say?"

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Hit the showers, you say..." Skye says it in that teasing manner of hers as they rest there so close to each other, brushing her forehead against Matt's shoulder. Clearly tactics to get the man off balance! It's all a learning process. But then she is up on her feet, rolling her neck. "This is good to find my footing though, this training. I just am unable to think on my ability at the same time as when I am fighting though.." or not yet.

"If I knew you were such a badass I wouldn't had tried helping so much back then." She grinning at him.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"It's an expression," Matt says but he was totally thinking the same way she was implying. He bounds to his feet, lolling his head side to side. "Yeah, wanted to see what you'd learned so far, and test how good of a handle on your heart rate you had in a fight. You've been steady," he says, which may be the first time he's said directly he can hear heartbeats. "That's a good foundation for controlling the rest, bringing your powers into the fight, I felt them go off there when I had you pinned but the gloves stopped them, the instinct is there, we just need to get to the point where you can use them without hurting yourself along with the people you're trying to fight."

He smiles at her comments, "Worked hard to hide that from people, even my bratty best friend," he says with an easy grin. "Just didn't want to be any more different than I already was."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I have seen some action..." And that's putting it mildly, one year in SHIELD and it's been riddled with action.., and training and .., more action. And she was supposed to just be the hacker! But Skye doesn't seem to mind that. Though it's a surprise when heartbeats are mentioned. Sure, he could had touched her to feel her heartbeat, but that didn't happen, so when he says it with such certainty she lifts her brows.

"Simmons told me that the gloves not only focus my powers but also inhibits them, lowering their intensity." she explains, "I will need to find a good balance." she gets herself back into position, hands up, feet 'dancing' on the floor.

"You are full of secrets, Matt Murdock. But for all it's worth, I wouldn't had been any less of a friend." she says in that genuine manner of hers. And then she goes to attack him with a knee. Not even a 'ding ding'.