Hitting the Mats

Posted on Tue Jan 5th, 2016 @ 2:21am by Lieutenant Nick Marcinko & Lieutenant Commander Leto

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Deck 65 - Gymnasium

* Nick’s Quarters *

Leto wanted to break things. It had been a stressful ….week? two weeks? She couldn’t say exactly, the time had all blurred together. Maybe a holodeck simulation of a china shop she could bull her way through would be fun. What she really wanted to break was a who, and he was in a brig cell secluded from the rest - Niro. That would have made her feel immeasurably better, she decided. Barring that, though, maybe she could convince Nick to join her in a little time on the mat. They could beat each other senseless, then go have dinner. She reached his door and entered the code to open it.

“Nicky?” she called.

From the bathroom he heard her call out. “Uh...in a minute!” he said. “Great timing, woman. Guess I just gotta’ pinch this one off and run right out there.”

It took him a few moments, but he finally appeared. Instinctively going in for a hug, he stopped when he saw her face. “What’s up, babe? What’s wrong?”

“No need to cut it short on my account.” She tried to keep a straight face but failed and a smile broke through for a moment. “It’s been a hell of a few...many...days sugar.”

“Hmmm, need to relieve some stress?” he asked. “What’s your pleasure? The gym or the bedroom? I prefer the latter, of course, but I just want to make you happy. Mainly because I don’t want you to cut my throat in my sleep.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” She saw his sudden wary expression and smiled again. “No, not your throat, Niro’s. That would solve a lot of problems. How about gym first? I have a little favor to ask too.”

“If it involves killing that guy, I’m game,” he said. “But you don’t need me for that.”

“Sadly, we can’t, as much as I’d like to. Throw on something you can hit the mat in and let’s go before I put my fist through a bulkhead and engineering yells at me.” She patted his cheek and moved back towards the door.

He walked to the bedroom to change saying, “This is gonna’ hurt. I can’t wait!”


* * * Deck 65 - Gymnasium * * *

They had barely been going at it for five minutes, feeling each other out and seeing how this was going to go. Nick knew that she was going to come at him full bore, so he was on the defensive. She needed a punching bag and he was more than willing to be one, but he wasn’t going to make it easy on her. There were only two rules when they sparred: 1) she couldn’t kick him in the nuts, and 2) he refused to strike her above the stomach. He liked her face and chest to be unbruised--personal preference, you know.

She hadn’t spoken the entire way there, so he knew she was serious. Finally, he went for a front kick to get them started.

Leto’s preoccupation told on her and the kick found a solid landing at her hip. “Oof!” she grunted, then retaliated with a kick to his shoulder. “Times like these, Nick, I wonder if I’m cut out for desk work.”

His muscle absorbed the impact and he went for a leg sweep, but she jumped just in time. He followed through with a large haymaker-style hammer blow, while still crouched, that made contact with her outer thigh. “You’re definitely a field agent, but you do have the smarts to run the place.” He blocked a jab and didn’t notice the other jab that landed on his jaw. “Damn,” he said, falling back a few paces. “It’s hard to just stop being in the field, you know. I bet Li and the old man could attest to that. Maybe,” he paused as he caught one of her kicks to his side, “you should go talk to one of them?” he said, then ducked as she swung at him. He kept hold of her leg and jabbed a few times at the inside of the other thigh, then almost blacked out as she jumped with her other leg and connected her shin to the side of his face, falling onto her back.

When he bent over her, she pressed her bare feet to his chest and shoved him back. She watched as he toppled over, then got back on her feet. “What if Dae can’t be recovered? What if we lose Nico too? I really wish Six had been here when they left, I’d have sent her along. She’s young but with the Borg? We could have used her to fight fire with fire.”

“Shoulda’, coulda’, woulda’,” he said as he scrambled back to his feet, fully expecting her to launch herself at him at any time. “She wasn’t here, so the best decision was made. You know how it goes, babe. Our job is very fluid. We make the best of the situation, face insurmountable odds and fucking devastate them. And you--oh shit!”

She did launch herself at him, while he was busy jaw-jacking. She landed a solid hit on the left side of his face, but as he stumbled back, he grabbed her and pulled her in for a bear hug. Not managing to keep his footing, however, they fell to the mat with Nick absorbing all of their weight. The wind rushed out of him, but he kept squeezing her. Despite not being able to breathe at the moment, he liked feeling the warmth of her lithe body lying on his.

That was until she bounced his head off of the mat a few times, disorienting him quite a bit.

He had to let go of her. Thankfully, however, she wasn’t so full of rage that she stomped the shit out of him while he was down. She actually gave him a moment to get his bearings and get back to his feet.

“Uh neea sap,” he said in gibberish.

She stopped bouncing around and arched an eyebrow.

“Sap! A sap! Boom!” he said, this time weakly mimicking an open handed slap to the face.

Leto slowly grinned, more than happy to oblige, and with one hell of a haymaker slap that sent his head snapping to his right, he was finally able to shake the cobwebs loose.

“Goddamn. I think my circuits got fried,” he said, then blew out his cheeks with a large exhale. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, sweetie.” She flashed him a devilish smile as they began to circle each other once again. “Remember that favor I mentioned?” She dashed forward, bent low as if to tackle him and he deftly leaped out of the way. She stopped herself against the wall and turned back, circling him once again.

“Yep,” he said as he feigned a body shot to the left, knowing she would move right, then nailed her in the gut. “Lay it on me.”

Leto bent over and coughed as she caught her breath. “Have you...noticed...all the Cardassians running around here the past few days?”

“Of course,” he said, punctuating his response with another leg sweep, only this time she caught it and rapid-fired several jabs into his thigh. He managed to get away, but was limping quite a bit.

“You know that you always squint and hunch your shoulders before a leg sweep?” She laughed for a moment. “That’s how I always know it’s coming. Anyhow, we have a couple of freelancers watching them but I’d like you to keep your eyes open. The legate is pretty easy to follow but it’s his lackeys that I want watched and that comes from the top.”

He started to pull his lower leg up to stretch but that only started a painful charley horse in that thigh and he toppled over. His leg was now seized, locked into position until he could get the cramp out. And if Leto was of a mind, she could easily come over and pummel him.

Desperately trying to get up to be back on the defensive, he fell twice, his leg just not wanting to cooperate. “Shit! Shit, shitty, shit-shit!” he yelled, gaining a few looks from some of the others in the gym, but once they realized who the two on the mat were they quickly turned back to what they were doing.

“Hang on.” Leto knelt down by him, took hold of his ankle and slowly began to stretch his leg out with one hand. With the other, she kneaded the knotted-up muscle. “This helping any?”

“Ah! Ah ah!” he said through gritted teeth. But not one to miss an opportunity he grunted out, “Higher. It’s higher up.”

The knot was getting worked out but he kept prompting her higher up toward his crotch until her face went blank and she slapped his chest. “What? Can’t blame a guy for trying!”

“Later, not here.” She grinned at him. “So, what about that favor? Before you collapsed like an old man?”

“Old m--what!? Those were some hardcore hits, woman! And I think you had your middle knuckle pointed out just for good measure!” Suddenly he turned on the charm. “Ooooh, now I see. You wanted to put on a little show for the crowd, rubbin’ up all over your man.” He clicked his tongue twice. “Smooth, babe. Smooth. And you know I’ll do anything for you, thigh rubs or not.” He leaned in and whispered, “Can I kill one of ‘em?”

“That depends on what they are up to,” she whispered back. “Kh’ali’s already scenting blood and you know better than anyone what that could mean.”

“Well, since I don’t know anything about Klingon menstrual cycles, I’ll assume it’s not that,” he smirked. “But I’ll take care of it and let you know if anything odd happens.”

“Thanks. I’ll send you everything we have so far but fair warning, it’s a little complicated. How’s the leg?”

“I’m good now. Was better with you rubbing it, but I’ll live.” He stood, slowly, but made it up and was able to move around easily. “I can do complicated, by the way. I’m not all brawn and no brains, you know.”

“I know, Nicky.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him, not caring that others might be watching. “It’s why I want you doing this. There’s none better.”

He couldn’t help but be a bit nervous, expecting the kiss to be followed up by a power slam or something, but it didn’t come.

“So, do you need to spar some more or is it chow time?” he asked. “You can kick me around more if you need to.”

A slow smile spread over Leto’s face. “Dinner, then wrestling. But not here...for either one. You game?” She hooked her finger in the neck of his t-shirt and tugged on it.

“For you, doll? I’m game for anything.” He leaned in and gave her another kiss, but pulled back abruptly. “Except mushrooms. I don’t like mushrooms, but I think you know that.”

“Okay, no mushrooms on the pizza. But everything else, I insist. “Come on, let’s get outta here. I’m starved.” Leto let go of him and strolled towards the door. Behind Nick, one of the crewmen spoke up.

“You are a lucky man, Nick….as long as you manage to stay out of sickbay.”

“Luck has nothing to do with, kid,” he said, slapping him on the shoulder. “But I am about to get lucky.” He waggled his bushy eyebrows at the crewman and strode out of the gym. Well, it was more of a limp/stride/limp/stride. A pimp walk? Either way, George Jefferson would have been proud.

-------------------------------------
Lt. Leto
Working Out Some Frustrations

Lt. Nick Marcinko
Punching Bag/Luckiest Man Ever