Chapter Text
"Again!"
There was a murmur of disbelief from the spectators. Snake Eyes had already slammed him at least a dozen times. It was going to hurt like hell tomorrow. He wiped the sweat back from his eyes and turned his back to his black-clad teammate. He felt stone, hard arms encircle his chest then curl up. Black gloved fists clenched beside his temples blocking his peripheral vision. A body as hard as the arms pressed to his back. A leg slid between his from behind. The embrace was almost intimate for the moment, supportive. He could easily have sagged back into it and closed his eyes in his exhaustion. For a moment he was sorely tempted but instead he raised his head.
"Ready!"
Like a snake uncoiling to strike the arms under his snapped up and back. He refused to cry out in pain as it felt as though his aching shoulders were being torn from their sockets. Instead he growled viciously and struggled against the hold. He had to do it without using his arms and that part of the exercise was definitely easier now that his arms were just too exhausted to lift. He shifted forward trying to find any leverage to toss the other Joe over his body. He felt the abdomen behind him tighten and flex then he was hitting the mat, hard.
"Again!"
He staggered up and turned watching Snake Eyes resume the stance, but a clipped voice ordered the ninja to stand down and he did so with a slight nod to Duke.
"But sir, I need to-"
"You need to stand down and grab a shower, soldier. You can try again another day."
He protested but was cut off with a raised hand. "I suggest you rein in that temper, soldier, before you take it out on someone who doesn't deserve it, someone you'll wish that you had at your back when the going gets tough. Now knock it off for the day, that's an order."
It wasn't until he stepped out of the shower an hour later that he realized what Stone had meant. There was no way Snake Eyes would think that he was angry at him and holding a grudge, or that he was jealous or anything like that, competitive yes, but jealous, no. He would never think that, he was sure he understood what it was like, the driving need to be better. He closed his eyes then jerked on a pair of sweat pants and headed across the hallway.
He knocked on the door but there was no answer. Not that there ever was, but polite was polite. It was unlocked. Snake Eyes never locked his door if he was in. He did not need to, everyone who did not respect him was intimidated by him. No one in their right mind would be foolish enough to sneak up on a legend who knew a hundred ways to kill a man before he could blink.
The other Joe was sitting cross-legged on his bed with his fingers steepled contemplatively before him. He had changed from his bio suit to a soft looking black gui. A cowl wrapped loosely around his head leaving his eyes exposed, something Duke had seen on very few occasions. It was a shame really, he had the strangest eyes, a light silvery shade of blue that almost seemed to reflect back the light in a watery shimmer.
"Am I disturbing your meditation?" He took the head shake 'no' as an invitation to sit and settled onto the bed facing him since there was no other furniture in the room except for a rack of weapons along the wall ranging from guns and knives to things that looked like long buttonhooks to his eyes.
"I just wanted to make sure you know that I'm not mad or anything about not being able to break that hold. I think the general thought I was, but I just get frustrated with myself for not succeeding. You knew that didn't you?"
The nod he got was accompanied by a decidedly amused look in the pale eyes.
"Are you laughing at me?"
Snake Eyes put his hand over his heart and gave him an innocent look.
"Oh yes you are, you're not fooling me with that pure as the driven snow act." He was rewarded with a crinkling of the eyes and shoulders that shook with silent laughter.
"I am so damned competitive aren't I?"
A slow half bow, half nod confirmed it.
"Is there a way to break the hold?" The nod seemed almost hesitant. "Is it dangerous?" A quick shake, no not dangerous, something else then. Most likely Snake knew just how exhausted he already was. "Will you teach me? I need to get it." A long hesitation then a single firm nod.
Snake Eyes rose. That simple act in him was supernatural, a lithe and sinuous undulating of muscle, controlled power, and grace that was accented more than hidden by the plain dark clothing. He stood in the center of the room on silent, bare feet and held his arms out.
Duke was reminded for a moment of a lover holding out his arms for his beloved to rush into them. He shook his head to clear the thought and moved into position. It felt quite a bit different with only sweats and cotton between them instead of fatigues and vinyl. He could feel the other man's heat, smell the lingering smell of soap and shampoo on his skin. He exhaled slowly seeking calmness and concentrating on the hold. The position of the hands were important. They were over the joints of his shoulder where he could get no leverage to throw them off. No one had been able to figure it out yet. You needed to break that hold and get your arms free because that knee between your legs kept you from getting any leverage up or down to break free. His mind switched gears abruptly.
Snake waited patiently, not yet snapping his arms up. He seemed to know that Duke was reassessing his options. He had a preternatural ability to tell when he was doing that. He often stopped dead watching his leader intently in battle to be ready for whatever unexpected order he might issue. In the beginning it had actually creeped him out a little, but as they completed mission after mission together, it had become part of the magic that made them the top commando team in an already elite force.
"You're not balanced on your back leg, your weight is here on this one." His brows furrowed. "Go!"
He fought the hold much more fiercely than he had in practice setting his muscles to screaming in protest. After the second try he relaxed catching his breath. The hold was back to its lose starting position. The balance situation began to nag at him again. If the balance was on the forward leg, directly underneath him.
"Again!"
He fought the hold a total of three more times, running through everything he had already tried.
Then his eyes lit up. The apartment floor was much harder than the training room mats, but he bounced back up with new purpose. "That's it! Snake, ready!"
He grunted as abused shoulders were once more forced up and back. He braced himself firmly on both legs letting his body sag into the cruel embrace instead of fighting it. Rather than trying to lift his opponent or lunge forward, he threw himself backwards adding all the force his legs could muster to his weight. There was a rumbled vibration in the chest behind him that he was certain was laughter and Snake was knocked down backwards. He realized they were going down together but it was too late to stop.
He weighed quite a bit more than his friend. He rolled immediately forgetting that arms still held him by the shoulder. Once he managed to untangle his limbs from his friend's he ended up on his back with Snake Eyes sprawled on top of him.
"Well that almost went according to plan."
There was incredulous look in the eyes above his face. There was no doubt he was being laughed at now. Snake's eyes crinkled and he lowered his head almost to Duke's chest. He took a gasping breath that hissed softly around the mirth.
"It isn't that funny, Well maybe it is." He smiled, realizing it was good to see the usually somber man amused. "It still isn't a perfect solution though. If you were a real assailant, you might have pinned me when we were both off guard or whipped out a dagger or something. I am assuming you aren't hurt unless you have a stitch in your side." His voice was dry.
Snake sat up balancing on the balls of his feet over him. His hands, very pale against the black, moved fluidly in sign language. Duke was not the best at reading it, but he was trying. "You break -uh- broke the hold, but you have no control the fall -during the fall maybe? Think and tomorrow do better."
"I will do better, thank you for letting me try until I got it."
He sat up catching Snake's thighs as he did. The ninja never even swayed, he was steady as a rock in the crouch. "You're balance is incredible. You know that don't you? It's absolutely disgusting." Strong hands closed on his wrists and he stood up pulling him up as if he weighed nothing at all. "Show off."
He took a step back and swept into a formal bow.
"And they say you have no sense of humor." He watched him straighten thoughtfully. "People don't really know you at all do they, even Scarlett. She thinks she does, and you two have served together a long time, but she hasn't got a clue what's going on behind your mask."
He blinked slowly and tilted his head up and to one side. "And I do? I'm getting better at reading your posture you know. No, I don't know you either, but I hope you'll let me. You're an incredible man and a good friend."
He bowed his head slightly and lowered his eyes before straightening back up.
Duke felt a rush of heat as he remembered with startling clarity the feeling of his body pressed against his. Not now, not him. He closed his eyes trying to shake the powerful wave of attraction. He felt eyes on him and prayed fervently that they could not read his mind at the moment.
"I am going to hurt very soon," he took the coward's way out. "I'd better try to get some rest. Night, Snake." He slipped out the door and all but ran back to his own quarters. He would need a cold shower then some serious exercise to get his mind out of the gutter.
Snake Eyes watched Duke's hasty exit thoughtfully then moved to the center of the room and did a handstand rising up onto his fingers and balancing his body rigidly above them. Discipline and training kicked in altering his metabolism and circulation until the position was as comfortable as standing up. Once his center was established his mind was clear to wander where it wanted and he was not surprised when it wandered back to the newest Joe. He reconstructed their meeting in his mind and replayed it, examining it from various angles. He was a puzzling creature. He had intuitively grasped that the arm pin was misleading, that balance was the key, but even so he had thrown himself against the hold multiple times before revising his strategy. What was he thinking during that time? Was he just being stubborn, was he using the futile attempts to buy time while he formulated a new plan, did he just like pain? It was fascinating to him. That event afterward was the most curious thing. There had been a strange look then some internal struggle that was not pain. No, he knew very well what pain looked like. It was some sort of personal battle but against what? It had been a long time since another person had intruded on his personal space as much and even longer since one had so captured his curiosity.