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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ: ʜᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ

❝ ɪ ᴀᴍ s.ʜ.ɪ.ᴇ.ʟ.ᴅ's ʙᴇsᴛ ᴀɢᴇɴᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴ. ❞

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       "LET'S START WITH THE BASICS," BRENDON SPOKE, FLEXING HIS JAW AS HE ROLLED UP HIS SLEEVES AND TOOK A FEW STEPS BACK, "REFLEXES."

"I already did reflex training with Corvey," you sighed while rubbing your face; you were still half-asleep.

"Yes, but," Brendon moved too fast for your lethargic brain to comprehend, and you weren't aware of what was happening until you spotted the flash of light being reflected off of the airborne blade. Gasping, you managed to duck down right in the nick of time; the dagger embedded itself into the wall padding behind you. "I'm not Corvey."

Shaking slightly from the shock, you breathed heavily as you picked yourself up, glaring hatefully at your bodyguard. "You're right. You're not Corvey. You're a fucking maniac. What the hell was that, Brendon?! You almost killed me."

Brendon rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've aimed lower – for your heart. That way, if you ducked, the dagger would catch your head; you would've died either way," he shrugged casually.

"Wow, okay. Thanks. Thank you for that," you remarked sarcastically, irately ripping your jacket from your body and aimlessly tossing it to the side. 

"It's a pleasure."

The next forty-five minutes were spent working on your reflexes in hand-to-hand combat. While training with Corvey, you were under the impression that your reflexes were up to par – you had injured the unfortunate agent multiple times during the session, after all. But training with Brendon, you realised just how wrong your impression was.

Every move you made, he countered effortlessly, while you were hardly able to reverse any of his. Most of the time you felt apathetic to even continuing on, but his words of encouragement along with his unrelenting tenacity revived your confidence and compulsion to prove yourself.

Brendon was a fighter unlike anyone you'd ever come across. Both figuratively and literally. He was disciplined, skilled and physically stronger than any of the other agents – even those with a bigger build than him – and even though he was holding back (and not even using a quarter of his strength, you were sure), he still pushed you to your limit.

You landed on the ground with a hard thud, knocking the wind from your chest. Although you'd landed rather harshly, you didn't feel any pain. It was more like discomfort. Clasping the side of your ribcage you had landed on, you coughed for air as you hoisted yourself up.

"C'mon, (Y/N)," Brendon sighed, a mixture of irritation and disappointment in his voice, as he offered you a hand and helped you up, "This is basic stuff."

"Not according to Corvey," you retorted, wincing as you rubbed at your side, "He said that was Level Four stuff."

"Last time I checked, it's me who's training you. Not Corvey."

"Yeah," you said, furrowing your brows, "Why is that exactly?" Brendon raised both eyebrows at you, waiting for elaboration. "I tried for weeks to get you to train me, and you refused. Then, as soon as I went to someone else for help, you decided that you would. Why?"

"I just changed my mind."

"Yeah, obviously," you snorted, "but why? Were you... jealous?"

Brendon tilted his head back slightly and scoffed, which you assumed was his version of a laugh.

"Jealous?" he half-smirked, cocking an eyebrow at you, "Why would I be jealous?"

"I don't know," you took a step towards him, "You tell me."

"Believe me, sweetheart, there's no reason for me to be jealous."

"Then why the sudden change of heart?" you pressed, wanting a proper explanation as to why he finally found it acceptable for him to train you, "Why not let me continue training with him? I thought he was doing a pretty good job."

"I noticed," Brendon muttered, face turning to stone once again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" you frowned.

"You two seemed to hit it off really well," he said, a hint of venom in his tone, "Or do you just let every guy touch your face like that?"

"Wha..." you shook your head in perplexity, before recalling what Brendon was referring to, then, you snarled at him, "You were spying on us?"

"I wasn't spying. I just happened to be near enough at the time to see it."

"So you are jealous!" you scoffed incredulously, poking him in the chest with a small smile. "I knew it!"

"I am not, nor will I ever be, jealous of him," he spat.

"You spied on us! I think that's a pretty clear indication of jealously.

"For the last time," Brendon growled through clenched teeth; his face taut, "I wasn't spying! The Director sent me off duty early and since I'm your bodyguard, I came to look for you. When I got here, I saw you... with him."

"And got jealous."

Brendon inhaled and exhaled shakily before lowering his gaze and advancing on you slowly; you kept your taunting resolve, but still backtracked as he walked forward.

"(Y/N), I am S.H.I.E.L.D's best agent for a reason. I'm stronger, faster, smarter, and more superior than Corvey will ever be. Anything he can do, I can do a million times better. You thought he was a good trainer? I'm a great trainer. The things he would've taken months to teach you, you can learn from me in one week. I have no reason to be jealous of him. I am better than him. In every. Single. Way."

At this point, you were backed up against the wall, and you and your bodyguard were kissing distance apart. Again.

You knew that everything that Brendon had said was true, but you also knew that you had touched a nerve, and you wanted to see how far you could push him.

You didn't say anything at first; you just looked at him. Then, you smiled a small smile.

"In every single way, huh?" you chewed on your lip. "Can you prove that?"

His eyes narrowed infinitesimally for a second and carefully, he lifted his hand and gently, he slowly ran the outside of his index finger down your cheek. Your breath hitched in your throat, and your cheeks heat up, which didn't go unnoticed by him.

"See?" he smirked. "Hotter touch."

You didn't reply.

"Now that that's settled," he said, stepping away from you (to your displeasure, admittedly) "Let's get back to work."

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