1963-10-30 - Argument at the Gym
Summary: Eddie, Akihiro and Ava have a chat in a gym. It does not end well.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
ava akihiro eddie 


It's evening, and the place isn't really bustling with busy. Well, the bar is busier then the gym, at least. But that's how Eddie likes it and why he comes to this here gym: its not as crowded. He can think. At the moment the young man is in sweats, and doing a fair job of beating the daylights out of the punching bag, working up a sweat while getting it done. A thermus sits nearby, as does his backpack.

*

Ava doesn't do her training at a gym like this. She's not much for showing off. She is, however, one for watching others. And a bar with a gym? Well that's just custom made for it. Although honestly, she looks a little bit young to be here drinking. Just as well, then, that she looks to be nursing a bottle of Coca-Cola from a corner of the bar where she can see both the door and the "gym."

*

Akihiro was out shopping earlier, and with that complete he made the responsible adult decision to go drinking. Several bottles of scotch later he found himself, somehow completely sober, in the gym. Apparently showing off is his thing, becahe heads straight for the bench, loading the bar up to the point it starts to bow slightly. Regardless of the obvious safety concerns, he hops right in and starts benching it.

*

"You sure that's wise, man? Need a spotter?" Eddie pauses in his assault on the punching bag to regard the asian man for a moment, frowning a little bit, "It'd ruin the place's rep if you accidentally take your own head off with that thing." He lets his eyes scan across the room, and he notices the lady off in the bar, but for the moment is content to notice. Crouching down, he snags up his thermus and takes a long swig of whatever is inside.

*

Ava sits up a little taller in her chair when Akihiro starts to load up the weights, brow quirking curiously. If he starts suffocating, it would be good if someone…called for someone bigger and stronger than she is to pick it up. Someone like the other fellow at the punching bag, for example. She takes another sip of her soda, twisting on the stool so she's looking more toward the gym than the door.

*

"Be a story." Akihiro says with a slight grin. He doesn't look to be having too hard a time of it, and he certainly doesn't appear to be breaking a sweat. "You're welcome to, but I'm just warming up." His gaze follows Eddie's, landing on Ava, who he shoots a wink before turning his attention back to the weights.

*

"Yeah, and since I'm a reporter, I'd be the one writing it. And taking the photo." Eddie considers and then reconsiders and gives a nod, having to grin and turning back to the punching bag. "Nevermind, I changed my mind, if you get dead I have a scoop." And so he goes back to punching the bag. But, he does look back a moment and notice Ava, and offer her a smile.

*

Ava's smile flickers as both of the men look over. Taking her bottle with her, she hops down from her stool to come over to the edge of the gym area. "Hello," she greets, looking between the bag and the weights before she crouches at the edge to get a better look at the numbers. "That is a lot of weight, yes?" she asks.

*

"Depends on the person, I suppose." Akihiro replies, putting the bar up and moving to return the weights to where he got them from. "And if it turns out weights are what finally kills me, I'm going to be incredibly unhappy." he says over to Eddie next.

His attention moves to over the area, taking in what equipment is currently available. "Hopefully business picks up here. Could get used to being able to mix scotch and hitting things that aren't as fragile as people."

*

"It's a respectable weight." This Eddie admits to Ava, and from the sound of his voice, he's grudging in that admission. Oh how he hates to not be the best at anything at all. "Looks like they might add boxing— at least that's what I'm interpreting the square as intending. Would like to join a gym for some boxing, and if there's whiskey within five feet for when I'm done, all the plusses." Looking back to Ava then he nods his head, "I'm Eddie. How do you do?"

*

"If it's going to be finally, it seems like an awful boring thing to try," Ava smirks back at Akihiro, straightening up to nod to Eddie. "Ava," she introduces herself, walking along the perimeter of the gym area, taking another sip of her soda. "Alcohol and fighting seems like it might not be the best combination. Seems like more people would end up getting hurt when they pick fights they're in no shape to win."

*

"Boxing is always fun. As long as they know what they're doing." Akihiro seems to like the idea. "Oh, my manners. I'm Akihiro." He walks over to investigate the square in question. "Drinking and fighting aren't always that bad, take me for example. If I do manage to drink enough to get drunk, I won't be drunk but for a little while. I'll also leave looking exactly like I did when I walked in."

*

Eddie gives a bit of a shrug, turning and punching the bag. He has a good arm, and the kid is stacked. But he's just human and not an expert. He has potential, though. "I assume there's some rules, like, you drink last not first. Besides, who wants to box someone who can't stand up straight? What's the challenge in that, how can you tell if you're really better then them?" And that's what is important. Then he turns an odd look over for Akihiro, "You won't be drunk but for a little while? Looking exactly like you did?"

*

Ava's look toward Akihiro more or less echoes Eddie's, curious. "Well, that's you, then," she smiles faintly. She watches Eddie's movements a little more closely, though if she finds room for improvement, she keeps it to herself for now.

*

"I could explain, or you could punch me in the face." Akihiro lifts his shoulders in a slight shrug. "Usually better to show than tell." It appears he isn't too worried by Eddie's display.

*

"You want me to punch you in the face." Eddie's voice says: Skeptical. He turns to regard Akihiro with a long head to toe look, and the outcome of that evaluation clearly shows: not impressed. How silly the ego of a man can be who doesn't know he's facing the superhuman. "Really, you want me to punch you in the face, man, I'll do it, but I'm not going to be gentle about it."

*

Ava takes another sip from her soda bottle, looking between the pair. "This is the sort of reason I was thinking alcohol and a boxing ring could end poorly," she notes for the record, gesturing between them with the bottle. She's not stepping in between them though. Or trying to stop it.

*

"I'd hope not. I'd have to find a different way to show you then." Akihiro is still very obviously not worried. "So, give it your best shot. May even impress me."

*

Shaking his head, Eddy looks between Ava and Aki, his expression like: man asked for it. "Hey, I'm just drinking OJ, wasn't planning on touching any alcohol until after. I don't like mixing alcohol and workouts, that way leads dehydration." is his counter for Ava. So, rolling his shoulders he strides up to Akihiro and swings with a very strong hit and skillful hit aimed to the face— if Aki takes it or dodges it is another matter. And for strength and skill, that's measured entirely on the scale of Eddie being a completely mundane human with not one inch of alien symbiote bonded to him. Or other supernatural power.

*

One arm crossed over her chest, Ava takes half a step back from the square as Eddie lines up the punch. Just in case Akihiro intends to strike back, all the better to be out of the way. She saw how much weight was on that barbell.

*

Akihiro doesn't dodge it, instead he actually turns into it. While the blow does rock his head, the teen doesn't actually appeared bothered by it even though it split his lip open. Before it even has a chance to bleed though it knits back together, a dark bruise forming and fading almost instantly. "My body heals pretty quickly." he explain now, cleaning what little blood managed to trickle down to his chin. "Fun side effect is alcohol, poison, and similar things don't do anything to me."

*

Eddie… blinks. And backs off a step. And frowns. There's a look of revulsion that crosses his features, in fact. His entire body goes from: give the guy a serious, to: whoa this situation is wrong. "So you're one of… those things. The mutants. Freaks. I mean its bad enough you're a daikon" Big assumption, but, assumptions make asses out of you and me "walking around like normal people, but you're one of *them*? That's disgusting. You're disgusting. What right do you have to stalk around like a *real* person?"

*

Ava arches a brow slowly at that response from Eddie. "Hey now, maybe take it easy," she cautions, torn between taking another step back or taking a step forward to get between the pair. Instead, she ends up staying where she is. Gathering more information. "He did say it before you hit him. He wasn't hiding anything here."

*

Akihiro straightens up slightly, the smile that doesn't reach his dead black eyes widening, enough now to show off his sharp canines. "You wanna know something, Eddie boy?" Now is as good a time as ever to find out that the teen happens to be as fast as he is strong, and that becomes quickly apparent when he swings on the man.

"You happened to catch me on a good day. So I'll let you off with a little advice." He raises his fist once more, this time about three feet from Eddie's face, which wouldn't be so bad if a pair of shiny metal claws didn't erupt from between his knuckles, thankfully stopping short of actually hurting the man. "Watch your mouth, you never know who you're dealing with."

*

Eddie is hit, and he can't take it as well as Akihiro does: his lip is broken and bloody strips, but it doesn't really change his demeanor. He has enough steel to take the blow and grunt through the pain. What defines him are two things: Rage and Fear. The fear, it keeps Eddie from trying to beat a guy he clearly can not beat, but that very fear feeds the power of the rage. The hate. Oh, Eddie *wants* in that moment as he lifts a hand up to brush blood from his lip, do more. Ava's declaration gets a glance, and her caution feeds the fear. But. The rage. The rage. "You think you can do anything. You think you're above us all. Better then us." The rage is so strong he shivers: rage and envy and jealousy and hatred, oh these come so naturally to Eddie. And those claws. He clearly can't do anything against them, but his pride— oh, pride— allows him to back off only a single foot even when faced with a clearly superior foe. The hate… the hate is strong with this one.

*

"Hey." Ava does step forward now. "Guys, let's not-" If she stops Akihiro, what then? Eddie doesn't seem like the sort to take being saved by a girl particularly well. And anything beyond just being a girl in the middle of it's going to draw attention. Not that she wants to pick a fight with Akihiro, either.

Finally, she turns toward Akihiro, her back to Eddie. "You should go," she says quietly. "I'm gonna go find the owner." Of course, when she looks to him, there's a spark in her eyes. A literal, electric blue spark.

*

"That's where you're wrong. I'm not better than anybody, in fact it's a struggle to think of myself as more than an animal." Akihiro lets his claws retract, he clearly wasn't planning on using them. "Even back home, because my father's white that's all I was to them, a cur. A mutt. Something to be spit on and excluded. Until you've been taken from your home, tortured, and forced to become a killer, you can't judge me."

Ava gets a slight nod, "I think I've overstayed my welcome. " He heads over to collect his jacket, tugging it on and raising his hood. "And I pulled that punch. Would have been just as easy to dislocate your jaw." he informs Eddie quietly, turning to leave the warehouse.

*

Eddie glares daggers at Aikhiro: if looks could kill, his would. But if Ava is going to push for a separation and Akihiro isn't going to push a conflict? Eddie's got just enough self-preservation not to go up against a superman with daggers in his hand. But what he doesn't have is the ability to show anything but contempt on his face. Conempt. Disgust. But that's it. He'll grind some teeth and that's that.

*

To anyone else in the room, Ava has no reaction to Akihiro's words about his life. To his heightened senses, though? There's a skip in her heartbeat, a breath caught and held as her stomach drops to her knees. It's a visceral reaction of dread, no matter how well she hides it. She knows what it is to be taken from her home, tortured…and at least groomed to be a killer. But she walks away, then breaks into a brief jog as she heads for the bar to ask after the owner, pointing toward the mats.

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