Puck knew she had an ego.

Everyone did, of course, to varying degrees. But there was a small part of Puck’s ego that wouldn’t let her forget that she’d won the genetic lottery with how she was made up. Her father’s strength and durability, her mother’s looks, with a combination of both their brilliant minds; her father’s martial arts prowess and tactical genius and her mother’s personality. It wasn’t something she lorded over other people, to be sure, because she didn’t want to be ‘that asshole’ that liked to point out just how superior they were for whatever reason. But it was times like now, standing on a beach and stretching, barely a stich of clothes on her, that she really felt her ego swell to unjustifiable proportions.

A little over an hour ago, just after Puck had got back from town on yet another fruitless day of researching the island and it’s mysteries in a dank basement filled with books and all Puck wanted to do was bask in the sun and relax for a bit. She wasn’t one to admit that she ‘deserved’ some time off, especially when they involved duties for the marines, but…no, screw that, she deserved this tiny bit of time off. Puck believed herself to be a Sun Worshipper and could almost feel herself rejuvenate when she stepped out of Baito’s Library and into the fresh outdoors. How someone could remain in a basement for days at a time boggled her mind, but to each their own.

There were a crowd of marines when she got back to their makeshift base, a scene that made Puck raise an eyebrow. They’d been working themselves ragged for the last five days and it was nice to see they were passing booze and other illicit substances around while cheering in a huge circle, surrounding two other marines, once of which Puck recognized as their very own Vice-Admiral facing off against Hammy, who looked ragged and a little more worse for wear than the woman he was standing across from. Puck smirked, noting that Hammy just didn’t have the stamina one should have as any marine and only slightly winced as Sara took him down with what looked like a simple maneuver. The cheers resounded and Puck grinned, taking out her pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lighting the one she took out, the drag feeling good as the smoke lightly burned its way down the back of her throat.

“Puck!!” A marine cried, running to the dark skinned marine as soon as he’d spotted her. He stopped a moment to put his hands on his knees, holding a finger up as he caught his breath. “Come on, I put down my last thousand beli on your winning the match.”

“Ah…what?” Puck raised an eyebrow at the marine, whose name escaped her at the moment. “Whatcha’be talkin’ ‘bout?”

“The fight, obviously. Come on!!”

And just like that he dashed off towards the crowd again, leaving Puck looking confused with her cigarette hanging loosely from her lips as she began to walk towards camp. She watched as the marine reach the crowd, more heads turning her way as she approached them. The cheering grew louder now, and Puck’s confusion only grew more. It wasn’t a feeling she liked, but the crowd parted for her, still cheering, as she stopped just outside the circle and watched as Sara helped Hammy up from his downed position and shake his hand, giving him a few words that Puck couldn’t hear. If she knew Sara, and she did, the Vice-Admiral was no doubt giving him some pointers and advice, a though that was confirmed when he smiled and bowed slightly to his superior and walked off, limping all the way.

“Roughin’ up da rabble, Sunshine?” Puck teased, dropping the bag she’d been carrying that contained more books plus her own notebook on all the clues that seemed relevant to their current mission. She winked as she used her nickname for Sara affectionately, something she’d been told not to do in front of others but one that always seemed to ‘slip’ from Puck’s mind. “Feelin’ a tad rusty mahself. How’s ‘bout you’n’ah get ourselves real close, all personal’like?”

She wasn’t going to lie; the resounding cheer at the challenge made Puck feel like she was on top of the world. Granted Sara was a Vice-Admiral, so Puck was under no illusion that she was going to be anywhere near her level but hearing those marines roar made the dark skinned woman feel like just maybe there was a possibility that she could get a few shots in that could please them well enough that, when she lost, they wouldn’t feel so bad about losing the beli they placed on her in bets. The cheers grew louder when Sara didn’t say a word; their leader simply held out a hand towards Puck, palm upwards, and beckoned the other woman towards in her an acceptance of the challenge. Puck’s half assed cocky grin appeared and already the woman was stripping off her clothes to get ready.

And so there they stood, Puck just getting done with her stretches in preparation for the fight. Sara, a tad more modest than Puck, (which wasn’t saying much as Puck didn’t have much modesty to begin with) was wearing just a sports bra that covered her top and simple pants that all marines wore. Puck was much the same, only her legs were bare and the boy shorts she wore as underwear covered her ladybits and behind from prying eyes. Not that the crowd didn’t gawk, but the blush that lightly colored Sara’s face made Puck give a light chuckle. She wasn’t certain, but that blush was reserved for her and that made her ego just dance a bit more.

“No abilities, just hand to hand,” Sarah said, holding up a hand to prevent a premature start to the battle. “Lesse if’n ya can hang, savvy?”

Puck almost laughed at Sara’s attempt at her own accent but refrained, her eyes simply glowing a golden yellow in happiness. She nodded in agreement, the two circling each other a moment after, watching each other, the uneven ground the sand provided barely noticed by the two combatants. They barely noticed the crowd of marines now, rabid as they waited for the two to clash, the world slipping away as they kept well trained eyes on each other’s movements before someone started the fray in earnest.

And of course it was Puck to make the first move, anxious as she was, to get the fight started. The woman seemed to fly in, her body barging into Sara’s personal space in almost a blink of the eye; the punch that lashed out was blocked, as were the several that followed. Sara hopped back, parrying the lunging fist of Puck with a flattened palm of a hand and slapping it aside as she threw an elbow towards Puck’s exposed face. Puck twisted backwards, her back bending in an impossible angle as she back flipped, her feet coming up to connect with her Vice-Admiral’s face as she did so. The taller woman blocked those as well before whipping a foot forward in an attempt to kick Puck’s exposed back, barely missing as Puck cartwheeled, her hand still planted on the ground as her legs swung up and then back towards Sara’s legs, the breakdance maneuver smooth and simple and hard, though the impact was minimized as Sara blocked the incoming hit with the shin of her leg. She countered this again by lunging forward with a knee meant for Puck’s face, but again Puck danced away with another cartwheel, righting herself a moment later on both legs and a single hand planted onto the hot sand beneath them.

Sara’s offensive was no less impressive, her speed overtaking Puck’s own in a way that the shorter marine wasn’t used to. There weren’t many people she’d fought that were faster than she was but Sara was proving her fighting ability wasn’t just something she touted around and lorded over people to look ‘strong’. She came at Puck with a flurry of punches that Puck barely found herself blocking or parrying, but the blow that hurt the most came to her right shoulder. Not wanting to be outdone and wanting to let her superior know that every hit she landed would come at a price, Puck lanced out a punch that landed directly onto Sara’s collarbone. The hit hurt Puck’s hand as well, though she figured it would; her opponent was made of steel, it seemed. Sara shrugged off the impact and rushed into Puck’s personal space, her shoulder coming up and hitting Puck in the chest. It wasn’t a move meant to harm, Puck knew, but a way to get space. The follow up punch was barely dodged; Puck could feel the wind blow past her face as it did so, making her eyes widen just a bit in surprise.

They were a blur of movement, Puck’s evasiveness and dancing doing its best to have Sara land as little hits an possible, while Sara’s speed and power keeping Puck on her toes much more than she was used to. The thought that Sara was holding back crossed Puck’s mind and she almost frowned at the thought, but seeing Sara’s look of concentration and the way her mind seemed to be tunnel visioned directly onto the dark skinned woman was readily apparent. The next salvo of movement made the crowded marines cheer, the ground beneath them actually shaking as they did so. Both were breathing a bit heavier than normal as they went through the flurry of movements, each missed hit making a whistling noise as they flew past their intended targets, each hit that slapped against bare skin making the crew wince with the noise it made.

And then the opportunity arose. A dodged punch and a parried follow-up from Puck left Sara wide open for a counter, and counter she did; the fist she lanced out cracked her Vice-Admiral right on the nose, sweat spraying off of her as her head shot back unnaturally. Puck grinned that cocky grin that so many opponents hated. It was the first real solid hit to the face in the match and Puck reveled that she was able to land it…until she felt the grip on her wrist. Instinct took over as the marine realized her mistake but it was too late; Sara righted herself almost magically and pulled Puck’s wrist down. Her balance off and her strength unable to overtake Sara’s own and Puck found herself falling down…

Right into Sara’s knee.

A moment later Puck woke, blinking rapidly as she sat up, a decision she regretted instantly. Nausea took over for a moment and Puck tried her best to keep her swimming head and roiling stomach in check but failed. Luckily there was a bucket right nearby and out it came. It was bile, mostly, as she hadn’t eaten anything since she was in town at Baito’s Library, but it felt good to get out. Deciding to err on the side of caution Puck laid back down on the bunk and groaned, her tongue lolling out dramatically before she coughed, her ribs making her wince in pain as she did so.

“Awake, are we?” Puck looked over to the entrance of the tent. Sara was standing there, still half naked though this time she had a towel hanging off the top of her head as she rubbed it to dry her hair. “Been out for three hours.”

“…jes a nap,” Puck sniffed, though her tone was teasing. “Jes restin’mah eyes.”

“Uh huh.” Sara smirked in a knowing tone before she reached to a nearby chair and grabbed a towel that was hanging on it and tossed it to Puck. “Doctor says to stay in bed for a day. No arguments.” She said the last part in her commanding tone as Puck opened her mouth, shaking her head as Puck snapped it shut just as quickly. “You got a concussion. I might have…overdid it a bit.”

“Naw,” Puck smiled, eyes glowing warmly as she watched her superior get dressed. “Twas…enjoyable.”

“Pffft,” Sara rolled her eyes. “Only you could say getting a concussion was enjoyable.”

“Not’dat,” Puck sat up now as she grabbed the towel. “Tha dance. Das’da part ah liked.”

They stared at each other now, their eyes (so similar in color!) locked onto the other before Sara turned her head, that familiar blush appearing before she turned completely. She stopped before exiting the tent and turned her head to talk over her shoulder.

“Go shower and see the doc again,” she said, her tone even. “Get yourself checked out.”

“Ya? Not gonna join’meh?” Puck pouted teasingly, her cocky grin coming back full force. “Ah tink’ya missed’ah spot.”

All she got was a snort in response but Puck was certain that blush had gotten darker despite not being able to see it. She laid back down on the bed for a moment, resting an arm on her forehead as she let her mind wander back to the fight. She had no idea how long they’d danced but it must have been for quite a while for her body to feel this sore. She’d fought her father for hours before and felt just as bad but she knew he’d always been holding back, something Puck begrudgingly accepted as necessary when they sparred. Sara was under no such restrictions, and the chuckle that escaped her lips was genuine. She wondered just how hard she’d have to work to get anywhere near Sara’s level before deciding it didn’t matter; she had a shower to take and rack time to accumulate. Next time Puck would win, and she’d have the common courtesy to wait to take a shower to see if Sara wanted to join her.