Chapter Text
Jace's hand tightened on the hilt of the blade he wielded. He held it backhand currently, having done a decently graceful maneuver to get it there.
"I didn't realize you were so practiced with a blade," Gideon encouraged, the rippling gold fading over his right bicep where Jace had just stabbed at. The blades were dulled, of course, but a hit still might draw blood. It was good practice to intuite when he should raise his barrier.
Jace flashed him a slightly arrogant smile, quite proud of himself that he had actually managed to land a hit. Gideon was beginning to have to actually pay attention, which was about the best praise he could give the significantly less skilled fighter. "Learned all I know from a good friend," Jace explained, trying to spin the dagger impressively but dropping it. Chuckling as he bent over to pick it up, he muttered," Sure didn't learn all he knew."
Gideon waited for Jace to be ready again before sending a slow swipe his way, just short of making contact with his neck. "Dead again," he joked, smiling too friendly for Jace to take offense.
Jace sighed and asked," How many times have you killed me in just this practice?"
Gideon sheathed his blade and answered," We just hit ten. Let's call it a day. You're getting tired." Jace had good form—movements a little sharper than his weapon—but he got exhausted easily and it showed in how sloppy his dodging and attacking became. He hadn't broken a sweat himself, but Jace's breath was already coming in a little short.
"Yeah, you're right," Jace acknowledged. He didn't want to think about how Lavinia was right; he needed to exercise more. Anyways, that meant he could put his cloak back on, which he looked forward to. The fabric of his shirt was so light that it moved freely, and he hated how it got snagged on his scars and made them itch.
He put the dagger back on the rack of weapons Gideon had out in the training room. They weren't like the ones Kallist had taught him with. They were close, but the weight felt off in the hilts. Hand still on handle of the dagger as it rested in its designated spot, Jace's eyes grew a little unfocused and Gideon noticed.
"Everything alright, friend?" He rested a hand over Jace's shoulder, engulfing the smaller man's shoulder easily.
It took Jace a few seconds to register what had been asked, and looked to Gideon with a forced smile. "Of course. Just tired," he dismissed. It wasn't convincing, but he was relieved when Gideon went with it.
He saw Gideon holding his cloak for him, and Jace appreciatively took the offered comfort, quickly slipping it on and doing the buckles to keep it in place without a second thought.
"We should practice tomorrow or the day after again. Your form relaxes when we wait a whole week to spar."
Jace couldn't stop himself from groaning. He liked Gideon enough, and occasional playing around—well, Gideon insisted it was combat practice, but Jace would rather not rely on his martial skills—with blades was fun, but regimented exercise was less than exciting. Gideon always insisted on warming up, and that included running.
With an amused quirk of an eyebrow, Gideon ribbed," Afraid I'll make you run the full two miles I keep saying we will?" He always started off warm-ups with a light run, but Jace always got short of breath by just a few minutes of jogging. Today they'd managed to get in a full mile going slow, but he seriously doubted he'd be able to convince Jace to run that much again tomorrow.
"I may have been a maze runner, but I'm not about to go running for no reason."
"The reason is your health and happiness," Gideon insisted with a good natured laugh.
Jace looked to him with a nonplussed grin and asked," Have you ever met me?" Health was not his forté. If it weren't for Lavinia, he would probably forget to eat until he passed out. He'd done it enough before to be familiar with how it felt.
They began to walk to the kitchen to draw some water. It may not have been a very intense workout, but it was a good habit to drink plenty of water anyways, and Gideon did worry about Jace's health. Sometimes he wondered how the mind mage took care of himself, now that he lived with him and could witness just how much he had to be reminded about simple things like sleeping. Sure, Gideon could deprive himself of rest and food when he needed to, but Jace honestly just seemed to forget that the body needed them even while peace prevailed.
After grabbing some glasses of water, Jace finished mulling over Gideon's proposal and said," Okay, we can practice tomorrow, but I'll have a timepiece readied, and I swear if we go over ten minutes of running, I'm done."
He didn't mind so much, definitely not as much as vocally protested, and he liked working one on one with Gideon. It was good to brush up on his knife and sword skills too, since he had been quite rusty when Gideon first suggested they train together. That he rarely wore a shirt while working out was a bonus that Jace would never admit to appreciating out loud.
Gideon nodded, warmth coming from his friendly smile. "Sounds good," he formally acknowledged. His goal of everyone being able to protect themselves with simple weapons was just as much out of ensuring safety no matter what unexpected events they came up against as it was out of getting to know his teammates better. A warrior could learn a lot about someone from sparring together, and the togetherness bred from training with each other would only help them protect the multiverse as future threats manifested.