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who: Illya Kuryakin with Ivar and Ultimates Tony (later)
what: Sparring & Chess because Illya is competitive in every single thing he does
when: During and after the temporary Chalice event
where: Illya’s usual gym
warnings: Angry men Will add as needed

Ivar;

Illya was an extremely competitive man. He’d always been, and he probably would always be. The fact that that tendency had been encouraged in his training probably didn’t help. But the fact is, that during his entire life Illya has strived to be the best at everything he does. And, considering his father was sent to the gulag in shame and he’d had to become the man of the house pretty early on he’d also tried his best to be as aggressive and strong as he’d been told a Russian men should be.

Point is: Illya played to win, no matter what. And the look in his eyes as he eyed Ivar while he stretched before their match said this situation wasn’t going to be any different.

“I was surprised you still wanted to go through this, considering what’s happening.”

Tony Stark;

Illya had only met the man once, over a chess game he’d somehow won even when he was well and thoroughly intoxicated with alcohol. But he won’t deny it had been a memorable meeting, and not just because Illya doesn’t lose at chess often when he’s playing with random people from the street.

It was kind of amusing to Illya that every time he’s talked about Tony Stark to people from certain worlds they all seemed to just... know, what he meant when he was trying to describe the man and failing. But luckily for him that meant that tracking him down was kind of easy- even if tracking down the right Tony Stark was a little harder.

After contacting him and suggesting they play again (he’d been practicing!), Illya was then waiting for him as he did his best to clean his room to make it presentable. ...His room was actually pretty spotless, but one always has to show your best side to your guests.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Just because Ivar had been affected by what was going on only meant that the usual insane, feral anger had been tempered into something less ferocious. Most of his basic personality, minus the unstable nature and usual sadism, was still present. All this guaranteed was that at least Illya wasn't going to get stabbed in the chest with a knife if Ivar got too involved in their match.

"I haven't changed that much. And it gives me something to do." He didn't look like much, sitting there in his wheelchair, arms with the braces on them that his roommate had made for him. But there was definitely a look of intensity in his strange blue eyes.

Most of what Illya knew about Ivar was through a game of chess. So he knew the kid was ruthless and didn’t hold any prisoners. It was still a pretty big leap to expect to be stabbed during a sparring match, even if Illya was usually on edge when fighting with most people so that would… definitely be appreciated.

Illya has been sparring for most of his life, so he was taught to act with honor and respect during them. He may take a no-holds-barred approach during mission, but he respects his opponents during a match. Enough to always do his best- which was, apparently, something he had to prove to Ivar.

“Is there any rules you usually follow?”

Ivar has to think about that for a moment. He's gotten used to having no limits when it comes to a fight. Since he already had such a momentous disadvantage when it came to fighting, he usually fought dirty, not caring about anything except winning against his opponents. In his current state, he does have a little bit more honor than that. "No biting." The fact he has to clarify this should tell Illya just what kind of person Ivar was when it came to fights. But seeing as how he'd nearly taken his brother's ear off during more than one conflict, it still warranted saying.

"No cheap shots. Other than that, I'm fine with anything." He looks eager and ready to get going. Fighting to kill someone was always fun, but there was a certain joy to be found in simply sparring with someone, no life and death on the line.

Cheap shots. Illya can’t help but wonder what he means by that- but the biting rule is pretty self-explanatory. He’s not above that when he’s actually fighting for his country but as far as he’s aware this isn’t a life or death kind of fight. There’s no reason for him to do that. But yes, the fact that Ivar feels like that deserved an specific mention makes him raise an eyebrow because it probably means it wouldn’t be the first time. The guy is a viking, he shouldn’t be surprised.

“Let’s get to it, then.” And he doesn’t wait a second to basically try to tackle him to the ground. If only to see how he reacts to a quick attack.

Ivar's expecting an attack, so he's braced and ready for whatever comes next. Ivar's got a great disadvantage in not being as quick and mobile as someone with a pair of working legs, but he's learned to compensate. When Illya tackles him, he doesn't try to stay seated, instead allowing himself to be brought down to the ground level. It's of no consequence to the Viking. He's been fighting on the ground his whole life and is comfortable that way.

As soon as he's on the ground, Ivar grabs ahold of Illya, using the momentum to push himself up. Then he rears his head back and headbutts the Russian, counting on him not knowing his fighting style yet so that he won't be able to avoid the move.

Illya isn’t stupid. And he hadn’t been lying when he said he wouldn’t think less of Ivar or condescend to him because he couldn’t use his legs. There wasn’t anyone with that particular disability in Illya’s team, but he’s known plenty of people who had been trained to overcome them and use different skill sets, so he’s ready for Ivar to be able to dodge his attack. He’d just been curious to see how he would.

Apparently, he doesn’t and just goes with it. Bold choice, thinks Illya but it’s clearly effective as he’s being headbutted. He wasn’t expecting it so he’s not able to fully dodge, but he does manage to avoid him hitting him critically. He doesn’t waste time, and soon tries to punch Ivar right on the jaw.

Having grown up in a Viking society with four brothers, Ivar had learned early on how to take a punch. Still doesn't keep it from hurting, but it's nothing that will keep him incapacitated for more than a short time. Ivar's fond of telling people that marks that eventually come off don't keep him down for too long. He resists the urge to rub at his jaw after his head snaps back from the movement. Better to focus on the fight at hand.

Illya's far taller and heavier than Ivar, so his first task is getting the great lump off of him. He's not to keep up in this thing if he's pinned down. So he goes low and punches Illya in the kidneys, the same type of move he might make if he had a knife in his hands if Ivar was trying to kill him. He's trying to get Illya to move so that Ivar can roll to the side.

Illya takes the hit- it hurts, but he’s taken worse and he knows if he doubles over he will be giving Ivar far too much advantage. But he also knows that if he stays like that Ivar will keep on hitting him until he finally moves, so he does roll over- but punches the side of Ivar’s face, right on his temple to try to stun him enough not to retaliate quickly.

And so the battle goes. Illya’s fighting style is angry, rough and unafraid of using his entire strength- but he’s frankly not used to fighting with someone who’s as aggressive as he is. Eventually he raises his hands in the universal sight to call the fight over.

“You… actually pose a challenge.”

Ivar's panting hard by the time Illya calls for a surrender. It's never easy fighting with anyone, but especially when they're the size of a small bear like the Russian is. But he's not discouraged in the least, able to hold his own. Ivar's always gotten by on pure anger and grit, even now when he's different than he normally is.

Ivar grins sharply. "You sound surprised by that." He's used to that reaction from people. Everyone thinks he's an easy target until they actually try to take him on. Then they realize the Viking is still a very dangerous opponent even without use of his legs.

Illya rubs a finger right under his nose, which seems to be bleeding. But not profusely, and it seems to have mostly stopped so he doesn’t worry about it- he’s been through much worse than a few badly taking hits during a sparring session. That was a little more intense than what he’s used to for a simple sparring session, but he simply replied in kind to IVar’s aggressivity and in the end… it’s also been a lot more fun than what he was expecting.

He grins at him.

“Not many people can keep up with me, let alone make me pause a fight. You were trained well.” Illya has been conditioned not to trust anyone, at all, and to expect the unexpected. So even if he had wanted to think of Ivar as an easy target his instinct wouldn't have let him.

The young Viking isn't too bad off himself. There's isn't a mark on him that won't eventually fade with time, a few bruises and scratches. Ivar puffs up with pride at the compliment, rubbing at a sore spot on the side of his face.

"That's what Vikings do. We fight." For honor, for glory, for their gods, and simply because they enjoyed it. They were one of the few cultures of the world that would ever come about whose entire existence revolved around fighting and becoming warriors. They were bold and fearless, though they wouldn't last nearly as long as other ancient cultures. Their star had burned bright and fast.

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