Lee had been going to the gym with Blaine on occasion to train. Sometimes they practiced holds and escapes, sometimes they worked the bag. But to this point he had refused to actually spar with her. He was worried that he would hurt her because he didn’t know how to pull his punches. As the days and weeks went on, though, Blaine had been getting much better with normal, everyday touches. He was able hold her hand, touch her cheek, kiss her, with far less concentration on his part than he had needed to start with.

And he hadn’t accidently left a bruise in a couple of weeks.

Not that Blaine had known about any of that. With not being able to feel, there were times when he had touched her or held onto her with too much pressure, and Lee had noticed a bruise a few days later. Not that she had ever even mentioned that to Blaine. If she knew Blaine, and in this she was pretty sure that she did, Lee was sure that he would withdraw and start limiting contact with her because he felt bad. And considering the progress he had been making, having Blaine withdraw was the last thing she wanted, for her or him.

But Lee was heading to the gym again that afternoon to meet Blaine, and she thought she had actually managed to talk him into sparring. And Lee had not told Rachel about this at all, despite how excited she was, because Lee knew that her sister would be extremely worried. Blaine was a trained MMA fighter who had almost gone pro, after all.

Walking into the gym, Lee headed to get changed before coming back out to the main part of the gym to look for her boyfriend and hopeful sparring partner.

The day had finally come. Lee finally managed to get him to commit to it. And actually...Blaine wasn't upset about it. He had promised, in fact. And then he kept putting it off. But today...they were actually going to spar.

Besides, after that bout with Devon--which he hadn't dared mentioned to Lee--he figured he owed her one. And he was kind of excited. Since he'd given up fighting illegally, sparring was the closest he'd get anymore.

He'd already changed, wearing his usual too-small muscle shirt--today's model was forest green--and a pair of black shorts with a green pinstripe, and his black fighting gloves. His gym bag lay beside the ring, and he himself was propped up in the corner after stretching. When Lee caught his eye, he gave her a wave.

Lee was wearing a pair of black shorts, and a dark blue tank top with her hair tied back in a ponytail. As she looked around the gym, she was pulling her new, red gloves on that Blaine had helped her get. Gloves which, for how short of a time she had owned them, had gotten a fair bit of use.

Then she saw Blaine and shot him a smile as she made her way over to him. ”Are you as excited for this as I am?” Lee asked with a grin as she came to a stop in front of Blaine. ”Oh, and I have just one little rule for this that I haven’t told you about. We need to hug and kiss before and after we spar before we leave.”

He smirked lightly as she stood in front of him. "Actually....yeah, I am," he said with a grin; he could already hear his heart-beat in his ears as he got that pre-fight rush. And then, she made a proposition of some 'rule' she'd come up with, and he blinked for a moment.

"Really? You sure we meant the same thing when we were talking about sparring?" he said with a slight smirk, obviously having hung out with some of the guys at the bar while at work for too long. "I'm curious as to why, but I'm okay with that."

He shot her another grin, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss. He really didn't care who was watching. Besides, the real show was going down after the kiss broke.

”Good,” Lee said, her smile growing as Blaine told her that he was excited for the sparring match as well. That was a nice change from how he had reacted to the idea at first. Not only had she proved herself capable to Blaine, but he was trusting that she knew what she was doing, what she said she could do.

Blaine blinked, Lee could only guess in confusion, when she stated her rule. But when he spoke, Lee couldn’t help but laugh. ”Of course we’re thinking the same thing,” Lee replied, the laughter still in her voice at first. But then it took on a more suggestive note. ”Unless, of course, you’re thinking we should just head straight back to your place now?” And, while that did sound like a good idea to Lee, she didn’t want to put off the sparring match. Who knew what excuses to continue postponing it Blaine would come up with if they didn’t do it now?

But he didn’t understand why she wanted them to be sure to hug and kiss before and after sparring. Despite always having to hold back while she sparred before, she had been in this position before, sparring with the person she...cared about. Though before she was able to explain her reason, Blaine was wrapping his arms around her. Smiling, Lee circled her arms around his neck, stretching up on her toes since she wasn’t wearing heels to help her reach, so she could return his kiss.

When they pulled apart, Lee smiled up at Blaine. ”We don’t want any hard feelings because of the sparring,” Lee explained. ”I doubt it would happen, but just to make sure. When we kiss after, we know we’re finished sparring and everything’s good.”

"And mess up this opportunity? No way. I haven't had a decent fight in some time now. Kinda getting the itch," he said with a slight smile. Then, he nodded. "That's actually not a bad idea. But I won't feel a thing, regardless," he teased.

And then, once the banter was over, he backed up, taking his stance and sizing her up as he always did an opponent. Though...he had to admit...usually when he was looking over like this it was for an entirely different set of reasons. Honestly he'd never sparred with someone he l--slept with before. Sure, Joe was technically a friend, but...that was strictly professional. This...was different.

Once she took her stance, he waited a moment and gave her a nod. Then, he moved in, light on his feet for his size, but she knew that. She knew him. But this time, he didn't go for the feeling out phase. He went straight in, going for a knee to the midsection, which he intended to follow up with a basic leg takedown.

After all, Lee was small, and she was fast, and there was the matter of her mutation. Sure, it was just a sparring match, but while he was still trying not to seriously hurt her....he'd also promised he wouldn't hold back. And if that was to happen, he had to try to gain the upper hand.

Lee laughed slightly when Blaine said it’d been a while since he’d had the chance to have a decent fight. What a difference a few weeks could make. Before, Blaine had been hesitant to even do holds on her so that she could practice escaping from them, and now he was saying he’d missed being able to have a decent fight, and that she was his chance to have that.

It didn’t take long for them to get ready in the ring. Lee was nervous standing there, but she was still excited. It’d been a long time since she had sparred.At least since she had sparred properly. What her and Blaine had been doing for training didn’t really count as sparring after all, even if it had been getting more difficult, more involved and intense. She hadn’t even been pregnant with Kevin yet the last time that she had sparred. This was going to be interesting.

And then Blaine nodded.

Almost as soon as he had nodded, Blaine was moving, closing in on her. But Lee held her ground, watching Blaine. She’d asked him not to hold back, and with how he was moving right away, she hoped he was going to keep his word.

Eyes moving, watching, Lee didn’t see Blaine’s arms getting ready for a hit of any kind. And then he came even closer, and Lee did move back a bit at this point, she needed room to react, after all. Just in time to see Blaine’s leg moving, knee raising.

Lee managed to get her hands down fast enough to keep the knee from connecting with her stomach, but she didn’t have the strength, yet, to stop Blaine’s momentum from knocking her back a step. Despite her skill, and the speed and strength she would gradually gain while they were fighting, Lee’s mass was nowhere close to Blaine’s.

Then she felt Blaine’s arms around her leg, and she was on her back before she knew it. At least she didn’t go down hard. Lee lifted her right hand, twisting her body slightly to get a bit more momentum herself, Lee aimed a punch at the side of Blaine’s head. Not that he’d feel it, but she followed it up with a kick downward to his shoulder, hoping to use that to push herself away from Blaine so she could regain her feet.

The takedown maneuver worked, though he wasn't truly able to capitalize on it because Lee knew what to do. Sure, the punch to the head didn't hurt, but it offset him enough for her to kick herself away to regain her feet. This was going to be a tough fight, and he knew it. Not only because of her mutation, but they knew each other in ways most fighters didn't. He knew he was going to have to dig into his 'bag of tricks' before this fight was over, but considering how he'd been teaching her escapes, it was possible she'd figure a way out. Even still, he was going to give his all.

He returned to his feet, regaining his stance as she did, then, once again, he approached, though this time, he aimed a left punch for her midsection, following up with a right elbow aimed at the head.

It worked! Lee was a little surprised, but she didn’t let that stop her. The moment that she felt Blaine’s hold on her leg go, she pushed more with the foot still on his shoulder to scoot herself away. And then she rolled, focusing on her siphoning while she was not physically able to see Blaine. She wasn’t about to let him sneak up on her, after all.

The moment that Lee was back on her feet, she spun, turning to look at Blaine again. Who was also back on his feet. Well, he hadn’t almost made it pro for nothing, Lee knew. Still, it was a bit different when she was the one facing off against him.

And again, Blaine was coming at her, his left hand shooting out toward her stomach again. What, was her face off limits or something? Dropping her right arm down, her forearm connected with Blaine’s, pushing the punch to the side. But her arm was probably going to bruise with how that stung. Then she saw his other elbow. Thankfully, Lee was short, and she ducked grabbing Blaine’s left arm with her right as she went under it. Then she quickly circled her left leg around to sweep Blaine’s legs from behind.

Okay, so while Blaine wasn't holding back, per se, maybe he had a few issues with going for her face. Sure, he'd aimed that elbow at her head, but the thought of damaging that face was right up there with throwing a rock at a stained glass window. But she was quick, as he knew she would be. And her small size was also giving her more of a leg up; smaller target than he was accustomed to.

He watched her movements and had only a split second to react. She swept his legs out from under him, but as soon as he hit the ground he used his arms to push himself back and spring to his feet before she could capitalize, showing just how nimble the big guy could be. A smile on his face, he stepped in and feigned a punch as he shifted his weight to his right foot, his left foot aiming a roundhouse kick for the side of her head.

Sure, it was a move he'd taught her, but this was as much a test as it was fun.

It had worked, she had actually not only avoided Blaine's elbow, bit she had managed to knock him down.

Or not. The moment that his back hit the floor, Blaine was moving and jumping back to his feet. And he had a smile on his face as he regained his feet. Well, this was fun, Lee thought as she moved to block Blaine’s next punch.

Except the punch never came. Instead, Blaine’s foot connected with the side of Lee’s head, causing her to stumble to the side a bit and see stars. Shaking her head slightly to try and clear it, Lee moved more purposely around to the side now, getting back into a better defensive stance.

Alright, maybe this was going to be harder than Lee had thought, Blaine was really good, after all. Taking what he had done as example, Lee aimed a couple of quick roundhouse kicks at Blaine’s right knee before stepping back a moment to regain her balance before a right punch up to his chin.

Blaine did as he always did, planning to absorb the attacks and mount a counterstrike. The kicks to his knee buckled it a little, and he took the punch square on his chin. But to his surprise, it rocked him a little, and he staggered back. He knew Lee was tough, but he may have underestimated her a little. And...the longer this went, she'd probably be capable of trading blows with him.

But he wasn't done. They were just getting warmed up. But for now, he was staying true to his style. He was still a striker to the core. He started off with a right kick, straight on with the intention to push her back a little. Then, he'd put his weight right back on that foot to go for a left hook, then a right to the midsection.

Lee was a little surprised when she saw Blaine stagger back a bit when her punch connected. She didn't think she would have had that much strength yet, but then again, every other time she'd sparred like this, she'd had to make sure to hold back her strength.

Then his foot was coming at her again, and Lee danced backwards. Yes, she may be going in the direction Blaine was trying to push her, but she was not going to let that foot connect to do it. And she blocked Blaine's left hook, but she wasn't so lucky with his right, and when it got, she doubled up slightly.

But that didn't stop Lee. She sent her own left toward Blaine's stomach, hoping that he would double over, because she followed it with a right uppercut as she straightened up.

The blow did double him over a bit, and he used the momentum to duck low in an attempt to shoulder rush her, but that never happened as her uppercut landed on his nose.

He smirked, not noticing the small trickle of blood as he regained himself then side stepped slightly, aiming a side kick for her left leg. Then, hit or miss he was going for another simple takedown.

Not only had her first punch succeeded in causing Blaine to double over, but her uppercut had landed square on how nose. Lee knew that it wouldn't have hurt Blaine, but his body still reacted and hopefully his eyes had teared up.

And as he straightened up, Lee saw not only the blood from his nose, which made Lee hesitate for a moment, as well as his smirk. It was one thing to be wanting to spar like this, knowing it would hurt, but it was another to actually see the blood she had caused to flow from her boyfriend’s nose.

That hesitation was all it took for Blaine to land a kick to her left leg, and Lee stumbled slightly from the pain. Immediately, he was grabbing her leg again, trying to take her down. Lee hopped slightly to keep her balance, one hand pushing down on Blaine’s head, the other punching his side.