AUTHOR'S NOTE: Owen and Nikita sparring was something I always wanted to see, so I was disappointed that that never happened. I was disappointed with S3 in general since it was one of the worst seasons of any show. It was only because of Owen&Nikita and Sean&Alex I continued to watch the show. So since there was never a sparring scene between these two, I came up with this. And a scene from Pacific Rim also kinda gave me the idea. If you guys have seen it, then you know what I'm talking out.

All my Owkita stories are AU, and the gist is that Owen and Nikita were together for a while before Michael entered the picture. I wrote a little bit of their backstory in In The Darkness. I intend to write more of their backstory, add to ITD, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I will, though, I promise. In the meantime, I hope you all like this one-shot of Owen and Nikita sparring :D

It had been a long week, longer than Owen would've liked. He hated it here in Division, still adjusting to being in here of his own volition. Now and then he expected Percy to round a corner, but then he remembered Nikita had finished him off. Nikita. She was the only reason he was even here and willing to stay in this hell-hole. But it wasn't just Division that was on his nerves at the moment.

Being stuck inside here day after day is what was getting to him. He'd been made Nikita's partner due to Michael's recent handicap situation. If he was her partner, then why was he in here without her more than out there with her? He knew Michael had something to do with it. He'd always been jealous, jealous to a childish extent. Childish was Michael, though. Childish and vindictive. Any time Michael could get back at Owen he would, just because he was jealous of the connection he (Owen) had with Nikita. And Nikita always siding with Owen admittedly didn't help with Michael's problems. It wasn't only the childish and vindictive ways of Michael that Owen hated. He also hated the way Michael was treating Nikita lately.

After losing his hand, which Nikita chopped off, Michael had become an even bigger asshole. To him, at least. If Owen were in Michael's position, he wouldn't push Nikita away. He'd let her in, let her help. Lord knows Owen needed Nikita's help right now, but she was too busy with the man who made her feel like he'd rather be dead than be with her minus a hand. You didn't treat the ones you loved in such a shitty way.

Owen took all this frustration building up inside him out on this punching bag, his knuckles starting to hurt from all the punches he'd lashed out with for the past hour. Straying from Michael and thinking of his own problems now, Owen realized he was also annoyed with Nikita. She'd promised to help him with Amanda, figure out who he used to be before Amanda wiped his memory. He needed to know, but he also needed Nikita's help. She wasn't here to give it, though. She was either always out on a mission without him or trying to find a way to give Michael his hand back. What had happened to her promise to always be here to help him? If he sounded selfish, so be it. He wasn't entirely unsympathetic toward Michael's problem, but he'd made it clear he didn't want Nikita's help. And Nikita was known for pushing and pushing someone, making decisions for them without conferring with them.

Taking off his gloves, Owen tossed them on the floor and then grabbed his water bottle, taking a long sip of the cold water. It felt good, his dehydration fixed as he downed half the bottle. Twisting the cap back on, he tossed the water bottle back down onto the floor and turned around to see Nikita watching him.

"Hey," she said. "You okay?"

"Spectacular," he said shortly. He was going to resume with the punching bag, but then decided to lift some weights instead. Nikita followed him over to the bench, putting some weights on either end of the bar for him as he lay down on his back and placed his hands around the handles of the bar. "Thanks," he said, unable to suppress a smile when he lifted the bar and realized she'd applied the perfect amount of weight.

"You're welcome. Now don't lie to me. Are you okay?" She remained standing behind him, spotting him.

Owen took a deep breath, thinking over the question and deliberating on whether or not he should come out with it and tell her what was on his mind. As he finished lifting the weights, he gestured for her to spot him, and then he sat up. Nikita walked around to stand in front of him, annoyingly patient. "I just don't like being stuck inside here all the time," he admitted. "I hate that I'm your partner but not treated that way. And then there's Amanda. I haven't found anything out yet and it's eating me from the inside." Owen trailed off, shaking his head as he'd been close to venting about Michael. He didn't want to upset her, though, so he kept his problems with Michael to himself.

Hearing what was on his mind, Nikita looked down and sighed. It was true, they were partners now but they weren't being treated that way. She didn't want to make Michael any more miserable, so she sometimes went out in the field with Alex or Sean instead of Owen. She hadn't considered how Owen would feel about that. To be honest, she sometimes wished Owen had been with her instead of Alex or Sean. She always had fun with Owen and Owen knew she could take care of herself. Michael had always been overprotective in the field, something that got in the way sometimes. With Owen, he gave Nikita her space, knowing she could handle herself but at the same time he always managed to have her back. She trusted Owen with her life, rightly so.

"Come on," she said, gesturing for Owen to get up and follow her to the mat. They hadn't gotten a chance to spar together, something Nikita had been looking forward to. The last time they'd sparred together they'd been strangers and not friends, close to enemies.

With a little crooked smile, Owen got up and followed Nikita to the mat, shaking his head at her. "Really?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at her. "You know I can take you. I'm one of the only ones who can take you," he added, cocky now.

"We'll see about that," Nikita replied, smirking at him. She slipped her heels off, kicking them out of the way. She untucked her shirt and rolled her pant suit legs up a little so they weren't hanging around her feet. Looking around, she spotted a rack of weapons by the side of the room, went over, and grabbed a couple of staffs to use for sparring. She tossed one staff over to Owen as she said, "Show me what you got, hotshot."

He was a bit reluctant at first, but it was hard to say no to Nikita sometimes. Besides, he'd always wanted to spar with her, see if he really could take her on. As far as he knew, he was the only one who'd been able to kick her ass the first time they met and continue to hold his own against her. That was quite an accomplishment considering Nikita was one of the best fighters created by Division. Making up his mind, Owen spun the staff in his hands and then gripped onto it as he and Nikita took a few steps around each other before finally sparring.

How much she was enjoying this made Owen forget his earlier complaints and worries. Seeing her smile was something he loved. It always managed to put him in a better mood, seeing her happy. Seeing anyone he cared about sad was hard for him. When Owen made a move to swipe the staff below Nikita's feet, she jumped in the air, avoiding contact with the staff. When he was close enough, he held the staff in one hand and grabbed Nikita's arm with the other, flipping her onto her back. She instantly got up, crouching low and distracting Owen by sparring with him fast and then sliding along the mat and grabbing him by the thigh, causing him to fall over her shoulder. She wrapped her arm around his leg, pulling on it as she grinned down at him.

She let go of his leg, standing up and holding her hand out for him to take. He took it, pulling himself up with her help and then he twisted her arm behind her back and pulled her against him. "You're off your game," he said, hearing her laugh and feeling her body shake along with it.

"Oh, really?" she asked, and then did something he wasn't expecting but should have. He knew she could take any amount of pain, something he wasn't sure how to feel about. She lowered her shoulder and bent forward, throwing Owen over her shoulder and onto his back in front of her. Not intending to give up just yet, Owen extended his leg and kicked Nikita's legs out from under her, and she fell on top of him. She was intensely aware of the way his body felt against hers, how warm and welcoming he was, how together their bodies seemed to melt perfectly against one another. She felt aroused for the first time in months.

Her breath caught in her throat, a bit startled by their closeness. Owen placed his hands along her waist, gazing up at her as his chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. It had, it seemed, been a long time since they'd been this close. She had missed him more than she could explain. Even though he was here all the time, she didn't feel as close to him as she used to be and she knew Michael had something to do with that. When they'd been on their own, they hadn't had to learn restraint. Now here in Division with Michael and everyone else around, it was different. Most different was the engagement ring on her finger, a constant reminder of the decision she'd made that had hurt Owen.

Saying to hell with restraint and control and not thinking about the engagement ring on her finger, Owen leaned up and crushed his lips against Nikita's. They both closed their eyes, Owen feeling a bit hollow in the heart, a dull, aching thud as he kissed her. He'd missed her, missed the taste and texture of her. He reached his hand up and brushed some hair behind her ear, cupping the side of her face. He was relieved she didn't pull away, so he deepened the kiss and placed his other hand on the small of her back.

Nikita placed her fingertips along his cheek as she kissed him back. When he deepened the kiss, she returned it at first but then suddenly pulled away, pressing her forehead against his and shaking her head from side to side. "I can't – I -" She stammered as she pushed herself up, getting off of him and running her hands frantically through her hair. "Why'd you have to do that, Owen? Why?" She was struggling enough as it was and now that he'd kissed her and reminded her of how things used to be between them, it'd be harder for her now to go about things normally.

Pushing himself up, Owen took a step toward Nikita but she held her hand up and warned him off. "Nikita, c'mon. Look, I'm sorry. I just -" he trailed off, shrugging a heavy shoulder as he looked at her longingly. "Was it really that bad of a kiss?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"Owen," Nikita warned, glaring slightly at him when he teased her. "Nothing can ever happen between us again." It hurt her to say that, more than he could know and more than it hurt him to hear. She loved Michael, she really did, but she also loved Owen. How was it possible to love two men at the same time? It hurt like hell and made her miserable, having one man while wanting another, too. "I mean it. We had our chance."

"Nikita," Owen shouted as she walked away, leaving him alone on the mat. It didn't seem right. What could you do when you met someone you thought was the one for you and it turned out she wasn't? Had he been destined to meet her but not meant to be with her? What if she was the one for him but he wasn't the one for her? How could you continue on knowing all that? There was always a chance, though, that things could change, and Owen held onto that belief. She may have hurt him again, but he intended to stay in Division and be by her side, be her partner and always protect her. He loved her and was willing to put up with anything for her.