Because they were brothers.
Connor's eyes bored into him alertly, taking in everything from the way Heath was breathing, where he was looking, which side of his body was turned toward him, which way his feet were pointing, how he shuffled, in the instant before he lunged. Heath knew what he was looking for, because it was also what he looked for, what any good fighter would look for. He focused on his older brother and quickly blocked the jab Connor threw, and then shifted to the other side and blocked the accompanying hook. He lifted a knee to block the kick, and used his strength to shove Connor away before he could sweep his feet out from underneath him.
"Good," Connor called to him, quickly pulling out his mouth guard. "Very good. You're much faster now, Heath."
"I was fast before, you prick," Heath called back.
"Not like this," Connor said, shaking his head. "Not like this."
Heath had been consistently sparring with Rex during his training, but now that he was getting closer to Smackdown, he needed to crank it up a notch. Rex was good, a strong and skilled fighter; but who better to train with than the man that had bested him and won Ultimate Warrior?
Connor had kept up with his training and still fought sporadically, though not nearly to the frequency he fought leading up to Ultimate Warrior. Heath guessed it had to do with not really needing to, since Connor was capitalizing off the endorsement deals coming his way just like they were coming Heath's way, and Connor was a little more personable and had dome some interviews. He fought now a few times a year, at the bigger tournaments, usually winning them, and otherwise spent time with his family. Since Ultimate Warrior and after Heath had recovered from his dislocated shoulder, he and Connor had sparred a couple of times, but those matches had been mainly for the fun of it. Heath needed him now, needed him to give him everything he had to help him win the upcoming tournament.
They had already been at it for hours; both of them were exhausted but neither one was willing to be the first to say so. And so, they just kept fighting. Though Connor was older and had in the past proven himself to be quicker than Heath, a bit more agile, Heath could tell his big brother was flagging and couldn't help feeling a surge of triumph and pride that he was getting the best of Connor.
It was compounded when he managed to snag Connor in a headlock, using his legs to lock Connor's in place, and Connor finally—finally—tapped out. Heath immediately released him and they both dropped to the floor of the ring, panting and thoroughly spent.
Connor lifted a hand into the air. "I caught a cramp on that last one," he managed. "Otherwise I never woulda tapped."
Heath snorted tiredly from where he was sprawled in one corner. "Yeah. Whatever, big brother. Shove it up your ass. I won fair and square."
Connor laughed breathlessly. "Fine, fine. You won. You got this tournament in the bag, Heath. Don't even sweat it."
Heath hated to admit it, but hearing himself be validated out of Connor's mouth meant a lot to him. "Yeah," he said quietly. "We'll see. Thanks for sparring with me."
"Sure," Connor said, grunting loudly as he sat up and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I could use the exercise anyway. But dammit, Heath, did you have to punch me in the face?" He gingerly touched the fresh, raised cut on his cheekbone where Heath had cracked him smartly.
"Oh, you thought I was gonna go easy on you?" Heath asked, amused.
"Lana is gonna be pissed at you," Connor warned.
"She'll be all right," Heath said with a smirk. "I know you're fragile, but you'll heal."
Connor barked out a laugh and shook his head, unwrapping his hands. "Fragile, huh? Maybe so." He pulled off his wraps and tossed them down, rolling his head around on his neck.
Meanwhile, Heath still lay in a motionless heap in his corner, content to do absolutely nothing for a few minutes. It was late on Wednesday evening, and the gym had finally emptied out. When Connor made his appearance earlier in the gym that evening to spar with Heath, it was a fan free-for-all for a while before Heath could get people to calm down. Naturally, they had quite a crowd watching them spar for the first hour or so. Gradually people had started to straggle off once their match stretched into two hours, and after that, people had finally filed out.
Heath felt really good about his progress since he'd begun training. Not that he'd ever really fallen off in terms of staying in shape, but as Connor had noticed, he had become much faster, much more agile and even stronger than before. Sparring for hours with Connor, who made it a point to stay in tip-top shape at all times, was the icing on the cake for him. If he could beat Connor, he wasn't particularly worried about his opponents. However, now was not the time, nor was he the type, to get cocky. He knew there was a fine line between being confident and being cocky, and that line could cost him the purse. And so, he would continue to train up until next week when he left, and he would continue to watch film on the other fighters and make notes of their strengths, weaknesses, and abilities.