Fashion Advice ((for sweetcandygirl))

[fiveofnone]

At a small café in the heart of the Shopping District, Caspar sits at an outdoor table and sips from his tiny ceramic cup of espresso. Outwardly, his expression is one of calm indifference, but inside, he's a little concerned. For not the first time since he sat down, he pulls out his PINpoint and re-reads the text from Harley on its glowing screen.

It's not unusual for Harley to send him a text. It is unusual for her to request fashion advice. She seems pretty set on her style, such as it is. Her asking for help is like him asking for help.

Highly unlikely.

He agreed, naturally. He can't turn down an afternoon of clothes shopping, even if something seems off about it. So, hopefully for the last time, he puts his PINpoint away and takes another sip of espresso while he waits for Harley to arrive.

Comments

[fiveofnone]

Caspar appears in what looks like military issue sweats -- an olive green tank top over a tight gray t-shirt and a pair of gray shorts. Not his usual flashy style at all.

He steps into the ring. "So, how are we doing this? Standard rules? Should I get some padding, just in case? I can't help but feel like you have the advantage here." He smirks, his stance casual, but there is an underlying tension in his frame. There are boxing and wrestling matches on Atlantis -- both are time-honored sports -- but Caspar is never invited. It's as though others are afraid he'll cheat, or take things too far. And Adia wouldn't want him to fight, anyway.

It doesn't leave many outlets for his urge to pummel something.

[sweetcandygirl]

"I am pretty sure we already are breaking one rule." The whole boxers should be in the same weight category thing. Harley smiles.

"But yah... I am sure we can abide by the others. No hitting below the belt, no holds, trips, kicks, headbutts, bites, or pushes. This ain't Wrestlemania."

"If you feel you wanna padding, go ahead." She is not sure how much stronger she is than him. But definitely would not want to send Caspar home in a bad shape.

She is not worried about him taking things too far. It is a combination of her trusting him to play within the rules, and her own cockiness about her ability to take a lot of damage and keep on going.

[fiveofnone]

At 5'8", he's at least not towering over her and giving himself a height advantage. "Damn, there go all my signature moves," he quips.

As for padding, that gets a moment of serious thought. "Nah," he finally decides. "I'll be all right." Cylons were designed to endure blunt force trauma. And, okay, he's being a little vain, not wanting to wear a boxing helmet.

"One thing, though." He pulls up the right side of his shirt, revealing a scar from a bullet wound above his hipbone. "Go easy if you tag me here. I have strength and endurance, but I don't have your healing factor."

There are a couple of small, round bruises higher up by his ribs. Love bites, it looks like. He doesn't comment on those, dropping his shirt. "Are we doing official rounds? Is there a bell or timer around here?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"Not a lot of people do." And she will be watching him carefully, to make sure she doesn't hurt him too much. Today is about venting their shared aggression. Not about hurting each other.

And she does smile at the love bites.

"No timer. How about you tell me when you need a breather, and we stop? Like a safe word?" Because with her energy, she is less likely to need breaks.

[fiveofnone]

It says something that he's willing to show her a weak point of his and trust that she won't exploit it. Although he does look a little annoyed at the suggestion of a safe word. "How about 'stop hitting me'? That safe enough?"

He knows he doesn't have her energy, but geez, he's not some wimpy baseline human.

"Enough banter." He puts up his fists and grins. "Ladies first. Come at me."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Tsk. Nothing in the rules about no bantering." Harley teases him. Then she moves forward, quickly, aiming a quick one-two jab at his chest.

[fiveofnone]

Caspar twists, guard up, so that her blows glance off him, and counters with a cross jab. "Good," he quips. "Wouldn't want to get tossed out on a technicality."

[sweetcandygirl]

"It wouldn't be the first time." Harley dodges the cross jab, bouncing on her feet. Her agility will be key to both offense and defense. She fakes a low left jab, but then switches quickly for a right uppercut.

[fiveofnone]

She is definitely more agile than he is, although he's not slow by any means. He doesn't bother to dodge the jab, either anticipating the feint or not caring if it connects. Her uppercut misses by a millimeter.

"Probably just jealous their comebacks were as weak as their punches." He comes in quickly with another jab, concentrating on tagging her before she can dart off again.

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley laughs. She loves how quick and witty he is during this little sparring match. It is one of the reasons she considers him a close friend.

She catches his fist when he jabs at her. And spins around to try to elbow him in the stomach (avoiding aiming where the gunshot wound is).

[fiveofnone]

He blinks in surprise when she catches his fist. Damn, didn't see that coming. The jab solidly connects, and he grunts from the impact.

Recovering quickly, he tries to jab her again, this time in the back while she's turned. "I thought we were boxing, not ballroom dancing," he says, yanking his fist away.

[sweetcandygirl]

The rules were set. But Harley knows how to play just inside of the rules, while still maintaining a level of surprise.

His jab to her back connects. But she aims another low elbow jab to the other side of his guy. She laughs. "Good thing. I am a better dancer."

[fiveofnone]

It's a trick worthy of a Cylon, but she won't catch him off-guard again. Her second jab is deflected, and he attempts to spin her back to face him properly. "That's because you get more practice than me."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Awww I am sorta sad about that. You should dance more. Especially with Adia." Harley moves away from him, circling for an opening for a second.

Then she swoops in quickly, with another fast one-two jab.

[fiveofnone]

He doesn't say anything for a while, concentrating instead on blocking her next attack. He throws another punch, hard, trying to put some distance between them.

"I don't know how," he finally admits, when he has room to breathe.

[sweetcandygirl]

The punch glances her shoulder, and Harley swears softly, before aiming another couple of quick punches. She is putting in a lot of effort to follow the rules.

"You don't?" Harley bounces on her feet again. "I can teach you."

"Then you can surprise her with a dance!"

[fiveofnone]

Ha, he almost tagged her! Considering how much more agile she is than him, he'll take that as a win. The first punch, he dodges, but she gets him with the second. She may be following the rules, but it still hurts, and he needs another moment to recover.

"No," he huffs. "No surprises." He comes at her with a succession of jabs to keep her off-balance and hopefully too busy dodging to not bring up dancing again.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Okay. No surprises." She does keep busy dodging of the jabs. But she won't be distracted from the topic at hand. "But learning to dance is good. What if there is a ball in the Nexus? Or if there is a villain who can only be defeated on the dance floor? Or first dance at your wedding."

She wings a harder punch at his upper chest, hoping to knock him back.

[fiveofnone]

Caspar snorts at the idea of defeating a villain with a dance off. Not that it isn't possible in the Nexus, but that somehow he would be the one to step up to the challenge.

That last time was a fluke. He is not a hero.

Harley's punch catches him right in the sternum. He staggers back, but the only thought in his mind is a wedding. He's still working up the nerve to pop the question, and now he has to worry about dancing on top of that?

"Frak," he hisses. His chest is throbbing; he should ask for a break. Instead, he regains his footing and resumes another round of jabs. "One thing at a time, okay?"

[sweetcandygirl]

She dodges away again, keeping light on her feet as he regains his footing. Really, she has quick enough reflexes to dodge his jabs, that she could just keep doing that for a bit to tire him out.

But that would not be the point of this little fight.

"You forget how my mind works. Billions of thoughts at once." And she goes for several quick jabs.

[fiveofnone]

"Yeah, but you don't have to share them all," he quips. His blocking isn't nearly as sharp. A jab or two get past his defenses, but he presses close in regardless, cornering her closer to the ropes to cut off any dodging.

He'll need to tap out soon. He should tap out now, conserve some of his energy for another round. Instead, he throws out a harsh uppercut, one that will be hard to counter, but will leave him open again.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Method to my madness." She taps her head, but it costs her when he presses close and is able to corner her.

And she is barely able to completely dodge the uppercut. And his fist slides up the surface of her chin.

[fiveofnone]

Any closer and he would have done some damage. But he's holding back, too. In a real fight, a no-holds-barred battle, he'd keep swinging, leaving himself wide open, letting her rain blows on him if it meant a chance to knock her out.

But this isn't a real fight. Harley's not an enemy. Jeff isn't even an enemy anymore, not technically. There's nothing to fight except himself and his own thoughts.

He steps back, holds his hands up in a 'T' for timeout, breathing hard. "What method is that?" he demands between gasps of air.

[sweetcandygirl]

In a real no-holds barred battle, Harley would be using her feet. And her knees. And her head. And her nails. Really anything to beat up her opponent.

She bounces back when he signals for a timeout.

"You would be surprised how much information people give up in the heat of a battle. You chatter a lot, and suddenly they are showing their cards, and you know how to defeat them."

[fiveofnone]

He almost rolls his eyes. Intel is gathered when someone is at a Cylon's mercy, not during a fight. What did he give up, anyway, except --

"Well played," he mutters. pressing a hand against his side. It stings from her jab, but the pain is a lesson he needed to learn. "I think I'm done. Any more and I'll have to explain the bruises to Adia."