Sometimes... (open) - The White Tower

To find the youth in anything less than pristine condition was a rare sight indeed, to find him walking around in slacks and a hoodie was even rarer.
Currently, he was on his back on one of the couches, an arm resting so to shield his eyes while his other arm hung over the side of the sofa, holding a half finished glass of vitae. The tv had been left on, though he wasn't paying it much attention as the flickering lights lit up or dimmed the room with the scene changes of some generic cop show.

Really, it was just one of those nights.

Rolling onto his side, Charlie let out a low sigh and reached for the remote control. Seriously, the only thing that could make an already shit evening worse was having to listen to the clichés of Horatio Caine, and he had not yet sunk to such a level as to suffer through an episode of CSI Miami.
Instead, he sipped at the red liquid of the glass again and continued to search through the channels until stopping once he reached the History Channel.
Oh well...

Charlie's cell beeped with a text: "Did you know that it is illegal for any man to be seen in a strapless gown in Miami? Roadtrip. "

Urg phone, where the heck was that thing. Oh right... of course right out of reach.
Charlie groaned and forced himself upright as he snatched the phone off the table and let himself fall back into the couch while opening the text.
"What the...." he gazed at the screen for a few moments and ended up actually smiling as he shook his head with a low chuckle. "Seriously..."

He moved his fingers across the screen and sent a text back: "Oh, I can do strapless if that's what you want. But it will have to wait a few days. Not currently looking my best here. -C-"

Within seconds, another text sounded. "That doesn't sound good. Are you alright?"

The youth slid back down onto the couch and onto his back, winching slightly.

"I'm fine. Just had a little run in with some sharp objects and so not quite in a condition to be sporting anything strapless"

"I'm sorry to hear that. But I hope I at least got a smile out of you. Get some rest."

"You did, first smile of the evening. Thanks"

The youth took a deep breath and looked up at the cell which he was currently holding up in front of him, one hand tucked behind his head.

"What about you? Still locked up for your own good? Isn't "prison" starting to bore you?"

"I'm considering making a break for it. At least it would be entertaining for about 3 seconds. Not that I need much encouraging, but I think if I get dared to do it, I'll just walk out the front door..."

Ignoring the tv and continuing to write with one hand he replied to the text.

"Free will, Cass. It's only worth anything if you use it"

“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.”

"Going philosophical on me are you? Well, your choice how you play your hand. But even a bad one can be turned into a winning one with the right touch and a few tricks"

Because playing fair was boring.

"Oh, are we advocating cheating? Something tells me your tricks vastly differ from my own."

He snickered to himself.

"Oh but my tricks are good. And a little cheating only serves to level the playing field"

He adjusted his position slightly and once again winched. God damn those cuts still stung..

"So when are we hitting up a casino? I could use a little extra scratch. And I think we should see how our methods stack up. Should prove a fun outing."

"Whenever you have the time, gorgeous, as soon as I'm done licking my wounds I'm all yours"

Well, at least she had him smiling. Pretty decent job considering his current state.

"I'm holding you to it. Think about how you want to make it interesting. I think we could both use a risk that won't result in one or both of us having to spend a few weeks to heal any physical damage. That'd be nice, right?"

"Well, yes, right now I'm inclined to agree. I could use something that did not have the potential of ending in physical pain. Though if I'm to be wearing high heels and a strapless dress out in public we both know the potential will still be there"

Though then again, as long as it didn't involve claws...

The return text took a few minutes to come back.

"Of course, you wearing a strapless dress to a casino with me would make it interesting. You beat the tar out of me, for sure. No contest-- you'll get all of the patrons and all of their money. Maybe I should just watch and learn from a true master. "

"Oh please, I don't have your curves or your smile. I'd be hard pressed drawing attention away from you. though I'm sure we could easily draw some attention together"

Really, now that would be fun.

That would be fun...

"Alright, I'm listening. Lay it on me, Charlie. And if we did it right, security might not kick us out too early."

"Doubt they'd pay us much attention at all to be honest. Or well, not the kind of attention that would get us kicked out at least. Bad girls go anywhere, Cass"

Charlie chuckled to himself again and scratched a set of manicured nails against the back of his neck. Oh, it ought to be fun indeed.

"Oh, they paid attention in Missouri. And they do go anywhere. Just depends on how far you want to see me go when we get there."

"As far as you want to, gorgeous. I'm not going to put any restrictions on you"

Except, well, the given set of rules which she was already aware of.

"You're so bad, you're good. Hurry up and get better, dammit."