Unlike most government officials, there had to be a bit of a physical fitness requirement when it came to being a field agent. After all, these agents (the majority of which were human or adapteds), needed to be able to contend with evolutionary advanced individuals with abilities that gave them the edge. In order to make it a fair fight, those who were out there, risking their lives to keep people like them under control, SUPER made sure that those field agents were given every possible chance to stay strong, fit, and ready for action.

At a gym in one of many facilities, the sounds of strength and excursion could be heard lifting high into the walls and ceilings above. Agents of all types were here, all ethnicities, working out via specialized equipment, classes, or their own customized regiments. It was a sight that would make any red-blooded American feel safe, knowing that these people were working their butts off in order to maintain the peace and civility that they were able to thoroughly enjoy.

One such individual, a man of great height, muscular body, and flaming red hair, particularly enjoyed his space here. Often he would be found here, between missions of course, working on keeping his body fit and strong. Some would question whether or not Kristoph was committing overkill with his regiment, but considering the fact that he was getting older and mutants were still a threat, he didn’t want to take any chances.

On this particular day, Kristoph busied himself with strength training. Dressed in black shorts and a gray tanktop that was somewhat stained with sweat, the large man with the pale skin grunted as he wrapped his gloved hands around a set of barbells. Sitting at the edge of a bench, he worked at lifting each, extremely large weight, alternating between arms and making his biceps bulge and flex with each lift. With his currently attire and bustling beard, the man looked akin to some viking warrior preparing for an upcoming battle. It was no wonder that few bothered him during the course of his training.

Setting the barbell back into rack, Kristoph stood up, stretching his body and sighing as warmth flooded through his muscles. He shook off his arms a bit, loosening them, before turning to look into the large mirror he stood before -- and it was there that he spotted her.

A smile pulled across his lips. It was no surprise that Kristoph was a fan of the ladies. Whenever one came across his path, the charm instantly came on and he became one of the most flirtatious vikings to ever grace the earth. It didn’t matter who the woman was, if he found her attractive, the man was all smiles and honeyed words. While the majority of the time his flattery was good to at least get a phone number, there was one individual (aside from his partner) who proved to be a challenge.

He turned as she walked by, the dark skinned goddess that could be just as ruthless as any of the agents here. Picking up his towel and draping it over his shoulder, he smirked as he boldly walked up to her, waiting until he caught her eye to offer her the sweetest of smiles.

”My, my, my...Miss Taylor…” he beamed. God he loved how tall she was. Reminded him of an Amazon. ”...how’re you this most beautiful day?”

Kristoph Karlson was a hard man to miss. Gemma Taylor was aware that she stood out of the crowd too, mostly due to her height and her attitude... but the re-haired giant of a man tended to draw attention just by taking up space. He was a well built man, someone born for fieldwork, and even though he was human with no special powers, she would have trusted him as her backup on most missions. Not all, but most. He was dedicated to SUPER, which was a trait she could appreciate in a person.

He was also an incurable flirt, which was a trait she did not appreciate in a person.

She was almost done with her workout for the day, only putting in a few more minutes to work out excess energy, when he walked over to her. She could see the grin on his face from a mile away.

>>”My, my, my...Miss Taylor...how’re you this most beautiful day?”

"Agent Karlson." Gemma nodded shortly "Already done with your workout?"

Okay so maybe Kristoph was a bit of a flirt but when it came to certain women, it was just impossible to not flirt with them. For instance, the ebony goddess that was working out directly in front of him. He and Agent Taylor had worked together in the past and she had certainly gotten an earful of his flirtatious nature in the past. Of course all it earned him was a scowl and a grumble for her lips but at least she didn’t try to break his arm. He wasn’t stupid enough to make an unwarranted move, after all.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t at least try and wear his quarry down, you know. Until he heard a flat out “No”, or “I’m Married”, or “I’m into women”, then Kristoph could still offer a loving woman a bit of flattering. When it came to Gemma Taylor, she certainly had the assets that needed to be flattered.

His arms crossed over his solid chest, he stood back as he watched the woman continue her work out. He greeted her cheerily enough and, like he was used to, she responded with the usual icyness that he was accustomed to.

>>"Agent Karlson...Already done with your workout?"

He grinned as he just watched her work. ”Almost,” he said as he looked up, and glanced back to the spot he was just at. ”Needed to get to the weights early today. Some of the new recruits are eager to burn out their muscles working on them all night,” he shrugged, offering her a smile. ”I like to keep my evenings free...when possible.” He sighed as he watched her. ”You need some assistance?” He asked. Some of these workout regimes required a partner, after all. ”I’m more than happy to lend my services to a vision such as yourself.”

>>”Almost. Needed to get to the weights early today. Some of the new recruits are eager to burn out their muscles working on them all night,”

Some new recruits were more eager to train than others; especially when it came to the gritty basics, not the flashy martial arts or the powers. Gemma was on the same page as what Karlson was implying; recruits were eager, but did not usually know how to go about getting the best results. The two of them, they obviously did.

>>”I like to keep my evenings free...when possible.”

He was flirting. As usual. Gemma knew he was, although she was somewhat baffled about why he was doing it. Not that she did not know exactly how attractive she was, in a certain way. It was just that she had never made herself available in some ways.

>>"You need some assistance? I’m more than happy to lend my services to a vision such as yourself.”

"You know, Karlson" Gemma said, meaning every word as she picked up her belongings "If you are looking for recreational intercourse, you can just say so."

He really was not a bad looking man, after all. And it was not like she was looking to be romanced.

Kristoph was indeed a flirt but it was not without precedent. He knew he was a good looking man and more often than not, his flirtations always seemed to be at least somewhat of a response. However when it came to a woman like Gemma Taylor, he viewed her as bit of a mirage. She was gorgeous, she was strong, she was the kind of woman that any straight man in his right mind would absolutely love to attempt to seduce; but there was this air about her that always made it seem like it was going to be a bit of a challenge.

Luckily Kristoph was not a man who backed down from challenges.

Upon seeing the woman, freshing from her workout, it was easy to see how anyone would want to seduce this Amazonian queen. She was tall, strong, and her workout clothing did amazing at offering only the tiniest hint of a silhouette of those intimate things few would experience. Even if his flirtations amounted to nothing, at least he could take a step back and just observe this beauty in her environment.

With the notion that she was almost done, Kristoph offered his services if she needed a spotter. It wouldn’t have been the first time. Kristoph had helped many other agents when it came to working out. Hell, the majority of the new recruits were usually assigned to him when it came to strength training. Even Sabine had taken him up on his services for sparring or weight training. If anyone knew what he was doing in the gym, it was Kristoph, so why not be friendly and offer?

She gathered her things before she turned and blatantly responded to his advances...

>>"You know, Karlson...If you are looking for recreational intercourse, you can just say so."

...yeah, Kristoph was thrown for a bit of a loop there. As the sincerity of the agent’s words filled his head, Kristoph was a little unsure of how to proceed. Of course he had women who were blatantly interested in him, with not attempts at hiding their advances; it was just…not an offer that he was expecting from Gemma. Huh…

Shaken out of his thoughts, he gave her a slightly embarrassed grin before he recovered enough to sigh and make a coherent sentence. ”You continue to amaze, Ms. Taylor.” He slowly took a step closer. ”Umm...maybe not in the honeyed words that you stated, but I would certainly love the opportunity.”

It would have been a lie to claim that Gemma took no satisfaction in the stunned expression that crossed Karlson's face. He was usually loud, flirtatious, and confident, so to see him do a double take was definitely a sight to behold. A very, very faint smirk appeared on the agent's lips as the tall man gathered his thoughts to formulate a response.

>>”You continue to amaze, Ms. Taylor. Umm...maybe not in the honeyed words that you stated, but I would certainly love the opportunity.”

And there it was. Opportunity, indeed. Agent Taylor was not opposed to it either. It was rare to find a man with his physical prowess that did not try to simply overpower her.

"You should be aware that I do not believe in the validity of workplace relationships." she informed him, holding his gaze "So when I say recreational, I mean exactly that. If you are not confident that you can spare me the romance attempts on the long run,
you are free to back out now."

So this was a new twist. Honestly while Kristoph had always entertained ideas of bedding the lovely agent, he had never once figured that his admirations would lead to fruition so quickly. It actually made perfect sense for a woman like Agent T to be rather blunt and straightforward. She didn’t take any crap on the field, why should she in her personal life. It was actually fairly refreshing, to cut through all the B.S. and get down to the topic that really mattered.

At the end of it, she was open to some recreational fun. That was Kristoph twenty-four-seven. If the two of them had that in common, maybe that was all that they needed. Pleased with this turn of events, the ginger viking managed to collect himself and respond more eloquently to her question; yes...he was interested.

>>"You should be aware that I do not believe in the validity of workplace relationships...So when I say recreational, I mean exactly that. If you are not confident that you can spare me the romance attempts on the long run, you are free to back out now."

That look would have sent the hardest of hearts running into the distance, but Kristoph didn’t have a hard heart; others things, maybe, but not his heart. Instead the man was spurred on not only by the woman’s forwardness, but also by the challenge. Kristoph wasn’t a man who easily fell in love and several years, along with several divorces, proved that he was not the relationship type anymore. Therefore, he didn’t see the woman’s words as a warning, but rather something to ease his mind.

He gave her a cheeky grin, closing the gap a little between them. His gaze never wavered from hers as he responded in a lowered tone. ”I could say the same for you. You know what they say, right?” he grinned. ”’Once you go Red, you won’t want anyone else in Bed.” He chuckled a bit, adding in a small eye waggle. However, after a second, he stopped as he eyed her a bit sheepish. ”I should probably stop before you change your mind, right?”

Karlson was standing in her personal space now. Not that Gemma minded much, there had been an open invitation, and he knew enough to wait for the signs. He would have had limbs broken otherwise. He was an imposing figure up close, well built and definitely confident. Agent T respected confidence; she did not have time for elaborate dances and flirtation, or waiting for someone to work up the courage to ask. It was nicer this way. Clean. As long as Karlson did not get any mushy ideas in his red head.

>>”I could say the same for you. You know what they say, right? Once you go Red, you won’t want anyone else in Bed.”

"Nobody says that." Gemma pointed out with a deadpan look on her face. In the end, he was the one that backed away first.

>>”I should probably stop before you change your mind, right?”

"Yes, it is advised." Gemma nodded, picking up her things "I will see you at my apartment at 7:00pm. You might bring a beverage of your choice. I expect acceptable personal hygiene." She started walking away, but something made her hesitate for a moment. This was... not quite the way it should be, even for casual encounters. Sure, the practical details were important, and one had to plan well to get the most of out of such a casual encounter. But in the end... practicalities were probably not what made Karlson decide to ask. And these things worked best on a mutual basis. Gemma looked back over her shoulder. "You may prepare to stay overnight."

>>"Nobody says that."

Kristoph nodded. Yeah, he knew he was pushing it too far from there. Still, it was surprising how that had worked in the past. Then again, most of the women he hit upon were not intelligent, no B.S. taking field agents like Ms. Taylor. He didn’t have to charm her with cheesy pick-up lines. If she wanted this to happen, then she would allow it, without much effort on his part. Gemma was certainly a woman who just took whatever it was she wanted.

So, with an apology on his lips and a promise to not say anything more, Kristoph waited for her to make the details. After all, she already knew what his ultimate goal was, he just needed to know the parameters she wanted him to work in.

>>"Yes, it is advised...I will see you at my apartment at 7:00pm. You might bring a beverage of your choice. I expect acceptable personal hygiene."

”Um...okay…of course.” Really that was kind of rude. Kristoph may have had all the appearance of a neanderthal, but he wasn’t to just show up at her apartment like this. The man knew well enough the importance of a shower and personal hygiene. But he would take the woman’s comment in stride, remembering what he was getting himself into.

Kristoph gave her a little wave as she turned to walk away. His hands moving to his hips, he smirked a little, watching the woman move away from him. It was a quick reminder of why it was he was attracted to his woman. She was absolutely gorgeous, whether she knew it or not. He didn’t see Gemma with anyone else, but they could just be her keeping personal and work life completely separate. Then again, how high was that barrier if she were allowing him to come over for casual sex? Lost in his thoughts for a moment, he shaken from them when he spied the woman turn back around to face him.

>> "You may prepare to stay overnight."

”Very well…” he responded with a small smile. He gave her another nod and wave until she had vanished around the corner. Huh, he was honestly not expecting that. Guess he wouldn’t be shoved out the door just holding a bundle of his clothing.

---

When Gemma’s apartment number on his phone, Kristoph traversed the halls of her building, in search of the woman with whom he had plans for the evening. His day had gone along quickly enough, but, still, it could have moved just a bit faster. Honestly this was a woman with whom he had never expected have a night like this and he was particularly looking forward to it. Of course there was always the chance that he was building up the experience far too much in his head, but he wouldn’t know until things actually happened.

Moving down the hall, Kristoph looked his best. Of course he took the woman’s comment about hygiene seriously, trimming his beard a little, keeping his hair combed back. His clothing was fresh and clean, just a simple, button-up shirt, black trousers, and a leather jacket over his large, muscular frame. His foot clipped and clopped along the floor, his eyes darting towards his phone in one hand, and iIn his other hand he carried a chilled bottle of Tenuta Tignanello balanced against his arm.

When he finally found the right number, Kristoph breathed small sigh, reached up, and planted a careful knock. God he hoped he wasn’t being Punk’d right now...

There was another time, another life, where another Gemma would have been nervous about the visitor she was expecting. She would have cleaned the apartment (but it was already clean), maybe decorated it (but candles were useless), ran a bubble bath (but she had already showered), or maybe purchased some elegant lingerie to look more appealing (completely unnecessary in the current situation). With all that out of the way, Agent T merely made sure she had clean bed sheets, a well organized apartment, and some mood lighting. The rest was up to the expected visitor. Karlson liked to style himself some kind of a master of romance. As far as Gemma was concerned, romance was just the window dressing. He could either prove that he could live up to it, or not. Worst case scenario, she wasted an evening.

There was a knock at the door. Gemma opened it without playing coy, and let her visitor in.

"You are punctual." she nodded in approval. He was well groomed too, and carrying a bottle. "I thought that since you initiated this encounter, I will let you take it from here. You are the guest, after all."

It was only polite to do so.

Kristoph waited outside the woman’s door. This was a position that he was used to being in. How many doors had he stood on the other side of? How many conquests did he having under his belt? Honestly it was hard to tell these days but the agent didn’t let that stop him from enjoying himself. The only thing that was throwing him off was that he had never once figured that he would be standing on the outside of Gemma Taylor’s apartment. Sure he had flirted with her, even fantasized about such a meeting occurring but never once did he imagine it would actually happen.

With a breath, the nicely dressed viking stepped back, holding the bottle of wine and waiting for the door to open. There was a half-second where he wondered if Gemma was there at all, but when he heard footsteps, he settled his own mind. Good, this wasn’t a trick. Though, it still could be and she was just bringing him to her apartment to kick his ass for trying to bed her. Honestly, he wouldn’t put it past Agent T.

Thankfully, it would turn out to be nothing more than false thoughts as he watched the door open and found the Gemma waiting for him on the other side.

>>"You are punctual…”

”And you look lovely,” he said with a gentle nod. Time to bring out the charm...

>>”I thought that since you initiated this encounter, I will let you take it from here. You are the guest, after all."

He blinked. Wow, this woman really knew how to throw him off of his game. As she marched away, Kristoph was distracted by both her lovely frame and the fact that she had thrown him another curveball. Honestly it seemed like it wouldn’t be necessary to be as charming as he normally was, especially since they both knew what they were meeting for and agreed. But, still, it might have been rude to just jump into things unless Gemma said otherwise.

Pausing for a second, Kristoph considered his next step before he gave the woman a gentle smile. ”Why don’t we start with drinks first?” he said hefting up the bottle. ”Unless you don’t care for wine?”

>>”And you look lovely,”

Always with the compliments. Gemma was not entirely sure why Karlson was still using them, even though their agreement had already been reached. He did not need to try and charm her into anything, but he was still intent on trying. Maybe it made him feel more comfortable?... Gemma decided to allow him to take the lead, and orchestrate the rest of their night together. Men needed to feel like they had agency. Especially in intimate matters.

>>”Why don’t we start with drinks first? Unless you don’t care for wine?”

"Wine sounds good." Gemma nodded. She did occasionally indulge in consuming alcohol, although usually only for recreational purposes. Like the present situation. He had brought good wine, and she appreciated the choice. She had nothing against sharing a drink; she was not planning going anywhere tonight anyway. She placed to glasses on the coffee table and, since she was not really one for small talk, she took a seat on the couch, waiting for Kristoph to initiate their next interaction.

Kristoph was going to have to get over just how forward Agent Taylor was. The truth was that Kristoph had had purely physical relationships before but they tended to be mutual and explosive. Ms. Taylor, while more than accepting, was a bit different. Maybe it was because he had flirted with her on and off over the years, maybe because this was not a state he figured he would ever achieve with her, but either way, he was still a bit thrown off. He shouldn’t be, though, she was beautiful, she knew what she wanted, and she still invited him over; all that was any man’s dream.

When the ball was put in his court, he suggested the first thing that came to mind. After all, he did bring wine (good wine too, in his opinion) so why not take the free moment to enjoy it. She did inform him he would be staying the night so there would be plenty of time.

>>"Wine sounds good."

He nodded. ”Great.” He grinned towards her, turning and taking up the wine bottle where he started to removed the foil covering.

Pulling out a swiss army knife he always carried with him, he switches out the corkscrew attachment and started to turn the point into the cork. As he did so, the man lifted his head, idly making his way towards the obvious kitchen in search of glasses, but at the same time, taking in the sights all around him. It was a rare look into the life of another agent, one that occurred outside of their place of business. Human curiosity was quick to take over.

”You have a lovely place, Ms. Taylor,” he commented. ”Fitting for a lovely woman such as yourself.”

Karlson opened the bottle of wine, and Gemma set down the two glasses on the coffee table for him to fill. He was good at what he was doing. Gemma had to admit, she liked watching Karlson work, or rather, move around with a purpose. He was quite the impressive sight. She could also see the curiosity in his features as he glanced around. Gemma's apartment was rather utilitarian, with few really personal decorations; she could not help but wonder what conclusions the field agent would draw from his observations.

>>”You have a lovely place, Ms. Taylor. Fitting for a lovely woman such as yourself.”

Gemma arched an eyebrow. Looking at it from an outsider's point of view, lovely was not the word she would have used. Then again, she usually did not use that word at all.

"You are a man of strange tastes, Karlson" she noted with a smirk "You don't need to charm me, you know. Although I am curious now about your idea of what it would take to do so..."

Kristoph had to admit that he was a little off his game at the beginning of this but he had every confidence that he would manage to find his balance again. He was in an apartment with a beautiful woman who strictly wanted something with no strings attached. Such an arrangement was not lost upon Kristoph as they tended to be his favorite relationships (if the could be called that). It just struck him as interesting that Gemma was seemingly of the same state of mind.

But he would regain his footing. Already he could feel himself slipping into his more comfortable persona, one that was up for wild nights of passion with no need to attach any strings to it. They were two adults in need of stress relief, that was all.

As he milled about the woman’s kitchen, Kristoph found the glasses, popped the cork, and proceeded to pour them both some wine. Not too much nor too little, just the right amount that could have only been learned through practice and trial-and-error.

>>"You are a man of strange tastes, Karlson...You don't need to charm me, you know. Although I am curious now about your idea of what it would take to do so..."

He smirked a little, tilted his head to give her a slightly mischievous look. ”I know I don’t have to charm you.” He said, handing the glass over to her. ”But I can at least entertain the idea of trying. Besides, that’s half the fun of it.” He said, taking small sip of the wine. He smiled in appreciation. ”This has always been my favorite.” He sighed as he turned to face her, looking her over. Again, she was a breathtaking woman. ”Are you so confident that I can’t charm you, Taylor? You should know that I’m a competitive man. I don’t usually let challenges go unanswered.”