bossyboiler | We all have our FOILbles. -- For prodigalmess

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We all have our FOILbles. -- For prodigalmess

Are you still interested in fencing?

The message was straightforward and direct as was the one that followed it.

I'm catering a special exhibition match this Sunday. I have two spare passes. It'll be fun. If you want them.

The details were then sent. The main event was a tournament put on by the United States Fencing Association. The exhibition matches on Sunday were fencers from France who were not fighting with foils. Sabers were involved but not the kind that most people expected.

Kate had been hired to provide cupcakes for the fencers and judges. She had done her research on the subject. Kate wanted to impress them with their order and the four cupcake flavors that she had brought with them were unique to this event. The Gray Jedi cupcake was an earl gray cake with a honey glaze and lemon buttercream. The Dark Side was a chocolate cake with dark chocolate buttercream that had a dash of cayenne and spice. The Light Side was a vanilla cupcake with a vanilla custard filling that was topped with a caramel buttercream. The Sith was a standard strawberry cupcake with strawberry swiss buttercream but there was a piece of candy glass in the shape of a red lightsaber.

After delivering the cupcakes and setting up the displays, Kate ventured out to watch the exhibitions. She stood out slightly in that, despite the fact that she was catering the event, she was wearing tailored slacks and a button up blouse with small cupcakes printed on it. Most of the people attending were in athleisure or jeans. Her brunette hair was pulled up in a high pony-tail and tied with a ribbon.

There was no way she was going to miss out on watching the matches.

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Malcolm is definitely still interested in fencing. Well, he's interested in the swords, mostly, but he enjoys the sport too. When Kate invites him, he says that he'll go with her, not knowing what he's getting himself into.

He's not a huge Star Wars nerd, but he watched the movies as a kid - and he has to admit that this is pretty badass. After helping himself to one of Kate's cupcakes (he'll probably only eat half, but he knows she won't be offended) he sits next to her to watch some of the matches. He's wearing a nice sweater and jeans: casual for Malcolm.

"Have you ever watched anything like this before?" he asks before taking a bite of the Grey Jedi cupcake.

Kate shakes her head and smiles. "Only if you count my two brothers pretending." And she does not count it as they had broken so many things, some of which had been hers. She assumes by his question that he hasn't either. "And the movies."

Slowly, the lights start to dim but the first match hasn't started yet. People are still filing in. "What do you think of the cupcake?" Kate has to know.

"Good!" he says, his mouth still full of cupcake. Malcolm holds a finger up while he swallows. "I like this one. It really tastes like a cup of Earl Grey." Kate's an amazing baker. For someone who is as picky of an eater as Malcolm is, he enjoys Kate's baking. That's a big compliment to her.

Kate beams a smile Malcolm. While she knows that her cupcakes are very good, she enjoys a well-earned compliment. "I'm glad you like it. The vanilla one is fairly sweet but I think you'll like the Sith. It's strawberry."

The lights continue to dim every few moments as if to signal to people that they ought to hurry up and find their seats. "Do you think they'll be wearing costumes?"

"Strawberry is good," he comments. "Blueberry is my favorite, but that makes for a better muffin rather than cupcake." Maybe he'll try the strawberry one later. He tends to eat small amounts at a time.

"I hope so," Malcolm says, putting the rest of his cupcake down on the napkin in his lap. "I feel like that has to be a vital part of this, right?" Setting the mood, making it feel more realistic.

"Is that a challenge, Malcolm Bright?" Because she does love a baking challenge, she enjoys surprising people. Kate hopes he says yes but it's too late anyway. He is doomed to the fate of trying different blueberry cupcakes.

"I think so." She nods her head in agreement. The lights finish dimming and two combatants enter. One is dressed in dark robes and the other in light clearly meant to represent that one is a Sith and the other a Jedi. "I shouldn't be surprised that this-- Oh, I think it's about to start."

"Maybe," he replies with a sly smile. Blueberry cupcakes are now in his future, but he probably won't complain about that. Kate's baking is great, and it's never made him nauseated. He still tries to limit how much he eats out of an abundance of caution. Vomiting is not something he or anyone around him enjoys.

Malcolm turns towards the ring as the lights dim. Dramatic music starts to play in the background and the two combatants strike at each other with very realistic-looking lightsabers. The buzzing electric sound is perfect. "Okay, this is cool," he whispers to Kate.

She accepts the challenge with a slight nod of her head. Malcolm can always share the cupcakes because there are cupcakes in his future along with comment cards. How many different flavors can blueberry be mixed with successfully? She'll find out and document it thoroughly.

"Oh, they have the buzzing." Kate whispers as she leans forward, very focused on the fight. The buzzing is the best part. "I was doing some research on lightsabers." One of the cupcakes needed a decoration! "Apparently, it's more dangerous to use a dual-blade than a single. The wielder is more likely to hit themselves than their opponent."

She's going to be the reason that he gains some weight. His mother will be thrilled. Malcolm's glad that they reconnected though. Kate's been a good friend to him and he hopes he's been the same to her.

"Okay, wait," Malcolm says, his mouth slightly agape. "Are the lightsabers real?" He knows that technology has advanced pretty far since the original Star Wars trilogy came out, but he didn't know that there were real lightsabers out there now.

Kate respects Malcolm deeply. She feels that he can understand her more than some others. It is a hard thing to step away from your family and pursue your own interests and craft a career out of it. She has friends in all walks of life but not many with an overactive work ethic. That makes Malcolm unique. (He's also adorable when he nerds out about weapons.)

"Define real?" Because Kate thinks that they are just using plexiglass ones lit up with LED lights.

They're in the same boat when it comes to making a life for yourself, one that your family isn't thrilled about. Both of them could fall back on trust funds, but Malcolm feels that he has a purpose in this life. He's supposed to use what he knows about killers to help catch them and put them away so they don't hurt anyone else. He's supposed to help victims get justice. It would be remiss of him to not use his time and energy to do that.

"I mean... they can't cut someone's hand off, right?" he asks.

"I think they're just made of plexiglass. You'd have to really want to cut off someone's hand." Kate replies. She could imagine a few scenarios but they were severely macabre to her. She has not seen the things Malcolm has. "They're selling some in the trade hall. Do you still collect weapons?"

"So not real real," he confirms. That's disappointing, but he also probably a good thing. People didn't need to be able to carry around high powered lasers.

"I do..." Malcolm replies, considering that. "I've never added any fictional weapons, though I almost bought a bat'leth once."

"No, not real real." It is a good thing that lightsabers are not real. There would be fights on the streets and lost limbs (mostly hands) everywhere. New York had a bad enough litter problem.

"Why didn't you?" Kate does not collect weapons. She collects depression glass jars, vintage dresses, buttons, and exes. "If it makes you happy..." She trails off clearly meaning that he should buy it. "Expand your weapon nerdiness."

Is it wrong that now he wants to investigate a murder committed by lightsaber? He bets there's at least one real one out there, even if what these competitors are using is fake.

"The quality wasn't what I was looking for," he replies. "If I ever come across one that's better quality though..." Then all bets are off. A bat'leth could definitely be a show piece in his collection.

One of the fencers backs up to avoid the blade of his opponent's lightsaber and ends up losing his balance and falling to the mat.

It is probably not wrong, per se. A lot of people have work-based fantasies such as physically throwing out rude customers or solving a lightsaber related murder. People have imaginations, they are going to use them.

"Why don't you have one commissioned?"

Kate winces when the competitor lands on his ass. The victor, the Sith, points his blade at the throat of Jedi and this match is over. The crowd applauds so Kate claps as well. "This kind of makes me want to look into stick fighting."

The second demonstration isn't going to be as flashy as the first. It is an actual duel with rules and a referee with their own blade. "I shouldn't be surprised that people have turned this into an actual sport and yet here I am. Pleasantly surprised, granted, which is nice."

"I could..." He shrugs. "I think they're cool, but I'm not really a huge Star Trek fan." Not big enough of one that he feels like he must own a bat'leth. If he were... he probably would have sought one out by now. He tends to prefer real weapons, but the lightsabers are pretty damn cool.

"Stick fighting can be fun," Malcolm continues as he claps for the competitors. "I've done a bit of training in that. And I'm not surprised at all that someone has turned this into a sport. Quidditch is a sport now."

"Is it? Anywhere in the city? I need something to inflict my anger on." She has a bakery and works customer service. Kate knew people who were entitled but she had never realized before opening it just how entitled a customer could be. It was different and she couldn't hit them or forcibly throw them out. Yoga is great for flexibility, being toned and cute outfits. However, Kate really needs to hit something.

"Yes and I'll be impressed when they can actually fly."

"I haven't done it in a while, but I'm sure there's a place in the city," he says. "I'll check back through my contacts and see what I can find." Malcolm hasn't trained for a while and could probably use a tune up himself.

"Me too. A flying broom would be pretty amazing. If they make those, I definitely want one." He's pretty sure they don't, though.

"I'd appreciate that," Kate replies and continues to watch the match. Her head tilts to the side slightly. There are rules, she can tell. The referee occasionally steps in to call a play. "How close to actual fencing does this look to you?"

"I suppose the closest we'll ever get to that is a hoverboard." She means the handsfree scooter, of course.

"Somewhat..." he answers. "The moves are a bit different, but the basic premise seems to be the same." Don't get hit with the other person's sword while you try to hit them.

Malcolm turns back to Kate, a smile on his face. "Now you're talking about my greatest Back To The Future fantasies." He'd probably pay a stupid amount of money for a real, working hoverboard.

"Which is?" If he says that the objective is not to get hit she is going to give him the side-eye.

Kate smiles back at Malcolm. She finds his little nerd smile adorable. "What would you do with it if you had one?"

"Generally, don't get hit." He'll take that side-eye now. "You want to jab or hit your opponent while not getting jabbed or hit yourself."

"Oh man." He grins. "What wouldn't I do? Obviously I'd take it for a ride through the Upper East Side." Let all the rich people be jealous of his sweet hoverboard.

There is the side-eye that is a very long. "You're hysterical."

Kate raises her hand to cover her mouth. She can't help but to chuckle a little bit at the mental image that formed inside her mind. "I can picture it now. Wrap-around shades, hair blowing behind you and waving at the people staring. Clearly, they would be in awe of your sick moves."

"It's a little more complicated than that," he says. "There's a point system. But the gist of it is to not get hit."

Malcolm grins at her. "I feel like it would be very effective transportation. Better than a car or the subway, in my opinion."

We all have our FOILbles. -- For prodigalmess

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