#######Author's Note#######
If you're new to this, this is part of a series of assorted affairs involving Ketna and Xerxes. For the context of this piece, it is important to know that Xerxes has both a penis and vagina.
#########################
The note Xerxes had left for Ketna at the Dive she had visited for information on a handful of occasions, made a promise of a 'proposition' for her. There was no clear suggestion as to the nature of the proposition, only that she would be interested in it and a contact to send her confirmation to. Up until that point, their communication had either been in-person or indirect by way of leaving notes at various safehouses or points of interest Xerxes frequented. This was the first time any attempt had been made for more a direct form of contact, and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it. However, it did not take long for curiosity and an undercurrent of desire to get the better of her, and she made the effort to reach out as requested. Not on her primary device, of course not, but on one of the burners she had on-hand.
The text she sent inquiring what this was about was curt and to the point, hoping Xerxes would be equally direct in his reply. For the most part it was, he provided a time to meet him at his penthouse tomorrow to 'settle a score'. She wasn't entirely sure what 'score' he was referring to explicitly, but it could mean any of the number of altercations she had won in the past. In an attempt to work out she asked if there were any expectations for this rematch Xerxes was alluding to. After an unusually long passage of time, Xerxes responded citing conditions such as 'come alone' and 'no armor', terms she expected, however, an oddly aggressive yet coy suggestion to bring her strap-on, was certainly not one of them.
Ketna arrived at the requested time, in comfortable, casual attire, not much more on her person than a small messenger bag to keep her phones and the strap-on Xerxes both did and didn't explicitly ask her to bring. The balcony door was open, expecting her arrival. Not long ago she had arrived here in a very similar manner in far more hostile conditions, it was an experience she did not care to mentally revisit if she could help it but sight before her made it impossible to forget. Only now did she ask herself why she bothered returning.
A brief flash of concern had her wondering if the score he wanted to settle was the one from that night and fished the phone out of it's pocket. Re-reading the oddly worded text from the previous day, before she entered the threshold, helped mentally re-frame the conditions in how and why she was here, compared to the last time. Xerxes wasn't waiting for her like he had been the last time, which helped ease the looming sense of dread that hung regardless. In-fact he didn't seem to be anywhere in visual range that she could tell.
Standing in the middle of the large living space, she waited, expecting him to show, as she was on time as requested, but still he was absent. That was odd, to say the least, and she was grateful for it. Every small difference between then and now reminded her it wasn't the same. But she wasn't going to stand around here all night and wait for him.
"I really hope you don't plan to stand me up in your own home." Ketna called out, not sure how close or how far Xerxes might have been.
"Check your fuckin' phone!" A familiar voice bellowed far down the hall, echoing along the way.
Perplexed, Ketna retrieved the phone she had looked at before she entered. In her tunnel vision to ground herself, she had completely missed that there were new texts which had been received at her expected time of arrival. He had provided directions as to what hall to go down and what room to find him in.
Finding the room without too much trouble, Ketna caught sight of Xerxes through the open door, attending to the supports on the bed. It wasn't his bedroom, but it was substantially big enough such that if there were to be a face-off between them there wasn't much to get in their way. Xerxes himself was already stripped down, whatever it was he had in mind, he saw no point in being dressed for it. Yet another small thing that put her at ease.
"So what exactly is this score you want to settle?" Ketna asked while eyeing the bed Xerxes was attending to.
His head snapped up in her direction, almost surprised to see her, then returned to the bed. He gave the frame a few solid hits with the side of his fist, then stood to his feet.
"Yeah, about that-" Xerxes didn't look back at Ketna while speaking, instead he made his way to one of the few cabinets in the room and removed a large tangle of straps that hung on the outside of it.
Without any heads up, Xerxes tossed the mass in Ketna's direction, which she caught without too much trouble. Upon closer inspection it was easy enough to make out what it was, a heavy harness, and by the look of it, big enough to fit Xerxes while being made of the kind of material that would actually hold him.
"The first time, y'got the drop on me. Fuckn' cheap if y'ask me. Bet y'can't get me into that without sneakin up on me like a fuckin' pansy."
Ketna examined the harness in her hands, then watched Xerxes from across the room. It was almost comical when the realization hit her. Between this and the oddly phrased suggestion in the text the day before, it was clear enough he was attempting to ask her to domme him again, without saying it in those words. He presented it like a challenge, like he was testing her in some way.
"Since when have you cared about a fair fight?" Ketna asked, looking up from the harness.
"Alls I'm saying is, first time was a fluke. Doubt ya'd be good enough t'do it again."
"Is there some point to all this? What will happen if I do succeed in wrangling you, again?" Ketna attempted to encourage Xerxes to be more forthcoming, without asking it out-right herself.
"Guess y'better do it to find out." Xerxes grinned from across the room, rolling his shoulders back in preparation.
Unfortunately, it appeared Ketna wasn't going to get a direct confirmation from him, the only thing left to do would be to go through with it. She hoisted the harness over her shoulder, and continued her line of questioning.
"And if I don't?" One more question to know what she was getting herself into.
"Then I getta bind you init." Xerxes answered with a hint of self-satisfaction.
Ketna glanced at the harness resting over most of her shoulder. "I'm almost certain this isn't going to fit me."
"I got plenty'a others, one of 'em will hold ya."
That at least explained what he was doing with a harness that could fit him, voluntarily. Ketna took in the layout of the room. Mostly barren apart from a few dressers, a wardrobe, a closet, and a bed against the wall. Not even any fixtures on the wall to help her get some height but there was molding she could grab in a pinch. She was confident she could do it without it but it was the difference between a long fight and a fast fight.
Last, she inspected the harness. Taking in it's balance, where the straps were, identifying the front and back, tossing it around back and forth in her hands making notes of how it felt in her hands when held at the different points at the straps. A glance up at Xerxes and she put together plans of approach in her head.
"Alright, fine."
Hoisting the harness over her shoulder again, now aware of its position in a bundle, she closed the distance between the two of them starting, whatever this match between them, was supposed to be.
She had scuffled with him a few times before, though those times had been more violent than competitive. Not to say that it wasn't competitive in some way before, the difference was he, likely, wasn't going into this particular fight with the intent to kill her. He was a genuine challenge to contend with, most those with greater mass than her were rarely as fast as her, he managed to be both and each altercation required her to reveal a little more the true threshold of her skill every time.
Xerxes took slow steps back paying close attention to Ketna's movements in her approach, curious to see exactly how she planned to get on him with limited aid to give her the lift needed to compensate for the difference in height. He expected her to go for the legs first, which she would have started with a leg sweep if he were plantigrade or wasn't already as fast as he was. Body Checks, however, body checks were almost always a good way to start things out.
Xerxes, instead of dodging, attempted to brace for it but in doing so forgot just how much mass Ketna actually had. When her shoulder made contact it didn't knock him over, but the force of the impact against his midsection caught him off just enough stagger so that he was unable to grab her like he had intended before she rolled out of reach.
"Y'really think that was g'-"
Ketna had in the time she rolled out of range ran up the side of the wall, using it to gain air, jumping off it to land a double kick at the closest top shoulder, interrupting Xerxes' boasting. While it got him off balance, this still did not bring Xerxes down. Not wanting to miss this opportunity like he had last time, Xerxes' arm shot out, capturing Ketna's leg before she could pull it out of his range. Finally having a good hold on her he yanked her back into the air with every intent to slam her back down onto the ground.
Knowing full well what Xerxes intended to do, Ketna had to act fast to minimize the impact. On the upward swing Ketna opted to swing herself downward instead of her own accord. Arching all the way back her hands made contact with Xerxes's foot grasping at it using it as an anchor to yank his arm down faster than intended in the downward swing he was already on. Xerxes was not expecting her to bend that much in that way and wasn't able to formulate an appropriate counter in time, seeing his only option was to let go of the leg in his hand to prevent the momentum from completely knocking him off balance. With her leg freed, both legs fell heavy to the ground both from the force of gravity and momentum, an impact she'd much rather weather than her back hitting the ground with that much force. And her hands were still grasped at his leg.
