((OOC: This thread takes place about mid-Jan 2009, after Tarin and Lee's trip to Texas, after they elope in Vegas, and after they've been back in the city for about a week as newlyweds.))

Christmas had been...was there a word that meant more than amazing, more than fantastic, more than every single dream coming true even if you hadn't thought of it yet? Well, Christmas that year for Lee had been that[/b].

Texas was pretty good too.

But she and Tarin were home now, and though they had already been back for a week, they were just opening the shop again and getting things back to normal now, almost a full four weeks after they had left for Texas.

And opening the shop and getting things back to normal meant that Lee was grabbing her morning coffee while Tarin went straight to the shop to open things up.

Lee was, however, dressing a little warmer than would be normal for her after that trip to Texas. Her plaid woollen skirt was above her knee, but Lee was also wearing black stockings to cover her legs between her shoes and the skirt, as well as wearing a black cardigan over her white blouse, topped by her winter coat. The warm Texas air had been great, but now Lee seemed to be having a bit of trouble readjusting now that she was back in New York.

Then it was her turn at the counter. Stepping forward, Lee ordered her large black, handed over the money, then waited for her coffee. At least this time when she went outside, she'd have something to keep her hands warm.

Sam yawned as he walked towards the doors of a coffee shop. His time sleeping had been cut short greatly; he either spent it in the Danger Room, spending time with Leila, or his hero thing. Sam had been running on four hours of sleep for a while now and it was starting to take its toll. His movements had become slower than usual.

Sam being who he was decided he would just replaces his lack of sleep with some coffee. Walking to the front of the coffee shop Sam spotted someone he thought he knew. “Lee?” he spotted the plaid skirt and smiled “Looks like Lee alright,” said Sam lazily as he yawned again.

Sam was wearing his normal blue jeans with his tight black t-shirt with his leather jacket. He was lucky he was wearing all the clothing or the fall he was about to take would have hurt.

Sam picked up his pace and felt his foot trip over someone else’s; normally he would have caught himself but the lack of sleep didn’t help him at all when he tried to keep his balance. He needed up stumbling a few feet before running into Lee knocking her over and landing on top of her, “Sorry Lee” Sam said apologetically.

Lee had just gotten her coffee and was just turning back toward the door out of the shop when all of a sudden Lee felt something hit her, hard, and then felt herself hit the floor, even harder, with something heavy landing on top of her.

Lee didn't know what had really happened to have knocked her over until she heard a voice above her, apologizing.

Lee was a bit shocked, unsure what was really going on, so it took a couple moments for her to realize that she recognized the voice that was apologizing sounded familiar.

It was only then that Lee's eyes focused on the man pretty much laying on top of her, and she saw Sam there. Not moving, just looking down at her.

"Uh, Sam?" Lee asked, a rather unimpressed look on her face. "Do you think you could get off of me?"

Sam smiled and started to laugh slightly as he got off of Lee, “Seems like I keep running in to you.” Said Sam trying not to laugh at his bad joke and extending a hand to help Lee off of the ground. It had been a few weeks since Sam saw Lee last and the fact that Tarin was around made it all the better.

Sam liked Tarin as long as he was not around. To Sam Tarin always gave off the impression that he hated Sam’s guts, which was a little awkward for him seeing as he was a friend with Lee.

Looking over to the spill of coffee, “Looks like I just wasted a good cup?” sighing and then yawning Sam asked, “Got time? I can buy you a cup seeing as I just knocked yours over.”

Waiting on a response from Lee a slight fluttering sensation shot threw Sam’s body as he looked at her. ‘What the hell?’ Sam thought as he looked down to his pants and brushed the dirt off of them. He looked back at Lee and his stomach dropped slightly, ‘Why does she look so different?’ thought Sam as he averted his gaze by yawning again.

It really didn't take long for Sam to get up after she asked about him getting off of her. And he was laughing. Really, as if being knocked to the floor wasn't bad enough, having Sam laying on her and laughing about it certainly did not make matters any better.

At least only a moment after Sam had climbed to his feet, he was extending a hand out to help her up. When they had just met, even just the last time they had seen each other, Lee would have at the very least hesitated before taking Sam's help up, if she didn't ignore it altogether so she wouldn't have to actually touch someone.

But this day, Lee didn't even think about it. Reaching her hand out, Lee took Sam's and let him help her up, making the task that much easier than it would have been on her own in the heels and skirt.

Texas had definitely changed her, apparently more than she had even known.

But then Sam offered to buy her a replacement coffee, since he had spilt hers when he knocked her over, and asked if she had the time to sit and talk for a bit. Glancing at the clock behind the counter, Lee noticed that it wasn't even quite the normal time that she and Tarin opened the shop yet. With the fact that they now had Gabe to help out with the shop...

"Yeah, I think I have a few minutes," Lee said, turning her attention back toward Sam. "Did you want to grab me a black, and I'll go look for a table?" Not really waiting, but giving Sam a quick smile, Lee started walking over to one of the few empty tables in the place, thankfully over in the corner away from the door.

Sam felt a tingling sensation in his hand after he helped Lee up. Remembering the first time he ran into her and tried to help her up she wasn’t too big on the touching thing. Something Sam decided it was better not to comment on.

Letting out a small yawn Sam nodded to Lee’s smile, “Two Blacks coming up!” one for Lee and one for Sam. He didn’t know why but she seemed…different. Happier maybe?

The Line was relentless and Sam was in the back of it. It took a few minutes but finally Sam reached the register and said, “Two black please.” It took another minute to get back to the table Lee managed to find in the crowded coffee house.

It only took a second to get there but once he got there something terrible happened! Sam was feet away from the table when someone bumped into him and knocked one of the coffees out of his hand. Looking at the now fallen coffee Sam sighed and continued to walk to the table with the one coffee.

Setting it down in front of Lee Sam smile and said, “Order up” he sat down across from Lee and smiled and said, “So how is Lee doing?” Sam shot a quick glance to his fallen coffee, ‘I’ll just get one after’ Sam thought as he looked back to Lee and smiled.

It took a while for Sam to make his way through the line. Lee had apparently gotten to the shop just in time, it appeared it was now break time at various places around there, and the line was much longer than the one she had been in. Finally though, through the people between them, Lee saw that Sam had reached the cash, got two large coffees, and was making his way over to the table she had claimed and had been sitting at.

Then, as he was on his way over to her, literally just a few feet away from the table, Lee watched as someone bumped into Sam. And watched as another precious coffee fell to the floor.

Lee was shaking her head by the time Sam reached the table and set the remaining coffee down in front of her. "I think this is a sign," Lee commented, wrapping both of her hands around her cup, as if that would help protect it from the man sitting across from her. "Maybe you should stay away from coffee." That said, Lee took a sip.

Letting out a small laugh Sam just said, “Had a rough day, give me a break” said Sam not really sure if it was morning or night seeing he has been up for the last day and a half. He scratched the back of his head and let out a large yawn as Lee took a sip of coffee.

Waiting till she lowered the cup Sam spoke up, “So how have you and Tarin been sense the…umm incident?” Sam asked carefully and calmly trying not to come off mean or nosey, “How was the holidays or you guys?” Sam asked curiously.

Sam frowned slightly as he saw the man who bumped into him and knocked his coffee from his hand walk by with a large coffee of his own. Normally Sam would let things go but his judgment has been lacking with his lack of sleep. Sam moved his hand under the table and pointed a finger at the spot the man was about to walk.

In an instant the guy fell to the ground as coffee flew over his head and towards a garbage can. “Nice shot,” Sam mumbled as the guy got up and looked at the ice on the floor, “Ice” the guy asked defensively.

Lee just blinked when Sam said he was having a rough day. "What do you mean?" She couldn't help but ask. "It's still early, how could it be that bad already?" So what if she considered 10 am to be early in the day?

And then Sam went on to ask about how things had gone since the 'incident', about how the holidays had gone for her. And despite how serious his first question had been, Lee couldn't stop the small smile from crossing her face as her eyes dropped to her coffee cup.

"Actually, things have been going surprisingly well," Lee replied, not yet lifting her eyes again. "And the holidays..." Lee took a bit of a breath, her smile widening slightly. "To be honest, I haven't had nearly this good a Christmas since I was a little girl."

It was then, just as she was finishing speaking, that Lee saw out of the corner of her eye someone else falling to the floor. Turning her head, Lee looked over to see the man climbing back to his feet, mumbling about ice. Turning her gaze to the very small ice patch that had appeared all of a sudden, Lee then looked over at Sam. "That wasn't nice, you know," she said softly, shaking her head at Sam.

Shrugging Sam just said, “Morning, Day, Evening, I have been up for a full day now at least.” Yawning again Sam looked for the subject change not wanting to go into what he thought was far more important than sleeping, which was easy enough to say but still didn’t feel like it saying at the moment.

Sam noted the small smile and was glad that she didn’t seem to upset about him bringing it up. It was after all a sensitive subject the last time they had talked. Maybe it was because Tarin was there it had been such a poor subject to talk about. Lee as of right now didn’t seem to mind the mention of it.

“Little girl?” Sam asked laughing playfully, “Did Santa finally deliver?” asked Sam now laughing into a yawn. His Christmas was good, the best it has ever been but regardless if it was the first Christmas he spent with his loved ones Sam can’t recall it bringing a smile like the one the one Lee was now wearing as she looked at her coffee.

Frowning slightly at her comment Sam said, “Can’t be a hero all the time, sides, he knocked my coffee from my hand, that wasn’t nice!” said Sam the way a kid sounds when he is trying to defend something.

Lee blinked when she heard Sam say that he hadn't slept in over a day. She didn't know what was up with that; hadn't he been really surprised when she had told him about not sleeping in three days?

"Why aren't you home sleeping, then?" Lee asked, her brow furrowed in slight confusion. If he had time to sit here chatting with her, didn't that mean that he had the time to at least nap if he hadn't slept in that long?

But then Lee heard Sam laughing when she told him that this had been her best Christmas since she was a little girl. "You could say he did," Lee told Sam, the smile still on her face. "Though, in a way, it's more like I'm finally giving in and letting myself be happy..."

Well, it was true. Even before they had gone to Texas, Lee knew that she had never been as happy as she had been with Tarin, thanks to her time in Toronto, Lee knew that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for her to really be happy without Tarin.

"Can't be a hero all the time?" Lee asked, still shaking her head at Sam. "You don't have to be a jerk, though."

Sam thought the question over in his head ’why aren’t I home sleeping?’. Sam smiled and shrugged, “No idea, think at some point I wanted to but something always came up…” pausing for a second Sam yawned and then added, “then I found my self here.” He yawned again and rubbed his left eye with his palm slightly.

Turning his head slightly to the man who he made fall, “Think that's why I don’t have a problem doing what I did, lack of sleep clouds judgment.” Said Sam with a grin on his face, “Sides he was asking for it!” nodded Sam.

His eyes shifted back to Lee and asked, “Giving in to happiness?” Sam asked with a confused look on his face, “You weren’t happy before?” Sam wasn’t sure what she meant, Sam was almost positive that she always seemed happy when ever he talked to her, especially around Tarin. Maybe it was all a front Sam thought, ‘maybe she wasn’t happy with him.’

Sam was explaining that he had thought of sleeping, but that something kept coming up, and he had ended up in this coffee shop. "You should sleep," Lee said softly, her eyes lowing back down to her coffee cup. "If I had any say in the matter, well, any say beyond never touching anyone, I'd never let myself stay awake longer than 24 hours.

"And even if, for whatever reason, the body doesn't need the rest," Lee continued, seemingly talking to her coffee cup by this point. "The brain most certainly does. Crashing like that is not fun.

"At least you'll feel rested after you get to sleep," Lee said, looking back up at Sam. "And with how you're yawning, I doubt you're having my problems with sleeping, so you really shouldn't push yourself. Passing out because your mind can't stand the strain of being awake anymore is not something you really want to experience."

But then Sam went on to question her 'giving in to happiness' comment. Thinking about it, Lee could see why he was confused about it, why he was questioning her.

Lee took a deep breath and looked at Sam for a minute, her head tilted a bit to one side, before she finally answered his question. "No. Well, I was and I wasn't. It's kind of hard to really be happy when a part of you is pushing everyone away from fear of what you're doing to them. But if something horrible is going to happen, shouldn't I try to be as happy as possible until then?"

Sam just blinked and stared at Lee for a second in somewhat a daze, “I know I should sleep its just stuff keeps coming up.” Sam looked over to a paper that was left open on the table beside them.

Picking it up and then dropping it on the table in front of Lee and opening it to the second page and then pointed to the caption, “Mutant and Member of the SWAT team put a robbery on Ice!”
Sam forgot completely that he didn’t want anyone to know about it, he frowned slightly and rubbed his eyes again.

“Don’t need to worry bout me Lee.” He paused and set his hands on the table on the paper, “It’s defiantly on my to do list today.” Said Sam as he re read the bold caption. A smile formed around his face, “just glad there weren’t too many casualties.”

Sam’s attention turned back to Lee, “Well that's a crappy way to look at it,” Sam said with a sly grin on his face, “why in the world would you be pushing every one away?” Sam paused knowing full well why she wasn’t much for touching because of her power. “I know your gift doesn't help much but you sound if your almost waiting for the ‘bad thing to happen.” Said Sam as he looked away from Lee and back at his hands.

Shrugging and then sighing Sam said, ”You should always try and be happy as possible, regardless of the situation.” Thinking back to what one of his old masters said when he was a kid Sam blurted it out, “Something good always comes from a situation, even if it is hard to find.”

Things just kept coming up keeping Sam from sleeping? Lee understood how that happened for her, if she ended up taking too much energy, for whatever reason, there she was unable to sleep. But somehow, Lee thought that was far from the reason for Sam.

Then Lee saw Sam leaning over to the now empty table beside them and grabbing the paper that was still sitting there, before setting it in front of her and opening it up, pointing at a picture and the caption on the second page.

Looking down, Lee read. A moment later, her eyes shot up to Sam's again, her brows raised in surprise. "Wow, you really do take this hero thing seriously, don't you?" Lee asked softly, still surprised by what she had seen in the paper.

But Sam went on to tell her not to worry, since apparently sleeping at some point was on his to-do list for the day. Lee's surprised expression disappeared to be replaced by a much more serious one. "Someone's got to worry if you're not going to take care of yourself," Lee told him, then almost rolled her eyes at herself. Wasn't that almost the exact same thing she had told Tarin ages earlier when he wasn't worrying about her powers? Well, she did seem to be a worrier by nature, after all.

“Well that's a crappy way to look at it,”

Lee blinked, her serious expression turning more deadpan. "You try watching someone pass out because you touched them for just a few minutes," Lee said, her voice almost monotone. "Then you try telling me I shouldn't push people away.

"And you're damn right I'm just waiting for something bad to happen," Lee continued, her voice growing more heated, though quieter in volume. "I know it's just a matter of time before I'm not fast enough, not smart enough to figure things out in time, or I'll take too much energy trying to stop him..."

Lee's voice trailed off, her eyes closing as she bit her lip. She'd known that that was a possibility since the first merge she'd seen Tarin in, he'd known it was, at least the first part, for much longer, yet they didn't talk about it. Not if they could help it. By this point in time, Tarin knew that Lee wouldn't promise to run if he merged, so there really was no reason to talk about it.

That didn't make thinking about it any easier.

"But until then, I should be happy if at all possible," Lee continued after a couple breaths, opening her eyes to look at Sam again. "So, I'm letting myself be happy."