((OOC: This thread takes place just before the Freaky Friday plot))


Lee was still having issues, still having nightmares at times, but things were progressively getting better for her. For her and Tarin, considering when she was having these problems, Tarin was having to deal with at least some of it as well.

But things were definitely better than they had been when she had been staying at the labs. Most definitely a lot better than that. Axel helped a fair bit, something new, something that didn't have any bad memories tied to it. He also helped to fill that void Lee sometimes felt since that dream, the strange emptiness she couldn't explain expect as being caused by a little girl who had never existed.

Another thing that had seemed to be helping her was what she and Tarin had done in the Park the previous week; focusing on memories. Though her subconscious had been doing exactly that, her mind had only been bringing up the bad memories, the horrible images she had seen. It seemed that, with her and Tarin reminiscing about the good times they had had together, though they really hadn't been together all that long, it seemed to be helping drive the bad out of her head already.

Though, that shower she and Tarin had shared after washing Axel, to save time and water before going out, had also helped. And, Lee decided, they needed more of that kind of distraction.

Plus, she had promised to dig out her old Halloween costume.

So Lee had left the shop early that day to go shopping. Not that leaving early was all that surprising any more, Lee had yet to actually work a full, complete day at the shop since coming home from the Labs. It was so common, in fact, that Lee had just said to Tarin that she'd see him at home later, she hadn't needed to tell him anything about what she was going to do.

She hadn't been completely successful; if it were that easy, the boots would have been replaced a lot time ago. Unlike her last pair, she didn't fall in love with them the moment she put them on, and there were little things here and there about them that she didn't like, or wanted to be different, but to be honest, they were the closest to her old pair that Lee had managed to find since the day she'd bought them. They would work, at least.

Bag in hand, Lee made her way back to the apartment to get ready. The corset and skirt would be easy enough to dig out, those were just in with the rest of her clothing. The wings...Lee knew that they were in a closet, it was just a matter of remembering which one.

But it wouldn't take long for her to get ready, maybe light a couple candles around the living room...

Lee couldn't wait to see the look on Tarin's face when he walked into the apartment. She'd missed his initial reaction the first time she'd worn this costume, she was not about to miss it today.

Lee had gone home early, that wasn’t anything resembling a rare occasion these days. In fact, Tarin had sent her home early every single day since they’d come home from the labs. It was good for her. Lee liked to administrate so much that Tarin worried it would be too much and send her into a relapse of the terrifying hallucinations she’d had the night of the fight at KP.

Things had been getting better though, and Lee didn’t argue when Tarin suggested that she go home. In fact, she had even taken to leaving on her own. So, one day, when Lee announced she was leaving and didn’t expound, Tarin just nodded his head and kissed her goodbye, promising that he’d see her when he got home. It wasn’t going to be a late night, anyway, and there were only a couple of customers wandering around, waiting for their turn. Definitely something that Tarin could handle on his own.

Sometime later, after finishing up with the customers and cleaning up the shop, Tarin locked up the doors to the shop and set off down the street to go home. On the way he thought about how far they’d come in the last several weeks. Lee was still having the nightmares every so often, but they were so few and far in between that it was just like normal sleeping. Everyone had nightmares sometimes.

The therapy was probably helping, sure it dug up all the things that Lee didn’t want to talk about…but that seemed to be exactly what she needed, to deal with the things she’d been hiding from. Lee realizing that there were just as many good memories as bad, was good for her too.

Tarin stopped at a flower stand on the way home, grabbing a simple summer bouquet. It had been a while since he’d brought Lee flowers, and he thought they might make her smile. It wasn’t a long walk from there, and Tarin was entering the lobby, waving to the kid behind the desk. Then it was up the elevator, down the hall, and he was home.

Tarin knocked the door, but nobody answered, Tarin frowned slightly. Lee was probably out on a walk…it was fine, he’d put the flowers in a vase and give them to her when she got home. Keys in the lock, and the door swung open.

Tarin took two steps forward before he realized that his wife wasn’t on a walk. She was standing in front of him in the very angel costume she’d promised to wear. Tarin’s eyes took her in starting at the top of her head and moving slowly down before locking on the boots that clad her legs almost all the way up to her knees. They weren’t the same ones she’d lost when she went to the c amps…but they were boots.
Tarin realized his arms were hanging limp at his sides and he held out the flowers lamely, swallowing and trying to speak, “You went shopping….” Was all he managed while his other hand groped behind him to shut the door before anyone in the hall could see Lee, she was all his.

Lee was all set, everything was ready, she just had to wait for Tarin to get home. Even the candles were lit around the living room. The only problem was that she couldn't exactly sit down very comfortably with the wings pinned to the back of her corset.

At least it didn't take much longer from that point for Tarin to get there. First she heard a knock on the door. A small smile springing to her face, Lee moved closer to the hallway, getting in position so that she could see Tarin as he walked through the door. A moment later, Lee heard a key being slipped into the lock, turning.

Lee's smile widened as she saw the door opening, saw Tarin stepping into the apartment, a small bouquet in his hand. And the look on his eyes as she looked at her, from her head all the way down to her boot clad toes...

Lee's smile widened as she watched Tarin, saw the look on his face. This was great. His arms limp by his side before he lifted the flowers, holding them out toward her.

Lee laughed ever so slightly as she took one slow step toward Tarin, and then another. "Yeah, I went shopping," Lee replied. Then her smile widened even more, and she turned around. "Do you like?"

For a moment, Tarin wondered if this was another one of those weird dreams. Lee was standing in the entryway of the apartment dressed in that incredibly sexy and sensual outfit. She’d been waiting for him. It was almost too much. Part of Tarin wanted to rush forward, sweep Lee up into his arms and get rid of the costume. A second part of Tarin wanted to just stand there and look at her, she looked so gorgeous, so desirable. A third part kind of wanted to cry like a baby. This was his Lee, this was the Lee who played and teased and didn’t have psychotic episodes. She’d been slowly reemerging in the weeks since they’d left the labs…but this was really her.

It wasn’t the sexual aspect of this thing. It was the fact that she wanted to do this sort of thing. The planning, the conscious effort it had taken for her to get this all set up. It was almost too much. Lee was walking towards him, though, and his body took over as she asked him if he liked.

“Oh yeah.” Tarin breathed, talking past the lump of emotion and lust that had lodged itself in his throat. He still held the flowers out towards Lee, and he had every intention of her taking them from him. She stopped, and twirled, and Tarin let his eyes sweep over her form again, this time from the back. That skirt was almost indecent, she’d worn it in public? Tarin thought back to that Halloween night, no wonder he’d gotten in a fight. The view of Lee’s outfit from behind would have been enough to tempt a saint.

Tarin took his own step forward so that they were within arm’s reach, but not touching. Lee was almost eye to eye with him and he looked at her intensely, brown eyes full of heat. “I brought you flowers.” Tarin said, voice soft as he licked his suddenly dry lips. “How long have you been planning this?”

Oh yeah, this was a very nice reaction she was getting from Tarin here. Lee couldn't help but wonder whether he had looked at her like this that Halloween when he'd stepped into the diner. She hadn't seen him enter, she'd been busy working, so Lee couldn't be sure.

When Tarin did answer her question of whether he liked what she had bought, Lee's smile widened even more. She loved getting this sort of reaction from Tarin.

And then she heard a slight groan as she spun around to show off the whole costume. Bitting her lip slightly, Lee glanced over her shoulder at Tarin, saw the look on his face as he was looking down at her legs, before she finished the spin and was facing him again.

Turned back to face him, as he took a step toward her. "Thank you," Lee said, reaching out to take the bouquet from Tarin's hand. Then she stepped forward, pressing her lips against Tarin's. "They're beautiful."

But how long had she been planning this? Lee shrugged slightly as she leaned back. "I did promise to dig this out, didn't I?" Lee asked. "And we've been saying for ages that I needed to get a new pair of boots. So I thought it was about time."

Then Lee stepped back slightly, a look of feigned innocence on her face. "Why? You didn't have anything planned for tonight, did you?"

Tarin felt underdressed, or overdressed, or…something as Lee continued to close the distance. He also felt like he was about 14 years old and didn’t have a damn clue what to do with the woman that was standing in front of him. Sometimes he still wondered if she was real. Tarin realized he was clenching his jaw and made himself relax. It wasn’t like it had been ages since they’d done this or anything. They’d had some serious, quality, shower time, just recently. This was just such a totally different level.

God, how did Lee make ‘thank you’ sound so much like something else involving k-sounds and you. Tarin swallowed again as she took the flowers and finally let his arms move. They wrapped around his wife and his hands found their way under the back of that skirt to pull her even closer when she kissed him.

Lee leaned back, but Tarin didn’t release his hold on her, she spoke and he felt the smile spreading across his face. “You did say that…I just didn’t exactly expect it to happen so soon. I didn’t have a clue in my head that you were actually going to get the boots this soon.” It was amazing to Tarin that he was keeping his head this well. He leaned to the side and looked down past his arms to the boots again, “No…it was about damn time that you got new boots.” He said, before kissing her again and letting his hands drop as she stepped back.

It was crazy just how good a costume this was. If Tarin remembered correctly, the only real part of the costume was the wings. Lee just didn’t dress like this all that often anymore. It was so hot…

Lee spoke again, and the innocent look on her face actually made Tarin laugh out loud. “All my plans for tonight involved me and you…I think this fits the bill.” He reached out and pulled her back close, kissing her soundly before murmuring against her lips, “Now get back here and tell me exactly what you had planned.”

Now, normally when Tarin wrapped his arms around her, he wrapped them around her waist. So when he wrapped his arms around her this time, his hands actually under her skirt, Lee jumped, her body pressing even closer against Tarin's in the process.

Even when she leaned back after the kiss, Tarin didn't let go, his hands remained where they were, so most of her body stayed pressed tight against Tarin's while her shoulder's were leaning away.

Finally, though, Tarin let his hands drop and she stepped back slightly as he was answering her question about his plans for that night. She smiled. All of them had involved her.

He said, just in time for him to pull him back against her. And then asked her, after another kiss, what she had had planned for the rest of the night. "Actually," Lee replied slowly, lifting her arms to wrap around Tarin's neck. "I only planned about this far. I figured things would just...go from here on their own," Lee finished with a smile before leaning in for another kiss.

Lee seemed to like the idea that all of his plans for the night had involved her. She also liked the flowers. Tarin was kind of pleased about that, but slightly displeased that the flowers meant her hands were occupied. That wasn’t necessarily the best situation to be in. Lee moved closer again, and her arms moved to wrap up around his neck, bringing the entire front of her body up against the front of his. Tarin could feel the flowers against the back of his head. Stupid flowers.

Lee answered his question about her plans and Tarin grinned in spite of the flowers. “You figured it would go from here on its own, huh?” he said, completely giving himself over to the kiss when Lee leaned back in. It still never ceased to amaze Tarin how he could still completely lose himself in Lee. If anything time was making that better, he knew her body and she knew his. It wasn’t moving on autopilot, it was practiced perfection…at least to Tarin.

Yup, the flowers needed to go. Tarin’s hands moved from wherever they’d been roaming and grabbed the things, tossing them…somewhere. This wasn’t going to do…the bedroom was way too far away. Tarin broke the kiss to look around for something that would work…they’d put a little table in the entryway. Perfect, or close enough to it.

Backwards he walked Lee, until they got to the table. All the little knick-knacks sudden started hitting the floor and Tarin vaguely hoped that there wasn’t anything important on there…but he really didn’t care. They could deal with that later…right now…the table had a far…far…far more important purpose.

FTB

*fade back to light*


They still hadn't even made it out of the entry hall of their apartment. The bedroom? Way too far.

The small table they had bought for that hallway was no longer standing where it had originally been placed, everything that had been on it was scattered across the floor. Her corset, wings still pinned to the back, was sitting on the floor against the door. Her skirt was...somewhere, though where Lee wasn't exactly sure at that moment.

Lee was just finishing doing up the buttons after putting Tarin's shirt on for the time being, leaving the top couple undone.

She was still wearing her boots.

With a slightly dreamy smile on her face, Lee glanced around the shambles that was their front hallway as she let her hands fall back to her sides. "We should probably order some food," Lee murmured as she crouched down to pick up the small wooden bowl they often dropped their keys into. "And probably clean up. Did you want to go grab he phone?" Lee asked, glancing up at Tarin from where she was still crouched, the wooden bowl in her right hand.

Yeah. Tarin had definitely found one drawback to the new apartment. It had taken a while, but he’d finally found it. The front door was entirely too far from the bedroom. As a result, it looked like a hurricane had blow through the place. The table had been moved several feet from its original position, but Tarin was pleased with it. The piece hadn’t been expensive, but it had definitely just proven itself sturdy.

To the door Tarin went, picking up the corset Lee had been wearing sometime before. The wings had survived their flight, it appeared, and Tarin was pleased. This was something he definitely wanted a repeat performance of. Next came the little knick knacks that had been standing vigil in the hallway in case someone tried to come in. Tarin had swept them aside with a casual sweep of his arm and now they were scattered.

Lee spoke and Tarin turned to nod at her. Oh god, she’d put his shirt on. It was another one of those things. Seeing Lee in his shirt like tha, the hem barely dropping to a point on her thighs that was decent, almost made him want to put the decorative table to use again. She was still wearing the boots too…God that was hot. Tarin had missed those boots. What had she been trying to say again? Oh yeah, food. They needed food.

Tarin had already pulled the shorts he’d been wearing when he got home on, and he reached down and plucked his undershirt from the middle of the floor, going about pulling it over his head as Lee spoke. “Yeah, food sounds good. What about pizza?” he suggested, already moving towards the kitchen and therefore the drawer where he and Lee left all the menus they collected from take-out places.

“Want anything in particular?” he asked after rummaging around and finding the desired pamphlet and trying not to look at Lee so he could get something accomplished…which he managed until the pizza place had been called.

Back to Lee he walked, glad they’d kept Axel penned for the time being, “I think I like you like this…in my clothes and those boots.” He said, fingers tangling in her hair, “Though I have to admit…I think I’d like you in anything and those boots…I know I liked you in nothing and the boots.”

Tarin looked like he was having issues again. Lee didn't even know why this time; she was clothed now, in fact his shirt that she was wearing in a lot of ways covered more of her than what she'd been wearing when he walked into the apartment, and she had been careful as she couched down to grab that bowl. But just the look on his face as he looked at her, her corset held in his hand...

Lee was smiling slightly when he finally managed to speak, and she nodded. "Pizza sounds good," Lee replied, watching her husband already walking toward the kitchen, her smile growing. "Whatever works," she then called. Tarin knew what she liked, and they had very similar tastes to start with, so she wasn't exactly worried about what he might end up ordering.

It really didn't take all that long for Tarin to get back, but in that time Lee had managed to pick up a number the items scattered across the floor and set them back on the table, then turned to face Tarin just as he reached her. And felt his hands in her hair.

Still smiling, blushing slightly at Tarin's words, Le leaned forward the slight distance separating them to press her lips against his as her own arms came up to circle Tarin's neck, on hand clenching in his hair.

When she finally pulled away, just an inch or two, Lee was smiling even wider, a twinkle in her eye as she looked at her husband. "You liked that, did you?" She asked, leaning in for another, quick kiss before pulling back again. "So...we should do something like this more often?"