All their bags were packed. They were ready to go. The dog had even been dropped off at Rupert’s with minimal complaining and scowling. It was strangely quiet when Tarin Brooks pulled his key from the deadbolt on his front door and entered his apartment. It was only 5 at night, but he’d been out, picking up the last few things they needed for the trip. Dropping off Axel had made sense, besides, now the little dog would have time to get acclimated to his new surroundings before it was bedtime.

Tarin had made a little detour on the way back from Rupert’s apartment and the plastic bag in his hand rustled as he made his way in further, looking for Lee. Tarin had been less than helpful as they packed, and a little less than supportive about this entire situation in Romania. He couldn’t help it though, something about the camps and Romania…something just didn’t feel right.

So. Cheesecake and scary movies. Everything was packed, the dog was gone, they were alone, and they were heading off on another Kabal mission. Even if they knew what they were getting into this time, there was the fact that without Slate’s healing powers…Lee would have come home alone from Colombia.

Quality time was what they needed. Quality time was what they were going to get.

“Lee?!” he called, poking his head around this corner and that until he found her in the bedroom, checking the luggage….again. He held up the bag.

“Put on something sexy.” he said with a grin and a wink, “We’re having a movie night. I got the four scariest things I could find. I’ll shut off all the lights and get forks for the cheesecake while you change.”

She felt like she was forgetting something. It didn't matter how many times she had looked over their luggage, though, how many times she had gone through, unpacking and repacking to check everything they were bringing to Romania with them, Lee just couldn't figure out what it was that she thought they were missing, or forgetting.

Tarin had gone out to take Axel over to Rupert's and do a couple last minute things before their flight the next day. And she was just finishing up her most recent check of the luggage, but still hadn't figured it out. Everything that she could think of was already there, and was now almost repacked when she heard the front door open. Tarin was back, this was their last night at home before they left, but rather than go out to meet him right away, Lee stayed right were she was, finishing up repacking the suitcases.

And then she heard Tarin's voice from behind her, and turned to look over her shoulder to see her husband standing by the door into their room. A movie night? With scary movies at that, and cheesecake? Lee grinned, even more so seeing the grin and the wink on her husband's face.

"Alright, I'll be out shortly," Lee replied. Only waiting long enough for Tarin to leave the room once more, Lee quickly finished up the last of the repacking, then turned to get changed. Yes, his words had said 'something sexy', but movie night was movie night, and unless it came directly after a night out, movie night meant a tank top and pyjama pants. And that's exactly what Lee put on, a pair of dark blue pants and a lighter blue tank top.

Then she made her way out into the darkened living room, lit only by the dim glow from the TV to see Tarin already sitting on the couch waiting for her. "So," Lee asked she made her way over to sit beside her husband. "What are we watching first?"

Lee grinned and everything was worth it. That’s how it worked for Tarin though, validation from Lee made pretty much everything make sense. That’s how it had been since they’d met and how Tarin hoped things would be for the rest of his life.

She said she’d be out soon and Tarin nodded, still grinning, and turned, whistling while he made his way to the kitchen. Out of the bag came the movies and the take-out carriers that held the cheesecake. There wasn’t any point in plating them, it just made for dirty dishes before a long trip, so Tarin grabbed a couple of forks and moved to the living room.

The coffee table seemed a likely place, and Tarin put the cheesecake down. The movies he put next to them and waited for Lee to come out of the bedroom.

When he’d said for her to dress in something sexy, Tarin hadn’t expected Lee to actually do it. Movie night was a night for sweat pants and big comfy blankets on the couch…even if sometimes movie night ended up in the same place “sexy nightwear” night went. Lee emerged from the bedroom and Tarin chuckled, there were kind of one and the same. Then again, maybe it was just Lee.

“My turn.” He said, moving past Lee and giving her a quick one armed hug, “You pick the movie out. I got a slasher flick in a sorority house, some creepy cave movie, one of the japanese horrors, and a zombie flick. I’d say one of the first three if you’re wanting really scary.”


It didn’t take Tarin long to change out of his jeans, since he’d simply been wearing a hoodie and jeans to start with. When he emerged, blanket draped over his arms, Lee was on the couch. Joining her, and staying quiet while they arranged themselves, Tarin smiled when they were comfortable and nodded towards the TV. “What did you pick, and first choice on cheesecake is yours.”

Tarin got up almost as soon as she came into the room and moved over to her. And gave her a quick hug and kiss before going to get changed himself. He hadn't picked out a movie yet, either.

Not that that was really much of a surprise, Lee thought as she made her way over to the table to see what exactly he had brought home; it was almost always her who got everything set up for movie nights. Tarin did know how to work the DVD player, right?

Without wondering about that any more, Lee glanced through the movies Tarin had set on the table, settling on the second one that he had listed out, and got everything ready. It didn't take long, but then again it didn't take long for Tarin to change, either, so Lee was just sitting down when he walked back into the room.

The lights were already off, so they didn't have to worry about that. So Lee just snuggled against Tarin as he sat down, getting comfortable to watch the movie.

"The cave one, Lee answered Tarin's question as the previews started playing. But then she smiled and leaned forward again as he told her she got first choice on the cheese cakes. "What kinds did you get?" Not that it really mattered much, she would probably end up having a bit of both pieces anyway.

They were settled now, and the movie was starting. Lee had picked the cave one, and Tarin raised an eyebrow at the selection. She really must have been in the mood for a scary one. Out lf all the movies he’d brought home, this one had seemed the most intimidating to Tarin. Some kind of flick about spelunking gone wrong, complete with de-evolved men living out nasty cannibalistic lives in the dark. Definitely shudder inducing. “You picked the real scary looking one.” he commented, voicing his inner monologue to Lee, “Good thing you’re here to protect me.”

Lee wasn’t thinking about protecting her scared husband though, she was far more interested in the cheesecake he’d brought home. He supposed that’s what happened when people had almost been married for a…”Woah…” he said as Lee reached, “I got strawberry and chocolate.” he added off hand, “We’re going to be in Romania for our anniversary.” he said, a frown drawing his eyebrows together as he cast a look towards the kitchen. The top of the cake neither of them had ate was up there…that’s what people did on their first anniversary…they ate the cake. ”We’ll have to find something special to do to celebrate. I guess it’s kind of lucky…getting to be out of the country on our day.”

The movie was starting now and Tarin settled back, looking over Lee’s shoulder to see which one of the pieces of cheesecake she took, ”I’d better get a bite.” he said, then turned his eyes back to the screen . The movie was starting, a family was riding down the road after a raft trip, moving slowly along behind a logging truck. They were laughing and playing when suddenly the logs broke loose and one hurtled through the windshield of the car, Tarin shuddered. Why did he have such a bad feeling about this trip?

Strawberry and chocolate cheese cakes. As soon as Tarin said that, she knew which one she was going to be taking, though the chocolate cake sounded good too. Well, she'd just have to steal a couple of bites of Tarin's, then.

Lee ed for her slice of strawberry cheese cake and had just put her first bite in her mouth when she heard Tarin's next, quiet comment. They were going to be in Romania for their anniversary, weren't they? For their first anniversary. Tarin was right, though. They'd gotten to get married in Las Vegas, and now, a year later, they were able to go to Europe.

"Yeah, we'll definitely have to figure out something to do," Lee replied slowly once she had finished eating her bite of cake. "Even if we just go for dinner or something like that. There's got to at least be restaurants there that would work."

The movie was really starting at this point, and Lee settled in to watch, and to slowly eat her cheese cake, when Tarin spoke again. Lee couldn't help but smile. In a way, she wasn't sure why they still said things like that, they virtually always shared cheese cake and things like that. But still, they each said it, each asked.

"Only if I get a bite of yours," Lee replied, turning her head to look over at Tarin, the smile still on her face.

Then Lee had a thought, and glanced at her husband briefly before turning her eyes back to the TV. “You know, we might have to celebrate twice,” Lee announced. “I mean, if we can’t find anywhere that serves good cheese cake over there.”

Well, at least they were on the same page as far as their anniversary was concerned. It apparently really was too much to ask for them to have a single normal, boring special occasion. Holidays and birthdays had traditionally been rough for them, like trouble magnets. Now they were going to deal with mutant concentration camps, in a foreign country, in a time frame that would probably include a holiday, a birthday, and their first wedding anniversary. If anything, Tarin’s anxiety about the entire situation grew further. He was going to be a total train wreck by the time they actually got on the plane.

Tarin nearly groaned…it had been long enough since they’d been on a plane that he’d almost forgotten how much he hated being in the air. Almost. He smiled at Lee though, even though it was partially over her shoulder. “I’m sure there’s some cool things in Romania. Maybe Slate will be able to let us sneak off for a few days to quaint little bed and breakfast. There’s lots of history in that part of the world.” Tarin didn’t mention that they were going to one of the poorest countries of the European nation.

Still, he could see Lee’s smile when he pointed out that she’d better be willing to share the cheesecake he’d brought home. What did it matter if they always shared? There was always the chance that Lee would forget…he had gone to their favorite little shop, the place was famous for their cheesecake and Lee was tucking in pretty thoroughly. He reached around her for one of the forks and snagged a bite, just to be sure.

The movie was progressing, Tarin might have called it nicely. The accident with the logs had killed the womans’ whole family and now it had been a few years, she was meeting with the same friends she’d rafted with to do some spelunking. Where did writers come up with this stuff? It didn’t matter though, Tarin thought as he watched the woman wake from a dream with her little girl and stand at the window. The log that shotgunned through the pane of glass made him jump and he nearly choked as the woman woke up from the actual dream. ”Geez…that’s scary.” he commented, shuddering slightly and snuggling slightly more into the cushions of the couch. It had looked scary, but geez.

Lee looked back at him and Tarin nodded his head as she spoke, half wishing that he’d realized they’d be gone for the anniversary earlier. If he’d have known, they could have simply celebrated early. It didn’t look like that was going to be an option now, though. ”Yeah, I think that’s a good plan. If we can’t figure anything out there, then we’ll just do things right when we get back home. Do they even have cheesecake in Romania?”

Tarin snagged another bite of cheesecake from around Lee and watched the movie thoughtfully, still settling back into the cushions. It was getting really dark outside now, and it added to the creepy atmosphere of the movie. Especially since they were descending into the cave at this point. Tarin shifted slightly, pulling Lee against him and laying his chin on her shoulder, ”If I ever take the notion of spelunking into my head…kick me in the shins.”