Lee's walk had ended up taking much less time than Lee would have expected. In fact, she was heading back to the shop less than half an hour after she had first stepped outside. She had been feeling cooped up in the shop, but after meeting Acheron, and more so when he had taken off when he said someone was coming, Lee was wanting to be no where else other than safely in the shop. Unless that other place was back in the apartment with Tarin.

Tarin was still in the shop, though, which meant that is where Lee wanted to go. Plus, that would have been the 'normal' thing for her to do: go back to work since it was still the middle of the day.

Reaching the shop, Lee pulled the door open and stepped in, glancing around the shop. There weren't any new customers there, which was a good thing. But she also didn't see Tarin anywhere in the front. Figuring that he was still working on the session for that customer she had left him with, Lee hung her coat up and sat down in Tarin's armchair, crossing her legs as she leaned back. "Hurry up, Tarin," she whispered, feeling her leg bouncing slightly as she waited.

This reading was taking forever, and the most damndable thing about it was that it was a real reading. The woman sitting across from him though was doing nothing to arouse his sympathy. Maybe almost constant contact with spirits over the years had made him hard in some situations but the simpering, whining woman in front of him was doing nothing to impress him.

There was no story here and frankly Tarin couldn't figure out why the hell the woman's husband had stuck around. It had taken over half an hour to get her to stop bawling long enough to get anything done. The bell in the front of the shop jingled and Tarin wondered if Lee had gone out, it was something she regularly did.

Wrapping up the session, spouting some BS about the psyonic energy fading and the spirits resting, Tarin stood and the woman rose with him, paying him way less than he probably deserved for spending so much time with her and made her way to the front of the shop.

Tarin bid her goodbye assuring her that he would see her again at her earlierst convinience. The woman opened the door for herself and she and the spirit made their way outside. No sooner had the door shut than Tarin turned and made his way to Lee in his chair. "For the love of all that's holy....that woman....did you go somewhere while I was busy?"

Lee stayed in the chair when she saw the woman come out of the back room and leave the shop. But she looked up at Tarin, seeing that he wasn't looking extremely happy. Apparently, Lee guessed, that sessions hadn't gone too well, hadn't been too easy.

Lee's foot was still bouncing as she sat there, and she nodded at Tarin's question. "Yeah, I was feeling cooped up, so decided to go for a walk," she answered.

He had to have been expecting that, at least at some point, though. With very few few exceptions, Lee had barely gone anywhere that was not the apartment or the shop since the Registration Act. Before then, even when she had spent the whole day with Tarin, Lee had still spent a decent amount of time outside, walking. Not so much since the Act, wanting to stay hidden as much as possible. But now that she was feeling better, feeling more like herself again, after that last fight she and Tarin had had, Lee had been beginning to feel cooped up inside.

Glancing toward the door, seeing that there wasn't anyone about to enter the shop, Lee grabbed Tarin's arm and pulled him down onto the arm of the chair beside her, nuzzling her head against his side.

"I met someone who saw what happened the other night," Lee whispered, wrapping her arms around Tarin's waist as she snuggled closer against him.

Tarin nodded his head slowly as Lee commented that she'd felt restless and gone for a walk. That had been a commonplace occurance before the registration act and Tarin smiled over at her when she said it, "You really must be feeling better."

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother trying Lee." Tarin said, running his hand through his hair, "That woman doesn't want help, she just wants someone to cry to. The saddest thing about it is, he's there with her, but with the total mess she is anyway, I can't tell her anything real."

Lee grabbed his arm and pulled him to the arm of the chair and he sat down heavily. Wrapping his arm around his shoulders, Tarin smiled as her head nuzzled into his side. Things were slipping back into the normalcy that they'd slipped into before the registration act. The smile faded from Tarin's face though when Lee spoke again and he let his head fall back, studying the slightly worn looking paint on the ceiling of the shop.

"Someone else, huh?" He said, scowling slightly at the thought. "I wonder just how many people I exposed us to." Tarin figured Lee would be a bit surprised by his comment since she was the one who normally worried about things like that, "It's one thing to meet someone, then tell them. This," he shook his head, "I don't like this." And it's all my fault. the thought went unvoiced.

"You bother," Lee started softly, looking up at Tarin. "Because when you actually can, you do help people. It might not be as often as you want it to be, but you do help."

Tarin didn't seem too happy by the fact that someone else had seen him go through the window the other night. Of course not, that wasn't exactly something any mutant would want anyone to see in the world today: them using their powers.

But what Tarin actually said did surprise Lee slightly. Yes, she had been sitting here worrying about how many others might have seen them; if two people had seen it, that late at night, how many other people might have seen it? But Tarin voicing that exact worry wasn't normal. He didn't worry about things like this.

"I don't like it either, Tarin," Lee whispered. "But he saw what I did. Apparently he's lonely, though, so scared the hell out of me when he revealed himself to say hi."

Tarin shrugged his shoulders, remembering the judgement passed on him by a visitor to the shop who'd left with a bloodied lip. Maybe he was right, maybe Tarin did just hide inside these walls when there were really things he could be doing in the outside world. Lee's words made sense though and he sighed, "I know...people like that just frustrate the heck out of me though. I don't know how to deal with them, and they really don't want to be helped."

They were in agreement that they didn't think it was a good thing to have so many people aware of what had happened in the apartment. Lee went on to explain though, and it appeared that it was another mutant who had seen and revealed hismelf to her on the walk she'd just returned to. That mad Tarin feel marginally better, a mutant was far less likely to turn them in than a human.

"Well...from what you say I gather it was another mutant...that's helpful at least." he said on another sigh, why were things so frustrating all the time? Lee's words were a little baffling though, "He's lonely?" Tarin frowned, how could someone possibly be lonely in a city the size of New York?

"So what did he want?"

Again, it seemed, Lee had left out some major factors of her thought processes when telling Tarin about something, which didn't help Tarin understand fully what she was talking about. However, that normally happened when she had been up all night thinking, so had had hours of thinking done by the time Tarin woke up. Still, even though it had been much less time, Lee felt like her brain had been going a thousand miles an hour as she thought.

“Yeah, he is,” Lee clarified with a nod against Tarin's side. “I was walking through the park, and a cat came and sat in the middle, starring at me. All of a sudden, the cat's a man, saying 'hi'.”

When Tarin asked what Acheron wanted, Lee leaned back slightly so she could actually look up at him again. This was the real kicker, this was where the real problem was, the real reason Lee needed to tell Tarin about the encounter since it did not seem at all likely that Acheron would turn them in.

“He wanted to know if he could stop by some times,” Lee said slowly. “To find out what's going on. I'm guessing he spends most of his time as a cat, at least based on how his clothes looked, so he can't exactly go get a paper or turn the news on...”

Tarin shook his head as Lee explained the way that the mutant in the park had chosen to expose himself to her. It was brazen, maybe stupid, maybe the guy was new to the town and didn’t know what he was getting himself into by just popping out of the middle of nowhere in New York City. “Well that was a brave thing to do.” Tarin said, and wondered what had been so important that the mutant had shown himself in public. Lee explained that exact thing and Tarin simply had to laugh, he’d gotten all worried and serious and the other mutant simply wanted news updates?

“Sure….” Tarin said, chuckling and running a exasperated hand through his hair, “He can come hang out the same day as the mutant assassin and the kid that glows. That shouldn’t be obvious at all.”

Tarin figured Lee wouldn’t be amused by his attempt at humor so he smoothed his face into a more appropriate mask of indifference and shrugged his shoulders again, “I don’t see how that could really be a problem.” He said simply, “A “stray” cat hanging around from time to time isn’t all that difficult to explain.” He explained, making the quote marks with his hands then draping his arm back over Lee’s shoulders, “With everything else that’s been happening lately I don’t think it’s anything to get too worried about if he decides to drop in.” he continued the thought “Besides, if he’s got a convincing human form, it could be way more dangerous for us not to fill him in on things. “

Tarin paused and shook his head, remembering at time in the not so distant past when he would have been excited to find another mutant in the area, not so much now when there was an abundance. “All that time without a whisper from anyone like us, and now it’s like we’ve got some kind of gathering beacon on the shop….”

Even though she knew Tarin was joking around with his comment, Lee still shot him a hard look. She might be more relaxed, might be starting to feel more comfortable, but that didn't mean she was going to be willing for such an obviously mutant get together as he had suggested, whether in a joke or for real. But considering the fact that Tarin was joking around, Lee didn't actually say anything about it.

Luckily, Tarin didn't seem opposed to the idea of Acheron possibly stopping by in the future. Lee had been worried that he would freak out about it, that especially with all the attention from mutants they seemed to be getting of late, he wouldn't want one coming around on a semi-regular basis. Apparently, at least since he'd be around as a 'stray cat', it was alright.

But things on that front seemed to be settled now, so there really wasn't that much else to say on the subject. At least until Tarin and Acheron met, and decided that they didn't like each other and so started fighting. Lee couldn't help but roll her eyes at that thought; why did Tarin never seem to get along with any of the guys she met or knew?

When she was done with the whole eye rolling, Lee smiled up at Tarin. “So, when is your birthday?” She asked. It was the same question she had asked numerous times her brother had surprised both of them on her own birthday a couple months earlier, but she still hadn't made any progress, Tarin still hadn't given in other than his initial hints that it was in the first half of March. The problem was, March was pretty much here at this point; how was she supposed to give Tarin his present if she didn't know when?

Tarin just rolled his eyes at Lee's hard look, it was really the only thing to do at a time like that. She was loosening up a bit about things but Tarin had a feeling she was only a simple backslide away from slipping back into the same paranoia they'd had to deal with since the registration act had been put in place.

Lee didn't say anything else about the cat guy, apparently she was okay with the idea of him dropping in for news. Tarin didn't really care, as long as the dude wasn't going to sit around and oggle her like every other male of remotely human nature seemed to. That wouldn't be okay. Deciding that the decision had been made apparently, Lee moved on to her favorite topic other than worrying about the camps and Tarin shook his head and sighed. "You're never going to give up on that, are you?"

Tarin didn't know why he was so reluctant to give Lee the exact date of his birthday, it may have had something to do with the fact that she'd let hers come and almost go with out mentioning it to him. Tarin still wanted to grind his teeth when he thought about the fact that it had been Robert who had brought the day to his attention. It had been a while since they'd seen him, Tarin made a mental note to ask Lee about that sometime in the near future. Even if Tarin disliked Lee's brother almost as much as he disliked Tarin, he thought it was important for him and Lee to continue to reconnect.

Leaning his head back and feigning a sigh of irritation, Tarin turned his gaze back to Lee, "What's in it for me?" he said, "I've recently decided that I'm going to ignore hte rest of my birthdays until you catch up with me. That way people stop acting like I'm some kind of dirty old man." Tarin scowled a little with the last comment, remembering the fist fight of just a few days ago. It really wasn't a pleasent situation.

Realizing this wasn't going to be enough for Lee, Tarin ran his hand through his hair, "I'll give you this. I missed being named 'Patrick' by three days."

Lee shook her head when Tarin asked if she was ever going to give up about his birthday. "Nope," she said, her voice taking on an almost cheerful tone as she smiled up at him. "At least not until you tell me. You were the same about my age, remember?"

Lee thought it was fair, at least. Tarin had been rather pushy to find out how old she was when they first got together. And he was the one who felt that birthdays were so important, felt that she should have told him about her birthday with enough time that he could have done something. Or at least done more than take her out for dinner after only finding out about her birthday the morning of. So since it was so important to him, she kind of needed to know when his birthday was so that she could make the most of it.

But then Lee heard Tarin sigh and ask what was in it for him. She could only stare up at him for a couple moments in slight confusion. "What's in it for you?" Lee repeated. "I'll actually be able to give you your present if I know when your birthday is," she pointed out as a smile started spreading across her face. "And if I know you at all, you'll really like it."

Tarin continued, though, and Lee's smile faded as she heard him complaining about what David had said to him when the brat had been in the shop. "What are you talking about, hon?" Lee asked, reaching her hand up to the back of Tarin's neck so she could pull him down for a kiss. "Well, you probably do still have a dirty mind, but you've been doing so much better keeping all that to yourself now. And besides, you're far too immature to be old, you know."

Lee grinned a moment later as Tarin gave in. Or, mostly gave in, since he said he had missed being a Saint Patrick's Day baby by three days. And though that didn't tell her the exact date, it was close enough; on her birthday, Tarin had told her that his was in the first half of March. "Thanks," Lee grinned, pulling Tarin down for another kiss.

"I was the same about your age because all of a sudden I realized you were much younger than you acted and I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yoruself into with a geezer like me." Tarin said, fixing Lee with a serious look that melted into a slight smile.

Lee knew the birthday thing was still a touchy subject because of the way that she'd handled hers. She hadn't thought it necessary to inform him of the fact that it even existed. Granted, at that point they hadn't been engaged, but the fact still remained that she'd left out that vital part of her life and he'd been aggravated beyond belief at the revelation. A hasty dinner hadn't nearly been what Tarin had hoped to do for Lee and now she was talking about getting him his present on time, he shifted slightly and sighed a bit.

"I don't want you to do much of anything..." He said, giving her a bit of a look. "I didn't get to go out of my way for you, so you can't go out of your way for me this year." He was going to be stubborn about it...though her final statement made him give her a sidways glance from his vantage point, "I will huh?" He said, almost in spite of himself.

Unbidden images of Lee in a corset...with boots...or less...Tarin swallowed hard and wondered when the heater in the shop had started working so well....god that would be the best birthday present ever....

"Well..." he said a bit hoarsely, feeling the color rise in his cheeks, "Maybe you could do a little something..."

Lee was awesome, Tarin decided a few moments later when she reached up to pull him down for a kiss. She always seemed to make the years between them melt away when she spoke like this. SHe was right too, he was way too immature to be old, and unlike most people, Tarin didn't take offense to that statement at all.

She was pleased with the vague clue he'd given too, and Tarin wondered if he'd given her another at some point that gave her enough info to pinpoint the day. Oh well...maybe her idea of a great birthday gift was the same as his, and in that case, he definitely wasn't going to complain.

"What I was getting into..." Lee murmured with a slight shake of her head and a smile curling the corners of her lips. "You do realize that there's much more I have had to deal with and get used to by being with you than simply dealing with your age, which you don't even act half the time. I mean, you haven't exactly stopped being a perv."

But then Tarin was arguing about her getting him something for his birthday, saying she wasn't allowed to go out of her way. At least not this year because of the mini fiasco that had been her birthday, shoulder immobilizer and everything.

Tarin seemed to start thinking when she mentioned the fact that she was sure he'd like her idea of a present, and she grinned when she saw the slight flush covering his cheeks. "Yeah, I'm sure you will," Lee stated simply. "And don't worry, I'm not going to be spending a lot of money, and I won't make a whole huge deal out of it, but I've got to do something. Fair enough?"

Tarin shrugged his shoulders when Lee commented that there were loads of things besides his age that should keep her from being with him. "Yeah yeah..." he said specifically when she got to the perv comment. His face turned mischievous and he leaned close, brushing his lips against Lee's ear as he spoke, "You know you like it though...and you know I've brought out the perv in you too."

Tarin didn't know why he felt the need to whisper, they were inside the shop, but somehow it made it more intimate.

Ungh, she wasn't going to spend a lot of money, and she was sure that he was going to like it. That had to mean at least boots and corset. God he was going to die on his thirty-second birthday. It wasn't right....actually...it was too right.

Tarin let his head fall back and took a deep breath, hoping it would slow his heart and bring down the flush from his cheeks, "I haven't been this excited about a birthday since I was ten years old." He said softly and leaned down to kiss Lee slowly and thoroughly, "Thanks in advance..."

At that first look on Tarin's face, Lee started worrying. Though a lot of it had been from her, things were finally good again, easy, happy between them, and Lee didn't want that to change because of what she had just said.

Thankfully, Tarin seemed to catch her little joke about him being a perv. However, when Tarin leaned down and whispered in her ear, it really didn't help matters, though for a very different reason. Feeling his lips brushing her ear, his breath on her skin, Lee shivered. And his words...well there was no way Lee was actually going to admit that he was right, but the truth was, she did like his pervishness. At least to a point.

"Why would I keep complaining about it if I liked you being a perv?" Lee asked, her voice also a whisper, though it was probably a delayed enough response that Tarin would guess the reason.

As Tarin spoke again, Lee smiled, not only at his words, but also at seeing the slight flush still on his cheeks. "I haven't been this excited about a birthday since I was ten, either," Lee replied. It really was the truth, she couldn't remember being this excited about any birthday, hers or others, since she was a little kid.

Next thing she knew, Tarin was leaning down again, but rather than whispering in her ear this time, he leaned further, kissing her lips once more. Without her even thinking about it, Lee's hand travelled up to the back of Tarin's head, fingers slipping through his hair, as her eyes closed. And she kept her eyes closed even after he ended the kiss. "I've missed this..." she sighed.