Tses had one advantage of Ty in this little fight, and that was her experience with fighting in general. She was used to being picked on by people much bigger than her, and it made her quick, smart, and fast thinking. As he rushed towards her, Tses quickly jumped from her end of the bed, under his arm and rolled back to a crouched position on the other side, jabbing him in the sides from behind. He smirk was wide and she had a Cheshire cat grin as she purred behind him.

"Point for me. Gotta keep up. Think of it as your first lesson in fighting!" She remarked, looking like a cat as she batted him in the side again. "At least make it a challenge!" She taunted, laughing.

Ty squealed in shock and surprise as she not only got around him, but tickled him. Quickly, he turned around and grabbed her into a hug. Well, it was sort of a hug, except he had himself positioned so his fingers could access her sides and dig in again.

"What was that?" he teased, winking. "I'd say I can defend myself pretty decently, wouldn't you?" he asked as he continued his assault, an evil gleam in his eyes.

Tses found herself caught. One second she was victorious, the next she was trapped in a hug and being tickle tortured to death. Her laughter turned into squeals again as she tried wriggling free, but he was holding her too tight for her to escape this time. Her arms couldn't move to retaliate, and she couldn't get her legs under her to pull away, so she did the first thing she could think of.

She kissed him. Then she smirked at him and laughed eyes twinkling. "See? I still win!" She squeaked, trying to look defiant while dying with laughter. Even if she was going to loose, she was going to find some way to make it seem like it was her plan all along. But she wasn't quite expecting the little tingles of happiness the action caused while being held like she was.

Ty smiled victoriously as he had her with no escape, no way out. Her laughs and squeals were music to his ears; a side of her he'd never seen. But seeing this side of her made him feel that much closer to her and love her that much more. But, it seemed in their little game, he was the victor--

Or maybe not. His grip turned from tickling to just holding her as she kissed him. Even though it was a plan to escape, it still had the same effect that all of her other kisses did. He chuckled, letting out a soft sigh. "Okay, okay, you win," he replied softly before kissing her again.

Triumph....was apparently a matter of opinion.... As he kissed her back, she felt herself relaxing in his arms, no longer really wanting to escape. She almost missed his surrender, getting lost in the second kiss. Part of her wondered that she had been resistant to this at first. Now it seemed she was getting a little used to the displays of affection. Her brain got slightly muggy and she forgot what she was doing momentarily. Then as the contact broke she blinked up at him, face getting a little pink.

"See I uh.... told you I'd win." She remarked lamely, and tried to stop her heart from thundering in her throat. She felt like her strategy was backfiring now, and she was still willingly trapped in his hug.

Ty smiled as he held her, the moment once again going back to sweet. Though the man noticed she was getting more and more comfortable with this kind of thing. And that made him feel even happier as he held her in his arms.

"Maybe, but in my book I win too," he said softly. "Heck, if this is what losing is like, I wouldn't mind if you beat me at everything," he teased, looking at her, his face becoming more dreamy before releasing her and lying across the bed, stifling a yawn.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

Tses blinked slightly in surprise at the question, and settled back on her heels as he leg go. Most of the feathers had been knocked to the ground, along with what remained of the pillow case, and now Ty was laying just on the sheets with the comforter next to him, and her stuffed tiger he gave her up by his head. She felt a small smile on her lips though because one little feather was tangled in his red blond hair, and she scooted over next to him, pulling it carefully out then letting her fingers run though his hair. It felt soft under her hands.

"I think so.... well, you sort of did just now... even if you don't though... I know." She whispered, leaning back against the wall, letting her fingers keep playing his his hair. "I missed hearing it though... as much as I ....well, don't act receptive to it... it matters to me." She whispered.

Ty shuddered lightly, feeling her hand run through his hair, and a smile spread across his face as his eyes drifted closed. "I know you did," he whispered, his hand moving to rest on her arm that was playing with his hair. His eyes opened to look at her as his fingers lightly danced along her skin.

"I know you don't always act receptive, but...every time I can tell something clicks. I know deep down that no matter what happens, you love me." He slid closer to her.

Tses felt her eyes flickering closed, and she slowly settled down so she was laying next to Ty, and scooted into the curve of his arm. Curling up, she laid her head on his shoulder, and sighed contently. She felt like for once, she could sleep without fearing the fear in her heart. That seemed like a distant dream right now, and she was safe where she was. Her breathing grew more shallow and she let her hand rest lightly on his chest. With daylight mostly gone the apartment was dimmer, and the overhead lights weren't enough to bother her.

"I missed you. I'm glad you're back." She murmured, and felt herself sinking into an exhausted sleep. After all the stress and laughter, her body was completely drained of energy and that allowed her to at rest without the nightmares that plagued her before.

She felt safe. And she felt like perhaps, amidst all the chaos and turmoil, she could be normal at least for a moment.

Ty gave an audible, contented sigh as she curled up with him. In his mind, it was the perfect ending to a day that didn't start out well. Thanks to her, all of that was gone. "It's good to be back, Baby..." he murmured in his half-asleep state.

Slowly, that half asleep state drifted. Soon, his exhaustion took over and he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, his arms wrapping around Tses and holding her close, a small smile on his face.

----

As sunlight broke into the apartment, Ty once again found himself awake first. Only unlike every other time, he was in bed, and Tses was snuggled up next to him. He lay where he was, remaining still because this was a shock to him and he had no idea how she was going to react to him still being there. But, thanks to their position, he really couldn't move.

Hoping for the best, he kissed her forehead.

Tses couldn't remember the last time she slept without a nightmare, but as nighttime continued to travel on, she slept deeply, peacefully curled up in Ty's arms. As morning brought the first glimmers of sunlight, the light curled around her face and her relaxed expression, and she ever so slightly murmured as Ty kissed her forehead. Slowly, she made a little face, then her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. Her face pulled ever so slightly into a frown, then she grumbled and readjusted on his shoulder, shutting her eyes again.

"I didn't say you were done being my pillow....stop movin' so much." She muttered, sleepily yet somewhat playfully 'pawing' him in the face and then settling back against his shoulder with a sigh. Her wrists had small scabs now from the ropes that had been around them, but that was one of the only signs of the turmoil from such a short while ago.

Ty smiled softly as she pawed his face, and he got as still as he could, arms holding her close. He loved how he felt when he woke up next to her, and though she'd never admit it, she was so cute like this. For the first time, he felt like they were a normal couple.

He settled in his spot, rubbing her back gently, but careful not to disturb his still sleeping girlfriend. It was times like this that reminded him that there was hope after all...Slowly his eyes drifted closed.

Ever so quietly, in a distant realm, a small clock began to tick. Inch by inch, a second hand moved forward, dragging a tiny string along with it. That string ran along the ground through the cold depths of the atmosphere, looped around a piece of metal, and was tied rather tightly to a grenade pin. Pressed against a rock, handle down, the clock yanks the circle of metal free and it seems to hover lightly in the air before falling into the grasp of gravity. The green textured sphere shakes slightly from the motion, then falls forward, free of it's rock and the handle releases. A chemical reaction triggers, and and explosion shatters rock, string, and clock, rattling the surrounding air. That air traveled with it's initial inertia, making its way to the silvery orb rotating slowly around the planet earth. The moon feels the brush of the distant explosion, and it trembles slightly, it's moon rays shaking ever so slightly on their way to the planet it was guarding. Then, those moon beams wandered into the apartment of a young mutant, slivered up her arms and nestled against her brain.

Her eyes flickered open, and she slowly raised her head, staring at the boy sleeping next to her.

"What the HELL are you still doing here!!!" She snarled, scrambling backwards away from him and dragging the covers with her. Her hand swatted out thumping him alongside the head, and feathers were sent fluttering for cover. Her face was a mixture of shock, confusion, and anger, still sleepily dazed and confused by where she was. Or where he was. Or why they were there together.

"Move." She snarled in a low voice, eyes narrowing on him darkly.

Ty was rudely jarred from his sleep by a familiar raised voice and an even more familiar pop on the head. "Ow! Wha...." he mumbled, seeing a few stars from the smack on the head as he groggily obeyed, stumbling to the couch. "That wasn't the tune you were singing last night," he sleepily quipped back. "Actually a few minutes ago your orders were to stay."

He shrugged s he plopped on the couch. Things were back to normal at least. "Did you at least sleep as well as I did?" he asked, hoping to lighten things up a bit.

Tses blinked ever so slowly, some of the rage feeling as he moved. She felt her heart doing laps up to her throat and back into her ribs, and she clutched the blankets slightly. "I wouldn't... I didn't...." She stuttered, then her memories caught up with her in a whooosh of information. She put a hand to her head, groaning slightly, and curled her knees up next to her. "What day is it..." She murmured, voice calmer now. She felt like she was crawling her way out of very thick mud, the more she pulled, the harder it seemed to be to get free.

His question flickered in her mind, and she blinked at him, blushed, and stubbornly frowned. "No. Well.... yeah....maybe.... I just.... I was tired." She said, her voice squeaking slightly with the attempt to be tough. Instead, she seemed much more like a kitten trying to growl. No matter how hard she tried, she just seemed to be cute in her sleepy disarray.