"Was a runner," Ty corrected politely, but then, things got...well, weird. Up til this point, Mag was just fine with Ty bringing her drinks when she asked for them. Now, she was standing over the mini-bar, and...was she shaking? He couldn't quite tell, but she seemed...off now. And he could tell she was preparing to hit the booze pretty hard.

Standing up, he made his way to the mini bar, and putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said softly. "I'm here if you need anything." He wasn't sure how much help this would be, but he was making himself available nonetheless. She'd been there for him already, so now it was time for him to return the favor.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'm here for you, regardless." His voice was calm and steady, almost soothing as he moved to stand beside her. He seemed sort of iffy about touching her at first, but considering what he'd been through with Tses in the past, it was very understandable. He just hoped Mag didn't have the power to make anything explode...

Oh wait. She had a gun. Great.

Out of the corner of her vision, Magnum was aware of movement. Logic also stated that this movement was caused by Ty, but beyond that she was blind. Her mind caught flitting between past and present - a place where he existed and a place that he didn’t. She’d tried to come to terms that Blaze was gone, but instead of doing that, she had succeeded in pushing him out of her mind just far enough to reduce the pain.

Ty’s hand brought her back to earth, partially. “Hey,” he said softly. “I'm here if you need anything. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'm here for you, regardless.” He in gentle tones, as if she were volatile. Well, to be honest, she wasn’t very volatile, but the weather was becoming more ominous by the minute. Dark clouds swirled high above the streets, threats to release their payload growing by the second.

Her fingers loosened their grip on the bottle as she slowly sunk to the floor. With her back pressed to the cabinet, she wrapped her arms around all too knobby knees. Thunder crackled loudly in the sky, forcing her eyes closed. Magnum knew what came next - rain, if they were lucky. Localized hurricanes if they weren’t. Softly, afraid that speaking might make the weather worse, she whispered, “Have you ever loved someone so much that you’d kill yourself to protect them?”

Ty sat down next to her, putting his arm around her as he could hear signs of a storm brewing, but his focus was on the woman next to him. He didn't know what else to do, so he just held her there. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah...I have. I still do, now that I think about it," he said simply. "But I haven't lost anyone like that. None except Tses...The one I mentioned earlier..." he sighed deeply, his mind trying to figure out which way to go.

"Then, there's Chloe. My little sister. Until a couple years or so ago, I didn't even know I had a sister. But after meeting her...I felt...protective. Like I'd do anything to keep her safe, and I still would. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her. In that sense, I think I know how you feel."

He could have known how she felt, but he'd already made a personal vow not to use his power on this woman without consent or probable cause. And neither one of those had come along yet.

OOC: Minor gore warning.

“They gave him an ultimatum,” she sobbed into her knees. “They gave him an ultimatum and a gun, and he shot himself.” The nightmares plagued her every night. Before she met Blaze, they had been of just her mother. Now, they both lay in the living room, bleeding out onto the floor. Next to her mother, Magnum always saw a younger version of herself. The girl was covered in dry blood and being pulled away by an officer in uniform. Next to Blaze was the girlfriend that watched him die so that she could walk free.

The real reason the system had moved her to New York? The orphanage received threats after her release.

Lightning struck the rod a few buildings over, causing her to jump toward Ty. She was caught between her nightmares and her powers. Each was spiraling out of control. Panic built, increasing the pressure in her head and the violence in the storm. After the next flashback, something profane spilled out of her mouth. “I need to stop…Talk. Say something so that I don’t kill everyone outside,” she tried urgently. Anything to distract herself long enough to calm down.

Ty listened as she spoke, now glad he let her tell him herself what was eating her. He hated finding things like that out via his mutation. When lightning struck, Ty jumped as well, but he caught the woman and pulled her close, just holding her tight in an effort to comfort her.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured softly, rubbing her back. "**** happens, and I'd love to change the past as much as anybody." He sighed softly. "All I can say is be strong, and if you ever need anything, I'm never far."

His mind was racing, and he wasn't sure he was helping this any. He just held her, as if being in his arms suddenly made her safe. But it didn't. He knew it didn't. But he just wanted to be there for her, like he'd failed to be there for anybody else.

It hurt. Oh God, the pain… Magnum sobbed again, feeling both the drain that her power was pulling and the emotional desolation that came when she thought about what had happened. She slumped into Ty, feeling too exhausted to continue fighting. Somewhere in the distance, she was aware of what he was saying promises - likely empty ones - about always being there for her. All good things came to an end, especially for runners.

Whether physical-, mental-,or Ty-related, the storm started calming down. Mag ran with this encouragement, filtering the rampant emotions back into their bottle. It helped a little, enough to cancel the churning pressure systems and discharge what other static had collected in the clouds. The sky was still near-black, though.

Magnum spent good long while in this state of crying but not having a meltdown, thankful for the support. It had been over a year since she’d enjoyed physical intimacy of any sort with another person. Though her powers stopped drawing directly on her energy after about five minutes, the clouds remained. Eventually, even the tears slowed. She remained silent, waiting for Ty to break it and afraid of what he would say.

The silence, Ty deemed, wasn't good. But at least things seemed to be improving. He breathed deeply, fighting the urge to find for himself what exactly caused this breakdown, detail for detail. And yet, being the man that he was, he didn't. Starting now, he was going to honor all of his promises. So, he just held her gingerly, giving her time to calm down and maybe end this dreaded silence.

But it didn't end, so Ty finally broke it. "You okay now?" he asked, albeit somewhat more timidly than he'd expected. But at least nothing blew up, right? Then again...if that storm...or whatever it was...had to do with her mutation...it could very well be just as bad if not worse than things exploding.

He took some more breaths, dying to break this awkward silence without making things even more awkward. And maybe he was enjoying holding her a little too much. He'd missed this kind of closeness. Even if they had just met.

The silence was finally broken, but not in the way Ty hoped. Bruno's deep voice shattered the calming atmosphere. "Hey, kids. Don't shoot the messenger, but the time on the room's up. Hope ya had fun, but I've gotta clear you out now."

"Thanks, Bruno," Ty answered, then turned back to Mag with a shrug. "So, where to now?"

“You okay now?” he asked, seeming genuinely concerned. Magnum fought the skepticism, choosing to rely on those words as a grounding point despite the fact that words often were the least permanent things in life. Her breath fell to match his, becoming slow and deep, which turned out to be another source of calming. Eventually she managed to choke out a confirmation, but as she did so Bruno interrupted with the ominous news that the room time was up and they had to go rejoin the crowds downstairs.

Great, back into the belly of the beast, but significantly less confident than earlier when they’d been stealing. She used a grip on the counter to pull herself up and then offered her hand to Ty. Chivalry is totally dead anyways. Although she was still obviously off her game, she made the effort to return to how she was before the alcohol. They had to go somewhere, but the question of where had been bounced into her side of the court. “Well, I guess we could go downstairs, unless you have a better idea?”

In all honesty, she didn’t want to go back down and deal with people, though she would be up for dancing. Besides dancing, she didn’t see much else that the club offered, as the alcohol was settling heavy enough in her veins to enforce the idea that Mag didn’t need to drink any more. A drive might work, but nothing too far considering her current state of impairment. Her house was on the other side of town, and somehow it seemed awkward to invite him back there anyways (but she definitely wouldn’t turn down an offer if he made it). All she really wanted was a safe space.

And the ball was volleyed right back into his court, and he had to chuckle. At least their chemistry seemed to be good, anyway. Well, maybe it was time for a little gamble. After all this, what was the worst that could happen, right?

"Well, I kinda gathered that you didn't care so much for the atmosphere downstairs. Actually glad Bruno came through with that favor or we might not have lasted this long," Ty answered with a nervous chuckle.

"Well...I live like three blocks over. Nothing...extravagant, but it'd be just the two of us. And I'm probably paying per month what it costs to get this room for a night, heh." He shrugged as he took her hand and stood up.

"So, that sound like a good idea, or back to the drawing board?" Granted, if she said no, that would put the ball back in her court, and he didn't think she'd want to stand here lobbing "what do you wanna do"s back and forth.

“That’s only because you’re so stagnant,” she laughed. “Bars are for drunks and voyeurs, the floor is for everyone else. I would have asked you for a dance sooner or later.” Magnum pulled, helping him to his feet with ease while contemplating the offer. To be quite honest, she was very tired of returning home to an empty house each night, and the offer of company - even in a strange place - lured her in.

“So, that sound like a good idea, or back to the drawing board?” A beautiful round of tennis (or volleyball or whatever sport involved courts and throwing balls back and forth) ensued with their game of ‘What would you like to do?’ Once again, she had to deal with making decisions while drunk. It was easiest to go with the flow, she decided, convincing herself that she would accept the offer based on proximity and logic rather than a more emotional need for security and understanding.

The thought nagged that last time she let a boy take her somewhere she was kidnapped, but she pushed it away. “Your place sounds great, if you’ll just lead the way,” she smiled. On the way out the door, they each thanked Bruno for his gesture of kindness. Then, she swayed slightly down the stairs and crossed the sea of rock and roll. Out the door they went, passing her baby and taking a left to cross the street. Mag was fairly certain that nothing would happen if she left it to sit there through the night. Residual rain from the clouds fell down on their heads, but nothing enough to warrant hoods. They walked two blocks south and turned into a dark alley. It caused her to tense up in preparation for an ambush.

Thankfully, they made it to the other side. It was a narrow street with tall townhomes lining both sides. Directly opposite them was a door. Ty approached it, slipped out a key, and unlocked the door. Again, with his strange manly morals, he held the door so that she could enter. Magnum took the gesture without complaint, but noted it on her list of “things to talk about when we’re both not snockered”.

Asked for a dance.

Then it was fortunate Ty had the idea to get out of there when he did. Chivalrous as he was, the man couldn't dance worth a purple crap. But that was a subject to be addressed another day, because now they were leaving, hand in hand as he led the way home.

He had to admit, he enjoyed the walk perhaps a bit much. It felt so...amazing, just to be able to share and be with someone. It'd been too long since he could say he'd truly had a chance to do that.

His neighborhood wasn't bad, but it was nowhere near ritzy either. His moral code rang true as he held open the door and didn't even take the opportunity to stare at her butt.

The apartment itself was simple, yet cozy. The door opened up onto a kitchen area, separated from the living area by a bar-type counter, complete with stools. Off of the living area were two doors; one closed that led to the restroom, and the open door was the bedroom. Unlike Ty's choice in bars, the apartment sported soft, relaxing colors. And surprisingly, it was clean. Then again...Ty only really stayed home lone enough to sleep.

"Welcome to Casa de Ty. Make yourself at home," he said as he started a pot of coffee. Curiously, for a man who lived alone, his counter sported a large coffee pot instead of one just big enough for a single person.

Once the coffee got going, Ty shed his shirt and tossed it into a laundry basket--he didn't want to risk Mag touching it and getting booby trapped. So now, he was in a tight black muscle shirt that showed he was a little more athletic in build than he first appeared. Over the top of the shirt, a few tattoos peeked out: part of a moon outlined in a green aura, the beginnings of a spider web, and the wings of a butterfly, all connectes and going from the left side of his chest, to the right.

Then, he poured himself a cup of coffee. "If you want anything, feel free to help yourself." He gave a soft smile as he sipped his coffee, straight black.

For Ty’s lack of butt-staring, Mag was inwardly grateful. She took it as a sign that they weren’t here to use to couch (or the bed, if he had been super classy and didn’t mind washing sheets). The apartment itself was quaint, not extremely small but definitely not lavish - in the “minor leagues” a thief would not be able to afford expensive living spaces. However, she liked it. The furnishings were simple and looked relatively new; the space was free of clutter. Definitely one of the best-kept bachelor pads she had ever seen in her year of sleeping around.

“Welcome to Casa de Ty. Make yourself at home,” he stated in a nonchalant fashion while entering the kitchen. For what seemed like a tidy, single man, he certainly kept a large coffee pot. This fact was quickly shoved off when Magnum realized how helpful a cup cut with a little bit of cream might be at this moment. It could serve as a way to take the edge off her buzz. And then, Magnum witnessed Ty stripping off his outer layer. This was, undoubtedly, a very bachelor move. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead internally questioning why all single men lacked a certain hint of finesse that made all males significantly easier to live with.

Her eyes liked what they found, though. Ty was tattooed, not heavily, but enough to express artistic creativity. More importantly than that, he was fit. Extremely fit, even. After a few seconds of allowing herself to stare, Magnum forced her attention to more important things - like coffee. She walked over to the pot and poured herself a ⅞ to ⅛ cup, then took it to the living room and sat down, sinking into the pillows.

She leaned back, relaxing as she sipped on her drink. “Why the big interest in tattoos?” she asked, curious: she’d always wanted to get a little ink herself, but had never known what to get done.

Ty liked his coffee. That was the explanation for the family-sized coffee pot in his bachelor pad. He had an idea of what she thought about him taking off his shirt, but his reasons were to remain hidden. After all, how would he spring on her that he could read and transfer memories using simple objects like shirts and bottle openers? Besides, that was part of the vow he made to himself when he first spoke to her; every part of tonight, he'd do the old fashioned way, no using his freaky psychic things to gain an advantage.

Making his way to the couch, he sat next to her, shrugging just a little. "Well, it actually started a few years ago. It was Valentine's Day, and I was fresh off my first breakup with my ex. Long story short, I pissed off an ink manipulator, who stuck me with a pink hummingbird, right here," he motioned to the little pink bird on his collarbone. "That led to me getting a mean looking fish-skeleton. After all that, I decided to turn my torso into a canvas. Each one, save for the fish, represents a person or event in my life--though it hasn't been updated in...oh, two years? After that first one, I guess I sort of got addicted."

He relaxed into the cushions of the couch, a smile on his face. Talking about his tattoos made him happy. It reminded him of simpler times, and it was sort of a passion of his, though he never really saw it that way.

"And it all started with an involuntary, stupid hummingbird," he murmured with a chuckle. He didn't know what she'd think of the story, and his body being a mural to his life, but here it was. Ty got this far by being himself, and that was either going to take him home, or send him back to the bench alone.

The urge to laugh became too great, so she gave in about the time that Ty leaned back in his moment of bliss. It wasn’t a cruel laugh, but a remark on how absurd and yet completely believable his story was. It also may have been the alcohol loosening her tight emotional restraints and allowing her to actually have a good time. Luckily, no coffee was spilled in the process. When her senses returned, Mag found herself smiling. She cut her eyes over to him with what could be described as a devilish grin. “So the moral of your story is to never piss off an ink manipulator, unless I want to become a work of art,” she teased. “I guess it’s a good thing that I’ve always wanted a tattoo, then… because I have a habit of pissing people off.”

She brought the coffee to her lips and sipped it again, waiting for a retaliatory comment of some sort. Though the brew itself wasn’t bad, it seemed strange to be drinking caffeine this late at night - for this, her tongue protested slightly with every drink. In between fighting with her tastebuds, Magnum removed her heels, because even tragically short people get tired of wearing death-traps strapped to their toes.

Ty gave a good hearty laugh at that. "You could say that, yeah. Sadly, I'm not sure what happened to her, so if you want ink, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way." He gave a soft shrug as he finished his coffee and got up to fix himself another cup.

"Though, I haven't seen how you piss people off yet. Unless we're just so similar we can manage to coexist like this," he gave her a grin as he made his way back over to her and sat down, this time just a little closer than last time. He was a little awkward when it came down to intimacy, given his past relationships, and how it had kind of been awhile. But he didn't want to ruin anything, either.

"I think I might get a few more. Maybe stop when I run out of upper torso," he said with a slight chuckle.