"It wasn't really a trick as much as just...playing along," he explained, still lying of course.

"Oh, that's an easy one; my clothes are right behind my apartment building. I guess you could say I found a loophole to the whole 'no pets' thing." He gave a chuckle. "Though, thanks to bad timing, it wouldn't be the first time I was slapped with an indecent exposure." He chuckled again.

And another good question, which deserved more of a half-truth than a full-blown lie. "Oh, I'm a musician. I don't have a gig til the weekend, and I supplement by performing elsewhere and doing side work, so I'm more or less my own boss in a lot of respects." He relaxed considerable, considering she didn't seem too upset anymore.

It wasn't a trick, he had simply been playing along. Uh huh. Sure.

”Oooh, so you do have a stash, it's just behind your building,” Lee said with a bit of a nod. ”Why didn't you just say that? Or are you worried about me knowing where you live? Because to be honest, I think it's only fair.”

Then he said that he was a musician, and that peaked Lee's interest. Though, it concerned Lee that someone who apparently made his living as a musician hadn't touched an instrument in at least five days. ”What do you play?” Lee couldn't stop herself from asking. What instrument, out better yet instruments, what type of music. The answer was very important, and Lee would be judging him based on the answer.

"I just got caught naked in a strange house while trying to figure out a way to leave," he said, snapping just a little. "So forgive me if I'm a little on edge." This wasn't going anywhere near like he'd planned, and now he was being grilled by the woman of the house.

"I honestly don't care if you know or not. Not like I'll be expecting you to show up naked or anything." Unless she wanted to return the favor. He smirked at this thought, chuckling just a little.

"Oh, I play bass. Mostly classic rock, but I can fit whatever style is needed at the time." Oh, he could feel her judging him. It was something he noticed about a lot of people; you tell them you play an instrument, and they instantly want to know what kind, what music, and of course how 'good' you are. But he didn't mind, because it came with the territory after all.

Besides, maybe if he could impress her, he could turn this whole fiasco around.

Ok, maybe he had a good point with why he hadn't mentioned where he had clothing hidden at first. But still…

And then he said that he didn't care if she knew where he lived because it wasn't like he was expecting her to- ”In your dreams,” Lee said with a shake of her head. Like she would ever do that. Then she saw the smirk, and heard the chuckle, and Lee's eyes hardened slightly at what she was sure he was thinking. And for once Lee was glad that Kevin had left one of his toys in the living room. Picking up the stuffed tiger, Lee threw it across the couch at Russel. ”Not going to happen, so stop picturing it.”

A few moments later, he said that he played the bass, and mostly classic rock. Lee's eyes unconsciously looked down at his hands to see the calluses on fits fingers, but at the distance she couldn't tell. Not to bad. ”That's it, just bass?”

Since he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, the stuffed tiger caught him right in the face. It may have been cute, fluffy, and full of cotton, but the hard plastic eyes clunked across his head, rather hard. It wasn't enough to stagger him, but it did leave a pink spot between his eyes.

"Hey, I said I didn't expect it. Though it'd be only fair," he quipped, somewhat quoting her on that one, even if his logic was severely flawed.

"Well, yeah. I started playing when I was little, and I decided to put all my focus on the one instrument instead of the whole jack of all trades, master of none bit. Though I do occasionally do background vocals. Rarely..." He gave a small shrug, leaning forward to prop himself up on the couch. Yeah, he may have been discreetly checking her out a little. No harm in looking, right?

Apparently less aim was better than she had expected, since the tiger she threw hit Russel in the face. Well, it was only fair, she thought, with what he had been thinking.

A similar sentiment shared by Russel a moment later. Again, Lee shook her head. ” I'm not the one who asked you in here naked,”

But then Russel went on to talk about how when he was learning to play, he had decided not to be a jack of all trades and focus on one thing. And without even realizing it, any remaining anger at the situation left her with the talk about music, and Lee noticed something else she hadn't consciously noticed before: she had a rather attractive naked man in her apartment.

”Why sing so rarely? Are you that bad?”

"Okay, okay. Just don't throw anything else. I'm dropping it there." Speaking of 'dropping,' he stood up slightly, to sort of tighten up his blanket-toga, as it was starting to slip, and he wasn't really good at making robes out of bedding. Though, it was worth noting that she hadn't tried to kill him yet, and that was something, right?

"Other people don't seem to think I'm that bad, I just really don't like singing in front of people; I don't fancy myself a vocalist, is all. Usually takes more than a bit of persuading to get me to. Usually the bands just promise me more money." He chuckled, shaking his head a little as he shooed away any stray thoughts. After all, she was starting to relax, and she seemed to be able to read him like a book.

Then again, he was a male in his late twenties; he couldn't have been that hard to figure out. Besides, it wasn't his fault he was stuck naked in an apartment with a rather attractive woman. Oh wait...yes it was.

Russel seemed content to leave talk, and hopefully thoughts, of her being naked in his apartment, and Lee was glad. If he didn't, she'd have to throw something a lot heavier than s stuffed dog at him.

Though as he stood up, Russel readjusted the blanket he had wrapped around himself. And as he moved, the thought that he had to work out sprang to mind. There was no way his chest could be that well defined otherwise, could there?

Lee pushed those thoughts from her mind. There was no reason to be thinking that, especially not of someone who had been pretending to be a dog who she had then found naked in her home.

And he thought that he wasn't a very good singer, though apparently there were a number of people thought otherwise. ”I can understand that,” Lee said after a moment. ”I'm horribly out of practice, but every one that heard me sing says I'm really good.”

He nodded slightly, putting both hands on the couch and sort of jumping over so he'd be sitting on the couch like one was supposed to. It worked, however in mid-air, the blanket sort of came loose. He wasn't in a terrible hurry to fix it, but he did, nonetheless. After all, she wasn't comfortable with it, it was her house, and most importantly, he still didn't know what exactly she was capable of. She did have quite the arm; that much, he knew.

Once his covering was readjusted and he was at least what passed for 'presentable,' he thought a moment, looking past her instead of at her so she wouldn't think he was getting any other ideas. "I guess what they say about being your own worst enemy is true, then," he mused. "Though really, I never fancied myself a singer. But when you play bass--or anything that isn't drums or lead--the first thing people want you to do is backup vocals. And I can't say I'm the kind of guy to turn down a bigger paycheck." He chuckled lightly.

He jumped. Over. The. Couch. Wearing just a blanket. A blanket that he had trouble keeping himself covered with whole simply standing there. It didn't do much when he jumped. Men. Lee shook her head and rolled her eyes as Russel sat down.

If she had anything in the apartment that would actually fit him, she would have given it to him to put on, but unfortunately the blanket was likely the best she had.

They actually seemed to be having a conversation now, despite how things had started, so Lee sat down on the couch as well. Why add even more awkwardness by continuing to stand while Russel was sitting?

”I was singing before I ever touched an instrument,” Lee said. ”So I'm even more critical of that than when I play.”

He decided to just unwrap the blanket and let it just cover him. It seemed to work better that way. Besides, he'd relax considerably now that they were having a conversation instead of the initial tension and awkwardness. Well, it was still slightly awkward, but it was at least better than it had been. He scooted over a little as she sat down on the couch as well. It was basically an attempt to keep it from being awkward, despite certain thoughts still buzzing in his head. But he was at least able to not make it as obvious.

He perked up when she mentioned instruments. "You play too?" he asked, his interest piqued. "What do you play, if you don't mind me asking?"

He was starting to settle in, and not as anxious to get out of there. Or maybe he was just letting his guard down. At least it seemed like everything was alright now, anyway.

Things were definitely feeling more relaxed now. Music could do that, at least in Lee's mind. Russel even moved a bit on the couch so she had more room as she sat down. Meaning she wasn't right beside the naked man sitting on her couch.

Ok, that thought brought back the awkwardness, but it was banished a moment later when Russel asked what instruments she played.

”Yeah, I took piano and voice lessons for years when I was a kid,” Lee said, looking over at Russel. And noticing that the blanket was now just over his lap. Doing its job of cover the most important parts, but leaving his chest and stomach bare.

Well, um, ok then.

”Then I picked up guitar when I was 19,” Lee managed to continue after a moment.

He nodded, chewing on his lower lip a little as he thought. "[color-87cefa]That's pretty cool,[/color]" he said with a smile. "I've picked up guitar once, but I'm more at home with the thicker strings and straddling that line between the guitar and the percussion," he nodded, propping an arm on the armrest. He looked over at her; he could definitely see her playing piano and guitar.

His eyes lingered on her for a minute, then looked around the room he'd grown acquainted to over the last five days. Then he gave a heavy sigh, shaking his head a little.

"I'm uh...sorry about this whole mess," he finally said. "It really did seem like a good idea at the time." He gave another shrug, looking back at her again. He wasn't going to tell her the truth by any means. Besides, he'd given up on that plan the moment she stumbled in on him naked. He leaned back a little, propping both arms on the back of the couch.

At least he had a thought it, reasonable reason for simply sticking with the bass. Lee had never been very interested in playing it herself, but with starting with the piano, she preferred the complexity that was more common with guitar.

Then Russel apologized, and it actually seemed sincere this time. At least for the ’mess’ it caused. ”In a way, I can kind of understand,” she finally said, looking over at him. ”You never do know how people are going to react when they found out you're a mutant. Most times it is just easier to go with the flow.”

A moment later, Lee laughed as she leaned back against the couch. ”Kevin's probably going to be thrilled that you're a mutant.”

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm more of a long-term planner, in the scope of things. Going with the flow tends to..." Jay paused, giving a hearty chuckle, "Well, it tends to lead to moments like this, though most turn out worse." Looking away again, he gave another low sigh. "Especially considering I can't shift clothes; my being revealed as a mutant usually ends in awkward nudity, and sometimes, an indecent exposure charge and a court date...." His voice trailed off, remembering the times that'd actually happened.

"Heh, I think he'd like me better as a dog, honestly. And I'd definitely have to get ahold of some clothes before all of that happens. I haven't been caught in...situations like this...around minors, and I'd definitely like to keep it that way, if you don't mind." He gave a sly smirk, but his icy blue eyes showed sincerity.