Blaine walked down the street after getting out of the cab; he never had them take him right to his destination. He knew he was paranoid, but in his mind, he had every right to be. In his mind, he did, anyway. He walked down the sidewalk, with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his leather jacket. He made sure his face was free of bruises or scrapes; after all, he was going to ask about a job. A friend of his had heard of a decent bar, so he wanted to make a good first impression. He just hoped they were hiring.

He walked into the Trasheteria before it got really busy, but they were just starting to open. He looked around, trying to pick out someone who looked like a boss or manager. Or at least someone who looked like they knew what the hell they were talking about. He walked up to the bar, seeing someone there working.

"Hey, my name's Blaine Sinclaire. Do you know if this place needs a bouncer or some form of security?" he asked, leaning on the bar. His hair wasn't tied back; it was just sort of hanging there. He may not have looked professional, but hey; he wasn't looking for a desk job. He was looking to make money by being intimidating and keeping people straight, and being himself would be his best bet there.

Lee was really starting to get the hang of things at the bar. Which was good because he was leaving on vacation for two weeks the next day. Not that this was her first time on her own at the bar, Matt had had her work on her own a number of times over the past couple of weeks. His ”days off”, he said, but Lee guessed he didn't really take many days off normally.

Lee had already got the told set up for the night, and was taking a glance at the alcohol situation since the order needed to go in the next day, so she'd have inventory it after close. And since it was early, the bar was still empty enough that Lee was able to feel someone approaching.

Lee turned right as he reached the bar, before he had been able to say anything. As she heard Blaine's question, Lee have him a quick glance over. He definitely has size on his side, but Lee knew for a fact that size didn't mean anything.

”That depends,” Lee said thoughtfully. The truth was, they were a little lightly staffed in terms of security, but Lee wasn't sure how Matt would feel about her hiring while he was away. ”For the person with the right skill set, there's always the possibility.”

"I already work freelance as a bouncer around the city, but that's sort of a day by day kind of thing. Was looking for something a little more consistent," he said casually, yet politely; his way of letting her know he had experience. "As far as skills, I know how to diffuse a situation--my size and demeanor is on my side there. Oh, and this. References." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slip of paper with a few different bars and clubs with their owners' names and contact information.

He paused for a moment, not sure whether or not to let on about his mutation just yet--after all, some people were still iffy on that nowadays, and he had been booted out of a career because of his mutation before.

"Also...if things go sideways, I am a skilled mixed martial artist, but that's not something I tend to rely on while on the clock. It's like a fire extinguisher; you don't want to have to use it, but you keep one hanging around just in case everything catches fire." He let his eyes meet hers as he awaited a response, his expression neutral.

As Lee listened to Blaine speak, telling her three reasons he thought they she should consider hiring him, she just nodded. That all sounded good but, she knew, could all be just a speech. But then he was handing over a sheet of references, and in the silence that followed, Lee looked it over. There were multiple bars on there, very easily checked.

As Blaine continued, telling her that he was a skilled MMA fighter, Lee glanced up at him through him through her lashes, evaluating him.”Do you mostly use kicks and punches, or are you well versed in holds and grapples too? And how often do you use them?”

"I know several holds. When I would fight, I would be more comfortable standing and trading punches, but let's be honest here," he gave a small smile, "Trading punches doesn't exactly get rowdy people out, do they?" He paused for a moment as she asked her next question.

"Depends on the venue. Some places I don't have much trouble, but other places are more prone to rowdy patrons. I also train at the gym a couple times a week. Gotta keep in top condition after all." He sat on a stool as he spoke, sort of making himself comfortable, but not too comfortable. After all, he was still trying to make a good impression. It'd be nice to work for one person and one person only, after all.

Well, at least he was smart enough to realize that hitting and punching was a poor way for a bouncer to deal with rowdy patrons. Lee nodded as she glanced down at the references paper quickly, then looked back up at Blaine properly as he sat down.

”Well, that's one of us,” Lee said. ”I haven't set for in a gym in probably 8 years. But then, I was never serious about it.

“And things don't generally don't get very rowdy around here, but if I'm being honest, in a worrier so I like to be prepared for every eventually I can be.”

Glancing down at teeth paper in her hand again, Lee got an idea and pulled her cellphone out as she looked back up at Blaine. ”If I were to do a search right now, what would I find?”

"It's not for everybody, but I've loved it, so I stick with it," he replied. "And prepared isn't a bad thing, like the fire extinguisher," he said with a chuckle, then she asked about a search.

"You might find a couple of articles dated about thirteen years ago. I said I was an MMA fighter, but I never really made it big. The night I was being scouted, my arm snapped in two during a fight; I didn't even flinch, and went on to win by knockout." He sighed, then decided to tell the rest of the story. "I'd managed to keep my mutation hidden for years, but...that was the day it came to light in front of God and everybody. See...I'm a mutant. I can't feel." He looked down at the bar. This was usually the part where the door slammed in his face.

Lee nodded when Blaine explained why he had stuck with the MMA training. ”I just trained enough to feel prepared. Like I said, every eventuality.”

And then Blaine was telling her what she might find doing a search on his name. At first, Lee just nodded, but when he said that his arm had been snapped and he hadn't even flinched, Lee's eyes widened in shock. She remembered what it had felt like when her collar bone had been broken, how much it had hurt. How had he managed to not even flinch?

That question was answered a couple moments later when Blaine explained that that was part of his powers, that he was a mutant. And by the time he finished speaking, Blaine was looking down at the bar, wanting to avoid seeing her reaction to that revelation of she had to guess. Lee could understand that, she had done the same thing herself on too many occasions.

But Lee was frowning slightly as she looked at Blaine. ”You can't feel pain, or you can't feel period?” Lee asked slowly.

He looked up as she asked about his mutation. "I can't physically feel. Not the clothes on my back, the barstool under me, or even the wind on my face. Somebody could come up behind me right now and hit me in the back of the head. Might knock me out, of course, but I wouldn't even notice." He gave a slightly nervous laugh.

"In my fighting days, they called me Painless Blaine," he said after a pause, opting not to tell her about his extracurricular fighting. "But after my mutation became common knowledge, they said I was a cheat, even though I can't exactly help this." He gave a slightly disgruntled sigh.

He'd noticed her frown, but he didn't quite know what to think of it. Was it at his story, or because he was a mutant? Only time would tell, he guessed.

”Wow, Lee breathed once Blaine explained that he was unable to feel anything. While it had probably helped him with his fighting, Lee couldn't even imagine never feeling anything. She had purposely put herself through times with zero contact with people because of her powers, and that had made her miserable, but to never feel anything?

”I can't even imagine having to deal with that,” Lee said with a slight shake off her head.

Then it was Lee's turn to pause for a moment before continuing, the frown no longer on her face. ”We haven't had any problems with mutants here so far, but like I said, I like to be prepared for every eventually, and it's be nice to know I've got someone here able to help if the need arises.”

"After twenty four years, I've gotten used to it" he said with a smile. "I was twelve. Locker slammed on my hand and broke it, bad. I didn't even notice until other kids and teachers started panicking. After that...sensation went away little by little." He paused, biting his lip a little.

He nodded as she spoke. "I understand, especially in today's climate. Those sources are pretty reliable; they've all had me more than once," he said, looking at her. He wasn't sure what else to say, so he stopped and thought a moment.

"Hey...once this is over, think I can get a beer?" he asked with a sly smile.

Lee could definitely understand getting used to things. She had been siphoning so long that it was shocking when she came across an adapted and suddenly wasn't anymore.

”Fourteen, at least I think,” Lee said softly. ”At least I think. It was gradual. My parents took us to doctors for a year trying to figure out why we were all tied so much of the time.”

Then Blaine asked if he was able to have a beer once they were done. Well, why not? Without a word, Lee turned to one of the fridges behind her and grabbed two bottles, handing one over to Blaine after opening it before cracking the second one for herself.

He listened, sipping thoughtfully on his beer. "Interesting," he said. "I was taken to doctors; at first I was diagnosed with something called idiopathic neuropathy, but then it got...extreme, so they decided I was a mutant. My family still cared for me, but at the same time...I could tell they were scared of me. I mean look at me, I'm a ****ing teddy bear," he gave a dry chuckle at his joke.

He took another sip of beer. "I don't think I ever got your name, though," he said after a moment.

Lee nodded as she shouted her beer and listened to Blaine talk about his family and his powers emerging. His story sounded quite similar to hers. ”They thought chronic fatigue at first, but nothing showed on tests, at first we all thought there was no rhyme or reason to it,” Lee explained softly, then took a sip of beer. ”But over the next year, started to see different patterns than the doctors asked about, and realized it was me. So my parents pulled me out of school.”

Frowning slightly at the memory, Lee took another drink. And was taken out of her thoughts a moment later when Blaine said he hadn't gotten her name yet.

”Sorry about that,” she said with a small laugh. ”Lee Smith. Oh, and incase the beer didn't tip you off, you're hired.”

He bit his lip as she spoke, thinking on his own life after his mutation had appeared. Sure, he couldn't feel physically, but the emotion was just as heavy as ever. "I was kept in school. I generally wasn't bullied before, but...once my..." he had to think about his word choice, "gift...surfaced, it got bad. Things kids would usually never consider, they did to me, because hey, he can't feel it anyway. The school was silent on the matter as well, because it was a mutant being bullied. No pain, no foul, I guess." Normally, Blaine wasn't this open about his mutation, but the few people in the bar weren't paying attention, and she seemed to understand at least a bit of where he was coming from. He took a sip of his beer.

"Lee, huh? I like it." He gave a nod, then his smile came back when she told him he was hired. "Great, when can I start?"