He blinked again; yeah, his boss showing up at his apartment was shocking, but what was even more shocking was that it was just because he forgot his jacket? He didn't notice, but his lips had curled into a soft smile as he reached out and took the leather jacket from her, again doing his best to be gentle.

"I uh....thanks. You didn't have to come all this way just to give me this," he said, not an ounce of harshness in his voice. "But I appreciate you looking out for me." Then, he had a thought. "How far away do you live? Do you need anything?" He could understand if she wasn't that far, but if she was out of her way, then he felt he had to make it up to her, somehow.

Blaine took the jacket from her outstretched hand. Though he did have a slight smile as he did it even with the look of concentration she saw on his face. ”You know, I'm not that fragile and breakable as I look,” Lee told him in a whisper.

”You’re welcome,” Lee said softly in reply to Blaine's thanks. Then he asked where she lived, probably worried that she'd gone out of her way, if Lee had to guess. Instead, Lee shrugged. ”About 10 minutes from the bar,” then Lee shrugged and looked up at Blaine again. ”Kind of in the opposite direction. But don't worry about it, I might actually have a chance to get some sleep tonight with the walk.”

He nodded when she told him she wasn't as fragile as she looked. "Anything short of full strength usually requires focus. I have trouble telling how much strength I'm putting into something; I guess that's another reason I like fighting. Once the bell rings...I don't have to worry about that." Having to explain these things really made Blaine realize just how different he was; his mutation didn't just affect his physical feeling, but it influenced his mental state, his routine, and his whole way of life.

...Wait...she did all of this, going all this way out just to make sure he had his jacket? It made him smile a little more; people usually didn't care that much. Or maybe they just figured he didn't need a jacket since he didn't feel. But even still, it made him feel...special?

"You always this sweet, or is it just for the guys who get hurt?" he teased lightly.

At least Blaine accepted that she wasn't as fragile as she appeared. In her experience, most people took a look at her petite statue and decided that meant she couldn't handle things, that she needed protected.

But at the same time, she could understand what Blaine said about having to focus to not use his full, probably substantial, strength. When she was amped up, there were times Lee found herself using more speed out strength than she intended.

”Nah, I've hurt too many @**holes myself for that to be true,” Lee said, them gave Blaine a bit of a smirk. ”It's the tattoos. I can't seem to resist good art.

“But honestly,” Lee continued, the smirk turning into a smile as she gave a shrug. ”Once I actually open up to people, I think I am. But would you mind if I come in, warm up a bit before I head home?”

He nodded again, then chuckled at her statement about the tattoos. "I guess I can't blame you there; My tattoo artist told me I was his dream canvas," he said lightly. "Yeah, opening up's not usually something I do." he stopped there, then she asked if she could come in and warm up. Oh right! That was a thing people had to deal with, wasn't it? He blushed lightly, remembering this little detail, and then stepped aside so she could come in.

"Oh, right. Come on in. Help yourself to whatever you like," he said, closing the door behind her, but not locking it. There was a total of five different locks on the door, and the apartment was nice. Nothing fancy, but it definitely wasn't bottom-of-the-food chain. The living room was a decent size, with a couch and a large TV on the wall, and a desk against the back wall, and a chair in front of the window, overlooking the city. On the desk were books, newspaper clippings, and a stack of spiral notebooks--sketchbooks.

The kitchen was just off of the back of the living area, and the bathroom was near the door. On the other side of the room was a door leading to a small yet cozy bedroom, but that door was closed. The apartment was pretty well organized, even the books and clippings on the desk were stacked in an orderly fashion.

When she asked if she was able to come in to warm up, Lee saw the blush on Blaine's face as he stepped aside. Though Lee wasn't sure whether it would have been from her asking to come in, or because he didn't realize it was cold outside. The fact that he was letting her in, and not only that, bit too help herself to whatever she'd like, Lee figured out had to be the latter.

”Don't worry about it” Lee said as she set down her bag and slipped her coat off now that she was in the apartment. ”I often forget that people actually need to sleep after being at a bar for the night.”

At this point, Lee took a quick glance around the place. It was nice, a hell of a lot nicer than she had ever managed on her own. But then again, Lee reasoned, the fights that Blaine had mentioned probably paid a hell of a lot better than Lee's previous jobs had. And other than an empty beer bottle sitting on the table beside one that was still half full, the place was very near and tidy.

But that sounded good, especially after the night they had. ”You don't mind if I grab a beer, do you?” Lee asked, just waiting a moment to get an answer before heading to the kitchen. And then, her in hand, cracking it open as she walked, Lee slowly made her way to the couch.

It was only after she sat and took a sip that she spoke again. ”So how are you doing after tonight?”

"Heh, yeah. Funny how it changes perspective, " he mused. When she asked about a beer, he motioned to the kitchen.

"Help yourself. " Then, he sat on the couch with the remainder of his beer. In a moment, she was sitting next to him with a beer of her own.

"Oh, I'm fine. Didn't feel a thing, " he said with a laugh before getting serious again.

"Yeah. Just been thinking about things I haven't seen a need to before. Like I said earlier, my perspective may be worlds different from...well....everyone." He looked down at his quarter of a beer, thinking.

Blaine's response to how he was doing was not what Lee was asking about. She was about to call bull on it, and her face had to show that fact, when he continued.

Thinking. Lee nodded, she was no stranger to thinking. Spending long hours awake while everyone you knew was asleep tended to lend itself to a lot of thinking.

But at the same time, it didn't actually answer the question. He could have been thinking and felt great, thinking and feel horrible, out anywhere in between.

Taking a sip of her beer, Lee thought about how to phrase her next question. But nothing great came to mind, so Lee decided to just throw the question or there. ”What kind of things? Have you figured anything out?”

He sighed, the door had been opened, so he may as well step inside, so to speak.

"What you said earlier. About missing out by going it alone. Alone is all I know; frankly it's all I care to know."

Then he gave a dry, almost bitter laugh. "I haven't figured out a damn thing," he said as he tossed back the rest of his beer and set the empty bottle on the table. "What would it even be like, loving somebody like me?" he asked, looking at her. "I just don't think it's for me. I feel like it can't be. When whoever or whatever is out there made me, relationships were not in the picture." He sighed as leaned his head back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling, a fight still playing on the televison, at least preventing an awkward silence.

He'd been thinking about what she had said earlier. About how, despite the poison you knew would come when things ended, she would still choose love again. But he hadn't figured anything out yet. Lee nodded as she watched him finish his beer. ”It normally takes me at least 5 hours to start figuring things out,” Lee said softly. ”At least for the big things like this.”

Then Blaine was turning to look at her and asking a huge question. One that Lee couldn't even pretend to know the answer to. Without even realizing it, Lee's teeth started to worry her bottom lip in thought as Blaine continued speaking. But by the time he finished speaking, Blaine had dropped his head back onto the couch, staring at the ceiling.

Lee still didn't know how to answer his question, but something like that deserved an answer, didn't it? ”Honestly, I don't know what it would be like,” Lee finally said. ”But I can tell you what it was like for me.

“When I was younger, a teenager and early 20s, sitting beside me during a matinee generally meant that a nap was needed to just get through the whole test of the day. If that happened, who would actually want to be with me? And the thought of actually sleeping beside someone was terrifying.

“All it took was the right person.”[/colour] At this point, Lee's eyes had closed, and she had to swallow in order to continue. She hadn't thought about any of this in years. ”Someone who, at least with me and my powers, was infinitely patient, willing to experiment to figure out exactly what we were and weren't able to do, and was more than happy to fall into an exhausted heap on the floor as long as it meant being with me.” Finished, Lee let out a slightly shaky breath before taking another sip of her beer, eyes still closed.

He opened an eye to look at her as she opened up to him, and it got him thinking. But even then it made his expression sink.

"That sounds awful, but...you did find someone, " he murmured. "I keep my emotions close because that's all I have to give... " he said after a pause.

"I'd had a few brief relationships when I was younger. They didn't last long at all. My only guess is I was a big joke to them after that. When your hand touched mine earlier...I tried to feel it. Tried to imagine what it was like...but all I can do is stare and imagine.. " He stood up after this, going into the kitchen and hitting a button on hos coffee maker. When he came back, he had a mug full.

Sitting back down, he sipped on it. "Even if I did find someone...I'd never know what it's like to hold them, to simply be with them. Despite being right there, they may as well be across the ****ing room... So how would that make me feel less empty? Like I said, maybe I was born to be the loner..."

Lee nodded as Blaine explained that he had had a couple of relationships when he was younger. But that they hadn't lasted long. ”And to borrow words from someone else, ‘they didn't deserve you.’”

But then Blaine was up and moving to the kitchen. Lee figured that he had gone to get another beer, but a few moments she smelled the distinct, and very familiar, smell of coffee. It didn't take long before Blaine was back, mug in hand. The comforting warmth, taste, and caffeine of coffee.

Lee could only hope at that moment that it was comforting for Blaine.

Finally, Lee turned her eyes back to look at the man sitting beside her on the couch. ”You may not be able to feel it when you hold someone, but you can look into her eyes,” Lee whispered. ”It's not just physical contact that makes you feel connected to people. Emotions and presence can do just as much, of not even more.”

Blaine looked at her as she spoke; for some reason, her words seemed to ring true enough. Maybe it was because she'd endured a similar struggle, which was something he'd never really found before. Even if the conversation was cutting deep into his soul, he felt safe here. And at the same time, completely vulnerable.

"I think I understand that, but at the same time, there are ways a relationship with me would never be...normal. And how would I know if someone with that level of patience even exist?" He looked away again, hoping she'd get the deeper meaning in his words, and yet, instead of looking at the ceiling again, he took a sip of coffee, and his eyes focused on that. Every detail on the cup, the bits of steam rising from the liquid inside that was the only way he knew it was hot.

"There are areas where I'm sure I live in my own world. That no one else would ever understand," he finally said quietly."But thanks for trying," he whispered with a smile, turning back to his coffee and taking a few more sips, savoring the flavor.

Lee took a sip of her beer as she digested Blaine's words. But there was one thing that Lee knew, one thing that Blaine didn't seem to understand. "And there are ways that a relationship with me will never be normal," Lee replied as she looked over at Blaine. Only to see that he had already looked away, staring at his coffee cup. "We are not normal, even compared to other mutants, so how could a relationship with either of us be normal? All that we can do is to create our own normal, figure out what is normal for us."

But how would he know if someone that patient even existed? Lee took a deep breath and shook her head. "You can't," Lee whispered, a crease between her brows. "The only way to find out is to put yourself out there, to risk getting hurt. Sure, I would have avoided the pain when everything fell apart, but the only way that I would have found out what he could become was to risk it, to risk the pain. And if I hadn't, I would have missed out on so much."

Lee stopped here, not sure what else she should say. What else she chould say.

He stared into his coffee as he clung to every word she said; once again she understood where he was sure she wouldn't. When she finished, he took a deep breath followed by a gulp of coffee. "That's what I'm afraid of," he admitted so quietly his voice was almost a whisper, but then he found his confidence to continue. "Getting hurt isn't something I do...well, not supposed to do."

He imagined how silly he must have looked; big shirtless tough guy, hands shaking while holding a cup of coffee, spilling his guts. "The last time I put myself out there, I was blackballed by an entire nation," he said after a long silence. "And that was just for money. I just...I don't know." He gave another sigh, this time looking over at her again; and again he wondered how weak he must have looked.