It was another weekend night, and Jay was on his way to a gig, bass in tow. This was a place Wyvern hadn't played before, but for some reason, the name of the joint sounded familiar to Jay. And when he walked in, he realized exactly why this place was so familiar. And yet...it was too late to back out now. Maybe there were still no hard feelings. At least, he hoped so, anyway. Lee had been given a lot of time to dwell on what he'd done to her, if she was that kind of person. Oh well.

Meeting the rest of the band on stage, he pulled out his bass and began to help the rest of the band get set up, hooking up his bass and getting ready for sound check, which went rather smoothly, but with still time before they went on, Paige walked up and handed Jay the final setlist for the evening. 

He looked over at it. "You sure didn't skip on the songs with me doing background vocals, did you?" 

"Hey, I didn't just hire you for your bass skills. Your voice compliments the group as well as your  bass does, so you're going to have to pull the extra work~" The blonde winked as she finished tuning her guitar and played a couple of practice riffs.  Jay couldn't argue, she did have a point after all. 

After everything was ready, there was still about fifteen minutes before they went on, so Jay looked around to see if Lee was around--he didn't really have anything to say, but he did have a piece of business to take care of. That and he'd learned from experience that when you're in the same room with a girl you dumped for someone else, it helped to know where she was.

It was a pretty normal night. Lee had shown up before the band she had hired to play that night. It didn't take long after she had arrived for the band to get there and start setting up.

At least it was a normal night until Lee looked over at the stage about half an hour later to see Jay of all people on bad for the sound check.

Nope. No, Lee decided, she was not going to deal with this. Yes, Lee was happy with Blaine, happier than she had expected when they first decided to give things a try. But that didn't mean that she wanted to be around Jay all night.

Plus, Matt would be around somewhere. Things in the bar would be fine without her.

”I'll be in the office if anyone needs me,” Lee told the bartender before she disappeared.

It seemed to be a fairly straightforward night as Blaine walked into the bar, still wearing his leather jacket. He looked around the bar; a band was setting up and getting ready to play, and people were just starting to come in. The place would be pretty bustling before too long, so maybe he'd get to see a little action.

However, as his eyes scanned the bar and he shed his jacket, he noticed Lee wasn't in the bar area, which was weird for this time of night. Quirking a brow, he walked over to the bartender, who informed him she was in the office. Jacket slung over his shoulder, he made his way to the back, first to hang his jacket up. Then, he walked to the office, knocking before he stepped in.

"Hey," he said with a soft smile. "Everything okay? You usually don't hide in the office until later," he asked; he was concerned, but he did manage to throw a teasing comment in there for good measure.

Lee hadn't been in the office for long, certainly not even close to long enough for Jay to have left, when she heard a knock on the door.

But before she was able to say anything, the door was opening to show Blaine stepping inside. Despite her mood because of who she knew was in the bar, Lee couldn't help but smile at him as he walked in.

”Yeah, everything's fine,” Lee replied. But despite the smile that Blaine's simply being there brought, she didn't respond to the teasing. Then even that smile faded a bit. ”Turns out a guy I used to see is in the band, so I figured it'd be far less uncomfortable to catch up on some work.”

He nodded as she spoke; guessing that was pretty awkward, finding out your ex was in a band you booked. However, he wisely kept these thoughts to himself.

"If you need me to rough 'im up a bit, let me know," Blaine said with a wink. "Though I would like to see you out and about at some point during the evening. Bar's just not the same when you stay back here all night." he said sincerely, then looked at the clock with a sigh.

"Well...I need to head out there. Give me a holler if you need me," he said, walking over and giving her a quick peck on the cheek before turning to leave. He made his way out into the bar, picking his vantage point near the door. He eyed the people on stage; the bassist seemed to be the only one old enough for her...and the only male in the band. But...he really wasn't sure if that meant anything. He was sure it was the bassist though. That guy looked like he had a very punchable face.

Once upon a time there had been this bar. It had been a bar that Tarn had used to frequent a lot. Time had passed, things had changed, and Tarin hadn't been back in a really long time. Memories had been made at this bar, and it simply wasn't the place that a guy went until he was looking for nostalgia, and generally Tarin wasn't looking for nostalgia.

The thing was, recently nostalgia had been looking for Tarin.

It was mostly little things, sights and smells that had lost interest for the medium seemed to be at least a little more interesting again as Tarin took his son around the city and introduced him to all of the things that two weeks in the summer had never really been enough to experience. It was like digging through an attic though, once you opened the first box of old stuff you couldn't stop going through things that simply didn't want or have a place in your life any more. The trip was nice and the things were really nice, but it was hard to figure out where they belonged.

Tarin hadn't really talked to Lee much. No more than was really necessary to sort things out with the kiddo and custody. The new apartment situation had made things significantly easier logistically speaking, but it was still tough to see his ex-wife and wonder sometimes how things had gone so terribly wrong in what seemed like such a short amount of time.

So. Tarin found himself walking up on a bar that he hadn't been to in a long time. Nostalgia, it was a bitch. He needed a beer.

Up to the bar Tarin walked and ordered exactly that. It looked like there was a set about to start sometime soon. Cool. Music was always a good thing.

Lee couldn't stop herself from laughing a bit when Blaine said that he'd be willing, and the wink said, happy to rough Jay up for her. Not that she actually would, it'd be much more satisfying to do it herself if the need arose. But it was nice to know where Blaine stood on the issue.

But then he asked that she not stay in the back the whole night. Smiling slightly, Lee nodded. ”I'll try,” Lee said earnestly. And she would, for him, though Lee wasn't sure how long she would be comfortable enough to be out there that night.

Blaine did have a point, though, he did have to get out there to work. She might be able to get away with pretending to work while the bar was open, but Blaine had an actual job to do. But she did smile happily up at him after he gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. ”I'll see you out there,” Lee told Blaine softly before he walked away.

*****

About half an hour later, Lee was getting antsy in the office. Though the music was muffled by the walls, Lee could still tell that the band had started playing their first set. So there really wasn't any reason not to go out at the moment; she could just about looking at the stage, and as long as Jay didn't walk out on another band, he'd be busy for a while yet.

And so Lee got up and made her way out to the bar area, glancing around as she walked like she normally did. Only to stop dead when her eyes crossed the bar as if she had seen a ghost.

She hadn't. In reality, Lee's eyes had fallen on the man who was actually able to see spirits. Now what the hell was she supposed to do? Jay was on the stage, Tarin at the bar. Suddenly, walking out and just going home sounded like a great plan. But Tarin had always had a nack for knowing when she was looking at him; even if she turned to make her way back to the office, Tarin was bound to have noticed her before she could disappear.

Taking a deep breath, Lee decided that to just suck it up and started forward slowly, finally coming to a stop a few feet from Tarin. ”Hi.”

Oh sweet nostalgia. Still a bitch. The beer hadn't helped.

As soon as he felt her eyes, Tarin chuckled wryly into the beer he was currently working on draining. Yep, it was definitely Lee, and the second random encounter they'd had since she'd returned to New York. It didn't seem like any kind of cosmic entity had him by the short and curlies, but in a city of somewhere around 8.5 million people it was hard to believe in something as simple or innocent as coincidence.

Lee approached and Tarin saluted towards her with his glass. "Hey." he said nonchalantly, turning slightly on his stool so as not to seem like he was avoiding this discussion. "I hadn't realized you were still working the bar scene." It was true, this hadn't come up in any of their short, awkward conversations as Kevin gathered his belongings to move from one apartment to the other.

"I was over this way and decided to drop in." he nodded towards the stage, "These guys were pretty decent."

Tonight would be a shorter set than usual because some of the other members had other engagements. The set started off really well, a good mix of laid back and heavy songs, with Jay's high-baritone backing vocals applied liberally as needed. After awhile, he saw Lee talking to some guy at the bar, but he didn't mind. What did make him nervous was the way that bouncer was watching him like a lion watches it's future kill. That musclehead was definitely not there last time...

Their final song started with a drum intro, which led into Paige's guitar, and finally, bass.

"I'm a cold heartbreaker
Fit ta burn and I'll rip your heart in two
And I'll leave you lyin' on the bed
I'll be out the door before you wake
It's nuthin' new to you
'Cause I think we've seen that movie too”

Then, on the chorus, Jay joined in, his voice very prominent over the female lead's. And they took care to self-censor, just in case.

”'Cause you could be mine
But you're way out of line
With your ----slap rappin'
And your cocaine tongue
You get nuthin' done
I said you could be mine"

Once the song ended, Jay packed up his bass and stored it in the back before bidding the band farewell and going to the bar, hand in his jacket pocket.

When he made it over to where Lee and mystery dude #1 were talking, he looked at Lee. "Hey,” he said before pulling his hand from his pocket and tossing a black bra between them. "You left this at my house." However, he didn't say it quite as light-hearted as he intended.

Lee had been right, Tarin looked over to her well before she reached him. She had never figured out how he was able to do that, but apparently the years hadn't changed that ability.

When she reached Tarin, Lee shrugged. ”Matt practically begged me to help out here, “ Lee replied with another shrug. ”Plus, it's nice to actually have some money coming in while Rachel's shop gets established.”

Then Tarin said that the band was pretty good, past tense, and Lee tensed up not realizing that the music had stopped. Only to see Jay approaching where she was standing with Tarin. She hadn't planned to still be out front when the band for of stage.

But before Lee had had a chance to say anything to either of the men she now found herself standing with, Jay dropped a black bra on the bar between her and Tarin, saying that she had left it at his place.

Lee's face instantly turned red as she snatched the bra and turned to glare at Jay. ”What. The. Hell. Jay,” Lee said, glaring at him. Yes, this was the first time she had seen him since he had ended things, but really, here, like this?

The band continued to play as Lee explained that their old bartender buddy Matt had asked...no practically begged her to do some bar-tending for a bit while the shop got on its feet. Money was a thing that people needed in the city, so the Medium nodded his head and took another drink from his beer.

The set had ended and Tarin was mildly surprised to see the bassist approaching their spot at the bar. He looked left, and looked right...there was plenty of space if he wanted a drink. No reason to encroach on a conversation...except that apparently he knew Lee.

Knew Lee intimately enough to be carrying around one of her bras and tossing it around the bar.

Oh, this was too rich.

A lesser man probably would have gotten obscenely jealous when the back-up singer sidled up and nonchalantly offered a bra to their ex-wife. Luckily, Tarin wasn't a lesser man. Besides...this clown was a bassist. Definitely not worth the time. There was also the fact that technically speaking it was none of his damn business where Lee was leaving her unmentionables. Still, such a stark opportunity to ruffle feathers couldn't be completely ignored, could it?

"Isn't that one I bought you?" Tarin asked, squinting in the slightly dim bar light. It did look familiar, but one could never really tell with something as straightforward as a bra.

It was impossible not to chuckle, but Lee seemed upset and this was the mother of his child. "That was kind of a dick move though. Is that all you needed?"

He gave a shrug in Lee's direction, coupled with that sly smirk that she used to love but by now probably loved to hate. However, he didn't walk away; instead the blonde shifter hopped up on the barstool and made himself comfortable, kind of enjoying the exchange that was taking place. So Mystery Dude #1 was apparently another of Lee's exes. This was bound to be interesting.

"Oh, I didn't realize this was a convention of exes. Are there five more of us somewhere, and some nerd we have to fight?" He then turned to look at Ex #1, still wearing that sly grin. "Yeah, maybe. I didn't know I'd be playing her bar; band-mates only gave me the address. I was going to drop by her apartment, but I thought I'd save myself the walk. Long walk when you're lugging a bass." Then, he got a mischievous gleam in his eye when asked if that was all he needed.

"Well...I sure could go for a beer, a nice long belly rub, and maybe a new chewtoy or two," he replied as he changed his gaze to Lee. Sure, he was making an ass of himself, but since he was here, he might as well. Besides, he probably wouldn't get this chance again.

-------

When Blaine saw the bassist toss the bra, and Lee's reaction, he'd made his way toward Lee and the two men, but before he could get there, a scuffle broke out between two drunks, so he had to kindly show them the door. Maybe Lee could handle herself for awhile. This wasn't going to be all that easy.

Lee's eyes darted automatically, almost involuntarily, toward Blaine's normal sit against the wall to see him already making his way over. Part of her was thankful, but another part didn't want him there; it was already bad enough with Tarin and Jay, what would adding her current boyfriend in with her exes do?

Only for Lee's eyes to shoot back to Tarin wide in shock, her face even redder than it has been when she heard his question. It...it was possible that he had bought the bra. If she had gotten rid of everything Tarin had bought her, or that she had bought to see certain reactions, she would have left New York with almost no clothing, after all.

Before she was able to say anything, though, Jay decided to open his mouth. Joking about there being other exes there, and commenting that he wanted to avoid the ‘long’ walk to her appointment with his bass.

But then he went on, hinting about the time he’d spent as a corgi in her apartment. ”No. And if I see you around my place, in any form,” Lee hissed, grabbing Jay’s collar to pull him off the bar stool. ”I will kick you. Now get out of my bar.”

Tarin decided he would keep his commentary about Lee's current choice of men to himself for the time being as the bassist sat himself on a nearby bar stool and continued to be the unwanted third party to the conversation.

Convention of exes, huh? This guy was a real wit with his pop culture references and casual demeanor. Things had obviously not ended well there. It was interesting though, Lee had apparently dated more since coming back to New York than she had in the entirety of the time Tarin had known her before. Things changed with time and practice, the Medium supposed. Powers hadn't come up in any of their short conversations, so Tarin didn't know how all of that was going for Lee...but they were obviously not a hindrance to her social life. It was hard not to be a little proud...as awkward as that was.

Ignoring the impulse to comment that he was somehow the best ex present, Tarin settled for being amused at Lee's attitude. He wouldn't have wanted to take a kick from his ex-wife...especially after she'd spent a night working in a crowded bar. This guy was a weirdo though, apparently into belly rubs and chew toys. The medium shrugged again as a scuffle broke out and a bouncer broke up a couple of drunks. Everyone had their fetish.

Ah good. Lee was telling the guy, in no uncertain terms, that it was time for him to leave.

"You heard the lady...." Tarin said with a sage grin, "Scoot."

Okay, so it was obvious he'd gotten under Lee's skin with his comment, but maybe that was the point. When she grabbed his collar, he'd placed his hands on the bar, wrapping his legs around those of the stool. This wasn't Jay's first confrontation in a bar, though usually it was with guys bigger than he. But hey, there was a first time for everything, right?

"First of all, kicking puppies is just plain wrong," he said, not missing a beat. "And second, I can't go anywhere with you still holding onto my collar; even if it does hearken back to how we met, doesn't it?" His eyes twinkled a little; maybe he was alluding to his mutation for the sole purpose of creeping out Ex #1. Okay, that's definitely what he was doing. But hey, if he was about to be kicked out anyway, it may as well be worth his while.

"Scoot?" he said with a chuckle as he turned back to Ex #1. "You realize that never works, right? 'Fetch' usually tends to work better, anyway...