It was a bright and beautiful morning in New York City, which was probably the best city in the whole entire world, Tarin Brooks decided as he dug around in his dresser for the shirt he wanted to wear on the run he was planning to take.

Finally finding it and pulling it over his head, he grabbed socks and his running shoes before making his way out to the living room.

They’d had to clean up a bit that morning as a breadcrumb trail of clothing had led from that spot right over there by the table to Lee’s room and would have ruined the carefully planned subterfuge they were about to execute.

Everything was in its place now and that included Lee, sitting on the couch and working on her perpetual paperwork.

Tarin had to stop for a minute and look at her there, all curled up with her coffee and sigh. He was going to have to pull it together if Lee was right and Rachel was about to appear, unannounced.

Dropping down into one of the chairs at the table because he just didn’t trust himself to sit by Lee, he still grinned in her general direction. Maybe things should have been the slightest bit awkward, but they weren’t.

”Think if I take off now I can get out of the building before she gets here?” he asked.

The previous night had been completely unexpected. Right from the moment that Tarin had emerged from his room, dressed up more than Lee had previously seen him, to let her know that Rachel would shortly be there with the plan of forcing her to go to the bar. The unexpected events did not end there. Lee and Tarin had managed to lose themselves in each other at the bar, something that Lee had not experienced in years, and if Matt hadn’t interrupted them when he had, a whole lot more than staring, smiling, and blushing would have happened.

And then when they had gotten back to the apartment…Wow.

Rachel had obviously been hoping that something like that would happen last night, as she’d taken Kevin to her place for the night. But that did not mean Lee wanted her sister to know what had happened. Lee had to talk with Kevin, carefully broach the subject and get him comfortable with his mother being with this Tarin Brooks before they even thought about letting anyone else know.

And Lee was convinced that Rachel would show up, again, that morning in an attempt to ‘catch’ them. So as part of her and Tarin figuring out how they were going to handle things between them for the next while, they had come up with a plan for that morning to trick Rachel.

So after she had left Tarin sleeping in her bed, Lee had left the bedroom to find that it was currently very obvious what had happened that night due to the trail of clothing leading through the apartment. After cleaning that clue up, Lee had gone to shower, then waited until it was time to wake Tarin up.

Though Lee didn’t really want to wake him, he’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep by this point, but again, it would have been obvious what had happened if Rachel showed up while Tarin was asleep in Lee’s bed.

Then it was time to set their scheme in motion. Lee got dressed as though it was a normal day, which technically it was, it was Monday and she’d have to head to the bar to get some work done, and Tarin went off to get himself ready to head for a run.

Smiling as she felt him coming back into the room, Lee looked over as Tarin spoke. “Maybe?” she replied. “But then she may still be here when you get back.” And that Lee wouldn’t put past her sister either. Rachel was likely going to want to see them together, and would be attached to Lee for the rest of the day if Tarin wasn’t there when she arrived.

”Rachel needs to get a hobby.” Tarin said, pulling his shoes on and getting the laces tightened and tied.

”I guess I will just hang around until she gets here then.” he added, standing up and stretching a bit.

The night had been far too short, for a number of reasons and when Lee had woke him, Tarin had felt like he hadn’t slept at all…until he remembered why.

Now he was still tired, but full to the brim with nervous energy that wanted to be worked out.

Into the kitchen he went to grab a bowl, some cereal, and yogurt and was just pouring the milk when a key jangled in the lock.

Tarin’s mouth literally dropped open at the sheer audacity and he put the milk away and shut the fridge door just in time to see the door creep open and Rachel pop her head inside.

Gathering up his food and heading for the table, Tarin fixed Rachel with a look before calling out, ”Lee, your sister is here.” and making his way to sit back down and eat.

Lee laughed when she heard Tarin’s comment about her sister. “Yes, she really does,” she agreed, looking over to where Tarin was sitting at the table. “Or at least a couple friends with less interesting lives than me so she can interfere with them.”

Lee nodded, unable to turn away at the moment as Tarin started stretching. That was one thing she was going to have to catch when people were around, she realized. But looking now wouldn’t hurt anything. “That’s probably smart. And I can let you know when she’s gone if she actually leaves before you finish your run.”

As Tarin then made his way into the kitchen, Lee resisted the urge to follow him. If they were going to pull this off, especially for longer than just this morning, they had to do things ‘properly’ and follow the ground rules that they’d established the previous night. So instead Lee turned back to her laptop.

Until she heard keys unlocking the door. Lee closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Rachel wasn’t even knocking, she was just barging in in her attempt to ‘catch’ them at what she hoped would happen last night.

”Lee, your sister is here.”

Looking over the back of the couch toward the door, Lee saw Tarin making his way back into the room with breakfast, followed by Rachel. “Morning Rach,” she said with a smile. “Did Kevin get to school alright?”

As the woman walked into the room, Lee noticed that she was looking back and forth between herself and Tarin. “Yup, not a problem,” she announced as she reached the couch and sat down beside Lee. “So?? How was the bar last night? What did you sing? Wait, are you already working, Lee?”

”I have been for a few hours, Rach,” Lee replied, purposely not answering her sister’s first couple questions. “There’s only so much late night tv I can handle when I’m awake all night.”

Lee saw the knowing smile spreading across Rachel’s face. “Oh…so the two of you were up all night?” she asked, smile still in place as her eyes moved between Lee and Tarin again.

”No,” Lee corrected. And it wasn’t a lie, Tarin hadn’t been awake the entire night. “I’ve been awake all night because you sent me to a bar. Full of people.”

Tarin dug into his cereal as Rachel made her way into the apartment and began asking questions about the night before. Kevin, at least, had made it to school with no issues.

Rachel kept casting glances between Tarin and Lee and though he tried to focus on his cereal he accidentally caught her eye and returned the look with raised brows, deliberately eating a spoonful of cereal before working to open his yogurt.

Rachel continued to talk and Tarin nearly choked. The woman was utterly shameless just throwing that out there like that.

How did Lee just sit there and take this in stride? Tarin wondered as he finished the cereal, bemoaning the loss of distraction as he dug into his yogurt and carefully kept his face neutral.

”I did my job though.” Tarin said, carefully avoiding looking directly at Lee, but turning his head in that direction, ”Lee made it to the bar. She got up and sang, very well, and she even agreed that she might want to go again sometime.” he said with a small, pleased smile.

”I was just about to go for a run before I have to head to the shop.”

Rachel grinned, eyes shooting to look at Lee when she heard Tarin say that she might want to go to the bar again.

”Ok, it wasn’t so bad,” Lee admitted with a shrug. “And it was nice seeing Matt in his element again. He’s never that happy when I see him in the office there.

“But yes,” Lee continued. “Maybe I’ll go out again, without being forced,” Lee gave Rachel a pointed look, “sooner than 6 years from now. But no more signing me up for open mics? If I want to sing in front of an audience, I’ll sign myself up.”

”If you start going out regularly again Lee, I won’t have to resort to these kinds of measures,” Rachel informed her. “But what happened with you two? Matt said he interrupted something, and then you left not long after you finished singing?”

And, as Lee had expected, Rachel had found out just about everything that had happened at the bar the night before. Lee just shook her head at first. “Nothing happened with us,” Lee told her sister. “I sang, as ‘required’, and then we came home. I ended up awake all night because of the bar, and I’m guessing that Tarin slept at some point because he doesn’t have the same energy issues as I do.”

Then she heard Tarin’s comment about his run, and Lee nodded, glancing over at him. “Sounds good. See you tonight,” she said before turning back to Rachel.

But Rachel was still looking at Tarin. “You’re going for a run?” Rachel asked, sounding a little surprised. “After last night?”

Lee deserved a freaking medal because she was carrying this entire thing on her back.

It had been nice to see Matt.

Maybe she’d do it again in less than six years. Tarin sure as hell hoped so.

But Rachel wasn’t allowed to intervene. Nice, Lee, set some boundaries.

“But what happened with you two? Matt said he interrupted something, and then you left not long after you finished singing?”

If there were going to be boundaries, someone was going to have to start by explaining to Rachel what they were and that they did, in fact, exist. Tarin didn’t envy Matt the next time he saw Lee.

Lee had it all well in hand though, and Tarin found himself wondering just how many times this scene had played out. Well, not this exact scene, but a situation where Rachel simply bulldozed her way into Lee’s life in similar fashion.

Lee pointed out that he had probably slept last night since he didn’t have her energy problems and he nodded and shrugged his shoulders, ”Like a baby.” he confirmed. That much was actually true though. He had slept like a baby…eventually.

”Not that it’s anyone’s business.” he couldn’t help but add.

Tarin mentioned his run and Lee nonchalantly said goodbye, glancing at him and Tarin gave her a quick little wave and casual grin back, ”Later” he said, gathering his breakfast stuff and standing up before addressing Rachel.

”Yes Rachel, I’m going for a run…just like I do pretty much every morning before I head to the shop.” he said as he dumped the yogurt container and disappeared into the kitchen to clean his cereal bowl and spoon.

That was not how he’d wanted to say goodbye this morning, but Lee said this was for the best.

”Nice to see you again Rachel.” Tarin said when he was done, snagging his keys from the kitchen table, where he’d dropped them the previous night, just before everything had really kicked off. Then headed for the door.

Tarin said he had slept like a baby the night before, and that…Yeah, after everything that had happened the night before, it probably had been his best sleep in over a week, even if it had been short.

Then he was confirming that he was, in fact, heading for a run. Just like almost every morning. Which was true, Lee thought. It hadn’t happened every morning since he’d been at the apartment, but it had been something Tarin had done more days than not.

As Tarin disappeared into the kitchen, Lee turned to look at Rachel, an eyebrow raised. “Satisfied?” Lee asked. “Can I get back to work, or do you have more questions about what didn’t happen last night?”

”What didn’t happen?” Rachel asked skeptically. “Matt said things were intense between the two of you. That it looked like the two of you were going to kiss when he told you it was your turn on stage.”

”Did he?” Lee asked as Tarin re-emerged from the kitchen. “Have a good run,” Lee said before turning back to her sister, who looked like she wanted to say something. “But we didn't kiss,” Lee pointed out, hoping to distract Rachel long enough for Tarin to leave for his run. Then hopefully she’d get Rachel to leave relatively soon after that.

”I went up to sing,” Lee continued. “Then we decided to call it a night. That’s it.”

And he made it out the door.

Bless Lee, because Tarin didn’t know how much longer he could have handled Rachel and her absolutely inappropriate comments.

Heading down the hall to the stairwell, he always took it when he wasn’t with Lee, Tarin made his way down and out of the building, digging his headphones out of his pocket and putting them in as he made his way to the route Lee had shown him and he’d ran every time he’d ran since then.

The run started well, albeit a bit slower than Tarin’s usual pace as he tried to settle into the run and catch his stride. The stride did not seem to want to be caught though, and as he made his way through the park, Tarin began to wonder if he had overestimated his abilities a bit on this particular morning. Indeed, he was barely a half mile into the run and his shirt was soaked with sweat and he still had not been able to establish a breathing pattern that kept a stitch from forming in his side.

Finally giving in and moving off to the grass on the side of the trail Tarin put his hands on his hips and struggled to catch his breath as his watch yelled at him for stopping so early into the workout. Stupid watch should have damn well known from his heart rate last night that he’d done plenty of working out in the last 24 hours.

The nervous energy he’d felt just a little while earlier gone, Tarin realized that if last night was going to repeat itself…he was going to have to either up his workout regime or be more mindful of sleeping more than a couple of hours before he tried to work out.

There was no need to worry Lee about it though, he decided as he started walking again until he found a bench to sit on. He’d wait to hear from Lee that Rachel was gone and then head back to her…their place to get ready.

And Tarin was gone. Unlike Friday night, Lee was slightly relieved this time when she was left alone with a very inquisitive sibling.

”To come back here, and be alone?” Rachel asked, her tone far too excited, eager, for Lee’s liking as she was trying to pry into her sex life.

”Rachel. The man just left to go on a run,” Lee said, her voice starting to sound tired from dealing with her sister. “Not just a little jog. He’s gone for a 3 to 4 mile run before heading to work for the day. Do you honestly think he’d be doing that if anything like you’re thinking had happened?”

”I don’t know, maybe?” Rachel replied, though she sounded less sure now. “I mean, it’s not like either of us know him that well, right? Maybe he would be.”

”And I know my powers, Rach,” Lee replied, her voice quieter now. “I know how much energy I took from him last weekend when I had you take Kevin. I know how many nightmares I’ve had to wake him up from this past week. Because of my powers last weekend, it’s like he’s trying to catch up on sleep, but then not sleeping well. I’m surprised he’s able to go out and run that far in the morning without being ready to pass out by 8 in the evening as it is. If we’d spent the night together how you think we did, Tarin would still be sleeping, not out in the park for a run.”

Hearing this, Lee thought that Rachel actually looked disappointed. “But with what Matt said happened last night, I thought…” Rachel started. “You deserve more than to spend the rest of your life alone, Lee.”

Lee gave Rachel a small smile as she sat and thought of how to explain this. Again. “But remember, it is my life and my decision, Rachel. A decision that I have already made, and am happy with.”

Lee paused and took a deep breath. “You keep trying to convince me that I deserve more,” Lee continued softly. “The thing is, I’ve already had so much more in my life than I had ever even though possible. Kevin alone is a miracle.

“It was nice to get out last night, though,” Lee admitted. “I won’t shut myself up in here as much anymore, but you’ve got to promise me to stop trying to set me up and all of that, ok?”

Rachel’s sigh was obviously audible. “Ok, Lee, I’ll stop trying to find guys for you to date, if and only if you start going out and having fun for yourself regularly again.”

Lee nodded her agreement. Considering the situation, and what she had somehow convinced her sister had not happened the night before, it was 100% fair.

Though it did take another 20 minutes for Lee to manage to get Rachel out of the apartment, at least the conversation shifted at that point to much simpler topics. But once her sister was out and the door once more locked (though that obviously hadn’t stopped Rachel that morning), Lee picked up her phone and sent Tarin a text to say that she had just left and it should be safe for him to come home now.

It really was a beautiful morning, and Tarin just sat taking it in as the birds sang and he replayed the (publicly appropriate) details of the night before in his mind. It was an excellent way to pass the time, and as he kept glancing at his watch and hoping for a notification Tarin couldn’t help but think he was a pretty damn lucky guy if all things were considered.

The thought brought his mood down a bit as he glanced around the park. He’d run through here before today, but he hadn’t stopped or sat down long enough to think since…everything had happened.

It was almost wrong that things were going so well for him when…

Nope. He wasn’t going to do that. He still had to go back to the apartment where Lee had just faced the third degree from her very overinvolved sister so that they could figure out whatever was going on between them with some space.

So back those dark feelings went into their dark little room in the back of his mind.

About that time, Tarin’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he checked his watch for the notification. It was Lee, and Rachel had left.

Deciding to try and jog back home, Tarin pushed off from the bench and headed that way.

With similar results.

By the time he got back to the lobby of the building, Tarin was once again a mess and as he pushed the button to call the elevator…he’d take the death box over the stairs today…he struggled to catch his breath. At least his watch wasn’t screaming at him anymore…

The doors of the elevator opened and Tarin made his way to the door of the apartment and let himself in, still a bit out of breath as he made his way inside.

”That woman has no shame.” he said breathlessly and by way of greeting, tossing his keys on the table again with a slight grin and dropping in the chair to finish catching his breath.

”I don’t know how you put up with it.” he added.

It really didn’t take Tarin all that long to get home after she had sent the message. Obviously longer than if he’d just been hiding around the corner so he was out of the apartment, but he was definitely home sooner than would be normal for him being out for a run.

Smiling as she heard him entering and felt him getting closer, Lee turned to look over at him. The smile faltering when she saw the condition he was in as he fell into the chair. “Are you alright?” she asked. The concern likely visible on her face. Because she had gone for a run with him, if only the once, and at no point during that time had he looked this tired and out of breath. He may have even looked as bad or worse than she had when she had asked him to slow down that day.

”And no, she really doesn’t,” Lee agreed, getting up from the couch and slowly walking over to Tarin. “And often it’s by gritting my teeth and reminding myself it’ll be worse if I fight it. She really does mean well, she’s just a lot over the top at times. And she’s been nothing but supportive and loving since we reconnected.”

Lee shrugged as she rested her hand on the table as she stood looking at Tarin. “Did something happen on your run?”

Tarin could only nod as Lee explained how she managed to put up with Rachel’s almost constant overstepping, and the way she explained it…it made sense.

”And to be fair…she was right, even if she should have the decency to not ever mention it.” . He breathed, grabbing the hem of his shirt to wipe his face.

”How did things go? Is our cover intact?”.

It was about then that Lee realized he’d had a bit of a rough time…ouch, his ego.

”I’m fine.” he said, catching his breath a bit easier as he sat in the cool apartment and thinking that maybe he should have walked home instead of jogging. ”May have just overestimated myself a bit this morning.” . He added with a smile, looking up at Lee for a change as she stood in front of him.

”Good morning.”

Lee couldn’t help the quick eye dart down to Tarin’s stomach when he wiped the sweat from his face. That was definitely a nice sight, and Lee was quite happy that the hem of his shirt appeared to be Tarin’s preferred method of wiping sweat away.

“Well,” Lee said as she slowly moved her eyes back up to Tarin’s face. “There was definitely more ‘indecency’ as she kept pushing me. But I think it is. Took some convincing, but I think she finally bought it when I spelled out the fact that you were going for a run, and you weren’t still sleeping.”

Tarin was fine, apparently. As he sat there still trying to catch his breath. When Lee hadn’t seen him this worn out after a run or at the gym before. Maybe at a certain point last night, but otherwise she hadn’t seen him this worn out before.

”May have just overestimated myself a bit this morning.”

Lee couldn’t help but laugh softly. Then looked sheepish as she realized he wouldn’t know why she found that funny. “Sorry. I was surprised when you said you were going to head out for a run when we were planning about Rachel,” Lee explained. “The fact that you actually went running after everything last night…I mean, I told Rach that if our night went as she thought it had, that you would still be sleeping. Which is what sold her on the story.”

Lee bit her lip slightly as she smiled at Tarin. “So, I have to admit,” she said softly after a couple minutes. “I’m quite surprised you did go.”

More indecency. Tarin didn’t even want to know. It sounded like Lee had handled things though and as she continued to speak he leaned back in the chair as she explained that the lynch pin in the whole story had apparently been that he could go out on a run this morning.

”Glad I could play my part, but I guess I thought a couple hours of sleep would be enough. I felt like a million bucks when I walked outside. Only made it a half mile out and back though” he said.

Lee was so close and she was standing there biting her damn lip again saying she was surprised he had ran, ”I needed to get out of here for a little bit.” he said, hands itching to reach out and pull Lee just a little bit closer.

”Maybe next time we treck all the way to my room…” he said, ”Or change the locks on the front door.” .