It didn’t take all that long to get ready for bed and soon enough they were laying in his bed. Tarin felt Lee shift slightly and turned as well so that they were looking at each other in the dark. It was comfortable and intimate and Tarin thought back to earlier when Lee had talked about being somewhere and not wanting to be anywhere else with anyone else.

Lee spoke then and Tarin couldn’t help but smile. Such a simple thing making her so happy made it hard to do anything else. Lee whispered, and Tarin nodded, ”And yet?” he echoed despite the fact that he had a feeling what she meant.

”And I’m glad I can help.” he whispered back, smile broadening.

‘And yet…’

There was everything she could say in response to that, and at the same time, nothing.

”Twenty years ago,” Lee said softly. ”If I had found someone I liked, if they wanted to be with me knowing what my powers were, if they didn’t leave because the fatigue from being around me got to be too much…

“I can still remember the terror I felt at the idea of doing this.”

Lee reached out a hand between them in the dark searching for one of Tarin’s. ”It wasn’t a matter of trying until it worked,” Lee continued in a whisper. ”I was terrified of what might happen.

“And yet…I’m actually able to lay in bed with you and fall asleep,” Lee continued, giving Tarin a smile. ”Remember when you asked what I would want to do if I could do absolutely anything for a day? This would have been one of the things on that list that has already come true.”

It seemed like such a simple thing to make Lee happy, but when she explained it…how she explained it made Tarin realize that it was much more than that.

Lee had thought, for a decent chunk of her life, that things that involved physical touch were simply out of reach. That it could actually be dangerous for her to fall asleep next to someone like they were about to do.

It wasn’t the same by a long shot, but he knew a little bit about that now…considering what had happened before.

Lee found his hand, and Tarin entwined their fingers loosely so that it would be easy for Lee to pull away when she was ready.

She explained that even if time had changed what Lee thought was true she was still grateful. When he’d asked on their first official date what she’d do if she could do anything this would have been one of the things.

Quickly kissing the back of Lee’s hand, Tarin smiled back.

”And when you asked my favorite place on this side of the rift…it was here. Even when I didn’t think you could stay.”

Tarin didn’t question what she had said, he didn’t say anything. But, Lee thought, he understood it. At least, as well as he could understand.

Then Tarin was kissing the back of her hand, and Lee couldn’t help but smile. For someone who claimed to not know how to do the whole relationship thing, he sure did a damn good job making her smile on a regular basis.

But when Tarin continued, Lee blushed as she looked at him laying so close to her in the bed. ”Here, like this, is your favourite place, even whenI would need to get up because of having too much energy?”

”Mmhm.” Tarin intoned when Lee expressed a need for clarification.

”Like this, less formally attired, watching a movie, going for a run…” he said, liking the turn the night had taken.

”As it turns out, location is pretty irrelevant.”

He was quiet for a moment, then sighed a happy little sigh and smiled.

Lee smiled, blushing darker, as Tarin spoke. And squeezed his hand. ”That’s…” Lee whispered, her smile only growing wider. Then she leaned forward to kiss him softly since she didn’t know what to say.

”You know, I’m finding that I don’t exactly want to be anywhere else, either…” she murmured. ”Even when we're being boring like tonight,” she teased. ”I still look forward to it.”

It was dark, but Tarin could have sworn that Lee was blushing. She did that a lot when he complimented her or said things to suggest that she was special.

”I don’t think this is boring at all.” Tarin said sincerely, but they’d already established how he felt about this whole thing.

It made sense though. From the second Lee had found him in the park, she had been an absolute rock for Tarin. It still absolutely flabbergasted him sometimes how everything had happened and happened so quickly. From his end he was so damn lucky.

”Why though?” he asked quietly across the small space between them, still holding Lee’s hand. ”Why me of all people?”

Tarin didn’t think that tonight had been boring, even though he had apologized for being boring earlier and not having an idea of what they could have done with the rest of their evening.

Not that it had actually been boring. She’d been teasing.

But then the conversation suddenly got much more serious. Why him?

”It definitely wasn’t planned,” she finally said, her voice slow and thoughtful. ”I hadn’t on being with anyone, to be honest. Hell, I hadn’t even planned on Blaine happening six years ago.”

Lee paused, trying to figure out how to verbalize why Tarin. ”I enjoyed spending time with you, and trust you, and have you seen your abs?” Lee couldn’t help the teasing grin as she said that last bit.

”Even from the start, I’ve been able to, I’ve wanted to tell you things I’ve never told anyone. But honestly, Tarin, the more time I’ve spent with you, the more time I’ve wanted to spend with you.”

Well…Tarin thought. He had asked…and he really did want to know how exactly all of this had come to be.

No. None of this had been planned. Not for either of them. The last thing he’d thought when he’d been able to focus enough to understand that it was Lee there with him in the park was that they’d end up here.

No, his thoughts that night had been much darker. They had been in the days following as well. But then…things had changed. They’d changed very quickly one night when they’d ended up watching a movie together and then a hockey game with Lee’s brother.

He had to laugh and roll his eyes just a bit when she brought up his abs, but it was also gratifying. It hadn’t really been anything he’d ever really considered while working out, but Lee’s reaction to him and his physique was a perk nonetheless.

The rest…nobody had ever said anything like that to him before. As Lee spoke he really tried to slow down his mind and think and remember if anyone in his life had ever said that they trusted him, or that they want to spend time with him.

Not for a really long time. That would have required the kind of sharing he’d done with Lee, and he hadn’t done with that with anyone else.

”I don’t think that anyone has ever said anything like that to me before, and it…means a lot.” he said, ”Thank you.” he said awkwardly.

”And I swear I wasn’t fishing for compliments.” He added with a self conscious grin.

”And I swear I wasn’t fishing for compliments.”

”Oh, so this wasn't just some trick to inflate your ego?” Lee laughed before giving him a quick kiss.

”Though, someone should have told you at least some of this before,” Lee continued more sincerely. ”Because you really are great, Tarin.”

Then Lee just lay there for a few moments, a happy smile on her face as she looked at Tarin. ”You do have me wondering now,” she asked. ”I mean, this is very obviously not one sided. But if you’ve never really opened yourself up to anyone before, then why me now? It’s not some weird superhero worship since you seem to think I am one, is it?”

Ego? Tarin shook his head and kissed Lee back, continuing to shake it when Lee tried to point out that he was great. That was overly generous by a mile, but he smiled back at Lee anyway. As he’d thought before, it was impossible to do anything else.

Things were quiet for a moment, but then Lee spoke and internally cringed.

This had happened before. Tarin had asked Lee a question and for some stupid reason he hadn’t expected her to turn it back around on him. Of course she’d want to know the same thing after everything he’d told her about himself and what he’d just asked her to do.

”God no, it’s nothing like that…you’re joking right?” he said first, just to be sure, then tried to sort out all of the words that were stuck in his head and trying to get out of his mouth.

He took a deep breath and just kind of went for it, this was going to be more than Lee had asked for, but he felt like th context was important…

”It’s hard to explain…but those first few days you just wouldn’t walk away…and I know you were just doing the right thing, but it still meant…and means…a lot.”

He paused for a second, still trying to sort out what he was trying to say, ”I honest to God don’t know how I ended up staying here…but the more time I spent with you, the more I realized that everything I’d seen those first few days was just who you were, I started to realize I was feeling things…and I’m really good at handling that…”

Another very slight pause, ”I’ve told you before that I knew for sure hat I wanted that night after the hockey game, and then after the bar…”

Tarin sighed, ”You’re so open and so honest and so damn brave when you talk about the past and all the things you’ve been through. How can I not be? I know I’m not good at it…but I’m trying.”

That…had been a lot. Tarin covered his face with his free hand for a moment, ”That was a lot…sorry.”

”Of course I’m joking,” Lee said, giving Tarin’s hand a slight squeeze. Then she lay there waiting, patient and quiet as she waited for what Tarin’s answer would be.

And it was a much longer, more detailed answer than Lee was expecting to get. But she listened to every single word that Tarin said.

But when he apologized at the end, Lee shook her head. ”No reason to be sorry,” she told him. ”And making sure you stayed here that night after the Empire State Building took a lot of distraction and guessing how you would react to certain things.” And at times it had been work to distract and manipulate the situation in ways to get Tarin to stay that night. Lengths she normally wouldn’t even consider going to ‘get her way’ since he had wanted to leave.

But even now, Lee didn’t want to think about how horrible it would have been for Tarin to have had that nightmare and been completely alone.

And that night they’d watched the movie before Robert had shown up and then after when she’d stormed into his bedroom…

”That night…I wasn’t even acknowledging any of it myself, but I was definitely feeling things already too…”

“Believe me, I know it’s hard to talk about some things. But like I said, Tarin, when you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen. Though, I don’t think I’m being brave…” Lee paused as she tried to figure out how to say what she was trying to say. She did, however, lift a finger to try and stop Tarin from arguing that point as she thought.

”Because I’ve never been able to talk about any of this so easily with anyone before,” she finally continued. ”It’s just…it comes out so much easier talking to you.”

He had known Lee was joking, but it was still good to hear that she had, in fact, been joking.

Listening to things from Lee’s perspective was tough at times, but really put things into perspective. She had been so insistent and had so cleverly manipulated him into staying.

”Well, whatever you did, I’m glad you did it. I don’t think I need to tell you that though...” he didn’t need to tell Lee, but he would every time it came up, probably for the rest of forever.

Lee’s admission about the night of the hockey game wasn’t exactly a revelation, it had been her reaction that had prompted him to approach her in the first place and it had only been Lee’s hesitation that had delayed the apparently inevitable for a few more days.

Lee reiterated her constant offer to listen when he wanted to talk, and again pointed out that she wasn’t being brave. He was ready to interject whenever Lee paused, but when she did pause she held up that finger and Tarin bit off what he was going to say.

When Lee continued, Tarin didn’t really know what to say at first. With everything she had been through and all the people she’d known in similar situations, he was the one that this had been easiest to talk to about the things she’d done?

Tarin wanted to ask why, but he knew if Lee had known why she’d have said so.

”I’m glad.” he said instead, ”And I want to know all the things, the more you tell me the more I want to hear because all of those things help me know you.”

He took another deep breath here, ”And I know that works both ways…” he admitted, ”It’s easier when you directly ask what you want to know.”

Tarin still hadn't told her what he had seen in his nightmares in general, and certainly hadn't told her what that first one had included, though she could guess. But based on how tightly Tarin had clung to her after that first nightmare, that alone was enough to let her know he was glad that she had managed to keep him there that first night.

Her wait finger had worked, and Tarin hadn’t spoken, hadn’t argued about her being brave to talk about the things she’d been through with him. He hadn’t spoken until after she had managed to fully finish her thoughts.

And he wanted to know everything she’d done, that she’d been through? At first Lee was surprised by this, but as he finished that thought, it made sense; it all really was a part of her and what had made her the person she was now.

”I’ll keep that in mind,’ she said softly when he told her that it was easier for him when she asked directly. ”But not tonight. Tonight, I just want to be nice until we fall asleep.”

Lee would keep that in mind and Tarin would probably regret having told her. Not because she wanted to know things…because he’d essentially made a commitment to telling her things.

He apparently had a reprieve tonight though. Thank God…talking earlier had been hard enough and it hadn’t even been anything all that bad.

Tarin knew that it was messed up the way that he locked up whenever the conversation turned to him or things that had happened in his past, but he was trying to do better.

Lee was right though, tonight should be nice so Tarin nodded, then grinned.

”I noticed, by the way, the night of the hockey game.” he said, returning to the earlier topic of conversation.

”That whole weekend I was alternating between being terrified of what would happen when you found out what Rachel had roped me into and trying to figure out how I was going to live here with whatever was happening…”

He laughed, ”I was an absolute disaster that night at the bar.”

It hadn’t been that long ago, but it kind of felt like it had. Things were so different now.