How the spirits connect with him? As unbelievable as it seemed, Tarin hadn’t ever really thought about it from the other side. Did that mean that the connection from the spirit side was different from the connection on his side? Would Lee even know that?

”I hadn’t ever thought about the fact that it might be different from the other side….” Tarin said, staring off into space a little bit as he mulled that over in his head. Surely there were spirits he could ask about that. Maybe the weasley little one that had helped when Michael showed up. That spirit hadn’t been very strong and had seemed more than willing to answer questions.

Lee had been super upset or having a rough time when she’d been able to feel the energy of the other Tarin? This Tarin couldn’t really wrap his head around how that would be different, why it would help if she wasn’t paying attention to her siphoning. ”So maybe you were more…open to that kind of energy?”

It wasn’t a no from Lee, in fact, she agreed to testing out her siphoning through a spirit again. Lee did want to know why Tarin was interested in trying. He shrugged a bit, ”For one, I’m curious if I can stop you from doing it without severing the link to the spirit.” Tarin said, ”I probably can’t, but it’s worth a try.”

Why else did he want to try, ”I’m also curious if it feels any different. You probably would have noticed the first time around…but you were otherwise occupied, so maybe you didn’t notice.”

Tarin hadn't thought about the fact that the spirits had to do something different than him to get the connection established. Which really did make sense, Lee thought. Tarin either blocked all the spirits out, or brought them in to talk to or connect with. And, Lee assumed, the connection just happened when Tarin reached out.

Lee didn't agree with Tarin's next hypothesis, though. How would her being upset and crying make her more receptive to sensing disembodied energy?

Although Lee did tend to siphon more energy when she was angry; maybe it was similar when she was upset in other ways.

"I guess that is possible," Lee allowed. "Even just to experiment, I definitely don't want to be in that situation again."

Tarin's reasons for wanting to try siphoning through a spirit were good. Well the first was a really good reason. The second just made Lee curious.

"You're right, I didn't notice much of anything beyond the simple fact that there was energy there that I could siphon," Lee finally replied.

"Though…" she continued thoughtfully. "I believe I remember thinking that there didn't seem to be quite as much energy as from a person."

No. They did not want Lee to be in that situation again. Tarin shook his head to emphasize the point. ”Definitely not, I just wondered if the two were connected…sorry” Tarin said, hoping he hadn’t come across too thoughtless in his curiosity.

It seemed his reasons for wanting to see if Lee could siphon through a spirit again were plenty for Lee and Tarin leaned forward to try the piece he’d been holding in a few places. Lee had been so focused on simply getting energy that she hadn’t paid much attention to anything else. It would be interesting to see if Lee could do it at will or if the need had something to do with that particular ability.

She hadn’t thought that there was as much energy there, ”That makes sense…” Tarin said, ”If I had to give them very much energy I’d get worn out a lot faster…wish there was a way to quantify it. “ Tarin paused for a second, pondering that.

“It doesn’t take much energy at all when they’re close. It’s more the headaches and concentration that get tough to deal with…so maybe you’re only able to take what I put out there in that case?”

Tarin didn’t know. These were things they were going to have to test out to know for sure. “Thanks for humoring me….” he said with a small, slightly self-conscious smile.

Tarin was against actually attempting to find out just why she had been able to sometimes feel energy even when it appeared that she was alone while her ex had been out of his body.

That was good. Very good. Lee really did not want to risk Tarin getting stuck outside his body or his heart stopping when he reconnected all to try and figure that one little, rather unimportant mystery out.

"It's possible that it's connected, but hasn't happened any other time, so…" Lee kind of trailed off as she shrugged.

Tarin went on to explain that it really didn't take too much in terms of energy for him to make a nearby spirit solid, and Lee nodded. "It would make sense if that's why I wasn't able to sense as much energy,' Lee agreed, then frowned slightly in thought. "But you were able to feel that I was siphoning, didn't you? If that's the case, it seems like I was talking at least a bit more than that."

It made sense to her. Tarin had already used that energy toward Tony. If that's all Lee had been taking, she didn't think Tarin would have felt it.

"Of course," Lee responded, once again shooting a smile across the table. "It's an easy enough thing for us to try. Especially after all the work with Tony when you don't like me doing that."

Tarin just nodded when Lee pointed out that there was a possibility that her mental state had been connected to her ability to feel “semi-spiritual” energy, but that was where that part of the conversation would end. Neither of them was interested in digging into it any deeper.

Lee seemed to agree that the amount of energy he had put into the spirit had limited how much she could take from him. Her point about how he could feel it happening was a good one though and Tarin’s eyes narrowed slightly in thought as he turned that over in his head.

”Maybe that wasn’t more but it was faster?” Hopefully that was articulated well enough to make sense. ”Like, you were pulling it from me faster than I would usually give it, but it wasn’t any more at a time.” It was hard to articulate this point, but if anyone would understand what he was getting at, it would be Lee.

Lee didn’t mind all of Tarin’s musings and questions and she agreed pretty readily to trying all of this out with Tony. There was a slight misunderstanding here though.

”I don’t like seeing you get hurt.” Tarin said, returning Lee’s smile. ”I love watching you kick ass.”

A moment passed while Tarin put a piece into its place and quickly followed up with another. ”And I do like it when you let me fuss. Nursing all those sore spots and muscles….”

Tarin had a good point in that it was possible he'd noticed that she was starting his energy through Tony because it had been faster. Not necessarily more energy.

Lee nodded. That was something worth figuring out. But it was also something that they could not try that night. "That's something we'll have to try, then," Lee said. "See if I AM able to take more than that through a spirit or not."

Apparently, Lee had very much misunderstood Tarin's thoughts and feelings about her sparring. Well, Lee had known the first party, that he didn't like her getting hurt.

As Tarin continued speaking, Lee's eyes dropped to the puzzle on the table for a few moments. He loved seeing her kick ass?

That was nothing compared to how Tarin talked about when she let him did over her. The way Tarin mentioned him nursing her sore muscles…

Lee felt her breath hitch as she looked across at Tarin, unaware of how she had started biting her bottom lip. "That… I do like how you help me stretch out those muscles…" she finally replied, her voice low.

They would have to try. Tarin was excited about the prospect and thought that they’d need to figure out a time and place fairly soon to do so. For Tarin’s part, he knew that the new knowledge would be sitting in the back of his mind until they’d messed around with things a little bit.

There were far better things to discuss though, and Tarin knew exactly what he was doing when he brought up his fussing and the way that he helped Lee nurse her injuries, no matter how minor, after she sparred.

Lee looked across the table and Tarin grinned as she bit her lip, “I can’t blame you…” he said casually when she admitted that she liked his help. Still slowly working on the puzzle, Tarin looked up with his eyes, “Stretching after a workout can be just as important as warming up beforehand.” he said semi-seriously. ”Just like a warm shower can loosen up all those knots and fatigue…”

They’d come a bit full circle now, but a fair amount of time had passed, and they were making good progress on the puzzle. They were also sitting with a table between them. What harm was there in a bit of teasing? Tarin didn’t think there was any.

”And to think, you used to not like my fussing.”

Lee smiled back at Tarin when he grinned, her lip still between her teeth. And while Tarin had been continuing to make sure but steady progress on the pastor, Lee had barely touched it in the last couple minutes. Tarin had been more than a little distracting in a few ways.

The stretching after some of her sparring matches…not only had Lee not realized just how tight and sore some of her muscles could get after an intense workout or sparring match until Tarin had helped her to stretch, but all that touching and close contact very often led to at least some very nice kissing.

Lee's smile widened as she looked at Tarin. As he mentioned having hot showers. For her muscles, of course.

"One of the best kinds of showers," Lee murmured. Because she could often convince Tarin to join her. Again, to help with those sore muscles. Obviously.

"I was woefully ignorant," Lee admitted. Though initially it had gone beyond her 'not liking' Tarin fussing over her. She had, at least once, argued and fought against it. "Thankfully, I've since come to my senses."

And Lee had. Gradually over the months, Lee had gone to accept, and then appreciate the fussing. While Lee knew that it had at least something to do with where things went once Tarin was satisfied with his fussing over her, that wasn't the only reason she had come to be ok with it.

Lee had also slowly, gradually come to accept and allow herself to be more vulnerable with Tarin. And to allow him to see that, allowing him to actually help her with things.

"You know, I may need a bit of help stretching it tonight," Lee said after a few moments before rolling her shoulders abit. "Everything tonight seems to have tensed me up quite a bit."

”It really is, isn’t it?” Tarin said when Lee pointed out that those post workout showers were some of the best showers. Of course they were, ”Especially with the proper company…” he said softly.

Lee admitting that she was not just okay with his fussing, but that she’d ’come to her senses’ made the little smile that had been stuck on Tarin’s face the last few minutes winden into a full grin as he sat there, puzzle piece in his hand forgotten as he looked across the table at Lee.

Then spoke again and then rolled her shoulders a bit and was absolutely riveted by the simple movement.

He nodded slowly, back to tapping the puzzle piece softly against the table instead of looking for where it went. There were much better things to pay attention to now.

Shaking his head slowly and in mock concern, Tarin said, “Definitely can’t have that…” he said when Lee mentioned all that tension from the evening. Tension. Yup, there had been lots of tension. Lots of tension of lots of kinds.

”I bet I know just the thing to loosen all that right up.”

They really just weren’t good at staying away from these topics. Not tonight. Not without supervision. What were they going to do with themselves? Tarin had some ideas, but they weren’t particularly productive and they were so close to finishing the puzzle.

When Tarin agreed that those were the best kind of showers, Lee smiled wider. That pretty much was the reason Lee thought those showers were so good.

Apparently telling him that about his fussing was a good thing, Lee thought, as Tarin's smile grew into a full grin. Six months earlier, Lee wouldn't have imagined herself enjoying admitting when she was hurt and accepting the help to take care of herself, not when it wasn't so she could simply be healed. Yet here she was, suggestively talking about how she enjoyed Tarin 'fussing' over her after sparring matches.

And bringin gup a totally new thing that night for him to help her with. Based on the look on Tarin's face and the tone of his voice, that was going to be very mutually beneficial.

"You do?" Lee asked when Tarin pointed out he knew what would loosen her tense muscles up. "That's very good. When do you think you can start?"

The puzzle was all but forgotten by Lee at this point, even though it was still sitting right between the two of them. This topic of conversation was far more engaging.

’You do?”

Tarin nodded, confident that he could think of several different ways to relieve a whole lot of tension.

When could he start?

That same grin spread across Tarin’s features again and he shrugged, ”That depends entirely on you.” he said, the words slow and his voice low, ”If you’re wanting instant relief I can grab you a heating pad or some ibuprofen.”

Sitting up and leaning forward a bit, Tarin looked down at the puzzle and managed to find the exact right place for the piece he’d been holding, “But if you’re willing to wait for a while…” he looked back up, ”I’ve got a few other things to try.” he said, his look and his voice indicating that they were not things to be tried in their current location.

Picking up another puzzle piece, Tarin looked down at the remaining spaces, trying to figure out where it would go. ”I’m awful worn out tonight though, dunno how long I’m gonna be able to stay up.”

That grin… Lee bit her lip as she watched that grin spread across Tarin's face. Lee didn't think she would ever get tired of seeing that grin.

Oh, so Tarin had ideas for both instant relief and if she was willing to wait. While those immediate options were often necessary after a sparring match, they were certainly not that night.

Lee smiled, her lip still between her teeth, as Tarin hinted at other 'things' he could try. Those were the options Lee had been looking for.

"I suppose I could wait for a little while," Lee said as she gazed back across the table at Tarin. "Though, if you're that tired tonight, we shouldn't wait too long."

Lee paused as she finally turned her attention back to the puzzle, working on getting a couple of pieces in place before speaking again. "Is there anything else that you need to do before heading to bed?"

As they sat there, at least trying to finish the puzzle, Lee said that she could probably wait for a little while and Tarin nodded and smiled as he put another puzzle piece in its place. It was kind of wild how much easier it got as they found more pieces.

Lee was also biting her lip and Tarin decided to just stop looking at her for a moment because otherwise they were going to get in trouble all over again.

They really couldn’t wait too long. ”We really shouldn’t…” he said, still not looking up ”I wouldn’t want to be tired tomorrow…”

They kept working for a few moments and Lee got a couple more pieces in place before she asked Tarin if there was anything else he wanted to do before bed.

”I think we decided against cleaning out the fridge until tomorrow…” he said, chancing a quick look up at Lee, ”There’s not much puzzle left, but beyond potentially finishing that up, I’ve been ready for a while now.” he said honestly.

Checking his watch, Tarin grabbed another piece from the quickly dwindling pile, ”How about you?”

When Tarin spoke, saying that they shouldn't wait too long before they dealt with her tenseness, Lee looked up at him to see that he was very studiously not looking at her. Lee smiled. "Oh, we can't have that, can we?" Lee said, going back to the puzzle.

He only, possibly, wanted to finish the puzzle that night, but Tarin had been ready to head to bed for a while. Lee smiled widely at that. So had she.

"To be honest, after the talk with Kevin, I pretty much decided that nothing else needed to be done tonight," Lee told Tarin with a shrug. "If I managed to do anything, that was just a bonus."

Looking down at the puzzle, Lee placed one more piece before looking up at Tarn again. "Should we just go now?"

”Nope.” Tarin said, when Lee said they couldn’t have him tired. ”Much better to just call it a kind of early night…” he said, still not looking up.

By not looking up, Tarin was missing all those wide smiles, but he could hear from the tone in Lee’s voice that they were definitely still on the same page.

Once they’d established that Lee didn’t have anything else to do for the evening it was just a matter of how long they wanted to stall before they decided it was okay. Lee had mentioned any productivity being a bonus and Tarin gestured at the puzzle, ”And look at all this…” he said in response.

They worked for just another few moments, each managing to find one more piece before Lee looked up and spoke.

This time Tarin did look up, his eyes catching Lee’s for a moment before dropping for a quick look down at the nearly complete puzzle. Did it make sense after all the work they’d done to finish the thing to just abandon it at this late hour?

Who the hell was he trying to kid?

”God yes, please…”