The guy standing in their apartment seemed extremely unaffected by the fact that Lee couldn't feel him...that for all intents and purposes there was no life force in him. Tarin trusted Lee's powers explicitly and this was simply odd. And the guy used the term 'cuckhold' under different circumstances, Tarin wouldn't have been able to suppress a giggle, but all of this was just too weird.

"Well, if you're asking for my advice..." Tarin said, casting a poignant but short look in Lee's direction, "I'd tell you to fight for her. Sometimes it's worth it...even if it's hard to do."

Lee was still so uncomfortable with the other man being in their apartment, that Tarin didn't really argue with him when he again apologized for being a bother. Zombie? God, this kept getting weirder...hopefully the guy wouldn't try to eat any brains while he was there.

Tarin smiled when the guy said they connected, "I think we did that day...something about kindred spirits with missing hearts...and believe it or not you did me a favor too." How much, the man standing in the room would probably never know. For the first time since Lee had stormed from the shop the day with the redhead, Tarin had felt hope after talking to this guy on the top of the ESB.

The smile faded slightly though when the guy said they were an attractive couple. Something about the way made Tarin shudder slightly, not because it was perverse in some sexual way, but it gave the same vibe Tarin was pretty sure he gave off when he was staring at a sirloin.

Then the guy was acting normal again, well more normal, apologizing and telling Tarin that he was simply searching out the one person he remembered from before, Tarin stepped forward and held out his hand to shake, "Well, I'm glad I could help...if only a little to help you sort out the situation. You'll have to stop by agin sometime. Maybe we can get a bite to eat or some coffee. You know where to find me now, so if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask."

Tarin really was genuinely glad he'd been able to help, but the gods' honest complete truth was that he hoped the meeting was over, at least for the night. Lee was too freaked and he was starting to feel the same way.

"Only sometimes?" Lee couldn't stop herself from asking Tarin after he gave his advice to their visitor. What did he mean by sometimes? Were there times he was wishing that he hadn't fought so hard to get her to stay?

That worry was wiped from her mind when the man went on to apologize for her not feeling any energy from him - what a strange thing to be apologizing for, despite how uncomfortable it made her feel - saying that he's been called a zombie before. And was wiped even further from her mind when he called her and Tarin an attractive couple. Lee tensed at that; the way he was looking at them...Lee had never seen a look quite like it, but she had seen similar ones directed at her, guys wanting to hurt her or take something from her, and those situations never ended up good.

But the moment seemed to pass, and Tarin was inviting him back sometime in the future if the young man ever wanted to talk again. Lee didn't relax that easily, though, her body remaining tensed. You're just off balance, Lee told herself, tried to convince herself. It just seems worse than it is because you're not siphoning. That's all.

"Yeah, maybe we can figure out your lack of energy," Lee said, though she wasn't so much interested in actually figuring that out at the moment than she was to get him out of the apartment. Maybe she would be more interested in that later if their next meeting wasn't so...unthreateningly threatening.

And just like that, he was gone. Tarin tilted his head to the side and watched as the guy made his way out of the apartment. He'd left with a promise to visit again, but next time at the shop, and for some reason that made Tarin feel better.

Tarin thought about the way the guy had told him it would be fun to get a bite and shuddered again. There was something seriously weird about that guy...beyond the fact that Lee couldn't feel a thing from him while he was in the room.

There was an emo girl out in the hallway, she lived in the other apartment over the shop and the predatory way in which their visitor followed her down the stairs made Tarin shudder too and he quickly moved forward to shut the door...and lock it.

Leaning his back against the door and rubbing his arms against the sudden chill in the room. Looking at Lee with a serious look on his face, Tarin shook his head slowly, then ran a hand through his hair, feeling the need to explain.

"That's where I went after I took your bag down the day you left. Up to the Empire State Building. I was in a bad place..." he said slowly, face dark with a deep frown. "I was looking for the lady that's up there...I don't know what I wanted her to tell me...but that guy was there...dead as a doornail. He distracted me, pobably a good thing...though I never expected to see him again...especially not in the...flesh?"

Tarin stopped there, waiting for Lee's reaction. Hopefully she wouldn't be too angry, they'd come so far on this night.

The strange young man was gone, Tarin had shut the door, locked it, and was now leaning against it, running his hand through his hair, and Lee was still standing there, tensed, uncomfortable. And remained standing there like that until after Tarin spoke.

Spoke and explained that he had met that guy, in spirit form, the afternoon she had moved out. If the mood hadn't already been killed by Zelek's interruption, that had done the trick.

Lee took a deep breath and nodded, moving back a couple steps till she reached the couch again and sat down heavily. Hadn't they both been in rough shape that day, that month?

"Is he really gone?" Lee ended up asking, looking at Tarin and the door he was leaning against. "I've never felt anything like that, not being able to feel him..."

Lee swallowed as she looked at Tarin, having problems shrugging off the uneasiness.

Lee made her way back to the couch and sank down onto it. Tarin watched her and wanted to go to her, take her in his arms and make her feel better about the whole situation, but he had a feeling that Lee wouldn't be too fond of the idea. But they had made progress, real progress this night so Tarin was happy.

Over to the couch he walked too and sat down next to Lee, not right next to her, but close enough that she could initiate contact if that's what she wanted to do.

Tarin nodded slowly to Lee's question and looked towards the door, "I think he's gone...I kind of hope he's gone to be honest. There's something weird there and I keep getting the feeling that it's a good thing that the memory he has of me is good, even if it's vague. I hope that kid that lives down the hall is alright....part of me wants to check on her..." Tarin looked at Lee, "But the larger part is telling me that for once I should mind my own business."

Lee looked uneasy and Tarin felt uneasy, so Tarin leaned back against the cushions of the couch and shook his head, "This sucks...the guy was so carefree...so...so...I know it sounds cliche but he was so happy Lee...now he just seems dangerous. What do you think?"

Lee was frowning as she watched Tarin make his way over to the couch and sat down next to her. Frowning, not because of what Tarin was doing, not even really because of what he was saying, but because of what she was thinking and feeling.

Reaching out, Lee took one of Tarin's hands in both of hers, her eyes dropping down to look at the hands as her frown deepened. Nothing was feeling odd, or wrong, or off now. She could feel the energy coming from Tarin sitting beside her, could feel it even stronger, faster, because she was holding his hand.

"I've hated what I do for how many years now, wished I could just stop siphoning," Lee murmured, her eyes still lowered. "Then that guy walks in and I can't feel him, I'm not siphoning from him. For whatever reason, I'm getting my wish, at least in part, and I don't know what to do. I need to feel it, to make sure nothing's wrong..."

As she finished, Lee's brow furrowed a bit more. Really, what did that make her? A hypocrite, as bad as Rupert in terms of thoughts about mutants?

"You don't mind, do you?" Lee asked, raising her eyes to look at Tarin, giving his hand a squeeze as she did. Lee knew Tarin definitely didn't mind her touching him, preferring it more often than not in fact, but she wasn't entirely sure how he'd like it right then, with her reason for touching him.

It was only then that what Tarin had been saying filtered through Lee's mind. "You felt that too?" She asked softly, her head tilting slightly to one side. "I thought it was just because it was so weird not feeling him that made me nervous."

Lee was watching him and Tarin was watching her as he made his way over and sat down beside her on the couch. She was frowning and Tarin frowned too, until she reached out and grabbed one of his hands in hers, then his eyebrows raised. She'd grabbed his hand without even hesitating about it. Even if she was mentally preoccupied, this was something. Tarin held still, looking at his larger hand in her smaller ones, then Lee started to speak.


She was confused, talking about how for so long she'd wanted rid of her powers, how she felt weird now that she'd been around someone she couldn't feel. Tarin could understand, he hated the spirits so much sometimes, the feeling of always being watched even if they were just shadows in the background, but the truth was he didn't know what he'd do if they all just suddenly disappeared.

Lee asked if he minded and Tarin shook his head, "No, not at all. My adrenaline is running high enough right now that I don't think a MAC truck using me for a battery could wear me out too badly. In fact...I like that you're touching me." Tarin knew it was a risk, bringing the fact to Lee's attention like that, but he also wanted her to realize that it was getting easier, even if it was on a subconscious level.

"Yeah...I felt it..." Tairn said, scowling slightly and looking towards the door, the stairwell where the girl had been. "I'm glad the door is locked...and I'm glad that we're in his good books...at least for now." Tarin leaned back against the cushions of the couch, leaving his hand in Lee's, "God only knows what I've gotten us into now."

Just as Lee had suspected, Tarin didn't mind that she was touching him. She might have had a bit of a doubt about that fact, but that was just because of her reasoning for wanting to touch him right then; now, Lee honestly wasn't sure if there was any reason in the world that would make Tarin not want her to touch him.

But then he was scowling toward the door. He had felt the potential danger, too? Well, at least that meant Lee hadn't been feeling or thinking things for no reason. Though, she honestly wasn't sure that a locked door would stop the young man. Who knows what else he was able to do, considering the fact that she hadn't been able to feel him.

"If that's his good books..." Lee said softly, leaning back against the couch too, though her hands stayed around Tarin's. Yes, it was a comfort thing, but she didn't think she could deal with much more contact at that moment. "When aren't we in the middle of some sort of problem, though?" She asked, her eyebrow raised slightly. "We always seem to manage to come through it."