At least she hadn't fallen for some elaborate plan Jacen had created of running into women and taking them for coffee, Lee thought as they jogged along the path. As far as the man beside her had said, anyway.

But as they continued along, Lee found her breathing getting heavier, and she found she had to actually think about keeping it even. That, especially at this pace, was not normal, but then again running with someone, never mind a person who was able to stop her siphoning, was not normal either.

At least with the darkness and the slight exertion they were putting out, Lee figured that the bit of a blush that crossed over her cheeks wouldn't be very noticeable. Good thing, she didn't particularly like people seeing that she was actually blushing.

It was rather strange, though. This tiny bit of a run was wearing Lee out so much more than she would have expected based on how much energy she had had before she'd run into Jacen. So much so that she definitely was not expecting it. Luckily, by the time the man had finished his most recent question of her, Lee could make out the coffee stand up ahead, so she slowed her pace down to a walk once more before turning her head to look over at Jacen.

"No," she answered with a slight shake of her head. "Actually I normally try to avoid people, especially when I'm out at this time of night. Plus, if I'm out running, regardless of the time, I probably wouldn't need coffee to help wake myself up for a day or two. I really only tend to run when I've got a lot of energy to work off."

As Lee began to slow down, Jacen followed suit. He wasn't out to run the woman into the ground but he wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be beating him either. Lori was the only woman he had met that gave him stiff competition and he didn't even want her to win, much less someone he had just met!

"So... should I just buy you a hot chocolate instead then?" Jacen asked with a slight grin as he moved to walk beside the woman, "Since you're normally burning off energy and don't need coffee at this time of night of course. I can always try to catch you during the day sometime for that coffee."

Breathing in deeply, Jacen did his best to maintain a steadiness that would show he was an experienced runner. Even though his lungs were begging him to break into the fast breathing that so many people used, Jacen focused, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth as he did his best to maximize the amoung of oxygen flowing through his blood stream.

It was strange but this seemed to be how Jacen's life had been going over the past few months. He would meet up with a strange woman that turned out to be a mutant. Conversation would ensue and that would eventually lead to flirting. And there was absolutely nothing wrong with flirting. After all, he and Lori were just trying out the idea of a relationship. Neither of them were expecting the other not to date or hang out with others... right?

"So what got you so hyper tonight?" Jacen asked, launching into what he thought would be a safe topic but really wasn't, "You just close a big business deal or something?"

A hot chocolate. Lee hadn't even thought of that. Normally, she just went with coffee, or coke if she wanted something cold, but the fact was she really didn't need the extra caffeine at this point, and so had figured she would just go with water. But hot chocolate, that was something Lee never thought about having, and yet every time she actually did, she realized that she needed to drink it more often.

"Actually yeah, a hot chocolate does sound good," Lee said, then shut her mouth as she heard Jacen go on to say he could try catching her some other time for an actual coffee.

Was he...Lee started to wonder, her eyes straight ahead toward the coffee stand as they walked. Nah, Lee decided, he was just suggesting that because they were having a decent conversation and their powers seemed to be similarly uncontrollable.

"Well, I don't normally go running during the day," Lee told Jacen. "But I do grab a couple coffees a day, at least one from one of the stands here in the park.

Then Jacen was asking what it was that had given her so much energy. Lee couldn't help it, her cheeks flushed again as her mind drifted back a few hours, to the activities that had given her all this energy and had left Tarin passed out in his bed.

"Ah, no, nothing like that," Lee said softly, her eyes dropping to the ground in front of her, hoping that Jacen wasn't going to see the redness of her face because it was night. "Had a date night tonight, and those have a tendency of having Tarin passing out and me with too much energy to sleep because of my powers," Lee explained, glancing over at Jacen briefly before her eyes dropped again.

"Hot chocolate it'll be then." Jacen said with a slight smile as the continued on their way toward the small stand, "I hear they use some really high quality chocolate for a little stand like this."

Finally the man could feel his breath evening out without his having to force it. Already his body was going into recovery mode as it worked to store extra oxygen in his blood and muscle tissue just on the off chance that he might push himself farther with the physical exertion. It was a normal body function but for someone that had spent most of his life in physical activities it was now a process that was finely tuned to get the maximum power and efficiency.

As Lee began to answer his question, Jacen missed the blush that was appearing in the shadows but he did catch the way her glance suddenly dropped. He honestly hadn't expected any type of serious answer to the question but even before she opened her mouth he could tell that whatever she said was probably going to make him wish he'd never asked the question.

"Who's Tarin?" Jacen asked himself though he refrained from voicing the question out loud. Obviously he must be a boyfriend that enjoyed the more physical side of things. Obviously Jacen couldn't blame him. Anyone that got a look at Lee would appreciate the same things in a relationship.

"Um... two hot chocolates please." Jacen finally broke the silence a few moments later as they arrived at the stand. Moments after handing over his money both he and Lee were holding steaming cups of the sweet liquid.

"So how long does it normally take you to run off that much energy?" Jacen asked conversationally, doing his best to ignore the act that would have given Lee so much energy in the first place, "An hour? A couple of hours?"

Reaching the coffee stand, Lee was kind of surprised when Jacen also ordered himself a hot chocolate. Hadn't he said something about a coffee? But, coffee actually effected other people more than it did her, Lee remembered after a moment's thought as they waited for their drinks. There was a reason Tarin didn't normally drink coffee toward the end of the afternoon or in the evening, even if she was drinking it. It actually managed to help wake other people up and give them more energy at the same time. And it was late, maybe coffee wasn't the best idea for Jacen.

It really didn't take long before the cups were being handed over. Reaching out her left hand, her small wedding ring sparkling slightly in the light from the stand they were standing at, Lee grabbed her cup, bringing it up to just below her lips while Jacen was speaking.

It really smelled good. Yeah, Lee decided as she inhaled the hot chocolate smell again, she really needed to drink this more often.

But how long did it take her to run off that kind of energy? Sipping her drink thoughtfully and carefully, Lee started walking once more, continuing down the path they had been on to reach the coffee stand.

"Honestly, I'm not sure how long it would take," Lee admitted after walking along for a little bit in silence. "I figured I'd just run for a couple hours, and at least that way I wouldn't feel like I was bouncing off the walls for the rest of the night. It still wouldn't be enough for me to actually sleep, but it'd be better."

Perhaps Jacen truly did miss seeing the ring on Lee's finger or perhaps his sunbconscious temporarily overroad his conscious mind because he really didn't want to see a ring on this attractive woman's finger. Whatever the case, for those brief few seconds the beautiful color, aroma, and taste of steaming hot chocolate became far more important than any trivial piece of jewelry that the woman might or might not be wearing.

"You just exercise enough so that you're not bouncing off the walls?" Jacen asked curiosly after taking a sip of the hot liquid and almost burning his tongue... no... scratch the almost part. "Damn!" He muttered under his breath, "Now I've completely ruined it for the rest of this cup."

"Well if you're still interested in running after we finish the hot chocolate, I'll be glad to volunteer as your running partner." Jacen offered with quick grin before his expression changed as he moved his tongue around in his mouth, trying to assess just how much damage had been done to his tastebuds. There wasn't any lasting pain so the damage couldn't be all that bad but it would still be enough to completely throw off the hot chocolate's flavor for the rest of the cup.

"I'd be willing to bet that by the time we finish running all you'll be ready for is a good night's sleep." Jacen finally continued after a few moments, the smile once again flashing to his lips, "Former Army Rangers aren't known for ever leaving a job half done."

Lee simply nodded when Jacen asked about her reasons for running. It didn't seem weird to her, and taking away the whole siphoning aspect, it still seemed like it would make sense for other people too. Lee had never really exercised for exercise's sake. She'd always been active enough her entire life, one way or another, that she had never really had to work out to stay relatively fit. Sure, she wasn't walking nearly as much now as she had been before she had gotten together with Tarin, but these runs she went on when she ended up with too much energy made up for that.

Apparently Jacen hadn't been nearly as careful with his first sip of the hot chocolate as she had been, though, since Lee heard him start swearing and complaining.

"You really shouldn't be in such a rush, Jacen," Lee said with a slight smile as she glanced over at him. "Haven't you learned that things that are this good are worth the wait?"

Shaking her head slightly and turning her eyes back to the night darkened path ahead of them, Lee listened to Jacen's offer to be her running partner if she decided that she wanted to do a bit more running after they finished the hot chocolates. And that because of his Army Ranger training, despite the energy she had now, she'd be ready to actually sleep when they finished running.

That was, Lee had to admit, a rather tempting offer. With how she had felt after Tarin had fallen asleep, Lee had simply been hoping that she would actually be able to sleep the next night. She knew that she had had no chance of actually being able to fall asleep that night, though the next night would depend on how much she and Tarin touched the next day.

So the thought, the possibility of actually being able to sleep in the same night that she had that much energy, and not because her body had given out because she hadn't slept at all in about six days...

"If you're that sure of yourself, I think I'm going to have to take you up on that offer," Lee told Jacen with a nod. "Sleep is sleep, though, and to tell the truth, as long as I'm sleeping, it's not a whole lot better or worse one night to the next."

To a man, the most innocent smiles delivered by a member of the opposite sex often contained hidden meaning that could be interpretted to mean most anything he wanted. Even though Lee had spoken about a boyfriend that little flash of a smile left a lingering question in the air as to whether the boyfriend was really enough for her.

"Oh, I don't know." Jacen said with a slight chuckle, "Food and drink can be pretty good but from what I've learned, most things that are worth being patient for are able to carry on a conversation and give you company when you're alone. Good people, such as your own beautiful self are the important things in this world. The rest is just extras."

Falling silent Jacen sipped at his drink once more, this time being far more cautious. Even though his taste was thrown off from its previous burn there was no denying just how good the hot chocolate tasted. Really it was amazing that people kind of outgrew this particular beverage. As children most everyone loved the taste of hot chocolate but as they matured and grew into adulthood most would switch to coffee. Sure coffee had the beauty of caffeine but why did supposedly intelligent adults give up something that tasted this good?

"To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;" Jacen quoted with a slight grin. He knew it wouldn't be expected for a man like himself to know anything about shakespeare but thanks to an overzealous girlfriend a year or two back he had been forced to endure some of the arts. At least it hadn't all been a total loss. After all, some of those plays actually had decents plots and even the occasional quote that was pretty good to. "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come."

"Sleeping is never just sleeping when you're sharing the moment with someone." Jacen observed after another sip of hot chocolate, "Even in sleep a couple can feel connected because subconsciously they know they're partner is right beside them. Or at least that's what I've heard."

Uh, ok, maybe Jacen had a bit of a point there. At least he sort of seemed to in Lee's mind considering the fact that Lee really couldn't cook all that well. So really, the longest she had to wait for things like food was however long the delivery took.

Unless of course Tarin was making dinner for her, and in that case she did everything to could to keep herself busy and out of the house lest they get distracted and dinner burn anyway even though she wasn't the one cooking.

Jacen did seem to be going a little overboard, though, and Lee blushed slightly again when Jacen called her beautiful. At least he didn't seem to really be expecting her to say anything to that, and they continued walking along, slowly sipping their hot chocolates in comfortable silence until Jacen started quoting Shakespeare. That was definitely something she had not been expecting.

"'When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life.'" Taking a breath, Lee shrugged her shoulders and then explained. "I've had a lot of time to read over the years."

Jacen's thought that sleeping wasn't just sleeping when you were doing it with someone else. Yes, for her sleep was rather different when she actually spent the night in bed with Tarin rather than those nights she spent the night in her much smaller bedroom, but that was because she was siphoning while she slept and so actually had some energy when she woke up.

Right?

But it was different when she slept with Tarin. She didn't really feel the difference per se, but she did seem to go to sleep and wake up happier.

"I didn't realize other people could feel things like that," Lee admitted softly. "I figured anything like that I felt was more my powers.

"You've heard?" Lee asked, hearing Jacen's last comment, laughing slightly. "With how you said that, it sounds more than just hearsay."

"I'm afraid that I must confess to actually attending a theater and seeing Hamlet instead of reading it. I'm not the biggest fan of the arts but even I have to admit that Shakespeare wrote some very interesting lines." Jacen said with a slight smile before once again turning to his hot chocolate. Here he had been trying to impress the young woman beside him and instead found himself being more impressed by her. Most women if they knew Shakespear knew him because of Romeo & Juliet. Few people would actually pay attention to the tragic story of Hamlet.

"I'm afraid it truly is hearsay." Jacen replied after almost laughing into his hot chocolate, "I won't lie and say that I've never slept with woman but I can honestly say that I've never felt that kind of connection before. Sure there have been people that you enjoy seeing the morning after but none have completely claimed my attentions."

One had come close and if she continued to work it was possible that she might become the type of person that Jacen was speaking of but there was no way to be sure. The relationship between Jacen and Lori was still far to tenetive as they were just beginning to explore the possibility of something more than friends between the two of them.

"But what about for you? Has it happened with several guys or was there one magical man that stepped up and fulfilled your every need?" The question was asked just a little quiet and more seriously, though still in a friendly manner. Right now they were just two people enjoying some hot chocolate, a nice strolle, and a friendly chat.

Lee's head cocked to the side slightly as she glanced over at Jacen. He'd actually gone to see Hamlet rather than reading it. That was a tad surprising.

"Well, you're one up on me," Lee told him. "Well, I've seen a couple Romeo and Juliet movies, but otherwise I haven't actually seen any of Shakespeare's plays."

Giving a slight shrug, Lee turned her eyes back to the path ahead of them, her attention back to the chocolaty goodness she was holding in her hands.

Just in time to hear Jacen laugh slightly and say that what he'd said about sleeping with someone else was in fact hearsay. As Jacen continued, though, Lee's eyes dropped slightly. Is that what things were like for normal people, people who didn't have to worry about what their touch did to others? They got to have those little relationships, not even as serious as her and Tarin had been within the first week by the time they broke up. Mixed with, Lee guessed based on how Jacen had worded things, those one night stands that Tarin had been such a huge fan of before they had gotten together.

But then Jacen turned things around on her, asking if she had felt it with several different guys she had slept with, or if there had been just one 'magical' guy. Lee couldn't help it, she laughed. "Me?" She asked after a couple moments. "Me, sleep with that many guys? I've only ever dated two people in my life. Well, three if you count Sam, since we went on a couple kind of dates.

"And yeah, yeah," Lee continued, waving a dismissive hand, her forehead creasing slightly in thought as she tried to figure out how to explain this. "I know you don't have to date someone in order to sleep with them, but I do.

"I must have gotten a lot more control over my powers, because they used to be stronger and I used to take a lot more energy from people. Most tended to shun me and refused to touch me after they found out about my powers, so it's a huge deal to me when someone who knows about my powers is even willing to just hold my hand."

Taking a breath, Lee shook her head slightly then turned to look at Jacen with a small smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that," she apologized. "I don't normally explain all that to people, especially when I first meet them."

"No, you don't have to date someone before you make things more physical," Jacen admitted with just a touch of embarassment in his voice, "But it's normally a good idea. Sleeping with someone you barely know might be good for a quick sexual fix but sharing it with someone you know and care about at least a little is much better."

If Jacen had been out to seduce the young woman with him then his words would have been absolute idiocy. Who in their right mind would talk about the down sides of one night stands if they were actually out to achieve one? Obviously the possible relationship as Lori had distracted the S.W.A.T. officer or he would most deffinately have been trying to press his advantage a little more.

"Don't worry about unloading." Jacen finally said with a chuckle after Lee began to apologize, "I seem to have that affect on my fellow mutants. Once they find out that around me they're just like any other human they seem to being to trust me and open up. I don't know if they're reasoning is the most logical in the world but it's kind of nice to be accepted."

Now it was his turn to unload a little bit. After all, trust had to be mutual. Jacen didn't plan on letting Lee know everything about him but it was only fair that she at least knew a little more about him than she already did.

"I only discovered my ability a few months ago." Jacen revealed quietly, taking a sip of chocolate before continueing, "Up until that point I had no clue that I was a mutant. I was just like any other human going on about my business. Then I met another mutants that made me realize I was different. I had this ability that none of the other humans had. I was special."

"Although now I don't know if I'm special because I'm a mutant or because I'm just strange." Jacen mentally added to himself before continueing his commentary. "It kind of threw my world upside down. All the plans I had made for my future suddenly had to be rethought while I worked at accepting who and what I really was. Honestly I don't think I've ever adjusted completely but I'm trying. Maybe someday..."

Jacen agreed that one didn't have to date in order to make things physical. Lee knew that, she knew that quite well though not from personal experience. She'd overheard enough conversations in coffee shops and on the street to have known that without even knowing about Tarin's past. But with him, though they had never really had any sort of in depth conversation about it, Lee had a good idea just how...frequent his one night stands had been before they had met. And she thought she remembered some sort of mention about how bad it had sometimes been when he woke up and the woman of the night had still been there.

But thankfully Jacen didn't mind her going off like that and unloading some of those feelings to him. Which was good, if he had minded, that would have made her feel worse about it. And since she had been releasing her feelings, Jacen must have decided to do so as well. Not that Lee really minded, it only seemed fair after everything she had just shared with him.

Lee blinked when Jacen said that he'd only known about his powers for a few months. Blinked and looked over at him in slight shock. It was hard to tell, what with the shadows crossing his face and the darkness all around, but he had to have been at least her age, probably a bit older. How could he have possibly only learned about his powers, discovered them, just a few months earlier? Sure, they weren't as noticeable as Tarin's were, weren't as observable to others as hers had been when they first appeared, but surely he should have noticed something before just a few months ago.

Turning to look over at Jacen as they walked, Lee shook her head slightly. "How can that be possible?" Lee asked. It wasn't asked in a harsh way, not by any means, she was just very confused and curious about the situation. "I mean, I figured out what my powers were when I was 15, knew what I was doing to people by then, but I was doing it for at least a year before I realized what was going on.

"To be honest, though, I'm not sure I've completely adjusted yet," Lee continued softly, her eyes dropping briefly. "I've known about what my powers can do for ten years, and I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with them."

Taking a breath, Lee took a sip of her hot chocolate before looking back over at Jacen. "It sounds like you're doing well since you only just discovered your powers, though," Lee told him. "I'm having a hard enough time trying to get at least a bit of normalcy for myself, I have no idea what I would have done if I was in your situation."

"To be honest, I have no clue how that's possible." Jacen said with a shrug before swallowing down the last of his hot chocolate. Lowering the empty cup from his lips, Jacen held it loosely in one hand as he thought back to a time quite a few years before. "Back when I was in the military one of my fellow service men was a mutant. He healed me and saved my life. Obviously my ability hadn't manifested at that point because he was able to heal me. It wasn't until I came to New York that things started to change."

"Hey, people always talk about how many chemicals are used in the New York City water system." Jacen continued, his voice taking on something of a teasing tone in order to try and lighten the mood, "Maybe there really is something in the water."

Even though Jacen was joking a part of his brain had to wonder if maybe he was actually right. Could it be possible that the New York City water had caused his mutation and because of that it wasn't actually X-Gene related? That might explain why his blood had come back negetive but he couldn't know for sure. "I have to have the test redone." He thought to himself somewhat grimly, "I have to."

"Well, if we're both honest you have to admit my situation is a lot easier than yours." Jacen observed as he walked over to a trash can and tossed his cup in, then swiftly made his way back over to Lee, falling in step with her once again, "All my power does is nullify other people's abilities. I don't feel any different than I ever did. I don't get all tingly when other mutants are nearby or anything so in a lot of ways my life is no different. I just have to be aware that, with some mutants, my ability could have dangerous consquences for them."

Finally the two of them were once again approaching the main path which meant they were back in the normal jogging circuit. Time to lighten the mood a little more. "But that's enough serious talk. You just want to jog or should we make this a little challenging with a wager? Say... we set a steady pace and first one to fall twenty feet behind loses?"

Jacen didn't know how it was possible for his powers to have only just started recently, either. Rather than years earlier when he was in puberty, like pretty much every other mutant Lee had heard of.

But the fact was, that was what had happened, and regardless of the reasons why or how, it was what had happened, and Jacen was going to have to deal with it. Which luckily for him, seemed to be something he was doing fairly well.

Seemed to be dealing so well in fact that he even joked that the reason his powers didn't develop until now was the water there in New York. Lee couldn't help it, she laughed. "I'm damn glad I didn't grow up here, then," she managed to say after a few moments, once her laughing had come slightly more under control. "Who knows how messed up I would have been otherwise."

It was quiet for a few moments, just the soft sounds of their running shoes on the ground and the quiet slurping of their hot chocolates. Quiet until Jacen spoke again, and Lee's eyes shot to him as he angled off slightly toward a garbage can.

He had things a lot easier than her? Lee blinked, not understanding his logic. At least she had spent years knowing what she was, getting used to it. For him, it had been thrust on him so late in life, changing everything he had thought of and planned for...

Jacen went on to explain, and after a moment Lee had to admit that she at least saw his logic on the matter. Yes, everything had changed suddenly for him like that, so late in life compared to most mutants, but if nothing actually felt different for him, if he couldn't actually feel his powers, if he simply nullified others' powers without actually feeling anything himself, maybe it was a bit easier for him.

Just that he had to keep in mind that there was the possibility of dangerous circumstances if the wrong mutant's ability was shut off. "I have to agree with you there," Lee said thoughtfully. "Well, it might not be dangerous, but probably is a good thing that I had so much energy when we ran into each other."

By this point, they had once again reached one of the main paths in the park, and Jacen suggested that they actually start running once more. Or, rather, that they have a little wager while they run. "And what would the winner get, if I agree to this?" Lee asked, an eyebrow raised. She was already seriously considering it, though. Just because she wasn't siphoning being near Jacen, didn't mean that she had suddenly lost all of her energy, right?