((OOC: This thread takes place about a month after the Brawl.

And, if anyone wants to join us here, PM me or Tarin, or catch us in the cbox, and we'll work something out.))


Slowly, things were getting back to normal. Well, they were different, definitely different, but her and Tarin were working out a new sense of normalcy for themselves.

And one of those new things that were quickly becoming normal were much more frequent walks in the park with their new puppy. Axel's leash was in one hand, and Lee was holding Tarin's hand with her other as they walked through the park slowly.

The not so normal part was the weekly visits back to the Labs so she could meet with Dr Rossi. That had been one of the woman's conditions f or letting Lee out of her direct care, even though she was still having quite vivid nightmares.

At least those were much fewer between, now. In fact, Lee hadn't had a single nightmare the previous two nights. Not that that really made her feel any more rested, but Tarin was certainly looking much better that day than he had been.

"I was thinking," Lee said slowly, glancing over at her husband as they walked, then over to the puppy who was pouncing everywhere he could reach with the leash up ahead of them. "Maybe we should actually go out for dinner tonight. We haven't done that in forever, and I kind of miss it."

If happiness was a warm puppy, Tarin didn’t know. Tarin didn’t know because Axel didn’t ever sit still enough to warm anyone up besides himself. Then he crashed out wherever he was…unless Lee was around. Tarin was starting to think they’d bought a dog with a Jekyll and hyde mutation. When Lee was around, that dog was in her lap, snuggling, being her baby. He only turned into a maniac when Tarin was alone with him. A lovable, freakin’ adorable maniac…but a maniac all the same.

That’s right…show your true colors… Tarin thought as Axel bounded back and forth through the park attacking this leaf and that flower. They were taking their walk through the park, a daily walk that Tarin was really starting to grow fond of. It was time that he and Lee spent together outside of the house.

Things had improved over the last few weeks. Lee wasn’t seeing things anymore, for one. That was a plus. A definite plus. She was still having the nightmares though…not as frequently, but they were still there. The therapy was helping, though, and the dreams were growing fewer and further in between.

Two nights, two nights they’d had in a row where..at least Tarin had slept through the night. Lee was talking now too, talking about the nightmares when they happened. It had been a bit of a strain at first, knowing everything that Lee had kept bottled up, but that was getting easier too.

Lee spoke and Tarin turned his head, pulled from his thoughts and smiled. Lee wanted to go out! “Yeah? I think going out to dinner would be a great idea! We haven’t done much of that lately.” This was definitely a good idea, Tarin thought as he bent down to pull a candy wrapper from Axel’s mouth.

“And maybe if things go well we can get some cheesecake after!”

Axel was all over the place as they walked along the path. Some times the little guy would forget that the leash only reached so far, and would try to bound too far. But, though he seemed annoyed by that, the dog appeared to be having a great deal of fun.

Well, he was a growing puppy who needed his exercise, and Lee figured it was much better for him to be getting it out here than in the shop or the apartment.

Tarin was agreeing that it would be a good idea to go out that night, and Lee returned his smile even as her husband was leaning over to pry a candy wrapper out of their curious little dog's mouth.

"Where do you think we should go?" Lee asked, the smile still on her face as Tarin straightened up. "I'm thinking somewhere a little different than normal, maybe. Make it a bit more of a special night out."

Then Tarin mentioned the cheese cake, and Lee perked up even more. "That sounds really good!" She exclaimed. They hadn't had cheese cake in forever, either.

But then a thought occurred to Lee, and she looked down at their still pouncing and playing dog with a small frown on her face. "Do you think he'll be alright alone that long?" Lee asked with a sideways glance at her husband. They hadn't exactly left the puppy alone for very long since getting him. And, though Lee hadn't exactly worked much since coming home from the Labs, she'd taken Axel with her whenever she'd gone over to the shop.

Lee was really getting into the idea of going out, and Tarin found himself absolutely filling with excited energy as she proposed going somewhere different, somewhere special. A special place for dinner meant Lee in special clothes, and if there was one thing that Tarin loved…it was Lee in special clothes.

Lee also liked the idea of the cheesecake and a broad grin broke across Tarin’s face. That sounded so good, so normal. These were the things that had been missing while Lee was in that dark place. The time where she would see things was weeks in the past, but the memory was still fresh. Too fresh. Anything to bring normalcy back into the equation was definitely alright with Tarin.

Finally freeing the Hershey’s wrapper from Axel’s fuzzy little mouth, Tarin rubbed the dog on the head and looked over at Lee just in time to hear her ask if he thought Axel would be alright for a night on his own.

“Oh Lee…” Tarin said, standing up and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they started to walk again, “He’s going to have to learn to be on his own a little bit. We can’t keep him with us all day, every day. Besides, he spends more time than this by himself every night.”

Tarin smiled, that was one rule that he’d put his foot down on. The dog was not sleeping in his bed. No matter how cute he was when he sat down and panted with his head tilted to one side…like he was right that moment. Tarin shook his head, “I think he’ll be just fine. Want to get an ice cream? We haven’t been to the little cart for ages.”

When she felt Tarin wrap his arm around her, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "You do have a point," she replied softly. "I guess we really can't bring him everywhere all the time."

Tarin was at least partially wrong when he said that Axel already spent at least as long as when they'd be out alone every night. Sure, they were sleeping, but they were still there. That was a difference.

Tarin seemed convinced that Axel would be fine while they went out that night, so Lee simply nodded. The dog seemed to know that it was being talked about, with how it was sitting there, staring up at them with its tongue hanging out of its mouth.

But Tarin asked about ice cream, and Lee grinned at him. "That sounds great," she said. It was a touch warm out, and they hadn't had ice cream in quite a while. In fact, they hadn't done much of anything normal in quite a while.

"What about for dinner?" Lee went on to ask. "We've gotten take-out from that Thai place, but haven't actually gone to eat there before. Or did you have another idea?"

Tarin shook his head and smiled when Lee reluctantly agreed that they couldn’t take Axel everywhere with them. Lee might be able to fool herself into thinking that she didn’t have maternal instincts, but they were coming out loud and proud with this dog. She coddled the thing like it was a baby. He wouldn’t say a word about it though. The last thing Lee needed after everything they’d been through lately was him beating the same old dead horse. Besides, listening to Lee’s retelling’s of the things they’d been through had made it obvious that they wouldn’t be at that stage of life until they actually managed to have a normal life. Especially now with the Kabal, there was no telling when that would be.

It was a gorgeous day out, and Lee seemed pretty open to everything that Tarin suggested. He grinned at her enthusiasm for the ice cream and they set off in the direction of the little cart that they’d gotten ice cream at one other time they’d been to central park. Lee had been in sweats that day, and they’d gone to the zoo. Tarin shook his head, doing his best not to get caught up in the memories, there were enough from that one day to almost last a lifetime.

As they approached the ice cream cart, Tarin listened to Lee’s suggestions for dinner and turned his head, nodding slowly. “That sounds like it would be great, really great.” It was low-key, and relatively close to home, but it was out. It would also make it an earlier night than it might have been if they went all out.

They were walking up to the cart now, and Tarin grinned as they waited in line, mulling over his choice in his head before they even got there. When it was their turn, Tarin smiled, “I’ll have a double scoop, chocolate and strawberry….” He said, then turned to Lee, “And whatever the lady is having.”

Once they’d gotten the ice cream and paid, Tarin led them to a bench to sit down and eat, Axel bounding and trotting in tow. The memories were surfacing again and he smiled, a thought occurring to him. Maybe it was time for some good flashbacks.

“I can remember you sitting on one of these benches, eating an ice cream cone just like this one and licking the melted drops right off your hand.” He closed his eyes and grinned, “I can see it when I close my eyes. It was hot…even if you were wearing pajamas.”

Tarin seemed to like the idea of going to the Thai restaurant that night. They'd had their take-out before, and it was good, just for one reason or another they had never actually gone there to eat before now. This was good. This was really good. Going out, Lee thought, would probably be good for both of them, and while it was different than what they'd ever done before, it was simple enough and casual enough to not be a huge deal.

But the ice cream sounded like a really good idea, and before long she had reached the front of the line at the cart with Tarin. And Tarin was saying for her to go first. "Hmm," Lee said, glancing at the selection; a vending cart like this likely wouldn't have all the selection of a full store, after all. "Axel, come here," she said almost absently, tugging on the leash slightly to try and draw the puppy's attention away from the base of a garbage can.

And then she saw it, the flavour she was going to have. "I'll have a scoop of chocolate mint." That was more than good enough for her; unlike Tarin, she didn't need to get two scoops of ice cream. Plus, she could always steal a bit of his strawberry.

A minute later, Tarin was leading her over to a nearby bench, and she sat down beside him as he started to speak, a smile on his face. It took Lee a couple moments, and almost Tarin's whole explanation, for her to remember what time he was talking about; the times they'd eaten sundaes were so much more memorable, after all.

By the time Tarin finished speaking, a blush was forming on Lee's cheeks, and she reached out to swat his arm. "It was not hot," she told him, though the blush was still there, her eyes lowered to look at her ice cream cone. "I was a mes that day. How often do I ever go out in pyjamas?"

Lee was getting good at the multitasking thing, Tarin noticed as she wrestled with Axel’s leash and ordered ice cream at the same time. It was charming, and she got mint chocolate ice cream. Delish. As they’d made their way to the bench, Tarin had wondered about his choice, but a few bites of the chocolate-strawberry goodness was enough to convince him that he had indeed chosen well.

As they sat and ate and remembered, Lee pointed out in no uncertain terms that she had not been hot on the day as Tarin remembered it. Tarin made point to look as though he were in deep thought for a few moments, then grinned back at Lee. “Nope…I distinctly remember you looking hot, even in sweats. To the point where I felt I needed to explain my need to drown my sorrows in a blond.” Tairn actually laughed at that memory, and reached down to scratch Axel behind the ears with his free hand as the dog tried to climb his leg. The ice cream was going quickly and Tarn was pleased with the turn their walk had taken. The memories were good ones, really really good ones, and Tarin was shocked to realize something.

“It really hasn’t been all that long…has it? I mean…it seems like forever…but not that long ago I talked you into going to the zoo to cheer you up…I guess the rest could be considered history.”

Tarin thought again, leaning against the back of the park bench and studying Lee for a few moments, before asking, “Was it really an accident at the bar?”

Lee was working away at her ice cream, trying to not let it melt and have a repeat of the last time they'd sat and ate ice cream like this, when Tarin spoke. Her blush deepened slightly when he pointed out, again, that she'd definitely been hot that day.

But then her brow furrowed as she looked over at her husband. "That's why you told me about taking someone home?" She asked. "Because you thought I looked hot wearing sweats, no make up, having been crying?" Well, Tarin did often think she looked great when Lee most certainly did not think the same of herself.

"You're right, it really hasn't been all that long, has it?" Lee asked, glancing over at Tarin. And noticing that he still had quite a bit of ice cream left. "I'm going to have a bite, K?" Lee asked, not bothering to wait for an answer before she leaned over and took a bite of the strawberry ice cream on Tarin's cone.

"Hmm," Lee continued, speaking around the cold goodness in her mouth as she straightened back up on the bench. "It's been what, two years now? No, it was fall, wasn't it? So less than two years."

Lee turned on the bench so she was facing Tarin better. "How can it have only been two years since we've met?" She asked, really actually confused by that. It felt like they'd been together so much longer already.

“Was it really an accident at the bar?”

Lee blinked and looked over at Tarin. It was a very vague question, but Lee knew exactly what Tarin was talking about. The kiss she had given Tarin at the bar the same night they'd gone to the zoo. The kiss that Lee had immediately tried to run from.

"I didn't mean to kiss you," Lee said softly, her eyes dropping to look at Axel rolling around on the ground in front of them. They were married, yet she still looked away with a blush while telling Tarin this. "But I had been thinking about it. Since the zoo..."

Tarin actually laughed when pointed out what she thought Tarin’s reasoning for telling her about the one night stand was. “That’s not exactly it...” he said, eyes far away with the memory, “I’d wanted you to be there so badly that night…then you didn’t show up, and I figured if it wasn’t you…it didn’t matter who it was.” Tarin paused and chuckled at how that had to sound, “I didn’t have any designs on you at that point…in fact, I’d sworn to myself we would just be friends, but still…” he shrugged and smiled, “I felt the need to explain myself. You were so unimpressed.”

Lee seemed surprised to realize how relatively short a time it had been since they’d met one another and after a few moments’ thought, Tarin had to agree. Most people dated or lived together for as long as Tarin and Lee had known each other before they even thought about getting married. Lee was stealing his ice cream and Tarin just watched her, laughing and shaking his head, “Next time you should just get two scoops.”

Lee voiced her surprise then, commenting how it seemed odd that they’d only known each other for two years and Tarin shrugged his shoulders, “I think it’s one of those things where it’s so right, it just feels like it’s always been. I don’t question it.”

She thought about his question, really thought about it when he asked if the kiss at the bar had really been an accident. Until that point, Lee had been so vehement that they stay completely on platonic terms. She spoke finally, and Tairn smiled, watching as Axel rolled around in the dirt, apparently fulfilling his memories of dogs past.

“Okay.” He said, “I was just curious. Sometimes alcohol does strange things to people. Just wanted to know if the idea had occurred to you independently. Not that I’d care either way…just curious.” That was almost the truth…Tarin was thrilled. It was something that he hadn’t thought about in a long time…but suddenly seemed very significant. That being thought, he turned back to his ice cream, which was starting to very slowly melt. They’d have a mess on their hands if he didn’t take care of it soon.

As Tarin started explaining further why what had happened the night she had first stood him up at the bar had happened, Lee's eyebrow raised. Yes, they were married now, but that didn't excuse what he was saying about that time. 'One was just as good as another' since she hadn't shown up?

"So you had sworn yourself to us just being friends," Lee started, trying, and failing, to understand her husband's logic about this. "Didn't have any plans for anything to happen between us, yet when I didn't show, you were that upset that you had to drown your sorrows by taking home a blond?"

Yeah, it definitely did not make sense to Lee.

At least Tarin simply laughed when she took a bite of his ice cream. And told her that the next time she should just get two scoops. Lee looked at him in confusion for a moment, then shook her head. "But I don't want two scoops," she told him. "I only wanted a little bit of the strawberry, I wouldn't eat a full two scoops of ice cream." It made perfect sense, Lee thought. Why bother wasting a scoop of ice cream when she could fulfil her desire for the strawberry with just a bite from her husband's cone.

Tarin was right, though, even from the start things had just felt natural between them. When they were first just getting to know each other, there had been a comfortable familiarity between them that far surpassed the length of time they'd known each other. And then there was the fact that after dating for barely three months, Lee had told her brother, and meant it, that they knew each other better than her parents did after years of marriage. So it really did make sense that things would still be like that for them now, that it would feel like they had been together for much longer than two years. Feel much longer, in a very good way.

As she continued to work on her ice cream, Lee heard Tarin claim that he was merely curious about that first kiss they had shared. Which had quickly been followed by a second, longer kiss when he'd pulled her back to him when she'd tried to run away. But Lee could tell by his voice that it was more than just a mild curiosity there now. Not that it was really all that important at this point, but it was more than just a curiosity now that the topic had been brought up.

"I never would have kissed you, if it wasn't for the alcohol," Lee told him. "Well, that and the crowd pushing us together like that. It wouldn't have happened if not for the beer, well, probably the jagerbombs more likely, but the thought had already popped up in my mind."

Then Lee frowned as she turned to look at her husband who was working on devouring his ice cream before it melted. "If you'd already decided we'd just be friends, why did you push so hard for more after I kissed you?"

“I never said it was the logical way to do things Lee, it’s just how it happened. I had several drinks…” Tarin stopped and shook his head, “It doesn’t matter now.”

Lee’s explanation of her logic in choice of ice cream was every bit as confusing to Tarin as his explanation of that last one night stand was to him. Tarin didn’t really mind sharing his ice cream though, and he was having trouble finishing it all on his own, so he just nodded like it made total sense.

They were still on the kiss, though, and as Lee spoke more, the slightly giddy euphoria Tarin had been feeling faded into mild confusion. So it had been the alcohol after all. “You wouldn’t have done it that night...” he said with a slight smile on your face, “But the alcohol pulled down the walls?”

Lee asked a question then, and Tarin had to take a break from attacking his ice cream cone. It was probably alright though, because he’d managed to make quite a dent since the last time he spoke. Lee’s question was a decent one too, and it warranted an answer. A delicate answer, though, and Tarin shrugged gently, finishing off the last of the strawberry. Hopefully Lee hadn’t wanted anymore.

“Just because I’d decided it, didn’t meant that was what I wanted. I thought that’s what you wanted…so I was going to do the friend thing. When you kissed me…all that kind of went out the window.”

Tarin leaned down to pet Axel again as the dog flopped against his legs, apparently satisfied that he was now a dusty brown and white instead of the colors themselves. “I still don’t think you understand what that whole span of time was like for me.” He said, looking at the puppy instead of Lee. It was strange how hard this was to talk about now, even if they were married.

“I’d been doing things the other way for so long…and the urge to do things the right way was so strong with you that my head was in a million different places at once. I was terrified to run you off, so I was constantly looking for clues and validation. When you kissed me…I had a feeling that if I let you run I’d have trouble getting you back. I didn’t want that.”

Lee nodded when Tarin questioned again the effect the alcohol had had on her that night. "Yeah," She said. "Sometimes you need something to give that extra little push."

But then Tarin was explaining, answering her question, and Lee couldn't stop the very slight blush from crossing her face as a small smile formed. "He'd been thinking of her like that even before she'd kissed him? He'd wanted more, but had been willing to settle for being just friends because he didn't want to lose her completely?

That was both very nice to hear and rather shocking, all at the same time. By the night they'd gone to the bar, they'd only known each other a couple weeks, had only seen each other a handful of times. Yet Tarin had already been worried about losing her, about how hard it'd be if he'd have let her run right after the kiss.

Exactly as she'd been trying to when she'd been pulled back and he kissed her again.

Tarin wasn't looking at her, though. Instead, he was looking at Axel, leaning down to pet him, as he spoke. Maybe they should have had this talk a long time ago, Lee thought. But maybe, that would have been too close to the incident, might have messed things up with them. Plus, with how their lives had revolved around memories so much recently, it was very nice to be able to remember good times like that day they'd gone to the zoo and then the bar.

"What was so special about me?" Lee asked, a slightly lopsided grin on her face by this point. "I mean, you hadn't felt that way about anyone else, right? So what was so different and special about me to make you feel that way all of a sudden?"

“Remind me to write a thank you letter to Jagermeister.” Tarin said with a grin when Lee pointed out that sometimes a person just needed a push in the right direction, then he laughed, “And I suppose I should write one to Matt too. He was so attentive that night. The quantity we managed to drink the time we managed to drink it in was pretty spectacular…and he was right there helping it along.”

Tarin could see Lee out of the corner of his eye with a thoughtful look on her face. Was this really something that she’d never thought about before this very moment? Tarin was actually pretty shocked to find that out. Maybe it was just because he had thought about it so much at the time that worrying had almost been second nature.

Axel seemed well petted, so Tarin had to stop using him as an excuse and finish eating his ice cream. He was down to the cone by this point and started taking slow bites as he turned to look at Lee. She wanted to know what had been so special about her? Tarin blinked, then blinked again, what had been different about Lee? There had been the physical attraction, sure, but it had been on such a different level from almost the very beginning that it was hard to even think about rationally anymore. Why had he chased her down the street that day when she’d walked past the shop?

Tarin shrugged, “I guess it had something to do with how strong you were. Right from the start, you walked right up to me and gave me a piece of your mind.” Tarin stopped and smiled, “You also wouldn’t put up with any of my crap...but yet you blushed so easily.”

Tarin shrugged, and averted his eyes, “I don’t know Lee…” he said a little bashfully, his free hand moving to rub the back of his head, “It was a million different things…and every step forward with you was really rewarding. I’d never felt like that in my life.”

Tarin was quiet for a moment after that, looking at the other people milling around in the park, then he thought of a question of his own, "Why did you come by the shop that day? I never thought you would."

Thank you letters? Lee couldn't help but laugh at that, though Matt had helped them drink quite a lot in a short time that night at the bar. That night almost two years earlier.

She was grinning, but Tarin was just blinking at her after she'd asked her question. Finally, though, he managed to tell her what he thought it had been. Right from the start, from that very first day they had met, apparently, is when it had started. When she had stepped over to him to tell him off for trying to look up her skirt.

And then he asked why she had come by his shop, why after he had done what he had during their first meeting, she had come to see him again. Even at the time, Lee didn't exactly know what was going through her mind.

"I was walking," Lee said, thinking back to that day. Tarin had thought it was incredibly cold, yet she'd been more than comfortable with just a light sweater on. "Just wandering, and realized that I was near the address that was on your card. I don't even know how I remembered it. But by the time I got there, I don't know, I guess I remembered how we had kept fighting in the park, and decided to just leave before that started again."