The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 9, 2009 21:03:21 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
OOC: This is actually a cannon fanfic set back when Tarin and Lee had very first started dating. In fact, the morning after they'd shared their first kiss. We wanted everyone here to see what they were like during that time, and we hope you enjoy!
***
Nerves. Nervous. Words that Tarin Brooks wasn’t used to when it came to women. Usually, they came to him, or he didn’t have anything to do with them at all. He had a feeling that had all changed the night before. It was that time between being asleep and being fully awake when a person keeps their eyes shut, trying to see if they’re going to be able to drift back off. Tarin had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to today, though. Nope, he decided a few moments later, this was definitely going to be a day he wanted to get up.
Cracking an eye open and blinking the sun out of his eyes, Tarin turned a still-sleepy eye towards the clock and was almost surprised to see that it wasn’t all that late. True, Tarin was used to seeing the clock at this time after far less sleep than he’d gotten the night before…but he refused to place the blame completely on Lee. Tarin laid back in the pillows with a smiled at the ceiling in the back of the dingy shop, now that was a woman…and she’d kissed him.
Tarin laid in his pillows like that and ran over the whole previous night in his head, from the moment Lee had walked into the shop, to the cold walk to the bar, Matt giving them drink after drink….and then the kiss. Everything slowed down when Tarin thought about the kiss, had time actually slowed? He might have said so if he was asked. Then back at the shop.
Lee was so scared, Tarin mused, so worried that she couldn’t have the things that he was asking for and she so obviously wanted. Hell, she practically melted in his arms every time she’d let him get close enough to touch her. Her mind though, she was so dead set against giving a relationship a try. It was something he was going to have to work on. Something that he was going to have to persist on…something he was going to have to be patient with.
Patience, something else Tarin wasn’t used to when it came to women. His live over the past several years had been nothing but a seemingly endless string of one night stand after one night stand. It had been the only way to live life, moving from place to place as he had. Sure there had been a few women he’d liked more than the others, but he’d ended up moving so quickly after meeting them that it would have been easier to simply end things before they’d started. One thing was for sure though, he wasn’t leaving New York any time soon…and Lee was going to be worth the wait. Yet another thing Tarin wasn’t good at.
Lee was anything but a barfly, and even less the type of girl that was going to hop into bed after the first date. She’d more than proven that the night before. Nobody who was that easy would have walked away from kisses like that. No, Lee definitely wasn’t easy, and she was never going to be. Tarin sighed and rubbed his eyes, did he think she was worth the wait? A vision of long, black boots came to mind and he groaned slightly, running a hand through his hair…definitely. She was definitely worth the wait.
It then occurred to Tarin that he had barely known Lee longer than he knew most of the women he ended up bringing to the shop, but he was giving her more consideration than any woman he’d known since high school. It was a slightly scary thing, and for a moment, Tarin frowned at what he was doing. This just wasn’t him…but it all felt so right, and the way warmth spread through him at the thought of being with Lee…it couldn’t be wrong.
It was still early in the day, but Lee had said she wanted to see him. They hadn’t ever set an exact time before she’d left, but Tarin did have the little slip of paper that held her phone number in the drawer of the register. After a shower, shave, and rummage through the closet, he would call her and they would set up plans for their first date. Tarin mused over that for a moment as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat there for a moment, waking up. Was it their first date?
Yes, Tarin decided, the night before had been the best fluke to ever happen to him…but it was that. A fluke. Tonight was going to be deliberate, and as Tarin got up, shivering his way to the shower a wide grin spread across his face. Lee hadn’t ever been on a normal date. That was definitely going to change if he had anything to say about it.
The walk back from Tarin's shop was a blur. To be honest, Lee couldn't tell you which way she had gone, how long it had taken, or how many people she had passed. In fact, she probably took a couple wrong turns and ended up walking much longer than she needed to because she wasn't paying much attention. The same with once she got home, sitting on the couch in front of the TV. Lee's mind was too preoccupied with what had happened at the bar, back at Tarin's shop...
Why the hell had she kissed him, anyway? Sure, it had just sort of happened, standing so close to him in the press of the crowd at the bar, Lee had barely even felt it as she had leaned closer to Tarin, didn't even know what she was doing until after she had felt her lips pressing against Tarin's.
And it had felt so good.
But even now, after agreeing with Tarin to give dating a chance, Lee knew that she should never kissed Tarin. At least if they were just friends, it wouldn't be so bad. Sure, they might end up spending a lot of time together, but that didn't mean they'd be touching. If they didn't touch, then Tarin wouldn't feel her powers as much, and so maybe he wouldn't leave.
Just being friends would be hard, Lee figured, but it wouldn't be as painful.
Finally, though, Lee felt her energy starting to wane. With a quick shower, Lee made sure that her alarms, and her coffee maker were all set, then crawled into bed.
As always, the morning came beeping into Lee's consciousness far too early for her liking. She could smell her brewed coffee, but it was just too far away at the moment, sitting over there on her nightstand. So much of the energy that Lee had had the previous night was gone, and as always, the sleep hadn't made Lee feel more rested.
So she just lay there, trying to ignore the constant beeping from her alarm. At least until her mind turning the alarm's beeping into the base of a song, and on the back of her eyelids Lee saw herself leaning in, closer to Tarin again, felt her lips pressing against Tarin's, felt a little flutter in her stomach as they kissed...
Lee groaned, forcing her eyes open. How was she supposed to make this just friends thing work if she woke up thinking about that?
Rolling over, Lee reached her hand out to turn off the alarm, then to grab her coffee. This was going to be difficult, she was sure, and based on how Tarin had acted the previous night, he probably wasn't going to make it any easier. Great.
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 10, 2009 12:05:09 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
He was clean, he’d grabbed a quick and dirty breakfast in the little kitchen in the back of the shop, and Tarin was now pacing back and forth in the front area of the shop. The blinds were still closed so that nobody would get the wrong idea about whether or not the shop was open, but Tairn was fighting an internal battle. Was it still too early to call?
The clock in the living area of the shop had said twelve noon on the dot when Tarin had checked it a few minutes before. Surely, Lee was up, but he didn’t want to seem over-eager to see her. The truth was, though, he wanted to see Lee more than he wanted to do anything on that particular day. It was the only thing he could think about…and thinking about that made Tarin want to panic slightly.
It had occurred to Tarin when he woke up that the way he was acting about this woman was slightly strange. Usually it was easy for him to let women walk in and out of his life with hardly as second thought. Lee was different. Lee had always been different. From the moment he’d offended her so grievously in the park and begged for a second chance at a first impression, Tarin had been drawn to Lee on a higher level than any woman he’d previously met. To a point where he’d been willing to be friends with the woman when she’d made it clear that anything else was out of the question.
Tarin had been okay with that…really okay, until the night before. Feeling Lee pressed against him and the way her hand had clenched in his hair when he’d kissed her in the shop had unleashed something in him. Tarin had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was, but that was simply too much to handle at this point in time. He’d only known the woman for a few days, tossing around words like the ones rolling in his head after that short a time was pretty much ludicrous. What all this meant, though, was that he had a decision to make.
As hesitant about the whole situation as Lee had been the night before, Tarin was pretty sure she’d show up today with an absolute armload of excuses for why the two of them together could never possibly work. If he chose one thing, and cut the dangerous ties that were already beginning to form, he would simply agree with whatever she said. If, however, he chose differently, he’d need to be ready for what that meant.
It wasn’t a very hard decision to make.
The phone was clenched in his hand, and Tarin walked back and forth, wondering if Lee was ready to hear from him already.
“Aw, to hell with it.” He said, then dialed the number on the scrap of paper he held in his hand. The answering machine picked up.
Hoping almost desperately that Lee was simply in the shower or something similar, and not screening her calls to ignore him, Tarin nervously waited for the beep.
“Hey Lee, it’s Tarin…I was just calling to let you know that I’m up and good to go. We’d talked about hanging out today, and I’d really like to do that. Whenever you’re in the area or ready, you can give me a call or just come on over. I’ll be around the shop all day, and we can go from there as far as what we want to do. I’ll, uh, talk to you later I guess…..”
The messaged dwindled and Tarin left his number, just in case she didn’t have it, then hung up the phone, heaving a sigh as he made his way to the back of the shop. Hopefully she’d call soon, because Tarin had a feeling he’d be spending a lot of time staring at a silent phone if she didn’t.
Posted by Deleted on Sept 10, 2009 18:50:19 GMT -6
Deleted
Lee had been sitting in bed for ten minutes, leaning against the wall, drinking her coffee directly from the pot it had brewed in as she tried to wake up and get the strength of will to get out of bed. At least Lee figured it was ten minutes since her alarm clock started beeping again.
With another groan, Lee reached over to actually turn the alarm off this time, and as soon as she did, Lee heard the phone start ringing. The phone that was out in the living room. As if she was actually going to get up and run to answer.
Five rings later, Lee heard the phone go to the answering machine, but through her bedroom door, she couldn't make out who it was calling, or what was being said.
Another fifteen minutes, and Lee couldn't put it off any longer. She'd finished her coffee, and if she didn't get up and outside where there were people soon, she wouldn't be able to. After stumbling to the bathroom, Lee made her way to the kitchen, pressing the play button on the answering machine on the way, where she grabbed a mug and poured herself another cup of coffee from the pot that was sitting on the counter there.
Lee was just taking her first sip from the mug when she heard Tarin's voice starting to speak over the tape, and she was surprised. It hadn't even been twelve hours since they'd last seen each other, and he was already calling?
Taking a breath, Lee ran her hand through her hair and scratched the back of her head. She wasn't awake enough yet. She needed to get out, and get around people, but she needed to get dressed first. Making her way back across the living room, Lee shut the machine off as she passed, having heard Tarin's entire message, Lee made her way back into her bedroom. Continuing to sip her coffee, she sifted, one handed, through her closet.
This was going to take some work, Lee knew. The pyjama pants and tank top Tarin had found her in the previous morning at the park wouldn't do, that was far too casual, and not her at all. But going with something like what she had worn the previous night to the bar wouldn't work either, that was too fancy, too...
It would definitely send the wrong message, when the message she wanted to be sending was that she and Tarin should only be friends. Finally, well after about a minute, Lee pulled out a simple black skirt, then grabbed a white tshirt; simple and casual, but when she put her boots on, it definitely held a nice touch of Lee-ness.
Another five minutes spent in the bathroom straightened her hair and got her make up on, and then Lee was all set. Boots on, mug in the sink, and Lee was out the door. She'd need to walk around a bit, spend some time around people to get some energy, before heading over to Tarin's.
****
Finally, Lee made it to Tarin's shop. All the blinds were still closed, the sign said closed, but Tarin had asked for her to come by. Stopping just outside the door, Lee took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then reached her hand out.
Yes, she was nervous, but she had to do this. Already, despite how little time they had actually spent together, Tarin was already important; it would be much better if he were to stay in her life as just a friend, Lee knew, than if they continued with what Tarin was wanting and him disappearing, running away, after not much time.
One more breath, and Lee pulled the door open, stepping into the shop. "Tarin?" Lee called, blinking a couple times as her eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting from the street to inside the shop.
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 10, 2009 19:27:10 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
Two hours. It had been two hours since he’d called Lee, and Tarin was actually starting to freak out. Well, he corrected, it hadn’t been exactly two hours. It had been a little less than that since he’d called. Still, the woman should have been there by now, or at least called him back to tell him that he was a creep and she never wanted to see him again. Tairn nearly whimpered at that thought, and went back to pacing around the back of the shop.
Absolutely nothing he’d planned to do had gotten done, and Tarin once again marveled at the strange way he was behaving as far as Lee was concerned. He took a deep breath and went into the bathroom to check his appearance again. The face looking back at him in the mirror looked as tense as Tarin felt. “Pull yourself together, man.” He said, disgustedly, checking his hair to make sure it was perfect. It was, and the strands stood out from his head in a perfect jumble of multi-hued spokes.
The clothes were still good, too, though it had taken Tarin quite some time to figure out exactly what it was he wanted to wear. For a moment, he wondered if he was turning into a woman, then went back to checking himself out in the mirror. It was a simple outfit, because they weren’t going to be going anywhere fancy on their first date. A simple t-shirt over a long-sleeved counterpart that fit just a little more snug that what Tarin would normally have worn were complimented by slightly distressed jeans and his usual black vans. Overall, Tarin thought it was acceptable, and as he waited, he wondered what Lee would be wearing. Inevitably, that thought made him think of the boots…oh god help him if she was going to be wearing those boots all the time.
He was still standing in the bathroom, assessing his appearance when the door to the shop opened and the little bell over the door rang. Tarin knew that could only mean one thing and he stepped out of the bathroom, Tarin came face to face with Lee as she called his name.
Yup, she was every bit as great as he remembered. There hadn’t been any beer goggles in action the night before. Tarin had known that already, though. Lee had been stunning from the first time he’d seen her in the park.
Some women needed to dress up and put out effort to look spectacular, but Lee was gorgeous in a simple t-shirt and skirt. Tarin’s eyes flicked quickly towards the ground and he nearly sighed in frustration…yup, she’d worn the boots.
“Hey.” He said softly, a slow smile spreading across his features as Lee moved further into the shop. He wanted to go to her and hug her, but Tarin didn’t want to startle Lee. He gestured towards her outfit, “Good, you didn’t dress too nice. I was thinking for a first date, we should try something laid back.”
He moved a couple of steps closer to Lee, not completely closing the distance, but hoping the invitation was apparent in his movements. “You look great, though. Sleep well enough? I didn’t call too early, did I?”
Tarin put his hands in his pockets, just to be sure as he came up to Lee, close enough that he could smell her hair, but still not touching. Meeting her eyes, Tarin was astonished to find himself blushing slightly, “I was starting to worry you weren’t going to come.”
Posted by Deleted on Sept 10, 2009 20:50:15 GMT -6
Deleted
Pretty much as soon as she had entered the shop and said hi, Tarin was stepping out of the back, a smile spreading across his face as he saw her. Lee couldn't help it, his smile caused a smile to start forming on her lips as well.
At least that was until she heard him continue to speak. "Date?" Lee asked, a slightly worried expression replacing the partial smile that had been on her face. "I thought we were just going to hang out."
Yeah, this really wasn't working how she would have hoped, Lee realized as she watched Tarin stepping closer to her. Slowly, but nevertheless closer. How was she supposed to talk Tarin in to just being friends, so they didn't lose that, when he was talking about going for a date?
Lee had already dropped her eyes slightly before Tarin commented on her appearance that day, but even though she wasn't looking at him as he said it, a slight blush still crossed her cheeks. Despite how little effort she had put in to how she looked that day, Tarin still thought she looked great. Great...
"No, you didn't call too early," Lee said with a slight shake of her head, glancing up at Tarin again. "I just needed to get some energy before coming over here. And I slept well enough, I suppose, though mornings are never all that great for me."
As she finished speaking, her eyes finally back up fully looking at Tarin again, Lee saw him close most of the small amount of distance between them. She very easily could have reached out to touch him, he was suddenly so close. He could have done the same if his hands hadn't been in his pockets.
Lee took an automatic half step back; this was just uncomfortably close for her, even if it was Tarin. Or maybe more so because it was Tarin who was standing so close to her.
This had to be the time to do it, Lee decided as she looked into Tarin's eyes. She had to nip it in the bud right now, before anything else happened. She had to try and convince Tarin that simply being friends was by far the best option.
"Of course I was going to come over," Lee said. "I don't want to lose our friendship, it's far too important to me already."
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 10, 2009 21:30:42 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
Yup, she’d had second thoughts. Tairn had been expecting it, but he still hadn’t quite been prepared for the way it would feel when she did. It hurt, but Tarin knew it was nothing against him. In fact, it was a weird kind of compliment if he let himself think about it long enough. Tarin wasn’t going to do that, though…he was fixated on the fact that she was actually trying to deny what had happened the night before. So he fixed her with a look, a gentle but stern one.
“You know very well that we decided we were going on a date…somewhere between the time we got back here and when we made out before you left. Remember?” he said, enacting stage one of his plan. Lee was not going to be able to convince herself that there were simply friendly feelings between the two of them. At least not as long as Tarin had anything to say about it. He may have determined that Lee was worth all sorts of things that were detrimental to his previous life of debauchery, but he knew what it felt like when a woman wanted him.
She was really going to go all out on this denial thing, and Tari reminded himself that he was going to stay patient with this whole process no matter how long it took. The only thing getting angry would do, was upset Lee, and that was really the last thing on earth Tarin wanted. He wanted to make her see how good things could be…not how these problems would tear them apart.
He hadn’t called to early, that fact made Tarin smile slightly again as his slight guilt from earlier was absolved. Lee pointed out that mornings were bad for her, though, and Tarin filed that away in his memory. It made sense, with her dependency on energy from others….being asleep and away from people for all those hours would make things difficult.
Things really weren’t going too poorly, and Tarin even noted with a slight smile that Lee was blushing at his compliments on her appearance. That was slightly surprising, and flattering. It meant one of two things, and since one of them was that Lee wasn’t used to getting compliments, and that was simply ridiculous…he had to believe that it was because it meant a little more coming from him. At least until Lee spoke again.
He’d come too close, Tarin noted with a slight frown as Lee moved a step back from him. He didn’t follow her, just stayed where he was with his hands in his pockets and listened to Lee tell him how important their friendship was to her. It made Tarin want to grind his teeth, but he didn’t, instead he just smiled and shook his head, pulling his eyes from Lees and looking at the ground for a moment before taking that same half step that Lee had taken. They were close again and Tarin wasn’t going to back down. Patience was one thing…pushing Lee when it was good for her was another entirely.
Out he reached, slowly and gently grabbing one of the curls that was laying against Lee’s shoulder and rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger. “Your hair is so soft…and I can smell it from here…” he said softly, eyes still on Lee’s as they stood in the shop. Tarin was quiet for a moment, seeing what Lee would do, then spoke again.
“What changed? We were talking about more than friendship last night Lee, and I thought we decided to give it a try. If I didn’t think you liked me, it’d be one thing…but I won’t let you lie to yourself.” He released the curl and pulled his hand back, shoving it back into his pocket, “Why can’t you give yourself a chance at something good? Because Lee…I think this could be really good.”
Posted by Deleted on Sept 10, 2009 22:05:33 GMT -6
Deleted
Lee's face took on a blank look when Tarin stated when they had apparently decided that they were going on a date; more so because he said that they had made out before she had gone home. "We did not make out," she said, though her voice was much lower, much quieter than it had been since she'd entered the shop. They had kissed, Lee knew that, but they hadn't made out like Tarin was suggesting they had.
But after she had stepped back, Tarin didn't move. He didn't say anything when she told him how important their friendship was to her. But after a shake of his head, Tarin finally stepped forward, closing the distance she had opened up between them, and then reached his hand out to touch her hair.
Lee bit her bottom lip slightly as her eyes dropped. She didn't lower her head, but her eyes dropped so she wasn't actually looking in Tarin's eyes any more.
What had changed? "Nothing," Lee whispered. "My powers are still there, are still the same. I'd rather have you around as a friend for a long time than lose you because we get closer."
Dropping her chin now, Lee shook her head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have come today, I should have given it a couple more days, see if that helped."
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 10, 2009 22:19:53 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
“Hmmm…details.” Tarin mused as Lee pointed out that they hadn’t made out. Tarin suppose she could be right, they had only shared one kiss at that point. Sure it had been far more intense and far longer than any they’d shared…but making out usually constituted more than one kiss. He’d give her that point, but wouldn’t say it out loud. Nope, Lee would simply have to be content with the fact that he wasn’t forcing the issue. “It doesn’t matter though…we definitely said date.”
Lee didn’t move away when he touched her hair, but Tarin noticed keenly when she pulled her eyes from his to look away. That wasn’t okay. Leaning this way and that until he found and locked Lee’s gaze, again, Tarin listened closely to every word that came out of her mouth. It was sad, so sad that she felt that way. Even sadder that she’d never found someone who was willing to stick it out. Selfishly, Tarin was a little glad…if someone else had seen what an amazing woman was standing in front of him…he wouldn’t have ever stood a chance. As far as women out of his league were concerned, Lee was about as far as it got.
She spoke, answering his question and Tarin’s face softened completely from the slightly sardonic look it had taken on. Had that many people really let Lee down? Did she really think giving up the chance at something more would make things better? He smiled at her softly, and moved his hand again, this time tipping her chin up like he’d done the night before.
“Of course your powers are still there, silly. Mine are too. They didn’t simply vanish overnight.” He paused for a moment and let the words sink in. “You know what else is still there?” he added, leaning closer, “The tingling feeling I got all the way from my head to my toes when you kissed me to get your boots back.” She’d said it would be better to have him around for a long time as friend than to lose him after a short time as something more. “I’m kind of like a bad cold Lee…you’re not going to get rid of me for a long time…unless you really want to. So stop worrying so much.”
Lee’s last words on the subject had been to say that it would have been better if she’d have waited a few days before seeing him. Tarin had to laugh a little bit, not at Lee, but at what that statement would have meant. “Remember yesterday when I said I was glad you’d given me your number because I’d have had to look up every Smith in the phone book?” He said, moving his hand away from Lee’s chin, “I was about 20 minutes from starting at the first one and knocking on doors. I’d have just been upset.”
He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in again, then Tarin grinned brightly, “So…do we want to go to a movie on our first date, or try to catch a baseball game? Either way, I think we should grab something to eat at some point. I’m kind of starving.”
Damn it, why did she let him talk her into as much as he had last night? Why had she agreed to Tarin's idea of a date? If she had just run when she thought she should have, right after the kiss, things wouldn't have been so bad, she could have pretended that it was just the alcohol and nothing more, and they could have much more easily gone back to being friends.
Damn it.
But then Lee felt Tarin's hand on her chin, and she was so startled that she actually let him lift her face up to look at him again. And as he was talking, Tarin leaned even closer to her, speaking softly, but Lee could tell with meaning. A small, worried line started creasing her forehead. Worried, because Lee was pretty sure she had a good idea what kind of tingling Tarin was talking about, pretty sure that it was similar to what she was feeling now, though stronger last night, with him touching her chin like this. And his lips were so close, she could remember what it had felt like to kiss him...
Pull yourself together, girl! Lee mentally scolded herself. She couldn't be thinking like that if she wanted her and Tarin to simply be friends, now could she?
But finally, Tarin pulled his hand away from her chin, putting it back in his pocket. That was good, that was very good. That would make things a lot easier for her, right? Though apparently Tarin had been about twenty minutes away from starting to search through the phone book trying to find where she lived.
This time a small frown actually appeared on Lee's face. "Didn't I tell you yesterday that my number isn't in my name?" She asked softly. She thought she had, when Tarin said he'd been worried about not hearing from her.
Only to be greeted by a grin as Tarin asked what she wanted to do for their first date. Lee's eyes dropped, and she shook her head slightly before looking back at Tarin. "You're really not going to let me say no about this, are you?" She asked.
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 11, 2009 18:25:20 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
Lee was really thinking about it, Tarin could tell when the little worry line formed between her eyes. Why there was so much to think about, he couldn’t have told someone if they paid him. There it was, though. Lee was going to fight this every step of the way. Tarin couldn’t help but think that it was a good thing he’d resigned himself to this fight before Lee had ever shown up. He could see it on her face when he was close. Even then, while she was telling him that they should just be friends, she was thinking about what had happened the night before. Tarin knew he’d won, it was only a matter of time before Lee realized it too.
They were still close, still so very, very close, and just because he had let go of her hair, didn’t mean that Tarin couldn’t still smell it. Or practically feel Lee, he was standing so close. He wanted to reach out still, hold her, kiss her. Lee was actually frowning now, though, and Tairn tilted his head to the side as she spoke about the fact that she wasn’t listed in the phone book.
“You did say that, didn’t you?” he said, then shrugged, “I guess it’s a good thing you came.”
Lee shook her head when he persisted about the date and pulled her eyes away. Tarin didn’t follow this time, but he reached out and gently grabbed her chin for the second time and made her look his direction, leaning closer and closer until there was just the tiniest amount of space between their lips, he stayed like that for a moment, hand sliding from her chin and into her hair at the base of her head before leaning back slightly so he could see her better. His face was serious, much more serious than it had been a moment ago when he was asking what they wanted to do on their date. This was the key moment, after all.
“Do you really want me to?” the question hung heavy in the air…and they were still so close.
Posted by Deleted on Sept 11, 2009 19:27:15 GMT -6
Deleted
Even as she was starting to turn her eyes back to Tarin, Lee felt a hand on her chin, pulling her face up. Had he been that close when she'd looked away? Lee wasn't sure, but Tarin definitely seemed very close right then.
And then his hand was moving, away from her chin but not away from her. Before she knew it, his hand was closed in the hair at the base of her scull, and he was so much closer than he had been even a moment before.
Looking up, the mere inch and a bit, into Tarin's eyes, set in a face that was oh so close to her own, Lee bit her lip.
Then he asked if she really wanted him to let her say no to the date. Lee sucked a bit more of her lip in between her teeth as she stood there, looking at Tarin. Of course she wanted Tarin to let her say no. If he didn't let her say no, how would they be able to go back to being just friends?
Before she was able to answer Tarin's question, Lee suddenly found herself leaning forward the slight distance that was separating them, and felt her lips pressing against his.
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 11, 2009 20:25:17 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
Tarin had to give Lee credit, she was putting up a more than decent fight against herself. If she’d wanted to move away, she’d be across the room and out the door by this point. If she hadn’t wanted him to touch her, she’d have left after the first time…not stayed where she was, letting him continue to do something she professed to be incredibly uncomfortable with under normal circumstances. Obviously these weren’t normal circumstances.
Tarin was so close to Lee by this point, that he could feel the air coming out of her nose and mouth as she breathed, and see the darker flecks of grey. He could also see the way she was biting her lip, pulling it just a little further into her mouth as she thought about exactly what it was he was asking her. That little act almost made Tarin close the distance, a motion that would have completely ruined his carefully laid plans. Everything hinged on Lee making a definite, personal, sober decision.
Then, she did it. Lee closed the distance between the two of them and those soft lips were pressed against his again. Tarin’s entire body stiffened for a moment at the contact, and then he completely melted, a slightly strangled sound escaping from somewhere in the back of his throat as his hand tightened slightly on the back of Lee’s head and he leaned into the kiss, his other arm wrapping around her waist to pull her more tightly against him. Tarin wouldn’t push it any further than this, Lee had made it abundantly clear that she simply wasn’t that kind of girl.
Now that they were there, Tarin wasn’t going to pull back, though. Phsyical patience was one thing, but if Lee was able to tell him that dating was a bad idea after this kiss…they really did need to give up the idea.
Sometime later, it could have been minutes or hours, Tarin pulled back. He was breathing a little heavy and something had told him that if he didn't stop he wouldn't be able to stick to his resolution to behave himself. Stepping back a little, and looking Lee in the eyes again, he took a deep breath.
"You still want to carry on the friend nonsense, or should we talk about where we're going to dinner?"
Posted by Deleted on Sept 11, 2009 21:23:17 GMT -6
Deleted
What the hell was she doing?!?
But even as she was thinking this, Lee felt her arms wrapping up around Tarin's neck, one hand closing in his hair to hold him closer to her. Lee could feel Tarin's hand wrapping around her waist, could feel his body pressing up against her. Kissing Tarin with just as much passion and feeling as he was putting in.
Finally, Tarin started pulling back from the kiss. For a moment, Lee tried holding him there, trying to keep him close enough to keep kissing. But then her brain started working again, and Lee realized what had happened, what she shouldn't have let happen.
Lee leaned back, letting her hands drop and putting a couple more inches between her and Tarin. She really should have waited a couple of days before coming over here, and she shouldn't have let Tarin come that close to her. The memory of the kiss at the bar was still more than fresh enough that Lee should have known not to let Tarin get that close.
Moving her foot back slightly, Lee opened up another couple inches between them as she continued to look at Tarin. What was she supposed to do now? She hadn't even been able to last ten minutes here with him without kissing him, and she'd been trying to talk him into simply being friends. How was that supposed to work in the future? She didn't want to lose him, but really, how could she stop that from happening? If they dated, eventually Tarin would leave because he wouldn't be able to deal with her powers any more. But if she couldn't even last ten minutes without losing control and kissing him, how could they simply stay friends?
She was going to lose him one way or another.
"You still want to carry on the friend nonsense, or should we talk about where we're going to dinner?"
Lee closed her eyes and dropped her head slightly. She was going to end up losing Tarin, but now, after kissing him again, it seemed like trying to just stay friends was suddenly the worse idea, would end up losing him sooner.
"How about Chinese?" Lee asked with a shrug, then opened her eyes to look at Tarin again. "I'm rather hungry too, and the buffet might be a good idea."
Posted by Tarin Brooks on Sept 12, 2009 0:58:55 GMT -6
Mutant God
DodgerBlue
Straight
3,008
9
Sept 20, 2024 16:31:07 GMT -6
Jules
It was so tempting to let Lee pull him back into the kiss, but Tarin knew that he was only human and that if he was going to be able to keep his promise to act like a gentleman…they needed to stop. Instinct was quickly taking over and from what Lee had told him, things were heading to what would end up a bad place. Even as Lee put slightly more distance between them, Tarin took a couple more deep and slow breaths, slowing down his racing heart and trying to put things back into prospective. That plan had worked a little too well. A hand ran though hair that had been perfect before Lee’s hand had been in it. Tarin didn’t mind, it had been perfect for her in the first place, and as such it was hers to mess up as she pleased.
As he pulled himself together, Tarin could almost see the wheels turning in Lee’s head as she thought about what had just happened. The girl looked almost crestfallen…if that wasn’t the most ridiculous thing…but at least she wasn’t arguing with him anymore. After a few more moments, she even suggested somewhere to eat and Tarin didn’t even try to hid the wide smile that spread across his face. Even if Lee didn’t look completely sure still, she was starting to acclimate herself to the idea of them being together again…and that’s exactly what Tarin wanted.
“That’s more like it…and if we have to have this discussion every single time you come over…I’m more than willing, though next time I think that we should skip right to the kissing part. Once that starts…there’s really no need for words.”
Lee had suggested the Chinese buffet that he’d taken her to the first time he’d convinced her to come into the shop. The day he’d revealed so much about himself to her as she sat in a chair and drank a coke. The old busybody women who worked there were going to absolutely giddy, Tarin couldn’t think of a time when he’d taken a woman there twice.
Out the door to the shop they went, Tarin making sure everything was locked before turning and walking in the direction of the little hole in the wall restaurant. It didn’t take long to get there, and the silence as they walked wasn’t strained, even if it wasn’t comfortable and Tarin took to concentrating on not freezing to death in the New York Autumn chill, he was definitely glad he’d worn the long sleeves.
Into the little restaurant the pair went, Tarin holding the door for Lee, then following her in to a chorus of, ”Ohhhhhh’s” from the pair of old women who were standing sentry at the cash register.
”Ohhhh, you bring her back twice!” one of them cackled, elbowing her partner in crime, who spoke up,
”Yes yes, very special lady. This one never brought a lady in here twice.”
Tarin’s face was priceless as the two old crones dissolved into what had probably been giggles fifty years ago and he cast Lee an apologetic look before paying for their meals and guiding Lee into the dining area. She had been right, the buffet looked awesome. Holding out one of the plates they’d been handed, Tarin gestured at the food bar, “Ladies first.” Tarin Brooks might have been slightly infatuated with the woman in front of him…but he was still a gentleman.