Tarin was pissed, pissed, pissed Where did this kid come off waltzing into his shop and acting this way? LIttle shop of horrors? What the hell was he talking about, Tarin only acted this way when he was attacked in the privacy of his own shop and that had been a rare occurance.

Old man....old man...OLD MAN. Tarin didn't even waste his time acknowleging what the kid had said about Lee leaving him. He knew that she'd never leave him, and that if she did she'd do way better than the putz standing in front of them in the shop.

Lee honestly couldn't blame him later from what happened, not now, not after what the little punk had said. Tarin rubbed his knuckles as the "kid" stumbled backwards and into the table, shaking his head to clear the stars. That's what you got when you went too far.

Lee called out and Tarin turned to look at her for a moment, "Just stay out of it this time Lee..." he growled and turned his attention back to David....who had disappeared...who had completely. freakin. disappeared. Oh that was just rich. Lee freaks out on him for exposing them to people, then brings a hostile mutant right into the shop. As the thought coursed through his head, Tarin didn't see the invisible fist flying through the air and connecting squarely with his own jaw.

Tarin stumbled back on his own, the wall stopping his backwards momentum, he could feel the blood trickling down his chin and he wiped it with the back of his arm, "You call me a coward and you have to hide to throw a punch?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

David blinked back into existance right in front of Tarin and before he could move, the younger man had him by the shirt. Tarin was too shocked at first to react and just listened to the venom the little bastard was spouting.

"Cheap?" Tarin said, incredulously as David released him and took a couple of steps back, "You're talking about things you don't know anything about again." he said, stepping forward so he was nose to nose with the kid again. Who the hell did he think he was coming in and passing judgement like that. Tarin had spent more time than anyone knew trying to use his powers for good...and this kid thought he could come in and say otherwise.

Then...then David made the biggest mistake quite possibly of his life. It was one thing to come into the shop and posture and strut like a young rooster to try and impress Lee. Tarin could understand that to a point considering hte fact that she was outrageously gorgeous. Who wouldn't want her? But to insult her, right in front of him?

Tarin closed the small distance between himself and David with almost inhuman speed, fists flying as fast as he could power them. Tarin didn't even know if the punches were landing at this point, but he didn't care either. If he wouldn't leave, Tarin was going to throw him out, preferably a bleeding pulp, into the street.

Lee blinked when she heard David call Tarin an 'old man'. How in the world could he possibly call Tarin old? Lee hadn't known that Tarin was as old as he actually was until he had told her his age. And David had to be about her age. How in the world could David call Tarin old?!?

At her words, Lee saw Tarin turn toward her, telling her to stay out of things. Probably a good idea, Lee realized. Not only would it keep Tarin from getting upset at her, too, but it would keep David from realizing she was a mutant.

The problem was, after Tarin threw that punch, things spiralled out of control much, much faster than Lee could have expected, and her decision to stay out of things was forgotten. But the most shocking thing was how David disappeared before her eyes after she had told Tarin to stop. Lee blinked, her eyes darting around the shop. He was a mutant, too? That partially explained how David hadn't been that shocked by what happened, but really, spirits had been touching him!

Moments later, Lee saw Tarin stumble back and heard David's angry voice. Only to have him reappear, grabbing Tarin by the shirt and pulling him closer. Why could the men she knew never get along with each other, Lee couldn't help but wonder even as Tarin angrily retorted.

But then David let go of Tarin, backing up a couple of steps, and looked over at her. And his next words made her eyes widen even wider. Not only had he called Tarin a coward again, but had also said he'd never be anything great.

Lee was moving at the same time as Tarin had launched himself at David. Though Tarin was much closer, Lee had been angry and scared a fair bit that day, and as such had more energy than she would have on a normal day. As such, she reached David at about the same time as Tarin did, though Tarin's fists were flying.

She didn't bother worrying about his right arm, but his left, which was closer to her, she grabbed his wrist, keeping it from connecting with her, as she faced David.

Raising her free hand, Lee grabbed David's collar, pushing him toward the wall, an almost murderous look in her eye. "Don't talk about Tarin that way," Lee hissed, glaring at him as she pushed him even harder against the wall. "You know nothing about us. Don't pretend you do."

Before David knew it, Tarin had emerged in to a fist flying maniac, throwing his body onto David's punching and flaring his arms all over the place. David tries to defend himself by blocking but it doesn't do much good, his last resort only to create a small enough shield around his body to deflect some of the blows. That being done, only about half of what Tarin had thrown at David actually landed, but landed pretty hard.

Just as David might have had his only chance to retaliate he saw Lee approaching the scuffle, she grabbed ahold of Tarin's arm and faced David. For a split second, David then realized that this chick had some balls. The fact that any woman Lee's size who was willing to throw them selves into the middle of a fight was a women who can handle them selves. It was this moment David was almost convinced she was a mutant. Then something happened that would convince David beyond anything.

Lee raised her hand up at David and grabbed his shirt by the collar. He was shocked, expecting her to maybe help him to his feet, or at the most say something insulting. Instead, she chose the freakishly strong rout, pushing him toward the wall with the most evil look in her eyes. "Don't talk about Tarin that way" She demanded, like a mother protecting her child. But she wasn't done there, She threw David against the wall even harder, harder then the average female her size. "You know nothing about us. Don't pretend you do." She continued with her defensive banter.

David was still in disbelief on what was going on in this small medium shop, he wondered if it happened often, and he wondered what went so awry. If he hadn't created a protection around his body, David could have cracked his head against the wall when Lee pushed him.
After seeing the look in they eyes of Lee, his heart sunk deep into his chest. He thought her beauty was now ever weighed by her misguided soul, and if one person could communicate with lost souls, it was Tarin. It was clear they were both happy in their sheltered world, and that this meeting of the three of them would surely not be the last.

David struggled hard to loosen Lee's grip on his shirt, but he couldn't. "Uh, you can let go of me now.." He said in a mild tone. "please?" He focused a little on his protective shield, hoping to to be throw through the wall this time.

If Tarin was angry before, he was livid now, absolutely livid. The constant taunting, arrogance, and irritation from this guy was simply too much. Tarn had to hand it to the guy though, it was rare that someone made him so angry that he actually lost control of his emotions like he was at the current moment. For some reason though, David didn’t seem to be turning into the bloody pulp he should be. This was frustrating. Before he could do a better job, however, he was suddenly removed from his advantageous position over David. Tarin swung a couple more times for good measure then realized the reason for the end of his fun. Lee was holding him back, gently, but she’d still stepped in and stopped him.

She wasn’t thinking about him now, she’d taken it upon herself to move David to an even more helpless position against the wall of the shop and she was informing the punk not to talk about him that way.

Tarin just stood stunned, a few feet back from where Lee stood, fists flexing until he could feel his fingernails cutting into his palms. Why did she always feel like she had to step in and protect him? Tarin had to admit that Lee in all her glory was a sigh to behold, she was damn impressive, but for the umpteenth time since they’d been together she’d taken the protective initiative and left him in the background. He stepped back and slumped into a chair angrily, glaring at the scene playing out in front of him. If he hadn’t looked intimidated before, David looked as though he’d met his match in Lee. If he hadn’t been so angry he could hardly think, Tarin would have laughed, instead he rubbed his sore knuckles.

Lee obviously was too angry to remember that there were three mutants in the shop and before Tarin could calm himself down enough to remind her, David blinked out of sight. He was still angry, furious, but it had calmed to a slight simmer for the moment in lieu of the current situation, he didn’t fancy another invisible sucker punch to the face

“Do you still have him Lee?” Tarin asked, refusing to look at her as he spoke.

Even without looking behind her, Lee knew Tarin was pissed. Of course he was. She knew him well enough at this point that she didn't need to actually see him to know when he was upset; what she had just done could have done nothing but upset Tarin. It didn't matter, though. David had pushed both of them with what he had said, and she needed to react. She'd deal with Tarin's anger toward her later, when David was gone.

At that moment, though, Lee still had her hand clenched on David's jacket, holding him against the wall as she glared at him. But he didn't say anything about what she had hissed, about what she had said to him. He simply stood there, possibly in shock, for a few moments, before his hand reached up to try and pry hers off of him.

And then he said that she could let go of him. Yeah, like that was going to happen. Yeah, cause she was going to do that. Not when he had the ability to go invisible and deck her fiancee. At least when Tarin had done it, David had been able to see him, and thus had the ability to defend himself.

But then again, if she didn't let go of him, he wouldn't really be able to leave the shop, Lee realized. At that point in time, she didn't like that thought either.

"You've made your call, time to leave then," Lee told David, not really paying attention at that moment to Tarin's question of her. As she finished speaking, Lee did what David had asked her, though likely not how he had been thinking of it; she pushed him toward the doorway leading to the front of the shop. And if he lost his footing, oh well, it wasn't her fault if he didn't have good balance.

"And don't even dare do that disappearing thing again," Lee threatened as she watched him move away from her thanks to her shoving. "Cause you really won't like me when I find you, and believe me, I will find you."

"You've made your call, time to leave then" If Lee were in a movie trying to act tough, that would have been her Hollywood one liner. She then muscled Dave around forcefully pushing him toward the door. David had excellent balance but even then, he almost fell flat on his face. The strength and control that was coming from Lee was definitely super human. "And don't even dare do that disappearing thing again, Cause you really won't like me when I find you, and believe me, I will find you." Lee shouted more heroic threats. David cant really say that he was intimidated, he has dealt with mutant behavior before, and with the threat of the camps upon everyone, it was clear that the situation would have been different, had things been normal.

David gathered the balance he lost and shot one more glance back at Tarin before making it to the front of the shop. He seemed to have been enjoying what he was seeing. David kept walking, but at the same time he turned around to face Lee, "I'm sorry for the trouble, truly, but i guess not all mutants see eye to eye." He takes a step backward toward the door still making eye contact with Lee, "It was nice meeting you Lee, Its too bad your fiance got out of control, we could have been friends." David took another step backward now reaching for the door knob. "Don't think you know me Lee, not because of something as stupid as this." That was David's Hollywood one liner, only it didn't go as planned, he tried to open the door, then he realized it was locked. His thoughts took him back to the moment Tarin shouted orders at Lee to lock up the shop, while we went in the back room. This was kinda embarrassing, but i guess everything happens for a reason. David took his hand off the knob, "its locked.." stepping aside waiting for Lee to unlock it.

Lee still had everything well in hand, Tarin thought peevishly as she helped their 'guest' from the back room of the shop. But then again, Lee always had everytyhing well in hand, didn't she?

Who had asked her to step in anyway? She apparently had a problem with the way the guy was acting and the things the guy was saying. She apparently didn't care what Tarin had to say either though, he thought with narrowed eyes as she ignored the question he asked her. Fine. He just wouldn't talk anymore then, it didn't matter after all.

She was worried about the fact that he'd shown off his powers a little, but here she was lugging the bastard around like the she-hulk and didn't expect that to raise any eyebrows.

As he reulctantly followed the scene into the front of the shop, Tarin glared from the doorway as Lee continued to threaten David within an inch of his life. IF he hadn't been so angry he could hardly see straight, Tarin might have found it hot the way she asserted herself without a scrap of intimidation. It also might have pleased him to watch the other man stumble and nearly fall. It didn't though.

Tarin was just too angry, angry at the intruder, angry at Lee, angry at the world for the moment if he were honest with himself. It was starting to get rediculus, all of this. Why shouldn't he be able to use his powers in a way he saw fit? Why did Lee think she needed to protect him, stop him from fighting, step in when he was asserting himself?

He only half heard David's comments to Lee and at that precise moment he didn't care. He knew Lee wasn't going to respond favorably but he was too angry to pay any attention. More than anything he wanted to yell, and he planned on yelling, just not while this punk of a mutant was still in his shop. Let Lee unlock the door, she did everything else so well.

Lee couldn't help but feel slightly good, pleased, even a bit fulfilled, when she saw David stumble when she shoved him away from her. About the only thing better she could have hoped for at that point would have been if David had actually fallen to the floor.

That wasn't to be, though, and David made his way into the front of the shop. Luckily, he didn't go invisible again; even though she had made the threat, Lee wasn't completely sure she'd be able to find the man using just her siphoning power.

But then as he was walking to the front door, Lee saw David turn toward her and start speaking. She blinked. He was saying that Tarin had lost control, and that was why there was no chance they could be friends? Lee knew Tarin didn't lose his temper often, she lost her temper far more regularly, even when she wasn't stressed out from paranoia. So for Tarin to have lost control, even if she hadn't heard and seen it, Lee knew there had to have been a reason, knew there had to have been something to provoke him.

"Cause it was all him," Lee replied with a roll of her eyes. Though she hadn't until after she knew David was a mutant, it had been David's words that had made her act. She didn't understand how he could be claiming not to be responsible as he was.

Next thing she knew, David was pushing against the locked door trying to get out, and couldn't. Couldn't the man simply leave them alone? Was he really incapable of doing something so simple?

Heaving a frustrated and angry sigh, Lee marched over to the door and flicked the lock. And was about to turn away when she thought that maybe David would have problems figuring out how to open the door next, so she reached out a second time, pushing the door open and holding it, glaring at David as she stood there. "Goodbye."

David stepped aside as Lee made her way toward the door. She didn't look to pleased at David, but he didn't care. Lee then unlocked the door and David couldn't help but look her up and down one more time, her beauty was still radiating just as much the moment he saw her in Central Park, earlier that day. David could feel Tarin watching every move, and that encouraged him to make one last attempt at pushing someone's buttons.

After Lee had unlocked the door, she then proceeded to push it open, and hold it for David's triumphant exit. "Goodbye" she said as she stood there waiting for David to leave. Instantly David looked over at Tarin, he pulled his hand up and waved. "Thanks for punching me in the face, and for letting me use your phone." David took a small step toward the door, and looked back at Lee one last time. "Call me" He took his final step out of the door and turned toward the busy crowd, his body vanishing in the see of people walking around on this busy day.

But David wasn't actually gone, just not visible. He stood their on the opposite side of the glass looking in with an evil look in his eyes. He began thinking nasty thoughts, boarding insanity as he watched the engaged couple's 'post game' reaction.

The kid just didn't know when to stop. He had to get a couple more leering looks at Lee in and a parting verbal shot at Tarin before he finally moved his sorry ass out the door.

Part of Tarin wanted to be up at the front of the store, kicking the kid in the back of the shorts as he made his way out into the crowd and disappeared. He settled instead for sign language of the universal sort. Tarin didn't know if David would get it considering the trouble he'd had with the simple deadbolt on the shop's front door, but it served its purpose. Tarin didn't have the gumption for more at the moment, his jaw hurt like hell and all his emotions were eclipsed by the barely concealed rage simmering under the cover of calm he'd somehow erected at the end of the encounter.

Tarin knew that it wasn't all Lee's fault, but enough of it was from his perspective that he knew he wasn't going to be able to just file this away under arguments that were best left alone. The door to the shop shut and locked and when Lee turned Tarin stayed where he was across the shop, arms crossed over his chest.

He didn't want to look at her, didn't trust himself to see her and not lose control of his anger and yell. Tarin really didn't want to yell, but he had a feeling he was going to yell.

He tried for a few more moments to get a hold on his temper, but it just wasn't happening and he turned and slammed his fist into the wall.

"So much for discreet, huh?" he said, not even feeling the pain in his already sore knuckles or realizing his voice had risen far above a conversational tone. "And you get on my case for bringing strangers in here and exposing us, I guess ogling and confrontational perverts are a better idea. I forgot though...you were here to keep things well in hand...you had it all under control." Tarin's voice softened as he spoke, bitterness replacing the volume.

"You're always the one who has everything under control. I can't even take care of myself when someone stands in my place of business and insults me to my face while undressing my fiance with his eyes." He was yelling again...he couldn't help it, he'd never yelled at Lee like this before, never been angry like this before, but there was no helping it. He was pissed and since she'd removed his physical outlet in the form of David, Lee would have to sustain the verbal brunt.

Even with her holding the door open for him, David took forever to leave. Instead, he gave her one last, long look over, then waved at Tarin, and then told her to call him. Yeah, cause after what had happened here, after what David had said and provoked, Lee would really be wanting to call him even if she had his number.

But finally he was gone, and as soon as he was out of the way, Lee pulled the door closed and flicked the lock again. As she turned away from the door a moment later, Lee saw that Tarin was standing at the opposite side of the shop, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked everywhere other than at her.

Lee had seen Tarin upset before, she had seen him absolutely angry and frustrated with her. They had argued, they had fought, but none of that remotely prepared Lee for what happened next.

Tarin had only ever yelled at her twice in the past, both times when they had been fighting about her ex, Ryan. Even when she had yelled and screamed at him, Tarin didn't raise his voice to the level of actually yelling at her. But that was nothing compared to what happened after Tarin turned and hit his fist against the wall.

Lee shrank back against the door slightly as she looked at Tarin yelling at her. She wasn't scared, per se, but she was definitely uneasy, off balance, unnerved. She had had no qualms jumping into the middle of a physical fight between two men who were larger than her, no problems continuing that physical fight herself. But with Tarin actually yelling at her...

Lee had been angry at Tarin at first for exposing him like he had to David, but that anger had been redirected at David, and now with him gone and Tarin yelling, it was gone. She stood there meekly, unsure what she was supposed to say. Tarin continued, though, almost seeming to get angrier as he went. Lee knew she had to say something, but she wasn't sure there was anything that she could say to make things better. Though, she realized, with Tarin actually yelling, it was going to be a long road toward better at that point.

"I didn't realize he was till you got jealous," Lee said, her whispered voice a stark contrast to Tarin's yelling. "You know I don't notice that sort of thing, that I don't want it to happen." In fact, Lee would be perfectly happy if, with the sole exception of Tarin, not a single man were to ever check her out again, to oogle her as Tarin had put it. And without that exception, Lee had been hoping for that for years before she had met Tarin.

"And I might have brought him into the shop," Lee said, the slightest touch of anger creeping back into her voice. "But don't forget who first exposed us."

Yelling, as it turned out didn’t make Tarin feel any better, it just made him want to yell more. Lee wasn’t helping matters by standing there and looking shocked at his behavior either. Where did she get off?

“You walked all the way back here from Central Park with the guy after a lengthy enough conversation that he managed to ask for the phone and you didn’t have a clue that he was interested?”

So maybe he was being a little judgmental at this point, a little accusatory, but Lee had brought David into the shop and he’d turned out to be an absolute jerk.

Tarin was a little off-kilter, he simply didn’t lose his temper like this, especially not with Lee. The truth of the matter was that he wasn’t all that angry at Lee at all, David had hit close to home with his verbal (and physical) barbs, that’s who the anger was directed at.

Sighing and running both hands through his hair, Tarin growled in frustration. “Why do you have to do that Lee?” he said, eyes still blazing as he turned to finally look at her. The unease she was absolutely radiating actually made him feel a little better, at least he was getting his point across. “I don’t need you to protect me.” He continued, “I realize I don’t use my powers for anything that’s of much use to anyone, and I realize that there’s really nothing special about what I can do…but that doesn’t mean I’m useless Lee, or helpless.”

Tarin was angry again, really angry, he hated feeling like he was useless and at this precise point in time she was making it worse. Oh, she was going to get angry now too, good. Tarin wanted her to yell back, it would make it easier for him to keep yelling.

“Don’t even go there Lee.” Tarin said, shaking his head slowly, “He thought it was all smoke and mirrors. I couldn’t let him get away with everything he’d done!” he said incredulously, “Nobody asked you to step in and expose yourself. That was your call and it was absolutely unnecessary. “

Lee simply looked at Tarin as he asked her, in a very long winded way, a question that he should have known the answer to even before she had told him so. He knew her, he knew how she acted, what she blocked out. And he knew why she did those things.

Didn't he?

Lee had thought that Tarin did, thought that he knew, had been sure that they had talked about this before on a few occasions. So why in the world was he yelling at her about something he knew?

"No, Tarin, I didn't," Lee ended up saying softly. She had simply been trying to relax, to be 'normal' like Tarin had been pushing her. Normal people made small talk while standing in line, right?

As Tarin continued, he finally looked at her, and that look, full of anger, made Lee almost flinch back a bit against the door. While she had gotten used to confrontations over the years, even physical ones with people much larger than her, Lee was definitely not used to or prepared for seeing that kind of anger from Tarin directed at her.

But really, what could she say? She knew Tarin didn't like her stepping in like that, and they had had a few arguments about that very issue already in their relationship, but the fact was Lee normally didn't consciously think about it before she stepped in.

His last words caused Lee's anger to spark up again, though. "So what?" She asked, her voice harsher than it had been since David had left the shop. "Next time, I should just let you go out the window so I don't risk exposing myself?"

Tarin wasn't thinking rationally, who thought rationally when they were as angry as he was? The answer was nobody. Nobody thought rationally when they were so angry they literally couldn't see straight.

The look on Lee's face should have told him everything that he needed to know. He knew what she'd been through in Toronto...well he knew superficially what had happened to her on the streets, how she'd really gotten in touch with what her powers could do. He'd avoided the details like the plague, he'd seen it in a spirit's mental link too many times the types of things he suspected people had in mind for Lee at that time. She'd been lucky, she'd had her powers to keep her safe. Tarin wasn't thinking about that though, all he was thinking about was how angry he was.

Lee flinched back at the look on his face and for a second Tarin felt the hard shell of his anger cracking slightly. It wasn't meant to last though because Lee started to talk again.

She was really angry now, she was throwing accusations back at him, wondering if she was simply supposed to let him fall out the window next time there was a merge. That was a low blow and Lee had to have known it. The momentary lapse in his anger was over now and Tarin glared at Lee, real malice in the look now, malice mixed with absolute shock.

Tarin took a deep breath and tore his gaze away from her's, staring at the wood grain in the floor. That had really hurt. Tarin bit off a half dozen replies involving Lee's powers that stumbled to the tip of his tongue but he held them back. He wouldn't stoop that low.

"I'm sorry I'm such a burden." He said instead, "I'll remember that the next time I decide that should happen." Tarin hoped Lee didn't miss the sarcasm that was basically waterfalling off the words. She knew as well as he did that he had no control whatsoever over the merging.

Tarin stayed where he was, taking deep breath after deep breath to try and calm himself a bit. Had she really said that? "You've known from almost day one what could happen. I've never hidden that from you and I've never knowingly done a thing to interfere with you."

Tarin stopped talking, he wasn't yelling anymore, he was too stunned by the words that had come out of Lee's mouth. "but yeah Lee...that's your perrogative." Tarin just shrugged.

As she flinched back from his angry look, Lee saw a change occur in Tarin's eyes. The anger was still there, there was no doubt about that, but it appeared to lessen at least slightly. And something else was clouding that anger; sadness maybe, or possibly pain? Lee wasn't sure, because it disappeared behind the anger again before she could identify it. Yeah, apparently her words had gone over even worse than she had expected them to.

At this point, Tarin dropped his eyes, no longer directing his angry gaze at her, though Lee could tell simply by how he was standing, how he was forcing himself to take slow, deep breaths, that he was still extremely upset.

When Tarin finally answered her, his tone had changed. No longer was he yelling at her, his voice was barely even raised now. Instead, this was his bitter, sarcastic angry tone. It was a horrible way to think of things, but Lee couldn't help but think that at least this kind of anger coming from Tarin she could deal with. This was how their arguments normally ended up, she had experience with this kind of anger. Not so much with the yelling.

Still, that didn't make what was going on, what was being said, any easier. It simply meant that Lee wasn't shocked and flinching away because of the fact that Tarin was yelling at her.

"You know I couldn't actually do that," Lee whispered, looking across the shop at Tarin. "I know I've known, and you're not a burden."

Lee paused and took a deep breath, also looking down at the floor in the shop at this point. "There's times when I react before I have a chance to think. I was over there, pushing him against the wall, before I decided to do it. I'm not sure my mind's able to keep up with my body sometimes..."