"You guess you got lucky?" Lee asked Tarin, an incredulous note creeping into her voice. "And what happens when our luck runs out? What happens when one of these people turn us in?"

But then Tarin dared her to say that he should have simply let that kid get taken when Tarin could have done something to stop it. She was still mad at him, mad about the fact that because of that he had revealed himself to not only that kid but also Rupert, but at the same time Lee couldn't say she'd rather that.

"No, of course not," Lee finally admitted in a whisper. He knew her, he knew she wouldn't have wanted him to simply let the boy be taken to the camps.

"I can't just roll with it," Lee told Tarin as she turned away shaking her head, putting a bit more force behind her words to keep her voice from shaking. "Everyone who finds out about us, whoever they are, just puts us one step closer to being caught. How much time do we have left?"

Lee turned, her eyes brimming with tears as her voice dropped down to a shaky whisper. "Tarin, I'm mad because I'm terrified."

Tarin sighed when Lee started talking about luck. Luck was a fickle bitch, and Tarin knew it, he didn't know what to say so he shruged, "I don't know Lee." he said softly, "We went all that time before with nothing...and I haven't even left the shop to invite any of this. They keep coming here. I don't know what you think I'm supposed to do."

Tarin thawed a little when Lee admitted that there was no way he could leave that kid out in the street to get cuaght. "Rupert knows what to look for Lee. He'd called me out the second he walked in the shop. I was terrified, almost ran. I'm so tired of running though Lee."

She was so scared, talking about how much time they had before they were caught like it was a death sentence. "We're not going to get caught Lee. We're just not, but obviously shutting ourselves up in here and the apartment isn't going to help...and I for one refuse to lose my humanity simply because others have."

Lee turned around to face him and Tarin felt any annoyance he'd been feeling crumble at the look on her face and the tears in her eyes. Moving forward and not caring whether she wanted him to or not, Tarin wrapped his arms around Lee. "Don't cry Lee...please. I know you're scared, I'm scared too, I really am. I just don't know what else to do other than what I'd normally do. We'll figure out. We're not going to end up in those camps. I promise." he said into her hair, hoping it would help.

"How about keep pretending?" Lee suggested, even though Tarin had said, at least with the guy who had just left the shop, he was scared to lie. "Pretend to be a charlatan. You've done it this long, keep doing it?"

Tarin was telling her that with Rupert in the shop, he had wanted to run. Lee had a hundred things to say to this, but at that moment she couldn't speak; Lee was too busy trying not to actually cry as she faced away from Tarin.

But as soon as she felt Tarin's arms wrap around her, Lee buried her head in his shoulder as she felt the tears start falling and hugged him tightly in return. "How do you know we won't?" Lee asked, her voice muffled from being pressed into Tarin's neck. "How can you be so sure we won't get put in the camps?"

Lee sniffled a bit and took a deep breath. "How are we supposed to keep this up indefinitely? I can barely deal with it, even just when we're here, as it is."

Lee stood there and simply hung on to Tarin tightly for a few moments in silence. "I'm sorry."

"I do pretend Lee, I pretend 80% of the time..." Tarin said, his voice laced with frustration, "But I've always done the right thing when I could."

Even though she was facing away from him, Tarin saw Lee stiffen when he mentioned running, he tucked a reminder away to himself to bring that up again later because he could already see that Lee had the wrong idea.

She was holding him back now and Tarin sighed against her hair, running a comforting hand up and down her back. "I just know Lee. Besides, I've heard the rumblings Lee. People know it's wrong, it's just a matter of time. You need to just worry about me and you, and stop worrying so much about everyone else. Neither of us is careless with our powers." Tarin artfully neglected to mention the shop the other day...the day of their last argument over a man named David.

Lee was apologizing now, and Tarin looked up at the old ceiling of the shop, sighing before dropping his head back down onto her's.

"I'm sorry too, but we're starting to unravel Lee, and I need you. We can't keep on fighting each other when we've got so much else to fight. I need a little trust though. I know he's super rough around the edges and moody as hell, but that Rupert is a good guy, that kid needed help, and trust me that man you passed on the way out of the shop is not someone we want to make an enemy of. I pretend, and you know I do, more often than not. What I need is for you to relax a little bit and trust me. "

Tarin paused a moment to let his words sink in, he hoped Lee understood what he was saying and didn't think he was simply trying to boss her around. "I love you Lee...so much, and when this is all over we're going to have the prettiest little wedding you could possibly imagine. Right now though, we have to stick together. Can you work with me and try to relax a little? I've never steered you wrong yet when I've told you to relax and stop worrying, have I?"

Really all Lee could do at that moment was stand there and hug Tarin, listening to his words. Even if she wouldn't have believed him normally, it was much easier to with his arms around her.

His words about them unravelling did ring true, and Lee frowned at them. Thinking about it, She had to admit that Tarin was right. In even just the last week, they had fought and argued more than they had in the first months they had been together combined.

Taking a last deep breath and giving Tarin one more squeeze, Lee stepped back slightly, her hands reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks, smiling slightly at Tarin's mention of their upcoming wedding. "No, you haven't," agreed that Tarin had never led her astray when telling her not to worry. "And I love you, too. I'll try to worry less and relax more, but it's going to be hard.

"Can we go home?" Lee asked, letting her hands drop from her face to look up at Tarin. "Talk more about this 'pretty little wedding', maybe? I didn't smear my makeup, did I?"

Lee squeezed him then stepped back and Tarin let her go, she reached up to wipe her tears and it seemed like she'd come to some sort of decision as far as things were concerned and Tarin was relieved. Lee even agreed that no Tarin had never steered her wrong as far as instructions not to worry were concerned. Things were really going his way all of a sudden.

He smiled when she said she loved him, it had taken thim a while to get to this point, but it still made him smile every time she said it, even if it was in response to him. Lee promised to try harder and Tarin moved forward again to hold her close, "I'll try harder too Lee. Sometimes I just can't...." he left it at that, they were both going to try, it was the best they could do under the current circumstances.

Lee wanted to go home, that sounded like an excellent idea to Tarin, and he nodded his head vigrously, "We can talk about it over dinner. Maybe I'll even make you some enchiladas...and you know I can't do that without proper attire." he teased close to Lee's ear. She knew what 'proper attire' was, a cowboy hat and boots, and even if he was going out of his way now to cheer Lee up, it was fine. That's what he was there for, right?

Lee smiled in response to Tarin grin when they told each other that they loved the other. When he grinned at her like that, it was simply infectious and Lee couldn't help but smile at him back. It also always helped improve her mood, if only slightly.

But then Tarin gave his idea for that evening, and Lee's smile, which had been somewhat on the small side, grew into a huge grin. Nether of them ever really cooked all that often, they tended to order out more often than not, though Tarin was the better cook of the two of them. So him simply planning on actually making a home cooked meal was something special.

But that wasn't the main reason for her grin. As Tarin mentioned that to make enchiladas he had to wear the 'proper attire', Lee's mind went back to their two month anniversary. That night, Tarin had surprised her, not only with having made enchiladas and guacamole, but also dressing the part of his Texan upbringing, complete with the boots and a black cowboy hat. And he had brought out his accent in full force.

"Maybe we should just grab something quickly on the way home instead," Lee suggested. "You know what that hat of yours does. I'm not sure I'll actually be able to leave you alone enough to actually be able to cook."

This was much more like it. Tarin couldn't help but think as Lee smiled back at him. This was how they were together, not the jumpy, worried, snappy people they'd become recently. Tarin didn't know who it was, but at some point someone had said something to the effect that the bad guys only win if you let them make normalcy abnormal. It was something he planned on working to correct in the coming days, weeks, however long he had to.

Lee liked the idea of him cooking, apparently and he nodded his head, "We'll have to stop by the store on the way home to pick things up to cook, but yeah...I'll cook." That was when Lee's smile changed.

Suddenly it felt a whole heck of a lot warmer in the shop than it had just a few moments before. Tarin had seen that look on Lee's face before, but they'd been so busy in the last week....

"I like that idea...." Tarin said to Lee's suggestion that they simply grab something on the way home, "I can cook tomorrow...might have to try the gear on to make sure it still fits right though..." he added, his Texas accit thickening with each word, simply to let Lee know he meant that was included in 'proper attire' .

Grinning rogueishly as he stepped away from Lee again, Tarin grabbed his coat off the rack and pulled it on to his arms as he approached the door, "After you?" he said, pulling the door open for her.

When she suggested simply grabbing take out on the way home, Lee's grin widened slightly as she saw the change in Tarin's eyes. Obviously, he knew what she was talking about regarding his cowboy hat. He had already experienced it before. And though it wasn't quite as strong as his own reaction to her wearing a corset, Tarin knew what it felt like.

And as he was speaking, he was even letting his accent slip out already. Talking about how he'd have to try things on to make sure they still fit properly...Damn, it was a good thing the apartment wasn't that far from the shop. Yes, she had been worried and scared, but how in the world had Lee let herself get so far gone that she had been missing out on this sort of thing with Tarin? This had to have been the worst, longest lasting 'funk' they had been in so far. Lee only wished that it would be their last.

"Well, as long as everything fits properly," Lee told Tarin, a glint in her eye as she looked at Tarin. "I could even go shopping tomorrow so you can cook."

But then Tarin was stepping away from her, grabbing his coat, and Lee picked her coat and purse up off the counter and put them on. Even before she had gotten her coat done up, Tarin was at the door, holding it open for her. Walking over, Lee gave Tarin a quick kiss as she stepped outside.