VIII-The Small Print (Tyler)

[Eden Quinn]

As far as Eden was concerned, she was awesome...it went without saying, hoooooooooowever, without abilities?..maybe not so much. Eden had become dependent on her abilities and for that, quickly realised that without them, she actually had to make an effort when it came to fighting her corner. Then again, these days there didn't appear to be much of a fight on there hands. After specials worldwide were robbed of their abilities, things within the special community grew quiet which meant the Elites really didn't have many to go after. Suffice to say that having regular assignments that involved none specials, fell into their laps everyday, but rarely took as much effort from the team because of the nature of each case.

Eden hated not having her abilities, they made life much easier but at the same time they complicated life. Since becoming an Elite she wasn't able to play the part she had prior to her recruitment, being able to lead a semi normal life. Now, don't get me wrong, Eden loves being an Elite more then anything but sometimes it was nice to have some normality and whilst being a fully fledged Elite...this was hard to do.

Having no powers sucked, however, it enabled her to have her old life back somewhat..and that was something she'd missed.

Eden was able to spend more time with her family, get to do the things she hadn't been able to do in a long time and most importantly it added another dimension to her relationship with Tyler. You see, not being on call 24/7 gave them a lot more time to focus on themselves, their relationship and their personal business amongst other things. Eden would never say that life was better without abilities, not her own anyway and certainly not Tylers, but all those that did wrong with their abilities, hell yes her life was damn easier now.

Regardless of how things were right now, she still wanted her abilities, because it helped. She took this power outage as a learning curve, it would enable her to appreciate what she had once had and what she had during this 'dry spell' more so it'd teach her to work harder on her personal life and not become the workaholic she had slowly been moving toward being.

Their were more important things in her life then her job, her family were of great importance and Tyler he took priority over absolutely everything. Eden loved to crack some skulls, but when it came down to it, the truth was that even with such an ability as hers and a desire to help...she was still only human and wanted what any normal person would want out of their life.

Suffice to say taking names and smashing skulls was much easier with abilities, so the redhead couldn't have been happier once they returned.

It wasn't the same before, her ability took a lot of tweaking and it was as if she was learning it all over again. Eden didn't mind too much, it wasn't as if her ability had a mind of it's own. She figured, it could have been worse. To have the ability to copy others was nothing of a handful in comparison to maybe someone who could set fire to objects at will...still, training was the key here.

Everything appeared to be getting back to normal, aside from the odd one or two things. Amy's new ability came as a surprise to them all. Eden couldn't have been happier because let's face it, without the new manifestation of Amy's current ability...the girl would have been dead. Eden was a toughie, be she didn't handle loss well and to have someone on their team die, someone she'd gotten closer to still was extremely hard to swallow. Eden was glad Amy was back and seemingly untouchable, however, that didn't mean she was about to take her eye off her. Amy was still frail and she needed protecting...Eden was like the mother hen at times..wanting to protect and save everyone.

The saving for today was on the back burner because there was a lot to do today. With things being so quiet, the back log of work piled up as more peoples abilities returned and the bad guys started crawling out from under there rocks. Oh joy. Eden hated the back log, she liked to get everything sorted at once but with so much work available, it was hard to do it all and get it over with. Good thing they had a team, because they were going to be busy as shit soon.

"Dont ya just looooooooove monday mornings.." The redhead uttered to herself as she entered the building, returning from her morning jog. She often got up bright and early, she liked to do a sweep of the streets because it seemed the majority of weirdos lurked in the early hours of the morning, it had always been that way but these days they appeared to be much easier to locate...there was one almost on every street corner, which made jogging that tad bit more fun for her.

The downside to her morning jogs was that most morning she left Tyler snoring, drooling and having the best damn time of his life. Since the workload had been eased, the two had gotten much closer, not even thinking it was possible to do so as they seemingly lived out of eachothers pockets daily..they had more time to spend together like a normal couple and it had admittedly pushed them much closer.

The redhead, as thoughtful as ever had picked up breakfast, most of which consisted of coffee, muffins and bagels..and Tyler's fat loaded breakfast burrito. She placed the food down on the counter, leaving it for whoever appeared first to dig in, before carrying the smaller bag with Tyler's toward the bedroom.

Quietly pushing the door open, her green eyes peered through the small gap at him. Yeah, still face down, ass up, drooling into his pillow. She smirked slightly before heading inside, gently pushing the door closed with her foot. She walked to the side of the bed and opened the bag. Gently sitting on the edge of the bed, the redhead easily waved the bag around above his head a little so he'd catch the smell. Eden knew Tyler enough to know that if there was one thing that could wake Tyler, aside from the obvious shenanigans between the two..it was food.

[Tyler Shea Michaels]

Has it ever happened to you when you look in the mirror and the person that stares back at you is a complete and total stranger? You have absolutely no clue as to who this person looking back at you is and all you really want is for them to go away as quick as possible to never return. For Tyler, that happened a few months ago. He woke up one day and just simply could not recognize that massive tool that was staring back at him.

This guy looked enough like Tyler alright, but he was far to bulky. His muscles were overly defined; something that Tyler always felt was completely unnecessary.

While Tyler himself is a fan of facial hair, he wasn't a fan of the bird's nest that was growing on his face. It was straggly in appearance; is was completely unkempt. Big beards look cool as hell when they're done right, but Tyler wasn't doing it right at all.

That's when he realized that he wasn't doing anything right at all. He needed a change and he needed it in the worst way. He had turned into the Tyler we all know and love to a Tyler we all know was pretty sure had figured out how to menstruate. Tyler was a complete moody mess; his emotions in a constant state of disarray. Nobody wanted to be around him and that included Eden. Someone that has risked life and limb to save him and someone that he has risked life and limb to save. Someone that, while never really stated out loud, was indeed the true love of his life. And at the time was someone that really didn't enjoy being around the bitchy tool that Tyler had become.

So he made a change.

He has been looking much healthier these days, more of lean, muscular athletic look and that weird bulkiness thing he had going on. His face was clean shaven and while he still wasn't going to put product into his hair, wasn't letting it get all crazy like before. The fact that he had lost his abilities were actually, for the lack of a better term, lost on him. It had been quite some time before he's had to run into a situation where an ass needed to have his boot shoved inside of it, so the use of weapons had pretty much become unneeded. For a while, he simply figured that maybe everyone just got tired of trying to blow the world up. It wasn't until John had to actually use modes of transportation that Tyler finally put two-and-two together. And, believe it or not, he was fine with it.

He had been highly criticized for the fact that he never had any kind of weapons training, only relying on his abilities to help him out. Tyler mental cursed Frank Rook a few times for actually being right. So, thinking that his powers would never return, he began his own weapons training.

So for the past couple of months, that is what his life had been like. Training in the morning, getting closer to Eden at night. Life without abilities was really tolerable. Boring, but tolerable. Eden looked like she was about to go mad now that she was more or less unable to kick around somebody trying to blow up Boise,Idaho for some fucking reason. Tyler, on the other hand, was just simply taking in all in stride(one of the other changes he made was to not be bitchy anymore).

The only thing that hadn't changed about Tyler; his love of burritos. And it was such a great smell to wake up to. The smell of steak, egg, cheese, peppers and hot sauce could potentially be the greatest smell in the entire world. Fuck new car smell, breakfast burrito smell trumped all. And it was more than enough to get him out of bed.

Tyler's hand shot upwards quicker than what Eden had more than likely thought it would, grasping the bag right out of Eden's hand. In one extremely quick and fluid movement, Tyler sat right up out of bed and proceeded to take one giant bite. For Eden, it probably looked like a blur almost instantly devouring the burrito she had gotten for the man she loved.

"It's gonna be a good morning," Tyler said, his mouth full of the delicious burrito that he was savoring. "Thanks good lookin', HONK!" Tyler's way of saying thank you? Grabbing Eden's boob and squeezing it like the rubber part of a bicycle horn. Somethings just never change.

[Eden Quinn]

Eden knew her plan would not cease to fail her. As much as Tyler claimed that he had no weaknesses, she had found his kryptonite. The only things that could deter Tyler from his sleep were, sex, the chance to kick someone's ass over and over again and...burritos, not exactly in that order specifically but those were the top three. It came as no surprise that the man was able to skilfully pull the bag within her grasp, without her even having a chance to react.

"It's gonna be a good morning," He said with a mouth full of buritto, most of which seemed to dribble out.. Eden raised a brow at him "...Oooh..so hot.." she uttered sarcastically, looking less then turned on about the whole thing. She watched him for a moment, regardless of having buritto juice on his face he was still the most attractive guy she'd ever seen. She was glad for him shaving off that ridiculous beard though, she couldn't count the amount of times she'd clocked food from afar, stuck in the hairs. It was a horrid sight, oddly enough still not a complete turn off but Eden would rather kiss her boyfriend rather then some stinky bum with a santa beard.

"Thanks good lookin', HONK!" Tyler said as he grabbed her boob and honked it like a horn. The redhead merely raised a brow at him, looked like someone woke up on the right side of the bed..something he did a whole lot of lately. He was back to his regular self, the old Tyler, the Tyler she had initially fell head over heels for. With a smile, she bat his hand around and gave him a light jab in the gut.

"Try not to choke on that thing.." she grinned slightly at him. It was nice to see him back to his regular old ways, Eden had missed him over the months where he'd gone deeper downhill. He was doing well getting himself on his feet again and as ever she tried her best to support him all the way. Tyler had been the only man she'd ever really cared for, aside from her father. He was the only person she ever had really trusted with her life and had been willing to give her life for who wasn't a blood relative. She loved him more then words could express and even though she didn't say it every second of every day, he knew it by the way she looked at him.

The two worked wonderfully together, in a partnership, a friendship and a relationship, as if they were supposed to be apart of each others lives from the get go. Tyler kept her strong, he kept her on the right path and ensured that had she ever slipped, she would be placed firmly back en route and vice versa. She considered him both her strength and weakness, with him around she could do absolutely anything and without him...she couldn't do a damn thing.

She smiled at him, her eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree as she observed him laying there scoffing his face. Eden shook her head a little, grin still prominent. Turning she headed toward the closet to pull out some clean clothes, she'd been out running prior to picking up his breakfast and needed to scrub up a little "I know you'll do your very best not to get any of it on the sheets, god forbid you might waste any..but seriously, don't get it on the sheets..or inside...." Eden told him, she had nothing against him eating in bed..he wasn't the tidiest of eaters but one of her peeves was crumbs in the bed. She HATED that.

With a handful of clothes, Eden headed into the en suite bathroom connected to the bedroom and hopped in the shower to get cleaned up and sweat free from her run.

[Tyler Shea Michaels]

ooc-seriously, i bet you just shit yourself.

"I still have the bite mark on my ass when you bit me after the Oreo Incident of 2012," Tyler said. The corner of his lip curled up a little, or as much as it could considering Tyler had a mouthful of breakfast burrito. While Tyler wasn't too fond of Eden straight up biting him on his backside, he was warned at least twice before he actually brought the cookies into bed. He didn't like getting his ass chomped down on, but even he had to admit that he kinda deserved it.

Any other morning, Tyler would have followed Eden right into the shower and the two would be having a morning that warranted an x-rating. This morning, however, was slightly different because Tyler was far too preoccupied with his delicious and (what he called)nutritious breakfast burrito. He and Eden got down with the get down practically every morning; Eden never bought him breakfast and fed it to him in bed. Never. So could you really blame Tyler for cherishing the moments and savoring the bites? No, you can't so stop trying to.

"Try not hogging all the hot water this time!" Tyler hollered out to Eden once he heard the shower head running. While Tyler had the bad habit of leaving crumbs in the bed which his significant other loathed, Eden was the one that took showers that seemed to go on for hours. By the time that Tyler got his turn in the shower, the water was cold and we all know what parts of a man shrink up in cold water.

Each of them did things that were pet peeves of the other; that was just apart of being in a relationship. The thing that made Tyler and Eden such a good pairing was the fact that they overlooked these minor bad habits because the positives completely outweighed the negatives. Tyler was Eden's rock that she could lean against and Eden was Tyler's light at the end of the tunnel. Separated, they were good but they're completely unstoppable. Whatever cosmic entity created had made them was sure to custom make the two of them for each other.

With the burrito completely consumed and sitting at the bottom of Tyler's belly, he actually did a rather thorough check of the bedsheets to make sure that no tortilla crumbs or bits of scrambled eggs ended up where they didn't belong. Satisfied that each and every part of Tyler's breakfast ended up in his stomach, he casually strolled into the bathroom. He took a moment(or several) to admire Eden's silhouette through the foggy glass of their shower before he banged on the door like he was still wearing his old LVPD badge.

"Time for daddy's hot shower, hot stuff."

[Eden Quinn]

"I still have the bite mark on my ass when you bit me after the Oreo Incident of 2012," Tyler reminded her. The redhead laughed a grin spreading from ear to ear. To be honest, she had warned him about the things that annoyed her pretty early on and it hadn't been her problem that he'd simply forgotten about them. She figured, he'd have a hard time forgetting after that ordeal. "Well Ty, you know me..if there's a lesson to be learned, you're gonna learn it. It's how it is. You're just lucky I didn't cut your hand off" Eden joked, not that she went around cutting hands off..only Ronnie but that in itself she felt had been a valuable lesson for the crazy cunt. Well, it should have been. She still came back for more and ended up being cut to pieces.

Typically Tyler would have followed her. The very idea of her taking her clothes off and he'd be up on alert like a guard dog. However, when it came to Tyler and separating him from his food there seemed to be nothing at all that could do such a thing. He loved to eat, especially shit like he was chowing down on now. Eden wasn't one for burritos, maybe when accompanied with a whole shit load of beer but other then that she didn't really get the buzz about them. She was just glad that he worked out as much as he did because if he hadn't done so, he'd be built like Jabba the hut.

She turned the shower on, unable to hear anything other then the water thrashing from the head. Tyler had his bad habits, as did she. Her showers took much longer then they needed to and the water was always fart hotter then most people liked. Tyler had snuck in a few times just to yelp like a bitch and hop back out because he'd get scolded by the heat of the water on his skin.

Tilting her head back she let the water cover her head, soaking her long locks and the warmth washing over her skin. She closed her eyes for a few moments, before opening the left and narrowing it toward the shower fogged glass window. She could hear him, on cue, no doubt having a good watch like he always did before getting caught. The last time he'd done it she'd sprayed him away but this time she just grinned to herself and carried on. She knew what he was going to do before he even did it. Watching was never enough for him and it had been the same for her. She would often peep around the door or intrude during his morning showers simply because she could. It didn't always lead to anything, which in effect sometimes drove him crazy because he wasn't so fond of being teased like that.

He knocked on the glass. The redhead smirked, shaking her head slightly. "Time for daddy's hot shower, hot stuff." Eden laughed, turning to face the glass before slowly slipping it open ajar. She peeped her head out, keeping herself hidden behind the rest of it. Her eyes climbed him from toe to head, the corners of her lips curving into a smile. "Nah, you see that don't work for me, right now. Ever since you got rid of that big old beard, I can't look at you the same way." Eden joked. She was so glad he'd got rid of that fucking thing, it was disgusting..it was like repellent to her because she couldn't bare to kiss him with that fuzzy shit on his face. Eden was even sure that there had been something nested in their. She liked a bit of scruff on a guy but that was taking the piss. A lot of the time she'd been tempted to shave it off while he was sleeping but because he wriggled so damn much the only thing she'd have ended up cutting in the process was his throat.

She bit her lower lip, her eyes lighting up at him. With a grin she nodded toward his boxers "You take them off and get rid the bits of burrito you've got living in your belly button, and I may let you in....wait, you didn't leave crumbs in the bed did you?" She raised a brow, getting a little serious for a second because had he done so again she'd have made him suffer for it.

(i'm sorry! i've been working everyday pretty much 9pm till 3am..what a drag! i missed my sexy kain! XD)

[Tyler Shea Michaels]

The majority of the public enjoyed taking a hot shower to either wake them up in the morning and kick start their bodies or wash away the problems brought on by a hard day. Eden, however, is the exception to this rule. She didn't take hot showers but she took boiling showers. Tyler learned this lesson the hard way when he tried to join Eden one morning for a shower and nearly burnt the cash and prizes in the process.

To Tyler, Eden was unique like that. She had her quirks that drove Tyler even more wild for his lady more than he already was. He knew what she liked and he knew what she didn't like. And as previously mentioned bite mark on the behind, Eden was not a fan of laying in bed filled with crumbs of food.

"There are times where I think that you completely overreact," Tyler said, thinking about the teeth mark that are more or less permanently implanted into Tyler's skin. "But in certain cases, bitches just need to loose hands," Tyler said as his mind wandered to Ronnie's hand and whatever happened to that thing. Tyler just figured that some rodent came along and claimed it as it's prize.

"Seems so long ago, though, doesn't it?" Tyler asked. Eden knew what he was talking about. It seemed decades ago that Tyler and Eden had to constantly look over the shoulders of their fellow Elites and their own with the Rogue Society lurking around every corner. They had certainly come quite a long way since then.

"So you're just gonna hog all the hot water, is that it?" Tyler demanded to know. "I thought you were happy that I chopped that thing off," While the quirks certainly drove Tyler mad for Eden, sometimes they just plain drove the man mad. Tyler wanted to go in that shower, give Eden the ol' boot and wash away the stench of yesterday. Instead, he opted to sit on the toilet seat and watch their bathroom turn into the steam room at a gym.

"Of course I didn't leave crumbs in the bed, you think I want a bit mark on the left cheek? Now hurry up and get out so I can take a normal shower and not cook myself like a lobster."

[Eden Quinn]

"There are times where I think that you completely overreact," Tyler said as the redhead tilted her head sideways as if intrigued by what was going to come out of that mouth of his next. She was curious as to what he meant by that and if he was going to elaborate. Eden raised a brow, but the man didn't and simply continued. She grinned at him "But in certain cases, bitches just need to loose hands," Tyler added prompting Eden to nod in agreement. If you'd asked anyone, the bitch had gotten off lucky that day. Then again, she continued to press at Eden and eventually she snapped and ended her in the most fucked up way she could have imagined.

"Seems so long ago, though, doesn't it?" Tyler asked, he was referring to the Rogue Society who were seemingly long gone now. They had been a major thorn in everyone's side but had been a permanent one in Tyler's for longer then she'd known him. "It certainly does. Things have changed a lot since then. As much fun as I had kicking the living shit out of that load of rejects...I'm sure glad it's over and done with. " She confessed. It was inevitable that they would become her enemy, purely on the basis that they were trying to constantly bring trouble and harm to the man she held closest to her heart. Eden was extremely loyal and if anyone dared bring trouble to those she cared about, they were going to have to deal with her. She knew Tyler could defend himself, but that didn't stop her continuously coming to his aid..even when he didn't necessarily require it. Tyler was her rock and she'd have been damned if anything ever happened to him.

"So you're just gonna hog all the hot water, is that it?" He demanded, getting nothing more then a devious grin from the redhead in response. "I thought you were happy that I chopped that thing off," Eden laughed at him, still hiding behind the glass as she peered her head around to look at him "Are you getting a complex over it? I'll be damned. No, you are right. I hated that thing, Ty..seriously..don't ever do that again. I prefer your face a whole lot better when you're not wearing someone's untamed Vagina" She smiled. She hadn't favoured that bear at all and couldn't wait to see it gone..she just hoped he never did it again.

"Of course I didn't leave crumbs in the bed, you think I want a bit mark on the left cheek? Now hurry up and get out so I can take a normal shower and not cook myself like a lobster." Eden laughed at him, pouting at the man as he sat there with a face like a smacked ass. Slowly, the pushed the glass door open for him to see inside before leaning slightly against it. She grinned at him "..You sure you want me to get out? I'd say there's enough room in here for both of us and..I'll even turn down the temperature if that's what you want." The redhead crooned playfully at him.

[Tyler Shea Michaels]

"What is with you and vaginas? You're about obsessed with vaginas as I am," Tyler said, making himself more comfortable on the toilet. He really had no idea when Eden was going to be done melting her skin off, but knowing how they both loved to screw with one another, he figured it would be a while.

"But yeah, I guess you have nothing to worry about. I'd much rather look all baby faced gorgeous than like Grizzly Adams on steroids," Tyler said. Not only was Tyler's beard was overly bulky, so was he himself. Tyler's workouts consisted of maximum muscle building. Tyler was built like one of those shit brick houses, but his cardio was in the toilet. It wasn't before too long that the rest of the Elites were running circles around their muscle head leader. It wasn't too long after that that Tyler just stopped moving and was the "sniper". But the truth, Tyler just didn't want to run around anymore.

Yup, Tyler had become that guy. That guy that nobody really wanted to be around, including Eden. The good thing though, Eden kickstarted Tyler's change without really having to say or do anything. He just wanted to be the best person that he could be for her. He cared that much for the woman that he was willing to make a complete lifestyle change for her benefit...

... and his benefit too.

"You turn that temperature down a little bit and you got yourself a deal sister," Tyler said, a sly grin coming across his face. Over those months when Tyler resembled a ugly bearded version of The Incredible Hulk, Eden wasn't like the way that she was before. While she certainly tolerated it, she just ... kinda of ignored him in way. The constant ribbing had gone by the way side and it seemed as if she was just going through the motions. But once Tyler had made that change, shaved his mountain man beard and bulked down to a more athletic look, things went back to normal. The ribbing came back and so did ... other things.

So maybe the changes Tyler made were indeed for his own benefit

[Eden Quinn]

"What is with you and vaginas? You're about obsessed with vaginas as I am," He replied as he continued to make himself comfortable. Eden couldn't help but laugh at him, with a grin the redhead looked over in his direction still covered by the glass shower door. "Every woman feels the same way I do, and if they say otherwise..they're lying. Besides, I'm not wrong in my description..it was bad." Eden loved Tyler but even she had to put her foot down with that look of his. He was one heck of a man, but she couldn't look at him the same way with that shit on his face, especially when she could also see what he'd had stuffed in his burritos nestled within the mounds of hair.

"But yeah, I guess you have nothing to worry about. I'd much rather look all baby faced gorgeous than like Grizzly Adams on steroids," Tyler said. He was right, that look wasn't good for him and had only came on during his self loathing days. His body had changed drastically too and though she liked muscle, he over did it at the time. At one point, he looked nothing alike the man she'd fallen in love with. Thankfully, he soon returned back to normal and Eden then realised how much she'd actually missed having him around. At times he could be a real deuche but all in all she loved him and hated being away from him.

Of course, when the old Tyler came back..other things returned to normal too. There'd been a time where they had drifted about, emotionally and physically but soon here after he'd gone back to his old ways...other things followed in tow.

She often took a long time in the shower, much to Tyler's annoyance and so he had set himself up for a long wait. However, the redhead had other things in mind which became clear from the devious smirk upon her face. "You turn that temperature down a little bit and you got yourself a deal sister," Tyler smirked, the woman didn't have to be told twice and quickly adjusted the temperature so it suited him better.

"You waiting for your invite? get the hell in here already.." Eden grinned broadly, shifting aside so he could get in with her.

[Tyler Shea Michaels]

Eden's description of Tyler's now long departed beard was accurate to her, but Tyler hadn't really seen what an untamed lady parts looked like, so Tyler just took her word for it. The only thing that he needed to remember that Eden loved his new clean shaven face and his bulked down appearence. The attention that he got from her when he made all of these changes increased ten fold than what she gave him when he looked like the Incredible Hulk's caveman ancestor. With the beard and the overly bulky muscle, Eden must have found it hard to keep her hands on him because they're 'together time' reduced down to a big fat zero. But now with the beard in it's final resting place and Tyler's slim down, Eden must be finding it hard to keer her hands off him; that was proven when Eden demanded to know what was taking him so long, which prompted Tyler to wear nothing but a smile as he joined her in the shower.

******

Fresh out of the shower and having relieved a little 'tension', Tyler wrapped a towel around himself as he made his way towards the bathroom mirror and wiped away the fog so that he could get a solid look at himself. Grabbing the shaving cream and a razor, Tyler made it a habit to shave every other day considering the fact that the woman he loved so dearly loved the way he looked. Whistling some random tune, Tyler began lathering his face up. It was in this small moment that Tyler realized how nice life can actually be when people aren't trying to blow it up.

Tyler and Eden had a damn good thing for themselves inside the Elite's headquarters, turning what was a base for the Company's wetwork team into an actual home. Tyler smirked a little bit at the thought of the two of them finally living normal lives for a change. Not having to corral whatever bad guys the Company had trackers on and not having to fight whatever big bad had decided to be an asshole that week.

"Ya know, this is kinda nice," Tyler said out loud as he began carefully dragging the razor across his face. "Not having to do... well... anything really. It's nice to just live life how it was meant to be lived... without a city getting blown the fuck up."