Locks of Love [Lorelai]

[Levi DAmico]

Even while they had been talking, Levi had been thinking of a way to get in there, get rid of Michelle and his underling and then console Lorelai. He’d winced at the invading thoughts, the thoughts that weren’t his, the plea pushed on him by Lorelai. Her imploring just annoyed him. Not only was she getting in the way of his thoughts, his plans, but her incessant people-pleasing was tearing him apart. Of course he didn’t want to upset her, he didn’t want her to hate him – regardless of how good an idea that was based on the principle of her safety alone – but Levi just couldn’t consent to her request. He understood the value of life differently than most. He didn’t see why people deserved to live, he didn’t see why they had that right. Perhaps he was cold, a little too logical, but he looked at things the way he saw them based on facts, not philosophy. Of course even scientific theories predominantly came down to one person’s opinion, but at least something had been measured, looked upon rationally and probably wasn’t the result of propaganda and manipulation. He trusted science, perhaps too naively, and saw the world as the accumulation and dispersion of energy. These men’s deaths, in the grand scheme of things, were nothing substantial. They would die and their energy would go elsewhere, maybe even to spark life into something new. It didn’t matter to him what happened after they died, just so long as they were out of his way.

Keeping a level-head and not getting too worked up about things helped Levi to always anticipate the worst scenario, which was why he was usually steps ahead of the competition. In this case, he’d rushed in blindly and got himself him cornered like a rat. Michelle probably knew it too, but that didn’t mean Levi was completely out of options. If he couldn’t move toward them without risking Lorelai, then he had to find alternative means of either distracting them or attacking them. Shadow powers were his forte, but he knew that using any kind of supernatural ability meant that these guys had to die. He had already been so adamant about their deaths and yet, here he was hesitating. His hesitancy was costing him pride points and certainly costing him pain. The longer Levi stood there deliberating, the less he was fighting on impulse, so the more his body began to cry out to him. If he hadn’t been thinking so much, he probably would have been able to storm that room before Michelle’s finger even twitched for the trigger. Now, however, he felt his muscles begin to tighten with the electric pain and even his mind was starting to fog over. Unfortunately for Levi, Michelle was quick to cash in on that diffidence.

“Come on then,” Michelle howled, waving his gun slightly. “Come on inside, minchia. I shoot you, then I shoot your woman – or I shoot your woman and then I shoot you, huh?”

As Michelle was about to turn and point the gun at Lorelai, however, the air in the room changed. Levi wasn’t consciously aware of the change, though the room did darken in response. Michelle suddenly began to stagger backward, the look on his face revealing pain and confusion as if he’d been struck with a barrage of invisible bullets. A frown, equal in confusion to Michelle’s, came over Levi’s face and he was dumbstruck for a moment watching the scene unfold. The bewilderment and surprise washed over the underling as well, causing his hand to jerk and the knife in that hand to jerk too. The small action marked a crimson line in Lorelai’s delicate ivory skin and the sudden, breathy gasp which escaped her caught Levi’s attention and steeled his focus. Umber eyes moved from the underling – who was stunned – to Michelle, postulating the distance for an estimated time of arrival for when he’d be able to close the distance to each one and take them out.

Without a glimmer of warning, Levi charged. The speed that carried him to his target was unnatural, allowing little room for evasion or deflection – and besides that, Michelle was still lost in his illusion. Anger and supernatural strength had fuelled the dash toward the room, the door had been flung open and Levi had Michelle’s throat in his large hand in less than five seconds. Umber eyes glared into grey and as his hand constricted tightly, he took grim satisfaction in feeling Michelle’s trachea bulge in his palm. Of course, Levi wasn’t about to stop there. With his superior strength, he took hold of Michelle’s gun hand, twisting the man’s wrist and forearm inward so that the pistol was aiming under the man’s ribcage. Since Michelle was still dazzled by illusions and dazzled by a new pressure and pain assaulting his body, instinct made him squeeze the trigger. In the moment the gun went off, all thoughts were absent; Levi pushed the dying man to the floor and moved toward the underling.

“Wait!” the man called out, but Levi kept coming. “Wait a minute, Signor!”

The man seemed to disappear behind Lorelai, throwing his hands in the air. If he thought that was going to absolve him of his responsibility in this matter, though, he was sorely mistaken. It was almost as though Levi had forgotten Lorelai was there and watching him. When it came to dealings like this, Levi had never had to filter his rage and callousness. When he was with Lorelai, though, all he ever did was filter himself. Having his worlds collide like this was unsettling and Levi needed to resolve this problem by acting on that urge to destroy, by being Mafioso – it was all he ever knew. SMG in hand and a body pulsing with rage and agony, he marched up to the underling. Even though Lorelai was between them, Levi was still acting like she wasn’t there. The underling continued to cower behind the blonde Vampiri, begging for mercy in Italiano, and finally Levi took a deep breath and paused.

Vicious umber orbs moved off the cowering mortal and to Lorelai. His expressions were still harsh and he regarded her very briefly before looking back at the mortal. With one strong arm, Levi moved Lorelai out of the way to stand to his left and kept his arm there to stop her from moving back into harm’s reach.

“So what am I waiting for?” Levi asked the other man gruffly, summoning two dark and terrified eyes from the quivering man against the wall. The underling was apparently too petrified to answer and Levi narrowed his eyes at him. “If you wanna surrender. Do it. Give me your weapons.”

If he was going to let this one walk away, Levi needed him disarmed. There couldn’t be any possibility that he’d turn around and launch a surprise attack. Michelle’s underling nodded feverishly, adding affirmative words just to cover himself. He took his piece out from behind his back and handed it over in tandem to his little switch blade. Levi knocked them out of his hand with a quick jab of the SMG and the underling pressed his back flat against the wall.

“Go,” Levi barked. “Le consiglio di andare in ospedale.”

As he advised the man to ‘go to the hospital’ he gave a glance toward the underling’s companions. The ones Levi had left alive were going to need medical treatment sooner rather than later if they were going to make it. The underling didn’t waste much time in hurrying out of the building – it wasn’t obvious if he was going to get some help or just run for his life, though. Frankly, Levi didn’t care as his attention was elsewhere. Lorelai might have been safe for now, but, that didn’t mean this night’s ordeal was over. Levi closed his eyes and let go a heavy breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did so. There were going to be a lot of questions to answer and a lot of apologies to be made and, perhaps worst of all, was that there was going to be a lot to clean up too.

“We should leave,” he said with a sigh, finally opening his eyes to look her over briefly. “You’re… ok, right?”

[Lorelai]

All too quickly Levi had penetrated the glass fishbowl, standing to face his nemesis. He was smart and had obviously taken advantage of Michelle's disorientated state in order to get control of the situation. Lorelai didn't like to see Levi grappling with the guy and when the gun went off, she jumped. Had Levi shot him? She'd pleaded with him on the man's behalf and so she couldn't believe that he'd so callously murder him, not with her watching. But with the deed done, his attention quickly switched to the male over her shoulder.

Lorelai rose up and out of her seat in a feeble attempt to protect her attacker, who had withdrawn the blade from about her throat. Instinct told her to protect him, just as instinct told the man to beg for his life. He asked Levi to wait but Lorelai feared that he would not and try as she might to stay between the two men, Levi (with his superior strength) had no problem sweeping her to one side. She understood his action and yet she had hoped to avoid leaving the human male unprotected as he was now. So when Levi gave him the chance to escape, Lorelai's heart leapt in her chest.

Michelle's spirit had passed on fairly quickly and was gone even before his underling had been given a pass to leave. He'd looked at Lorelai before he went, a glint of knowing in his eye. He knew she saw him and now he thought he knew a little of the reason Levi kept her around. A medium, a true medium, could be privy to all kinds of secrets. Of course he couldn't know that Lorelai was not the sort to bend a spirit to her will or to ask for anything in return for aid. So even in death, Michelle's last assumption of her had been wrong.

Now alone in the fishbowl with Levi she threw her arms around his neck, unaware of the fact that he was injured. She crushed him to her, both hands reaching around him; the fingers of one weaving into his hair before she cupped his head and drew him down to her, the others curled around his shoulder. She was awash with emotions and having briefly buried her face in his neck, she soon pulled back to look into his eyes before her lips found his.

"I'm okay, and we can leave, but... why are you here?"

Her voice was filled with disbelief as if she'd awoken from a dream, only to learn that it was real. In some ways perhaps that was true, she'd learned a hard lesson this night, not only about the ruthlessness of others, but about the true nature of a man she was perhaps in the process of falling for. Could she really love someone that could be that cruel? Probably. She'd loved Ana after all.

But she never killed anyone while you watched on.

This wasn't something she wanted to hear, or even admit to herself but there it was. Birth, life, death; the circle of life. She knew that everybody died and she knew that not everyone lived a long life or met a peaceful end and yet still it was a difficult pill to swallow. The internal struggle that she felt wouldn't last long though, as it wasn't something she could settle in the here and now. It was something she would have to contemplate later, when she was alone.

[Levi DAmico]

There was a sudden, cold silence. It was like the eye of the storm, the sudden pause in the middle of a heated argument. It was as if an angel, a foreshadower of impending doom had passed over them and rendered them speechless. Lorelai didn’t speak and Levi couldn’t. He needed her answer to assure him that despite how these things were his doing and his fault, that Lorelai was ok and that she forgave him. Levi’s eyes were open and he was looking straight at her, but he wasn’t aware of what was going on. Being too much in his head and amongst tempestuous emotions, he didn’t see her move, but felt it. When Lorelai threw her arms around him, crushing him in a hug, his wounds burned and sapped the strength right out of him. He crumpled a little in her arms and barely had the power to wrap his arms around her in return; he hadn’t felt this weak in years. If it weren’t for Lorelai squeezing him so tightly, he might have fallen apart entirely, to be swept away like so much dust. The kiss had braced against taught, unmoving lips, but at least now when he was looking at her, he could finally see.

The look on her face told him a lot. It told him that she was torn, much like he was. It surprised him to see that expression, that doubt, and in some strange way he felt uplifted, felt his power return. If this was the beginning of Lorelai’s retreat from him, a decision she’d come to make herself, then he was going to be happy for her. He didn’t want to be cruel to her even though he knew he was in other ways. She always kissed him and he never returned the affection exactly, but neutrality was a lot different than rejection. If he’d pushed her away, put his foot down on, then she might have moved on sooner, but he hadn’t. He didn’t like to think of it as stringing her along, but, what else could it have been? It wasn’t difficult for him to make people turn their backs on him, to make them hate him, but he couldn’t do it with Lorelai. Levi enjoyed her company and even though logic was quick to knock on the door of the house that denial built, remind him how relationships with people outside of Cosa Nostra was a bad idea, he continued to hunker down in that house and pretend he wasn’t there. He wasn’t looking to face reality, to do what needed to be done, but now, maybe fate had made that decision for him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Levi told her, breaking out of the embrace but reaching for her hand. “We just have to leave. Now.”

It was important that they left the scene and his sharp demeanour expressed that well. Levi still had it in his head that he was Mafioso and so, he had to evade the cops. People would have heard the gunshots and called the authorities, so their window of escape was getting smaller by the second. It never really occurred to him that they could use their tomes to teleport out of there, and as far as he was concerned, he still had to make a stop at his place of work. Gino Valachi had said that he would meet him there and since Levi wasn’t prepared to let Lorelai out of his sights – at least for the meantime – she might have to be dragged along. That is, unless she chose to fight him on that. If Lorelai was in the process of doubting him, second-guessing their relationship, then she wouldn’t want to go anywhere with him. It was because of him that she was in this danger in the first place after all.

[Lorelai]

Lorelai could understand the need for them to disappear quickly but Levi seemed to be thinking of walking out of the front door again, and while she was more than happy to hold his hand, she didn't see the need for them to walk anywhere. She could smell the scent of his blood in the air now and had probably only become aware of that because her embrace had aggravated the wounds. At least this was how her subconscious reasoned it. The truth was that she wasn't very good at times at using her vampiric senses and had been too distracted by the action going on around her to notice before.

He's hurt.
What did you expect? You did hear the fighting going on right? All that gunfire.
Yes... but I don't want him hurt.
Well I don't think he wants to be injured either but it happens Lorelai.

"Do you have your tome? We can return the apartment and I can help you clean up your wounds."

It was a sensible suggestion, but there was perhaps an ulterior motive to it, as for her to be able to help him, he would have to remove his shirt. Lorelai wasn't one for ulterior motives though, so that aspect of the offer could easily be overlooked. While seeing him shirtless might be an added bonus, it probably wasn't how she'd of preferred to see him topless for the first time, considering the fact that the chances were high that he had multiple bullets lodged in his chest. Thankfully, the blonde didn't seem to shrink at the sight of blood. Not that she'd of seen anything like his before as he was the only shadow vampire she knew.

Don't pout if he says no Lorelai. And don't be surprised if he gets angry at you for not toming yourself out of this situation.
But...
Yes I know. You couldn't do it. They'd know what you are. They might guess what he was, yadda yadda. Just be prepared okay?
Okay.

She agreed but she wasn't happy about doing so. It wasn't her fault that they had come for her, but it was her fault that she went so easily when they grabbed her in the park. Had she the inclination then to run away or to protect herself Levi would never have been shot. So in a roundabout way, this was all her fault.

I really want to shake you sometimes. The world doesn't revolve around you Lorelai. These things happen.
I know. But maybe if I...
Yes. Maybe if you ran away, he wouldn't be hurt but what if you had run away? What if they came back another night or during the day? What if you awoke in the bar without even knowing you'd been taken? What if they snatched someone else in your place? Any of those scenarios sound any better?
No.

Lorelai sighed and squeezed Levi's hand for some much needed support. She wanted to tome home but she didn't want to leave him. The thought that he might not follow didn't even register in her mind, as she was sure that if he did commit to coming home with her that she could trust him to do so. He didn't seem the sort to say one thing and do another and yet still, to tome home she would have to remove her hand from his. It was something she would do, if she had to, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

[Levi DAmico]

The moment Lorelai let him grab her hand was the moment before Levi was on the move toward the door. It wasn’t until she mentioned the tome that Levi realised he was overlooking the obvious. In the heat of things, he’d forgotten he was able to use that tome just as she was. Levi didn’t question why she hadn’t used the tome to disappear from these men the minute they’d grabbed her – actually, he was rather glad that she hadn’t. The use of supernatural abilities tonight had been subtle, which was just as well because he didn’t need the hassle of cleaning up that mess too. These were the last people in the world that Levi wanted to know about his new ‘gifts’, but seeing as how Gino was the one who’d sent them, it might already have been too late for that. He needed to head back to his office and have that meeting with the man, to find out what he knew. Levi was aware that he’d been a little careless lately – too predictable in his movements – but at least with all his habitual tome use, his trail wasn’t all that detectable for ordinary mortals. Obviously Gino’s people knew where Levi worked and knew where Lorelai lived – which wasn’t stellar news – but had they followed him to the caverns, or followed him home? Levi had to hope not, but he wouldn’t know until he questioned Gino. The man had said he’d arrive at Levi’s office in a couple of hours, so, going home to change was probably not a bad idea – just, maybe not to Lorelai’s home.

“I need a change of clothes,” he said gruffly, pulling her back through the main section of warehouse and out toward the streets. “We’ll go to my apartment, ok?” he asked, looking back to her. Nevertheless, he wasn’t pausing for an answer.

His apartment in Corvidae Flats wasn’t a place he went to all that often, but it was the place he stored most of his belongings – outside of his office that is. He couldn’t turn up all battered and bloodied to his meeting with Gino; he had a reputation to protect. They could have gone to Lorelai’s apartment, but Levi suspected she didn’t have any spare clothing to fit him and he wasn’t going to wear one of her sundresses. Maybe he could stand to leave some clothing of his own at her place from now on, for situations like these. He was there an awful lot and sometimes spent the night on the couch, so it wasn’t a bad idea. It certainly saved him the bother of turning up for work the next night in the same suit and collecting suspicious looks from his employees. Since he really didn’t like going to his own apartment – predominantly because it was as awkward as hell to get to what with the walk through the sewers – it was fast becoming a really good idea. It was even more awkward to drag Lorelai through the streets and through the sewers to his apartment as it happened, but at least the awkwardness was from their journey, not because of each other.

When they made it to his apartment up on the sixth floor, Levi let go of her hand to fish the keys out, unlock the door and then lead her in. It didn’t feel as weird as he’d expected it to feel seeing as how he’d never invited anyone home before. The apartment in Corvidae had been designed to be an exact replica of his apartment in Boston – just smaller. From the front door, a short entrance sectioned off by a half-wall to the right, opened up into a large living-come-dining-room. The living room had soaring ceilings, floor-to-wall windows which were still blacked out with industrial shutters, with an adjacent formal dining room, gourmet kitchen and breakfast room. The apartment was decked throughout with new White Oak hardwood flooring and every single wall was white – colour being reserved for the artwork and furniture. There were various paintings – most of them featuring Italian landscapes – and they took up great expanses of wall space. The furniture was rather chic though, with sharp angles and lines and bold, solid colours – greys and blacks mostly.

The air in here was stale, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. Levi kept the shutters down as that was better than not doing so. He also had a habit of leaving the lights off, but the lamps were left on in the living room. The shallow, white light did little to disrupt the cold feeling of the room, so he flicked on the main lights which engulfed the room in warm brightness. Levi winced a little under the glare of what felt like search lights to him, but carried on into the living room to stand opposite the very square couch, looking back at the doorway. He expected Lorelai to follow him in or maybe start inspecting her surroundings, but her actions didn’t really affect his plans. He needed to get these dank clothes off and clean up. As he started to unbutton his black suit jacket, he quickly found that he was working with too much gusto. The movement made his wounds ache so he slowed his pace and peeled out of the still sodden material. Maybe in a couple of hours all that blood would turn to shadowy wisps and disappear, but for now, his white dress shirt was stained black and was riddled with holes. Levi tossed the heavy jacket to the floor, and as he began to work on his shirt buttons, he looked Lorelai over.

“You can relax,” he told her. “Make yourself at home. Ain’t no traps or anything here.”

[Lorelai]

Lorelai followed and tried not to look at the blood stained street outside where the car had once been. Two groaning bodies still littered the floor, indicating that the man they had freed had indeed fled the scene. Not being one to be able to leave someone in that state, Lorelai wanted to alert the emergency services as to the need for several ambulances at the warehouse, but first she had to note the name of a street. Having done this, she waited until they were far enough away before she reported the incident to the authorities. She'd also noted several cameras and so as they made their way to Levi's apartment, Lorelai did her best to try and find and destroy any images the camera's may have caught of them. This was part of the reason for her silence; not that she had much to say as she was still mourning the two men who had died because of her.

As they walked through the sewers, Lorelai found herself quite lot. She had no idea where she was or where they were going. Levi didn't talk much about his place and so she had no idea that resided in the quarantine zone, else she'd of convinced him to tome home and use the portal. This was something she would tell him later, because for all she knew, he wanted her to know how to find his apartment in a more traditional manner.

Approaching the door, Lorelai tried to slow her pace as she wasn't sure if she was welcome to cross the threshold and entering a place uninvited wasn't a skill that she possessed. Her hand passed between the door frame with ease and she quickly noted that it met with no resistance. Smiling, she stepped into his front room and paused when he dropped her hand again.

"Oh, Levi. Your place is quite lovely."

Her eyes took in everything there was to see and while it was an obvious bachelor pad, Lorelai didn't note it as such, as she had no idea what a bachelor pad was. All the blonde saw was how nicely everything seemed to come together and how everything seemed to have its place. While the air was stale, there was no oppressive atmosphere at least none that she could discern. When he clicked on the light she blinked and covered her eyes for a moment while she adjusted to the brightness.

As he started to remove his clothing, Lorelai tried to avert her eyes, only she couldn't keep her eyes from him for long, as she wanted to see how badly injured he was. When he removed his dark suit jacket and she was able to see the holes in his shirt she gasped slightly and stepped a little closer to him.

"Oh Levi. You were injured badly."

There was a soft blush to her cheeks as she then moved to help him out of his shirt, as delicate, nimble fingers were probably better suited for the task of unbuttoning his shirt given the state he was in.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" she asked, briefly looking up into his umber eyes. "We need to remove the bullets."

Lorelai didn't shrink away at the sight of physical injuries, as even in Hoshkosh she'd seen her fair share of horrors and seeing as how the community preferred to try and deal with everything in house if they could. The women of the community were both doctor and nurse to their family and would often support other families when the injuries or illnesses were serious enough.

Opening his shirt, she didn't eve stop to think before her fingertips were delicately exploring the wounds on his chest. She was fascinated by the colour of his blood and the properties it possessed. It was strange to see but she didn't let it distract her too much. Having counted the wounds, she looked up at him once more, the colour in her cheeks rising.

"I'm sorry. I should have... asked before I did that."

She withdrew her hand from his chest and took a step back. Only instead of keeping her distance she then moved behind him to help ease the shirt over his shoulders and down his arms. The suit was ruined and would need to be disposed of and so she picked up the jacket and began to empty the contents of his pockets onto the nearest clear surface.

[Levi DAmico]

When Lorelai approached and took his shirt buttons in hand, Levi didn’t exactly know what to do. Physical contact in general made him wary – probably because he always expecting the worst out of people – but in this instance, his anxiety was made worse simply by the fact that it was Lorelai. It wasn’t that he expected her to attack him – unless attacking with affection counted. He had a horrible feeling that she was going to make the situation… intimate. Nevertheless, reservations were soon set aside and Levi dropped his hands, allowing her full access because, frankly, lifting his arms even this much was making his wounds burn intensely. As independent as Levi was, he did prefer it when somebody else was there to fix him up. That person used to be the Family physician; someone who was medically trained as well as being sensibly trained in keeping their mouth shut. Levi wasn’t all that fond of the physicians though, particularly because they reported back to the Patriarca and he didn’t need them hearing about every time some of his independent work went a little south. As a result, it ended up being Shiro who would bind the wounds, sew the stitches, and pop him so full of medication that he couldn’t get out of bed for a week – not to mention take care of business while he was in said comatose state. Levi wouldn’t admit it, not even to himself, but he missed that man.

Levi hadn’t known how badly he was injured until Lorelai had removed his shirt and gave them both the chance to inspect the damage. He still didn’t know how bad it was, but now, even without provocation, he could feel the electric-burn flourishing around the bullet holes in his chest and down his front toward his abdomen. The cold delicacy of Lorelai’s touch did little to relieve the burning and Levi winced at the sudden contrast of temperature. While he wasn’t losing blood, the wounds were slowly closing and he could feel the pressure building where his skin was trying to repair around the bullets. They would need that first aid kit after all, which just so happened to contain a scalpel and big pair of tweezers – perfect for the job. He was about to tell her where to find the kit when he noticed Lorelai had started to blush in front of him. Levi frowned, oblivious to the reason because he’d been concentrating on the pain, and then before he knew it, she’d disappeared behind him and was helping him out of his shirt. Levi grumbled as she tugged, the shirt scraping down his skin like it was made of sandpaper. Levi was glad when he was free and exhaled, relieved for the moment before he heard some stuff being piled upon the glass coffee table.

Turning swiftly – perhaps too swiftly – Levi scowled at the sight. Logic told him it was normal to be doing what she was doing, but he was too busy being pissed. Touch me, but don’t touch my stuff, were the thoughts that went through his head. He had to say or do something.

“Kit’s in the bathroom by the way,” he grumbled and stepped toward her, taking his keys and his cell phone from her hands. “Under the sink. I got this. Thanks.”

[Lorelai]

"Okay."

Lorelai happily handed the jacket and the shirt to Levi and then looked around the room; she wasn't sure where the bathroom was but she knew it wasn't in the lounge. Since Levi had basically asked her to retrieve the kit for him, she turned and headed off in one direction hoping it was the right one and that she wouldn't be walking into his bedroom when she opened the first door. Luck it would seem was on her side, as the first door she came to was indeed the bathroom she sought. It didn't take her long to find the first aid kit and when she walked back into the front room, she was carrying it in both hands, holding it out before her as if it were something of importance that needed to be presented to the male.

"It might be easier for us both if you were to lie down so I can get the bullets out."

She didn't care where he lay down, so long as his back was flat against something so that he wouldn't have to support his weight. If he flinched while standing, she could cause him further injury, if he was laying down, his movements would be more limited. There were several places Levi could choose to lay down, to make her job easier, the sofa, the dining room table, the floor, even his bed if that was where he'd feel most comfortable.

"I need a bowl or something to put the bullets in too," she said looking in the direction of the kitchen as she wondered if she should just go and rummage through his cupboards.

She didn't though. She stood before him, the kit in her hand, as she waited for him to tell her where they were going to do this, and where she could find the bowl. Unfortunately this pause in her activities gave her the chance to look over his body once more and even covered in holes, she couldn't deny that he was reasonably well toned; Levi obviously worked out. Colour rose in her cheeks once again and she forced herself to look down at the item in her hands.

Get a grip Lorelai. You've seen men with their shirts off before.
I know, it's just... it's Levi.
Yeah, you don't say. And in a minute you are going to have to cut into that finely sculpted chest of his. Think you can do that?
Of course I can.
*laughs* You can't raise a finger to defend yourself but you have no issue cutting into a guy you have a huge crush on. You have issues. You know that right?
*sighs* I know. But this is to help him.

It wasn't all that strange though. She could easily do what she needed to do in this. There was a very distinct difference between cutting someone with a blade to protect her own life and cutting away infected tissues, or in this case digging out bullets, for the good of someone else. Perhaps, if she had the time, she'd think to train as a nurse, unfortunately Lorelei was too preoccupied with everything else going on in her life to even consider embarking on a proper carrier.

[Levi DAmico]

Dark umber eyes watched Lorelai very carefully as she surrendered his property and then disappeared toward the bathroom. The apartment had a simple layout: the living-come-dining-room with kitchen directly opposite the front door, a corridor toward the left of the front door that led to the home office, and a corridor that was an offshoot from the living room area. That corridor led toward the library, bedroom and bathrooms; there was an en-suite and a general bathroom which housed that first aid kit he’d told Lorelai to fetch. Lorelai would have to go through his bedroom to find the en-suite, but to do that she’d have to walk past the general bathroom. She wouldn’t really be able to get lost between the three doors and besides that, the library door was locked. Levi figured she would find it and return quite quickly, but it gave him enough time to get his stuff in check. First he had to take stock and ensure that nothing had gone missing; not that he considered Lorelai a thief exactly, but you never rule these things out. Once he was sure that everything checked out, he tucked his belongings into the drawer under the coffee table and sure enough, within minutes, he’d heard footsteps coming back to him. Levi straightened up with a bit of a grimace and watched as Lorelai came over presenting the first aid kit much like a dog would present a gift to its master.

A frown was present on Levi’s features as she made her suggestion and he looked around the room to find an appropriate surgery table. He didn’t like the idea of staining his couch, even if his blood had proved that it would soon disappear into black wisps. Levi gave a glance toward the kitchen/dining area and didn’t much like his chances of lying on the counter top. The only other alternatives were the floor or the bath tub, but the tub’s curves might have made it difficult. Levi let loose an angry sigh before voicing his decision.

“Sofa’s fine. There’s a bowl under the sink in the kitchen and that kit has everything you need to remove bullets.”

Levi didn’t feel guilty about ordering Lorelai about as he laid himself down across the sofa. Levi’s mind was pretty much stuck in Mafioso mode and the capo didn’t shy away from barking orders at people. He didn’t need to be polite or friendly, these bullets just needed to be plucked out of him so he could move on and get onto phase two of today’s wonderful plans. Stuck in Mafioso mode meant that Levi was still oblivious to Lorelai’s sudden bashfulness too. He didn’t understand why she was shrinking away from him like she was too embarrassed to be in his presence. Still, there was nothing to do but frown and maybe crack the whip a little.

“You might wanna bring some towels too,” he grumbled. “In the drawer under the coffee maker.”

[Lorelai]

Lorelai did everything he instructed and she did it all with a quiet grace. She could hear the difference in his tone but it never occurred to her to be upset or annoyed by the way in which he spoke to her and barked commands as he lay on the sofa. She was there to help and she needed to be able to look after him, as such it seemed only natural to her that he would need to tell her what to get and where to find things. She placed the kit on the floor next to him before she moved to the kitchen to retrieve the bowl. It was momentarily set upon the counter as she began to run some hot water in the sink. While she waited for the water to heat up, she retrieved the tea towels from the cupboard under the coffee maker. The towels were then set next to the bowl as she set about the task of adjusting the water to an appropriate temperature. She wanted hot water, not scalding, but not tepid, it had to be just a little hotter than what the human skin would usually find comfortable. Once she got it right, she washed her hands, dried them on one of the towels, half-filled the bowl with water, put the small stack of towels under her arm and carried everything back to Levi.

Kneeling on the floor, the blonde did well not to look her ruggedly handsome friend over again; she needed to set up a small work station for the items she needed and so she took a towel, shook it out, folded it in half and set it on the floor before opening the pack and retrieving the items she thought she might be able to use. Among these items were the oversized tweezers, a scalpel with sterilised blades still in their wrappings, an anti-septic spray, gauze and tape. She placed a fresh blade in the scalpel, pulled the bowl a little closer to her and then shrugged her cardigan from her shoulders before casting it aside.

"Are you ready for me to do this?" she asked, as she shook out another of the towels, scrunched it up and set it down on his arm. "If I hurt you in any way please let me know. I promise I will be as gentle as possible."

It didn't really matter if he was ready or not. This needed to happen, and so she grabbed another of the towels, leaving this one folded, dipped the corner of it in the water and set about gently cleaning up one of the wounds. His blood, however, didn't seem to behave like normal blood and there really wasn't much of anything for the sodden cloth to clean up; regardless, Lorelai dabbed the area dry using the cloth she'd set on his arm, picked up the scalpel and set about the task of working the first of the bullets free. While she wasn't exactly trained for this sort of thing, her fingers were steady and nimble and when she had to touch Levi, she applied only the lightest of pressure. When she was sure that she would be able to remove the bullet without too much more trouble, she placed the scalpel into the water and picked up the tweezers. The metal fragment was quickly removed and placed in the bowl before Lorelai peered into the small cavity to see if any shrapnel remained. Black blood however wasn't something she was used to working around or looking through and so even though she saw no additional fragments, she then found it necessary to feel the area out with her pinkie finger. Once she was happy that nothing remained, she placed the tweezers in the water, rinsed off her pink and retrieved the scalpel before setting to work on the next wound.