♡ His night ♡ (Closed)

[Lorelai]

Lorelai laughed, the sound almost musical as she glanced over at Levi as they made their way downstairs. Of course she knew what I Spy was, there were only so many games a child could play in a community that all but rejected technology. What made her laugh though wasn't the game suggested, but rather the fact that Levi was the one suggesting it. He didn't seem the sort to play such a childish game, though she was more than willing to indulge him.

"I would love to play games with you in the car. And you may ask me any questions you like, as always. There are no dumb questions Levi, only dumb answers."

She was using his word to make a point, but what she really wanted to say was stupid in place of dumb. The word dumb felt weird on her tongue, foreign. Words often felt that way when they weren't her own, and while Lorelai's vocabulary wasn't lacking, she did speak in a certain way and use certain words, much like most people. What she said, she'd heard before and it was a statement that she wholeheartedly agreed with. Questions were important. People asked questions when they wanted more information. They asked questions to get to know others. It was the answers that could be wrong, or biased, or just plain idiotic. Levi wasn't one to give idiotic answers, he was however one to give evasive answers. At least he used to be. Of late, he'd become much more open and honest with her; a fact that thrilled her.

"I could give you a foot massage while we're travelling. If you'd like that, that is. We could still talk while I'm doing it, though you would have to sit in such a way so that I could easily reach your foot."

She began wondering if the car was spacious enough for her to sit on the floor with Levi on the seat. She didn't wish for him to be uncomfortable and she was quite small, so it was entirely possible that she could squeeze herself into an appropriate position if she had to. Racier thoughts could have run through her mind, and might have, if she wasn't who she was. As it was, all she could think about was making sure that Levi wasn't bored on their journey.

[Levi DAmico]

It was charming to hear the delightful tune of her voice carry in laughter. The Italian wasn’t one for music – he never had the time to sit around and dream in cathartic space – so listening to her talk, laugh, sing and… make various other sounds… was music to his ears. For lack of a better way to explain it, she was his recreational escape from the big, bad world of business. While normal people treated work like work, a necessity for their life choices, Levi’s whole life was about working hard, getting the job done and making money as a result. He worked so much that he could probably never manage to spend what he’d made; as long as he had booze, cigarettes, food and somewhere to sleep, the Italian had never needed anything else. Books were his only indulgence, if one could consider that an indulgence, before he’d met the blonde. Levi still liked to collect the rare kind, the expensive kind, the most impressive kinds simply because he could afford it. He barely had the time to read them, and as it was, a lot of the works he’d bought were fiction, classics for the sake of it, and he wouldn’t read them anyway. Levi had no space for fiction in his life, well, aside from the sort he’d weave together that was. Levi loved to learn and open his mind up to new ways of thinking, like it might unravel the mysteries of the world somehow and make him a better person. Thousands of years of mankind’s history was stored on that ink and paper, millions of mistakes made and good deeds done and problems resolved – it wasn’t something to ignore. If you could learn from your own mistakes, you could definitely stand to learn from others and the Italian was deeply competitive; whatever he could learn, he could use against you.

While Levi hadn’t had much free time before he met Lorelai, he certainly had less of it now. He spent every spare second of his day with her, sometimes even shirking his responsibilities and delegating to his minions, just so he could claw away a few extra hours alone with the blonde. Those people Levi had condemned before, those lazy dipshits who skated by on the bare minimum of effort to make enough money so they could afford to live, weren’t so disgusting now. Now, Levi thought he understood them a little bit more. Of course he still hated laziness, and more so he hated people who would leech off of others’ successes, but he couldn’t complain too loudly when he was being pretty damn lazy himself lately. Although thinking about it at all would reveal it wasn’t entirely laziness that he was experiencing, because the Italian performed with an endless supply of passion in whatever he was focused on; the thing which had changed was the man’s priorities. Before, all Levi had was his work and that was all he cared about. Malavita was his whole world and nothing could have ever existed beyond that. And then, then he found himself in the jaws of Fate, forced into a new way of thinking and living. His world wasn’t larger as he might have expected, worse – he had two of them. One world would have to make way for the other, and Levi was sure of his decision to choose Lorelai over those criminals. Not only because he was in love with her, obsessed with her, but because there was no future in his old life; it had died when CC had taken his life from him. There was no going back.

Regret wasn’t something the Italian had much time for either. You can look back on your choices and decide they were pretty ******* stupid – maybe punching that kid in the nose hadn’t been the best idea in hindsight – but Levi never regretted it. For one, he’d rather enjoyed the experience, the crushing of bone and gristle under his fist and how the blood had shot out of the kid’s face like someone had uncapped a hydrant; it was morbid fascination, and Levi was relieved to discover that he still rather enjoyed hitting people. For two, the Italian had learned a valuable lesson about when to hit people. It was always easier to think that things would be easier if so-and-so would die and be out of the picture, but that was thinking short term. If Levi had delayed his actions that night twenty-two years ago, he might have gotten away with his diabolical scheme to steal food from the pantry. Still, there was no point in crying over spilt milk and a split lip, and a broken nose… no, Levi really didn’t regret any of that. Just like how he didn’t regret his inability to stop himself from falling for the blonde beside him. Sure, their love and their relationship was hazardous and crazy, but he would just have to learn from this **** and remove the potential for those things in the future. It was him that was making this **** a bother in the first place, so letting go and chilling out was just what he needed. Levi didn’t need a foot massage though, and while a few months ago the Italian might have scolded her like a cat scratching at his Venetian furniture, now he was willing to make a joke out of it and take a softer approach.

“It’s going to be pretty predictable if we play I Spy and you do that at the same time,” the Italian said, his mirth hiding pretty well in the charcoal notes of his voice. “I mean, there’s only so many things that start with T and S, bella. Toes, shoes, socks, toes again… I reckon it’ll get pretty boring pretty fast. Best you just sit on my lap and we play there instead.”

Of course there were a million things the Italian could spy from that position, and with his free arm, he gripped her waist and pulled her into him as if to give her some kind of idea. Apparently the Italian only despised public displays of affection when they weren’t his own, presumably because he was somehow absolved from the juvenile and ridiculous affections that teenagers and young adults were scorned for. Truth be told, Levi never felt young, not unless he was in a room where he wasn’t the smartest, most cunning person there. Those moments were rarer than chicken teeth, and predominantly because he purposely forged some distance between himself and those contenders. Not that he was shying away from a fight, exactly, but Levi knew that he couldn’t be trusted to pick his battles. He was better able to make rational decisions when he wasn’t pissed off, and certain individuals had penchants for raising his blood pressure when they were lording over how much smarter they were than he was. Lorelai had a similar effect on raising his blood pressure he’d found, where small displays of affection and fooling around playing children’s game quickly became sports of lust. This instant being no different, but then, she had been provoking him all night in that dress, with the hair, with the make-up, and with the promise of a hotel. Levi might not have been the most receptive player at the start of their relationship, but he was certainly showing himself to be a proactive member of the team; she must have had some idea as to how he’d react when she’d laid down the highlights of the night already.

[Lorelai]

As always her skills were being underutilised but she didn't mind that too much as she'd had a lifetime of experience in being overlooked. Tonight though was not about her. Despite the fact that the blonde had trained to become a masseuse mainly for Levi's benefit, he seemed to avoid having her touch him in such a way. She might have been hurt by that fact if he wasn't also oddly content just to have her close by most of the time. Though he wasn't rejecting her outright this time, but rather proposing that she sit on his lap while they played their games. At that her mind did come alive with some rather inappropriate thoughts; thoughts that caused the colour to rise in her cheeks. She lightly bit into lower lip, before turning away from him in the hopes that her mind would quieten down sooner, rather than later.

"We cannot sit on the driver's side of the car if I am to sit on your lap Levi," she began, as she shifted her focus to safety over pleasure. "It wouldn't be right to endanger his life in that way."

She peaked up at him, casting her eyes sideways so that she could see if he was following the direction of her thoughts or not. She wasn't entirely sure, as the fleeting look she gave him wasn't really enough to read him. Levi was inscrutable to Lorelai at the best of times, so trying to read him in such a short space of time proved all too difficult. There were times when a fleeting glance might have been enough, but this wasn't one of them.

"We wouldn't be comfortable wearing a seatbelt," she continued. "And if something were to happen and the driver were to break too suddenly..." She let the thought slip away, as even the thought of the nameless, faceless driver dying was too much for her. "We would likely be able to walk away from such a thing, but a human cannot."

The conversation hung in the air. The explanation was simple, but it was distressing to Lorelai and she wasn't sure she could continue further. She could have told him that the combined force of their bodies against the back of the seat would more than likely crush the man, making them responsible for his death, but she didn't. The overly sensitive female trusted that Levi was smart enough to work it all out for himself. Sitting on the floor, in the footwell wouldn't have posed any threat to the drive even if they had seated themselves behind him. Or so she had assumed when she made the offer. Now. Now she wasn't so sure.

In the past she hadn't been so concerned about road safety as she didn't really understand it all. Now however, she was beginning to make sense of just how dangerous driving was, as she had finally begun taking lessons. She didn't need to learn to drive, but it was something she was curious about and being able to control a vehicle seemed like something most people in the city were capable of; it was an experience she wanted to share. Only now it made her a little paranoid about such a fallible form of transportation.

"And I would so very much like to sit in your lap," she concluded, in case Levi thought that she was trying to make excuses not to sit with him, or rather on him.

[Levi DAmico]

The Italian had no mind for the worries that were currently plaguing the blonde and if he had, he’d be the one to inform her that he’d never asked her to become a masseuse – that was a skill she’d picked up on her own initiative. Maybe he could concede to having inspired her when their first date – which wasn’t a date – had taken place at a Spa, but then again, he’d only chosen the place because he thought Lorelai would like it. Of course the Italian was selfish and he fully expected people to acknowledge that trait immediately after meeting him, but, there was a lot more to selfishness than meets the eye. The feeling is often multi-faceted; good deeds hide the intent of self-servitude pretty well. Levi hadn’t chosen their Spa night because he liked weird people touching him. He’d chosen the place because he figured Lorelai did, that it was one of those established places women went when they needed to relax. After their ordeal – predominantly Lorelai’s ordeal – it was the perfect solution to find her calmness again, her security, and since he was worried **** might happen to her without him, Levi had tagged along.

The selfish part wasn’t in stealing some recreational time for himself, but for making himself feel better because he was fixing a problem – a problem he’d had a large hand in. After all, if Lorelai hadn’t been involved with him, then she wouldn’t have been in the position to be kidnapped. So he could take the blame for things that were his fault; he just couldn’t see how rejecting Lorelai’s offers to serve him was somehow a bad thing. It was the same ideology that provoked his rage whenever she used to ask him if he’d want anything the minute he’d show up at her apartment. Really, Levi felt like he was doing her a favour by saying no. Levi told people what to do on a daily basis, treating them like ants, not giving a **** about their lives so long as they followed orders. He didn’t want Lorelai to think that he was just hanging around because she would do whatever he wanted – even without him asking. For once, Levi wanted for someone not to be under his thumb, because Lorelai deserved better than that. Levi wanted a partner in Lorelai, not a slave and most certainly not a minion.

Apparently there was a lot Levi had no knowledge of, though. The Italian had no idea that the blonde felt slighted whenever he softly refused her offers for a massage, and he certainly had no ******* idea that she had been taking driving lessons either. It didn’t appear to suit the blonde’s nature to be driving around town – least of all when she had powers to create those magical tomes to teleport across the world. Worst of all though, since she’d never mentioned it, Levi had never suspected a thing. Levi worked a lot, but he spent the majority of his time with her and when he came home, he asked how her day was and the answer was always the same – she was helping people. Levi never pressed too hard on the subject because she had always seemed upset about talking about it, like she was obliged to help these people because if she didn’t, they wouldn’t go away. She’d told him that she felt at peace when he was around and he figured that involved not having to dredge up the ghostly issue. Part of him would wonder where she found the time to do all these things without him knowing, and how much else had been squirrelled away, kept from him. It was one thing to have independence, but if you were living a completely separate life from your partner, what was the point of even being a couple? Two people sharing a bed and not their worlds, did not a love life make.

Levi was the paranoid sort, thirty-one years of being fed ******** and being double-crossed had taught him to be wary of people, white lies, and little omissions of truth. Besides, he was fluent in ******** himself now, so he knew better the ins and out of why you lie to people. As a result, if you were caught keeping **** from him once – however inoffensive – it was unlikely that that trust could be repaired. How was he supposed to believe that nothing else was being hidden? Just because you thought it was innocent too, didn’t mean it was to him, and if it really was just so innocuous, why keep it hidden like dirty laundry in the first place? How fortunate Lorelai was in that moment because Levi wasn’t aware of any of this ****. If he had been, there most certainly would have been an argument. It was the irony which was the infuriating part. She’d badgered him for answers about his life, his business, and Levi had done everything in his power to be open and honest with her and yet, once again, Lorelai was the one keeping **** to herself and not sharing her life with the one she apparently loved.

If Levi was able to appreciate the situation for what it was, he would say that it was becoming pretty ******* typical of their interactions. Lorelai was always the innocent party, regardless of the **** she’d done to upset him, even when those things were the exact same things she’d said he had done to wrong her. It was ******* exhausting being the one who was always wrong, living in the glare of someone who was always right. No doubt he was wrong to believe that he should even have the right to feel slighted himself, because even those kinds of thoughts were criminal. Lorelai would probably just say that she never thought it was such a big deal to not tell him about her life because she was no big deal, and that would piss him off too. Did she really think so lowly of him, that he could never be capable of loving her and caring about every tiny detail of her life? Was he really cursed to spend his entire existence being a monster, even beyond his own perceptions of just how monstrous he was?

Instead of causing a fight though, ignorance allowed the Italian to roll his eyes playfully at her carefully executed prediction of the future. For a man that considered every single angle of every single thing, he hadn’t given a single thought to what might happen to their driver if they happened to get into a crash. The Italian figured that it was mostly because he didn’t give a **** about one man’s safety over his own desires, but also because he was used to never having been in a car accident so didn’t think about it. Driving was the driver’s responsibility, if they crashed, it was their fault. There was a reason Levi was always in the backseat and never at the front, not only because he didn’t have a licence, but because when he did drive, he decided that the entire road surface was his – even the oncoming traffic’s side. It was better not to drive a coupe like a tank, so he let others deal with the driving thing, and so far he’d never been in an accident. The only time Levi ever felt threatened was when people were actively trying to put his life in danger, and they actually had the power to do so. People like Nicoletti, Valachi and his own father – they were the people that threatened him. Levi didn’t worry about natural events – earthquakes, floods, freak lightning bolts, or a rabbit charging into the road and causing their car to swerve. You could rarely anticipate these events and worrying about them was a waste of one’s sanity, and an unnecessary stressor in a world that gave you plenty else to stress about.

“Yeah, whatever. It’s fine,” he grumbled, yet carefully managed to keep his tone of voice out of the anger zone. “Just sit next to me then if it makes you feel better.”

There was no real venom to his words and while he had grumbled the sentence, he still gave her a quick peck to the cheek to relieve any chance of guilt she might have been feeling for dismissing his idea of getting closer to her. Because, Levi really didn’t want her to worry over these little things and maybe it was his fault for being too accepting, too nice, that allowed her to so easily decide that Levi wouldn’t care if you lied to him, or did **** behind his back, or stomped on his feelings because he didn’t have them anyway. It was a stupid train of thought to have because Levi had never portrayed himself to be easy-going about anything. He tried so damn hard to be nice to Lorelai, though. He wanted to do those things that made her happy even if it was killing him on the inside. One would have to question the logic of it, but there was no logic to question here. Love wasn’t particularly logical, and it didn’t take into account what would happen to those people on the outside. The Italian did give a sour scowl to the driver when their car had arrived though, almost as though he had to pocket that hatred somewhere because it had no place being shovelled at Lorelai’s door. The man blanched with nervousness at that cold, hard stare the Italian was giving him, wondering if he was hours past the appointment, but Levi wouldn’t acknowledge the ****** past that point anyway; he even opened the backseat door for Lorelai himself so she wouldn’t be seated behind the driver.

“After you, bella.”

Once the blonde was perfectly and beautifully positioned behind the passenger seat, Levi would help himself into the car, giving the driver the very succinct gesture to get in the ******* car already and drive because Levi didn’t need anyone to help him. It didn’t occur to the Italian even now that his aggressive methods might just put the driver into a state of nervousness that could impair his driving ability, but then, at least it wasn’t Lorelai’s fault and she could probably end up living with that, right? Levi decided to change the subject once seated, turning cool umber orbs onto turquoise and searching for peace.

“So… where exactly are we going?”

[Lorelai]

The conversation had not gone as the female desired and she pouted a little as Levi told her that she should sit next to him. That wasn't what she desired at all. She wanted to be as close to him as he would allow and yet now she was being cast aside.

It's your own fault.
What did I do?
You ruined the moment. Why did you have to bring up road safety of all things?
It was the right thing to say. We could kill someone with our recklessness.
*sighs* I know you think that stuff is important but seriously. Don't you remember curling up on his lap before? You didn't have any issue then.
I didn't know the dangers then.
Well you only have yourself to blame for the situation you now find yourself in.

Lorelai climbed into the car and settled herself in, even though she wasn't entirely happy with the situation as it now was. She stared down at her hands that rested, fingers entwined in her lap. She shouldn't have said anything. She saw that now. Unfortunately that led to her falling silent. Of course she'd thanked Levi for helping her into the car, as that was the polite thing to do, but no she was almost afraid to speak in case she said something wrong to upset his special night.

Lorelai...
Hmm...
He asked where we're going.
He did?
Yes.
Oh...

Turquoise eyes looked to the man at her side. She considered climbing into his lap but after everything she'd said and everything she knew to be true she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was a lot more difficult than she'd ever imagined; displeasing someone she loved. Usually she tried not to dwell on the negative. If she did, she'd likely still be holed up in her apartment, ignoring the world around her. Levi and Pru had brought her back to life. While Levi had done so through his kind attention to her, Pru had done it through forcing her to do things through unknowing commands. To this day, Lorelai was still going out of her way to do new things and engaging random people in conversation as Prudence had told her that she needed to get out more. She'd never asked Prudence to rescind the order, as it was one that she could live with and asking Prudence to take back something she'd said, many, many months ago would have brought about questions Lorelai didn't want to answer.

"We're going to the theatre and then we'll be staying overnight in a hotel. The hotel has an in-house Spa, gym and an indoor swimming pool that we have full access to. We don't have to take advantage of the amenities but they are there in case we do."

Her voice was as soft as ever but there was a note of hesitancy in it that showed that she was unsure of something. She didn't really doubt her plans but rather herself. She had thought that this would be a wonderful evening for them both but that was before she'd upset him and she did so hate to disappoint him in any way.

[Levi DAmico]

It wasn’t difficult to recognise how the mood had soured yet again and how it had been his fault – not like it could be anybody else’s. Although he had tried to make it like everything was fine and dandy by putting on a smile and kissing her cheek, it was pretty ******* obvious that he hadn’t done enough to convince the blonde who sat still and quiet with this look on her face mirroring the despondence of a child who’d lost their kitten. Turquoise eyes were heavy and dull, the life sucked right out of them, but worst of all was the pout on her face. Levi next made the effort to cheer things up and change the subject by reverting back to the topic of their plans tonight, but that hadn’t worked either. Her hesitance to answer his question just ended up giving the Italian time to think and obsess again.

He wondered what normal people might do, and by how much he was failing through his ignorance. Since Lorelai seemed to love Prudence and Robin so much, the Italian almost found himself wondering if he should ask them what they thought was the right thing to do. Levi had never made any claims to normality – or sanity for that matter – so it was a complete mystery to him how he should have behaved in this situation, how he was supposed to ensure that everything went perfectly. Was he supposed to be honest with her and tell her what was really on his mind; revealing the good, the bad and the ugly in tandem? Or was he supposed to make out like nothing was bothersome, and that everything was sunshine and rainbows all year around? He had no ******* clue, and he didn’t like to be in a situation where he was several important cards short of a winning hand. Levi had considered showing his cards to Lorelai and revealing just how ******* helpless he was, but that didn’t sit well with his pride and he’d probably kill himself before he actually did ask Prudence or that little prick anything. Regardless, questioning Lorelai would no doubt cause an argument too because once Levi would get started telling her everything he felt, there was no way it would end well.

Since the point was to ensure the survival of their relationship and keep Lorelai happy, it would certainly do no good to tell her how times like this frustrated the ever-living-**** out of him. Ironically, as she was badgering herself for not measuring up to what she thought were his perceived ideas of perfection, Levi was thinking the exact same thing about Lorelai. As far as he was concerned, everything was his fault and he was the one letting her down. But that was because Levi was used to being in charge, he was used to taking the responsibility for the good and the bad because he’d been the one to order the actions in the first place. In his attempt at being playful, he’d inadvertently caused Lorelai to think about all this road safety stuff and that had meant that she couldn’t possibly join in on the game. It wasn’t a game to her, it was life and death, and obviously things like some random stranger’s potential harm were more important to the blonde than the man sitting next to her.

Given that Lorelai made it abundantly clear through her words and actions that everything and everyone sat above him in the list of her concerns and affections, it was difficult for him to silence his rage and pride. Levi would never come to terms with that – being second place was never good enough let alone any lower number – but what choice did he have? Saying anything at all would cause an argument because Lorelai would get upset that he would ever think such a terrible thing of her despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. The outcome of any battle with this angel was inevitable in Levi’s mind: he was to be written down in the history text books as being the cruel Deamon who wanted nothing more than to hurt everyone for his sick enjoyment. That was why Levi had given up on providing his opinion on any matter. That was why it was better to sit there in silence and pretend everything was fine and wonderful. Maybe, over time, it would be and Levi would let go of his selfish wants and needs and just accept what was given to him. Or, maybe it would never be fine at all and being just an afterthought in someone’s life would prove to never satisfy him no matter how much light Lorelai brought to his life. Now wasn’t the time to see the future, however, and the Italian decided that he would have to cross that bridge when he’d come to it.

“Sounds great,” he said in that same flat tone, umber eyes diverted their attention to the world outside the blacked out windows.

[Lorelai]

Levi mirrored her in his silence, and while normally she wouldn't have minded sitting with him in such a manner, the atmosphere to sit comfortably in silence just wasn't there. Neither of the pair seemed to be able to easily dispel the situation but they had try, at least one of them did.

Do something Lorelai else his Birthday will be ruined and it will be all your fault.

Listening to her voice for once without argument, she reached across the small space between the couple, that felt like an ocean, and took a hold of his hand. Once she had the larger appendage in her grasp, with her smaller hand covering his, she squeezed it gently, her thumb rubbing back and forth just above his knuckles.

She'd said she didn't want to sit on his lap if he sat behind the driver but that didn't mean that she wouldn't willingly curl up on his lap if he moved over to where she sat. Of course it was still dangerous for them to sit that way, but the odds of her killing someone if they were to get into an accident were drastically reduced.

"Levi... Would you perhaps..." She was about to ask him to move over but something stopped her; it wasn't an unreasonable request so it wasn't that. No, it was the fear that he might reject the idea and by extension her that had her tripping over her tongue.

Oh my stars. Really Lorelai? Stop being so pathetic.

Without permission her alternate personality shoved the timid female aside. She wasn't frightened of Levi in the same way Lorelai was. She didn't fear being rejected him. She was more confident in her abilities and desires and she wasn't afraid to let them be known.

The emboldened personality unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over the space between them, she kissed Levi on the cheek to make sure she got his attention and then she took the hand she held to her lips. She lightly kissed his middle finger, just above the knuckle and then softly bit the flesh. Once released from the light, grip of her teeth she pulled his hand over to her side of the vehicle.

"Come and join me over here Levi. There's little to no danger on this side of the vehicle. Though I can't personally vouch for your safety."

Her voice was light-hearted as she teased him, the look in her eyes bordering on hungry. It was a look Levi would have seen before and could likely recognise as the blonde was not devoid of passion. While she'd never been above chasing after what she wanted, she was seldom this aggressive, that is if this mild flirtation could be considered such. Lorelai could be bold but she wasn't as skilled as most women when it came to entrapping a man, even if she had been able to win over the gruff Italian and lay claim to his heart.

[Levi DAmico]

This wasn’t the first time Levi had sat in an uneasy silence, umber eyes focused on the world rushing past like a dark spectre as a vehicle pulled him away from where he wanted to be to where he had to be. The familiar tension in the air coupled with the silent company, made the Italian slip back into business mode where that mask of angry indifference returned to his features. After a while of considering some business figures in his head, some new objectives and just how he was going to put certain plans into action, the Italian had pretty much forgotten the situation he was in now. Since he was ordinarily drunk on this particular date and was very much used to being alone, Levi’s mind effortlessly reset to some other date in time, skipped forward to a future when none of this ******** between Lorelai and himself had even existed.

These unconscious acts seemed to do well to put Levi in a better mood, which was probably part of the reason why he was so quick to warm to the silken touch on his hand. This shy, whisper of compassion came creeping back to him as Lorelai’s hand closed around his. Umber eyes broke free of their cold shells, first looking at their hands, where cinnamon met peach, before searching for his favourite sight in the world. Only, the picture of Lorelai was somewhat greyer than he’d always remembered and always adored, like a cloud had passed over his ray of sunshine. Instead of frustration, Levi was overcome with a sense of guilt and it was the guilt that kept him silent and patient as Lorelai made the effort to say something before quickly giving up. It was a little disappointing, but, at least she’d made the effort to drag him out of the darkness just enough to remind him he gave a **** after all. The blonde had done enough to convince him that she cared too, even if it was just a little bit.

Levi’s focus drifted as each second passed by like a quiet hour and the dull thrum of the car’s engine and the journey of tyres over tarmac made him bored and tired. He probably should have said something, anything that could possibly ease Lorelai’s worries and encourage that cloud to pass over her finally, but Levi couldn’t summon the words and wasn’t even certain there were any to summon in the first place. Umber eyes looked to their hands again, identifying the tiny sensations as scarred fingers brushed over delicate ones, seeking a way to marry them. The thing that worried him was making too many mistakes, that even Lorelai’s saintly patience would find its end with him. It wasn’t his intention to upset her all the time and cause her to worry about being rejected, but even his attempts to be kind and compassionate were coming back to bite him in the ***. Levi never did suffer a divine power to have authority over him, but it was so difficult for his pride to accept that he could be so thoroughly wrong, and so ******* often, that he could concede that there must have been a higher power up there that enjoyed screwing with him. Seriously, Levi could do no right in his life. If there are two ways to do something and only one of them is the correct way, then even Levi could guarantee that both could go wrong – such was his divine curse!

It was a relief when, without him making a sound and doing little more than entwining their fingers together, that Lorelai unbuckled her seatbelt and crept toward him. Levi suddenly felt something warm against his jaw — Lorelai was pressing her lips against it before moving on to bestow a kiss to the back of his hand. Levi soon found his brow crinkling at the strange behaviour, that discomfort and confusion sharpening in his eyes as Lorelai’s fangs nipped the flesh suddenly. Just what in the hell had come over her? First she was this demure cherub that put the lives of strangers over her own and that of her lover, and now she was beckoning him forth like a succubus. Levi might have questioned the fact, maybe even brought up his fanciful metaphor given half a chance to get his thoughts and his urges aligned and in check. As it was, those turquoise eyes were gazing at him with an all too reflective hunger, and the Italian found himself moving across the space with haste as she tugged him toward her.

“I’m not that breakable,” Levi said to comfort her, though with the way his voice came out in a controlled growl, he might have convinced her that he was setting a challenge. “Got scars to prove it.”

Strong arms gave her a boost as he moved into the seat Lorelai had originally been in, only for the blonde to find her new place atop his lap like a young maiden would straddle a horse. Although the Italian didn’t think it would be too comfortable for her to rest back against the window, there wasn’t much he could do in the tight space. Levi couldn’t retain the hand-holding, but he did have other ideas for occupying his greedy hands. Naturally, one hand found its place across Lorelai’s thighs, fingers exploring the short length of flesh between her leg and another part of her that he found incredible. Levi also pressed a palm to the back of Lorelai's head, the silky touch of the blonde's hair reminding him of lazy summer evenings and stolen intimacy. It was merely a benefit that he could become the buffer against Lorelai and the car, because most of all Levi couldn't help but sink in the feeling of selfishness again. The idea of being able to be close to her, to feel like she was his alone, made him blissful. It was pretty shameless to be so outwardly possessive, and Levi wasn’t sure if he should be concerned or not. If he was further concerned about her comfort though, he could probably shift their positions; there certainly was an opportunity to lay her down across the seats rather than prop her on his lap. Granted, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from devouring her, but she wouldn’t be propped up against the car door anymore. Maybe they could come back to that if needed.

“And you’re not that breakable either,” the Italian added. After giving the flesh of her neck a quick nip – nothing more than a scrape of canines and a soft pinch between his lips – Levi lifted his mouth from her and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. “So stop worrying so much, bella.”

A breath of hot air tickled across her neck and shoulders as Levi smirked lightly, the sound and heat of it settling on her skin like melted wax. It was likely hopeless to tell a worrier not to worry, but maybe she could try to let this one go if he distracted her enough. Honestly, Levi had no good reason to tell her not to worry about a stranger’s safety other than the fact that they were strangers, people die all the time, you can’t predict the future and you certainly can’t control everything. These were easily defeated notions, ones he might have objected to if he was in her position too. Maybe you can’t know everything and you can’t control the world, but you are responsible for yourself. It wasn’t long ago that Levi was a stranger to Lorelai and he was a stranger to her, so should that mean they shouldn’t have gave a **** about each other? Realistically, the only reason Levi took the notion as sorely as he had was because he felt rejected by her yet again, like he didn’t hold the place in her heart he thought was his due. Levi would stop the world for her and send it spinning in reverse if she’d just ask, but she couldn’t even sit on his lap? It was probably a petty, stupid thing to get annoyed about, so maybe he could distract himself too. He certainly wasn’t capable of thinking of much when he had his mouth around her neck…