Locks of Love [Lorelai]

[Levi DAmico]

When Lorelai was ready to go, Levi nodded and was about to march ahead when she beat him to it. Instinct told him to grab her and pull her back, to make sure he was the first one to step into that corridor and ensure the coast was clear. He didn’t do that, but he did advance into the corridor quickly after her and made sure he was a few steps in front as she focused her attention on locking the door. It was irrational, he knew that, but then he also knew that as much as his Family liked to play nice with him, they all pretty much hated his guts. It wouldn’t take much to form a coup against him if Gino decided that the best solution was to gun him down. Of course Levi couldn’t really die and would be relieved from duty on his return from Sheol, but he still held onto the fret of losing his life. It wasn’t a fear of death, it was losing his livelihood that bothered him because ****, wouldn’t it be as annoying as hell to start over and pretend to be someone new. Levi wasn’t sure he was even capable of being someone else and what would he do without Cosa Nostra eating into his time?

All these thoughts and anxieties were swirling like a tempest within him as umber eyes examined the immediate area. The hallway was empty but for the two of them, and yet Levi still felt on edge. He barely contained himself when movement caught in the corner of his eye. His head whipped around rapidly, a heavy frown weighing on his features – too heavy to be lifted even by the relief of finding out that it was just Lorelai moving toward him. She took up his arm and he followed the motion with his eyes, almost like he wasn’t sure what was happening, but then – as if on autopilot – they began to walk toward the elevator. Lorelai talked at him, and Levi paused before he found the words to answer her.

“Yeah,” he muttered, slowly coming around. “My uncle.”

There was nothing more he could say about that. Gino would probably introduce himself, so he’d leave that to him. Technically speaking, Gino and Levi weren’t related at all. His father and Gino had been close back in Verona when the Mala del Brenta was still prominent and even afterwards. It was Gino’s idea to come to America and he had the connections to keep them sweet with the Patriarca of Boston. Levi had never known his father to follow anyone’s lead willingly, but he quickly figured out why William was so quick to follow Gino when Levi began to work with him too. Gino was an incredibly smart, determined, charismatic and perceptive individual. He could make the tough decisions and carry them out without prejudice, and on the flip side he had the people skills to make unlimited, long-lasting connections. Both William and Levi understood the benefits of keeping this man on side and it seemed like Gino and Levi were currently in the process of butting heads. Levi didn’t know whether he should grovel – which he did to no one – or do what he normally did; talk his way out of his problems and throw money at it. Gino wasn’t that easy to get rid of though, which was the only reason Levi even considered grovelling. It was unlikely that he actually would plead or beg though; his pride wouldn’t allow it and besides that, Gino had fucked up too. As far as Levi was concerned, the only option here was to trade secrets and keep things sweet.

Lorelai and Levi took the elevator to the ground floor in sustained silence. Lorelai seemed to focus her attention on her appearance and Levi watched her intermittently between frowns and thoughts to himself. She seemed nervous again and he felt the need to say something. He waited until the elevator stopped on the ground level before squeezing her hand and whispering some encouragements into her ear again. He told her she looked beautiful and to stop worrying, then he left a soft kiss on her cheek as he pulled back. There was also a hidden agenda to this that Levi suspected she wouldn’t be aware of. As he moved in to whisper and kiss her cheek, his face was obscured, so when the doors of the elevator opened, he had the advantage of surprise over anyone who might be waiting for them. Knowing nothing of the Masquerade, there was nothing to stop him from employing his Vampiri abilities the instant he caught sight of any attackers. Fortunately, there was no need to act. There was no one outside the elevator doors and no one in the foyer. Levi could see the parked car through the glass doors at the front of the building and since his men were standing there – vigilant as ever – he felt confident enough to lead Lorelai out and into the awaiting vehicle.

The drive to Levi’s headquarters was short. The Levitan command centre, which housed both Levitan Logistics and Levitan Consultancy, was just another modern high-rise protruding into the heavens and was as inconspicuous as any other building in the area. Their car had parked right in front of the entrance where a broad path lead toward the glass security doors between rows of skeletal magnolia trees. Levi’s men – Caro and Barzetti – were the first ones out of the black sedan. They were basically the muscle hired to guard Levi whenever he felt the need to call on them. A capo like Levi should have been surrounded by guards at all times, but in reality, there were no capos like Levi. He employed Caro and Barzetti because they understood his need for privacy, but that didn’t mean he trusted them much. Levi trusted them just enough to open doors for him and jump in the way of a few bullets, which is why he let the two men open his door before he guided Lorelai out of the car and into the building. He hadn’t seen any other cars parked in the area, he didn’t know if Gino had already arrived, but that was just like the man – to wade in and out of places like a ghost. The only way Levi would know for sure if Gino had arrived was to head into his office and see if there was 6’2” block of Italian waiting within.

From the front door of the building there was a short walk to the main elevator. Levi’s offices were on the sixth to eighth floor, but his own personal space was on the sixth since his business had started there and he couldn’t be bothered to move. The Levitan expansion was going well, so well that they had increased the security for the whole building resulting in a cut of their monthly rental charges. Although it took a lot of passwords, card and fob swiping to get into the building, Levi suspected that Gino wouldn’t have any problems getting in. Levi led Lorelai across the dead space of the open offices and to the dimly lit corridor which sectioned him off from his minions. The light in his office was leaking out from around the door, but since he’d left in such a hurry earlier he couldn’t be sure that he hadn’t just left the light on. Despite his reservations, his pace didn’t slow any. Levi pushed open the door, catching sight of a man standing in the middle of his office, but Levi seemed to ignore it immediately. He brought Lorelai in behind him and then closed the door.

“Levi. I’m glad you could make it.”

The voice speaking was in perfect English with only the whisper of an Italian accent; it was low, smooth yet airy, a composition of grandeur and patience. The man who owned the voice was Gino Valachi, a healthy, stocky man of 52. His short, dark hair was combed back, opening up a broad forehead of tanned skin with few wrinkles for a man his age. Chestnut eyes regarded Levi carefully and then the woman behind him.

“And I see you brought a friend. Good evening, miss.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed and if his expressions portrayed even half of the rage he was feeling toward the other man, Gino’s precious navy Herringbone suit would have caught on fire. Gino must have at least felt a little heat rising because he straightened up and focused his attention on the fuming Italian.

“Mi dispiace—”

“So what do you want?” Levi barked, cutting the older man off from his apology.

Chestnut eyes once again made their rounds from Levi to Lorelai and then back again. “I was hoping to clear the air about what transpired this evening.”

Levi scoffed. “Well ain’t that a nice way of saying you’re trying to cover your *** on failing to get us killed.”

Gino’s warm eyes cooled. “I can assure you that was not the intention.”

“Sure it wasn’t.”

“I was as surprised as you were with Antonelli’s actions this evening. Would I have called you to advise if that was not the case?”

“I think you know damn well why you called me, Valachi,” Levi growled. “You knew how I’d react.”

“I suggested back-up.”

“And you know I don’t care for back-up.”

A breath barely an ounce lighter than a sigh left the older man’s nostrils. Gino clasped his hands in front of him and he looked at Levi as if trying to find a crack in the angry visage.

“Although it is clear you don’t believe me,” Gino said cautiously. “I am happy to see you are both quite fine.”

Levi grumbled in response, watching Gino’s focus switch between himself and Lorelai yet again. Just having the man look at her was pissing him off. There were probably quite a few reasons for Gino’s attention wandering over the blonde this evening. For a start, Gino was likely surprised that there indeed was a woman at the centre of all this chaos. Secondly, it was almost astonishing that Levi had brought the woman here to meet Gino. And then of course, there was Gino’s uncertainty as to just what this woman’s relationship was to Levi and how much Levi had revealed to her. Gino was always so much more careful with his words than others and he would never assume as to what information people were privy to. While he suspected that the events of this night had certainly opened Lorelai’s eyes as to what kind of business these two Italians were involved in, he still kept his words quite vague. With Levi’s rage growing and sense cutting him off from blurting out anything too volatile, there was a sizeable lull in the conversation. Gino must have felt that this was the perfect opportunity to change the subject, and potentially cut the tension and confusion in the air.

“Forgive my lack of manners, young lady. In all the commotion, I think we failed to give introductions.”

Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Gino effectively ignored him.

“My name is Gino Valachi. I’m a friend of Levi’s father.”

Gino only held out a hope that Levi would let Lorelai answer, he wouldn’t hold out his hand. Levi knew the man was normally all about the handshaking, so the fact that he hadn’t offered any physical contact suggested that he was giving Levi and Lorelai some space here. Obviously Levi was pissed at him, but Lorelai was quiet and her emotions weren’t readily obvious to the man. Levi suspected that he already knew Lorelai’s name and enough about her to do a very basic background check, but with Lorelai being the technological master that she was, Levi couldn’t really be sure that Gino had anything. He wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea to let Lorelai answer, but if he proceeded to control her all night long it would be obvious to Gino how sensitive he was about this girl. The last thing Levi wanted was to paint a target on his weaknesses, but rationality was somewhat lost on him as he smouldered on.

[Lorelai]

Levi's encouragements were enough to make her once beating heart flutter with imagined excitement. His lips at her ear stopped the chewing of her lower lip and caused her to bite down upon it and she closed her eyes as she did so. Having him be so attentive was... different. It was new and exciting to her, but more than that it let her know that all the advances she'd made upon him were definitely not unwelcome. As the doors to the elevator open, the blonde had colour in her cheeks once more and confidence in her step, as she was lead to the car that awaited them. This was new to her, travelling in such a fashion. It seemed strange. She wasn't used to private transport at all, as she was sure that sitting on the back of a tractor or in the cart it was pulling didn't count as such. She was far more used to taking buses and trains. Shed taken a few cabs in her time in the city but it almost always felt extravagant to do so; to go from A to B with only the company of the person driving the vehicle.

The drive was relatively short but comfortable and Lorelai sat as close to Levi as he would allow, her fingers searching to twine themselves with his, as she sat in silent awe of the situation she found herself in. It was almost too easy to forget what she'd seen earlier in the evening as she sat at Levi's side. But then those visions were sure to raise their heads later and torment her when she was alone. Turquoise eyes looked up at the building as she stepped out of the car and she couldn't help but glance over at the man at her side. His life was so different to her own and she wondered hos he could stand and seem so at home before the ever reaching glass building that seemed to disappear into the sky. She was left once more feeling insignificant and out of her depth. She had no right to be here and while she would happily help her family storm the place if it were necessary, lending her skills as needed, she felt oddly self-conscious as they approached the doorway.

Stop fidgeting Lorelai.
I can't help it. I don't belong here.
Yes you do.
I don't. I'm not... He deserves...
Oh shut up already. He's not out of your league. Do I need to remind you how he looked at you earlier?
No. Yes. Maybe.

The blonde tucked herself in close at Levi's side, hoping he wouldn't realise just how out of place she was in his world. This quiet little country girl who'd left a sheltered life and cared nothing about material worth or money. She knew Levi was a busy man. She'd figured out that he was likely important and powerful in his own way, but this was more than she'd expected. It was now a complete mystery as to why he'd ever spend time with her as they were so far beyond different that it wasn't even funny. If at all possible, his lifestyle was more intimidating to her than that of her former lover. Not that Levi was her lover yet; this was something she was still working on achieving only now... now she wondered if she would ever be enough to capture his interest. And worse... if she did capture his interest, could she really believe that she could hold it? The male had to be surrounded by women of a higher class than her. Women that knew how to walk in this world. Once that knew how to behave in such an environment.

Stop it!
Stop what?
Psyching yourself out.
I can't help it.
You can. Have some backbone for once will you?

As they entered the office in which Gino was waiting, Lorelai froze. The man before them was taller than Levi and had an air of importance about him. Lorelai might have been drawn in too by his voice if it weren't for her catching sight of something moving on the periphery of her vision. Either the place or the person was person was haunted and she had to force herself not to focus upon the shadow she'd seen, else it would know she could see it and she'd be left babbling away to herself in the corner of the room.

The conversation passed between the two men as if she were not there, at least this was her belief and so she stood quietly by the door so as not to disturb them, her eyes fixed upon a strange item upon the desk; a cradle of silver balls attached by strings. She stared at it, wondering what its purpose was? It housed no signals, of that much she was certain but she soon regretted focusing on it in that way as the room became webbed in strings of coloured light of varying shades and sizes. She blinked and pushed the signals away. Willing them not to be so tangible to her but it didn't work. Not until she moved to Levi's side and touched his arm. Her hand ran over the leather jacket and she shivered at the coldness of it but it worked, the signals faded. Her movement coincided with a lull in conversation and so she shouldn't have been surprised to find that the unidentified man was now addressing her.

Don't even think about it.
About what?
Hugging the man.
Why not? He's Levi's uncle. He's his family.
Yeah and you know how much Levi likes that kind of thing.
He hugs me back.
Yeah now. Wait... he said friend. Not uncle.

Confusion filled Lorelai's eyes but she was not without some concept of manners and so she offered the man her right hand, her eyes darting from him to Levi. The atmosphere in the room was difficult to ignore, especially to someone who was as sensitive to energies as Lorelai was but there was little at this point that she could do to ease the tension.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Gino," she said using his first name as she wasn't all that familiar with the formalities of the world in which Levi lived. "My name is Lorelai Lee and I'm Levi's... friend."

She looked to Levi for confirmation on that last part as she wasn't sure she should be claiming that title, but then there really wasn't another that suited their current status. Aunt perhaps was more accurate but that would have led to Gino questioning the nature of their relationship. Her tone however betrayed the fact that she wasn't really sure what she was to Levi, something both men would likely pick up on.

"You're not Levi's uncle?" she asked in all innocence.

Of course she understood the concept of extended family, how close friends of the family could be considered aunts and uncles. While she didn't tend to use such labels for anyone back in Hoshkosh that she wasn't directly related to, there were those that did. The community being what it was, many of the families were connected in one way or another and even if they weren't, they felt as if they were as they were a very tightknit community.

[Levi DAmico]

Since the hand was offered, Gino stepped forward to greet Lorelai with a confident handshake. Chestnut eyes were focused on her the entire time, but he was aware of the burning gaze set on him by Levi. As soon as the handshake was completed and Lorelai had made her introduction then looked to Levi for confirmation, Gino stepped back to regain the distance and looked at him also. Levi took a long, steady breath to calm himself, but it wasn’t wholly effective. Gino must have thought it was funny because a wry grin spread across his face. Its arrival wasn’t doing anything for Levi’s mood, but before he could bark at him to wipe that smug ******* look off his face, Lorelai had a question. Levi almost bit off his own tongue and before he knew it, he was pinching the bridge of his nose with eyes clenched shut.

“Well, in some form or manner I suppose one could say that I am,” Gino said, exchanging his wry grin for a more reserved smile. “I’ve known Levi and his family for a very long time...”

The uncharacteristic pause drew Levi out of his resentment and harsh umber eyes looked curiously at the older Italian. Gino seemed to be looking at Levi with pity, suggesting that Levi had some kind of reason to require it. Sure, things weren’t going to plan right now, but that didn’t mean he needed Gino – of all people – to start feeling sorry for him. Any bones Gino was planning on throwing his way wasn't going to absolve the older man of his crimes tonight. Levi felt his rage overwhelm him at that point. It began to leak into the room as a physical darkness, starting in the corners of the room, in the shadows, and turning the shade into a discernible black mist. Levi wasn’t consciously aware of what was going on because furious umber orbs were set on Gino. The other man, meanwhile, was glancing about the room wondering why it had suddenly gotten so dark.

[Lorelai]

The ghost in the room seemed to disappear into the shadows, unseen and unheard as the darkness about them grew. Lorelai looked to the corners of the room and while she didn't know for sure that the phenomenon was being caused by him, the likely was quite high. She knew this wasn't a gift she possessed and she knew that Levi was a part of the shadow path. So it made sense, logically, that this was his doing.

"Levi... Are you okay?"

Suddenly more worried that he might give away who or what it was that he'd become, than worried for who this man was and how he might see her, Lorelai came to stand before the six foot tall Boston Italian she adored. She looked up into his eyes and reached for his hands and once she had his hands in hers she reached out to him with her mind.

'The room is darkening Levi. Is that your doing... because it's not me. I don't have that capability. I can confuse your friend if you need me to. All you need to do is nod. Okay? He won't be able to believe what he's seen if he's confused by it all.'

While the blonde may be a naive little farm girl of sorts, she was far from stupid. She had a quiet intelligence and she wasn't afraid to use the powers at her disposal if it were necessary. She didn't wish harm on Gino, of course, how could she? She didn't know him, though even if she did, she wouldn't have wished him ill. It just wasn't in her nature.

Despite is all, there she stood, looking up at him and awaiting his command. It might have been better if she'd of stayed at his side and nudged him but then it was obviously that he was upset about something and friends offered friends comfort at times like that; at least she though they did. It wasn't a weakness in her mind to offer someone support. Nor was it weakness to accept it. But then Lorelai wasn't a part Levi's other world.

[Levi DAmico]

The instant Lorelai moved, the air in the room thickened and darkened further. Levi hadn’t really heard her words, umber eyes were still looking at Gino like he was about to rip the man’s soul right out of his body. He did, however, notice when Lorelai stepped in front of him and grabbed his hands. It didn’t totally disrupt his rage, but he gave her his full attention and listened to the telepathy that invaded his head because, frankly, it was hard not to. Levi frowned, confused for the meantime, and he looked around as if he had to see things for himself. The room had the kind of clammy darkness you’d expect from the inside of a cave, only white paint and wooden flooring took the place of rock and dirt. You might be forgiven for thinking that there was something wrong with the wiring inside the building, save for the fact that the light in the room was just as strong as ever; it just didn’t seem to be going anywhere. The shadows were unnatural; their darkness was inky, heavy, and the surrounding air seemed to… blue. This navy, greyness was expanding too, swallowing the light source, and the more Levi seemed to inspect it, the worse it got.

If this was his doing, it wasn’t something he was doing consciously. Normally Levi would have to focus his will onto the shadows to get them to move how he wanted, now it all seemed to be happening automatically, organically. Levi didn’t have the luxury of time to question whether this was him or something else; he just had to fix it. If the shadows were misbehaving and he had the ability to manipulate them, then he just had to. Knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere being pissed off, Levi took a few cooling breaths and started to do the clichéd think happy thoughts crap. It wasn’t easy for someone like him to have happy thoughts because the only things that really pleased him were having victories over other people. In this case, he was losing miserably and that thought struck him and the air with further gloom.

While Levi was busying himself with trying to fix this mess, Gino was studying his environment. The first thing the man did was inspect the lighting in the room, but when Lorelai had rushed over to Levi like he’d been somehow injured or traumatized, Gino’s focus shifted to him as well. It was a curious reaction to have as far as the older Italian was concerned, suggesting that the physical change in the atmosphere had something to do with Levi’s mental state. Of course, it was utterly preposterous to a rational mind, to a mind used to believing that power came from money and influence. Gino didn’t believe in magic and his loosely Catholic faith reserved such abilities to demons. Levi was a lot of things to many different people, but he was not a demon. Gino might not have been able to explain what his eyes were seeing, but he was skeptical that any of this was the result of some supernatural power. Gino watched and waited patiently as the room slowly began to return to its normal state in tandem to Levi. Warmth flooded into the pair of them as the gloom lifted entirely, but Gino held onto a studious frown.

“I’m fine,” Levi said as quietly as he could to Lorelai.

He gave her hands a squeeze and directed her to step back to where she was. Convinced he could, and determined to, deal with this situation himself, Levi confronted Gino again.

“Look—”

“Oh, I am looking,” Gino said, cutting him off. His voice was stern at this point, like he was scolding a child. “And I think you require an electrician.”

Levi shrugged the remark off. Part of him was relieved that Gino didn’t seem to be questioning these strange events, but he didn’t think for one second that the man was just going to drop the subject just because he hadn’t questioned it immediately. Gino was like that. Levi knew because he was like that too. Just because you look like you’re letting things go doesn’t mean that you actually are because it might come in handy later. This was man’s approach to a lot of things and precisely why there is at least one dedicated man drawer in each house. These drawers were full of various sizes of screws, old coins, unidentified keys, remote controls to electrical items they don’t have anymore, a random selection of tools, dead batteries, paper clips, and empty lighters. You never know when you might need them so you better keep them. Levi knew that Gino had been tailing him for a while, so Levi had to wonder just how much he’d seen already, how much he was squirrelling away and what was on his mind as a result. All this uncertainty made Levi anxious, made his wounds burn from the tension, and all he could do was focus on not letting **** get out of hand again.

“It’s Canada,” Levi grumbled. “What do you expect.”

Gino hummed dully.

“Are we done here?”

“That really depends on how stubborn you’re going to be. If you’re going to insist on not hearing me out then I wonder if there’s a point in continuing.”

“I heard you out,” Levi barked. “You’re passing the buck and blaming it on a stooge.”

Levi paused to allow the man a rebuttal, but Gino didn’t say anything. Chestnut eyes continued to bore a dead look into umber.

“You can keep pretending you’re the victim in this, but we both know it’s ********. Even if you didn’t give the order, you did send them out. It’s because of you, they were here.”

Gino read the undertone in Levi’s words and frowned. “And you propose that I just… Ask you directly? You are not capable of telling the truth, Levi. This is why we followed you.”

Levi grinned. “We’re Family. If you can’t trust your Family, who can you trust?”

Gino’s eyes narrowed. “From what I have learnt in these past few months, you have done nothing worthy of your Family’s trust.”

Levi’s grin quickly faded.

“Still, you are my nephew,” Gino said. “I suppose allowances should be made for immediate relatives.”

Levi sighed heavily since he was capable of reading undertones too. “Fine.”

Gino finally smiled again, this charismatic thing that brightened his features. “I am glad we could settle this issue.”

“Yep.”

“Now that business is settled, what do you young things have planned for the rest of the evening?” Gino asked, looking to Levi and then to Lorelai.

[Lorelai]

The blonde looked a little hurt to be brushed aside, even if Levi had first tried to comfort her with a few words and a squeeze of her hands. She had not noticed the way in which Gino observed them. How could she? She’d had her back to him as she’d addressed Levi. She wasn’t sure what it was that had caused him to use his powers in front of his uncle and so she stood there and observed the two men more closely as they conversed.

The way they spoke to one another was different to anything she’d encountered before. They seemed to converse in shared secrets, with few actual details being exchanged. As intelligent as Lorelai was, she had to accept that her upbringing had left her a little naïve as to the aspects of almost all other walks of life. Stooge. Odd as it may seem this one word was an example of this difference. She had no idea what it meant and had to tap into the office’s internet connection to look it up. She couldn’t believe that he meant it in any comedic fashion and that meant that he was using it in its other form. Gino was blaming something on someone else, someone he had ordered to do something unpleasant or unworthy of his own attention.

The tension in the air was becoming palpable and made Lorelai’s head swim. She couldn’t abide negativity and she’d felt entirely too much of it for one evening. She was raising a delicate hand to her head as if she were in pain, as Levi accused his uncle of having sent people somewhere. She wasn’t exactly slow on the uptake but she was self-trained to expect the best from people and so she had to dismiss the idea that this man that Levi claimed as family might wish him harm. All such hope on her part was soon ripped away as Gino more or less admitted that he was in fact to blame. He’d had Levi followed. He’d had her followed. She could accept the men coming after her, but Levi? She didn’t like that at all. Her turquoise eyes darkened with understanding as the conversation continued. This man was, in part, to blame for Levi’s behaviour. He was closed off in some ways and she’d accepted that. She assumed it was his nature but now as she looked at the six foot tall, middle aged Italian, she was beginning to revise this opinion.

Calm down Lorelai. It’s not like you to harbour hostility towards people.
I’m learning.
I noticed. But you’re letting the situation get the better of you.
I am not. He called him untrustworthy. Levi is anything but.
Lorelai. You don’t see things clearly when you have feelings for someone. You know this.
I don’t like him.
No-one’s asked you to like him.
I know but…

The conversation was brief and Lorelai was all too easily calmed though she quickly found herself peering inside the strangers mind to see what she could learn about him. Surface thoughts were pretty much invisible to her but the deeper ones, the important ones, they were easy to find. She stared at the male as she waited to be enlightened and only stopped when his eyes connected with her. She hadn’t been listening. Not to the words. She didn’t know if she was supposed to speak or not and so she looked to Levi for confirmation.

[Levi DAmico]

Business might have been settled for tonight, but Levi figured that was only because there were sensitive ears in the vicinity. Gino might want to schedule another meeting in the future, to discuss things in detail because he was a details kind of guy, but he would have to wait – they both would. Levi knew that he’d been a bit careless lately because it had led Gino’s stooges right to Lorelai and Gino had hinted at knowing some other kind of details that would give the Patriarca reason not to trust him. Obviously Levi’s first thoughts went to Shiro because he knew for certain that Gino knew that something was going on between them. Sure, the Patriarca didn’t mind the help of the Japanese when they were in desperate need, but the kind of almost daily contact him and Shiro shared was a bit suspicious. There was a chance that Gino was just trying to call his bluff, but why take the risk? Levi wouldn’t give anything up if he could help it and when it came to business, he had steel clad alibies and excuses in place. He only wished he had the same type of defences in place when it came to all this supernatural ****.

“Well, if you’re really that interested, I’m going to get her home and see if she can manage to sleep tonight,” Levi growled at Gino.

He hadn’t looked at Lorelai and kept his focus on the older Italian who seemed to sigh immediately. Levi couldn’t determine the emotion with that exhale, but figured that either the man was growing impatient with this victim card Levi was playing or just annoyed at being reminded over and over of his **** up tonight. As a matter of fact, Levi didn’t care why Gino was pissed at him, but he did think Gino deserved to feel pissed about ******* up – he never did let Levi get away with it after all.

“How about you?” Levi growled again. “Heading to Boston or Sicily?”

Gino took a moment to answer. “I’ll be heading back to Italy tomorrow.”

Levi gave the man a knowing nod. “Buon viaggio,” he murmured.

Levi turned and gave Lorelai the nudge to leave the room. After giving the corridor a quick check, he basically forced her out the door ahead of him then he turned back to Gino for just one more sucker punch.

“I’m sure you know the way out.”

He stood in the doorway for about as long as it took to embed the look of Gino scowling at him into his memory, then he took up Lorelai’s arm again. Levi hadn’t entirely fallen out of contact with her as everything had happened, but this newly secured grip on her arm gave him a bit of relief. Levi wasn’t hanging around, but he didn’t entirely march and drag her along on his way back to the elevator. He wasn’t sure if Lorelai was going to berate him tonight, nevertheless he stood in the lift looking somewhat despondent like he was expecting it.

[Lorelai]

Lorelai was all too easily nudged out of the door, partially because she’d of done anything Levi asked of her and partially because she wanted to remove herself from all the negativity that had filled the office since their arrival. She was happy at his arm and thankful that the spirit that she’d seen hadn’t seemed to notice her in any way and hadn’t followed.

Once alone with her hero, she lightly stroked the arm of his jacket even though it made her cringe to do so. The supple leather was cold to the touch, and it all too readily reminded her of the fact that she was touching the flesh of a creature that had once drawn breath. Oddly, she had no such reservations when touching the flesh of a vampire. Even as a living, breathing human, she’d had no reservations when it came to laying in the arms of a certain fiery female; a female she was loathed to think about in that moment.

“I don’t think I like him very much,” she told Levi, turquoise eyes looking up him with a mixture of worry and love. Lorelai wasn’t one to be negative about things in general so for her this was quite the confession. “Why would he have you followed Levi? Why endanger you like that? Why doesn’t he trust you?”

The questions spilled out of her mouth as she tried to make sense of the evening. She couldn’t quite piece everything together. She was blocked from doing so for two reasons; one, she didn’t want to think badly of a man that had only ever shown her kindness and for whom she felt a deep affection and two, she didn’t know exactly what it was that Levi was involved in.

“Oh my stars,” she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her free hand. “Your wounds. I should have asked first how you are feeling? Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do we need to stop and get you something to ease it? The pain that is.”

She began fussing over him and moved so that she could see the front of his shirt. There were no visible signs of bleeding, at least none that she saw. Her eyes quickly moved from his chest to his face and she reached out to gently cup his cheek in her hand. Everything about her from the look in her eyes to the way in which her thumb lightly stroked at his skin, showed just how much she cared about him. There was not single hint of anger in anything she did or said when it came to this man. She didn’t blame him in the slightest for what had happened to her, even if he was the reason for it all. Whatever she’d been through, she was certain that of the pair of them, that he’d suffered more and the holes in his chest would attest to it too. The blonde, whose only concern was the man before her, offered a sad smile; she did so hate to think of him suffering because of her, for had he not come to get her, he’d never have been injured.

[Levi DAmico]

Levi scoffed at her confession. It was rare that people sided with him over Gino, but then again, events didn’t really look like they were going in the other man’s favour. There was no real way that it could either considering how Gino was the cause of Lorelai’s kidnapping tonight. Well, that wasn’t strictly true, but Levi was happy to lump most of the blame in Gino’s corner. Truth be told, Levi wasn’t sure if Gino’s version of events were entirely inaccurate. No one within Cosa Nostra was indispensible so it was totally plausible that Gino had sent Antonelli and his lot in for a suicide mission. On the other hand, if Gino had done all of this just to trap Levi into being in trouble with The Commission, was there really any point in coming in to his place of work to check-up on him? Gino could have sent anyone in for that mission, he didn’t have to come all the way from Italy to handle this matter personally. There was a chance, then, that Antonelli was a bad egg and had betrayed Gino. The man could be as slow as continental drift when it came to making some decisions because he so strongly believed in protocol. It wasn’t like no one had ever gotten pissed off with the man’s dogmatic ways before. Levi didn’t know what to think, but one thing he was sure of was how this little matter wasn’t going to end with tonight.

“Well—”

Levi was about to make up some kind of an excuse concerning the reasons for why Gino had been tailing him when Lorelai started yelping about his wounds and looking him over. He threw his arms up and back as if she was about to frisk him and quickly regretted it. The brusque movements pulled on tender muscles making him grit his teeth and suck in a sharp breath. Growling on the exhale, he took hold of her hands which had made their way to his face, and held them there a moment before bringing them down. Still holding her hands, Levi leant his head forward to rest his forehead on hers and sighed gently.

“You need to stop worrying about me,” he murmured warmly. “I will be fine.”

[Lorelai]

No, there was no way in Lorelai's mind that any of this could be Levi's fault, not after this, not after the way they were in that moment. The way he held her hands, almost savouring her touch as she caresed his face. The way they now stood; so close to one another. The way they were, it was... intimate. How could she even begin to lay the blame at his feet? She couldn't. She couldn't hold him responsible, not when it was so clear in that moment that there was something between them.

"I know that you will heal Levi, but I cannot help but worry about the condition you are in. You are badly injured... because of me. I need to look after you and ease your pain. I cannot bear to think that you are suffering because of me." She lightly shook her head and withdrew a little so that she could look him in the eye. "Please tell me what I can do to make you feel better. Let me do something. Please? It will help to ease my conscience."

I don't need easing thank you.
Yes you do. We do.
No. You do. You want to feel better about not fighting the men when they took you. You want to ignore the fact that had you run away, that two men would not be dead and however many more injured. You want to forget the fact that the only truly natural relationship you've had since coming to the city might be in jeapardy because you refuse to even protect yourself. Which, while we're on the subject is stupid. Fight or flight Lorelai; it's not difficult. It's an instinct every creature has. Every creature but you that is.

As she stood before him gazing into his umber eyes, she began to feel more and more guilty. Her conscience ripped into her and much like she might in a physical altercation, she backed down and let it happen. Of course it didn't help that everything that she was telling herself was true. She knew she should have done something. Anything. Anything other than what she'd done; which was nothing. Despite this though, despite knowing the outcome of events, she still couldn't see herself doing anything differently. If the night were to be reset, she still wouldn't have been able to hurt the men that abducted her; not even if it meant saving their lives.

There is one option you didn't consider Lorelai.
There was?
Mhm. You could have disarmed one of them and killed yourself.
But then they'd know what I was. What he is.
But they'd all still be alive and well. And isn't that your main concern?
Yes. No. Maybe. Please stop. You're confusing me. I don't want to think about it. I can't.

The emotionally frail female softly shook her head to dislodge the thoughts she didn't want to be thinking and in that moment almost longed for the attention of the spirit she'd noticed in the office. Had the sad creature noticed her, she would likely now be attending to its needs, and therefore unable to berate herself.