Troy is Burning [Lorelai]

[Levi DAmico]

This thread is back-dated to 1st October 2015, directly following the events of The Trojan Horse.

The march from Cavallone’s manor to the awaiting vehicle went without a hitch. When Levi sat down in the backseat, he instinctively checked himself for a pulse. It was more for show than for anything else, but Levi was somewhat surprised himself when no one had raised a fist, let alone a gun. Caro and Barzetti were giving him glares of suspicion and downright shock since Levi had walked out of there like they’d just agreed to have the rights of the entire ******* Patriarca Family signed over to him when obviously, that was not the case. Cavallone’s men were dumbstruck to say the least too and even Foraldo stood stunned, watching Levi like he’d seen a ghost blustering through the building. It must have been a surprise. No doubt everyone in the building – Levi’s party included – assumed that the hot-blooded Italian would roll over and bare his stomach for these fuckers just because that’s what he was expected to do. If Eddie Cavallone had told Levi to jump, he should have jumped in all respects, but that was the problem – Levi didn’t respect them. Gino must have known that and he definitely must have known what Cavallone intended to propose. Propose… well, wasn’t that just the stinging word of the night. Gino was going to pay for this ****.

“Well, whaddya know, I’m still alive,” Levi regarded with dark mirth, drawing his hand away from his neck before resting it along his thigh.

“Uh… boss, what exactly happened in there?” Caro asked, shrinking back from his capo.

Levi might not have liked the way his men were questioning him – hell, staring at him even like he’d just gone berserk and shot everyone, but he was willing to bite his tongue. It wasn’t that bad. Things weren’t that bad. If anything, things were pretty good because Levi actually hadn’t shot them in the face or ripped them limb from limb with his bare hands. He could have and Levi was certain that he wanted to. Morbid scenes played out before his waking eyes even then; views of the dead and the dying lying supine around him, the room stinking of blood and smoke, and him standing in the middle of it looking supremely ******* satisfied with himself even as he couldn’t tell friend from foe. The grin that Levi wore as he sat in the backseat of the humming vehicle was glass sharp, and each soldier looking at him felt like he was cutting through them. That did bother the Italian quite a bit and he stilled some, umber eyes glancing out of the tinted glass and back to the manor; thankfully, nobody had come charging up the grounds to shoot them yet.

“Nothing. Cavallone’s gonna have a little think about what he wants and we’ll chat again later,” Levi grumbled quietly like a dying storm. “So, it’s back to the apartment for now.”

Fear never failed to motivate the men and since they were all convinced that their capo had lost his damn mind, the journey back to Levi’s apartment in Boston was quicker than usual. Levi hadn’t bothered to unpack – not that he’d brought much to begin with – so when they’d returned to the building, Levi was immediately ready to leave. Nevertheless, he’d locked himself in his bedroom for a while, engaging the Wraith, Leveret, in a long conversation about what exactly had ******* happened and how they were about to rectify it. Caro, Barzetti and the others had been dismissed and told to return to their duties because Levi had a few things left to do before he returned to Harper Rock. It was a lie, of course. Levi just wanted the fuckers to leave and forget about him so he could teleport back to Lorelai and their apartment. It was quicker than taking a flight and he would have the element of surprise on his side when he went hunting after Gino – hours before expected. Of course, he definitely had to have a chat with the blonde before anything else. The last thing Levi wanted was for word to get back to Lorelai that he was suddenly hitched to be wed to the Cavallone woman; things were bad enough at the moment without that load of ******** being heaped on top.

“I need you to track Gino when we get back, d’you hear me?” Levi growled, reloading his guns while a cigarette smoked lazily between his jaws.

“If he is in the city, I will find him,” Leveret replied.

“Good.”

“However…”

“However, what?”

“It may take time, monsieur…”

“That’s why we’re starting now. I ain’t waiting around. We’ll be back at the city tonight, you head straight from the apartment and look around the usual haunts.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be home for a while. I need to talk to Lori.”

The wispy darkness nodded its head, but Levi almost expected it to open its trap and make an unnecessary comment. It seemed to Levi that the longer the Wraith was away from the trappings of the Shadow Realm, the cockier it became. Leveret was less about following an order to the letter these days, and even had the gall to wander off and do its own thing. It was almost as if the Wraith was becoming more and more alive the longer it persisted in the living realm, and apparently Leveret had had an attitude when he’d been a Vampiro. Levi decided that he’d find a new way to threaten the Wraith back in-line, but first things first, they had to return to Harper Rock. Admittedly, the Italian didn’t know for sure if the tome would work from such a distance – there wasn’t a lot that did make a whole heap of sense about their world – so this would be an experience. After stubbing the cigarette out, leaving it to whisper away its last smoky breaths in the ashtray on his bedside table, Levi took out the tome and immediately activated it.

Within a blink, he was back at Lorelai’s apartment – her old apartment, or so he assumed. Levi had kept his guns drawn as he’d teleported, expecting to use them – or maybe just hoping to use them if some little prick was still hanging out there. The whole ordeal still struck a nerve, one that pinched in his neck and made his whole spine prickle horribly. Since the coast was clear, however, Levi managed to scrape away from his rage long enough to sheath his weapons and summon the Wraith back to his side. It was better to summon the Wraith here and have it make use of the Fadeportals after all; Leveret may have been able to walk through walls and over rivers, but that didn’t mean it could travel the city as quickly as a good teleportation. It hadn’t been so long ago when manoeuvring through the Fadeportals had made Levi nauseous, and yet now he passed through them like open doors. It was with that kind of nonchalance that Levi left the Wraith to go about its business as he took the “private” Fadeportal to his and Lorelai’s apartment.

Veil Towers, apartment 1402, had been bought as a mutual haven for the loved up couple. Levi had been happy at first just with the idea of them having some place that was theirs instead of a place that was Lorelai’s and he visited. It was a shocking, sudden step forward in their relationship because they had basically gone from Levi admitting that they were in one after many months, to Levi swiftly admitting that he loved her too, and now this. One couldn’t deny the practicality of living together though. Lorelai’s apartment was no longer secure or private – be it from Lorelai’s family or Levi’s – so it made sense to up sticks and get the **** out of there. Plus, even despite the fact that Levi had spent months visiting Lorelai every single motherfucking night and spending said nights sleeping in her bed, with her (so he did practically live there), it turned out that Levi didn’t want to live with her. Being the arrogant, controlling, obnoxious and paranoid sod that he was, Levi wanted Lorelai to live with him. Call it crazy, but the distinction meant a lot to him, enough for him to blow a hell of a load of dollars buying the place and renovating it to his and her standards.

It was 10pm and so the heavy curtains and industrial shutters were drawn back, the bay windows cracked open just enough to let the stagnant warmth of the apartment cool off and refresh. The Fadeportal was designed to have Levi appear in the corner of the living room, just far enough to be shielded from any eyes, but not so far out of the way that one couldn’t just crash right onto the couch when they’d come home from a heavy work load. In full light, the salubrious palette of the room could be felt to its full affect. Clean, bright walls stretched away from them on all sides creating an airy, spacious feel under high ceilings and over a soft carpet – chosen specifically so Lorelai could walk around barefoot. The place wasn’t brimming with furniture, predominantly because Levi didn’t like pointless bits of **** hanging around, but there certainly were a lot more pieces of interest here than in his old apartment; fully stocked bookshelves, seating enough for more than just two people – despite the fact that Levi never wanted any visitors, a hell of a load of plants, and of course various places the plants could rest upon. The place was bright and spacious, yet cosy at the same time, a true love nest, and Levi felt more relaxed than he thought was possible when he realised that he was home.

[Lorelai]

Having Levi leave for even a short period of time had Lorelai's stomach in knots. She wasn't the type to dwell on darker emotions and since she'd had very little experience with such emotions for the majority of her human life she still struggled with them. Of course she'd never let on to Levi just how much his absence affected her. He knew she had issues feeding, so if he went away for any extended period of time, that might be an issue, but the blonde was more than capable, and prepared, to go without blood for a couple of days. Despite the practical issue being pretty much null and void, she ached for him desperately while he was gone. Being able to wake in the daylight hours seemed to be a double edged sword as she it allowed her double the amount of time to wallow in her emotions; whatever they may be. Without Levi close by not only did she find it difficult to sleep, but she worried too. The poor woman spent a lot of her time arguing with herself to keep herself out of his mind, to keep herself from checking up on him. She'd been so successful in talking herself out of trying in fact that she didn't even know if communicating and spying on him over such a great distance was even possible.

Since she had no idea that he would return home so early, she had been completely unprepared for his arrival, as such she'd gone out. It was that or sit alone in their apartment and miss him. Going out and being hounded by spirits seemed to be the more appealing option. Having been pulled to the bar, as usual, she had cleaned the back area and gone to the office to change and tome home. Having arrived home, she had taken a rather long shower (to wash away her tears and fears), dressed and left as quickly as possible. Had she not needed to clean the bar first, and had she not been pulled to the place in the first place as she was every night, she'd of been out of the apartment the moment the sun set. This was her way of coping; keeping busy.

The night air was cool, and in typical style, the blonde sported a long flowing dress, inappropriate footwear and her long, woollen cardigan pulled tight around her. She already had three spirits following her as she walked through the streets, spirits she was trying to lure somewhere more private so that she could actually speak to them. Yes, she could have spoken into their minds, but it was easier to talk to them directly; she'd noticed that the hanger's on seemed to get less railed up if they could hear her dealing with another of their kind. When she was silent, they assumed that she was ignoring them, which was not always the case. Once nestled in a quiet corner of the park, Lorelai began the task of speaking with her invisible companions so that she could sort through their issues and help them find the closure they needed to move on and find peace. of course she wasn't entirely sure what happened to them once they left and/or disappeared. She simply had to believe that they had moved on to whatever afterlife awaited for them and pray that they didn't end up in purgatory.

Checking the time, within her mind and not on any external apparatus as Lorelai didn't feel compelled to carry any form of technology with her, she sighed. If Levi was home today, it would be for several hours yet and without him she had less control over her abilities, thus now being surrounded by more spirits than she'd begun with. Blocking the creatures out came easier when in the presence of her family; her family mainly consisting of three people, two of which she didn't see nearly as often as she'd of liked. Still, if any of them needed her, she was always connected to her email, which allowed her to contact them via Mind Speak if necessary. A gift that was infinitely more useful these days since she was strong enough to allow them to reply once the connection had been made.

Lost among the dead, she scribbled notes for each in order, taking down the details she needed to perform the tasks they required of her. Tonight would be a long one, something she was grateful for as it gave her less time to worry about and for her man.

[Levi DAmico]

Having given the apartment the once over and finding his blood pressure rising with each empty room he visited, Levi had to sit himself down on the couch to stop himself from blacking out. He could already feel the rage curling in his stomach like some kind of fiery Deamon, his peripherals growing dark, his head pounding, his ribs closing in on his lungs to pop them like balloons. Levi even heard that voice in his head telling him he was an idiot for ever believing Lorelai would be faithful to him. After all, he disappears for one day and she sees it as an opportunity to leave him and screw someone else – no doubt that little prick. That was why he didn’t see him at Lorelai’s apartment and that was why Lorelai wasn’t home. Levi felt he should have just shot the ****** in the head – that was why he’d bought that gun after all. Kill the prick with Hope and add insult to ******* injury so the prick might feel even a scrap of the pain Levi was feeling. Yet shooting the prick would solve nothing – it wouldn’t even make him feel better. Give it a week and they’d be back screwing one another again, and where would that leave Levi? Doomed as the paranoid, gun-toting maniac who shot people for no reason because Lorelai and the prick were innocent in everyone else’s eyes but his own.

All of Prudence’s minis and her mini’s minis were important – except Levi. Prudence had told him to his ******* face after all. Cast a boy out and call him a martyr because of it – there was no way he could win this battle. Damn it if he didn’t feel slightly for CC in that moment when Prudence had basically told him that her family (Lorelai and that prick) was the most important thing in the world, way more important than him and his petty bitterness, meaning he wasn’t a part of her family at all. Prudence had confirmed what Levi had always assumed. She hated him as much as she hated CC and hell, him and CC weren’t ******* saints by any stretch of the imagination, but just because they weren’t cuddly ******* bunnies didn’t mean they were her enemies. Levi had never done a thing to that woman, he’d even participated plenty in their little team raids, helped out where he could and he was dedicated to protecting Lorelai. Just one moment – just one ******* moment of weakness on his part – and Prudence had shown him the door.

Levi was paranoid, he knew it, but he also knew he had every right to be. He knew the darkness – he’d lived in it every day of his pathetic life – and he knew better than to trust anyone. It always ended up this way, with your friends stabbing you in the back because you’d let them get close enough to draw that damn blade in the first place. In his world, more people died by friendly fire than anything else. His bloodline stood as a testament to that, to the point where their surname was a joke, an irony. D’Amico meant ‘of friends’ after all, but who did their family ever have to rely on? Just considering his immediate family highlighted the problem because even his own mother and father hated each other. When Levi was thirteen years old, his mother abandoned them – or was killed by his father. Levi honestly never knew which was the truth because his mother was tempestuous enough to insult a Mafioso and get away with it, and his father was just like him – hot-blooded enough to lose his **** and kill her. So maybe both were true in the end. Maybe Marietta had threatened to leave, was too fed up of her husband’s crazy and paranoid ways, and William had lost his damn mind just to seize her damn neck. Except they were both Human and when the light in her eyes left, she wasn’t going to come back a week later.

That still didn’t mean that killing Lorelai and the prick was a good idea. It was a waste of ******* time and what if Levi was just crazy? What if Lorelai wasn’t cheating on him? Levi only felt this fucked up because he loved her and damn, he was afraid to lose her. Channelling his passion into destroying her would solve nothing, do nothing but make him angrier, more hurt and more alone. Besides, if Lorelai hated him enough to **** around behind his back, then that was his fault too. He deserved this. He’d been a jerk to her the whole time they’d known each other. Granted, not a complete jerk because he’d scaled it back a hundred notches because in his own fucked up little way he’d loved Lorelai from the start, but that didn’t mean he was ever being kind. Levi had been aggressive, callous, dismissive, and she’d tolerated all his **** and still begged him to love her back. Lorelai had never really given up on him, forgiven him for lying to her face and casting her out into the cold several times. Regardless of the **** she’d put him through in these last couple of months, things were likely still balanced in his favour.

When Levi combed a hand through his hair, he realised he was trembling. He got up and headed straight for the cabinet where the Whisky slept. He wasn’t looking to get completely drunk, but the alcohol would soothe him, dull his mind so that it wasn’t firing off a hundred-million self-deprecating thoughts into his head at once. He just needed to chill his ****, get his head back in the game and do what he’d intended to do when he’d arrived. Levi and Lorelai needed to talk about this **** between them and Levi needed to let her know that, for once, he wasn’t going to push her away. Maybe he could work things out, maybe instead of walking in his father’s footsteps he could make his own way in life. Maybe Levi could give her a reason not to hate him, though he wasn’t entirely sure how he could do that. Hell, even he wasn’t exactly fond of himself. Just look at how tonight had gone when he’d disrespected the don’s right-hand man all because he was a selfish ********. Still, he convinced himself that he didn’t have a choice. He was never going to marry someone he didn’t love. Levi decided to write the one he did love an email.

Lori

Can you come home? We need to talk.

Regards,
Levi

[Lorelai]

The blonde was beginning to think she'd never get through the crowd gathered around her but eventually she took down the information of the last one. Most dispersed, but a couple of the spirit stuck around, refusing to leave until they'd seen her do as they asked. Unfortunately, since she tended to do most of her work from her mind, they wouldn't see much and would still need to take her word as to the fact that it had been done. Or not. Since as she sent their messages they seemed to disappear before her without a word. Smiling to herself, she was working through the last few messages when she realised that she had a message from Levi on her personal account. Lorelai, not being as stupid as perhaps she often looked, used a separate account for all her ghost related activity. She also tapped into different systems when conducting her business from that account so that she couldn't be traced. Paranoia was sometimes a girl’s best friend and it was something that she'd probably learned from her man. Either way, despite the fact that she had yet to suffer any backlash for what she did, it made sense to be as careful as possible, as it was impossible to predict what the future might bring.

Reading the message he'd sent her quickly removed the smile from her lips. The words 'we need to talk' never brought good news with them and she immediately began to wonder what she could have done to upset him. The list was probably longer than the one she imagined though as Levi was good at hiding his irritation when it came to Lorelai, that and the female seemed to forgive his brusque nature.

Erm... Lorelai... I'm not sure we want to go home.
Why?
Well, think about it. 'We need to talk,' is usually followed by 'let’s just be friends'.
Not necessarily. And we have reason to believe that.
Ever the optimist eh? Well don't come crying to me, or crying in general when I'm proved right.
You won't be. Levi loves me.
Are you sure about that?
Yes? Yes, I am. He might just need to go away on business again.
Wasn't he supposed to be away right now.
Yes.
...
What?
He shouldn't be home already Lorelai. It's too soon. So if he shouldn't be back, he probably never left, meaning he lied to you. To us.
Levi wouldn't lie to me.
...
He might withhold the truth but... no... You're wrong. You'll see.

Lorelai quickly replied. While she wanted to return home immediately, she knew a few extra minutes wouldn't make any real difference to their conversation and she needed to set things to rights for those that she had agreed to help. Putting off their unfinished business for a few hours might not be a big deal to most, but Lorelai couldn't run the risk that she would forget to do it, and so briefly inconveniencing herself was the better option.

Levi,

I just have a few more messages to send and then I will be home. I had not been expecting you back so soon, else I would have been there to greet you.

xXx

Having sent a reply, Lorelai quickly wrapped up her business. Toming home, she took a moment to run her hands over her dress and straighten her appearance before stepping through the portal to their home.

"Levi?"

She spoke the moment she emerged before she'd even looked around to see if he was there. That in itself was probably a sign as to the fact that she was worried, the small waver in her voice being the other. As much as she didn't believe Levi was about to put an end to their relationship, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that her alter ego had stirred within her.

[Levi DAmico]

Paranoia was the itchy, scabby wound on the face of the Human psyche. It was an ugly feature, one that never healed and only pretended to go away, one that got worse rather than better over time, and was prone to fatal infections. Paranoia was infectious in its own right too, with one sick mind rubbing off on another with the smallest degree of exposure. It could taint whole families, whole communities and cultures, but it could also strike the unsuspecting, the isolated, and even the righteous. People who had no reason to feel worried and guilty about anything, people who shouldn’t be expecting the worst to happen at any moment – for the sky to fall, for the world to burn, for their loved ones to abandon them – could also become afflicted with this nasty, life-long sickness. When you were born into a world where the disease was nurtured into its ripest and most lethal state, it was impossible not to be infested by those thoughts that someone was out to get you, that you couldn’t trust your own kin, that there was always someone watching, someone waiting, hoping that you’ll fall on your own or fall far enough that you can’t get back up again when they press a foot to your back. When you were forever waiting for the bullet, for the betrayal, expecting it to come from any and every angle, it came as no surprise that when left alone to think, your mind went straight to those dark places.

That was exactly where Levi’s mind went when Lorelai told him she would finish up whatever it was she was doing and be there in a couple of minutes. The Italian was not like the woman from Hoshkosh. In fact, he was her complete opposite in a lot of ways. Instead of seeing the good in people, Levi always saw the bad. It was a survival instinct in many ways, but paranoia was a sickness he couldn’t control. Levi reasoned that at least if he suspected what kind of assholes he was surrounded by, then he wouldn’t be at all surprised when they were being assholes. By expecting everyone to betray him, it wouldn’t hurt so much when the inevitable took its place in time, and maybe he could prepare for it, prevent it from happening at all. If he knew it was coming, he could do something about it – a true clairvoyant at work – or maybe just a matter of self-fulfilling prophecies. To count as a self-fulfilling prophecy after all, a belief must have consequences that make reality conform to the initial belief. Therefore, if Levi believed that Lorelai was cheating on him, then her need to ‘finish something up’ instead of coming straight back home, just confirmed it in Levi’s mind that he was right all along. What would be so much more important than coming home immediately when he’d ******* asked her to? Getting dressed took a few minutes, so it might have been that. So did kissing your lover goodbye. It was genuinely getting harder and harder for the Italian to believe she knew what she was talking about when she said she loved him because she acted like he was worth nothing to her, less than dirt, less than the dead, less than her prick childe...

Levi hadn’t planned on getting drunk that night, but with every minute passing between Lorelai arriving in the apartment after her message, Levi was filling his glass and immediately emptying it down his throat. These weren’t small shots he was drinking either and because Levi had a taste for strong liquors, anything below 40% proof would not satisfy him. The Italian choked down each burning mouthful as if he could push down his rage with each swallow, like he could dissolve his paranoid thoughts in copious amounts of Whisky. And yet, he was still sober enough to realise that all of this was a bad ******* idea because the only thing that ever dissolved in alcohol was his ******** filter. How was he supposed to hide the fact that he was a complete psychopath if he could barely sift through his own thoughts? As a matter of fact, the instant Lorelai appeared in the living room before him and called out his name, the Italian struck her with a look that could kill. Umber eyes regarded her as an enemy and when he stood from the armchair in one fluid, compelled movement, it was anyone’s guess as to whether he would strangle the woman or just rip her head clean off.

The Vampiro took slow, steady steps toward the blonde and when he was within reach, he pulled her into a tight hug regardless of whether she wanted it or not. One strong arm snaked around her waist as a hand found its way to the back of her head; numb fingers nestling into hair made of spun sunlight. Levi breathed in the scent of her – clean and refreshing and solely hers – allowing those harsh eyes of his to disappear under heavy lids. He exhaled a heaping breath to calm himself, almost purring in content like a tiger finding peace and shade from a long day of hard light and heat. And this was better somehow, to pretend he was fine and nothing bothered him so long as he could exchange the agony he felt when they were parted for the bliss he felt when they were together. There was no telling how long any of this would last, how long it would be until Levi lost hold of the tenuous control he had on his temper and did something stupid. For an intelligent and wise man, Levi had a habit of rejecting logic and better sense to blaze through situations with whatever the hell extreme he felt like. Most of the time it would be an expression of fury, impatience, and frustration for having his pride take a shot, but just sometimes it would be an expression of pure affection, moments like this when Levi could forget himself and lose the curse that made a monster out of a decent man.

“Sono pazzo di te,” the Italian crooned before reiterating in English. “I’ve missed you, amore.”

Both of those things were true, but he loosened the tight grip he had on Lorelai to let her recover some independence. Possessiveness went hand-in-hand with paranoia, an obnoxious compulsion that could smother them both if he let it. There had to be something he could do to convince her that he was worth giving a **** about, and even if Levi didn’t know exactly what those things were, he knew the things that could make her hate him with certainty. There was a valid question to be asked about whether you should expect people to love you for who you are or if you should try to be a better person that deserved that person’s love in the first place. Levi could rage on and on about how Lorelai should maybe accept him for the ******** that he was, but then that would be like surrendering to complacency, wouldn’t it. After all, it had been his own goal from the minute he knew better to improve the way things were for himself, to find a way to make himself stronger, happier, and free. Levi could change if he tried, those Daemons in his mind could be exorcised, this beastly curse could be lifted. The Italian just needed to do something about it – act rather than brood and complain and wither away in the darkness.

[Lorelai]

The first thing the female noted when she looked upon her man was the fact that he'd been drinking, something she could also scent in the air. The second thing she noted was the look he was giving her. In that moment her heart sank and she realised that she had in fact done something wrong, what it was she still didn't know, but he couldn't look at her like that unless she'd done something bad. She was about to apologise to Levi, despite not knowing why or what for, when he began to stalk towards her. Frozen in place, she waited to see what her hot-blooded Italian lover would do. As angry as he'd appeared, she still didn't think that he would hurt her, so when he finally reached her and pulled her close, she closed her eyes and reciprocated. While she didn't know what had been going through his mind, the evidence to the contrary was there for him if he chose to recognise it. First, having been alone in the park, as far as physical entities went, there would be no other scent upon her skin. Furthermore, since she'd been sat outside for several hours, both she and her clothing had taken on a damp, frosty feel, the bitter evening cold having sunk deep into fabric and skin alike. Even the silken strands he loved so much would not have escaped the toll the time in the elements had taken.

"I missed you too."

Lorelai nuzzled his neck and once released enough to be able to move more freely, brought her hands up to rest upon his cheeks. Turquoise eyes sought umber ones, whereupon she smiled happily. She had not expected to see him for several hours more and so to be holding him so soon seemed like a dream. Her thumbs brushed across the stubble on his skin and she sighed contentedly, before working her fingers through his hair. With her hands locked behind his head, she pulled back a little further and took the time to really look him over. She knew whatever he had to say was going to hurt, not only because her alter ego had warned her, but because Levi didn't usually drink around her unless things went south.

"Are you okay?" Of course her first question pertained to his health, both physical and mental alike. He looked okay but looks could be deceiving. "Is something wrong? I didn't think you'd be home so soon and your message... Well it worried me."

It wasn't unlike Lorelai to speak her mind, so admitting how she felt upon receiving his email came all too naturally. She wasn't trying to chastise him for his chosen words, though there was every chance he might see it that way. No. She was letting him know the source of her concern for him. As to her absence and where she'd been, well she didn't think that needed explaining as she never did anything wrong (by her standards) and hadn't been doing anything that she didn't do on every other night of the week. And so with that, she waited to see just what it was that had her man so ill at ease.

[Levi DAmico]

There were a few things that the Italian could easily ignore when he was swimming in the custardy fug of drunkenness and the comforting – albeit slightly wintry – embrace of his woman, but her slight agitation wasn’t one of those things. Levi remembered how he’d looked at her when she’d come home and then he quickly remembered the email he had sent her. Levi’s first reaction wasn’t something he had any control over and he would have to shrug it off and pretend that it wasn’t purposeful, that he didn’t hate her and had thus glared at her intentionally. Maybe his mind was elsewhere and he was still caught up in hating someone else when she’d arrived home, catching him off guard – sure, she might believe that. As for his email, his abruptness there genuinely hadn’t meant to be so sharp and acerbic, it was just meant to portray how urgent he felt this situation was. Maybe he’d been a little too blunt, but it was better to be quick and to the point rather than put in any kind of emotion that would lead her to think he was pissed at her or whatever. Levi hadn’t thought it through, he was being matter-of-fact and business-like, but she’d read anger in his words regardless – not that it had made her move her *** and get home any quicker, the Italian grimaced internally. If she thought she was in trouble, wouldn’t she have felt the urgency to get home and deal with him immediately? Well, maybe and maybe not…

“Not really,” the Italian answered her first question, shielding truths behind a single truth. “Something is wrong and that’s why we need to talk about it.”

Once again Levi adopted a very indifferent tone, his body language revealing a strict purpose to get on with whatever he was going to have them discuss as he guided her to the settee and all but forced her to sit down with him. Their proximity might have done something to convince the blonde that Levi wasn’t about to rake her across hot coals and break her heart; they were sat close enough to each other that their knees met in a sort of tepid embrace, and Levi held her hand tenderly as he gazed into those two worried pools of tropical water. Despite all outward appearances and despite the Italian’s reputation for being a cold-hearted ********, he didn’t like the look of fear in her eyes and how she must have been expecting her whole world to come tumbling down around her. Plus, it was his fault she was feeling this way, if that was the truth of that look in her eyes. Levi made this whole dangerous situation seem catastrophic, and something neither of them could survive. He brought a hand to her cheek, allowing the ice of her skin to steal whatever heat he could give her, then brushed a stray lock of sunshine behind her ear. Umber eyes escaped out of a hardened stare and he sighed as the same hand that had brushed her cheek now focused on rubbing her arm.

“You’re freezing,” he murmured, inching back into affection. “It can wait if you wanna warm up first.”

It shouldn’t have waited, but Levi would make it. As Vampiri, they didn’t necessarily suffer the same afflictions as Humans did, but that didn’t make them invulnerable. Levi’s own body temperature was something like 20 degrees centigrade normally, but he made sure to impersonate a more appropriate body temperature through whatever means he could. It wasn’t that he was expecting to come into contact with anyone other than the blonde before him – and obviously she wouldn’t question the coldness of his flesh – but it was always better to be safe than sorry and frankly, feeling cold made him irritable. The Italian was accustomed to Mediterranean temperatures, even if he hadn’t been home in about 20 years, and while it didn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Italian to impress his own problems onto Lorelai, in his own weird way Levi was being considerate. There was another reason why Levi was stalling, but that wasn’t the main purpose. Part of him just couldn’t think of what to say and how he could manipulate the outcome. Lorelai was not like a lot of people, people who were easier to predict, so he’d have to be careful about just how he was going to come at this problem.

The blonde had an interesting look on life, she saw things in a light that had never shone in his world, and she appreciated the little things with an eminence that was saintly, though likely wasn’t deserved at any rate. Something like helping others meant more than her individual wants and dreams, she would rather die that put anyone in harm’s reach, and worst of all she felt like she was an insignificant speck of nothingness that didn’t deserve any of what she had. Frustratingly, Lorelai often forgot that Levi needed her too and when she was busy throwing herself under the bus and picking up everyone else’s problems, she neglected him as much as she neglected herself. It hurt that she cared about the needs of ghosts and strangers more than she cared about him, but Levi would never admit such a thing to her directly. He couldn’t make her feel guilty about that too, not when all she was trying to do was repay the world for what she saw as her unnatural survival. The blonde had made the point the day they had met, that she’d never wanted to be Vampiri, and Levi suspected that this wasn’t an opinion that could change within years let alone months. He’d never wanted to be this either, and he was coping in a way that came natural to him too. Only, Levi wasn’t the charitable kind and instead made sure that he was covering his tracks the best he could – even if that meant permanently displacing people who’d seen and learned too much.

The Italian didn’t comprehend a lot about Lorelai. He understood her to a degree, he appreciated her, he could see why she did the things she did, but certain parts of her logic and reasoning were, to him, flawed and contradictory. Her love for him made no sense at all, to the point where Levi was questioning each of their definitions on the subject. To him, love was one of those inconvenient things that crept slowly into your heart, leaked into your mind and then conquered your soul. Love was not a beautiful thing. Love was ugly in every sense of the word. It was messy and dirty and interfered in things that it had no place in. Love was unwelcome, yet it came anyway, and once it was there, it would never leave. It would be there, always there, making you think about it and ruining everything until your heart was in tatters. It compelled you to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do, think things that you never would have thought before, and say things you were better off not revealing to anyone. Love was as much of a sickness as paranoia, and when the Italian loved, he was in it with his every fibre, and every crazy thought was centred on that person. When Lorelai wasn’t there, he was thinking about her – obsessing over her – and when she was there, he was drunk in her beauty and her voice and everything that made Lorelai perfect. It wasn’t too long ago that Levi had only cared about himself and never even thought of putting someone else’s needs before his own for their genuine benefit and no real gain for him, but when he recognised the signs, Levi realised that he’d had it bad for her for a very long time.

Italians loved with an unrivalled passion and while it was ridiculous to measure your lover’s passion to your own standards of love, Levi did it anyway. Of course he couldn’t read her mind, but he could read her actions and he could hear her words, and so Levi promptly condemned her for them. The little things did matter, enough for him to remember them with stunning clarity and make them into massive problems. The fact that they didn’t talk all that deeply about anything, the fact that she rarely prompted him to open up to her, the fact that she wasn’t stalking him like a crazy *********** and interfering with his every moment of existence – these were the things that convinced Levi that she didn’t care about him as much as she proclaimed. So it couldn’t be love. An infatuation maybe, but not love. After all, she’d loved CC and Prudence and… whoever else… at the same time as she supposedly was falling for him, and Levi didn’t understand how your soul could be fragmented like that. Love was supposed to mean more than just finding the other person to be pleasant company, someone that found you to be pleasant company, and sticking together because there was no better offer. Levi didn’t want to be her best in a bad bunch, he wanted her to return his fucked up idea of complete obsession at the risk of it destroying them both. So ****, maybe he was more romantic and soppy than he’d ever realised, and that thought lingering on the back of his mind made the Italian seriously consider suicide.

[Lorelai]

Worry and fear shone in her eyes as he told her that he wasn't okay and that they needed to talk because something was wrong. Her mind was still unable to conjure anything she may have done and so while she ruled out any wrong doing on her apart, it didn't mean that she didn't fear what would be said next.

Lead to the sofa, she settled somewhat uneasily at his side. Despite their close proximity and the fact that his body language didn't seem to be betraying anything that might break her heart, she still feared the talk to come.

She'd briefly relished in his touch before he began to try and warm her body. Lorelai didn't care much for the temperature of her skin at this moment however, as the lack of heat in her bones would not effect the way in which she responded to whatever it was her man had to tell her. She had adopted the techniques of those she'd known and loved when it came to keeping her body warm, her favourite being that of drinking something warm such as tea, since she could now stomach human food, a bath or shower being a close second.

Standing briefly to shrug out of her cardigan, in an effort to remove a little of the lingering frost from her body, she paused only to place the item over the arm of the sofa before crawling onto Levi's lap. The blonde had a few reasons for snuggling up close to him, and quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, before laying her head on his shoulder and settling in. She'd needed to be close to him to soften the blow of what was to come. The intimacy of the position also gave her comfort and strength, for so long as Levi didn't reject her, she was sure they'd overcome whatever it was he had to say. As an added bonus, any heat he had, would be shared with her as she acclimatized more naturally to the ambient temperature of their living room.

"I'm warm enough to hear whatever it is that you have to say Levi. Please just tell me what is wrong. I feel sick with worry now."

She peaked up at him from the safety of his shoulder, one hand withdrawing from his waist so that she could tenderly stroke his face. The gesture was twofold, as it was meant to reassure him as much as it was meant to help her feel connected to him. To some extent she was used to there being distance between them, as Levi had held her at arm’s length for many months when they first started circling one another. Ever since he'd accepted their status as a couple however, things had been different as Levi seemed more committed to her; something she was more than happy about. In moments like this though, that feeling was bitter sweet, as the more you have invested, the more you have to lose and Lorelai had lost more than enough since she'd come to the city.

Just calm down. You're here, he's here. Whatever it is, you'll get through it.

Her alter ego had changed her tune and was trying to keep the blonde centred while she waited for the news that could potentially shatter her life, for whatever it was had to be bad. Or so she thought.

[Levi DAmico]

Levi waited as Lorelai shrugged herself out of her frost-laden cardigan and then climbed onto his lap. There was something unpleasant lingering in him with that, though. Ordinarily the Italian would be happy to have her climb up onto him, fix her arms around his neck and nuzzle him like he was her most favourite stuffed bear in the world. Yet, somehow this familiar action felt alien to him tonight. It felt awkward, like they didn’t know each other and weren’t meant to have this kind of intimate interaction. Still, Levi managed to keep himself still – though somewhat stiff – as he accommodated Lorelai’s attempt to maintain their connection. The way she brushed her hand over his face, her fingers feeling like they were trembling slightly, gave him the impression that this was more than just about the cold. Lorelai was nervous and soon enough she had confessed as much, peaking out at him from behind long lashes. Umber eyes steeled their focus on those turquoise pools and he offered her a frown of sympathy. As one arm slithered around her waist in return, the other settled on her knee, fingers splayed and gently massaging her skin through the fabric of her dress. They both needed the comfort and Levi was perhaps not sober enough to deny that this time. His head felt far too heavy, but he held it up to keep his eyes on her, watching like a hawk for any signal by which he could customise his words and actions. Only, that would have been much more doable if his filter wasn’t currently dissolving in the alcohol he’d gulped down some moments ago…

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Levi asked, keeping his tone as gentle as he could manage and not really thinking about the words coming out of his mouth. “It’s like you’re expecting me to tell you your dog’s dead. You don’t even have a dog...”

The Italian found that he was talking to her like she was a child suddenly – something he’d not done in a long time. Lorelai had torn down that innocent and child-like impression that he’d fabricated for himself about the time they went shopping for swimming costumes for their spa night – just minutes before the first time they’d slept together. It was impossible to see her as this ignorant, virtuous young woman after everything they’d done together, but it should have been long before that really – all things considered. Still, sometimes she acted like she was so delicate and pure that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, like she was white on the inside instead of blood and skin and muscle like everyone else. Lorelai was so angelic at times that it was hard for the monster in him not to recognise her as prey, as his complete opposite, as something small and breakable like a child. At least his instincts had never been to destroy her because of that and in fact, the Italian had even surprised himself when he looked upon the lamb and didn’t feel hunger, but instead this need to protect and cherish and adore. Apparently it took until the Italian was slightly drunk before he could recognise some of his actions for good.

“Look, it’s just…” Levi sighed, finally deciding to get on with it but not knowing where to even begin. “There’s gonna be some rough times ahead. Work wise. I was supposed to be in Boston tonight, working out some peace treaties, but… they asked too much of me. The costs were too steep and the meeting ended sharply. And… that’s why I’m home early.”

The Italian knew he was speaking without really saying anything – he could make a good politician with that skill. Levi could probably promise that there would be some tough moments and that sacrifices would have to be made, but the important thing was that there was light at the end of the tunnel and they were in this together. It was a good old reliable speech that could resolve pretty much any crisis, but really was the equivalent of reading off one line of War and Peace and acting like people were told the story in its entirety. That was why public relations meetings were set up, where the press could ask their questions of the leaders who marched through government with their blanket statements. That’s what Levi really needed from Lorelai, for her to be the one to ask him those questions. He was too tight-lipped for his own good and if he talked at people about the intrinsic details of any one part of what he’d said, he felt like he was reading out a dictionary to apes. It was frustrating, really, not being understood and not knowing yourself how to be understood. Levi didn’t want to talk at Lorelai, but he knew he had to explain – for her sake – just why he had told her to come home so they could talk.

“Ya know, it was really important that I agreed to their terms tonight. It would have saved us all a load of ******** and threats, and things would have worked out pretty perfectly. My boss would have been… fired… and in his place would be someone who’d give me the freedom to stay here and do what I wanna do. But, I screwed it up. I told them no. I told them no because of me and… because of you. So… as weird and ******* ironic as this sounds coming from me, I kinda need to ask you something. How… uh… serious are you about us?”

[Lorelai]

She blinked at him when he asked why he was looking at her like that. She wasn't aware that she'd been looking at him in any way that might cause him to comment but then she wasn't analysing her own behaviour, she was far more concerned with his. He had allowed her onto his lap and had put his arm around her, both of which told her she was welcome where she was, even if he felt a little tense against her. His posture seemed somewhat guarded but then Levi was a complicated man and it wouldn't be the first time that she was more familiar with him, than he was with her. She was expecting the worst and so she waited, her silence a conscious choice on her part as self-preservation seemed prudent. She was almost too frightened to speak and she wasn't about to clarify her thoughts for him. He must have known the words of his email were the portents of bad news and yet he didn't seem to acknowledge it.

Levi began to explain the reason he'd returned home early and on instinct, Lorelai moved her hands to her lap where she took a hold of the hand that rested on her knees. With his hand between hers, she gently clenched it as she maintained eye contact with him. She looked worried, and the woman visibly paled.

He's in trouble.
It sounds that way.
How do I help him?
Don't ask me, ask him.

The blonde trembled slightly and swallowed hard and yet the words still didn't come. Levi fought hard to keep her out of his world, with some success, and so the female had no idea just how big a deal this peace treaty was. Common sense told her that it was a very big deal, as the words peace treaty were not ones people used lightly. She listened patiently as he continued, wondering if he should have agreed to whatever it was that had been asked of him; that was right up until he said that part of the reason he said no was because of her. She had just a moment to consider what that mean, before his question caused her silence to be broken.

"Very serious." The words were said without a single moment of delay and had required absolutely no thought on her part whatsoever. "I am very serious about us. You." The hands that held his tightened slightly before her delicate fingers found their home on either side of his face. "I love you Levi. So very much. I'm so sorry that you are in trouble. Can I help? Can I do something? I want to help you in any way that I can. What did they want you to do?"

Her fingers slipped through his hair, before she brought her hands to rest behind his head. Fingers entwined, her gaze held his. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what had been too much for him to accept but for her to console him properly, she had to know the facts. She was tempted to ask him with her mind what the details of the treaty entailed but he didn't seem to be too concerned about them being overheard and so she refrained, for now, in favour of hearing the words from his lips.