Path of the Vampire forum

This post is back-dated to September 27th 2016

Knowing who to trust is an important business skill as much as it’s a social one. Yet, it’s not always so easy to be accurate, and contrary to popular belief, we don’t give it all that much conscious consideration. Two seconds – maybe thirty seconds, tops – that’s all it takes to assess the confidence, competence, status, likeability, warmth, and trustworthiness of someone we’ve just met. In fact, it’s impossible not to make these snap judgments about people. That’s just the way the brain is wired. Because few people have the mental agility to consciously perceive and process all the factors needed to make these calculations, they rely on unconscious estimates – or assumptions – based on past experiences and preconceptions. These estimates are also highly influenced by surprisingly small factors, like what they wear, what their voice sounds like, whether their posture mimics our own, if they mention the names of people we know or admire, and even the shape of their face. As a matter of fact, these factors can enhance or undermine someone’s credibility to the extent that it actually nullifies our ability to make sound judgments about them.

The very first job of a leader is to inspire trust. Trust is the single most essential element to our ability to deliver extraordinary results in an enduring way. Trust is integral to building high-performance because it enables an organisation to work as it should. It’s the first defence against dysfunction, and the first step towards delivering better outcomes. Employees work better when they feel like they have the trust of their superiors. When there’s no one hovering over them, assessing every aspect of their behaviour and performance, they feel that sense of faith, they feel like they have the support of their employers. And likewise, a leader needed the faith, trust, and belief of his workforces in order to achieve anything. A unit, a business, was only as valuable as the sum of its parts. This was something Levi knew well, he’d known it as intimately and naturally as breathing. He could trust his men to do their jobs, hell, some of them even went above and beyond the call of duty of their own volition. The Italian had no trouble trusting the people that worked for him to do as they were supposed to. It was the social aspect of trust that made the man stumble.

Levi was uncomfortable with situations he couldn’t control, even if he understood that he couldn’t control everything. So when he came in contact with strangers who seemed to have the motivation to be more than that – acquaintance level, for instance – it immediately put the Italian on the defensive. Just recently, he’d come to feel that way because of one of his neighbours. The woman lived in West Towers, so she wasn’t technically one of his neighbours, but that knowledge hadn’t stopped her from trying to do that obligatory friendly thing. One day, she’d left a post-it note on the apartment door offering to buy Bester cat food on her next trip to the pet store. Normal people would have found this endearing, kind, charming. Levi was not normal people. Alarm bells were ringing in his head, and of course he replied the way he felt was most logical, by confronting her about the post-it note face-to-face. At least he was polite about it, and somehow found the social grace to get an invite to her apartment. The pair talked most of the night, changing the subject from what Levi should do with his rare night if she was so inclined to be helpful, to learning more about each other.

At no point did Heather confess that she was actually named Hannah Lynn.

The Italian had had to find that much out himself, and Shiro had been quick to inform him that it wasn’t a particularly difficult job even if it was a peculiar one. As far as the Japanese man could tell, Hannah Lynn was pretty much everything she’d professed to being. A physical therapist, born in Illinois, Hannah had moved to Kobe, Japan, when her parents – as named – had divorced. Said parents had remarried, to separate partners, and Hannah did indeed have a sister who lived in Kobe. That piece of subterfuge had made the Italian more suspicious than the Japanese man, strangely enough. With all the trouble going on in Kobe right now, Shiro should have been far more alarmed than he appeared, and Levi figured the reaction was genuine enough since Shiro wasn’t all that proficient with a poker face. Levi suspected that while Shiro should be expectedly alarmed by some random female appearing in Levi’s life, specifically from Kobe, Shiro was probably just distracted with what he deemed a larger problem: that Levi was taking his focus off of work and putting it into women again. Because experience had taught the Shark – and should have taught Levi by now – that this particular scenario always ended so ******* spectacularly. Shiro didn’t air his worries, but Levi knew the characteristic roll of those obsidian eyes so well that he could read the thoughts flickering behind them: “Oh great, here we go again...”

It was almost too easy to rise to that look, to start an argument with the shark that would quickly devolve into a slanging match. And besides, things with Shiro had been… weird lately. Levi didn’t want to risk upsetting things even more than they were, so, he ultimately decided that ignoring the problem was the better option. Levi really didn’t have a clue what was eating the younger man, but he figured it probably had something to do with him being a Vampire again. All of their conversations seemed to circle back to that subject, almost as though Shiro was still in denial about it all, like he was hoping to somehow make it not true if he just understood it a little better. Maybe Shiro thought he was fighting some kind of disease. Levi didn’t understand the logic behind it, but, he should have done. It had taken him years to accept what he was. It wasn’t entirely fair to expect Shiro to be hunky dory in a couple of months. Nothing about their relationship was fair, though. The Italian preferred it like that, when he had the good cards in hand rather than stacked against him, and if that meant sacrificing Shiro’s happiness and security, then so be it.

That wasn’t to say that Levi was a terrible friend necessarily. If Shiro didn’t want to get treated like a ******* doormat, then he had the choice to walk away or fight. Even though the Japanese man stood no chance at actually conquering the Vampiro, Levi would still respect Shiro’s want to do battle and that respect alone might have him change things. But, Shiro seemed to like their arrangement well enough to tuck tail, hold his tongue, and deal with it. If anyone understood Levi’s way of thinking, it should have been Shiro, which was exactly why Shiro was privy to the unfiltered nature of his rage and wickedness. On the flip side, Shiro was also treated to Levi’s nice side, or rather, the part of his personality that didn’t suck quite as much as the rest of it did. The Italian could be very generous, loyal, protecting, nurturing, he could forgive slights, and he could even make a game out of things. It wasn’t all seriousness and grumpiness with him. Really. The man was capable of smiling and laughing when the situation called for it. He was also fully capable of conceding, of accepting his faults, and even understanding when people would do things that seemed totally fucked up.

Like the fact that Heather/Hannah had lied to his face.

The anger passed within five seconds, replaced by curiosity. Why lie about her name and where she was from – that was the question stirring in his skull, running around behind his eyeballs and making him dizzy with its mystery. He watched it pass, run rings about him, and while he dared to question bits and pieces of its nature and fathom it all, Levi kept returning to the same judgement. If he was ever going to understand it, to know for sure, he was going to have to ask Hannah directly. Except, this was a little more personal and sensitive than asking about the post-it note. Levi wasn’t all that socialised in the grand scheme of things, but, he had learned that stepping up to someone’s face and demanding they explain things was a good way to piss someone off and isolate them. If he made Hannah feel the need to retreat into her shell and never speak to him again, then he wouldn’t know why. It was important for him to know why. He didn’t need a higher reason than that either, just an excuse to see her and bring up the subject in a tactful way. Well, hadn’t Shiro mentioned something about the girl’s birthday being tomorrow? He would write her a greeting’s card.

---

Happy Birthday, Hannah Lynn.

It’s been an interesting experience getting to know you these past couple of instances. Truly.

I don’t tend to trust people, or like them that all much, so I was surprised when it turned out that you were pleasant company.

It would have been better if you could have told me your real name and where you’re from, but, I get it. People lie. Sometimes we have to.

Anyway. Don’t feel too bad about it. It’s your birthday.

Genuinely, I want you to enjoy yourself.

I hope the enclosed gift goes some way to making that happen, because after all, we can’t all be CEOs of some company.

Buon Compleanno, Hannah.

Neighborly yours,
Levi.

---

And just to show there were no hard feelings, Levi enclosed a voucher for her local winery worth $100. He also attached a small notebook, wrapped in brown paper and a black satin tie. For a bloke, Levi wasn’t half bad at buying gifts, but, he didn’t know too much about Hannah’s likes and dislikes to make a call that was worthy of his skills. Short of buying her camping equipment, something she might wear for a swim in a lake, or a safety harness for her hikes up mountains, Levi had decided that women universally liked stationary. So, he was playing it safe. And, he chose to play it even safer by posting her the gifts. She had his phone number, she could call him if need be. And if that didn’t happen, she couldn’t possibly move out in under 24 hours. He would be back.

Work had been it's typical; 'you're never leaving in eight hours,' sort of day, not that Hannah had expected any special treatment just because it was her birthday, but it would have been nice to get out in nine hours and not almost eleven this one time. By the time she got home, it would be dinner time. Thankfully, Hannah had a later start tomorrow, so that was always a plus. The woman slammed her locker closed after collecting her backpack, and ipod, each ear bud respectively finding a home in each ear before Hannah did the ceremonious closing of the locker; forgetting about it until she saw it again tomorrow. As Hannah moved down the hallway and to the back exit of the hospital, Hannah went through her play list and found the group she was feeling for the night, and more importantly the song. When she found 'Sunday Morning,' Hannah was out the large building and walking to the station to catch the train to the other side of town.

Hannah was not, by any means a Grammy winner when it came to her singing talents. While no one was going to shoot her for singing, no one was going to be giving her a standing ovation either. But she had a block before Hannah got to the station and honestly, she didn't care if it bothered anyone. After eleven hours of being at work, she needed wine. But since there was none available, then another route to relieve the day's stress was going to be enjoying one of her favorite bands and singer while she waited for the train to arrive at the station.

By the time she got to the station, the song was half way done and the train was due in around five minutes. Enough time for Hannah to check her emails. She received yet another birthday card of sorts from her mom-this one in the form of an E-card. Typical of her mom. Afraid to buy a card in fear of ripping down a tree, meanwhile she used a butt load of electricity to send the card. It made Hannah just shake her head and laugh as she read the card. An email from her dad about the things he had done all week and wondering how things in Canada were going; something Hannah would reply to later. After her train ride and after she had wine in her system.

By the time she was on her side of town, Hannah had made it through a quarter of No Doubt's 'Boom Box,' compilation, leaving the singing behind at the Bullwood station. She pushed open the doors to the tall towers as the repetitive melody of 'Running' came on. The first stop, as always was the mailbox, not that she expected a lot of it. A bill maybe for the electricity or the heat. All her birthday cards and packages had came a day or two before her birthday. So needless to say when Hannah had no bills, but something unidentifiable in her postal slot, it made her frown. She grabbed the thin package and turned it around to look at the name. When she saw it was not only for her but it was also from somewhere in Harper Rock, all Hannah could do was frown. Whatever it was, Hannah decided it couldn't be something good. She knew very well that she hadn't ordered a single thing in a long time. And the only people she knew in Harper Rock were Louvel, Leonie, Judah, Alaric (Sort of), and then Levi. And none of them would send her a package. Mostly because the Von der Marck's didn't know where she lived and Levi was just down the hall. So, finally her mind concluded that the Serpent's were sending her something.

Half tempted to open it in a public place, Hannah swallowed loudly and then moved to the elevator. It was better to not let anyone see what might be in the thin parcel. The package was rotated between both hands as the elevator ascended to her floor, the woman shaking it softly as if that would help her detect what was inside of it. It weighed more than a finger and a whole hand couldn't fit inside there. At least she didn't think so. Certainly wasn't a bomb either because it would have gone off already. Really, it could be anything that her imagination could conjure due to books, or the occasional movie, when dealing with people like the Serpents.

So when the woman got to her apartment and opened the thing after much concern and anticipation, she was surprised to see a ledger of sorts...and a card. What the hell where the Serpents up to now? She was confident that they had something in the apartment, so if they wanted her to take notes of things with Levi, they could just hit 'play back,' or something like it in her mind, rather than Hannah playing at secretary for them.

The red notebook was put on the counter in her kitchen as Hannah practically ripped open the letter, her eyes harsh and narrowed. What she saw stunned her; the outside of the card in all it's splendor had her gaze softening just a little bit. Either this was some sort of reverse psychology crap, or it was...nothing. Just a misunderstanding on her end.

However, when she opened the card, Hannah's mouth felt really dry and the color from her face faded. This was not what she had been expecting at all. She had not expected Levi to come to find out her real name, or when her birthday was either. Or to even give a squat about it if he ever did find that out. Levi was a difficult person to understand. Time and time again that thought entered Hannah's mind. Was he being genuine or was he not as easy going with the fact that she had lied about her name to him? The voucher seemed to imply that there were no hard feelings, but again-Levi was difficult to try and even begin to understand. If Hannah had been lied to, she wasn't so sure how she would act, or feel. Then again, Levi wasn't very forthcoming with oodles of information either, so wasn't that sort of lying? It was definitely being evasive and now there was going to be this big elephant in the room the next time she encountered Levi. Which could be any day now.

Hannah pursed her lips in thought as she looked at both the voucher and then the notebook. Her eyes went to the watch on her left arm and Hannah sighed. She moved to the fridge and grabbed a container of left overs from the night before and popped them in the microwave, while she went to her bedroom and into the smaller master bathroom to shower. The food would be long heated by then and warm at best, but there were a lot of thoughts going through Hannah's mind. She couldn't afford to toss away whatever small shred of friendship she had with Levi for the sake of the obvious, but on the other spectrum, Hannah didn't want to lose his friendship either, because no matter if Levi was serious or not, she enjoyed her conversation with him and getting to know him.

After she showered, Hannah dressed and tucked her hair behind a couple of clips before she went back to the kitchen and had a couple of mouthfuls of last nights Risotto. She had a...something to repair or at least make sure it was well and truly fine and the well known wine shop was only open for a few more hours. Hannah collected the voucher, made sure she had her Identification and phone before she left the apartment and headed to her car. While Takano's person had contacted her two days ago, she hadn't yet gotten her larger vehicle yet for the winter weather. She wasn't overly worried about it, there was still around two months to go before the snow was heavy, but she hoped they would follow through with the vehicle that was better equipped for the Canadian winter that was approaching.

While Hannah drove there, she pondered when would be a good time to call Levi. Or if she should call, over texting. Hannah decided a phone call would be better-he had after all taken the time to send her a card for her birthday instead of a text. Hannah parked the car and headed inside the shop before her decision on when to call was made. Noticing it wasn't too busy, and that Hannah could practically be in and out of the store, she scrolled through her small list of contacts and then pressed the call button when she saw Levi's name pop up. While it rang, Hannah grabbed a cart and moved to the red wine area; scoring a Cabernet Sauvignon from 2013, and a Malbec. While these two purchases would only use up half, if that in the voucher, Hannah was positive that Levi probably didn't have time for more than two bottles tonight anyways. When his phone went to voicemail, Hannah was glad that she went with two bottles instead of three. “Hey, Levi. Thank you for the card, and, well, I kind of wanted to thank you in person, actually. So I was hoping you were home. Or at this apartment. I'll come by and knock later.” Hannah said quickly as she approached the check-out. With the two bottles purchased, Hannah was on her way back to the towers and instead of taking the elevator up to her floor, and to her apartment, she passed her door and went to the end of the hall and gave his door a gentle rap.

This post is back-dated to September 28th 2016

Sleep had proven elusive throughout the day, but, that was just a normal part of being alive now. Just before dawn, Levi had returned to his apartment at Corvidae Flats to prepare for the day ahead; knowing that it was going to be a long one. The idea had been to allow Bester the freedom to roam the apartment – but most likely take up a sleeping position on the couch all ******* day – while the Italian took the opportunity to catch up on some work away from his desk. A lot of the time this extracurricular activity involved Levi catching up with certain associates regarding their contract with the company, or making phone calls to his employees who would go and visit these associates in his stead. Alternatively, Levi would analyse the cash flow of all four departments of his empire as to determine any weak points and to plug potential holes. So, a lot of his day was actually spent fire fighting and buck chasing – nothing remotely glamorous. As a matter of fact, this type of work made his ******* eyes roll. Not only was it excruciatingly boring, but, there was also the fact that Levi had to actually talk to people. Talking to people wasn’t exactly the Italian’s strong suit when he was about a flinch away from flicking the pin on his rage and letting it all blow up in their faces. Seriously, the only thing that got him through these moments was a packet of cigarettes and around half a bottle of the 40 year old whisky.

By the time noon had rolled around – slow and steady like a bulbous Violet Beauregarde being escorted to the Juicing Room – the calming effects of the Italian’s booze and the cigarettes had started to wear off. Fortunately, the Italian’s work load was facing a considerable slump as well. Things were operating rather slickly, all things considered, and where a questionable expenditure was brought to his attention, it seemed as though Shiro was already on the case and was investigating the matter as a priority. Levi was kept updated through a series of text messages as the case unfolded, which gave him plenty of time to wander about the apartment and sulk. Well, he didn’t have to just sulk because brooding was always an option too, and Levi certainly had enough to brood about lately. There were things that made him happy – really there were – things that made the mind-numbing tolerable and the infuriating bearable, it was just that these events in the Italian’s life were rather fleeting. While Levi’s pettiness allowed him to see the value in even the smallest aspect of his life, his business head couldn’t help but calculate the difference between how many of these events were positive and how many were negative. Maybe it was pessimism, but, Levi certainly felt the column of good **** was remarkably shorter than the column of bad – and that was after he’d taken into account the times he’d overcome many of his problems.

It might very well have been a degree of pessimism on his part, but, an eye for the negative had never really deterred him. As a matter of fact, the challenges and the high risk strategies were what made the Italian more intrigued and more invested a lot of the time. If something was simple and safe, it was boring. Levi preferred to take a risk even if that meant he failed because at least he had something to learn from the experience. Did pessimism even encompass that kind of thinking? Levi wasn’t sure it did, and he preferred to think of himself as a realist at any rate. Levi was pragmatic; he accepted a situation for what it was and dealt with it accordingly. In a way, though, Levi was also pessimistic; someone who needed proof before they could jump on board. Sceptic pragmatists are a complex bunch who live in the moment, question the past, and prepare for the future. The common misconception with this kind of philosophy is that pessimists are negative people, seeing the bad in everything and eternally moaning. And while Levi did see the bad in everything and everyone, the fact of the matter was that he did so in an attempt to risk assess them and improve upon things. By definition, a pessimistic person is a doubter, whose quizzical nature often facilitates quality control and change. Levi wasn’t one to spew doom and gloom or rain on people’s parades – that was actually fatalistic by definition – but he certainly was the type to always ask the question; how can we do better?

It was likely due to the man’s curiosity and ambition that he had pursued Hannah even after finding out the truth about her. Though, in fairness, she had lied about the most innocuous things and there were a hundred different reasons why she could. The reasons ranged from just trying to protect herself from strange and dangerous men, right up to trying to allude to the fact that she was a strange and dangerous woman. While the both ends of the spectrum were perfectly understandable to the Vampiric caporegime, they each had their own sense of intrigue. First, Levi had to wonder what had happened in this woman’s life to make her so nervous. Judging from her story alone, she appeared to have had a fairly inoffensive childhood, and while her parents had divorced and moved onto new lives, it all appeared rather amicable. Hannah had a good head on her shoulders, was witty and confident and friendly too, so it wasn’t indicative – in Levi’s eyes – of a fucked up family unit. He had no idea what could have happened to force her to lie out of this need to protect herself, but, that didn’t necessarily refute the possibility. Levi could admit that he wasn’t omniscient or even remotely clairvoyant, so while he couldn’t summon an answer to that question, he wasn’t going to dismiss it outright. Instead, Levi just gave it less credibility and focused on the fact that the other end of the spectrum was most likely in any case.

The fact of the matter was that the Italian just didn’t often come into contact with normal people. He didn’t walk in their circles, he didn’t engage with them on a social level, and he pretty much scorned their very existence because their livelihood contrasted with his tastes and philosophy to an extraordinary degree. Therefore, the chances of him just happening across some normal Human female were astronomically slim. Besides that, Levi was paranoid and was simply used to attributing the events of his life to the world of subterfuge and wickedness that had surrounded him since birth. What with the Masquerade torn asunder too, Levi now had two avenues to expect an attack from. It’s not like some vigilante mortal organisation hadn’t tried this **** with him before, targeting his business with a lethal assault just because he so happened to be a Vampire. Who’s to say they just didn’t get a little smarter about it this time around? All they needed was a volunteer ready to die for their cause and Levi had discovered that these vigilantes seemed to have no trouble with the dying part. Maybe Hannah’s existence was part two of their plan, or maybe just a revenge tactic seeing as how he had murdered the three who had attacked him in November. Whatever it was, whatever nefarious scheme was working behind the scenes of Hannah’s inclusion in his life, Levi was curious enough to go through with it to the end.

Perhaps it wasn’t all that wise to walk willingly into a trap, but, Levi didn’t consider himself totally unprepared for the journey. Death was not something the Italian had ever feared, and it was that fearlessness which had incidentally made him what he was today. Imbued with seemingly endless life, then, there was even less to fear about dying. Living had always been the hard part, and the most these people could threaten was Levi’s businesses and his privacy. Being unmasked as a Vampiro would cause a lot of damage to his day to day operations – some of it irreparable. It wasn’t just the fact that this grand secret of the supernatural being revealed to the worst people in the world could result in them turning into unstoppable beasts just by sampling a bit of Vampire blood, but, it would also make Levi a universal target. He didn’t want to be harvested for his blood by any ******, which meant that Levi had to prepare an endless number of fail safes to protect his identity, or at least provide him an opportunity to flee safely should the **** hit the proverbial fan. It was a good thing he was methodical, could over-think everything, and had the resources to ensure his many strategies through to success.

Likewise, Levi had been overly prepared for his sequential interaction with Hannah. The Wraith, Leveret Rey, had been put in position when the package had been placed in her post box. Levi hadn’t used just any carrier service to deliver the package – he did run a logistics company after all – so he knew the exact time the parcel would arrive and when the Wraith would go on watch. With the parcel in place, Leveret was tasked with waiting for Hannah to retrieve it. This would allow Levi to have eyes on his target, to be aware of her reaction and the consequences. The Wraith’s next task was to continue to shadow Hannah, and report back to his boss if anything seemed… out of the ordinary. By the time the evening had come around – buzzing with all the promise and machinations of an inordinately intelligent child who’d gotten into the cookie jar – Levi had heard nothing from the Wraith. This was a symbol that either all things were well, that Hannah wasn’t spooked and had decided to move out of town as quickly as a moving truck could get there, or things were terribly bad. There were devices out there that could trap a Wraith and render them prisoner, after all. There were even powers that could dispel them, as well as send the shadowy wisp back to the Realms.

Levi was prepared to forfeit the Wraith, because despite his many benefits, Leveret was disposable. He was not as low as a pawn in Levi’s regard – if anything, Levi referred to Leveret as a Bishop on the chessboard because of the freedom of the Wraith’s manoeuvres. Unfortunately, even high ranking pieces like Bishops had their limits. The Wraith’s weakness was in his inability to interact with the world; he was a forceless presence whose only advantages were limited by the distance he shared with his master. Leveret could be the Vampiro’s eyes and ears, but, he could only transmit that information when in Levi’s presence. It was a giant pain in the ***. This left Levi with a few options: he could summon the Wraith, he could go to the Wraith, or he could rely on the spy cameras he’d left outside Hannah’s apartment. He didn’t want to broach her privacy by breaking into her building and wiring the hell out of it – though he was very capable of doing that – so the next best option was to leave a hidden camera facing her doorway. He would be able to retrieve the live footage on his mobile and that would give him a good enough indication as to what was going on. Interestingly enough, Levi had been able to witness the brunette entering her apartment with a shadowy creature in tow…

“At least he’s not completely useless,” Levi commented to himself as he felt the right to do so. Talking to the walls of his apartment was fairly innocuous what with Bester being the only one to listen. “She’s just later than I expected.”

Given that Hannah had probably just arrived home from work, Levi was willing to give the girl a moment or two to open the package and discover the message he’d written before acting on the next stage of his plan. Leveret was still in position, so, everything seemed to be running smoothly enough. There was probably around thirty minutes of zero activity outside of her apartment before Hannah’s front door opened again and she was seen leaving. She didn’t appear to be in any particular hurry, and as a matter of fact, it all looked rather routine. For a while, Levi suspected that Hannah had simply failed to open her birthday card, but when the phone call came in some minutes later, that suspicion was shot full of holes and buried. The Italian let the call go to his voicemail because this was the type of thing that was better done face to face. It would be impossible not to address the issue during the call because Levi could be terribly impatient and blunt. It was something of an amusement to discover then that Hannah seemed to think the same way as he did, even if she was looking to come to his apartment and discuss it. Madonna, did this girl just refuse to acknowledge the fact that Levi did not live in West Towers? ****. How many times did he have to play this game with her?

Following a despondent sigh, Levi activated his tome and watched as the spacious white walls, the fine art, and the chic upholstery were replaced with empty darkness before his eyes. Levi held no qualms about leaving that troublesome feline to his own devices for a night, safe in the knowledge that Bester couldn’t open the front door and anyone stupid enough to break in would end up with a face full of lead and kitty bites. The Italian’s time was better spent thinking up an excuse to divert Hannah’s intentions from entering the apartment. While he had been straightforward with the fact that he didn’t live there, she had been witness to at least one time where he had been in the apartment. It was better not to explain why the apartment was an empty shell, or why he still visited from time to time, it was better just to avoid the subject all together. First things first, Levi decided to shed some light on the dusty darkness. Flicking the switch made the whole room burn a bright orange as the central light fitting reflected off the dour wooden surfaces and onto the plain magnolia walls.

The place was prime real estate for any young person looking to start up in Harper Rock, but since the lease was technically still in Lorelai’s name and the blonde had decided to vanish off the face of the planet without a word, then the chances of that happening was slim to none. Levi felt like a ******* caretaker of a graveyard every time he arrived here, not merely because that woman still haunted his heart, but because this place remained like a headstone, a permanent reminder of what was lost. Eventually, Levi would have to arrange a new tome to be fashioned, one that would take him to a transportation nexus far away from here, so he never had to return. It was about time he buried the woman for good and detached himself from her memory. Levi had always convinced himself that she would be nothing but a ******* nuisance to him, and here he was living out the reality of his ominous expectations day in and day out even months after she’d left. He had to stop living like this, and once he had prepared the way to move on, he could finally give Hannah a new address to call on him by.

Incidentally, the Italian had answered the door to the apartment some five seconds after Hannah had knocked – it seemed like an appropriate amount of time to convince her that he wasn’t waiting inside exclusively for her call. Despite the fact that Bester was not clawing away at his leg this time in a desperate bid to escape, Levi only opened the door large enough to fit his body through. His broad frame completely obstructed any view into the apartment, so Hannah couldn’t see just how bare the place was. Umber eyes greeted her with a chaste leer while his features remained mostly neutral. In his mind, he didn’t want to appear overly happy or overly dismayed by her arrival, but once he saw the two bottles of red wine in her arms, he soon smirked. Despite his decision to go with the safe option of throwing money at the problem, Hannah was appreciative enough of the gift to go out and immediately cash it in. The smile on his face, the amused grin that came with a hint of scepticism from his eyes, appeared bolder at the thought that Hannah was here to buy his favour with the present he’d gifted to her. That was pretty ******* funny.

“Been shopping already I see,” Levi commented, his tone inexplicable in the smoky notes of his low voice. “Don’t tell me your birthday plans are to get drunk in your own apartment.” Because that was totally and completely something that he would do in her situation and he didn’t want her to know that. “But,” he added, watching her carefully though still visibly amused. “At least you have the option of inviting your weird neighbour to drink with you.” Yes, that was just said. Yes, he did just invite himself over to her apartment. And yes, Levi was that cheeky. That didn’t mean Hannah had to oblige him, and Levi actually looking forward to the moment where she would challenge him on that. Her particular brand of humour and her feisty attitude were more than a little entertaining to the Italian. “It’s not like being here is particularly fun anyway.” While he genuinely meant that, he also needed her to understand that if their talk was going to happen tonight, then it was not about to happen on “his” territory.

Hannah was relieved when the door had opened, after all, she hadn't had a message or call back from Levi. The situation could have went an entirely different way, had he not gotten her message, ignored it, or not been near this apartment. While Hannah smiled, she hadn't failed to notice how Levi placed himself smack dab in the way of her seeing anything in his apartment. This caused Hannah to have some slight reservations about knocking on his door now that she was here. It was off-putting to her to think about how she had him in her apartment, but here he was making it seem as if he had something in his apartment that he either didn't want her to see, or something she shouldn't see. Takano had informed her that she was dealing with someone just like the Serpents, so which option was it? Something she shouldn't see because it was probably illegal, or was he just worried she would see something she wanted and take it, or something crazy like that? Hannah didn't think she gave off a 'vibe' that indicated she was a thief; petty or large, but she did give him a fake name and so there were probably trust issues there. Rightly so.

He smirked at her, but still, her smile remained as she shifted on her feet, her right hip outwards now, instead of her left. Her shoulders lifted, and her facial expression changed just a little to say, 'so what?' to his comment about her shopping. His comment about her birthday plans didn't get much of a rise from her in the form of an expression, because she had no plans-not even drinking alone until now. Now that the possibility reared its head at her, thanks to Levi. However, Hannah couldn't resist saying something. “Because going to a club or bar and getting drunk with losers you don't know is a better option.” Hannah said shortly, her smile fading just a little bit.

When Levi invited himself to drink with her, cashing in on the opportunity to sit at home (her home) and get drunk, she looked down at the bottles. She almost indicated that she had planned on them to drink in his apartment, but that had been shot down before Hannah could have even finished thinking about it. Before his reluctance to even allow Hannah to see the paint job in his apartment, she wouldn't have thought twice about inviting him over. There was nothing in plain sight for Levi to see, as the apartment was more or less the same way it had been the last time he was over. But now...now Hannah was hesitant to have him over when thinking about what might be in the apartment that he didn't want her to see. It reminded her, that no matter what she thought about Levi; he was a dangerous person. Should she really be alone with him in her apartment? The old lady next door wouldn't probably hear anything, and it appeared that the apartment between hers and Levi's was either available to rent, or the person wasn't home, ever...it seemed very risky. Granted, she didn't know who lived on the other side of the hall of her apartment, or the other side of Levi's apartment, but she hadn't thought about that until now. Until now, Levi had just been someone she enjoyed spending time with, and maybe, sort of, had a small crush on. He wasn't some dangerous guy until Takano reminded her of that, and Levi had reminded her with his own slightly shady response at Hannah knocking on her door.

“But no, that was not my plan.” Hannah stated, as if her plan wasn't more or less devised of drinking the wine, with or without Levi. If he hadn't been home, she would have drank it at some stage; if not tonight, then another night. “I take it since you're a drinker, you have a couple of wine glasses and a bottle opener?” She looked at him, expecting it to be something common in his house, much like dish soap or something equally similar. “If so, I'll see you on the roof in five minutes. This might be one of the last nice fall nights we have until next year. And since people typically do what the birthday person wants, I want to enjoy it. I don't nearly get enough time outside due to work.” Hannah held up both bottles of wine at shoulder height before taking a step backwards. “If you happen to flake out, I guess I'll just have to drink these all by myself. On my birthday.” She didn't care what he thought about the whole drinking alone thing on someone's birthday, because honestly...why couldn't someone drink alone by themselves on their birthday? It was their birthday and they could spend it however they wanted to. “If you don't know how to get up there, take the elevator to the top floor, go down the hall and there's a staircase. A key hanging from a nail near the top of the door, to keep little kids from opening it, if I remember right.” She said before turning around and heading back to the elevator. She only took a few steps before turning around and glancing back at him. “In case I don't see you again, thank you for the birthday gift. I will enjoy every drop of them.” She smiled coyly at him before Hannah turned around and pressed the 'up' arrow to the elevator, giving him time to decide if he was going to show, or flake out. When the door opened, she ventured inside the elevator, back to the furthest wall, eyes on Levi before the door slid closed and Hannah made her way up to the roof via the route she told him to take.

Umber eyes watched the woman’s body language change in a flash as he’d been talking at her. That demure, slightly sheepish demeanour quickly gave way to an avalanche of pride, causing her right hip to flick out and her shoulders to rolls backward. Her chin lifted just enough to exaggerate the elegance of her neck, catching his line of sight as if by instinct, but he didn’t let his gaze linger for long. It was important to watch her facial expressions, to see the mood change in her eyes, her brow, and her lips like the colour of the clouds. He wanted to see if he could predict a coming storm or maybe even a clear night from her features. At first it seemed like Hannah was nervous about appearing on his doorstep given he’d boldly uncovered her little ruse – and maybe even uncovered something a little more nefarious – but one little jab of mocking from him and she was back to normal, back to resume their playful game of tit for tat. It was almost a relief, but seeing as how he was a naturally paranoid individual, that relief was short-lived and the mourning for its life gave way to the thought that, maybe, Hannah was just a great little actress. Nevertheless, Levi gave a roll of his shoulders at her first comment and shifted his weight onto his left, into the door’s frame.

“Apparently,” he said in a grumble of sound. “But what would I know? I ain’t exactly normal people.”

Which she knew to be true even in the small time they’d been chatting, and because she must have understand that, to the Italian, that was what he presumed normal people generally did. Normal people seemed to think it was better to drink around strangers than drink in your own company because the latter had established some very negative connotations. Those connotations being attached to depression, misery, mourning, and maybe even a haughty kind of arrogance for believing that the best company was your own. Levi probably fell into the latter bracket in general, but it wasn’t as though he had never drank around complete strangers or enjoyed the experience. As a matter of fact, that was probably the only time Levi could be considered sociable, having actively made the decision to be around other people rather than it being an incidental thing. When it came to his birthday, however, being out and about was probably the last thing the Italian should do. It was hard enough to hide his rage and disappointment on that forsaken date when he had been alive and now, well, now the room turned an inky black and things would shake, rattle, and roll like he’d summoned a miniature earthquake. It was just bad. He was better left alone even if he was falling into those negative connotations.

It was when Hannah dispelled the notion that she’d planned to drink alone at all that Levi’s position shifted. She gave him the option of joining her provided he brought the relevant apparatus and met her on the roof. Thinking nothing of it, Levi stepped back a little, enough to open the door to the very empty apartment and glance inside himself. It didn’t bother him at that point that Hannah would finally have a glimpse into his life, into the very apparent notion that he did not live there. In fact, nobody lived there. Levi hadn’t questioned why the little Bird Prick had moved out so suddenly – frankly, he would make his own assumptions about that – and Levi was just happy that he wouldn’t have to run into him. It would be dangerous to do so because Levi suspected it would be far too easy for him to lose his ****, take out that high-powered pistol of his, and put a hole in the Robin’s head. Far, far too easy. And it would feel good for a while, watching that prick’s blood pool for what must have been the second time there in that apartment, on that dusty wooden floor. Only, there wouldn’t be a lascivious blonde to tend to him this time, just the cold, hard grasp of the Shadow Realm tugging him close and Levi’s arrogant sneer watching him being taken away…

The temptation was too real to risk and Levi was sure he still – in some form – wanted to keep his relationship with the redhead at least a touch sweeter than oil. Prudence would never oblige that act of callousness, of revenge, and limitless passion from the Italian, how could she? You don’t accept it when the Black Sheep kills the favourite Christmas Bird. It’s basically the only sin you could commit in their little family – didn’t matter a toss that Robin deserved it. Apparently he had inherited Lorelai’s gift: to be blameless in any and all situations. Levi, meanwhile, had inherited CC’s gift, which was to be subsequently blamed for everything. The irony was thick, because he too had blamed CC for everything and could understand, and even took a proportion of the blame for his hatred for that red-breasted, yellow-bellied worm. Levi could admit his faults, he knew that it was jealousy and possessiveness that swayed his judgement, but it was as much that piece of ****’s fault as it was Levi’s. You can’t just piss in someone else’s territory, **** on their possessions, and then not expect any kind of comeback. This was basic ****, the boy should have known better. They all should have, really.

“I’ll see what I can do about that. You are the birthday girl after all,” Levi told her, closing the gap again with his body, closing the window into his world. “Five minutes should be plenty of time.”

He really would have to work at it to find a bottle opener and some wine glasses on such short notice. Since Hannah had informed him that they would be sitting on the roof tonight instead of retiring to her warm and cosy apartment, Levi made a mental note to bring a blanket with him. Not because he wanted to get cosy under the covers – well, that wasn’t plan number one or anything – but because Hannah was still Human and it was late September. Harper Rock wasn’t known for its balmy Falls, that was for sure, and while she might not feel the cold immediately with the wine in her system, Levi wasn’t one to risk her catching hypothermia. Like he needed extra responsibilities right now, or the guilt thrown at him for letting the woman catch it or even so much as a cold on tonight of all nights. Hannah had made a point to remind him that she would basically hold it over his head if he failed to please her tonight – on her birthday. Despite the grin he’d returned, because he had found it rather charming, he’d just nodded his head and watched her retreat with interest.

If she was going to be heading to the roof now, Levi would have to work fast to make sure the birthday girl wasn’t kept waiting too long – even if he had a sneaking suspicion that she would consider any amount of time too long and badger him about it. It was her prerogative to test him, to tease him in an adorable way. He probably only tolerated it because, at the end of it all, Levi was a simple man. Their interactions entertained and intrigued him and, well, he could confess to having an attraction toward her. He wasn’t that dead. So, once the door to the empty apartment was closed, Levi took the Fade portal back to the Quarantine Zone, headed into his actual lived-in apartment in Corvidae Flats, collected the appropriate items, and tomed back to West Towers. All in all, the venture took about four minutes where Bester had decided that he wanted to play tug-of-war the minute he witnessed Levi fetching the cashmere throw from his bed. This resulted in Levi having to skilfully dodge the feline and then vanish instantly to avoid the charcoal fibres being embedded with pearlescent fur and sharp teeth.

It was another two minutes before Levi made it to the aforementioned rooftop, having followed Hannah’s instructions. That’s right, he was actually late for something. Hopefully she would forgive him when he took a place beside her and offered to exchange one of the bottles for the cashmere throw. He could be a gentleman tonight, he supposed, and pour for them. That, and well, it was his turn and it was her birthday.

Hannah had made it up to the roof with very little problems. People were involved in their own world; anything from a late dinner, to a bedtime routine. When she got off on the top floor, she had bypassed an older gentleman in his late fifties, or early sixties, who was disposing of his rubbish in the universal chute that went from one floor to the next. He nodded at her, and she at him, before Hannah set one of the bottles on the ground and snatched the mentioned key. It was put in the door, unlocked and then replaced, while a foot kept the door open so she could collect the bottle once again.

She hoped Levi showed, otherwise she was going to feel pretty stupid tomorrow for drinking two entire bottles of wine herself. But, wanting to stay true to her word, Hannah would sit on the roof and enjoy every last drop that had been gifted to her from the male. As Hannah made her way to the outer wall of the roof, she thought about what she had seen when Levi had moved in the doorway. While Hannah was aware of his claims that he didn't live there, the glimpse validated that claim. Which posed a further question as to why would someone keep an apartment that was near empty? Every time Hannah got a little insight into Levi's life, she was reminded of the saying 'one step forward, two steps back.' Truer words were never spoken.

Each bottle was placed on the edge of the wall that stood to just below Hannah's waistline. She wasn't keeping an eye on the time, mostly because Hannah had a good idea of how long a minute was, and three and then five. Mostly due to her job. Hold this position for a minute to stretch a muscle out. Do this for three minutes, doing so many repetitions and so forth. Never mind the fact that during her university years, the first thing any medical staff member learned as an essential and end all, do all; was hand washing. Singing the happy birthday song twice at a normal pace was roughly one minute. So, while she waited for Levi, Hannah silently sang the 'happy birthday' song in her head. By the time she reached ten, Hannah knew Levi was late and once again, Hannah felt some slight apprehension and even regret at giving him a fake name.

The woman scooted each bottle over, further away from her before she pressed both palms to the concrete. After a deep breath in, Hannah pushed her weight on her palms, coaxing her feet to lift off the roof's top. Her right knee found the top of the barrier, helping Hannah get up on it, before she swung that leg over. With each leg on the side of the wall, her gaze turned when she heard the door open and her eyes made contact with the outline of Levi. She gave a small wave, before the other leg joined the right leg, the woman sitting on a very solid, thick lip of a barrier wall.

Hannah wasn't a risk taker per say, but she felt confident enough in her abilities to stay on a ledge without plummeting to her death some twenty or so stories down. Being up high didn't phase the woman, being a rock climber and all, even as cars buzzed by, barely able to be made out by her eyes as she looked down at them. “You made it.” She commented casually as Hannah turned her neck to allow her eyes to make contact with an approaching Levi. It seemed he had everything and then some. “Care to take a seat?” Hannah extended an arm to a couple of ratty looking lawn chairs that belonged to who know who....and then offered him the slab next to her with a pat to the cool concrete. She knew that their time (should he join her on the ledge) would be short lived, because once alcohol got in someone's system, they shouldn't go around doing things like hanging over the side of the wall. But, for now, Hannah was enjoying the view. As soon as her eyes focused off the male and back to the every day activities of the city below. “I imagine, being a C.E.O. means you have a big fancy office with a view comparable to this; if not better, but I think it's pretty amazing.” Hannah said after exhaling a large breath of air. “It's sort of like you're not part of the city, but still tied to it. Remotely.” Hannah said idly as her eyes finally found what she should be looking at, and not she preferred to be looking at.

“That’s perspective for you,” Levi replied casually to her comments as he took the space that had been offered to him – on the very edge of the roof. It was a good thing that heights didn’t bother him.

While Levi was smiling to the woman seated close beside him, something in his tone seemed dull, almost like he wasn’t quite in the mood for their usual tit-for-tat jokes and had something more serious to discuss. That wasn’t entirely the case – Levi didn’t really want to rush into the discussion he knew they had to have at some point – and he even agreed with Hannah in regards to the view they had of the city tonight. As a matter of fact, Levi had a tendency of looking out at the world below and thinking very similarly to how she’d described. His office space, for example, was about ten storeys up and overlooked the Algonquin River. Bullwood twinkled beneath them while the rest of Harper Rock sparkled in the distance under an ink-dappled sky. There was a city on the one side and the wilderness on the other which swallowed up any idea of civilisation. It was like sitting on the cusp between the rawness of tradition and the blinkering promise of new opportunities. This juxtaposition just so happened to be something of a metaphor for the Italian’s life. It was the culture he’d been brought up in, where you always had one foot in the past and one foot hovering over the future, ready to take a step but not fully committing to the idea. After all, the past had been so prosperous and if it ain’t broken, why fix it?

But that wasn’t who Levi was. He wasn’t one to settle. Maybe that was why those umber eyes preferred to gaze out at the twinkling lights. Not only was the view significantly better than staring into the abyss, to look upon unceasing darkness and emptiness, but the brighter view represented a glimmer of hope, of opportunities sitting on the horizon ready to be grasped. That was probably about the only time anyone would call the Italian an optimist. Naturally, because he didn’t exactly do the things that stereotypical optimistic people did. For one, he didn’t smile like his lips had been pinned eternally to his ******* ears. As a matter of fact, the only time the Italian tended to smile genuinely – and not because he was smirking like a villainous crook – was in moments like these; private moments with people who brought out that softness in him. Another thing the Italian didn’t do was spout off about how everything was perfect and wonderful, and about how people were all good on the inside. Because they weren’t. Life wasn’t like that. Every day wasn’t butterflies and rainbows and unicorn farts. Life was gritty and painful and grim as ****. Life could be ugly and tacky and raw just as much as it could be ramrodded with passion, love, and happiness. And Levi couldn’t block out the darkness for the sake of the light, because that would be like accepting only one half of the truth and forsaking the whole picture simply for what suited him.

“Here,” Levi said, offering her the cashmere throw. “You’ll get cold before I do. Italian blood and all that,” he said with a light grin and a shrug.

Although he didn’t know how long they were planning to be out here on the rooftop, it seemed like it was best to come prepared for the Canadian autumn. It didn’t bother him how long they sat out there on that ledge. He could look straight down, watch how his legs hooked over the edge of safety and speculate about the drop for hours. No normal person would survive that fall, and even Levi had to suspect that he would probably plummet right through to the Shadow Realm if he fell from this height. Well, if he didn’t perform some mid-air feats of teleportation that is. Levi wasn’t all that good at Maths, not when he considered the abilities of even an average Mathematician and Scientist, but he knew the basics. He knew that as an object falls, its speed increases due to the Earth’s gravity; g = 9.81 m/s2 approximately. So to figure out how long it takes a body to hit the ground, you needed a very simple equation that includes distance, velocity, and gravity. Assuming that the object to fall starts from rest and the air resistance is neglected, it would probably take about 4 seconds to land from the top of this root. Would he be able to activate his tome in that time or wish himself away from danger? Maybe, but maybe not. Thinking about the splat he would make on the sidewalk was definitely something else to keep him entertained though. Or better yet, he could wonder why Hannah had brought him up here to begin with.

There was a faint whisper of a voice calling the Italian an idiot for walking into something that was clearly a trap. Here they were, alone, on the rooftop of a building some 220 feet up and nobody had a clue that he was here except for her. Considering that Hannah had been caught in a lie previously, there was potential for her to feel the need to lure him up here with the intent to push him over the ledge. Tactical though it might have been for any enemy of his to get him alone on a rooftop somewhere, Levi had to laugh at his own paranoid delusions. Not only did he doubt that Hannah was devious enough to perfectly play the blushing angel role before she tried to murder him, but he doubted she had the ******* strength to push him off that roof. She might have been fit, the toned and sculpted nature of her arms and torso had given him that much of an impression, but she wasn’t strong enough. Levi was roughly 180lbs worth of muscle, determination, and stubbornness. He was also an expert at hand-to-hand combat – you had to be in Harper Rock. So this pint-sized Human female had to have had a magic wand up her backside before she could chuck him over the side. What’s more, even if Levi was wrong about his assumptions, he could just come back a week later and take vengeance. So, butt out paranoia.

“I’ve actually never been up here before,” Levi confessed, his voice sounding sombre, wistful. Umber eyes gazed out onto the Milky Way of city lights like he was out there amongst them instead of sitting there with Hannah. “A year of living in that apartment and we never once came up here. That’s kinda funny in its own way.” It was only then that he turned his head to look at her directly, emotion indiscernible from his features. “Have you been up here before now then?”

Hannah was a slightly perceptive individual. She had to be; at least she believed. To work in the medical field, you had to get a feel for what your patient is actually feeling compared to what they say they are feeling. What might feel like a ten and said was a ten, could really be a six. Which meant they could push themselves just a little bit more to work those torn or injured muscles. So Levi's reply had Hannah wondering if he really wanted to be here, or if he felt obligated to be here. Just because it was her birthday and all. He was probably a little ticked off that she had given him a false first name, but everything else was pretty much spot on and the truth. Minus the whole, 'I'm just a physical therapist.' She was so much more, wasn't she? Nobody was just this, or that. But she was a lot more than most people. No regular, normal person had ties to the Serpents, did they?

A throw was offered to her and Hannah looked at it, and then at him before reaching out for it. "That's not true. No blood, no matter where you descend from is warmer than the other, thicker than the other, or whatever other stories people pass along. I think that's a myth. Or tall tale--lie." Her words slowed down, realizing too late that maybe she should have stopped sooner than later, as to not mention the word 'lie.' Something she had done and potentially opened a Pandora's box against her, if Levi so choose to do so. "But, I'm willing to admit that males do tend to be the warmer gender. So thank you." She coincided with a small laugh as she wrapped the throw around the upper half of her body.

When he confessed he had never been up here before, she tried to look a little...shocked. Hannah probably fell short on that, because she wasn't surprised that Levi hadn't been up here before. He didn't seem the type-much like she didn't peg him for an outdoor, nature loving type a few weeks ago. "Really?" She teased Levi gently before letting the smile vanish from her lips when she heard the mention of 'we.' 'We,' who? His cat? That would be really strange and place Levi in a slightly, less attractive limelight. Imagining him up here, alone, with his cat. Like some creepy B grade horror film. Hannah hadn't been told he had been living with anyone, then again, they didn't know he wasn't really living here most the time either. Interesting.

Very slowly, Hannah nodded her head. "Once." She admitted as she looked in Levi's direction. "I had hoped it gave a different view, but found myself disappointed. The park is nice and all, but it's not the same as being in the woods. Or even close to it." She lifted her shoulders into a shrug. "I figured maybe I could be close to nature in some crazy way up here, since I can't get out to it very often." Hannah glanced back down at the world beneath their feet, focusing on a brighter city street light than the others, just to keep from looking at him for too long. That was dangerous, especially being as close as she was to him. "Who is we?" She asked, only because she needed to know, because it was gnawing at the back of her mind. She needed to know who else she might be dealing with, along with Levi. For the Serpents. That's what she silently told herself after slipping out those three little words questioning words. Besides, he had brought it up, so he must want to talk about it in some respects. Otherwise, Levi could have just used 'I' instead. He was very good at keeping his life personal, so Hannah didn't suspect it was a slip of the tongue. Just like she didn't suspect she only wanted to know, because the Serpents needed to know.

Of course there was no scientific explanation for why it’s said that certain people are more warm-blooded than others based purely on where they hail from. Levi wasn’t as stupid as he made himself out to be, which was why, as Hannah explained in greater detail than was actually necessary to define why it was that his comment was idiotic, the Italian just gave her this look like she had suddenly sprouted a third eye. Partly he was mystified by her reaction, and partly he was amused that she’d had such a strong reaction to his off-the-cuff remark. Nevertheless, by the time Hannah had finished her explanation – stumbling awkwardly over a sensitive subject of lies – Levi had decided that nodding his head and glancing away from her was the best solution. He didn’t really have a response that wasn’t condescending and since he really was attempting to be nice on account of their situation – and with it being Hannah’s birthday – rolling his eyes, laughing, and calling her crazy wasn’t going to work into his plans. The Italian opted for a silent reply – well, a quiet smirk – as his focus shifted to the city beneath them again. He still kept her in his peripherals, though, smiling smugly to himself as Hannah seemed to compromise finally and then wrap herself in that throw.

If he was hoping that things would become decidedly smoother after that little fiasco, however, he was entirely mistaken. First of all, Hannah decided that she’d take a dig at him for confessing that he’d never been up on the rooftop of West Towers before now. Levi shrugged a shoulder, trying for civil, even if he couldn’t exactly defend against her view of him. He had, after all, purposely given the impression that he had no life outside of his work. In fairness, Hannah had no real reason to suspect that this hadn’t always been the case for him either. Levi worked damn hard to ensure that he wasn’t the type of guy you could glance at and just know instantaneously. It had become his life’s work to live as an enigmatic figure, and yet, he seemed to hold some sort of grudge against the people who couldn’t unravel the mysteries of who he really was, and felt somewhat slighted by those who couldn’t see through his defences and straight to the heart of why he was the way he was. Maybe Levi was just disappointed because he was the impatient sort, but he could get over it. He always got over it. Eventually. He was glad to have a distraction when Hannah revealed that she’d only been up here once herself, even if she was quick to follow up on her observations of the view around them with a remark on the thing he’d said last.

“View ain’t that bad,” Levi offered with a light roll of his shoulder.

Having said that, however, it felt sort of odd to be the one defending a cause he didn’t really hold close to his heart. Like, he didn’t really care one way or the other about the view from the rooftop or Hannah’s opinion on it. Not because he was being a particularly malicious ******** or anything tonight, but, the topic seemed to fade to the back of the queue in terms of his priorities. Levi also wasn’t the sort to try and inject lightness or frivolity or even a positive ******* perspective into any kind of situation, and yet, at the same time, he felt like he had to say something... redeeming.

“And, at least I can smoke up here.”

Ah yes, that old crux of his; forever a blessing in all situations awkward, confusing, boring, and frustrating. Though, sometimes, it felt like there wasn’t necessarily a reason for why he reached for the cigarettes – not a conscious one at any rate. In this particular situation, it was obvious that discomfort had moved his hand into his inside jacket pocket, made it reach for the packet of Marlboros that did rest close to his heart. All forms of movement from the Italian were purposefully slow then, like he was stalling before he would have to acknowledge that question, the one that made his skin bristle and his blood boil. While he hadn’t meant to really broach the subject in the first place – yes, indeed, he who is like God can actually **** up occasionally – it seemed kind of right that it was finally out in the open between them. Instead of getting pissy and insufferable though, maybe he could use this opportunity to explain very calmly and civilly why it was that he occasionally frequented West Towers and didn’t live at the apartment. It would kill that other question she probably had running in her mind too, like, why the **** that apartment was so empty. After the first lungful of smoke erupted into the air, spilling from his nostrils and throat like the afterglow of a dragon’s flame, Levi turned his sights fully on Hannah, ready to explain.

“As for the whole we thing. It’s kind of a… shitty tale, I guess. I mean, it’s the only reason I actually come here and why that apartment is as dead as a nail.” He paused, despite himself, like he couldn’t form the words beyond the venom that was bubbling up from his core. Because he was still pissed about all the crap that had transpired, and was pissed off at himself too for letting it get to him. “I used to live here with a girl. Even asked her to marry me at Christmas, but uh… That fell through. Don’t even know why, but, maybe it was because we didn’t go up to rooftops or something.” Well done, Levi. Not a single **** was given in that entire explanation. Maybe he deserved a drink for such an achievement. “So… yeah. I reckon you could probably bring out the wine now. Hint, hint. Or I can serve you, seeing as how it’s your birthday.” He offered a free hand to reach for the wine. "How old are you anyway?" He couldn't remember if he had asked that or not, so it was safer to ask rather than totally commit to the idea that he had stalked her pretty ***.

Was the view that bad? Hannah wouldn't claim it had a horrible view, not compared to the apartment she had lived in back home. Miles and miles of other buildings was about the only thing she could see, when she was home. The view was definitely better, but it still wasn't her ideal view. She was fine with letting his opinion lay there, because people could disagree on things and still be okay with the other. Besides, it was something pretty trivial they were in disagreement about; not like a conversation about human rights or something that heavy.

Did she knew Levi smoked? Hannah had to think about it, only because she wasn't sure. Not that it was really any of her business, as she resisted the urge to say the typical, 'you know that habit will kill you.' Chances are, if he drank as much as he claimed he did, and being that Takano wasn't surprised Levi drank because he was Italian, it was more likely the guy was going to end up with liver failure over lung cancer. Again, nothing she really could concern herself with, or give an opinion about. They weren't that good of friends to be going around, giving the other any real advice about their potential future medical concerns.

What Levi said next sort of surprised Hannah. It seemed at one time he did have someone that he was close to in an intimate sort of sense, but things went 'shitty,' as he put it so eloquently. Hannah listened, taking it all in and then decided not to give much of an opinion. After all, if she didn't feel comfortable telling him smoking might end up killing him, giving him any sort of opinion about why things might have failed, or even trying to dig deeper seemed out of place. "Well, it's not like I win a gold star on the whole dating front." Hannah said with a small laugh and an even smaller lift of her shoulders. She hadn't told him the complete story for obvious reasons, but Levi knew enough that it had ended so badly that Hannah was more or less forced to relocate to a whole different continent. In the end, it was sort of true. Had she not gotten mixed up with the very wrong guy, she wouldn't be in the clutches of the Yakuza, would she? She would still be living in Japan with her family.

The mention of wine had Hannah looking at the bottles, before snatching one up and offering it to him. She hadn't even looked at the type it was, confident she would at least manage to finish a glass of the one Hannah believed she would prefer over the other. When he asked Hannah her age, she looked Levi in the face, instead of down at the bottle, whose label was faced more towards him than her. "Twenty-nine. Ghastly, isn't it? The big, bad, dread three-oh coming up." She mocked her own age slightly with an even bigger smile before she turned it back on Levi. "And how old are you?" She asked, releasing the bottle once Levi had a good hold on it, as to avoid any sort of skin on skin contact. Once her hand was free, Hannah wrapped the throw around her arms once again, to avoid getting cold, as Levi believed she would get while they were out here. "Don't ask me to guess, because, I'm actually horrible at those sorts of games." Hannah said as her eyes dropped on what Levi was doing, rather than Levi himself. She had ample of opportunities to do that while they drank one, if not two bottles of wine tonight.