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Play the song when indicated!
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Once you'd walked outside, you knew you had to find a cab soon because Levi drove both of you here in his car and you didn't want to be anywhere near him right now.

You walked out of the restaurant and turned a corner along the sidewalk, but once you started to get further away from the bar, suddenly you started to hear footsteps behind you.

You sighed and had a feeling that was Levi. And it was only confirmed when you heard his voice, but you continued walking anyway.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" You heard Levi said, but you didn't turn back and you started to speed up in your steps.

"I'm not going anywhere with you right now. I'm going home," You said sternly, turning a corner that lead into an alleyway and in the distance you could see a couple of stores lined up and two pathways on each side.

"You can't go alone," He said, and that made you slow down in his steps. Why can't you never tell what he really wants? He dances around it.

You were tired of not being able to tell when he really wanted to help you or if its for his own selfish benefit. He never thinks about anybody but himself so he can't just say that he cares that you go back home safely when its his tattoo he doesn't want to have damaged in any way.

You know that from the beginning it was about him having to disguising the real reason he needed to be close to you and being your bodyguard for that reason, and you needing his protection, but now?

You thought things had evolved. That he actually cared about what you thought, your well-being, and far past being your bodyguard. With him, you don't know what's real and what's not.

When you signed up for this, you knew he needed you but you didn't agree to be used like this and to be tricked over and over again. You turned around to look at Levi and watched as he slowed down in his steps.

"Watch me. Don't act like you suddenly care. I don't even know what's going on though your head anymore," You said, your eyes hardening with an intensity Levi's never seen before on you. But it didn't stop him from trying to get through to you.

"Why are you being so difficult?" He asked and you scoffed, looking to the side before turning to look at him again. Did what happen in that bar not register in his head? Is he that oblivious? "Are you seriously asking me that?" You said as your eyebrows rose in disbelief. His eyes were burning into you just as intensely, if not more.

Your emotions was starting to get the best of you and your breathing was starting to pick up and a lump formed in your throat. "I don't get you. I can't hold your wrist when we're around others or when you're not in the mood. What am I supposed to do? When can I ever do it?" He said indignantly. But just as you thought you couldn't trust your voice to speak for you anymore, you said something.

"I don't get you either. We made a deal. You're not following it. You add conditions as you go along" You said quietly because he's just not grasping what you're talking about. You don't keep rejecting his advances him because you want him to suffer, you keep doing it because you feel like he's not following through with anything.

He's so stubborn it drives you crazy and there's things that are flying over each other's heads about what the other wants, but all he's proven to you is that he's acting out of his own self interest and you're done. He's so cryptic and its too frustrating for you to handle.

As you said that, Levi's face remain unchanged. He didn't say anything else, but you had so much to say on your end. You just didn't know if you should waste more of your energy on this when it's not going anywhere.

"You're so..." You started, chest heaving up and down as you kept your eye locked on his and he waited for you to continue, but you just...couldn't. You couldn't get it out. You were exhausted.

You didn't want to be strung alone anymore or try to guess what he's thinking of. This was somehow your own fault along the way.

You got attached when you shouldn't have and he could've just used you to his powers like you both promised, but you couldn't deny it any more. Knowing that just made it hurt 10 times more.

He's not going to understand no matter how much you say it. No amount of words will get through to him and you can't keep explaining yourself to someone who refuses to see.

That is unless he decides to be honest first for once. You inhaled sharply and then let your shoulders sink in defeat. "Forget it..." You said, turning on your heel and started walking ahead, not knowing where but just any other place.

Levi watched you go with hardened eyes, full conflict behind them, not knowing what to do. All he could do was watch you walk away further and further way from him.

But even as you walked away, you realized something that made you stop in your tracks but you didn't turn around. You're not done. You're so not done. You steeled yourself as you took a deep breath.

You weren't going to face him if you really wanted to say this. "I'm human. If you can't see that I'm a person with emotions, and only see me as someone you need for your benefit, then-!" You started, full of hurt in your voice, but when you turned around you were cut off when you saw no one.

He left. Your mouth dropped slightly agape as you looked around and held back the heat gathering in your eyes when the realization that he's really gone set in. You exhaled shakily and sniffled as you shook your head.

You...you really don't know what to do anymore. You're at your limit and you felt like crumbling to pieces with no one there to catch you anymore. You've been second-guessing everything about him since you met him and now he just keeps proving your worst fears right.

-

Levi had left. He had turned around and taken a corner around a different alleyway but further down the street. He walked away with a certain assertiveness and certainty in his steps.

He was filled with unresolved emotions and facts in his head that he couldn't seem to figure out. As walked across the alleyway with closed and worn down stores on either side of him, Levi was letting his thoughts consume him whole.

He's fighting against his instincts and what he knows, but what if he needed to relearn some things? Maybe if he's always done things a certain way, maybe it didn't means its right.

A part of him wanted to stay when you walked away and he wanted to hear your words, but the other made him leave abruptly without thinking it twice. He didn't know how he could've responded either way if he stayed and he didn't want to stick around to find out.

"I can't put up with her for another second..." He muttered angrily to himself, even if in reality, there was a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to turn around and look for you.

He left you by yourself in an alley because he couldn't face the truth of what was going on between the two of you. He was just as lost as you were too, literally and metaphorically.

He was angry, lost and he had no idea how to handle it. He heard you loud and clear before but he's been doing all of this the best way he knows how and he knows for sure he might have fucked things up for good.

And that's when his mind suddenly clicked and he stopped walking. He groaned and raised a hand to run it back through his hair and grip it tightly. What am I doing?

He shouldn't be here. He may not know what he wants or how to handle things with you, but what he does know is that he vowed to protect you, and as much as he's been an ass at showing it, it wasn't just for his tattoo but for you too.

He realized something might happen to you if the person who's targeting you was just hiding in the shadows and realized she was alone. He had to turn back. He'd deal with what comes after later. You're alone and vulnerable and for all he knows, you could be in danger right now.

But as Levi turned around and prepared to come back where he came from, but once he simply turned around halfway, he paused and lightly squinted his eyes when he felt like he could've sworn that he saw something move back there.

He turned around fully and when he really focused, he realized there were definitely people walking his way, but the shadows hid them. Although, right as they passed under a streetlight, Levi immediately recognized who it was. It was Marlowe, along with two other gang members. Levi rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for this. He had to find you.

Levi simply turned around and started going down another street briskly, not having time to deal with Marlowe and whatever grievance he had for him. Marlowe scowled at how indifferent Levi still is. But it didn't discourage Marlowe.

After so many efforts of trying to get to him, he was finally in front of him and he wouldn't let him get away this time. Before Levi walked away farther away and they lost him again, Marlowe and his gang immediately began to chase after him through the same street he went.

As for you, you're pretty sure you're lost? You tried to walk down the alley you and Levi had been walking in but now you feel like its going on forever since every time you think you find the way out, it just makes you enter a new alleyway and your GPS on your phone was useless so you put it back into your purse and tried to go it alone.

You were walking in circle. And not to mention this place gave you the creeps. It was worn down, abandoned, nearly no light around and dirty. You wanted to get out of here. You really wished you and Levi didn't have to get separated.

You turned your head back to see if there was an exit behind you that you missed, but nope, it looked as sinister to walk through as every other street you've passed already. An unsettling feeling starter to grow in your gut and you immediately started to dig into your purse again to pull out your phone.

You decided to give it another try. You unlocked it and went to your contacts, wanting to try Levi's cel again to see if you had any luck with that. He had to be around here somewhere, right? He couldn't have gone too far, unless he went home already. You hoped that wasn't the case.

Meanwhile, Levi thought he had taken a route that could've helped him get Marlowe and his gang off his trail since they'd found him again, but apparently not because he turned a corner and he scoffed when he saw Hitch and the rest of the gang members too.

He groaned inwardly and turned around again but then saw that Marlowe and the others had caught up to him. He was surrounded. All he could do now was try to get out of this the only way he could think of.

Levi smirked and put his hands in his pockets as he faced Marlowe. "Ah, I remember you. You're the trash I took out a couple weeks ago, huh?" He said, and that made Marlowe visibly fume with rage.

"Who are you calling trash?" Marlowe said, but just as Levi was about to answer, he suddenly felt his phone start to vibrate in his pocket. He was about to retaliate but he reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out his phone.

He looked down and saw that you were calling him. A part of him sank with relief as he realized you were probably looking for him as much as he was, but now, its probably best if you didn't find him.

He didn't want you to get caught up in this and get hurt. But he should at least warn you to not try to find him and to wait where you are.

"Listen, you bastard. I don't know what tricks you used last time, but-" Marlowe started but Levi's softened expression when he saw you calling twisted into irritation when he looked back up at Marlowe.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't have time for this. If you'll excuse me, I have to take this call," Levi said as he started to walk towards an opening in the alleyway that he could use, but before he couldn't even get to it and he couldn't even answer your phone call either.

Marlowe narrowed his eyes and gestured with his head at one of his gang members behind him, as if saying 'you know what to do'.

"Not this again. We're not done here," Marlowe said, watching as Levi walked away and of his fellow gang members walked up to Levi and gave him a hard kick on his back.

Levi groaned in pain and fell forward on his hands and knees as the pain from the kick immediately started to kick in, not to mention that he also dropped his phone in the process just as he was about to answer.

This was a very unfortunate time to not have his powers with him. He shouldn't have been as cocky as he was. Usually the pain would go away immediately because his powers took away the pain, but not this time.

He can afford to be cocky because he always has the upper hand but now he actually feels vulnerable in a way he never had before.

Marlowe walked up to the gang member that kicked Levi and he witnessed how the raven was groaning in pain on the floor. Marlowe looked at Levi with satisfaction but there was still a lot more coming.

All of the gang members were holding a weapon to fight against Levi; baseball bats, metal pipes, you name it. They were serious about this.

"Hey, good job. You got him good," Marlowe said and his fellow gang member nodded with accomplishment. But as Marlowe did that, Levi was able to focus on something else. As his vision cleared from the pain, he smirked when he saw an old newspaper in front of him. That's how he defeated Marlowe and the others last time, and they had no idea he didn't have his powers with him either. This was good. He could use this.

He pushed back the pain, grabbed the newspaper and swiftly stood up, brushing off the newspaper. Marlowe, Hitch and the others suddenly tensed at the sight of it, and Levi smirks because they know as well he does that this is how things went down last time.

A couple of them were so traumatized by that Levi actually saw how many took a couple steps back. As long as they didn't find out he didn't have his powers anymore, then he could keep this up.

"Yeah, you remember this?" Levi said, and he watched as many steeled themselves and pretended to be as tough as they were before.

Marlowe was one of them. "A stupid newspaper doesn't scare us anymore," He said, but Levi didn't believe it for a second. He could hear the tremble in his voice. As much as he'd practically a sitting duck at this point, he has to continue with the act until he thinks of something better to do.

He can't exactly use the newspaper like last time, could he? but just as he started to roll it up like last time and the gang members began to squirm, begging in his head for an idea to come to him, but nothing was happening. He couldn't possibly keep up this bluff for much longer than he already has. They'll catch on.

He's relying solely on his wit, the reputation he has with this gang and luck basically. It's a gamble is what it is.

That was until he turned his head to the side and saw his phone on the ground, it was very cracked but he could see that you were calling him, and that's when it hit him.

There was nothing Levi could do here now, except run and try to get to you and he hates to do it again after you just fought about it, but hopefully find you and use his powers so that he can fight them off again, even knowing you'll get caught in the crossfire of it all. If he can just get to you...that's all he's relying on now.

Keeping his gaze now so they wouldn't see the facade he was putting on, Levi took a couple deep breaths and hoped that they were as scared of this newspaper from afar as they would be up close. It was time to take that chance.

Levi raised his head and then felt incredibly silly for just throwing the newspaper Marlowe's way, but at the very least it worked. They were so frightened by it that when they covered themselves from it and got distracted, they opened a path and Levi just ran right past it.

By the time that they saw him run past them, Marlowe groaned and the others, including Hitch immediately started chasing after Levi. "Get him! Don't let him get away this time!" Marlowe yelled as he started to quickly get his feet to move and ran after Levi along with his gang.

They couldn't lose him again, and not to some silly newspaper trick that only worked because Levi knew their weakness from the first time they fought against him. But he wouldn't let that happen ever again. They would get him this time no matter what.

In the meantime, you can continued to call Levi and over and over again. You were walking through any streets that seemed to be leading toward any sort of exit, but it's been a while and you still haven't gotten out of this maze of alleyways. In the meantime, this is like the third time you've called him and he still hasn't answered.

Is he avoiding you? You might have to start finding your own way out of here and won't be able to get his help like you hoped. You were completely oblivious to the fact that when Levi bolted, he left his phone behind. You weren't going to reach him now even if you wanted to but you didn't know that.

As you continued to walk and kept your phone pressed to your ear and got his voicemail again, you sighed and pulled your phone away from your ears. Where is he? You wondered, quickly tapping the call button again, raising your phone up to your ear, continuing to walk across the alley.

As for Levi, he felt like he'd been running for what felt like hours until he finally felt like he left alleyway and had entered a new part of the zone he was in. It was a long street that had all sorts of shops on one side of him and the other had an overlook of the city.

He was running across this street, panting and breathing hard but he was forced to stop when suddenly a group of the gang members suddenly ran in front of him, blocking his path.

He cursed under his breath and turned back around to see if he could run the other way, but as he started to run the opposite way, the same thing happened.

Marlowe and Hitch appeared in front of him with the rest of the gang behind them. Levi slowed down and came to a stop. His chest was rising a falling and he looked back and forth on either side of him to see that he was truly surrounded this time.

He had no newspaper to trick them, no other escape route, and you where nowhere in sight to help him with his powers. He was truly and utterly screwed now, wasn't he?

But he still wasn't going down with a fight, until he gave it his all, and until his body told him he couldn't anymore.

His chances of escape became even slimmer when they started to close in on him on either side. He noticed that many of them were positioning themselves into fighting stances and Levi began to do the same.

There was one of them in the group on his right that was stepping up closer to Levi and the raven quickly put his focus on him but also remaining aware of the rest of his surroundings for any other attacks.

The gang member came at him with a baseball back, but Levi blocked it with his arm quickly and then sent a punch square in the gang members jaw with his other fist. Though, as the man fell to the ground, Levi didn't have time to move on to the next one because Marlowe was right behind him with fury just burning in his eyes.

Marlowe raised his baseball bat in the air while Levi had his back to him, and proceeded to give the raven one hard swing on the back of his head. Levi genuinely felt like pain exploded in his skull and he felt like his brain rattled inside his head.

It was instant. It knocked him out for a fraction of a second as he felt the sharp pain spread all over his head. Levi was stunned for a bit as he fell to his knees with a thud and pained grunt, with one hand on he ground holding him up and the other rested on his thigh. His ears began to ring loudly in his head and he closed his eyes shut to hopefully lessen it but that only seemed to be making it worse.

Levi's heart was pounding against his chest, it was rising and falling, his lungs were burning because he hasn't had a chance to rest from all the running he did and when he opened his eyes, he probably thought it wasn't a good sign when he saw blood start to drip down to the floor.

That blood was his, wasn't it? He felt it dripping down the side of his face and then down the ground, and from the amount of it that was coming down, that probably wasn't a good thing either.

Levi definitely felt that 'white light' sensation the moment that he got hit. Is it normal that he was feeling himself blinking in and out of consciousness? He was too disoriented to tell what was real and what wasn't at this point.

He couldn't think either. His mind was rattled and scrambled, he can't think for himself, his inhibitions are lowered, his guard is down because what other fucking choice did he have? He was probably concussed, right? He was useless right now.

Was he going to die here? After 200 years? Getting beat up by a gang with pipes and baseball bats? Is this really how things ended for him right now? If he ever imagined himself dying, this was not it. He's outmatched and it's time that he starts to come to terms with it.

Levi somehow found the strength to lift his head as his breathing only got heavier and he could hear faint footsteps walking around him, up until he could see the person suddenly move to stand in front of.

He only realized it was Marlowe when he spoke up and because of the faint sight of the bloody baseball bat he was holding. "You bastard. Do you know how hard it was to find you? I finally got you," Marlowe said and the only thing that was coherent enough in Levi's brain was a comeback to that popped up in his head.

"And do you know...how easy...it was to avoid you?" Levi said in between pants as a smirk tugged at his lips, but even that hurt to do. Marlowe let out a bitter laugh, not finding Levi's comment the least bit funny.

Levi could still feel droplets of blood dripping down the side of his face as he looked up at Marlowe and his sharp, steel eyes glared and narrowed his eyes at Marlowe. His hair was disheveled and out of place as well as it fell over his face. "You think you're so funny," Marlowe said, but his voice was filled with revenge

He noticed that Marlowe was holding up the bat again, positioning it to swing it once more, and Levi in that moment, started to accept his fate. He hung his head low again and watched as the puddle of blood that formed in front of him was becoming even bigger than it was seconds ago.

Where are you y/n He thought to himself. You were his last hope to get out of this alive. In the corner of his eye, he could see Marlowe raising his bat again and preparing to strike, all while Levi had already resigned himself that he was done for right then and there.

"Say hi...to the boss for me," Marlowe said, realizing that he was finally going to avenge his mentor, his boss and the person who trusted him the most to make him his second in command.

The one person who believed in him. Before striking, Marlowe looked back and turned to look at Hitch. She was been watching attentively this entire time and now that they finally had Levi at their mercy, she didn't want to miss a single moment. Besides, it meant that Marlowe's suffering would be over and their gang could start to move forward.

As Hitch sent him a sure nod, and it gave Marlowe the strength to raise his bat even higher for bigger impact. He gripped the bat even tighter, Levi closed his eyes and simply waited. But, just as the bat came down, somehow it never struck. Marlowe stopped.

He just stopped. He paused just as the bat was inches away from Levi's head and it was only because of one reason. A whistle rang in the air nearby, continuously and nonstop.

Levi thought it was his head making it up or that the bat already hit him and he was imagining things or something, but it was real. Someone was blowing a whistle and that made Marlowe stop a fatal blow to the head to the bat that Levi was about to receive.

He opened his eyes slowly and then started to inch his head to look up bit by bit to see where this whistling sound was coming from. He also saw that the gang members were all turning their heads and moving out of the way, giving Levi a clear view of who was standing just meters away, blowing a freaking whistle.

When the gang members cleared and everyone's eyes landed on the person, Levi genuinely felt his heart skip a beat.

It was you. You were standing there, like a deer in headlights with a whistle in your hands and now you were frozen and you'd stopped blowing the whistle because you felt all eyes on you.

As for your perspective, when the gang members cleared and you saw Levi in the state that he was.

You gasped. You began breathing heavily in shock at the sight of your bodyguard. He was battered, bruised, bloody and the mere sight of it made all blood drain from your face. You got to him. You really did. You didn't think you would but you did. Looks like you made it just in time too.

"Levi...oh my God," You said, looking at the scene in front of you with horror and you felt your heart plummet down to your stomach and your face drain of color. You found him, but at what cost?

You saw that he was kneeled on the floor, with one hand on the ground and another on his thigh, looking at you with an expression you've never seen on him before. His eyes were tired and low but they were also filled with shock and relief all at once.

To him, you were his savior and he didn't want to take you for granted ever again. He truly thought he was done for. You felt something shatter inside of you at the side of his bloody face. You wished you could've been here earlier, you really did. You could've prevented that, right?

He looked really badly hurt and all you could focus on was him, as if the other people around him who were the cause of his pain suddenly vanished into thin air.

Levi's lips parted and his eyes fell with tenderness within them as just the sight of you felt like all that pain to escape this gang was worth it.

He didn't know if these rush of emotions at the sight of you was part of a concussion underway but he didn't care. You were here and that's all that mattered.

He didn't care about anything the two of you fought about before because that didn't matter anymore. Both of you had been trying to find each other and you finally did. "Y/N..." He muttered breathily.

If he could get up and get to you right now, he would. But at the same time, Levi knew you were in a dangerous position now as he feared you'd be.

But of course, the trance that you and Levi were in with each other was interrupted when Marlowe spoke up, confused about your sudden arrival. "Excuse me. Do you need something?" Marlowe called out to you, given you were still a few meters away.

You blinked and then looked away from Levi, turning to make eye contact with Marlowe and you suddenly became very aware of where you were. Fuck, they were all looking at you. What do you do? Was this stupid? "Oh- Um..." You stammered, and hurriedly began reaching into your purse.

You pulled your hand out and then held out a taser with both hands. It was the same one that Hange had gotten you on that briefcase and you carry the items in your purse 24/7.

You pressed the button and the taser came to life, and the loud crackling of electricity resounded across from you to them. Should you say something now? You feel like you should.

You don't want to look like an idiot. "I-I'm..." You started as your breathing picked up even more out of nerves and you pointed the taser at anyone who started got closer to you.

"Don't come any closer! I'm...my bodyguard's b-bodyguard!" You yelled out, but even you cringed at yourself when you said it. Did that make any sense at all? It sounded much better in your head, didn't it? You probably sounded like even more of an idiot now because the gang members all started to laugh at your words.

But while others laughed, all Levi could do was watch you from afar with eyes wide, mouth agape and a certain softness to them that he didn't think he was capable of. He was in awe of you. No words could describe what he was feeling.

Those words along caused a flurry of flutters in his stomach that were entirely foreign to him but he decided that he was too entranced by you to give it a second thought.

"What is she saying?" Marlowe said as he laughed along with the rest of the gang. They all laughed for a few more seconds before Marlowe came back to his senses and gave out his next orders in between chuckles. "Take care of her," Marlowe said casually and carelessly, and the effect of that instantaneous.

The gang members all started walking towards you with their weapons in hand and your breath hitched at the realization of what was about to happen here.
You held out the taser even further out, feeling your adrenaline begin to pick up. Far too much for you to handle. Your hands were shaking uncontrollably the entire time but it didn't stop you.

"Stay away! I mean it!" You said as you began to panic even more by the second. This is what you get trying to play the hero. But then you felt like you could've felt your stomach twist when the taser stopped working. You let out a sound of frustration as you held the button again but nothing was happening.

You felt dread and horror take over you. You could definitely feel those cold sweats coming in. You looked up hurriedly and saw that the gang members were getting even closer.

You brought the taser closer to you and you groaned in frustration. Why now of all moments? "You're failing me now?" You muttered to yourself and shoved it back into your purse.

As you began to rummage further inside of your purse and effectively took away the attention of the gang members from Levi to you, Levi was watching it all happen. A nearly imperceptible smile twitched on his lips as he watched you from afar trying to take a whole gang by yourself with your gadgets.

You were really something. But it was even more shocking for everyone else to see what you pulled out next. Seeing that somehow...takes away the pain. Lessens it in ways he didn't think possible.

When you pulled your hand out of your purse, and pulled out a gun? The gang members immediately stopped and began to murmur amongst themselves in confusion as to whether that was a real gun or not, or if it was just for intimidation.

You held it up with both hands and aimed at all of them. "Don't come any closer! I mean it!" You exclaimed, sounding not at all intimidating and saying that for like the third time already, but with your last shred of confidence.

This gun was also part of the kit that Hange gave you. It's not a real one but it did serve a purpose when it came to protection. You just didn't want these gang members to know that.

But just as the gang members who weren't afraid of the gun started to walk closer to you, your breathing got heavier and heavier until you simply decided to go for it.

You closed your eyes, pulled the trigger and pepper spray immediately started shooting out of the gun. As soon as the spray landed on the first one and you simply continued to spray at any of them that came closer to you, the rest began to fall like dominos since you started turning and spinning spraying at anyone that came near you.

It helped open up a pretty clear path for you to Levi because the gang members were too occupied screaming in pain from the pepper spray in their eyes.

As Levi watched you spray at anything and anyone that moved, Levi let out a breath as his own smile of disbelief grew at what he was witnessing. He thought he should be worried about you against all of these gang members, but you were taking care of yourself better than he expected.

You were clearing everyone that was in your way and Levi knew that the moment you got to him, he could keep you safe even better than a taser or a silly gun with pepper spray ever could.

Just a couple more seconds and you'd eventually reach him. Just a little more. You can do it. Admiration rushed through him.

"Get her! Get- Ah!" Marlowe urged his comrades to do something since you were running right past anyone with nobody being able to catch you but Marlowe's words were cut off when you got to him and also sprayed the pepper spray directly into his eyes at a much closer proximity.

And as soon as you realized that you'd gotten everyone and they were all distracted, your focus immediately went to Levi once again.

Once you'd sprayed everyone, Levi was alone, kneeling on the ground and nobody had been guarding him anymore since they all focused on you. "Levi!" You yelled out with urgency and without hesitation when you were just a couple feet away from him.

You continued to run towards him and you raised your arm in the air that has his tattoo on it and gave him a clear message to take it. Levi caught on, a knowing look crossed his face and he immediately got the message.

He'd managed to get enough of his strength to shoot up and get on his feet, swiftly grab your wrist as you reached him and then twirled you around as he securely put a hand on your waist, holding you close to him. You instinctively put your free hand on his chest, over his jacket.

Levi had his back to the gang members now, but he didn't care. Not one bit. His only focus was on you. He couldn't think or hear anyone else but you.

He doesn't know if he should blame the adrenaline for the racing of his heart as he looked into your eyes and held you close to him to the point to the point he could feel every part of you and he could feel your soft breaths fanning against his face, making him shudder. You were here, and he wasn't defenseless anymore. He could fight. He could protect you.

And not just for the sake of his tattoo. His grip on your waist tightened, pressing you even closer to him if that was possible, just like in that closet earlier. And as he lifted your wrist into the air, signaling that he finally has access to his powers again, you felt your cheeks start to burn yet again as you looked at what had become of him.

You couldn't even seem to have a chance to take in his injuries properly because thw world seemed to start to shift. The streetlights started to flicker and you ripped your eyes away from Levi as a small sound left your lips and watched as one by one, the streetlights shut off, plunging the alley into darkness.

Your breath got caught in your throat as everything went dark. Panic started to bubble inside you, but that was until a single light flickered back on, illuminating only you and Levi.

A few others across the street sparked weakly to life, but this one, it shone directly above both of you. Had he done that? Now that his powers were back? It would be crazy if it was a coincidence. You weren't sure. But you didn't dwell on it for very long.

You noticed something else. The glow of the lights cast deep shadows across all of Levi's features, making him look almost unreal, like something beyond human. Which is quite literally what he was. Even with blood streaking the side of his face, you couldn't bring yourself to look away.

Not this time. Not when he was looking at you the way he was. Neither of you spoke. You simply stared, lost in the moment, lost in him, caught between disbelief and something far deeper that you really hoped you weren't the only one who was feeling it. All you could do was look at him all doe-eyed and in shock.

Then, there was a shift. Your gaze turned to look at your wrist, still locked in his grasp, just as his tattoo started to turn into that familiar crimson that you've seen many times before. A beat passed. Then another, and in your next breath, you witnessed what you once thought was impossible.

Levi's wounds began to disappear. The blood and the cuts on his face peeled away, evaporating into thin air. The bruises, the cuts, they vanished right before your eyes. You inhaled sharply, awe struck, watching him heal in real time.

If these wounds were truly gone, then the ones you haven't seen must be healed too. Those cuts, bruises, and blood? All gone. He was whole again. And somehow, standing with him in the light, he had never looked more untouchable.

To anyone else, as the gang members recovered from their own pain from the pepper spray, they turned to look and notice you and Levi seeming to be in your own world. But that's because both of you were feeling entirely confident that if they attacked again, the two of you could take them easily.

Though, neither of you were bothering to acknowledge anybody else but each other in that moment, not caring if you were being watched. You couldn't care less about that.

And if you didn't register the gang members nearby, you were also oblivious to the presence of the very person who was after you being around the corner, hiding, recording, documenting. Hiding in the shadows.

But again, Levi and you didn't care one bit. It felt like a flashback to the storage closet earlier that day and memory of it mingled with your situation now made your breath hitch.

Once again the two of you were staring at one another as if you were discovering new things about each other that you didn't quite get to see the last time you had an opportunity to be this up close.

You didn't know the other was thinking the same thing. You didn't know if Levi is seeing what you see in your relationship.

But then you began to doubt it. This has happened so many times before with him, accidentally ending up in compromising positions and you end up disappointed.

From what he said at the restaurant, from the way he was watching you like you were the only thing that mattered in that moment as if wanting to memorize every part of your face, and the two of you wanting to find your way back to each other after arguing.

You needed to know; were you imagining this? You wanted him to say something. Anything. Something that told you it wasn't in your head.

But once Levi did, bringing you back down to Earth, you really needed him to repeat what he just said. "I said...do you know how to tango?" He asked, in the most tender of voices that you've ever heard from him since you've met him, and all you could do was blink at him at what he just asked.

"I'm sorry? Tango? What?" You asked, wanting him to elaborate at least just slightest bit. Why is he asking you that all of a sudden?

But Levi didn't say anything else after that. You felt him suddenly take his hand off your waist, and watched as he raised it up into the air, snapping his fingers.

-Play song here (replay if necessary)-

The effect was almost instantaneous. You started to hear sounds of feet stepping rhythmically against the ground at the same time that music was starting to play on the speakers all along the street.

You turned your head to see where the sound of feet stepping was coming from, so you looked over Levi's shoulder to see that it was the gang members.

They were all looking amongst each other in confusion because they weren't in control of their bodies anymore, and they knew it.

But then you marveled in awe when suddenly all the lights on the street came back on; the fairy lights that were hung overtop of the street along with the decorative lights from the stores on your right.

Everything got so much brighter in the span of a second and you took a second to take a look around in your surroundings.

The song that was playing sent chills up your spine as you heard the sharp and harmonious sounds of the violin, along with a much modern beat to it that was creating a beat that the gang members couldn't fight back dancing to.

It wasn't just their feet that were tapping against the ground; many of them were actually starting to dance involuntarily as well.

The music continued to swell and the gang members were starting to wonder out loud why they were dancing at all in the first place. Some of them improvised, others used the pipes and the bats they had with them to dance. You heard some of them say; 'What's happening?' or 'Something's wrong', but they still didn't stop moving to the beat.

Marlowe and Hitch looked at each other in confusion as they actively fought to stop dancing like the rest of the gang members but it was impossible.

As for Levi, he lowered his hand back down and then proceeded to place it back onto its rightful place on your waist. And as he did, you and him locked eyes yet again, but this time it felt different.

There was something behind them you've only ever seen tonight and it made a smile tug at your lips as neither of you dared to look away from each other.

As he held your waist and trailed it back slightly so that he was holding onto your back, as well as holding up both of your hands in the air so he could continue holding onto your wrist for this.

"To tango, you have to trust your partner. Can you trust me?" Levi asked, his eyes darkening, and even if that felt like that question brought back everything the two of you fought about tonight about being there for each other and trusting one another, you didn't feel it earlier that night.

But now? You trusted him with your life, no questions asked. "Can you tell me why you're talking about tango all of a sudden? Are you still concussed?" You asked, laughing nervously, not knowing what it is that Levi was planning to do here now. And his lack of an answer was starting to worry you.

Marlowe couldn't help but start to let himself succumb to the dancing as well, as much as he absolutely hated it and was still trying to stop. "You idiots! Get it together! Stop dancing!" Marlowe said, even if he couldn't stop dancing himself. Hitch glared at him, already joining the dancing as well.

"What do you think we're trying to do?!" She yelled at him and Marlowe turned to look at her briefly but then moved to nudge one his gang members towards you and Levi. "Go on! Get him!" He barked out an order, and the gang member nodded, despite not feeling like he was in control at all anymore.

But as soon as the gang member tried to get close to you and Levi, he used his powers to send him flying to the side and crashing into a sign.

Marlowe watched this with shock and pulled out his own knife from his holster making you gasp. "Look out!" You said to Levi as you watched Marlowe hurl the knife towards the two of you.

Thankfully, Levi was quick enough, turning the both of you swiftly and his powers deflected the knife, sending it to get stuck on a sign next to the two of you.

Marlowe's face drained of color when he realized that Levi was using his inexplicable powers yet again and this is how he defeated them last time. He couldn't let that happen again.

You turned to look at Levi and he gave you no warning for what he did next. The intensity in his eyes made your stomach flip and it was enough to make your breath hitch. He was still holding your wrist up high, and his tattoo was still red.

So he raised your arm higher, spun you around so your back was against his chest and his strong arms were wrapped in front of you.

The move made you gasp as butterflies filled your stomach uncontrollably, but you still didn't have a whole lot of time to get used to it because as he held to just one wrist, he spun you out just as Marlowe was attempting to get to Levi all over again.

When you spun out completely and extended your arm, you gasped when you slapped Marlowe in the face and he stopped in his tracks, stunned at what just happened.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" You apologized. But he couldn't even react, because just as Levi spun you back to him and a smirk twitched on Levi's lips, you slapped Marlowe again in his other cheek and that apology meant nothing.

You'd had tripped slightly on your feet when he spun you back but Levi simply tightened his grip on you and steadied you in a second. The gang leader held both sides of his face as they began to sting.

When Levi had you back in his hold again, keeping you pressed against his chest and with your arms crossed in front of you while Levi held you securely. He wasn't even given you a second to breathe either.

Before you knew it, just as another gang member was running at the two of you with a pipe, Levi abruptly lowered you and dipped you in between his legs, spun you around so you were looking up at him, effectively evading the attack.

Your eyes met again and you nearly felt yourself melting at the way his darkened gaze sent shivers down your spine. It was like nothing you've ever seen or experienced before in your life. He was so captivating in ways you couldn't explain and that you wished you'd seen before.

When he brought you back up onto your feet, your heart leaped as it started to pound even harder against your chest, when his hand was on your lower back and his other hand was still holding up your wrist. How does he even know how to do all of this?

He held this position securely before he started to weave through the dancing group of gang members as he spun the two of you around.

It felt hypnotic, like a strange blur or a dream that you weren't complaining about one bit. You were getting the hang of it.

And just as the two of you continue to spin and evade expertly through every attack that was attempted at the two of you, in mid-spin, Levi lifted his leg back and sent a hard kick to another gang member and sent him back as the man crashed into a back wall, continuing to spin with you elegantly as if he didn't just pull a move like that, and it was all while never letting you go for a even a second. And even so, Levi continued to take you by surprised even after doing something like that.

Once again, without warning, Levi's grip moved down to your waist and tightened his grip on it before you lifted up into the air as if you were nothing continued to spin the both of you around.

You latched onto his shoulders so you wouldn't fall but as he brought you back down the ground, you didn't even know how but you sent a high kick with your heel directly into another gang member's face and it sent him back as he crashed into a building. It sent a rush of exhilaration that you've never felt before.

He just continued to surprise you because when you felt like you and Levi had stopped spinning, you thought that was it, but then you felt him hike up your leg under your thigh and then bring back both of your joined hands backwards as he dipped you and it hit Marlowe in the face, since he had apparently come back to try and strike again.

The contact of his firm hand against your bare leg and his grip, since you were wearing a dress, made something awake inside of you. And it left you breathless.

And you don't know how Levi managed to do it again but then the lights went out again there was only one just shining above the two of you. And since the gang members were tending to Marlowe, Levi and you were simply dancing without fighting now.

The two of you were spinning along the rhythmic beats of the song, not to mention that the proximity had gotten smaller. Your faces were inches from each other and both of you had your eyes darting all over person's face, in a trance that you didn't want to get out of. You hoped this didn't end.

You swallowed and inhaled sharply as your eyes trailed all over his face; his pale skin that glowed in the moonlight, his sharp steel eyes that were boring into you as if there was nobody else in the world but the two of you, his onyx hair that fell over his face and tickled yours a little, his sharp jawline that tightened the more he looked at you, his eyebrows that had acquired a certain softness to them and last but not least, his lips that you weren't shy about letting your eyes dart down to, making him feel comfortable enough to do the same with yours as he looked back and forth between your eyes and your lips.

It didn't matter to you if this was just the two of you getting carried away by this and it was the adrenaline acting for you, but you were getting lost in each other and you were taking in every second of it. His breath fanned over your face, tickling slightly but you welcomed it anyway, even if it continued to make your face burn.

Once the lights came back on, that connection you've felt that has been growing stronger and stronger didn't waver, and it only got stronger as the two of you continued to fight together.

You didn't know if it was his powers that did it but Levi dipped you backwards and you tipped your head back as you moved your head slowly from one side to another until your head landed on Levi's sturdy chest. After that, let go of the hand that was on your waist and raised it up in the air to snap his fingers yet again.

His powers were enough to send an incoming group of gang members trying to attack Levi all at once, including Hitch but they all fell back into the ground and from the impact, it managed to disorient them.

It also sent their weapons flying back, and one of the bats that the gang members had been holding flew into the air and it impaled right into light box on a column nearby, causing a massive electrical explosion.

The snap of his fingers also made the remaining gang members be unable to stop dancing and not be able to fight at all, so while they all formed a circle around you and Levi as they continued to dance, you and Levi were taking slow and deliberate turns in place as the whole world seemed to blur around the two of you. Everything was melting away.

At some point, he had maneuvered his hand that was on your waist so that it was just under your jaw, with his thumb brushing over your cheek and you kept a hand over his shoulder and the two of you continued to dance, nearly forgetting what you were supposed to be doing in the first place. The heat in his gaze held you captive, making it absolutely impossible for you to even attempt to tear your eyes away.

Marlowe at this point still wanted to continue trying to fight but his body just wasn't allowing him to. He'd allowed Levi to get out right out from under him yet again and seeing how his comrades were forming single file dancing lines on either side of you and Levi as your bodyguard moved to hold your waist again and extended his hand straight forward that was holding onto your wrist, leading both of you to walk forward just angered Marlowe even more.

He'd failed yet again but he just didn't want to admit it. "You idiots! Pull yourselves together!" Marlowe yelled out as even more dance moves took over his body. The need to want to fight but his body not letting him was infuriating.

You were completely going with the flow at this point and when Levi turned you around and then threw your arm over his shoulder so you could hold on tightly, you felt him place one hand on your back and another under your knees, letting go of your wrist entirely to pull off this move as he lifted you off the ground and started spinning you in the air.

Your breathing got heavier as you looked down at him as he spun you and feeling your eyes on him, Levi looked up as well and held eye contact with you as something flickered in his steel gaze. Your eyes widened the smallest fraction when you saw that. Did you imagine it?

Eventually, all the gang members started falling down like dominoes and bowling pins as they started to knock into each other as they danced all the while Levi was continuing to spin you around in the air.

It was complete chaos. And this happened when it came to a point where Levi's powers had done their job and now everything else was just falling into place without him having to use them anymore or fight at all.

Which is why, as soon as he let you down onto the ground, it didn't stop there. He wasn't even holding onto your wrist anymore and now, the only hand he had on you was the he placed on your jaw as the two of you spun slowly in place and his gaze continued to be pinned on you, unwavering.

He moved to grab your wrist with his tattoo on it yet again as he looked into your eyes, he remembered something important. The rules of a bodyguard from that movie that Onyankopon told him about started to resurface in his brain.

Rule number one for bodyguards: Never let her out of your sight. He broke that already.

He let go of your wrist with his tattoo on it and let his hands intertwine with yours, and you already knew what to do. You extended your arm out and prepare for Levi's next move.

When he spun you back to him and maneuvered you so he slipped his own arms under yours, just under your armpits. After that, he spun and it made you send a flying kick directly into another incoming gang member. One of the last ones left that was willing to continue fighting. After that Levi leaned down and whispered in your ear.

"Go. But not too far," He whispered, and as much as you felt your entire body fill with goosebumps the moment he did, you nodded and parted from him for a second, heading over to the far wall and when you did, you turned your head and saw the knife that Levi had deflected and had impaled itself into a sign.

You turned your head back to see Levi delivering a final blow to yet another gang member, and the quickly hurrying over to where you were and then wrapped his hands around the handle, pulling it out.

Rule number two: Never stray away from her. He broke that too.

Levi didn't waste a second after that to turn his body and hurl the knife, making the knife land on another wall just inches away from Marlowe's face. Levi looked around realized that he was the only one left.

Levi turned back around to face you, grabbed your hand, spun you around, lifted you in the air as he put his hands under your knees and your back again and twirled you around, close enough to Marlowe so that you finally kicked Marlowe in the face and making him fall to the ground with a thud.

And once everyone was dealt with, the song reached its final note. Levi twirled you one last time and at last, he let you down and two of you finally struck the final pose as the music finally reached its end. You finished the way you started.

Levi was holding up your wrist with his tattoo on it and held it up high and his hand was securely on your waist. As for you, you had a strong hold on his bicep with your free hand and one of your legs was extended out. All you could do now that music was over and it finally set it in what just happened, was to stare at Levi with eyes wide as your chest heaved up and down.

What just happened? Did that really happen? You swallowed hard as you panted and your eyes trailed all over Levi's face, every feature, every reaction. Anything. His powers had caused a short circuit in the lights so sparks were quite literally floating around you.

And Levi wasn't any better. He continued to hold the final pose and reality quickly set in as well for him. Levi's heart was beating harder than he's ever felt it before in his life. His mind was so hazy and blurry as he saw the way you're looking at him with entirely different eyes, and he was sure that he was doing it too. He can't help it.

How could he not after a moment like that? He could hear his heart beat in his ears, drowning out any coherent thought from his brain and blurring the lines between what he thought he knew and the rush of emotions he's feeling now.

You were locked onto his beautiful, silver gaze, while he was entranced by every single thing about you he didn't notice before. He knows that he's never seen you before better than he has in this very moment. But as soon as he realized that, something clicked in his brain and his immediate response? Was panic.

Rule number three: Don't fall in love with her. Oh, shit.

-

Hello! You guys have no idea how much I've been looking forward to writing this part of the book. I've been imagining what it would look like and I'm really satisfied with it. I hope you guys liked it too!

Honestly, it was such a roller coaster of emotions to write but I really do love how it turned out! This scene in the drama itself is one of my favorites and Its one of the many I looked forward to writing!

Also, I don't know if you guys could tell but Im splitting up the chapters and thats why it went from chapter 23 to chapter 39 lmao. I figured it would be the best way to go so the chapters are not always so compacted together, yk? But this also means I can do double updates, because I write on my usual word count and just split chapters up :,) I think that's how i'll try to do it now! And the author's note will be on the second chapter of the two I post.

Anyways, I'll see you guys this Sunday with the next chapter! Things are finally starting to get somewhere! I love you all so much and thank you for reading! :,) Have a good start to your week! XO
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