WHEN HE CLOSED HIS eyes, Levi could almost still hear the ringing in his ears as his head hit the floor of his living room. That man was yelling, the stench of alcohol clinging to him and expression scratched out in black again. He remembered a lot about his youth, but never his face. It didn't matter in the end, because every time he thought about him he felt like bruises bloomed on his skin. Even the mention of his name alone disgusted him.

Vince, the man had said, but he remembered that name being said a different way. Every time he had heard it it had been screaming, pleading, like it was the only piece of humanity of him his mother could hold onto.

"Please, Vince," she always begged, eyes never seeming to fully focus even when she was panicked," he is your son."

She should have known better than to say anything at all. With or without a name, a monster remained a monster. He might have been his father, but if it was up to Levi, that man could choke on the same blood they had running in their veins. The resolution tasted like iron between his teeth when he came home one day, finally strong enough to take him on, only to find he had left.

There had been no big weight lifted off his shoulders, no spectacular ending at all. No, that man simply had hit his mother, said he was done with all of it and left. Just fucking left. He hadn't even had the chance to yell at him, to say anything at all. Not like there were still a lot of words to spare between them. There were many other things that man had left empty in their house, Levi's heart one of them.

Yet here that chapter of his life was again, opened up in the form of a man he had never seen before, but who apparently knew him all too well.

"You look exactly like your father," he grinned, the both of them knowing exactly that was no compliment at all.

"Fucker," Levi hissed, stepping forward.

"You might think twice about hitting me," the man said, tilting his head upwards," your father owes me a lot of money, you know."

"That's great," Levi said," add this to his credit then."

Without any hesitation he punched the man in the face, knocking his head against the floor from the sheer impact. His vision was red as the man's words repeated. You look exactly like your father. The thought made him want to claw away at his skin, until nothing of that monster was left.

"You -" the man spat, dizzily pushing himself up," I am going to call Vince right this second, maybe he can teach you some manners."

For a moment Levi froze. A part of him didn't care at all about that man anymore and another was still enraged, burning inside his mind until the heat was warm enough to keep him up at night. But most importantly, there was that part of him which was still weak and small, that part of him which remembered him hiding away under his bed as an eight-year-old.

Fuck, he hated that part of him.

Someone softly pried open his fingers, his nails pressed so hard in his palms he had made himself bleed without noticing. He looked up, eyes locking with Eleanora, and finally breathed out again.

"You want me to make him shut up?" she said, looking at him in that warm way she always did, the one which made him want to sweep her off her feet right there and then.

"Does your mother know you're hanging with these kinds of thugs?" the man said, clicking his tongue distastefully," what was her name again? Vince never mentioned it. I suppose he doesn't care about her."

"Levi."

His temper had flared up again, but the arrival of one of his best friends made him able to focus again. Will seemed to have caught enough to know what was going on, Mia behind him. Usually any crowd that gathered would make him annoyed, but the three people he cared most for were here, so that was calming enough in it's own. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't going to give him a concussion for talking about his mother.

Before he could do any of that Alex grabbed the man by the collar, dragging him across the floor. He shared one look with Will and then the both of then lifted him up, Will holding him by the legs as Alex started swaying him left and right, people around them beginning to point and murmur.

"So, shall we throw him off this balcony?" Alex said, peering down," or let him roll towards the exit?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the man shouted, struggling to get free of their grasp but failing dramatically, none of his upper body strength enough to match the boys.

"Escorting you out," Will said, none of his usual kindness there as he coldly glanced down," let's go."

"That's not up to you to decide if I go or not," the man snarled at them, gaze snapping towards Levi," and you, don't you want to know where Vince is? I know he left you. If you get these hooligans to let me go, I'll tell you."

Will and Alex both stopped at the same time, silently waiting for Levi's answer, but it was Eleanora squeezing his hand which made his decision for him.

"I don't care where he is," he said," I hope he drops dead."

The man parted his lips, but Alex simply let him go, a yell leaving his lips while he fell down, only stopping a few inches above the ground as Alex grabbed his collar in time.

"Clumsy me," Alex smiled," I thought you were going to say more bullshit, so I forgot to hold you up for a moment. Let's not let that happen again, shall we?"

"Why does Alex look like the villain in this scenario?" Eleanora whispered in his ear, a gentle attempt to get his mind off things.

It worked though, a quiet chuckle leaving his lips. Alex genuinely did look like a villain threatening an innocent bystander for money, but he was also one of the only people Levi would accept this from. If anyone other than his friends or Eleanora had intervened, he would have snapped, because his business was his own. If they hadn't though, he knew what would have happened and another juvie charge wasn't something he had planned for today.

"I'll call for someone from security to help you with escorting him out," Mia said.

She thankfully didn't offer Levi any pity, simply nodding at him with a small smile, before leaving to get someone.

"I'm glad she is," Elisabeth said," it looks like you're kidnapping someone."

"Like I would ever get caught when I kidnap someone," Alex scoffed.

"What do you mean when?" Elisabeth frowned.

"I said what I said."

Though he knew and appreciated that his friends were trying to lighten the mood, he didn't say anything as Will and Alex carried the man out, a security guard joining them later on in the room. Elisabeth had followed along, leaving only him and Eleanora on the cold balcony. He was breathing, but there seemed to be a lack of oxygen in his lungs, even though he knew he should be acting normal again.

Nothing really had happened, so why was he feeling this way? So what if his father had been mentioned? So what if that man had said he looked exactly like him? The last time he had seen him was years ago, he was overreacting now. Yeah, that was it. Just a moment and he would go back to his usual self again. Everything was fine, it -

"Let's go," Eleanora said, her hand intertwined with his.

He blinked as she pulled him along to the fire escape at the side, which had been concealed by the hanging branches of the tree above. They descended down the metal stairs in the shadows, until they were finally on the ground again. In front of them a large garden stretched out, with a fountain and rows of colorful flowers neatly arranged, but the the trees surrounding the side of the house hid them from view. The sound from above was muted here, piano music intertwined with the soft splashing of water from the fountain.

Eleanora leaned against the brick wall, his hand still in hers, not breaking the silence between them. Everything was alright. He tugged at the knot holding her mask up, his own having gotten lost a while ago, a thud resounding as it dropped in the grass. Placing his hand beside her head he kissed her in the dark, almost desperately, like he would find an answer in the small space between them. She cupped his cheeks and he bit her lip, pulling back immediately once he tasted blood.

"Fuck," he breathed, cheeks feverishly red and eyes wide," I'm sorry -"

"It's fine," she reassured him," you know I don't mind."

He caught his reflection in the metal of the staircase and for a moment he could hear the ringing in his ears again, his breath escaping him. Stumbling backwards he let himself slide down against one of the trees, hands tangled in his hair as he pushed it back. Before he could even process his overwhelming panic she placed her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. He blinked, caught off guard, and she simply held him tight, the familiar scent of her floral shampoo and perfume dancing around him.

"You are allowed to feel what you need to, Levi," she said," don't even think you're overreacting, because you're not."

"Eleanora," he said quietly, like her name alone had the power to soothe him.

"I'm here," she simply said," I'm right here."

For a second he didn't day anything, heart slowing back down again as he closed his eyes.

"Can we stay like this for a moment?" he said.

"For as long as you want," she said.

The air was fresh when he breathed in again.