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It was late by the time Porsha had gotten back to the apartment. Later than she'd expected to be, though considering the outcome of the Tournament, she shouldn't have been surprised. Typhon had fought his way to the top of the middle pack, and that deserved rewarding, even beyond the official spoils all the winners had walked away with. So time had been taken for him, and even though Natrolite hadn't won, he'd done well enough for some congratulating of his own.

Jade was undoubtedly asleep by now, as was Levi, if this was where she'd decided to bring him. Po wouldn't get a chance to talk to the blonde, but she could slip in and leave a seed and a few energy orbs on the taller woman's counter. It wasn't much, but it was at least something, and she could check in on the morning to see how the bartered lieutenant was doing.

The ballerina had had a wicked kick. Impressive for someone so small, but then wasn't Porsha herself proof against judging an opponent based on their size.

Quietly as she could manage it, the fighter let herself into Jade's dark apartment and headed straight for the kitchen counter. Orbs and seeds, in their own little mason jar, were placed in the center, their soft glow casting unsure shadows. Reaching for a note pad and pen tucked away in one corner, she leaned down to write a quick note, advising her lieutenant to contact her if she needed absolutely anything.

Foot steps in the hall alerted Porsha to the fact that she'd been discovered, and she glanced back over her shoulder as Jade entered the room, offering the taller girl somewhat sheepish smile. At the question, she picked up the jar, giving it a quiet rattle as she turned and showed her the contents. "I just wanted to drop these off, sorry for the late night intrusion." The smile turned apologetic. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

Pale eyes skipped past Jade's shoulder and down the hall, but she saw nothing but shadows. If Levi was her as well then she didn't seem to have woken him. Lips pursed, she looked back up at Jade. "How's he doing?"

She'd thought his concussion had healed, or she would have advised strongly against him entering. The general had been watching the fights, and the Ballerina that sent the lieutenant sprawling not only had more strength than was to be expected, but she had the know how to wield it efficiently. Those blows to Domeykite's head would have been worrisome regardless.

He wasn't even her's, but he was important to Jade, and that counted for something.

Porsha's smile faded a touch as Jade's features tightened. The taller girl was fighting for neutral, even succeeding, but she'd never had to do that with her general before, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know what had changed, nor the explanation the lovely girl offered in bits and pieces.

Sighing as well, Po turned to lean back against the counter, reaching out for Jade's hand, but stopping just shy of taking it, leaving it up to her, if she wanted to close that small distance. She didn't push, not with everything, and not with these things. She cared too much for the sweet girl standing in front of her.

"I know I do, and I don't blame him for being nervous." Levi had told her, why wouldn't he have? It made sense. "He might be pig-headed and proud, but he's smart." She'd made it very clear to him what would happen if he didn't shape up and start contributing to the Negaverse, and she'd have gone through with those threats if he hadn't obeyed. That had been her job, her duty, and she was god at her job.

"I'm not here to make him nervous, though." The jar was placed on the counter again, body leaning to that side to lay her weight on her elbow, even as the other hand remained out for Jade. "I just wanted to drop off the orbs and the seeds so you'd have them if he needed them." Huffing quietly, Porsha rolled her eyes. "He needs an MRI, but I doubt anyone would have much luck getting him to go, not willingly." Barring that, the best they could do was promote quicker healing.

What he needed though was neither here nor there. Not in relation to her[/i, because she had no intentions of sticking around and making things worse, though there was one thing she needed to be sure of, since Jade was up, before she left. "Are you okay?"

nuxaz

When someone spent hours asleep than awake, it was strange what woke them and what didn't. It hadn't really been the stir outside of the room or the front door, ultimately. It was the simple shift in the bed as her weight was removed, the loss of her presence.

At first his eyes opened groggily to the darkness, unsure of himself or where he was. It took a moment for his overworked brain to recall his conversation with Jade before he had passed out again, though a quick glance told him that she was nowhere in sight. With a frown on his lips, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and slowly rose from the bed - a process that took a lot longer when he was stopping to steady his vision every few seconds. He won the battle with his center of gravity and headed for the bathroom door connected to her room, intent on a piss before he passed back out. Jade would wake him whenever she was home -

When he passed the door Jade had, unknown to him, just closed he heard the voices - Jade and..

A frown pulled at his lips. He had not heard her speak many times, but Xeno's was not a voice he would forget, no matter how muffled and distorted. Warily, he cast about lazily for his jeans, being mindful not to whip his head around too quickly. They were discarded at the foot of the bed, crumpled and forgotten, but Levi couldn't even spare a weak smile at the memory. It was some work getting them on but he managed without too much wasted time and, at last, turned the knob of the door slowly. As it cracked, the words became louder, until at last he could heard them clearly -

I'm afraid that you're gonna scare him off.

Levi sighed loudly, so that they might hear him, and swung the door open without leaning on it for support (too much). Telling Jade about Xenotime was stupid, especially if she was going to worry about him leaving. Where would he go? It was obvious that Xeno was never going to let him get away and it would be the same, with or without Jade inbetween them. He grit his teeth during the amble to greet them as he thought it through.

"All those for me?"

The bright green eyes didn't greet Porsha right away, but settled instead on the energy potpourri on the counter next to them. By the time he got to them, his legs felt weak and his head was more than woozy, but he simply leaned his bare side into the counter. He could at least let Jade see he wasn't going to run from Porsha, he owed her that much.

Jade tensed the second she heard the click of a door opening. Oh no. Levi's awake, she thought, closing her eyes and leaning forward. Breathe in, breath out, the woman instructed herself, determined not to think about what he might have heard or how Porsha was going to respond.

It didn't matter, because all three of them were standing around the island in her kitchen. Tense didn't begin to describe the atmosphere when she opened her eyes and glanced at her companions. A slow hiss of a sigh escaped between teeth.

"We can talk about it later?" She asked tentatively, looking to Porsha with a slight frown. Levi's entrance had certainly stopped the conversation, but it wasn't over. Not when the other woman didn't actually get to say anything.

Nails tapped against the edge of the counter when she looked at Levi, concern rippling across her features. Worry was evident. "Are you sure you should be up right now?" She wondered what had woke him; her getting out of bed, the doors opening or closing, or their conversation?

Too many variables. She needed to stop thinking about it.

Jade was tired, stressed, and it clearly showed in the way she held herself. "Porsha's very thoughtful," she said quietly.

It was past time to leave, for Jade's peace of mind as well as Levi's nerves.

Still smiling, Porsha made for the door, pausing with her hand in the knob to glance back at the both of them. She could acknowledge a gnawing need to ignore the tension, just to keep her agent with her, but of her flock, Jade was probably the last she had to worry about. Absent from the meeting, she wouldn't have caught the new general-queen's attention, not like her wild boys had.

They were in the building, it was close enough.

"Concussions suck, but you'll be fine with some rest and relaxation. I'm sure Jade's doing a fabulous job of taking care of you." Her smile twitched, grey eyes landing on the blonde alone for a moment.

"If you do need anything, for whatever reason," she started, then left it at that, finding it adequate enough.

The tension remained but there was a peace, too, in Levi. He had managed to co-exist in the same room as Porsha without flinching or being rude - a feat considering his concussion had only exacerbated his foul temperament. He was pleased with himself, deep down, beneath his utter exhaustion.

Normally he wasn't one to let others see his weakness but he was glad, at last, as Jade forced him to lean into her and gave him her support. The arm around her shoulders tightened and his hip leaned back against hers before he took the first step toward the bedroom and back to the comfort that the darkness of unconsciousness promised.

A last glance was spared for Porsha as she headed for the opposite door, excusing herself as easily as she had come. He raised his free hand in farewell and gave her a weak, if polite, smile of thanks. She was trying to assuage some of his fears, so far as she could and still remain at the level of respect her station demanded, and he had to appreciate that. At least a little.

Then his eyes swung forward down the hallway, to the bedroom door that contained what little piece of comfort he had been able to find after the tournament.

"That wasn't so bad," he mumbled to the girl latched so carefully at this side, "a little, but not too much."

It could have definitely been better. That thought echoed through his mind as she spoke it and he let them fall to silence as he leaned his weight into her just enough to keep moving. The pounding in his head was returning swiftly with so long on his feet and he was more than relieved when she grabbed his hands and pulled him gently towards the bed.

"I don't feel obligated," he repeated gently, even though he knew it wasn't true. He did feel obligated to try for her. Well, maybe not really try, but attempt to try - baby steps to trying. There was no way to articulate everything he wanted to say about why he'd crawled out of the bed and gone to confront Porsha and it wasn't just because the concussion was making his head clouded and hazy. He wanted Jade to be happy more than he wanted himself to be happy, in the end.

With a relieved sigh, he crawled after her onto the bed and relaxed into the mattress. One long arm curled around her and pulled her down to him. There was a chill on his skin from too long in the air conditioning and he felt the chills prickle along his pale flesh uncomfortably, only soothed by the warmth of her body as it soaked into him.

"Yeah, let's sleep.." he mumbled lazily into hair, already letting his eyes shut as his exhaustion overwhelmed him. Being brave was tiresome.