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The lime eyes followed her as she stood and began planting the seed for their exit, trying his best not to seem too interested, so that it seemed more unexpected than it truly was when she finally nominated him for their 'cigarette run.'

"I guess so," he muttered with a shrug, feigning disinterest - not a terribly hard emotion to summon. He raised his glass to his lips and knocked back the remainder of the whiskey, grimacing openly as he sucked a long breath between his teeth. A sip of whiskey was one thing, but draining a cup full was a completely different story. He stood with a mere nod in the direction of their imploring coworkers and followed Lumiere out of the door.

"Good job, Illuminati," the whiskey grimace vanished with a slightly approving smile as he caught up to her side. His long fingers shoved deep into his front pockets as he looked around them, gathering his bearings with whiskey settling in his system. Though he had built up a tolerance over the years, he was still a fairly thin man and didn't need terribly much to begin feeling the affects. After a second of thought, he nodded his head to the sidewalk to their right.

"It's about a ten minute walk that way, I think. I'd rather not drive with the cops always hanging about the streets down here. They're like ******** sharks." He had never been caught and didn't plan to be - not only would he blow over the legal limit, at his age it would have been a big deal. Cops were always such a pain in the a**.

He offered his arm, almost as an afterthought, as he turned in that direction and began walking. She looked cold. He could help with that until they got to Player One.

"You sure you don't want to stay with the rest of them, though? You don't have to leave on my accord."

Undeniably, Levi's eyes lingered at the pool of hair as it tumbled down around her shoulders, watching with interest as it settled around her face like a waterfall. Straddling the edge of a buzz, his observations were less sly, less likely to be hidden at the last moment, mostly because his ability to care about what others thought was somewhat dampened. She was pretty and he wanted to stare - that was simply that. It wasn't his fault she made her living on being as beautiful as possible.

"The walk, or the cops?" He asked with a sly smirk, once they were on their way in the direction of the bar, huddled together as much as he allowed. "I've got a pretty damn good sense of direction, a little from this and a little from that." He shrugged his shoulders at the end of the sentence, brushing off what 'this and that' amounted to, and causing his arm to rub into hers with the motion. If he noticed, he ignored it. "The cops, well, that's mostly common sense. I've known too many idiots that get caught driving home after clubbing because they don't think about their arrangements afterward. They don't want to leave their car, or they think it won't happen to them, blah blah blah." His gaze flickered sideways to her with a small snort through his nose, dismissing the excuses as idiocy. "This city makes people reckless, and stupid."

He would know, having seen all sides of it by now. Super heroes often forgot that they could be victims to civilian problems, too. Levi certainly did not. But her response made him laugh and he looked away, staring off into the distance as an excuse, looking for the first sign of the neon game controller that hung above the bar door. "Careful what you wish for, Lumi, you might hate me before the night is through."

Before long the sign was visible, flashing in bright green and blue, drawing in the nerds like flies. He steered her in that direction with ease and pushed the door open, like he was walking in to a place as familiar as his own home. Knowing Levi, he probably spent about as much time here. The bartender on duty, surrounded by a half-circle bar top glowing in soft blue, raised his hand in greeting. Though he appeared to be having a jovial conversation with a pair of bar guests, he excused himself as Levi approached with his date on his arm.

"Hey Levi, credits for two tonight?" If it was a surprise to see the lanky man with a girl on his arm, the bartender gave no sign of it. That meant either that he had brought girls before, or that the bartender was simply well versed in not blowing someone's cover.

"Yes, and two sonics." As the bartender nodded and wandered off to take care of it all, Levi turned back to the blunette with a smile. He was eager to get drunk and play games, but he held his excitement down beneath his cool exterior, per usual.

"What do you want to try first? We can play Mario Kart, or some old school arcade games, or just about anything else. Ladies choice." Around them the 'bar' seemed as endless as a casino, taking up two full floors that had been sectioned off by gaming system and filled with an array of couches, chairs and even giant bean bags.

Although it was certainly in Levi's nature to look down on other people for being less informed than he was in certain areas, her question made him laugh gently instead. It was perhaps just that he was in his element and, thus, less uncomfortable or perhaps the bit of alcohol streaming through his veins. Whatever the cause, it made his features soften and for once, gave him the appearance of the young twenty something he truly was.

"Don't hurt your noggin' thinking about it, Illuminati."

The bartender returned with their drinks and he grabbed both, obviously intending to carry hers for her. He made a small gesture toward a staircase in the corner and turned in that direction, not waiting to see if she caught on. The social games were all upstairs, since they attracted the bigger groups.

It was some time later when Levi dropped his controller on the couch at his side with a groan and rubbed two fingers into his eyelids. On the screen rainbow road was glimmering and taunting and at his side sat an empty glass and another half full, suggesting that he was well on his way to drunk for being such a light weight.

"Man, ******** this game."

The tone was pure irritation but, for what it was worth, he hadn't directed any of it at Lumi herself. Instead he stretched back on the plush couch in front of the overly-large TV and looked at her screen instead, apparently abandoning his place out of complete frustration and more interested in what she was capable of doing instead.

"Of course I am," he replied quickly, flashing her a smile that held some of its usual smarm, but seemed altogether charming regardless, "I hardly ever lose."

He stretched a hand out to take his half-full drink, something bright green and fragrant, then tipped it back into his mouth with the ease of a practiced drinker. It was deposited loudly on the tray, not unintentionally, so that the bartender would hear it. Whether or not he intended to order another round depended entirely upon Lumi, but he'd like the option to be there waiting for him when he was ready to decide.

"Sleepy?" He laughed a little and shrugged the question off, though he couldn't say that he wasn't extremely comfortable, cradled in what basically amounted to little more than a couch-sized bean bag with a little foam for structure. It was meant to be comfortable while still fitting a handful of people. Lovesacs, he though they were called.

It was a second before he realized his mind was wandering and he pulled his focus back to her, glancing over the tussled locks of her hair and the way she seemed, for the first time, as if she didn't care what people thought of her. It was an attractive difference.

"Not really, but I'm comfortable, so that contributes to it. I don't like awkward socializing at bars and I don't actually.. like people very much. This place has my type of atmosphere, so I guess I'm just at home." It was one of the most honest things he'd ever said and he wasn't certain if it was just because he enjoyed her company or if it was the alcohol talking. Perhaps both.

"Why, are you a sleep drunk?" he teased, reaching out to tug lightly on a strand of her hair.

The forwardness of her question made Levi realize two things - that Lumiere had a bit too much to drink for her normal amount of composure to remain intact and that he, as well, had consumed enough that he'd begun to tease her like he might someone.. lesser. The thought disturbed him enough that he sat up as soon as she suggested she should leave, not because he didn't like the idea of spending a night with her, but because he knew he would treat her differently afterwards. Conscience be damned, but he did like her. It was a small bit of chivalry on his part that she probably wouldn't understand.

"Come on then, Illuminati," he offered her a smarmy grin as he stood and held one hand out to her, intent to get her up and onto her feet. With his other he flipped open a trusty cab service app on his phone, tapping through a few screens with practiced ease.

"I'll call a cab for you and we can wait outside together. They don't take very long around here."

As soon as he had finished with his phone, he tucked it back into his pocket, waiting for her to get her wits about her. Though he was dissecting his own behavior thoroughly, he was hoping that the pretty blunette bounced back from her sudden realization at how forward she'd been. He didn't want to injure her pride through what must seem like rejection, but it was all new territory for him. He didn't typically try to spare anyone's feelings.

The change in her demeanor was almost immediate and not for the first time, Levi found himself irritated at his own conduct. He should have known better, considering what she did for a living. He had to assume it wasn't very often that a model of Lumiere's caliber was rejected, especially under the circumstances.

With his mind flipping through the catalog of possibilities, he fell into step behind her and watched the rather mechanical way she went about doing everything. He'd seen it before, when she got angry or upset at work and knew that her composure was more important than an outburst. It pulled his lips into a thin line and the bright eyes settled on the spot between her shoulder blades, as if it might reveal to him the best way to earn back her favor. He didn't really want Lumiere to be mad at him but there was no way to fix things without breaking them a bit more, first.

The door swung shut behind him as he followed her out to the street. He paused, just for a moment, outside of the glow of the streetlamps, watching the way it showered her in its artificial light. She was beautiful, even then, and he couldn't deny that he had to be a special kind of fool.

"Hey," he began, softly, to get her attention as he crossed the few paces that separated them. One hand reached out to take hers, pulling it free of her cardigan and using the effort to turn her around to face him. The next motions flew by like a blur as his free hand slipped up to cup the base of her skull gently and his towering frame leaned down, casting her in shadows as he did, so that he could press one, deep kiss against her lips. The sweet taste of her drinks lingered there, mixed with something he knew must have been Lumiere herself. It lingered, more gentle than he really wanted to be, before he pulled away and stared down at her eyes. Just the effort of doing so was more difficult than he wanted to admit to, especially as a man not used to self restraint.

"Don't mistake me, Lumiere," his words were little more than a whisper and the hand that had cupped her skull shifted beneath her chin, so that he could stroke his thumb out across her cheek in what he hoped was a comforting gesture, "I'm trying to be a gentleman because in reality, I'm a terrible guy." There was a sort of amused smile on his lips as he said it, like a man committed to knowing that he was his own enemy right then. He was standing in the way of something he wanted, on purpose. "But don't think I hold back because I don't want you."

There she was, the charming girl that had undeniably wormed her way into his heart. Just watching the emotion come back to her face made him smile, even as he struggled to remember why he wasn't allowing himself to indulge any more than he had in the first place. He wanted to steal a second kiss, a dozen more. He wanted to wrap his arms around her body and crush her into him. He simply wanted and he needed, desperately, for his mind to win that war.

What he couldn't do was admit that he cared about her because in the end, it would only make things so much worse. He couldn't commit to a single girl not because he was so inclined to use them and toss them away - that, in itself, was actually a symptom of the true problem. He couldn't commit because there was an undeniable dark cloud constantly looming over him, threatening him, his way of life, and everything that he loved. To want anyone in his life as a permanent fixture was dooming them to misery. The Negaverse was something he couldn't write off - he knew, because he'd tried. His soul belong to war.

"I can't help it, I don't like to see you pout."

The tease was ended with a smile, warm and charming on a face that was generally so stoic. His green eyes search her lilac ones for the last time, diving into the emotions she was barely containing, remembering the way they looked on her face. Then he leaned in and pressed one final, soft kiss against the curve of her cheek bone, lingering but chaste. The hand on her face dropped away and he stepped back, letting the chill of the night air rush in to the space that he had occupied only moments before.

"Don't mention it, Illuminati." The use of her full name had been crushed once again under playful joke as he tried to reign himself back into the playful co-worker that he had been before he admitted anything real to her. It would never be quite the same, he knew, but he couldn't let her go on thinking that her beauty was forgettable. He took a few steps backward along the sidewalk as the lights of the cab flashed around the corner.

"I'll see you at work, right?"