Sad Panda (Jake and Levi)

[Jacob Lawrence]

Like it or not, Levi was eventually going to be a member of MSAD; Gabriel had already made that decision. It might have seemed weird to Jake, that the kid he was joking with was eventually going to be a part of what was quintessentially a criminal organization and it might have felt even more wrong when Levi blushed and muttered about drugs, but if Gabe wanted to turn sweet little Levi into a felon, at least they could have fun along the way.

"Drugs?" Needless to say, that wasn't what Jake had been expecting Levi to say. As far as his vices went, there was alcohol and the occasional pair of sleeping pills, but that was as far as it went. He had done some blackmailing revolving around the sale of Heroin once before, but he'd never actually involved himself in the business of illegal drugs. But if that was what Levi saw and that was the extent of it, Jake would consider himself safe. He definitely didn't want to be the one to blow the lid off the whole "This is a school" story, he didn't even want to think how pissed Gabe would be if he did.

Thankfully, that subject was derailed when Levi started mentioning Harry Potter and suicide and cops. (Paulo was a cop? When did that happen and why didn't he know about it? Ow, this was hurting his head.) "Uh... how did your doctor kill himself in high school... and then is still alive and your doctor?" He tried to make sense of it all, but he quickly gave up and raked his hand back through his hair. "Damn, you stumped me. I give. Sorry, Levi." He'd leave figuring out his power to Gabriel, because it was less effort on his part and gave him more of an opportunity to goof off. "But I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Ah, optimism.

"Anyways, you look happier now. Feeling better?" Sure, Jake wouldn't be able to fix everything that Levi was feeling down about, but it mattered that he wanted to, didn't it?

[Levi Xu]

Perhaps Levi hadn't quite realized exactly what was going on in the M.S.A.D. compound yet, but he wasn't some innocent little kid. (At least, he didn't consider himself an innocent little kid. He knew that at least that the elven man thought he was too young to be there, but if he was remembering his Tolkien correctly, elves were immortal, and therefore he probably was ridiculously young in comparison.)

Also, Levi had no interest in becoming a felon, but he was interested in keeping Mr. Underwood happy. After all, he was learning here.

"Yeah. The drugs." But of course, Jake looked confused at that. Just like his family had looked confused when he had started having his "delusions." He frowned, and only continued to do so when the man asked about Dr. Perry. "I don't know. I just know that he did." He shrugged, trying to smile, "The stuff I know, that I see, it doesn't always make sense. Like Mr. Underwood going outside during the daytime and not dying, but you still can't see him in photographs."

The apology actually did make him feel a lot better. So what if they didn't quite understand how his power worked yet? Jake didn't think he was crazy, and that meant a lot more to him. "Yeah, I'm feeling better. Thanks." He ate a little more ice cream, smiling to himself. This was nice. Much nicer than he had imagined.

[Jacob Lawrence]

Jake pursed his lips for a moment, withdrawing his phone from his pocket. "You can't see Gabe in pictures?" He turned the phone to show Levi a candid photo he'd taken of Gabe sleeping with Solo on his stomach. "Like this? You don't see him?" He paused, then broke into a grin. "Dude, maybe he is some kinda weird vampire thing." He laughed, shaking his head, then slipped his phone back into his pocket in favor of shoving another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

Crazy was a word that Jake tended to use loosely and maybe he thought that Levi's visions or whatever were a little off, but he didn't think Levi himself was crazy. The kid seemed normal enough to him, no matter if he thought that Gabe was a vampire or that his doctor was supposed to be dead. He was just a teenage boy trying to deal with a power that neither he nor anyone else understood.

"Like I said, you ever need anything, you come to me." He dipped his finger into the ice cream container, collecting some of the melted ice cream from the side, then playfully smeared it on the tip of Levi's nose. Grinning from ear to ear, he licked the rest of the ice cream from his fingertip. "And I'll cheer ya right up!" Yes, Jake, we know you're so mature. Way to prove it.

[Levi Xu]

Levi peered at the phone, looking quizzically at the image of Solo, floating in the air. "No. Just Solo. I guess he was sitting on him, then?" That was weird, looking at the small dog, just sleeping in the air. He shrugged, but broke into a huge grin when Jake agreed with him about Mr. Underwood being a vampire. He believed him. He actually believed him.

And if that wasn't enough, he didn't call him crazy. Levi was sensitive to that word, like some people were sensitive to mutant. Because he wasn't crazy, and he knew it. There was just no way for him to properly express that to other people, while telling them about the stuff he innately knew. But Jake didn't seem to care about that.

The boy jumped, surprised, as Jake smeared the cold liquid on his face. Oh it was on. He tried to lick the ice cream from his nose, but that took a skill he did not have. So instead he wiped it off on the back of his hand, and proceeded to poke Jake sharply in the ribs. "Cheer me up, put ice cream on me, same thing, right?"

[Jacob Lawrence]

"Yeah, Gabe crashed on the couch and you know that where Gabe goes, Solo goes." He paused and laughed softly to himself. "Shame you can't see him, he actually looks kinda cute... but if he heard me say that, he'd probably hit me." Jake snorted and shook hie head. He rather enjoyed saying and doing things that got a rise out of Gabriel, though that would likely change in the coming weeks.

Levi's bright smile caught his attention then and he gave the boy an appraising look. "Whatcha grinning like that for? You pulling a joke on me or something?" He narrowed his eyes at Levi, though he was struggling not to smile. (It's a hard thing for him to be pretend-serious, as you've probably learned.) Now, Jake could be rather gullible depending on the circumstances (and his blood alcohol content) but he didn't think Levi was joking with him. If he was, there would be hell to pay! Only not really, because the worst he'd do would be something goofy like dumping ice down the back of Levi's shirt.

It was Jacob's turn to laugh at Levi as he tried to lick the ice cream from his nose and failed quite miserably. Squirming away across the counter as Levi poked at him, Jake stuck his tongue out at him. "Hey, you catch on pretty quick! But it worked, didn't it?" He asked as he pointed his spoon towards Levi.

[Levi Xu]

Levi peered at the phone again, as if that would make him able to see the vampire. He didn't really understand Mr. Underwood's motivation for bringing him here, as it seemed like he hadn't made much of any progress. (Not that he was really worried about it. At the moment, he was just happy where he was.)

Oh, Jake, you don't know what you just got yourself into.

The boy was surprised at Jake's question. Was he smiling? He hadn't even realized that. But he was, a big, genuine grin that would probably tire out the muscles in his face quickly. Okay, so if he was grinning like a madman...why? What had prompted this, when he'd felt so awful only a half-hour before?

His contemplations were interrupted by more of Jake's sillyness, and Levi mock-frowned as the man moved away. He'd taken the ice cream with him. Not fair.

Levi also started sliding down the counter, following Jake. He knew now why he felt better. Yeah, it was the ice cream at the goofing around and all of that, but mostly it was because Jake was the one doing the goofing. "Yeah, Jake, it worked."

Levi had fallen, and hard.

[Jacob Lawrence]

Levi's fake frown made Jake inwardly go "Awww" even though he kept scooting away, grinning as the boy followed him across the counter. Though he'd been skeptical before about bringing Levi into the organization, now he was rather liking that the kid was here. Levi was like the little brother that he never had.

And you're quite right, Jake doesn't have the slightest clue what he's getting himself into and will likely remain Captain Clueless until someone beats him over the head with it.

"What can I say? I'm just that good." He shrugged, gesturing vaguely with his hands. He rather liked that he'd been able to cheer Levi up so quickly. As far as he was concerned, Jesse did enough moping around the place for all of them combined. And besides, in Jake's opinion, Levi was about a hundred times cuter than Jesse, so if he was sad it would be a hundred times worse. Nice to see he's got the math down.

Jake was just about to make another move down the counter again when he realized that another shift would send him right into the sink and he wasn't about to make that mistake again. (Don't ask him about the first time.) "Ah shit, you've got me cornered." Because actually getting off the counter and moving was totally more effort than Jake was willing to expend. Yes, he's lazy and yes, he'll admit to it. "I surrender! No more poking!"

[Levi Xu]

Levi was good at being the little brother. (He had been one all his life, after all.) For some reason, people saw him as someone who needed to be protected and coddled. It was nice, sometimes. Particularly when he needed some comfort, like earlier today, and when he'd been in the hospital.

When Jake surrendered, no cloud could obscure the grin on Levi's face. He leaned against the man, smiling up at him as he said, "So I win then? What do I get for winning?" Then he reached over and snagged the carton of melting ice cream and pried it away from his friend. "This should do nicely. You are saved from any more poking. For now."

The boy dug in, sneaking a glance at the man--well, actually he seemed more like a much-older boy-- sitting next to him. Jake was so...nice to him, even when he knew he was being stubborn about his powers. It didn't matter to the man, and that mattered so much to Levi. For once, he didn't feel that he was being forced to impress somebody for attention.

But, of course, he wanted to impress Jake anyway. (Maybe, hopefully, Jake would see something in him, the way that Mr. Underwood so obviously saw something in Jesse.)

[Jacob Lawrence]

Jake most definitely got the urge to protect Levi. He'd never really been the paternal sort before, unless you count his relationship with his dogs (Beta is practically his child) but Levi just made Jake want to keep him safe and happy. Safe from... well he wasn't entirely sure. Maybe Gabriel, as he'd already shown he had a preference for... fresh meat, so to speak. Maybe it was from the truth, the real reason why he was here.

But the weight of Levi against him had him smiling again and he set his hand on top of the kid's head. "Wait, there's supposed to be a prize?" He looked thoughtful for a moment, but Levi had already set his sights on the ice cream and Jake let him tug it away. "Heeeey! I wasn't finished with that! I was maybe gunna smear more of it on your face!" I don't believe that's an approved use for ice cream. Classy Jake, real classy. Either way, he laughed and tugged gently on a bit of Levi's hair.

He let Levi enjoy the ice cream for a moment, before smirking mostly to himself, and then started tickling at the boy's side. Acting childish and goofy with Levi was much more preferable than worrying about Morgan or trying to figure out what had Gabe so edgy around him lately. Thinking too much had never been his cup of tea, anyways. He was a doer, not a thinker. "Aha! Revenge!" He declared, not exactly sure what he was getting revenge for, but it had sounded like a good thing to shout at the time.

It's not my place to judge, but if Levi has a thing for men that act like children, that's his own problem. If it's worth anything, he's not always this spastic. Levi must bring out the worst(best?) in him.