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He needed some time alone.
Desperately.
The anger from the initial encounter with his asshole, of a rival, was still pumping viciously through Levi and whenever he was in this state there was only one thing that soothed his inner beast.
Returning to his roots.
That is to say, specifically, figure skating without an exact planned pattern. Instead, rather, doing so with only one intention in mind...
Expression.
He put on his playlist, and as El Tango De Roxanne began it's opening monologue - Levi took a moment to collect himself. Zeke, his long time rival (as previously mentioned), had matched him up in the ring tonight - insulting him in front of his dearest co-workers and friends. Naturally, Levi, abrasive as he was - hadn't just laid down and taken it. He was lucky that Nanaba and Furlan had held him back the way they did; specifically the he being "Zeke" in this equation. For he might have smashed both his career and Zeke's stupid face in to dust had they not held him back in front of all those people observing through the glass, and the camera crew not to far behind. Of course, that was the kind of things camera crews followed like flies to a plague - for it was human drama and that shit sells like nobody's business. Levi knew it; it's why he despised being in the public eye so much.
He knew a lot of people probably would consider it 'spoiled' for him to complain about the fact that he was doing what he loved. Especially after Kenny killing his mother in his shitty upbringing. Especially after the horrible things he saw while watching those cops break into his house and shoot down Kenny in front of him from a young age. Especially after they accosted him, acting like he was a villain, at first, then a tool to be used in court (against Kenny) afterwards.
Yes, he recognized it could be a shitty existence and that most people probably suffered far worse than he did as a child (or an adult). That didn't mean he didn't want to nitpick sometimes. There was an old statement about it being 'rough all over' that was far too true to discount just because somebody had monetary means. Especially considering all the cash he made was worthless to Levi. Especially since he rented a very small apartment with modest furniture sparsely placed. All of his extra cash he mostly donated to different charities, particularly towards those that catered towards disparaged children - since he was once one, himself.
He gently reminded himself to pop some Ibuprofen before he spiraled too much.
Before you wonder, let me alleviate your fears-
He took it very rarely, but it was a nice placebo on occasion when his stress headaches started acting up. Far better than some of the things some people took; and he was extremely controlled about it, conscientious about the opioid crisis and not wanting to fall into that trap like his mother fell into cocaine.
Taking a breath, he swung forward with one leg behind him - gracefully spinning towards the middle of the frozen lake.
Roxanne
You don't have to put on that red light
Walk the streets for money
You don't care if it's wrong or if it is right
He didn't even take note of the fact that the day was a cold one as he left his coat towards the edge of the frozen water. And he certainly didn't take note that amidst the children laughing some ten yards off at their playground there were a few who were itching and looking around towards the source of the music. But most of all, he didn't notice that a man had stopped looking at his news paper readings, gazing up towards the graceful display of Levi's catch foot layback spin. Entranced, this man watched as Levi's small, elegant form stopped spinning and twisted, leg out behind him in beat to the music, pushing off then and twisting into a death drop. As his head tucked down, he twisted faster and faster until his motion halted to the sound of the ending monologue; 'mad' bled into his rise, body twisting and contorting to send one leg skittering so tight against his body he practically did a backflip-
And then he snapped back, body flying off again, before spinning into a pirouette.
That's when it sped up to the sound of the music, becoming more and more aggressive as the song did-
Speeding up.
Speeding up-
UP-
UP-!
Why does my heart cry?
(Roxanne) Feelings I can't fight
You're free to leave me, but just don't deceive me
And please, believe me when I say I love you
Stop.
His feet came down, talented, to stop the motion: hands rising to the sky as if by a religious gesture before he pranced forward - stopping as the music did.
Yo que te quiero tanto, qué voy ha hacer
Me dejaste, me dejaste en un tango
En el alma se me fue
Se me fue el corazon
Ya no tengo ganas de vivir
Porque no te puedo convencer
Que no te vendas Roxanne
Then-
Small steps, small bounds until-
ROXAAAAAAAAANNE!
As the final scream sounded, he lept to the air.
The man in question, whom was observing, gasped in abject wonder at the distinguished display. The man's blue eyes, as deep as the sky that Levi almost seemed silhouetted against - watched as if Levi was in slow motion, taking flight. This man, was known as Erwin Smith. Specifically, Dr. Erwin Smith - a locally renown doctor at the nearest hospital. He had been off duty, at the time, and since he hadn't felt particularly hungry had settled down for the hour at a local park to people watch. It was one of his favourite past times: and moments so precious like this were exactly why.
To see somebody at their most unknown, to understand their nuances and beauties when they thought nobody was looking-
It was something that Erwin most enjoyed.
It was partly why he was so good with other people, because he enjoyed their idiosyncrasies and minutias. His father had often taken him to this same park, sharing ice cream, and doing this exact activity. So doing so often was a good reminder of his father as well as enjoying his favorite past time; people-
It's also why he was such a good doctor. Why he was now secondary to Miche in their department, but still stayed so grounded as to aid the EMTs bring in patients and gave nurses, on the floor, aid when they required it rather than acting like a spoiled doctor looking down upon them-
Now, he was almost certain that his father would have enjoyed this moment in time. And it was no secret why-
The man had caught the attention of a fair crowd, now, watching almost as if in slow motion while the man displayed wings Erwin was certain were invisible upon his back-
Was he an angel?
And just like that, he started spinning in mid air-
Once-
Twice?
THRriCE?
QuaDri-
Crack.
It was such a loud sound Erwin had to blink off the thought that it was the ice. But as soon as he did, he shot out of his seat towards the man he'd been observing: his doctor instincts kicking in.
That was another reason why he was such a good doctor-
He never considered himself 'off duty'. A good trait and a bad trait depending on whom you asked.
His co-workers, particularly the Nurses enamored with his attitudes (like the Nurse Petra), would say he was a dreamboat come true. His dearest friend and surgeon, Miche Zacharias, would say he works himself to death and needs an actual break and his dick sucked. Whatever may be the case he was devoted to the task, ever since he held his father's hand when he died - vowing to learn all he could in the field to help others overcome what his father had faced so long ago.
He almost had to remind himself to slow down, himself, lest he break his own bones and make things so much worse-
(No need, after all, for two people to go to the hospital-)
As the people started gasping and whispering he tried pushing through the gathering crowd whom had swarmed to the ice.
What was it about people and gathering around massive train wrecks like this?
"Excuse me, folks, I'm a doctor-" He pulled out his card from behind the scrubs stuck under his winter coat and held it up - leaving people to finally decide to do the decent thing and give Levi some room. "Please, part away - he needs some space to breath. Crowding him may only exacerbate any panic he may have..."
Erwin leaned down to his level, placing a hand on the brunet's shoulder with reassurance. It was enough, and as Levi's eyes blinked up, he swore he saw an angel. A blonde one with blue eyes and blond, gorgeous locks; all complete like a chess set with this well-defined, chiseled jawline to boot-
Stupidly, and in the midst of a concussion, Levi mumbled; "Hey, Blondie...whatchu doin' later-"
Not taken aback in the slightest (this wasn't the first time this happened with a concussed patient of his) he calmly responded; "Hopefully, you won't have to be under enough to know." With a stoic expression, before turning back towards the crowd; "It's best if we get you to the hospital straight away. Has somebody called 911?"
Cheerfully, a blonde boy with long hair, in the back, responded by holding up his phone - the digits flashing against the background of the winter sun. Relieved, Erwin turned back to 'his patient' long enough to see the man reach up and stroke his jaw; causing him to blink in surprise. This was as far as any patient had attempted to go, before-
"How about you do me, instead-?"
The crowd laughed a little too much for Erwin's liking, but he merely sighed and placed Levi's off his cheek and onto the brunet's small chest. "Can you tell me your name?"
"So you can have somethin' to call later?"
Erwin reserved his right to pinch the bridge of his nose before continuing; "Please, sir, what is your name? Do you know where you are?"
"Names Levi.....but you're an angel shouldn't you know that-?"
Okay, that one was something Erwin hadn't heard before. But it did cause him to laugh despite himself; "You're not in heaven, Levi. Do you know what you were doing last?"
He concentrated, "If I'm not in heaven is it bad if I kiss you?"
"I-" Erwin started, then stopped; a blush was starting to rise to his cheeks. People all reacted differently to concussions, some got agitated, others got angry, and this one - apparently - got extremely delirious and stupid. "Levi." He finally hit the restart button, deciding he probably wouldn't remember this when the TBI started to heal; "Can you follow my fingers, please?"
Back and forth they went, Levi's eyes flickering as he tried to follow them. They somewhat dilated, blurring in and out of focus but he did a pretty good job for it being a fresh injury. Erwin was relieved, and it wasn't long before more relief flooded in when the sounds of sirens rang out. Erwin sighed and said; "You're going to be hauled up onto a stretcher for evaluation, Levi. We're going to try and keep you as still as we can while moving, but I need you to stay there, alright?"
"Yeah, Yeah...hey, you, angel-" Erwin was surprised how red his cheeks went again at that nickname. "You gonn' stay with me, right? If you're my angel-"
"I'm not an angel, and you're not dead, Levi. But if you would prefer I can stay with you on the ride to the hospital, yes."
"Nah, I get it, you gotta lie and tell me angels don't exist, cause of all that angel crap or some shit-"
Erwin was on the verge of bursting out laughing, but he refrained because of the situation. Boy would he have a story to tell Miche, though, when they got the chance.
And that chance presented itself pretty soon, for by the time they got to the hospital Levi had passed out. Not a surprise, his head injury was probably pretty significant and it seemed like he was in shock from the leg damage as well. When the X-Rays came in it turned out to be broken in several places, including his ankle. His head, luckily, hadn't sustained any significant trauma save for the severe concussion which was a wonder considering he just tried to do something that looked extremely hard to pull off (even with the momentum he had). Erwin was kind enough to pick up the boombox and coat that Levi had left there, placing it on the chair next to his bed just as Hange, the doctor that got assigned to Levi (apparently Miche thought he shouldn't be constantly on duty or something), came in.
"Oh for god's sake, go home, Erwin-" Hange said exasperatedly. "You need rest."
"How is he?"
Hange rolled their eyes with a knowing grin, a little more lenient towards Erwin's nature than Miche was. But that was partly because they grew up together, shared the same rooms together, dormed together in college, and scraped knees together (once upon a time). They just knew that Erwin was this way and it was hardly even worth trying to stop him, sometimes. "He's as fine as somebody can be for falling on the ice that hard. It's a wonder he didn't hit his head harder. But you know I can't say much more; you're not his doctor and certainly not his friend or family, Erwin. It would be unethical."
"Yes, yes, I know." Erwin hesitated, messing with his fingers. "Hange-"
But they were both interrupted by the patient waking up, as if by some miraculous force. Perhaps somebody had said Levi in the mirror three times, turning around over and over in a dark bathroom. "What...the fuck? Oh, god, it's you-" He looked right at Erwin with wide eyes, looking mortified. "Look the shit I said back there-"
"Don't worry about it-" Erwin waved off with a laugh, leaving Hange to raise an eyebrow. They bit their lip and Erwin had a feeling he would have to recount that story to somebody besides Miche. Specifically somebody with big rimmed glasses and messy brown hair with an all too inquisitive attitude; "I'm just here to drop off your stuff. I'm surprised you can remember it; that's a good sign for your cognitive function."
"Yes, yes, now Erwin; it's time for you to go-" Hange pressed again, and Erwin had a feeling it was partly because of ethics and particularly because they wanted to hear the story of what the fuck went on between them.
"Yes; it's not morally good for me to stay. Levi, your coat and boombox are on the chair, here. I do hope we won't have to meet under those circumstances again. Please take care on the ice-"
"Wait-" Levi said, and messed with his bottom lip. After a long few seconds he asked; "You're not my...doctor?"
"No." Erwin said, but placed a hand on Hange's shoulder; "But my college here, is. And they will do an excellent job, I can assure yo-"
"Then I won't fucking regret asking for your number...you know, just in case I need a...damnit...er...medical professional's advice on shit...right, blondie?"
Hange made a noise in the back of their throat Erwin was sure could be compared to a dying buffalo. But Erwin's thick eyebrows just shot up so high he didn't even notice. He swore the thick, dark eyebrows were going to pop off his forehead and fall somewhere else, probably on the white linoleum underneath their feet. "Well...if you...need advice, I suppose it would be wrong of me to ignore my hypocritical oath." Erwin snapped a pen from his pocket, writing down something on the back of one of his medical cards before handing it over. "The number on the back is my...personal number should you need advice at a later time than office hours-"
Hange was practically vibrating as Erwin handed it over, and he could feel he wasn't going to live this one down for a while.
"Sick."
"Probably, should you be calling."
Levi snorted at that, "Shut the fuck up-" Then his voice caught; "I mean-"
Erwin laughed good naturedly. "I do hope you'll call me, soon...Levi. Best not to let medical conditions...wait."
As Erwin left the room with Hange on his heels practically holding in a squeel, Levi leaned back on his pillow with a whistle.
The TV was vaguely playing something, but he couldn't possibly bring himself to pay attention.
Then-
He whistled a crescendo.
"God damn, what have you gotten your ass into, now, Levi-"