TESSLA IS GONE READ BELOW

There was a pause – not a long one, but still noticeable – before Tessla would get an answer to that question.

It seemed easy at first, but the more Levi thought about it, the more he didn’t know what could he tell her, and what was better left unsaid. Maybe Luu kept the photo hidden because he didn’t want the girl to know, and, while that thought was unpleasant for him, Levi didn’t want to be the one to disturbs those plans.

“We’re close,” he said finally, taking a last glance at the picture before giving it back. “But I don’t really know how to describe it. One day he acts like I’m nothing, and the other… The other day he makes me feel like I’m everything.” The man was surprised with this sudden outburst of honesty, but he didn’t try to contradict what he had just said. “You know what I mean?”

It was there for a moment, but she quickly stifled it outwardly. Treats his own friend like nothing-Luu what are you thinking? An image of waking him up by beating him over the head with some kind of “making friends” book was starting to sound overly tempting. 

There was a slight smugness that slipped into her expression-though it wasn’t directed at the other man.

The other day huh...what had happened between them? And...there was something off about how he said it. It was...oh how would you describe it? Like...how she was with Vlad when she was a kid when she had that crush...

Oh man...

Yep. Tomorrow, it would be a reality...one nice hardcover book...the bigger the better-

“You know what I mean?” She actually jolted slightly in her chair, not expecting the question. “Well, of course...”

Levi wasn’t a person to lie, neither gladly nor frequently, and that was exactly what he’d have to do if he wanted to say that he wasn’t bewildered with what had just happened. Still, he was nowhere near to getting frightened by that; he had seen too many odd and eerie things in his life to have a thing like that affect him so much.

“That was… an interesting thing to see,” he remarked when the girl appeared back, and reached out to her to take the photograph.

Anybody, even a person who wasn’t good at reading people, would notice how surprised the man was upon seeing the picutre. I should have expected that, he thought to himself, pursing his lips. Of course it had to be him, and of course that girl had to be a friend of his; where else would the two of them meet, if not on that damned planet? And to think that I rejected that idea…

Eventually, he raised his head to look at his guest. “So what exactly do you want to know?”

He knew him. That was the one. This was the guy who was in the photograph. She only had to see his face to know it was him. However, there was something off with how he looked. It wasn’t just simple recognition. It was far more reserved, nervous even.

Tread carefully Tessla.

When she had been actively searching for Luu, she had all sorts of questions planned-mainly pertaining to where he would be, but she knew where he was now. However, there was one question she had that hadn’t been answered.

The questions he expected where about her brothers. Or how he was working for Knives. Even things about that day. His training or his past. So when he heard the first one he nodded and opened his mouth. Only to be caught dumbfounded by the other three. What…was Tesla thinking?

Bambi. Luu’s face flushed with the memory. Not that he remembered the entire night but he knew enough. And for that Tesla would find herself shoved onto the couch with fingers tickling her sides. “You might have grown up but that isn’t going to stop me from treating you like my little girl. Going to be a brat then I’ll punish you!” He grinned a bit and attacked his daughter’s sides. “THE TICKLE MONSTER HAS RETURNED!”

Well, that certainly answered the last question, but what about the ones before? She was honestly curious. Plus the first one was kind of important...

Still, she was having a good time for the moment...even if her sides ached as they spasmed.

“No! Not that!” She howled in laughter, feeling ever much like a kid again. He knew her weaknesses, didn’t he? It probably was a good thing that if he ever faced the Iron Phoenix, his first instinct wouldn’t be to tickle it. Though, to be honest, she didn’t want to think about that for the  moment.

“Two can play that game!” Quickly, she made a lunge for his feet. It was time for a retribution of her own!

Levi took the remaining seat on the other side of the desk, trying not to pay attention to the sudden change of the atmosphere. There was definitely something the matter, but he didn’t ask any questions, knowing that he’d soon find out what was the problem.

He didn’t respond right after his guest had stopped talking, taking a moment to think everything through. “To be honest,” he began eventually, linking his fingers together, “I don’t remember anyone taking pictures of me, let alone me being accompanied by someone. May I see it?” Saying that he wasn’t interested in that would be a blatant lie. Who could she be talking about? Levi could only think about so much people, but none of the option seemed probable enough.

“It could also help if you told me your name,” he added after a moment. “You seem to know me, but I don’t know you.” Even if something tells me that I should.

Oh...yeah...the picture...

Yes it had been a good idea to leave it at home, lest Luu discover it was gone, but, wouldn’t have evidence helped?

Well, she could still get it. But she didn’t want to get diced up either. People got freaky when it came to magic. She wanted to know, didn’t she? And he seemed pretty reasonable...

“Sure, just give me a moment. But, um...first things first. I accidentally left it behind and I have to do some...let’s just say...”something weird” to get it back. So uh...please don’t freak out.”

And with that instant she initiated the return spell and found herself at the door of the basement, where Luu kept his lab. Sliding into the broom closet, she typed in the password. Only a few people would ever keep a 30 digit pin. Herself was included for her own lab. Once she got in, it didn’t take too long to find the picture. After all, when he had gone missing, she had tried to find this person a few times. Ironically, now that he was back, she had found him by accident. With that, she altered the spell and went to the correct destination.