Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Levi
Levi wasn’t usually sentimental about airports. He preferred the quiet stillness of the Ranch. The creak of saddle leather, the sound of boots on gravel, the call of the hawks overhead.
Airports were loud. The people obnoxious. And everything in it was too impersonal.
But today, as he stood just beyond the security area at the arrivals gate, watching travelers rush past in a blur of noise and neon signage, something tugged at the edges of his attention. It wasn’t the usual chaos that drew him.
It was her.
A slip of a thing, standing too still just outside the glass doors.
People streamed past her, a few giving curious looks, but no one stopped.
She was barely holding it together, arms wrapped around an old stuffed animal that had seen a thousand hugs too many.
Her phone was in her other hand, but she wasn’t looking at it. Just staring at the ground. Frozen.
Then he saw the tear.
It slid down her cheek slow and helpless, and Levi felt something deep in his chest clench tight.
His inner Daddy sat bolt upright, fully awake now.
Well, hell.
He didn’t hesitate. His boots made soft thuds as he approached, crouching low so he wouldn’t loom over her. She flinched when he spoke, and Levi immediately felt bad for startling her.
“Little miss? You alright?”
She looked up, eyes rimmed red and wide as saucers, and his breath caught for half a second. She was beautiful in a lost-lamb kind of way. Fragile. Vulnerable. Her bunny clutched so tight Levi thought the seams might pop.
“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, hands open, voice soft. “You looked a smidge... well, overwhelmed.”
She didn’t answer right away. Just nodded once. Barely.
He stayed there in his crouch, letting the noise of the airport move around them while they stayed in this bubble of quiet.
He didn’t want to pressure her. Goodness knew what kind of trouble she might’ve had getting here.
Her passport sticking out from her bag said she wasn’t from the US. She had to be exhausted.
He glanced at the bunny.
Well loved. Worn to the thread.
She had to be a Little.
“My name’s Levi,” he said gently. “I don’t work here. Just picking someone up. But if you need a hand, I’m happy to help. You lost, little miss?”
Still nothing verbal, just a whisper and a trembling lip. She looked ready to fall apart all over again. But eventually, a whisper made it out.
“I... I’m okay.”
She wasn’t. But he let that slide for now.
She looked young, but not too young. Maybe early twenties. It was hard to tell with that wide-eyed, raw look on her face. He just wanted to wrap her up in his jacket and tell her she didn’t have to be so brave.
After a little more coaxing, she finally confessed, barely. A garbled story about trying to surprise her boyfriend by arriving early, and now being stranded and overwhelmed in a strange new country. All said in the most adorable accent that only made the blow of her having a boyfriend harder.
The mention of the boyfriend shouldn’t have hit him so hard, yet still, his chest tightened in disappointment.
It was stupid though. He wasn’t looking for anything. Certainly not in the middle of the international arrivals lounge while he waited for his own man to come back home.
His partner. His rock. The person he’d built a whole life with.
Still, something about the Little girl clutching her bunny made the protector in him ache to do more.
He told her she didn’t have to share where she was going. He’d help her get to the travel desk and make sure she was safe. That was enough. It had to be.
The pretty girl nodded again, and after a pause, took his hand.
It was like touching the softest silk.
Her tentative trust lit something deep in his belly. Not lust. Not even attraction, really. It was something older. Bigger. Something that told him that even if he never saw her again, he’d think about her.
Levi got her suitcase, led her gently through the crowd, shielding her from elbows and stomping boots.
The entire time, she clung to that bunny like it was the only thing tethering her to the earth.
He talked slow, easy, never asking her name, though he wished he had.
She never offered it, and that was okay, too.
It had to be.
They reached the desk and he passed over the suitcase with lead in his heart.
“You’re almost there now,” he said, tipping his hat and smiling. “Just breathe. One step at a time, alright, little miss?”
Her ‘thank you’ was so quiet he almost missed it.
But he didn’t.
And then he had to make himself walk away.
His phone buzzed just as he was taking his third step.
Hey, I’m near the front. You here?
A smile tugged at Levi’s mouth. He typed back.
Just a minute. Helping someone at the entrance. Meet you halfway?
He found him leaning against a pillar, sharp-eyed and handsome in that clean, effortless way. Roland. Tall, dark, and dangerous when he wanted to be. Today, just tired from a long business trip. And smiling when he saw Levi approach.
They embraced, solid and grounding. A long hug.
“You okay?” Roland murmured into his shoulder.
Levi nodded, but his jaw clenched.
Roland pulled back slightly, studying his face. “What is it?”
Levi exhaled, his voice low. “There was a girl. Well... a woman, really. Young. Everything about her was screaming Little. Looked completely lost and alone. She was crying, Ro. Just standing there clutching this poor old bunny like it was all she had.”
Roland’s expression softened immediately. “That’s where you were. You were helping her?”
“Yeah. Got her to the travel desk. But she didn’t tell me where she was going. Didn’t even give me a name.”
“Want to check if she’s still there?”
Levi hesitated, then nodded. “Just... I just need to see that she’s okay.”
They walked back through the crowd, weaving past families, tired travelers, and bustling staff. When they reached the counter, it was empty. A new person had stepped up, and there was no sign of the girl with the bunny.
“Looks like she got where she needed to go,” Roland said gently.
Levi nodded once, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I know she’s probably fine,” he muttered. “And she’s going to her damn boyfriend, but still.”
Roland leaned in and kissed his cheek, subtle and comforting. “Good, then someone will be happy to see her.”
“Yeah,” Levi said, though the word soured in his mouth a bit.
“Then let’s hope whoever he is, he knows how lucky he is.”
Levi didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he looked back toward the empty desk, the place he’d left her, and felt the loss.
But he only allowed it for a moment before he looked to his partner. “Come on, lover boy. Let’s get you home. I’ve missed you.”
Roland smiled. “Not as much as I’ve missed you.”
The words had the last of the tension slowly bleeding out of Levi’s shoulders. The girl was gone, yes, but he wasn’t alone. He never really was. And as they made their way through the terminal, Levi laced his fingers through Roland’s and gave one last glance over his shoulder. Just in case.
But there was nothing there.