Late December 1998

Hanji couldn't believe that it was almost time to apply to college; it felt like high school had flown by. She had just finished talking with the University of Maryland when unfortunately Floch came up to her.

"Funny seeing you here." Floch said to her coming to stand right to her left at the college & university fair.

"Go away, Floch." Hanji droned walking to another university's table. She picked up a brochure and leafed through hoping he would go away.

"Where's that little boyfriend of yours? Shouldn't he be here, following you around?" He sneered.

"Levi's not my boyfriend." Hanji said boredly.

Floch cocked an eyebrow at her. "I mean the nerdy ass looking one with the freckles. Of course that criminal degenerate isn't here." He leaned into her space. "But if you are into the whole bad boy thing, I can do things for you."

An arm wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her back was the only thing that kept her from punching him in the face. "Fuck off Floch.' Furlan said. "Come on, I want to show you another school." He said to Hanji and led her away.

"You should have let me hit him." Hanji muttered to Furlan.

He nodded. "Yeah, but then I'd have to hit him and Levi would find out about it and he would have beaten him to a pulp."

"We can't tell him." Hanji told him. "If he gets into another fight he's done."

Furlan nodded in agreement. "Yeah we won't tell him."

She pushed all of that out of her mind. "Speak of Levi, what are we going to do for his birthday?"

They ended up keeping his birthday simple, knowing Levi hated making a big deal out of his birthday. Furlan, Hanji and Isabel took Levi out to get his favorite meal from a Chinese place for lunch. It was a small unassuming restaurant that mostly served the local Chinese immigrant community of the city. This early in the afternoon it was mostly older people in the restaurant. Levi ordered the jasmine tea he loved here and his favorite pork and rice dish.

"I thought we could go over to my house after playing some board games." Hanji told him as they walked out onto the street. It was unseasonably warm for this time of the year and he could barely feel the cold's bite after the warm food and tea. He was in a good mood.

"Sounds fun." He agreed.

"Well, well, well," Levi froze and his good mood disappeared. "Look who's here. Fancy running into you here runt."

He can see Hanji's, Furlan's and Isabel's curious look on their faces. He turned around glaring, "Kenny." He said between clenched teeth. "What do you want?"

Kenny smirked at him. "Oh come on, beautiful sunny weather for December and you're sour over it?" He quipped lightly at his nephew. He looked over Levi's shoulder at his friends. "Hello, since my ray of sun nephew refuses to introduce me, I'm Kenny Levi's Uncle." Levi had never so much as shown them a picture of his uncle, nevermind introduced him to anyone.

"Hi! I'm Isabel." Isabel said even as Hanji held on to her shoulders. She was the only one of them that weren't aware of who Kenny was and how his actual relationship to Levi was. Furlan had a closed off expression on his face and Hanji's was carefully neutral.

"Nice to meet you!" Kenny grinned and shook her hand delicately. "I didn't know Levi was friends with such nice young ladies."

"We're busy." Levi scowled at his uncle. "We've got to go."

"What's the rush? Aren't you on school break?" Kenny shot back with a fake smile. Levi was glaring at him about to tell him to fuck off, but Hanji beat him to it.

"Well I'm afraid we are in a rush, you know better than any how quickly Levi's social battery runs out." She broke in. "Can't put a larger battery in a model that small."

Kenny laughed. "True, he does turn into a little gremlin rather quickly." he agreed.

"Besides, I hear batteries don't age well… and it's almost a new year." She added. It could easily be interrupted as another dig at him given his birthday was yesterday and in passing it was but the pointed look she gave Kenny, it also applied even more to the 40 year old man.

"You're funny, I'll give you that." Kenny barked a laugh not missing the swipe taken at him. "Have a good time ladies and boys." He tipped his baseball hat and continued on his way.

Levi glared a hole in his uncle's back as his form retreated out of sight. This is what he hated about his uncle needing to push into everything and make it about him just for his amusement. They acted like strangers at home. Why couldn't they do that in public?

"Do you know tipping one's hat comes from the medieval tradition of a knight raising's his vision so he can be identified." Hanji says touching his shoulder lightly.

He hadn't even noticed her coming up to stand next to him; he had been too wrapped up in his anger. He looked over to her and let out a long breath. He knew what she was random fact was just trying to get him distracted from his Uncle and re-focus on his friends. She was right he was too tense after Kenny had shown his stupid face. He had left already. Levi was with his friends, he needed to relax and forget about his deranged uncle.

"Do you know where big bro went?" Isabel asked Levi, looking around. Levi also hadn't noticed that Furlan had stepped away from their little group. He looked around and caught Hanji's eye who nodded the other end of the block indicating where Furlan had gone.

"I'll get him. Wait here with Hanji." He told Isabel and jogs over to grab him.

Furlan is talking with proper drug dealers on the corner when Levi finds. "Furlan." He calls slowing down. "We gotta go." He stops a few paces away not wanting to get any closer and over hear anything he wasn't supposed to.

Furlan wraps up his conversation and comes over to him as he's studying the stupid cigarette advertisement in the store he was in front of to avoid looking over at the corner boys.

"Don't talk to them when we're around." Levi told him coldly. "Hanji, Isabel don't need to be around that. I sure as hell don't want to be around that."

"It's not like that Levi. They were just saying hi."

"That's always how it starts! That's how they get you. Next thing you know you're going to be running for them or selling Furlan." Levi warned him. "I'm serious, I don't want to be around that, so if you do fine. But don't bring it around me." He walks towards Hanji and Isabel. "Come one, let's just go to Hanji's."

It was funny seeing Isabel's reaction to Hanji's house. It had been a long time since she lived in a real house and she didn't remember much of it. She also loves the fish tank. Hanji spent a lot of time letting her feed the fish and showing her all the different ones. They played sorry for awhile after that Furlan whipping the rest of their butts.

"Sorry it's a day late." Hanji said bring over the cake they had gotten him.

He shrugged. "I don't celebrate my birthday."
"That's sad!" Isabel exclaimed, bouncing in anticipation of the cake.

Furlan shoved his friend down into the chair in front of the cake. "Well we are this year."

They sang happy birthday to him which he hated. It made him feel so awkward being the center of attention like that.

Hanji surprised him when she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind making tingling run all down his back and he managed not to flinch from the feeling. "Happy birthday, Levi." She said in a warm and soft voice right next to his ear. It made his stomach flip.