S C H M I C O || A collection of short stories

somewhere only we know

Levi finishes tying his shoelaces and places his foot back down, stretching his arms above his head, letting out a long, exhaustion-filled groan as he does so. Casey jabs Levi in the side, which gets him to shut up pretty much immediately. Levi scowls at him, though Casey can only laugh.

"Do you need to make so much noise?" Casey comments, returning to his little cubbyhole, grabbing his jacket from the hook.

"It feels like my back is knotted up," Levi complains, rubbing his hand against the bottom of his back, hoping it would release some of the tension. It doesn't do much. Not much of a surprise. "I barely got a chance to sit today."

Casey slips his jacket on, pulling the sleeves down before smoothing it down. Long shifts were never fun, especially due to the aches and pains they received once they finally stopped. Levi stands from the bench and grabs his bag from beside him, slinging it over his shoulder.

It's weirdly quiet. Without Helm here, and even Blake, the room seems empty. As much as Levi wasn't overly fond of Blake, his presence did make a difference. And Helm, she could just fill a room. There wasn't anyone quite like her. Levi only hopes she can return back soon.

Casey finishes packing up all his stuff, double-checking to make sure he has all he needs. Once he's sure, he turns back to Levi, who is occupied by his phone. A slight frown plays at his lips as he stares down at his phone.

"What's got you looking like that?" Casey asks, though he tries to keep the mood light. Levi hums and looks up at him, brows raised as he tries to process what Casey just asked him.

It takes a second to sink in, but he finally understands.

"Oh," he puts his phone back in his pocket, "it's just my mom. She's just wondering when I'm next coming home to visit."

"Spending too much time with Nico?"

"Apparently so," Levi lifts his shoulders in a shrug, a grin replacing the frown. Just as they both turn to walk out the room, a familiar face pops around the door frame.

"You guys haven't seen Nico, have you?" Link questions, glancing between the two of them. They both look at each other and shake their heads in response. Levi thinks for a moment - the last time he'd seen Nico was just after lunch. After that, Levi had been stolen away by Meredith for a couple of hours.

The three of them look between each other, all just as confused as the next. The hospital is only so big, he had to be somewhere. It wasn't like him to just disappear off without telling anyone.

"Huh, okay. I assumed he'd be with you, Schmitt."

"Nope, haven't seen him since lunch."

Casey tugs at the bottom of his jacket and clears his throat, which makes both Link and Levi turn their attention onto him. He smiles awkwardly and shifts his weight, placing his hands into his pockets.

"I'm just going to-" Casey mumbles as he shuffles towards the door, stopping to wave a quick goodbye to Levi before squeezing past Link and disappearing down the hall.

Link turns his attention back to Levi and steps inside the room, making his way over to a bench and perching himself on it. He rests his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. "I'm not the only one who thinks Nico has been acting weird recently, right?"

Levi sighs to himself, "He has been acting odd. I expect he's gone home, he did mention to me he felt tired earlier, though I'm not sure that was the truth."

"Well, let me know if he's there when you go," Link stands, tugging on the bottom of his scrub top. Levi nods, forcing a small grin.

Link brushes past Levi and disappears into the hospital corridors, leaving Levi to wonder why Nico hadn't told anyone where he was for the past couple hours.