Underground (Levi x Reader)

Dream

I tossed and turned for what felt like hours, the thoughts clamoring inside of my brain making too much noise for me to fall asleep.

When I finally succumbed to exhaustion, it wasn't the deep, blank sleep I had hoped it would be, where I saw and felt nothing for a few hours.

As soon as my eyes had fluttered closed, I found myself stepping into the middle of a vivid, life-like dream.

I was standing in the middle of the Underground, the dirty, rocky ground uneven beneath my boots. I glanced around in the dim, smoky light and saw two young children, maybe five or six, sitting beside one of the crumbling houses. I walked closer, and as I approached, I could see they were filthy, their clothes torn and old, their faces almost black with dirt and smoke.

I knew it was a dream. I knew they couldn't see or hear me, but I still felt the need to approach them silently, so as not to disturb the deep conversation they seemed to be having with one another. When I reached them, I recognized the scene before me. This wasn't just a dream, it was a memory.

The child version of myself crouched against the wall of the house, Levi sitting in front of her on the dusty ground. I came into their conversation just at the moment that I remembered so very well from my memories.

"Oi, (F/N). Have you ever thought about what it would be like to kiss someone?" Levi asked me, fiddling idly with a stick between his fingers as he raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for my response.

I giggled. "Why would I do that, dummy? I don't even like boys yet."

He studied me for a moment and then lifted a thin shoulder in a slight shrug. "Just curious." He drew with the stick in the dirt at his feet for a moment before saying offhandedly, "I've watched my dad kiss my mom. They don't do it anymore, but they used to. And I just wondered what it was like." He dropped the stick to the ground and met my gaze again, his serious suddenly. "(F/N). Can I kiss you?"

I watched myself shrink back at the sound of his words, a slight fear coming across my childish face before I asked in a tentative voice, "Why?"

He shot me a grin. "Because I want to see what it's like. And you're the only girl around here that's acceptable and that I can put up with."

I remained silent, pressed back against the rough cement of the wall behind me, as the grin dropped from his face and he leaned closer to me, his lips slightly pursed, his eyes closed.

"Levi." I said in a quavering voice, stopping his advance. He opened his dark eyes and studied me closely. I bit my lip. "Will it hurt?"

A look of surprise flashed across his face. "I don't think so. It doesn't look like it hurts." He watched me for a minute, the look of uncertainty and fear on my face, and then said teasingly,
"Tch. Come on, (F/N). Why would it hurt?"

I dropped my eyes from his and scuffed my foot in the dirt at my feet. "I just....when my dad...."

I didn't dare look up at him again. I knew he understood what I was asking.

Suddenly, I felt his thin arms go around me and he hugged me, whispering in my ear. 'I'm sorry, (F/N). I was just teasing you. We don't have to do anything you don't want." He pulled back from me and wiped away my tears with his dirtied hands before saying, "Kissing is a thing that old people do anyway." He gave me a half smile. "Come on, let's go and play."

I stood against the wall for awhile, even after Levi had dragged my childhood self off to play elsewhere, frozen in place.

When I finally looked up from the ground at my feet again, I was in another time, in another place, but I knew that this wasn't just a dream either. It was another memory.