Underground (Levi x Reader)

Never

I pulled on my clothes quickly, and we headed back down the slope toward the camp, silently walking side by side through the darkening trees. The absence of his hand in mine, compared to the trek up to the lake, made me feel cold all over again, even if I was practically dry at this point.

When we arrived back outside of the cadet's barracks, the special forces were already gathered around a roaring bonfire, laughing and talking amongst themselves, drinks in hand. They all looked up as we approached, and Jaeger stood from where he had been talking to Ackerman, holding out two bottles of beer for us, a sheepish smile on his face. "I know you said I wasn't to get out of bed today, Corporal, but I figured sitting around a fire with the rest of the squad wouldn't upset you too much."

I took the offered beer from him and Levi followed suit, as I shot him a small smile. "Thank you, Jaeger. I guess I won't need to feed you to the titans this time."

I took a seat beside Jaeger on the large log, and Levi crossed around the fire to sit down on a rock beside where Arlert and Miller sat talking earnestly about something on the ground. I avoided looking over at him as I cracked open my beer and took a long, deep swig from the bottle. Why were things suddenly so cold between us now? Things had seemed so well off that morning.

The cadets continued to talk amongst themselves, and I sat, staring into the flickering flames of the fire as I slowly drained the bottle of beer in my hand. Sitting there, I realized how completely exhausted I was, and all I wanted was to crawl into my bed, pull my blanket over my head, and go to sleep.

"Corporal (L/N)!"

I was pulled from my dismal thoughts by Braus calling out my name from where she sat beside Springer across the fire from me. She gave me a grin, her teeth orange in the firelight, and then said, "We all know each other pretty well at this point. We were talking about origins before you and Corporal Ackerman showed up."

Springer put his arm around her as she talked, and I couldn't help but think how natural they looked together. I flicked my gaze over to Levi, who was staring darkly into the fire. Maybe he was having doubts about telling me how he once felt. Maybe we weren't natural together.

I brought my gaze back to Braus, who was still talking, her eyes lit with excitement as she addressed me. "We were thinking, if you and Corporal Ackerman are okay with it, we could hear about your origins. Because you both came from the Underground right? And we don't really know anything about that, only what we've been told."

I glanced at the other cadets around the fire, who were all silent now and looking between Levi and I expectantly, and let out a long sigh. I didn't want to do this, not tonight. But I liked these kids, I did, and I wanted them to trust me. And if that meant telling them my background, then so be it. I'd make it as short as possible and go the hell to bed.

"Okay, Braus." I avoided looking over at Levi as I set down my empty beer bottle and folded my hands in my lap. "I'm not going to speak for Levi, but I'll tell you my origin." I ran a hand tiredly over my eyes as I tried to think of where to begin and how much I wanted to share. Finally, I continued. "I grew up in the Underground. We never had enough to eat, we only had one pair of worn clothes and when you grew out of them you were out of luck, and we fought to survive every single day, even as children."

I bit my lip, telling them this bringing back a flood of dark memories. I glanced over at Braus and Springer, who were watching me with apt expressions of interest. "I grew up with just my dad. He died when I was eighteen, and it's a damn shame to say out loud, but I wasn't sad to see him go."

I forced myself not to look over at Levi as I said this, knowing how he felt about my father. Stop, keep it short, sweet, and then you can leave. "I left the Underground and joined the survey corps shortly after my father's death. And I've been here ever since. Not much else to tell."