#furlan church

[abiatackerman]

Imagining Levi, trying to be sociable with me....

And I'm blushing like crazy, he'll probably see the love icons propping out of my eyes.....

[ae-chidori]

“Trust me.”

[ne597716]

Under the Stars

[loveandpeaceanddoughnuts]

postwar!Levi absolutely chafes under enforced bedrest, unfamiliar and uncomfortable with doing nothing

his useless legs feel like cinderblocks holding the waterlogged sack of his body to a riverbed, drowning slow

his nervous system hasn’t caught up to the uneasy peace, flooding his veins with adrenaline that has nowhere to go, leaving him gasping for air and sick over the side of his bed

he can’t clean the mess, and that might be the worst thing of all, the helpless wait for someone to witness his weakness

postwar!Levi can’t tell his fevered dreams from reality, follows the green smudge of Erwin’s cloak across an endless battlefield, calls to his commander till he’s lost his voice and wakes up tasting copper

the people who come to check on him are not who he wants to see- why hasn’t Hange visited, changing his bandages with their steady hands?

he leads Isabel and Furlan up a set of stairs that never seem to end, crunching over the hollow bones of birds that died searching for the sky

postwar!Levi finds his clarity has returned one featureless morning and he weeps for the first time since the battle of heaven and earth, mourns the loss of the delirium that had left the door open for his loved ones to creep through

he begins to recognize the recurring figures at his bedside, the gentle touch on his forehead that signals your arrival with water or blankets or bread

the light of anything more than a candle burns his blind eye, so he learns your face only by the flicker of firelight, the absence of shadow

postwar!Levi is desperate for something to occupy his fractured mind, painfully empty without the urgency of strategizing survival

you hide your surprise when he asks you to read to him in a voice rasped with disuse, saying he doesn’t care what it is, just something to focus on outside of himself, and you understand

you begin to visit him every evening, reading softly from your favorite books as he lies taut and silent in bed, brow furrowed in concentration, breathing through the pain that wracks his battered body

postwar!Levi finds unlikely comfort in your voice, your consistent presence, the slow walks along the winding paths of the stories you tell him

you take a quiet pride in the way he seems to soften each night, just barely, the deep black shadows under his haunted eyes fading into the color of an old bruise, his furrowed brow smoothing into satin as you read

postwar!Levi is sitting up when you arrive one evening, gives you the barest incline of his head in self-conscious greeting

he frowns and shrugs off your praise for his progress, doesn’t want to hear of how miraculous it is that he can heave his once-superhuman body up against the headboard, doesn’t confess how long it took or how much it hurt

he does, however, ask you for tea, not telling you that it would be the first time he’s accepted a cup he hadn’t prepared himself, swallowing a sick resignation with the request

postwar!Levi makes eye contact with you for the first time when he offers gruff thanks, shivering as your fingertips brush around the warm ceramic

something clenches in your chest and you turn away to hide it, occupying yourself with invisible specks of dust on his bedspread

you’re busy swiping the corner of your apron over the nightstand and miss the way his eyes go wide, then soften as he watches you bustle around him

“it’s alright. you don’t have to-” “-I know.”

the two of you speak at the same time, fall into the same embarrassed silence, watching each other warily in the low candlelight

your shadows overlap where they are thrown onto the wall as if they don’t realize the distance between the bodies that grew them, or refuse to recognize it at all

[l3visthighs]

I love them, your honor

[pukukummitus]

I was supposed to continue this but I got bored.

[aot-brainrot-my-beloved]

Can we just talk about how every single Levi trio is just him, a blonde guy, and a dark-haired girl?

It means that first Erwin and Hange reminded him of Furlan and Isabel

And now Gabi and Falco remind him of his previous friends

Happy fun time guys </3

+ bonus with Mikasa and Armin I guess

[youre-ackermine]

The Underground trio

Original post on X (Twitter) HERE

[afolksongs]

[cosmicjoke]

People are always trying to give the credit for Levi’s heroism and goodness to someone other than Levi him self and it’s so freakin’ annoying.

“Oh, Levi’s mom is the only reason he turned out good, because she loved him.”

As if the handful of years they had together and the single clear, positive memory he had of her would alone be enough to overcome the two plus decades of absolute horror that followed, or even the horror of their lives together, living in absolute, desolate impoverishment, squalor and ruinous desperation.

“Oh, Kenny taught Levi to value life by showing him his life mattered.”

Is this a joke? Kenny was a serial killer and the only thing he ever taught Levi was how to use his strength for selfish gain.

“Oh, Furlan and Isabel taught Levi to care about other people.”

Levi saved Furlan’s and Isabels’s lives before he even knew either of them. Nobody showed him or taught him to do that. He did that on his own.

“Oh, Erwin instilled Levi’s desire to help people into him and taught him morals.”

See my previous point. Levi had a desire to help people long before he ever met Erwin, as exemplified by his rescue of Furlan and Isabel, as well as the other characters he attempts to rescue and safeguard the lives of throughout "No Regrets", like that soldier who nearly killed himself on the titan obstacle course, or Flagon and Sairam out in the field. Even in the OVA, we see Levi protect Isabel from those thugs chasing after her, despite knowing nothing about her. We see him agree to Lovof's proposal only because he wants to protect the life of that disabled member of his and Furlan's crew, after he's taken by Lovof's men to the surface, the obvious implication being, if Levi doesn't cooperate, then they're going to kill the kid. Or later on, when he tries desperately to get both Furlan and Isabel to stay behind on their first scouting expedition, to take all the danger onto himself, only agreeing to let them come when Furlan asks him to trust them. We see that instinct and desire to help and protect people long before Levi ever knew Erwin, or felt any sort of loyalty or admiration for him, he just didn't have the means or the know-how, given what a struggle it was just to survive in the Underground, and given nobody ever taught Levi the ways in which his strength could actually make a significant difference to people. Levi only had a limited idea of how it could, from having taken Furlan and Isabel under his wing and providing them protection.

What Erwin did was focus that already existent desire and instinct onto a broader goal, by convincing Levi it was possible for him to really make a difference to all people by lending his strength to the Survey Corps. Erwin showed Levi how it was possible for him to do what he'd already had a desire to do, if not a belief in his ability to do it, something we see Levi struggle with throughout "No Regrets", not fully believing in his ability to actually help anyone until the end, when Erwin gives him his big speech. And again, it makes sense that Levi would struggle to believe he could actually help anyone or make a difference, given how he grew up and how nobody ever taught him how to use his strength to help. You can have all the desire in the world to do something, but if nobody ever taught you how, then it's going to be a lot more difficult to believe in your ability to do it, or to do it at all. Still, Levi did his best, and did help people as much as he could and knew how. Erwin isn't responsible for Levi having that as his motivation. Erwin only gave Levi the direction needed to believe he could utilize his strength to the benefit of many people, rather than just a few. Basically, Erwin broadened Levi's horizons about what might be possible, and of course, that's why Erwin's influence and impact on Levi is so great. It's fine to acknowledge that, it's fine to acknowledge how important Erwin was to Levi. But to actually try to give Erwin the credit for Levi's compassion and kindness, or his moral values, is absurd and wickedly unfair to Levi himself. Levi already had those qualities in him. Nobody instilled it in him.

I don’t know what this obsession is within a certain segment of this fandom with wanting to rob Levi of the credit he deserves for being the man he is. It's why I always say Levi is a perfect example of nature over nurture, because he literally had no good role models growing up. He had his mom, but again, he barely knew her and barely remembers her. He had literally the opposite of a good role model in Kenny. And yet look how he turned out. It's why I get so pissed when people try to give the credit for that to someone else. Levi deserves the credit for how he turned out. He beat such hard odds, and it's unfair to him to deny him that recognition. It's unfair to deny him recognition for the strength of character it took to overcome the hellish cruelty he was raised in by retaining his great humanity, empathy, compassion and kindness. Very few people could have done the same. Further, I think there's something insidious in it, when people do that, when they try to give the credit for Levi's goodness to someone else. It's basically tantamount to claiming Levi's pain and trauma growing up isn't worth acknowledging. It's like telling an abused kid that they were made better by their abuse, and they should be grateful for it as a result, instead of complaining about it or feeling hurt over it. It’s so lame and unfair, because not only does it perpetuate this harmful idea that none of us are responsible for ourselves, but it also undermines and dismisses the trauma and tragedy of Levi’s childhood by pretending it wasn’t really all that bad or there can be found something positive from the abuse he was subjected to under Kenny's care. It's horribly close to victim blaming, and smacks of abuse apologism

It’s a miracle that Levi turned out the way he did, and the miracle comes from Levi himself, not any of the people listed above.

[violentvaleska]

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒓

ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴs/ ᴀᴜ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ!ʟᴇᴠɪ × ʏᴇᴀɢᴇʀ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ ʟᴇᴠɪ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴡᴀʀ ʜɪs ʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴜɴᴄʟᴇ sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ, ʜᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴡʜʏ ʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇs ᴛᴏ ᴏғғᴇʀ ᴋɪɴɢ ɢʀɪsʜᴀ ᴀ ᴅᴇᴀʟ: ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ʜɪs ᴏɴʟʏ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ, ʏᴏᴜ, ᴀs ʜɪs ᴡɪғᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ʜᴇʀ ᴇᴍᴘʀᴇss.

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: sᴍᴜᴛ, sʟɪɢʜᴛ ʙʀᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ᴋɪɴɢ, ᴛᴏxɪᴄ, ᴏʙsᴇssɪᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴏssᴇssɪᴠᴇ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏʀ, sᴇxɪsᴍ

ᴀ/ɴ: ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ᴀs ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ғᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜɪs...ᴅᴇᴘᴇɴᴅs ᴏɴ ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴜʏs ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ;)

Emperor!Levi who actually never wanted to be the damn king of anything. Being the only heir to the throne after his late uncle passed away he had no choice but to take the rein of the war-ridden empire Paradis

Emperor!Levi who decides after a long conversation with his consultant Erwin Smith, that the war needed to end, there was no point in continuing something his megalomaniacal uncle has started. And if conflicts aren't solved with war they are being solved with women. There opinion in this doesn't matter, an arranged marriage would be a key to peace and a potential marriage.

Emperor!Levi who offered the Marleyan King Grisha Yeager a generous deal: His cousin Princess Mikasa Ackerman of Paradis and Hizuru would be married off to their second son, Prince Eren Yeager of Marley and Levi would take their daughter in return, making her Empress of Paradis. He knew they wouldn't be able to refuse the deal, considering that Grisha Yeager's second wife, Carla, was once a noblewoman of Paradis.

Emperor!Levi who secretly only offered the deal because King Grishas youngest children were in fact half Eldian.

Emperor!Levi who, when he saw you for the first time, couldn't belive his luck. You, the Princess of Marley, were in fact a true beauty. You not only looked clean but smelled like it too, like you were taking good care of yourself. It truly relived him to see that you weren't filthy like your oldest brother Zeke. He originally planned to offer Mikasa to him, but seeing how he already had a wife, Ymir, a woman with eldian heritage and slave history, he had to give her hand to the younger brother.

Emperor!Levi who thought you were rather shy and docile, but came to realize that you infact were able to keep up with his cynic personality and were well read too.

"At least our children won't be as dumb as the heir to your lands throne" He told you the night before your wedding at dinner.

"I can't argue that. Zeke is an eccentric narcissist, I'm honestly glad to have a different mother than him." You awnsered calmly, taking a sip of your wine, while glancing at your soon to be husband.

Emperor!Levi who could not longer control himself on your wedding night and broke your hymen with a harsh trust of his hips, making you yelp in a mixture of pain and pleasure, as you wiggled under his body, naked and vulnerable. Levi took his sweet time with you, making sure to impregnate you well.

Emperor!Levi who despised the idea of children, but somehow find the encouragement to fuck you every night in hopes to see your belly round with his child, his own heir, soon.

Emperor!Levi who got madly protective over you when the doctors confirmed your pregnancy to him. It went so far he didn't even want you to leave his chambers in fear something could happen to you. You felt furious, trapped and robbed of your freedom. Freedom, something your brother Eren had plenty off now that the war was over thanks to you and his wife, Mikasa.

Emperor!Levi who didn't understand why you were so upset with him, demanding of you to be grateful instead of a "nagging woman". If it wasn't for his own mother to stop her sons madness, you'd probably still be locked up in his room.

Emperor!Levi who nearly cried tears of joy when he held his newborn son in his arms for the first time, calling him Furlan after his late friend, a soldier who died a heroic death in the war. It was bitter, yet filled his cold heart with joy.

Emperor!Levi who found a new obsession in having you, his wife and empress, as an object of his desires, in every way possible. He'd make sure you won't be able to go back to that filth of a kingdom you have been born in. You were his wife now, his very own key to his heart...

[yourlocalmeta1head]

Something that’s constantly killing me is the fact that Levi is constantly seeing Isabel, Furlan, and Himself in other friend groups

Eren and Isabel having the same look in their eyes and determination

Furlan and Armin having the same calm like attitude and similar appearance.

Then Levi and Mikasa with the same looks, similar skill sets, just in general being pretty similar

[ae-chidori]

「No Regrets」 Levi

[thena0315]

[abiatackerman]

Through miracle, to you

Event: @levievent Levi Month 24!

💜Day 3: Isekai💜

Canon universe! Thug Levi X Aristocrat Reader! No Regrets Levi!

🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻

The cold breeze of the night brushes against your skin, making you shiver as you wrap the blanket coat around you more tightly. Each step you take is unsteady, your tears falling uncontrollably down your cheeks, blurring your vision.

It has been a day since you last ate, and the hunger gnaws at you, making your head spin. The world around you seems to tilt, and you feel as if you might faint at any moment.

What is the point of grieving for someone who is already gone? The thought haunts you, echoing in the emptiness left by their absence. A sob escapes your lips without knowing.

You had  no one in this world, without her. You grew up in an orphanage and you had no family, no friends, no loved ones...

Until you met her.

Your best friend, your blessing. You both met in the orphanage, grew up there and struggled hard to establish a new life. And after a lot of hard work, both of you had succeeded and you both were happy....

Until she died... Leaving you alone in this cruel world. Now you have no one who you can call close.... You're totally alone in this cruel world.

Your eyes well up with tears, blurring your vision as you walk out of the cemetery. Suddenly, you stumble and lose your balance. Your head hits the ground with a sharp impact, pain shooting through you as you groan and slip into unconsciousness.

...............................

"She's gonna open her eyes!"

You hear an excited female voice and you slowly open your eyes. A red haired-green eyed girl, who is hovering over you, smiles widely.

"Hello pretty sister.... How are you feeling?"

You blink and can't help but smile at her friendly words.

"Fine but... Where am I?"

You answer her with a weak voice. Before she can say anything you hear a hoarsely male voice, forcing you notice their presence.

"Your clothes say clearly you don't belong in this shitty place. Then why were you laying in the backyard of our cottage? That's a filthy place."

You follow the voice and see a man sitting on a chair with a knife in his hand. He's handsome but... He's short?

"Hey Levi! Don't be harsh. Hello, I'm Furlan Church. This is Isabel and Levi. May I know who you are?"

You look at the guy who's sitting beside Levi, as the guy addressed. You smile at him and nod.

"I'm... F/N L/N. And where am I currently?"

You ask as the red haired girl sits on the bed beside you.

"You're in the underground. But don't worry, you're safe. Levi bro's the strongest here and no one dares to mess with him."

She says proudly as you sit up slowly. You absent-mindedly curl your hair around your finger and as you notice your strands, you gasp.

What the fuck? It's not your hair! You had dark brown straight hair but the hair you have now is light brown and wavy. You furrow your eyebrows.

"What happened?"

Isabel asks worriedly and you look at her dumbfoundedly.

"My hair.... It's not mine..."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

You ignoring Levi's insult and keep inspecting your hair. Isabel hands you a small mirror and you take a look at yourself. You blink with disbelief.

Who's the girl? It's not you! You had dark brown eyes, but now it's hazel! You look so far prettier than you used to!

What does it mean? You're not even dreaming....  What the heck?

You look at your hands, your clothes.... They're not the ones you were wearing at the cemetery. It looks more like a gown, which 1800's aristocrat ladies used to wear. You stand up with shock, abruptly.

If it's not your body then...

"Hey stop!"

You don't listen to Furlan's words and open the window. You peek outside and get completely confused when you look up and see no sun or stars up in the sky.

Or should you say... There's no sky at all?

"Where am I? Where's the sky"

You ask mumbling as Isabel pulls you backwards and closes the window.

"Just as I told you, in the underground. It's a city under capital mitras. You must've heard of it, right."

Isabel asks worriedly and you shake your head.

"No."

You say blankly.

"How can she? Look at her dress, she's definitely a rich bastard's spoiled brat. It's just a normal thing for her not to know."

Levi says bitterly and you bite your lower lips. Isabel and Furlan remain silent too.

It's clear on their faces that they hate rich people. Why? You don't know. Also you notice that they are not giving you the same sympathetic gaze anymore.

"Hey I... Um... Can't remember anything."

You mumble and Levi looks at you questioningly.

"The name I told you guys... It was maybe wrong... I can't remember anything."

You say hopelessly and look down at the wooden floor and grip your gown nervously...

You're panicked, scared, confused and...

"Tch, I'll just go to that shitty town to find out your identity then... Your dress tells that you belong to a rich family so I guess it won't be hard."

You look at Levi with tear soaked eyes and nod.

"Tha.. Thank you."

You mumble and wipe your tears as a sob escapes your lips. Isabel's face softens again as she notices your vulnerable state, so she hugs you immediately.

"You don't know Levi bro, he's the best... He'll obviously return you to your family.... Until then we'll take care of you."

Isabel says and your eyes tears up again. She's behaving just like your best friend. Chill, friendly and warm. You hug her tightly, breaking into tears. You hear Levi clicking his tongue.

"What a pain in the ass!"

...................

"You sure you don't want my help? I know your ego is too big and that's ok but think about Furlan and Isabel. I can easily make all the arrangements so you guys can live up here."

You say calmly, leaning on the wall of the garden as Levi sips his tea. He looks at you over his cup and shakes his head.

"Why not? You guys helped me a lot! Let me help you in return!"

You say angrily while Levi places the cup down and looks at you blankly.

"All I did was come up here. I immediately found a poster with your sketch on it which was telling you were missing. And then I just brought you here.... That's it."

You bite your lower lip in frustration.

It's true, it seems that you're a daughter of a retired commander of the military police brigade. Even though your father has retired, he still has enough influence to control some stupid royals. So some people were trying to kidnap you to blackmail your dad.

According to Levi's words, there was probably some misunderstanding between the kidnappers so they ended up fighting with each other. You took the chance and ran away and somehow ended up in Levi's backyard and that's it.

But Levi doesn't know that your soul is from another world, after a lot of thinking you have come up to a conclusion.

The real owner of this body you, both were tired, fainted and hit you heads. So maybe,  your souls accidentally switched with each other? Who knows? But this is the only conclusion you could come up with.

"Have your memories returned?"

Levi's voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you smile.

"Yeah... You can say my family really cares about me. I told them about you three, and dad is willing to help you. He also wants bear Isabel's study expenses and everything you guys would need."

Which is true. You have a family now, parents, a big brother and a little sister. They all love you so much, no, love the girl in who's body you are now. She seems to have a lot of friends too. They're all being too sweet to you and all of these are new to you.

But the feelings are sensual, in a good way so you're not complaining.....

"Then make sure to tell your father that when we'll come up here, he can repay us by providing Isabel's study expenses"

Levi's voice pulls you out of your thoughts again and you smile. You walk towards him and sit beside him with a big smile on your face.

"I'm glad you agreed."

You grip one of his hand and squeeze him to provide comfort. You can feel him tensing under your touch and you smile friendly.

"You know, you guys could have just taken my dad's help instead of doing whatever the hell you're planning. Knowing you, it'll be something risky."

Levi keeps looking at your hand which is still gripping his and sighs.

"We've done a lot of works like this also the survey corps will follow us no matter where we go. It'll be just a mess if we involve you here. Furlan and I have figured everything out so there's nothing to worry about."

Levi says and stands up, pulling away from your touch making you sigh.

"I'll leave now."

He says and you stand up too.

"Ok, I'll walk you to the main gate."

You and Levi keep walking silently for some times then you speak up.

"I can't wait, you know? I'll make sure that three of you will be able to stay here, in this mansion, with me. I miss Isabel so much. She's gonna be my best friend. And you? Probably my bodyguard."

You says and laugh as Levi makes an annoyed expression.

"Keep dreaming, brat."

He says as you two reach the main gate of the mansion. You suddenly hug him, making him freeze.

"Make sure you all stay safe, ok?"

You squeeze him.

"I'll wait for you all!"

You release the hug and find out that his cheeks are slightly pink. You blush too.

"Yeah whatever."

Levi's says and walks out of the mansion like nothing happened. You smile looking at Levi with dreamy eyes.

You never thought something this amazing would happen to you. Yes, you've come into another world but you've gotten a lot of things you never had. Love, friends, family... And Levi....

You chuckle.

It seems like getting isekaied isn't as bad as you thought.

[r0wdy-rat]

Face Down

pt i pt ii pt iii pt iv pt v

Masterlist

AN: hey team wouldn’t it be funny if i dropped off the face of the earth for 4 years and then returned and wrote another chapter randomly on a sunday afternoon? i think it would be funny

Summary: You enter a period of growth and knowledge. Unfortunately for Levi, you do not enter a period of temperance.

You found Levi’s apathy towards you had its limits. One such limit was Furlan.

You didn’t know if it was because he brought you on the raid or if it was something else, but, as always, Levi reached the end of his patience abruptly and without warning.

Furlan was standing in front of you, hips between your spread knees. Now that you had punched him in the head and learned of Levi’s overall involvement in the plan, your temper had cooled enough to allow him to be near you without wanting to plunge a knife into his ribs. His hand grasped your chin, bony fingers tilting your face up so he could get a better look at the gash running across your brow. Furlan hummed, the sound high in his throat as he dabbed a damp rag at the dried blood around your cheek. He scrunched his nose, lips parting in concentration as he leaned closer to you to get a better look at your wound. You just blinked at him, studying his swollen and swelling eyes, until the rag pressed against something tender, and you hissed out a breath through your teeth at the sudden sting.

Furlan startled, but before he could say anything he was gone.

Now, Levi was there between your thighs, invading your space as you sat on the counter. Your cheeks pinked at the proximity, at the intensity of his gaze leveled right at you. No, not at you. At the cut. He still wasn’t looking you in your eyes. You twitched, trying to turn away in frustration when his fingers curled into the hair at the nape of your neck, holding it tightly. He used his grip to steer your face back where he had wanted it, his features now shuttered with annoyance.

“It won’t need stitches.” Furlan huffed from where he was shoved across the room. “The risk of infection is honestly higher than anything right now. She needs a bath. Or two, with all the grime on her.”

Grime, you mused

What an odd thing to call Jakobs brain matter.

You were on your third bath. 

 Surely, you think, the water will stop turning red at some point. Surely, it will slow, you pray, as you step into the cold bath, and watch the pink spread. 

You were covered. In Jakobs, in the woman who killed him, in your own blood. Three full tubs of water, and it was still caked beneath your nails and in your hair and you could still taste the iron in your mouth. You scrubbed, and scrubbed, and turned as pink as the water around you from your roughness before Ma came in. 

Sweetly, she pulled your hands away from yourself. She bathed you like you used to bathe Miss Kuchel when she was too sick to move. When she was done, she dressed the fresh wounds you had carved into yourself with your nails in your haste to get the blood off. 

“Oh, child,” she tutted, tears in her eyes, as she tugged a dress over your head, “there was nothing you coulda done for Jakobs, But I’ll see to it that something is done for his family. They’ll be taken care of.” 

Despite her kind words, you still felt the weight of your mistakes pressing into you. You stared off into space. After the thrill of finding 3DMG wore off, you were only left with the aches. Your hand from punching Furlan, your heart from losing Jakobs, your soul from Levi’s estrangement. 

He still couldn’t look at you.

If you weren’t so numb, you might be mad. 

But you were numb, and what lay beneath that buzz was a wave of emotions you felt would overtake you if you let them, so you chose to reside in the static instead. 

Ma, as it turns out, left as soon as she was done caring for you. She took the horse and carriage to deliver her and Jakobs portion of the goods to a salesmen, and then gave his earnings to his family.

It took the government a day to find her. 

News of Ma’s arrest reached your ears in even less time. 

You sank deeper into the numbness. 

Kur tried to comfort you, told you that Jakob’s family got their share before they caught her, and that at least one end was tied up. But the one finished story with Jakobs just made the unfinished ones glaringly obvious. Ma, nurturing, kind, crackshot Ma, was gone, aboveground and lost to you. Ponye was trying to keep spirits light, but even his devil-may-care attitude was brittle. Furlan did his level best to not piss you off anymore, since you’d given him a second shiner. Levi...

Levi was still refusing to look at you. 

You knew he was still around. You could feel his eyes on you, but by the time you’d find his hiding spot he was usually already moving on. Everything felt wrong, disjointed. You felt like you were missing a limb. You had never fought like this. Even over the earthworm. Even over your disappearance before Miss died. Even during your most heated arguments about the benefits and risks of you signing up with her old pimp, he had never seen fit to ignore you.

Nothing felt right. You wanted to go back to the way things were before.

Furlan called a meeting. 

The five of you sat in a huddle in your little warehouse, and you tried not to notice how Levi sat beside Kur, not beside you. Ponye grinned at you and scruffled your hair when he noticed your sad face, and you tried to let it lift your spirits, but you still felt...

Numb. 

“We can’t sell the 3DMG. The government is tracking it. We’re enemies of the state, after what we did.”

Kur protested, his soft voice ringing out in the stale air. “But you told us they were already stolen.” 

Levi scoffed. “No, they won’t want anyone thinking that a person inside their military would steal from the king. They want to pin all of this on us.” 

That’s all well and good, Levi, you thought, but why won’t you look at me.

As if sensing your thoughts, Levi looked at Ponye, next to you. You had never felt such homicidal rage in your life. 

The only thing beneath the numbness is anger. You try to shove it down. It keeps rising back up your throat, though, like bile. Your chest aches, and you fear what you’ve been keeping beneath your anger and your apathy. You know it will sweep you away and crash you against the rocks. It will rip you apart with its tide, and you won’t have a safety raft to cling to. 

“So, you led us into a trap?” Ponye asked, surly and mistrusting, “Is that why you won’t look at her? You feel guilty you didn’t keep her far enough away? How much are they paying you?”

Levi bared his teeth at the blonde, “I look at her enough,” he growled, and as if to prove a point, stared dead at you. 

You felt pinned by his gaze. The yearning you had felt for so long had suddenly vanished as if it had never existed, warmth filling the hole in your chest. Your heart shuddered inside your ribs. Had you always felt like this, when he looked at you? Or had the loss of his gaze driven you to new heights?

But... it was different. His eyes were shuttered, now, when he looked at you. He looked like he was a magnet, being repelled by his twin. 

The warmth in your chest soured. You felt like you’d be sick.

What had you done?

In the end, the solution to your problem was quite clear. You couldn’t sell the 3DMG. So, the only remaining option was to learn to use it. Surely, being able to soar in the air like a bird would make your heists all the easier, and Ponye was more than enthusiastic to be the first one to try it out.

The boy was whooping and laughing, even as he sent himself crashing into every surface possible, even as he bruised himself and dislocated his arm from not being able to keep his balance in the damn thing. You would have laughed, if you weren’t busy chasing after the bastard to make sure his head was still attached.

Meanwhile, you watched as Levi soared overhead like he’d been doing this his whole life. Prick, you thought gleefully, showing everyone else up, as always. Your heart was fluttering in your chest, and your stomach was flipping in your guts. Even when he was acting like a stranger, you still couldn’t help but root for him with everything in you. You didn’t want to help it. Levi, for all of his fussing, was yours. Yours to chase after, yours to keep safe, yours to be with. He would never be alone, regardless of how prickly he decided to act towards you. Even if you hadn’t promised Miss to keep him with you, you feared this inclination would be just as strong.

A hand pulled you from your reverie. Gripping a harness, Furlan grinned roguishly at you, “Let Kur start chasing this moron around the alley and go join Levi up there. We haven’t even seen you try it yet.”

You pressed your lips together, contemplating, and then grabbed the harness. “Alright. Don’t worry, I’m more than happy to show you all how it’s done!”

Furlan laughed, ruffling your hair and shoving you towards the fuel cannisters that lay nearby. “Yeah, yeah, just try not to die from a broken neck. Levi would have my head. Bastard barely even let me give you one a’those.”

You frowned at that, eyes going to trace him as he soared above you. He was so far out of reach with you down here. And by the walls did you want to yell at him right now. “Well, don’t you worry about that Furlan. I’ve got this all under control.”

As soon as you managed to get into the air properly, you nearly let go of all your anger.

Despite the rough tugging on your hips when you latched onto the Underground’s structures, despite the way your shoulders cried out at every shift and turn, despite the way your hands cramped from clinging to your triggers…

Walls, this was the most amazing thing.

You felt so free. Freer than a bird. Freer than you had ever, ever been trapped down here. It was like all your fears were left on the ground. No sneering pimps weighing your worth like a butcher with a piece of meat, no MP’s to leer at you from dark alleyways, no thugs to compete with for jobs. Fuck, with this gear, your group would be the only thieves that mattered down here. You felt the laughter rising in your throat as you raced after Levi, faster and faster. Free. Like a damn bird. You whooped, unable to hold the joy in any longer, and Levi turned to you. His hair was whipping in his face as he took in your chipper cries as you pelted after him, arms extended towards the undergrounds ceiling. You were gorgeous, looking happier and lighter than he’d ever seen you. Even when you were a child and he and his mom had taken you in, fresh-faced and naive, you hadn’t looked this happy. You’d taken to the gear nearly as quickly as he had, and seemed to feel invincible in it, if your raucous cheering was anything to go by.

Finally, he let himself land on a building top, and you came right after him with a screech. While you had figured out flying easily enough, landing was an entirely different story.

You plowed into him, knocking the both of you off of your feet and making you skitter across the rooftop. You wheezed when something heavy landed on you, crushing the wind out of you. You felt him shudder, hot breaths puffing on the sensitive skin of your neck as he tried to catch his breath before he propped himself up on an arm.

And then there he was. Levi. Above you. Eyes still dark, pretty lips parted, hair ruffled and messy as he stared breathlessly down at you. No, not at you. At the cut, healing to an angry shade of pink and bisecting your eyebrow.

You bucked your hips with a growl, and he was tossed from you. He was just so surprised by your sudden attack that he let you straddle him after too. You seated yourself firmly on top of him, thighs clenching around his hips and calves wedging under his knees. He bared his teeth at you, hissing and writhing, and you crammed a hand beneath his head, fingers gripping the hair there and forcing his face where you wanted it. Still, his eyes wouldn’t meet yours, even as his teeth grit from your grip. You shook with rage, all that fury from before rushing back. You wouldn’t let him leave you behind.

“Fucker,” you snarled, “Fucking look at me, Levi.”

He pursed his lips, before his eyes darted to yours and then away. You twisted your fingers until he hissed and writhed, bucking his hips under yours. “I said look at me.” You ordered, getting impossibly closer to him until you could feel the panicked puffs of breath leaving his mouth ghost across your face.

That was when, again, and with no help from Furlan, Levi reached the jagged end of his apathy.

Pt vi