Chapter Text
Petra really didn’t wish for much. A roof over her head, food at least once a day, the company of her friends, and to one day live on the surface. She realized the last one may never realistically happen for her, being born and raised in the Underground City, but it was a wish for her future and one that she held on to tightly.
She was relatively happy here, though. She had Levi, Farlan, and Isabel, and the four of them made a kickass team. They took their jobs and executed them expertly every time, and made a pretty penny doing so, for the underground, anyway. They lived comfortably, they were feared and respected, but Petra still longed to see the sunlight clearly and not filtered through a hole in the ceiling of the cavern they all went to sometimes. She wanted to feel the warmth on her skin, to know that she didn’t have to go back to the underground afterward. She wanted to be more than just the trash from the underground city that everyone on the surface told her she was.
Today, they’d finished up their job relatively quickly. Petra and Levi had gone to collect their bounty while Farlan and Isabel hurried back to their shared house to try to get something started for dinner. This particular job had been unique because the paying party had lived on the surface, and therefore that was where they had to go to collect their payment. Any time a job took them above ground, even if just for the payment after the job was done, Levi always made sure to take Petra with him. He knew how much she loved it there, and with the ever-evolving status of their relationship from acquaintances, to friends, to lovers, she found him going out of his way to try and please her when others weren’t around.
They trudged up the stairs, climbing the several stories to the door that would allow them into the surface world, and they both squinted against the sunlight as they arrived, too harsh at first for their eyes to take in all at once.
As soon as she adjusted, though, she looked around to take in the view of Mitras, the wealthiest and most protected city inside the walls. Petra knew this because Levi had told her that’s what Mitras was, and although it was beautiful, they both looked at it with disdain. After all, these people had been the ones that decided that the people of the Underground City must stay in the Underground City. If it weren’t for these rich assholes, they all could have lived above ground.
“We didn’t let you two up here to sightsee, missy. Get your business done and get back to the trash heap where you both belong. Can’t have you two traipsing around leaving your filthy footprints on the streets of our fine city. We have a reputation to uphold here,” A particularly rude Military Police member practically spat the words at her as she took in the sparkling streets of the city.
“Talk to her like that again and you’ll be cleaning your teeth off of the streets and not just our filthy footprints ,” Levi growled and the MP looked terrified for a moment before he schooled his expression. Petra chuckled to herself knowing that Levi had every intention of upholding that threat, if necessary.
They followed the two MPs to the manor that the noble who had hired them lived in and were escorted, or rather watched very carefully the entire time. Petra wasn’t stupid, she knew that everyone from the underground had the reputation of being thieves and thugs, and she would be lying to herself if she said she was anything but both of those things. That’s how she and Levi and their friends had made their living, that’s how they’d stayed on top, and she knew that she owed everything she had to this life, Levi included.
She didn’t miss the looks that the citizens of Mitras gave them as they passed, either. Chins raised, eyes looking down the bridges of their noses at her and Levi as they walked through the streets with the MPs. They all thought they were better, more worthy, superior in every way, and Petra hated every single one of them for thinking that way. She knew that herself and her friends were worth more than every fucking aristocrat in Mitras, but as long as she lived underground, as long as her skin stayed ghastly pale and her eyes had trouble adjusting to the evening sunlight, everyone would always look down on her. She was the lesser being, that was just a fact to these people.
“You okay, Pet?” Levi asked quietly as they walked. He let his eyes slide over to her for only a moment, trying to gauge how she was feeling with just a look.
“Just don’t like the way the people look at us here,” she answered and one of the MPs tried to stifle a laugh, clearly having overheard her insecurities.
“The assholes up here have a superiority complex. Don’t take it personally, they just don’t like thinking anyone can be better than them.”
“It would help if they didn’t look down their noses at us like we’re scum.”
“The real scum is these fucks up here that keep people locked underground and don’t care how many of us die because of it. Says more about them that they look at you this way just because they’re allowed to live up here and we have to stay locked away.”
“Better that you’re locked up down there so you can’t spread your filthy diseases to the rest of us,” The second MP chimed in from behind Petra and Levi. “I’ve seen what happens to you lot. You shrivel up and die, your extremities don’t work how they should. Surprised most of you make it as long as you do.”
“That happens to us because you keep us locked away from the sun. I’m sure your piece of shit commanding officers tell you that we just die of disease and that we’re locked away for your own good, but you’d choke on your words if you knew the reality,” Levi answered, his words laced with hate and anger toward the people on the surface.
All of the people underground had a healthy dislike for the surface dwellers because of the conditions they were made to live in. It was too expensive to buy passage to live out the rest of your life in the sun, and most people underground couldn’t make enough money to hope to buy their way out in their entire shortened lifetime. It was a vicious cycle where people were born and lived a short life and died all hating the ones on the surface that kept them there without any way of getting out. Life was cruel, but they tried to make the most of it. The most they could living in a sewer, anyway.
“If I had it my way none of you would ever be allowed to come out of there. Probably catching something awful from you for just being near you.”
Levi balled his fists at his sides, and Petra knew he was about to swing, but she grabbed his wrist to try and calm him.
“Let’s just collect our payment and go home. It doesn’t matter what they say, we know the truth,” she said, and it seemed to calm him a little. He likely knew that, if they caused a scene here they wouldn’t get their payment at all, and Levi wasn’t willing to punish his whole team just because he wanted to punch a guy out for being an asshole.
They walked the rest of the way to the manor in silence, the only sounds were their shoes scuffing the pavement and the hushed whispers of the people in Mitras as they walked by. Petra tuned them out, it didn’t matter what they said, all that mattered was getting their money and getting back home without causing a scene and getting arrested. She knew the more time these MPs spent talking down to them, the greater the possibility would be of one or both of them losing their tempers and lashing out, and that wasn’t something that she particularly wanted to deal with now. In the underground, no one challenged them, if they did they were free to lash out and punish those people as they saw fit with no repercussions. Here it was all different. Here they were criminals before they even did anything to earn the title. They were always walking on eggshells.
When they walked into the manor they were immediately met with more guards, although these seemed to be private security hired by the rich jerk that hired them for the job. They were led up quite a few staircases and then to a room where they were promptly locked in with guards stationed at the door to wait for their employer.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Petra said quietly as she glanced around the room. They’d heard the key turn in the door when their escorts left them, and the vibe that she was getting from all of the guards and staff unsettled her.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Levi answered, making his way toward the window in the room. “Guards on the ground, but we’re on the fourth floor so getting out this way will be a bitch without ODM.”
“We could do it, if we have to,” Petra answered confidently, a smirk on her lips as he turned to look at her.
“I like your confidence, but I’d rather not walk a tightrope along that ledge while getting shot at without a little reassurance that I won’t plummet to my death,” Levi answered, although she was sure she saw a smirk on his lips, too.
“Why do you think they feel the need to lock us in here?” she asked, slowly making her way around the room to take in the extravagance that she rarely ever saw. She found a letter opener on the desk and swiftly tucked it up her sleeve for a little added security. She could kill someone with a letter opener if she needed to.
“They hired us as thugs to muscle their competitors and threaten them into leaving their territory. They hired us because they know our reputation. Why do you think they feel like they need to lock us up?”
“True,” she answered and Levi chuckled.
“You may not look that intimidating in person, Pet, but they know what you’re capable of. They know I wouldn’t keep you around if you couldn’t handle yourself.”
“Mm, and here I thought you kept me around just for my good looks,” she joked. “What’s taking this guy so long? How long does he need to get our money together and bring it to us? I’m starving.”
“I’m sure they’ll keep us waiting as long as they want. The world revolves around them, you know,” Levi said with an eye roll before he glanced out the window again. “Shit.”
“What?” Petra asked, making her way over to the window in time to see a few squads of MPs filing in through the front door of the manor, all armed with rifles. She mimicked his sentiment. “Shit.”
“Looks like we’re walking the fucking tightrope, then,” Levi said, unlocking the window as they began to hear boots rushing up the steps. Only a few MPs had stayed outside on the ground, but it was enough to be worrisome.
“No paycheck, I guess. That job was hard, too,” Petra said as Levi swung the window open and rushed her out first. He didn’t reply but followed just behind her, and then they were on their way, shimmying quietly on the ledge outside the window.
The MPs on the ground didn’t notice them, not at first, anyway. They managed to make it almost around the corner of the building before the first shot was fired. They both flinched, and Petra picked up her pace as best she could in order to get to a drain pipe that they could use to climb down the rest of the way. It was still treacherous, but she knew they would both be able to do it with ease. She wasn’t so much worried about falling as much as she was worried about Levi being the bullet sponge, being closer to the guns.
“When we get down the pipe, hang a left behind that other building. We’ll use it for cover until we can figure something out,” Levi said as they hurried toward their destination. Bullets ricocheted off of the building, the MPs were shit shots, luckily. Still, with every bullet that was fired, she felt more urgency, because every time they fired the MPs inside were alerted to the problem. When they got on the ground they would have nearly three whole squads to fight against, and all they had was a god damned letter opener.
“We’re really fucked, aren’t we?” Petra asked as they arrived at the pipe.
“Get your ass to the ground and then we’ll talk about how fucked we are!” Levi almost shouted, the urgency in his voice pushed her forward.
They both managed to make it down just before an MP opened fire again, and if Levi wouldn’t have ducked, Petra had the feeling his brain would have been splattered all over Lord What’s-His-Nuts’ beautiful stone manor.
“Get behind the building!” Levi growled and pushed her toward their destination. They both sprinted to cover and stopped to catch their breath.
“An ambush,” she said, huffing as she wondered what the MPs would do next.
“No shit.”
“Was this whole job just a way to get us here alone so that they could arrest us?” Petra asked.
“Kinda seems that way. Though it looks like they’d rather kill us than arrest us. Guess I got too predictable, bringing you along all the time when the job brought us to the surface. They saw their opportunity to get us both at the same time, and they tried to take it,” Levi explained, likely kicking himself for his prior actions that had put them in this situation.
“We need to find a way to get back home,” she said, ignoring the tone of self-deprecation in Levi’s voice. He would blame himself for putting her in this danger, just like he always did.
“Fuckin’ assholes. That money would have fed us for three weeks,” Levi growled, peeking his head around the corner of the building only for another bullet to bounce off of the stone. He glanced around at their options. “Gotta sprint for the wall. If we can get out through that gate and disappear into the city we can lose them long enough to get back home. Think you can make it?”
“Can you?” Petra asked with a smirk. As shitty as their situation was right now, she couldn’t help but poke a little fun at him. Danger was fun, it was thrilling, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t like a good chase every now and then. “I’ll race you.”
“Pet…” Levi shook his head, but he couldn’t help but grin at her tenacity. “I love you, don’t get yourself shot.”
“Likewise,” she answered, pulling him in for a quick kiss before breaking away to ready herself. “Ready, set, go!”
They broke from their cover faster than the MPs could react to them, and they surely weren’t prepared for the pair of them to dash straight toward them.
Levi and Petra were a phenomenal team, and they could play off of each other’s movements without even speaking a word to one another. They displayed that skill perfectly as they ducked and weaved their way toward the MPs, their paths crossing once and allowing Levi to grab hold of Petra and swing her toward one of the MPs with an ungodly force. She kicked him square in the temple and he was down for the count before she popped the letter opener out of her sleeve and used it to take out another that had his gun pointed squarely at Levi’s chest.
Petra swiftly bent down and retrieved the rifle just as the door to the manor burst open and they were faced with the two squads that had entered the building.
“The gate, get there! Right fucking now!” Levi shouted and they both ran as hard as they could to the entryway, bullets whizzing by them as they made it to cover. Petra made it first, and turned to face their attackers and shot back at them just as Levi dove to one side of the gate.
“Are you alright? Did they hit you?” She asked, her eyes trained on the enemy, gun pointed toward them as she spoke.
“I’m fine, you?” he asked.
“Fine, let’s get out of here before they call in reinforcements. I’m sure the whole city has heard the noise,” Petra said before she ducked back behind her cover, slinging the rifle over her shoulder by the strap so that she could move more easily.
“We can’t go back to the same entrance, I’m sure people will be waiting,” Levi answered, clearly thinking about where else they could go. “The other one is all the way across the damn city.”
“Then we’ll have to fight our way through.”
“We can’t fight every MP in the fucking city, Petra!” Levi snapped
“Well we can’t stay here, can we?” she asked.
“Where’s our fucking ODM when we need it?” he asked with a huff.
“We could probably get our hands on some if we wanted…” Petra suggested.
“Yeah, sure, we’ve killed two MPs, why not add theft to our list of charges?”
“Levi, we’re already in trouble. If we get ODM we can get home and stay hidden. They won’t find us if we get there. They wouldn’t dare come look for us once we’re back there.
“Getting ODM means finding where they hide it. I don’t think we have that much time. We need to get back home as quickly as possible.”
“Fine,” Petra said with a sigh. “It feels wrong fighting without it. I feel so...incapable.”
“You still seem pretty capable to me,” Levi answered with a bit of a chuckle. “You killed two of them on your own.”
“Aw, you flatter me,” Petra said with a jovial tone before they heard boots beginning to scuff the pavement, making their way toward the wall.
“Break from the wall and go into that alleyway. We’ll lose them in between all the buildings,” Levi said and Petra only nodded.
Just like before, they made a run for their target destination as quickly as they could. Levi was behind her, as always, making an effort to shield her from incoming fire. Just as they reached the cover of the next building, Petra heard a gunshot, and Levi hissed through his teeth as they continued to run.
“What? What happened?” she asked, looking back at him to see blood seeping through the sleeve of his shirt. “Levi!”
“Keep going! It just grazed me, I’m fine. Neither of us will be if we stop now. Move!” He shouted, and that was all the direction Petra needed. They continued running, weaving their way through the tightly constructed alleyways in between the buildings of Mitras. There were several paths, and so traveling this way made it so that there was no guarantee the MPs could follow them. Of course, there was no guarantee that they would lose them, either.
Luckily, by the time they cleared the buildings, there weren’t any MPs in sight, but they still needed to find a way to get back into the Underground City without being detected. When they reached the area where the door to their home was located they noticed a few MPs standing around. Petra could count four just peeking out of the alley, and she let out a huff at the thought of more fighting.
Really, the sigh was at the thought of going back underground when they’d been on the surface breathing fresh air for this long already. They could easily slip away, she thought, get out of Mitras and go to one of the smaller cities in the outer wall and live the rest of their lives on the surface. The thought of it was wonderful, but she couldn’t leave Farlan and Isabel in the Underground City alone, and Levi would never agree to do that, anyway. If they were going, they were all going, and that was that. No, they had to go back. There wasn’t any other choice. But the air and sunlight were intoxicating. Petra never wanted to leave.
“Pet,” Levi’s voice broke through her thoughts and she looked at him to see that he seemed concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. How are we getting back home?” She asked, her voice dull and unenthusiastic.
“We’ll have to fight the last few MPs here to get through the door. Bet they don’t see people fighting to get underground much,” Levi said, he rolled his eyes at the thought of it. Petra knew he didn’t want to go back either, but they both had an obligation to their friends, the people they cared the most about. They wouldn’t abandon them, couldn’t.
“I can probably take two of them out with the rifle if you can handle the other two,” Petra answered, her eyes fixed on the two MPs that were furthest away from them.
“Still got that letter opener?” Levi asked and she handed it over. Normally, he wouldn’t have left home without his knife, and Petra was much the same way, but they’d been instructed not to bring weapons for this meeting. Of course, they had been, but what the surface dwellers didn’t understand was that Levi and Petra were both very resourceful. They didn’t need weapons to take out the useless MPs that patrolled these streets.
“Ready?” Petra asked, removing the rifle from her shoulder and making sure of how many shots she had left. Only three. She could only afford to miss one shot, but she was fairly certain she wouldn’t.
“Take your first shot whenever you’re ready,” Levi answered, his eyes set on his targets. “I’ll move once they’re panicking about that.”
Petra aimed her rifle, zeroing in on the soldier that was furthest away from them. Really, she didn’t like killing people, but it was a necessary evil in the Underground City if she wanted to be able to survive. She’d learned that lesson early on, and now she was all but desensitized to taking another person’s life when hers was on the line. Still, if she could manage to just take these soldiers out of the fight instead of killing them, she would settle for that instead. So, she aimed for kneecaps and shoulders, injuries that would make it impossible for the soldiers to chase after them or raise a weapon to them. She wasn’t sure that Levi lived by the same philosophy.
“Any day now, Pet,” Levi urged, and she took a deep breath and then fired her first shot. The bullet hit true on her first target, the right shoulder, and the man wailed in pain before he dropped to the ground. The others were baffled now, and Levi dashed out of his hiding spot to take out his first target. She didn’t pay attention to how he was dispatching them, she only focused on taking out the next one and fired her second bullet into the MP’s thigh. A little higher than she’d been aiming originally, and potentially fatal, but she did what she had to do. When Levi took out his last target they wrenched the door to the underground open and ran down the stairs so quickly that she almost fell.
Once they’d made it far enough into the city, they paused for a moment. They were home, and safe enough to catch their breath, but who would want to breathe in this stagnant air?
Coming back after spending that much time above ground was always the worst. Petra could notice the way the air felt in her lungs, stagnant and rancid and stinking. Instead of her eyes adjusting to the light, they now had to adjust to just how dark it was in their home, something you would never notice if you lived your whole life in darkness, but something that was wildly apparent after seeing the sunlight. She hated it here. She hated that she was trapped down here like a rat. She just wanted to be free.
“Petra,” Levi’s voice broke through her thoughts yet again and she glanced at him, watching him carefully. “You’re crying.”
“I’m fine,” she answered, wiping away the tears that she hadn’t even noticed she’d been shedding. “Let’s just get back to the house so that Farlan can patch up your arm and we can get something to eat. It’s been a long day.”
“I’m getting kinda sick of you deflecting when something is clearly wrong,” Levi said, his voice irritated.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she answered as she began to walk, but he gripped her wrist hard and pulled her toward him again. Her emotions were wild right now, she didn’t want to talk about what she was feeling or why and she certainly didn’t want to do it in public where everyone in the city could see her and brand her a blubbering, emotional woman.
“What the fuck is wrong with you today? I’ve caught you spacing out more than once, and you just wanna ignore it? It isn’t like you.”
“Well, it isn’t really like you to want to talk about feelings,” she answered, trying to yank her wrist away from him and failing miserably. “Let me go.”
“You’re acting stupid.”
“You’re acting controlling,” she accused.
“I’m just trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong !” He shouted, but upon realizing people on the streets were looking at them he lowered his voice. “Why won’t you talk to me?”
“I said I don’t wanna talk. Let’s just go home. I’m fine, I told you.”
“I really don’t think you’re fine .”
Petra sighed, she knew he was just concerned, but she was too angry right now, feeling too robbed to talk about her feelings, for more reasons than just one.
“Let’s just go home and get you taken care of, eat some dinner, and maybe I’ll want to talk after I calm down a little,” she answered, trying to compromise somehow so that Levi would just drop it. He hadn’t been like this at the beginning of their relationship, always willing to talk to her about what was on her mind. He’d been closed off emotionally and bristled at the thought of feelings, but perhaps being with her had changed him a little, in that way. Now he always tried to make sure she was alright, that she had everything she needed. She appreciated him for that, but it also drove her fucking crazy sometimes.
“Fine, let’s go then,” he answered, letting go of her wrist and walking by her side to get back to their home where Isabel and Farlan would be waiting.
Their house was situated pretty much dead in the middle of the city in order for them to better keep an eye on what went on there. The people here regarded them almost as royalty, but Petra knew that was likely because they were scared. Levi had created the most feared gang in the underground, and it only consisted of four people. That alone was a feat that not many people could accomplish.
Of course, it helped that he was the equivalent of a four-man army himself. With a leader that strong, no one really fucked with them, and some of the other gangs had taken to calling him “The King of the swamp”. Of course, that meant that when people found out Levi and Petra were a couple, her title of “Queen” quickly followed. Farlan often joked that if they were the royalty, he must just be the court jester, but Petra knew he was much more than that.
Farlan was wickedly smart and keen and was able to devise plans and operations that no one else in the city could hold a candle to. It didn’t hurt that the man had learned quite a few medical techniques from an old surface doctor that had fled here when he was accused of a botched surgery on a noble. He was an integral part of their team and Levi’s best and oldest friend.
Then, there was Isabel, a teenager that had almost been killed over trying to release a bird on the surface. Levi and Farlan had saved her before Petra had come along, but she’d heard the story a million times from the girl herself. Petra adored Isabel and often looked at her as a little sister, and she and the two men were fiercely protective of the teen. Together they made quite the team and ran the city cleanly with an iron first. No one dared to challenge them, unless they were surface dwellers, apparently.
Petra still wasn’t sure what the motivation of the noble they’d gone to today was, but she was sure they would figure it out in time. Farlan would be able to figure it out, and if he couldn’t it would become apparent in time, and then they would get their revenge and show the people of the surface why they shouldn’t fuck with their group.
As they climbed the steps to the door of their house, she mentally prepared herself for the news they would have to deliver to Isabel and Farlan. They would expect the hefty payday that Levi and Petra had gone to the surface to collect, and they would no doubt be disappointed in the actual results. At least they’d gained a gun from it, something that was hard to come by in the underground, although ammo was even more scarce, and only one shot had been spared. Petra sighed as she opened the door and they both walked inside.
“You’re back!” Isabel shouted, happy as ever to see them. Petra still managed a smile for the girl, but she was feeling anything but happy.
“Can’t help but notice you don’t have a suitcase overflowing with cash in tow,” Farlan chimed in, as quick as ever to get down to business.
“It was a trap. They tried to capture us,” Levi explained, blunt, as always.
“Capture you? Why? We did the job like they said!” Isabel said, her voice a bit louder than was necessary. Then, she noticed the blood on Levi’s shirt. “Aniki, you’re hurt!”
“I just got grazed, it’s fine,” Levi answered, but Farlan was already digging through the cabinets to find his medical supplies.
“So that means someone on the surface is after us, and it probably isn’t whatever noble we were told was hiring us,” Farlan explained as he took his medical supplies to the table and pulled out a seat for Levi.
“Can’t say I’m surprised. We’ve been running shit around here for too long uninterrupted. Some noble has to be mad that we’re taking business, making this shit heap a better place,” Levi said as he rolled up his sleeve to allow Farlan to have a look at the injury. It really had just been a graze wound, but it was still bleeding heavily, and it was fairly deep. Petra didn’t need much medical knowledge to know it would require stitches.
“So, what, they want us gone so that the city will devolve back into chaos?” Petra asked, leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Chaos here means that the nobles can do whatever they want again. I’m sure you’ve noticed that not too many surface dwellers are coming down here for the brothels anymore,” Farlan said and Petra thought for a moment. He was right.
“Because the last time I saw that happening I made sure it wouldn’t happen again,” Levi answered, but Petra knew he was censoring himself for the younger company in the room. In truth, Levi had found a noble man trying to take one of the girls from a local brothel back to the surface. His time with her in the brothel had already netted her a black eye and bloody nose, and Levi wasn’t about to let the horrid man take that girl to the surface for more torture and likely death. He beat the man to a pulp and told him to let all of his friends know that if he caught them here again they wouldn’t be going back to the surface. Some still came, but none of them treated the girls like that man had.
“Those awful men just want to come back down here because they know they can’t get away with that kind of thing in the brothels on the surface,” Petra added and Farlan nodded, beginning to sew up Levi’s wound. Levi didn’t even flinch as the needle went into his skin.
“They don’t care about any of us, I’m sure you already know that. They just wanna have their fun with the girls here, regardless of what that means for the girls, and take advantage of everyone else while they’re at it. With us around...well, they can’t really do that. Not unless they wanna deal with Levi.”
“And the rest of us, too!” Isabel added, sounding a bit offended that Farlan was speaking of Levi like he was the only one to be feared.
“And the rest of us, too,” he added with an eye roll, but they all knew what he’d said before was the truth.
“So someone is trying to imprison us, or kill us, more likely,” Levi said and the room went quiet. “We need to find out who that someone is before they can pull a stunt like that again.”
“I’ll ask around, see what I can find out,” Farlan said, snipping the thread that he’d used to patch Levi up and going over to the sink to clean his tools. “We should all try to lay low for a bit, though. Let’s not take any extravagant jobs, for the time being, just keep the peace and see what happens.”
“Sure would have been nice to have all that money, though,” Isabel chimed in again, plopping herself down in one of the chairs at the table. “We’d all be eating like the royalty everyone down here thinks we are.”
“Don’t worry about it, kid. I’ll get us some food. Got a few favors to call in,” Levi answered, ruffling Isabel’s hair as she grimaced at him. “We’ll figure this shit out and be living like royalty in no time. Don’t sweat it.”
“If you say so, Aniki,” Isabel answered, and Petra couldn’t help but notice that the mood of the whole room seemed to be low.
oOo
It turned out that Levi was true to his word, but he always was. He had gotten them a decent dinner for the night, just some cured meat and hunks of crusty bread, but it was food nonetheless. Now, Petra knew that it was time to talk about what had happened. She’d told Levi she would talk to him about what had her so distracted, and she wasn’t about to go back on her word. They didn’t lie to each other, none of them did, and if they promised something to one another, they came through on it. As much as she didn’t want to, she was ready to tell him exactly what had been on her mind.
She and Isabel cleaned up the kitchen before everyone called it a night. Isabel retreated to her sofa bed, Farlan to his room, and Levi and Petra to their shared room, just as they always did. She could feel that Levi was waiting to ask about their talk, and so she launched into it before he had the chance.
“You wanted to know what was bothering me earlier, so I’ll tell you,” she started, and he crossed his arms across his chest as he stood by the door. Petra made her way to the foot of the bed and sat down before she continued. “I hate it here. I always have. Every time we go to the surface all I can think about is just...just running. Finding somewhere that we can live and leaving this shit behind us. Every time we come back it’s suffocating. I know our home is here...and Isabel and Farlan, I could never leave them here, but I just want out . I want the sunlight on my skin every day. I want to breathe that impossibly fresh air instead of the stale fumes we get here. I appreciate every time you take me up there, but every time it gets harder to come back.”
“I know how you feel,” Levi answered, dropping his arms to his sides and walking over to sit down beside her on the bed. “I’ve felt the same way pretty much my whole life, Petra, but it’s not that easy. If we did that we’d always have to hide. We wouldn’t be able to live the carefree life that I think you’re envisioning.”
“Oh please, do you really think it would be that easy for them to find us if we hid well enough? Only the people that have seen us in person would be able to recognize us at a glance. The common people don’t have a fucking clue what we look like. If we went to some little podunk village in the outer wall we’d be fine.”
“Maybe Farlan and I wouldn’t stand out, but there aren’t too many women that share the same hair color as you and Izzy,” Levi answered, grasping a lock of her hair gently between his fingers to emphasize his point. She supposed he was right about that, but she was sure they could find a way around it. She sighed as she tried to find a way to summarize everything she was feeling.
“I love you, and the life we’ve built together, and our friends, but I hate living my whole life here when there’s so much up there that I’ve never experienced. Don’t you wonder what else is out there? Don’t you wonder what titans look like or how normal people on the surface act? They can’t all be like the nobles.”
“Of course, I do. But I also know how hard it is for people from the underground to even make it to the surface, much less integrate into that kind of life and thrive. We’d be outcasts no matter where we went just because of the way we act. It’s not our fault, we don’t know any better, that’s just how we’ve had to live to survive, but it wouldn’t fly up there.”
“I can’t live my whole life down here, Levi. I’ve already lived twenty-one years of it in this pile of shit, I don’t know how much longer I can stay here. I need to make it to the surface one day. If I don’t, I don’t know what will happen.”
“Petra, look at me,” Levi said, his voice suddenly stern and hard. When she looked at him there was a determination in his eyes that she rarely saw when he wasn’t on a job. It scared her a little, to see him looking so intense right now, but she watched and waited for what he was about to say. “You are my number one priority, you always will be. If you wanna live on the surface one day, we’re fucking living on the surface, and I don’t care what I have to do to make it happen. I don’t know how long it will take, or what we’ll have to go through before then, but we’ll make it. Promise me you’re not going to give up on me before I can do it.”
“Levi…” she started, but she knew he could sense her hesitation.
“Fucking promise me, Pet. I’m getting us to the surface. All of us. Just promise me that you won’t give up,” he said, his tone intense.
“I promise,” she answered. She could feel tears pricking the corners of her eyes at his promise, at the emotional response he’d had to her even implying that she wouldn’t let herself live underground forever.
“Good,” he answered, letting out a breath. “Let’s just get to bed and try not to worry about it too much, alright? We’ll figure it all out.”
“Yeah, okay,” Petra agreed, climbing into bed with him and settling down for the night. The intensity of his words and promise told her all she needed to know, and Levi never broke a promise.