Friends with Benefits (Levi x OC)

Ch. 21: The Underground

Chapter 21: The Underground

845

'I'm going down there today.' I stated, my arms crossing over my chest. I looked down at Levi from over the table. He was in the dining hall doing paperwork on his own.

'Like hell you are. You'll need authorisation.' Levi replied, not even looking up at me from his papers.

'That's what I'm here to ask you for.' My eyes bore into him through the papers he was holding. Levi put them down with a sigh and finally looked up at me.

'You're expecting me to authorise your dangerous solo trip to the underground? No.' He said before returning his attention to the papers on the table.

'Levi... I have to go. I need to start somewhere.' I waited for him to respond. His apathetic eyes flicked to me, then back down to his paper.
'Basically, what I'm saying is, I'm going down there today. With or without authorisation.' I continued slowly. Levi took a long, deep breath of fatigue.

'Why did you try and get authorisation in the first place then?' Levi asked. I was unable to respond. He just saw right through me. 

'You want me to go with you.' Levi predicted.

'Look, I don't care. Just cover for my arse if they ask about where I am.' I said, flustered and trying to cover up the fact that Levi just read me like an open book. He sighed again. 

'I don't want you going alone. You don't know what it's like down there.' A flicker of a memory shone in his eyes but he blinked it away. I recalled the vision I had of his life down there. The memories I saw... the feelings he had, it was horrible. I looked down, sadness spreading through my body.

'I don't want to make you go down there again. It's okay, I'll go alone.' I reassured him. I felt kind of ashamed that I even came here asking for him to help. I should have just gone alone this morning. I gave him a melancholy look and a faint half smile before turning back to the door. I could feel Levi's stare lingering on my back. I hesitated to turn the door knob. Then I heard his chair scrape against the floor, the noise making me turn around to see him.

'Tch. I'll come with you. Let's just make it quick.' He said, now standing up. 

'You don't have to do that.' My voice was soft.

'Yeah, I do.'

---

The sun shone brightly as we walked through the town's streets. We were silent on our way. I felt nervous about it and guilty for making him come. I was wondering if the underground was really how it seemed from Levi's memories. 

The way to get in was down some stairs, through some tunnels, and down more steps again. These steps were guarded by Boarder Control. They tried hard to swindle some money from us, but by flashing some official looking papers we got through. We were wearing our Scouting Legion uniforms (Levi said they're regarded as intimidating down there) so we found it easy to get in. 

Even though we weren't talking, Levi seemed to get quieter as we descended into the underground city. I looked at the view from the top of the stairs. It was very expansive. Light pollution filled the air. The ceiling was high but dark and oppressive. It kept the city below it contained like a fire blanket. We walked down the stairs slowly.

'Don't wonder off, and don't look at anyone. If someone tries to talk to you, no matter what, ignore them. Understand?' Levi whispered sharply in my ear. 

'Roger that.' I said almost sarcastically. The air was still and stuffy and it stank like old food and shit. I noticed that Levi would look up at the ceiling a lot. It made me want to hold him and reassure him. As we walked, the smell only got increasingly pungent. I suddenly felt a little claustrophobic. The air was so stuffed full of heat and moisture that there was barely any room for oxygen. We passed many homeless people. A lot of them had sustained injuries. They looked like they were already dead, only exhibiting the smallest signs of life. These people have probably never seen a sliver of sunlight, and it showed.