Title: Unclothed

Fandom: Unwind

Disclaimer: Sadly, I'm not genius enough to come up with such beautiful characters.

Warnings: slash (rated about T for some hardcore making out in chapter two), self-harm

Main Pairing: Lev/Connor (they needed to be done so I'm doing them as this is the first of several)

Side Pairings: None

Summary: The story behind the hand print on Lev's shoulder, and the extent of his abused mind.

Connor's working on his water mister when a scantily clothed distraction comes running up. Said distraction is, of course, one Levi Calder. A light sheen of sweat decorates his chest as he pants softly from the run. His pants hang low on his hips, and he gives off an air of confidence that catches Connor's attention as soon as he enters the shade of the rec jet.

Lev walks over to Connor's ladder and smiles up at him, "Hey, Connor. It's looking good."

"Almost done." Connor agrees, stepping down from his spot, "Something I can do for you, Lev?"

They haven't talked much since Lev's first night at the Graveyard. Connor would see him running past sometimes or sitting with a gang of younger kids during their meals but he never calls out to Lev. This isn't the same boy he pulling out of the car that first day. Lev's turned dark, and a part of Connor is terrified to find out just how much those months alone darkened him.

Lev smiles brightly. They're a little too close for Connor's comfort but he doesn't take a step back, "The admiral requests your presence in his jet immediately."

"Immediately?" Connor asks, already moving his supplies out of the way to keep somebody from tripping over them, "Sounds important. Any idea what's up?"

Mostly, he just wants Lev to keep talking instead of darting off into the suffocating sunlight again, "No clue. Probably wants something fixed by the best engineer around."

Connor can't keep from smiling at that. Just like that little tithe to turn a question into a compliment. Deflection. It's how he won Connor's trust the first time, and that's probably what he's trying to do this time.

"You know what you are, Lev? You're an ass-kisser." Even though Connor originally meant to rial the boy up, he can't keep the joking tone out of his voice.

Lev shrugs, answering easily, "It's gotten me this far. Come on. I was given specific directions to make sure you didn't doddle."

Connor starts walking towards the Admiral's jet, "I wouldn't want to get you into trouble, now would I?"

"Would be a bad idea."

After a moment's silence only interrupted by the sounds of their footsteps, Connor asks, "How are you making due with everything?"

Lev shrugs, "I'm alright. The world's not all bad after all."

"No, there's certainly some good stuff out there." Another moment of silence before Connor tries again, "I saw you've been making friends."

"Yeah." Lev acts like it's no big deal. He grabs Connor's arm to stop him as a gang of army boeufs go running past that Connor had already stopped for, "I think Kelly might...you know...like me."

"Which one is that?"

"The girl with those really intense blue eyes and the long black hair. She looks kind of Italian, and maybe fourteen."

Connor knew who Lev was talking about with just the name, but wanted him to keep talking. To open up some. Kelley was a greasy monkey like Connor. All the younger boys hit on her which instantly told Connor that Lev was lying. He'd seen Kelly making out with a boeuf name Michael earlier that morning. The question in Connor's mind though is; Why would Lev lie about something like that?

"Oh yeah, she's cute. Really think you've got a shot?"

Lev's instantly defensive, "Don't act so surprised. I have a reputation around here myself."

"Right, what's your story again? Something about getting arrested." Connor knows more than most people think he does due to his fly-on-the-wall act.

"I got listed for unwinding after I was arrested for armed robbery. How did you know I've been hiding the tithe story?"

Connor shrugs, stopping outside the Admiral's yet, "I've got ears, Lev. And nobody pays the greasy monkey any attention when they're gossiping."

With that, Connor heads inside the jet, leaving Lev standing outside in the heat. It takes Lev a minute to be able to move once Connor disappears. There's just something about him that won't leave Lev's mind, and a part of him knows what that is. He'd told CyFy all that time ago that his compass points towards girls, but Lev had never thought about his sexuality. He always had the comfort of tithing to keep that question away. Now, seeing Connor as a normal boy instead of the monster Lev first believed him to be, sexuality is a huge question in Lev's mind. Not that it'll matter for much longer...

Lev crouches to pick up his shirt from it's hiding place behind one of the jet's wheels. When he turns around, he finds that he's no longer alone. Cleaver's there, staring at him like he's betrayed the whole operation.

"Hey, Cleaver." Lev smiles, trying to seem nonchalant. He doesn't quiet manage it.

"What did you tell him?"

The tone in his voice makes Lev wince, "N-nothing. I just told some lie about Kelly liking me is all. Nothing about what's going on, I swear."

"Come." Cleaver heads out towards the ancient DC-10. He doesn't question if Lev is following him or not. Lev, Mai, and Blaine follow his orders mindlessly, and this one is no exception. Once they're alone among the aircrafts, Cleaver turns on the small boy, "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing." Lev insists.

"It's not nothing. You were flirting, Lev, and it's not a good idea to have outside relationship. You know that. They just get in the way."

"Connor and I don't have a relationship. I-" But his voice falters as the resounding smack echoes between the lines of plains. It takes Lev's mind a minute to process that Cleaver just hit him. Not on the face where anyone would see, but hard right on his shoulder blade.

"Do you have information that you're not sharing?"

"No!" Lev insists, flinching again as Cleaver goes for another strike that never comes, "But I can get Connor to tell me!"

"You can?"

"Yes. Yes. We went on the run together for a while. He trusts me. And he's been having a lot of secret meetings with the Admiral lately. He knows what's going on, I'm sure of it." Lev's not sure of anything. He's just trying to avoid another stinging blow, "I can get him to tell me what he knows."

"You do that." Cleaver agrees, "And report back as soon as possible."

Lev nods quickly, and pulls his shirt back on to hide the hand shaped bruise already forming on his shoulder. He races back to the main area and over to Connor's work station under at the rec plain. Carefully, he slips the note into Connor's stuff, sure he'll find it when he comes back to work.

We should talk. During dinner tomorrow in your plain. -Lev