Water.

Without a clear understanding as to why, that was the first thing that came to Levi's mind as he met the girl's eyes under the opening atop the cavern of the sewers.

Seeing the family was a little unnerving for Levi. First there were two persons with the same face. As if that wasn't enough, now the girl went from being a boy to a girl.

Nevertheless, they shared so much in common. There was no doubt about their relations. That's family for you.

It had him wondering which parts of his mother he got. Eyes? Hair? Lips?

In the back of his mind, he also wondered which parts of him were from Kenny. After all, Kenny stuck with him for quite some time for a reason, right?

Anyway, it was the girl's eyes that really caught him.

That night as he held a knife to her throat, he simply noted that she had her mother's green eyes but were wide like her father's.

The combination alone of the features made the girl's eyes rather striking to Levi. Moreover, despite her initial reactions towards him, her eyes generally gave him a gentle impression.

Which doesn't really help him understand the emotions behind them. Her eyes are way too expressive for him.

He can barely keep up and he only met her briefly.

Right now however, Levi is pretty sure he can see irritation in her eyes. Clear as daylight shining on them.

"Huh, makes two of us, " he thought equally annoyed.

Levi eyed her as she tried to reach for him once more.

As one who wasn't particularly fond of physical touch, it's not as if he was showered with them. He had impolitely pushed her away the first time.

Alright, maybe a little harshly.

Sending her staggering back due to his strength and landing on her ass again.

She obviously didn't like that.

But hey, the only person to ever handle him gently was his mother. Sadly enough, he couldn't even remember what it felt like.

Kenny wasn't exactly someone to caress a little boy.

The little girl should probably cut him some slack, seriously.

To Levi, her actions were foreign and strange. They were so unusual in the Underground. His instinct kicks in making him decline her good intentions purely out of his wariness.

What she did next visibly made Levi's eyes widen.

At first he thought she was simply going to gently grasp his arm again so he made a move to reject her again and then...

She slapped his hand away and fixed him with a glare.

Too stunned to retaliate like he would have normally done, Levi bizarrely found himself being obliging.

Had it been another thug or delinquent like him from the Underground, he was positive he would have slammed, kicked, or punched the person right there and then.

Her boldness obviously bothered him but not as much as the fact he was letting her.

"Do that again..." she spoke before tapping his arm making him flinch, "and I'll do that in return."

Without a clue as to how to react, Levi gruffly conceded and let the girl treat him.

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Shut up."

She gave him a look once she recovered from his sudden appearance. It was sympathy.

However with Levi being practically emotionless and apathetic, it made him waver. Simply because he can't identify it and so he couldn't understand it.

He shifted his eyes to her face. Bloodied and bruised, cuts littering the skin save for a few inches. Levi tried to study her face as a whole. His efforts not to focus on her eyes were in vain as his found hers again.

Unconsciously, his hand slightly lowered as she held his gaze. It felt strange for Levi so he quickly shook his head to clear his mind.

In all honesty though, he felt like his mind went blank and he was simply trying to get a grip.

That look is rare in a place like the Underground. In fact, never seen is a better way to put it.

Besides, how could sympathy even exist in the Underground? If it does then maybe the place wouldn't be so shitty.

As what Levi is used to giving and receiving, threats and danger are the usual ones people from this place communicate with their eyes.

He could hear her sharp breaths and he could tell she was trying to keep it down. He wondered why she wasn't calling out for help or trying to put as much distance between them like his usual subjects.

Wasn't that the smart thing to do?

He completely withdrew the knife in serious confusion. He caught a glint of silver tangle down as he stepped back.

A necklace.

It must have gotten caught between them as he rushed to immobilize her. Neutralizing the threat before things escalated.

Funny when he was clearly the threat to the girl.

Then she spoke in a hushed tone throwing him off even more. "W-would you like some? Y-you must be looking for f-food, right?"

She had a childlike voice but not all sweet and girly. It was warm and kind. It suited her somehow. Just like her eyes as she held up a paper bag to him.

Offering him something when his actions clearly didn't warrant it.

Nothing ever comes free in the Underground. No one ever offers something without anything in return in the Underground.

Finding the act rather suspicious, Levi proceeded to ask, "Why-?" when he heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door.

The possibility of raising an alarm kickstarted his body into action, swiftly grabbing the chain and plucking it off the girl's neck.

She ran after him to the window. Fingers catching him by the hood of his jacket, Levi thought she was stalling him until the person comes through the door.

He turned to knock her off but she beat him as she thrusted the bag she previously offered to him giving him yet another look he can't interpret.

"Wait! Take this. It's not quite filling but it's still food? I guess..." before gently shooing him out the window with a quiet, "Go!"

"Move over," the girl said as she proceeded to sit beside him on the surprisingly smooth rock formation.

Gently taking his left arm once again, she pushed his sleeve up, turning it to asses the wound that ran almost the whole length of his arm.

"What happened?" She asked while ripping the hem of her long shirt. Much to Levi's dismay.

Eyes darting to his, a silent heads up before pressing the cloth to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

"I... didn't notice." Levi let out a strangled answer as he began to notice how tender the wound felt.

"Well it's pretty deep. But this should heal pretty well as long we close it so your tissues won't take too long to rebuild."

"That does not make sense at all."

Finally meeting his eyes she replied, "It does actually. How do I put it? It penetrated the layer of skin that has blood vessels. Which would explain why you're fairly bleeding, good thing is no major vessels were damaged so..."

Sensing he still doesn't follow, she paused thoughtfully to find better words as she patiently explained.

"It also means your wound would have constant supply of blood and that would be very helpful in order for the damaged area to regenerate faster."

In full Levi fashion, he retorted, "Why the hell should I trust what you're saying?"

She flashed him an easy grin and said, "Don't worry. My mother is actually a doctor. I like reading her books."

"May I?" She asked, this time vocally seeking his approval. Carefully lifting the cloth to check if the bleeding was under control.

When he gruffly muttered an okay she pulled out two clean handkerchiefs from the inner pocket of the vest she wore on top of her buttoned shirt.

Then she pulled the waterskin she had slung to her body, he didn't see that before. Wetting one handkerchief, she began to cleanse his bloodied arm.

That made Levi raise his eyebrows but his body relaxed a little.

Despite his dirty clothes, Levi is always careful so as not to soil it further during his ventures given he didn't have much wardrobe to begin with.

He liked to keep things as clean as conveniently possible.

Head still level with his, he has the chance to appraise her more closely. Starting with her mane, Levi realized this was her actual color.

The hazelnut shade suiting her features. Glimmers of gold lacquered the crown of her head as the sunlight reflected on them.

Soft curls cascaded down to the small of her back. A few tresses slipping over her shoulder to her arm as she diligently scrubbed dried blood from his wound.

To be honest, he was barely paying attention to the wound or even feeling the wound by now.

Flitting to her neck for a second, he saw the mark his knife left on her.

His eyes shifted back to her face and he observed the yellow green patches of healing bruises and pinkish lines from the previous scratches adorning her light, open face.

Save for the few black splotches that streaked some parts of her face. Evidence of the filth covering the Underground that she inevitably picked up on their escapade.

She was... well Levi couldn't find the right word.

Decent?

She was fair-toned and the lightest shade of pink dusted her plump cheeks. It gave her a delicate appearance that goes well with her eyes.

Oh those eyes.

Being in a small distance from her, he realized there was more to her eyes than simply being green.

The unique orbs framed by long lashes seem to be a mixture of light green and blue. A smooth gradient of green transitioning inward to blue.

Her black pupils were shrunken from the light and it registered that there were specks of gold in her irises, accentuating the distinctive color perfectly.

"Good thing you're not a boy." Levi blurted out loud much to his own surprise just as she put the soiled handkerchief down.

He blinked. He may or may not have been staring.

"What?" She asked, thankfully too busy folding the other handkerchief to have heard him correctly.

Clearing his throat Levi responded, "Tch, are you deaf? I said you make for an awful boy." He winced internally at his pitiful 'recovery'.

"What?" She repeated her voice a far cry from how it was that night or how it was moments ago. Very clearly offended as her hands stopped their actions.

"Brat, why are you even dressed like that?"

He knew he shouldn't be asking that. He knew the answer to that. But it is very much like him to sputter things bluntly.

Regardless of what gender he's speaking to. That should explain his lack of know how when it comes to conversing with a girl for the first time.

To be fair however, there weren't a lot of girls in the Underground. Children so unlucky to be born as girls in this place are forced to be women at an early age.

So those that do manage to evade that fate temporarily or those lucky enough to have someone to protect them are kept hidden.

She got flustered and stuttered.

"What- oh. W-what about you? W-why are you running away from those men?" She asked dodging his question and continued to wrap the handkerchief around his arm.

"I asked first."

"Well I am treating you. I think you owe me an answer." She fired back.

Levi scoffed. "Owe you? Are you dreaming or something?"

Inhaling sharply, she harshly tugged the corners of the handkerchief she was tying as makeshift bandage on his wound.

Levi hissed in pain and gave her a dark look that didn't seem to faze her. She stood up and leveled him with a look.

"Must you be like that? Alright. Uhm, my mother told me it's... it's just... easier to move about wearing these!"

She was lying and he could tell.

"Liar."

"Hey that's... that's mean. F-fine! It's for my own protection! Now your turn."

"I don't need to answer you, brat."

"I was minding my own business and I find myself on the run because you brought those men in my direction. I think I am entitled an explanation."

"Tch. I saved you, didn't I?"

"As you should!" She exclaimed, small hands balled into fists by her sides as she stomped a foot. Eyes blazing with unadulterated anger so contrasting to her soft features.

They glared at each other for a while, neither of them willing to be the first to yield and look away.

Levi neither understands why he was even engaging in this conversation with a Surface brat like her nor why he felt like beating himself for starting an argument out of nowhere.

She wasn't giving up either.

Breaking the contact, he sighed and said, "I was escaping after mugging an MP and instigating a fight with the fuckers at the bar. Probably turned the market upside down in the process too."

She flinched at his last vulgar word and a look crossed her eyes. It was actually understanding but Levi, being classic Levi with the emotional range of a teaspoon, unfortunately saw it as judgement.

It irritated him to an extent. "As if a spoiled, clueless Surface brat like you would come to know why we people need to do things like that," he muttered.

He caught her subtly stiffen as he called her Surface brat. So it surprised him when she sat down and resumed treating him.

Her previous outburst all but forgotten, she adjusted the handkerchief so it wasn't too tight to cut his circulation or further inflame his arm.

Choosing to dodge his words again, she fixed her eyes on her task and made him backtrack with her unexpected words.

"I... I actually understand you. I don't fully know how you feel. Yet. And... and I personally won't resort to that while I still have a choice."

She paused momentarily seeming to phrase her next words to better get her point across.

"But I do know that I might be in your shoes, one day. I'm bound to be. So I don't judge you. I can tell that's what you think..." Pausing yet again as she finished binding him, she looked up at met his eyes.

"You probably don't like what you do. But you need to, right? To survive. So I don't hold that against you."

She stood up once more and extended her hand to him. Offering him a gentle smile in good faith as she waited for Levi to accept the peace.

He stared at her hand and for the first time in his life, Levi knew how it felt to be understood.

Although he can't say the same thing to her. He still struggles to figure her out.

He shook her hand firmly and held her gaze for a moment trying to decipher her thoughts. To his pleasant surprise, he was able to identify sincerity in her eyes.

Of all the things that had to do with her, that was the only thing Levi was sure of.

He watched as she sat down, pulling her pant legs up to reveal scratches and bruises about to develop. She ignored him to tend to herself.

Maybe she wasn't such a spoiled, clueless Surface brat after all.