Theft was always a risky business no matter who you were or where you lived, however, in the Underground it was fairly common and expected, it was every man for themselves and if you didn't fight for survival you'd end up as a pile of bones in some rancid alleyway. Stealing was the trio's main source of income and they were fucking good at it, the combination of their stealth skills and their ODM gear made them the perfect machines for life Undergound. Sadly, in the recent week resources had become scarce which had led to adults becoming savages and kids acting more like rodents lurking around the streets.

Normally, they would be out as a trio however, Levi hadn't missed how Isabel's eyes had begun to sink back into her skull and her ribs were becoming more prominent- none of them had eaten well in weeks but it seems to have effected her the most, so she was being made to rest and Farlan was left to look after her.

As the lone raven flew through the streets he kept as eye out for open windows, it was pretty scummy to ran sack people's homes but his family was starving, he was getting desperate. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted an open window- perfect. Swiftly, he made his way to the glass and peered inside, it was void of any life, just what he wanted. He made sure to stay quiet as he moved around the apartment, but the creaking floorboards didn't help him in the slightest. With a sigh he made his way over to the cupboards., he reached over to grab one of the handles, only to jump like a cat when the door hit the floor with a resounding 'CLANG'- shit, someone could've heard that. He stayed perfectly still for a minute and only exhaled when there was no sign of movement near him.

Bingo! He noticed the cupboard (well, more like a shelf now it had no door) contained two apples with only a couple specs of mould growing on them, if he sliced the mould out Isabel and Farlen could eat well tonight for the first time in a while. He shoved the precious fruit in his hip bag, made his way to the window and took off back to their home.

It didn't take long for him to get home and he'd successfully evaded any MPs along the way, what a smooth day.

"Hey, big bro!" Came the weak voice of Isabel, he turned to see her laid on the couch with a thin blanket draped over her form, Farlen sat with his legs crossed on a chair next to her, he gave a soft smile to the raven when he saw him.

"Guess what I found" he announced, all he got as a response was an excited wiggle from the redhead and a raised eyebrow from the blonde, but they screeched happily when he pulled out the two apples. After slicing the mould off he passed one to each of them, a small smile came to his face when he saw how happy they were "savour those you two, I'm not sure when I'll find more" with that he made his way to their bathroom.

"Have you eaten?" Came Farlan's unmistakable voice.

He swivelled on his heels to face him "there was a slice of bread, I ate before coming back, happy?" He replied dryly and without waiting for a response he locked the bathroom door behind him. He put his back to the door and slid down to the floor, his chest fucking hurt. With nothing to distract him from the throbbing, the pain came at him full force like a boulder to his torso, he wrestled himself out of his waist coat and shirt before ripping the bandages away- only then could he breath. He didn't even have to look down to see the mottling of bruises that covered his chest, he could fucking feel them and it hurt like a bitch.

The bruises weren't even the worst of it, the bandages had caused too much friction and years of binding his chest flat had caused the skin of his around his ribs to wear away, he lacerations around his underarms weren't a pretty sight at all and he avoided looking at them at all costs- out of sight out of mind. His torso was more bruises and scars than actual skin at this point.

The real problem came with using the ODM gear, the pressure the straps caused was unbearable in the beginning, he had to constantly bite his lip to keep his groans of pain down (which was pretty dangerous in itself) but the restriction to his chest also made it incredibly difficult to breath, he had to figure out how to move with minimal breaths pretty early on. He would always be forced to wave Farlan's questions about his panting away, he couldn't having them worrying about him, he was the 'adult' of them, they looked up to him.

They put their lives in his hands everyday and he wouldn't compromise them no matter what.

With a pained grunt he forced himself to rise and grabbed his bandages, before swaddling his chest in the filthy bandages. It physically pained him to reuse old bandaged (they were almost brown at that point) but he never forgave himself for that time Isabel got a gash in her leg and they didn't have enough bandages to properly tend to her wound. So, unless they suddenly come across the jack pot of first aid equipment he will use each bandage until they fall of his chest.

Eventually, he made his way out of the bathroom fully dressed once again, he looked up to see an extremely cute scene. Farlan had moved onto the couch (or had Isabel dragged him?) and he was now curled up against the red head, holding her against his chest, their sleeping expressions seemed more relaxed now after the measly apple.

It was moments like this that made his suffering worth it, when he saw his family curled up together like a pile of puppies.

This made it worth it, he would help them to survive, even if it killed him.

xXx

It was 'night' in the Underground, the market had closed and the streets had emptied, it was eerily quiet. Levi was perched on the corner of a rooftop, his ODM gear strapped to his waist and his knives safely hidden in his boots and belt. The others were safely sleeping at home, Farlan had made sure to fall asleep after him (the bruises under his eyes hadn't missed the blonde's attention) however, like always he only got two hours shut eye before he awoke to find his friends still curled up, snoring away.

If he couldn't get any more sleep he figured he might as well do something productive, so he took his gear, securely locked all the apartments doors and windows before flying down the street, revelling in the feeling of the adrenaline surging through his veins.

That's how he found himself perched with his feet tucked under him, watching the Military Police base. Well it wasn't really a base, more of a house that the pigs had taken over to dump their shit in when a sorry few were forced to patrol the Underground, no matter how much they would complain or harass the residents. The raven could see a whole table of food through a window just left there... unattended and ripe for the taking.

Was it worth the risk? Absolutely, his friends had gotten weaker, Isabel now struggled to crack he usual jokes and Farlan's cheeks had become hollow in just a few days, if he was perfectly honest- it was terrifying.

For the little amount of food that had reached Isabel and Farlan, Levi ate even less, it gave him energy just watching them eat the pathetic amount of food he could snatch from various houses. That didn't put fat on his bones though, it didn't escape his notice that his cheekbones stuck out, his eyes were becoming dark hollows, Farlan could now wrap his whole hand around his wrist and he could feel his ribs through his shirt, waistcoat and straps.

He would never admit it but he was getting desperate.

Moving as silent as a mouse he moved over to the tantalising window, the food was just on the other side of the glass! With one last check he used his knife to unlock the window and without entering the room he began to scoop food into his hip bag. The was tons, the meat would be a nice treat but the rice would last longer so it could be hidden and rationed, he was getting giddy just thinking about it.

"Oi! What're you doing?!" His eyes snapped up to see a man and a woman in MP uniforms, the roses on their sleeves sent a pang of disdain through him. He clipped the bag to his belt and with a cheeky wave he leapt from the building and shot down the street, he could hear the bastards following him but they were on foot, by the time they told someone with gear he'd be long gone. It felt good to get a one up on those police pigs- fucking dickheads.

He made sure to take the long route back to the others (to make sure he wasn't being followed) but his chest was hurting and it was getting hard to breath, he figured it was safer to land as soon as possible so he didn't drop out of the air like a dead fly. Getting the food back in one peace would be desirable.

Eventually he reached their sanctuary and stumbled through the window, his short breath making his vision swim slightly.

"Levi?" Came the quiet mumble from Farlan, he spun to see the blonde squinting at him through his mop.

"Hey" he grimaced at how harsh it came out, he sounded like he hadn't drank for months... not too far from the truth really. Isabel was beginning to wake up so he made his way over to the two and knelt in front of the sofa "I did something a bit risky tonight, but I did it for you two, okay?" Farlan raised an eyebrow and him and Isabel just rubbed her sleep clogged eyes.

After he handed the bag over he wandered away a few steps to strip himself of his gear and straps, then a gasp came from behind him.

"Where did you get this?" Questioned Farlan whilst Isabel just squealed in excitement, of course Farlan would be the voice of reason, 'the worrying prick' he thought affectionately.

"I took it from the MP base" at that Farlan's jaw went slack and Isabel chirped a quick "You're awesome, bro!"

"They didn't follow me and they have no clue where we live, we will be okay, we'll just lay low for a couple of days, no biggie" he reasoned, by the time he'd taken all his straps off (god that felt good on his chest) the others were nippling on a piece of meat each "be careful, that shit's gotta last." He took the bag from them and made his way over to their loose floorboard to stash it away.

"Have you eaten?" At his lack of response he heard Farlan sigh, when he turned to them the blonde was holding a piece of meat to for him, he couldn't bring himself to say say no to the other man. Isabel tugged him by his belt until he was nestled between the two and he happily munched on his meat- it tasted amazing, the content grin from the red head made the risk worth it.

Before he knew it his eye were becoming heavy, his head had dropped onto someone's shoulder and then he couldn't resist the slumber pulling him into her dark embrace.

xXx

His eyes opened with a jolt, the first thing that he processed was that he was horizontal... what? It took a couple of seconds for his brain to catch up before he realised that he was just laying down on the couch, that was the most rested he'd felt in a long time. A giggle dragged his attention to his friends who were sat cross legged on the floor by each other. His heart warmed at the the domestic setting.

A pained groan escaped him as he sat up before he could bite his tongue to silence it, his companion's head whipped around to face him.

"Levi! You're finally up! Your hair's so spiky!" Came Isabel's sweet voice whilst Farlan questioned "Are you hurt?" Damn that boy for being so thoughtful, he waved them off before hauling himself up from the couch, the blonde's gaze never leaving his form. He ran a hand through his hair, it was indeed "spiky."

"Can we go to our special place today, bro?" The redhead wondered, making sure to rock back and forth, it gave her a childish aura and she knew Levi couldn't say no to her then she reasoned "we deserve a break," she knew she'd won when he just smirked at her, the squeal confirmed that.

"Let me shower and then we can get going" he explained and made his way to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Even though he'd slept like a log he felt fucking awful, his shirt clung to him due to the sheer amount of sweat that was caked to his skin, as he peeled his layers of clothing off he cringed at the pang of pain that shot up his spine, god he hated it.

Soon enough he turned the lever and let the water flow, then he stepped under stream, gasping at the freezing water on his skin. It didn't take long for the water to heat up, a sigh escaped him when he felt his muscles relax slightly. He kept his eyes firmly on the tiles in front of him, not really wanting to look at his body, he knew what a mess it was, he didn't fancy looking down at it- he could feel the throbbing of his ribs anyway, staring at it wouldn't help. He grabbed the bar of soap before methodically scrubbing his hair, he couldn't help but gag as he saw the amount of dirt that disappeared down the drain. They all had to be quick when showering, the water was scarce and the boiler had a tendency to shit itself if too many people used it too often, it fucking sucked ass.

He hissed when he felt the water dip into the wounds around his underarms, breathing through gritted teeth he braced himself on the wall, that sudden attack of pain really winded him. Once the throbbing had passed he left the shower and quickly dressed himself in "clean" clothes (by that he meant slightly less dirty than the rest), he swore if they ever got out of this hell he'd never force them to look at another spec of dirt ever again whether that was dirt in their room or grease in their hair, and that was a promise to himself.

Levi stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed with slightly damp hair and fresh bandages (as a reward for the food he salvaged yesterday), looking around he saw Isabel and Farlan perched on the back of the couch fully decked out in their straps and ODM gear, they were ready to go and just waiting for him.

"Took you long enough" teased the fair haired man, smiling at him warmly.

"Shut up, I was a fast as I could be" he retorted dryly, Isabel cocked her head at him.

"What made you take so long?" Her face instantly contorted "actually I really don't wanna know" she backtracked, he could only roll his eyes and ruffle her hair as Farlen curled over laughing- these brats were going to be the death of him.

Once he'd strapped his gear to his hips he addressed them both with a quick "ready to go?" Isabel nodded enthusiastically whilst Farlen disappeared into the bedroom- was he not coming? The redhead looked just as confused as him.

Soon the blonde emerged with three cloaks gripped in his hands "thought we should wear these, they'll hide our gear and might help not draw as much attention?" His statement came out more than a question, his sheepish expression only added to it.

"I think that is a great idea" said Levi as he wrapped the cloak around his shoulder gratefully, he really was thankful for Farlan's forsight for shit like this, if it was just Levi and Isabel they'd have been arrested years ago.

With one last thumbs up from everyone they made their way to the streets.

xXx

Walking through the streets of the Underground was an odd feeling these days, they'd gotten so used to seeing their world from above it felt almost wrong to be at street level again.

They were almost at their "special place" as Isabel had christened it, and he could feel her starting to vibrate next to him from pure excitement as the stream of sunlight came into view. For once they'd made it somewhere with no trouble.

Sadly, he spoke too soon.

They entered a busy street that had men and women lining the pavements, after rounding the corner Levi immediately clocked two men leaning against the wall, bottles firmly gripped in their palms, their postures screamed 'I'm fucking pissed' and that made his skin crawl, he felt Isabel shuffle closer into his side.

"Eyyyy look what we 'ave here then!" Came one of their drunken slurs, Levi's hand moved to the knife in his belt when one started stumbling over to them "Come here, baby" he made grabby hands at Isabel before setting his grubby mit on her shoulder, she tensed like a scared cat, he could've sworn he saw her hair stand on end like a feline's too.

In the blink on an eye the raven's knife had been run through the man's palm and without a second thought he dragged the blade towards him, splitting that disgusting bastard's hand straight down between his index and middle finger. The man screeched and clutched his hand, the blood quickly started running down his hand only to stain his pants, he stumbled away clutching his wound. Before the man could run Levi was on him, pinning him to the wall behind him and pressing his knife to his throat, leaning into the bastard's ear he the raven whispered "If you even think about touching her, I'll rip your balls right off your pathetic little body," Levi smirked as the man whimpered before they continued on their way, weary of the attention they had attracted to themselves.

"So much for keeping our heads down" muttered Farlan and Levi sent him a look.

"He deserved it."

"I never said he didn't" they smiled at each other before hurrying along to their spot with Isabel between the two men.

None of them saw the blue eyes following them down the street.

xXx

They had found the clearing little over a year ago, Farlan could remember that day well, the overjoyed look on Isabel's face was truly unforgettable, and it appeared on her face each time the trio made their way there.

This was on of the few places in the entire Underground where sunlight was allowed to seep through, the gap to heaven wasn't always there, in fact it was once sealed up completely but it wasn't sufficiently supported so it collapsed and fell into the grave. The blonde was truly thankful nobody had made the choice to fill it in, now the warm sunlight seeped down allowed a spattering of grass to grow under their feet. Only they could get up there with their ODM gear- it truly was their little sanctuary.

Isabel shot by Farlan and skidded to a stop at the centre of the opening only to throw her cloak off dramatically, spin and fall onto her back, exposing herself to the sun's beams, here she was happiest. The blonde's attention was drawn to Levi, who was perched on a rock pile on the edge of the opening, his eyes closed and his head tilted skywards, he looked...content. That place always had a weird way of soothing the elder, the sun seemed to act like a pacifier for him.

In all the years Farlan had known Levi the raven always put the two of them before himself, no matter the toll it took on his own body, and recently those tolls were becoming more obvious as the days passed. His eyes were sinking back into his skull and his cheekbones were becoming freakishly pronounced, it scared him if he was being perfectly honest, their leader was beginning to look... fragile and breakable, it wasn't right, the Levi he met had a strong intimidating presence, now, this Levi still does hold that power but that fragile side was beginning to peek through his walls. He didn't even miss how his breaths were coming in short pained puffs, he feared for Levi, was he ill? If he was why hadn't he told them? It confused him

The elder had become more unpredictable in the past couple of months, he'd become more... deadly. He had always had a temper and Farlan liked to think he acted as the calming presence in the group but lately that didn't seem to be enough.

With the sun stroking his face he remembers a time not too long ago, Isabel had left to "see some friends," they hadn't questioned it, she was an adult after all (she was fifteen but anyone over ten can take care of themselves down there). He remembered they were sat giving their gear a deep clean, after all dust clogging up the mechanism would only result in bad outcomes, when the resident redhead stumbled through the door. Now, Isabel had always prided herself on her long hair, each day she would carefully brush it out and tie it into pigtails, and when Levi would trim the bangs that framed her face by no means was he allowed to touch the longer strands, so when she stumbled through the door with one missing they instantly knew something was wrong.

For hours she insisted that she had tripped, but it was obvious that wasn't the case, it was only when the raven was cutting the longer side to match did she mumble out "some guys down an alley jumped me" she offered nothing more and they didn't question her, even if it was obvious that something more had happened.

Farlan could see that Levi's blood was boiling under his near translucent skin.

"You're going after them aren't you" it wasn't a question, he already knew the answer, when he came back from checking on the traumatised girl the raven was gone, gear and all.

He came back to their safe house that night with bloodied sleeves and a look of grim satisfaction displayed on his features, the blonde could only sigh.

"We should go" the gruff voice of Levi caught his attention "we shouldn't be up here for too long," he knew the elder was right, but he couldn't help but be disappointed, they had to leave the only place in this hell whole where they were all relaxed (well as relaxed as they could be), leaving was always a sorrowful affair.

Without waiting for Isabel to get up from her sun bathing Levi marched to the cliff side, and stretched, the blonde winced when he heard the amount of bones that cracked in the shorter male. Suddenly, before he could blink the raven had launched himself into the air and he was gone, flying through the cavernous space. Using the ODM gear was the thing that seemed to make Levi relax the most, before the gear they were all like little baby birds with wings not strong enough to help them escape this hell, but now the gear gives them those wings- no matter how scary it was it felt amazing to fly over the people below.

"Let's go!" He vaguely heard as Isabel ran and jumped off the cliff edge, she's a lunatic but they all were to some degree, they had to be to survive down here, with a weary sigh he followed.

xXx

Watching Levi fly was a beautiful display, he twisted and turned in ways that hurt Farlan's brain, he would flip off rooftops, vault off walls and fling himself through the air like crashing wasn't a serious issue they had to be worried about. It was impressive really, Levi was the best of all of them.

"Bro! We're being followed!" Sang Isabel, and the fair haired man spun to see several hooded figured following them, using their own gear to catch up to them.

Well shit.