Prologue
NICO SAT AT THE KITCHEN TABLE, shaking her leg in the silence.
2 weeks.
It had been 2 weeks. They were supposed to be back by now.
"Shit." She breathed, raking a hand through her hair and leaning back in her seat. She closed her eyes and tried to stay calm. They were professionals. They were good at this shit, it's only what they had spent most of their lives doing. And it had all amounted to this. She believed in them, of course she did.
But they were only supposed to be gone a few days at the most.
The supplies she had been stocked on had run out, she had been forced to leave the apartment and go to the market against his direct orders. She had already been pissed that he had benched her for the mission so his comment that she couldn't even handle a supply run pretty much forced her over the top.
Her brother had calmed her down though. He always calmed her down.
She missed him. She missed the others too, even that asshole. It was lonely here by herself.
Nik sighed and stood up, giving up on waiting for tonight and ready to get some sleep. But she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Heavy ones. At least 5. A raid. Her eyes widened and she blew out the candle, grabbing her dagger and pressing herself against the wall next to the door.
Waited.
"Go on then. You dragged us over here, don't keep us waiting." A foreign voice ordered.
Silence.
"This is ridiculous." Another scoffed, shoving forward and kicking open the door. Splinters of wood shot out and Niko lifted her dagger as he walked in. He was tall, tanned. Seriously tanned like no skin was down here. A healthy pink quality to it that screamed surface. He had some sort of uniform on. It was pressed and clean. Unwrinkled. The confidence on his face was disgusting. Niko aimed for his jugular and struck.
But in a flash of movement the man was shoved forwards and metal clashed against metal.
Niko's eyes widened as she stared at him.
Same messy undercut, same pale skin, same silver eyes.
But he wore the same uniform as the man he had just saved the life of. And his wrists were in chains. The same chains he had just used to block the attack of her dagger.
Relief flooded her stomach and she let out a massive breath of air, dropping her dagger and ducking under his arms to attack him in a hug. Levi stumbled back a little but regained his balance and she closed her eyes, head tucked into his shoulder.
"Thank the walls you guys are okay." Nik mumbled, huffing a small laugh. Levi's body stiffened slightly but she didn't think much of it. He had never been a hugger, although he normally gave something back. But she supposed that was difficult in this current moment.
Suddenly the situation came back into focus and Nik realised the four other men had come further into the room. Levi was in chains. Clearly something had gone wrong. She pulled back a little, glancing around. They had closed them in. No sign of Isabel or Furlan. They must be keeping them somewhere else.
Taking down the four of them would be difficult. But even chained, Nik knew Levi would have her back. She reached for the knive she kept in her belt.
"I wouldn't." Someone behind her suggested. Nik pursed her lips.
"Plan?" She asked quietly. Levi wouldn't meet her eye. What was wrong with him?
She'll have to find out after she kills these guys.
"We haven't been properly aqquainted, have we?" She asked, ducking away from Levi and walking over to the one who seemed to be in charge. It's what she was always taught. Take down the leader and chaos should ensue.
He lifted his rifle.
"Stay back, scum." He warned. She laughed, holding her hands up.
"Well that's not very nice, is it?" She asked, tilting her head and smiling. The men shifted, uneased. A few seconds was all Nik needed to formulate a plan. She played it all out in her head. Who had guns and who didn't. Who would shoot and who wouldn't, based on their expressions. Who would retreat when it all got too bloody to handle.
She stepped closer so the barrel was pressed against her forehead, staring at the furrowed face of the man holding the weapon.
"Let's have some fun, shall we?" She drawled, picking up the dagger she dropped earlier with her bare foot, ready to stab it into his calf-
When suddenly, Levi grabbed her arm and tugged her back over to him, making her stumble and drop the knife. She turned to look at him in surprise.
"Stand down." He ordered quietly.
"Levi…" She muttered, confused. He knew she could take these guys. Was he doubting her abilties again. Still? After he was the one stupid enough to get himself caught. To get them both in this situation. "What is your problem with me-?!"
"Furlan's dead."
Her heart sunk into her stomach.
"Isabel too."
Her knees felt weak.
"No." She breathed, staring at his face, pleading. But he didn't falter. And there were no lies in his eyes.
Levi's jaw clenched slightly and he looked away.
"We went outside the walls. They were both killed by titans. The mission was a set up, Erwin Smith knew all about it." He explained numbly.
"Where were you?" Nik asked, her voice shaking as she clenched her fists and forced back the tears.
Levi tensed slightly, looking at her. He said nothing.
"Where were you Levi!?" She yelled at him, shoving him in the chest and he took a step back but regained his balance.
"Oi!" A soldier yelled but Niko paid them no attention, grabbing him by his collar and pushing him into the wall.
"Look at me you coward." I spat. And slowly, Levi lifted his dulled grey eyes to stare at hers. "Where. Were. You." I snarled quietly.
Levi stared at her.
"I wasn't there." He whispered.
Finally the tears fell from her eyes. She choked on a sob and pushed away from him, holding a shaky hand over her mouth.
"You were supposed to protect them." Niko whimpered out, devastated. Levi's eyes saddened and he opened his mouth, stepping forward. She stepped back, horrified. He had promised her. He had swore to her before they left that everything would be fine.
She had begged to go, she had practically begged on her hands and knees because she had this horrible feeling that something wasn't right. But she had fucked up on the last mission, got herself hurt. And Levi said he couldn't risk her fucking up on their ticket out of here. But he had promised her she wasn't needed. That they would make it back in one piece and get the hell out of this shit hole.
"Nik…" He muttered, unsure of what to say.
"Alright, enough of this." The soldier muttered, grabbing her arm and tugging her towards him harshly.
"Get off!" Nik snapped, shoving back but another one grabbed her and held her still while she was slapped in the face. Levi flinched in anger but didn't retaliate. He looked at his shoes and clenched his jaw so hard it looked like it was going to crack.
"Nik, please… just cooperate." He forced out quietly. Nik couldn't think straight, she couldn't see through the grief as she tried to fight back. Her technique was off and her knife was knocked out of her hand before she was shoved face first into a wall and a body pressed up against her back. She panicked, struggling.
The men laughed.
"Fiesty one, huh?" The man pressing into her said, his breath hot on her neck. Nik closed her eyes tight, trying not to show how terrified she was.
"Oi look at him, he's pissed." One of them noticed.
"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't-"
"He's in chains and theres 5 of us. Besides this is a fine piece of ass." The man that held her chuckled, smoothing a hand over her breast, squeezing. Her lips trembled and she blinked out a tear. "Oi sarge, can I have a minute in the back to show some appreciation to this young lady-" He tried to ask but the words fell short.
There was a gasp, a cough. Then a splutter of warm wet liquid against her neck and cheek. The weight vanished and his body hit the ground. Nik stumbled back, looking down. Levi was standing over the body as it convulsed. Her knife- the one she had dropped- had pierced through the solider's neck and out the other side.
A shocked silence rang through the apartment.
The man stopped convulsing.
"He deserved it." Levi said seriously, looking at the sargeant. Said man stared back with wide scared eyes. "Now that we've established these are completely useless, would you mind?" He continued, holding out his chains.
There was a moment of hesistation before the sargeant nodded and a soldier cauciously stepped over, unlocking the chains.
Nik's legs were shaking and she stumbled a little, staring at the blood. She didn't notice Levi until he was next to her, lifting her arms around his shoulders and picking her up, tightening her thighs around his waste. She was still outrageously mad at him but she was too devastated to care about that right now, sniffing and leaning into him, head tucked into his shoulder. He took a moment, stroking a hand down her back and pressing his forehead against her temple.
"I've got you, okay?" He whispered next to her ear. Nik sniffed again, dipping her head in a small nod.
Seemingly satisified with her wellbeing for the moment, he turned back to the men who were pointing their guns at them.
"When I agreed to take you here, Erwin promised me her safety." He started and Nik's eyes widened. He led them here?! "I believe the measures this man forced me to take were unfortunate. But necessary." He glared at the man who struck her earlier. "If any of you touch her again I wont hesistate to put you all down. Because I can."
Silence.
"Now wait here." He ordered before starting to walk away with her.
"H-hey!" One tried but the sarge stopped him.
"Let him, theres no point arguing. He made the deal with Smith, I have a feeling he'll stick to it." Sarge mumbled back. Nik didn't hear anymore as they went into her bedroom and Levi shut the door behind them, leaning back on it. It was quiet now. He let out a light breath, muscles relaxing a little.
"Niko." He whispered. She said nothing. "Baby, please. Please talk to me." He asked, holding her a little tighter. She said nothing. "Okay. Later then." He lamented, kissing her temple and setting her down on the bed while he pulled out a bag and started to pack up her things. Nik stared at her hands, trying hard not to look at the room she used to share with Issy. So much history on only four walls.
Her eyes welled and the tears dripped down her cheeks. Her brother was dead. Her best friend was dead.
And her boyfriend was the coward who lead them to their deaths. It was all too much to process.
Levi didn't fold the clothes like he normally would, a little more frantic in his movements than Nik was used to seeing. She just didn't understand any of it.
"You led them here?" She asked quietly and he paused. "To me." She looked at him. His eyes softened.
"Yes." He admitted. Nik glared at him.
"Why?" She ground out, furious, blinking back the tears. It felt like she had no idea who this man infront of her was. Levi sighed, dropping the bags and coming over, kneeling infront of her.
"Nik, what happened-" His throat tightened and he paused. "It wasn't the plan. But I got a job, a good job on the surface. That's always been the goal. And theyre letting you come with me." He explained calmly. Nik scoffed, standing up and pacing the room.
"The goal? Are you fucking serious?!" She spat at him. "The goal was to get to the surface together. As a family. The goal was to be happy. Not to sell yourself to some pointless suicide bridgade."
Levi frowned.
"That's not-" He raked a hand through his hair. "We can be happy up there. Together." He said seriously. Nik laughed, rubbing her eyes.
"You benched me. You benched me because you were scared. You were a coward." She said, walking over and glaring up at him. "You benched me and you lead my brother to his death." She snarled and Levi's eyes widened. "How could you expect me to stay with you after that?" She asked, a little shakily, a tear slipping down her face.
"Nik… I'm sorry- I…" He swallowed uncomfortably, his eyes looking a little glossy. "I didn't know… shit." He muttered, shaking his head. "It happened so quickly." He whispered.
For a moment her heart ached for him. Wanting to comfort him like he obviously needed, but was too prideful to ask. But she couldn't. He had let her down too badly. And after everything horrible he joined up with the cooperation that killed their friends and led them here for them to beat her and grope her.
"Face it Levi. There's no coming back from this." She muttered, wiping her eyes. Levi swallowed, nodding.
"I understand. If that's how you feel, I'll respect your decision. Once we get to the surface, I wont bother you anymore." He said quietly, picking up her bag and turning to the door. Nik unbolted the latch of the window and felt the breeze waft over her skin. Levi paused and looked back but he didn't have enough time. "Nik." He pleaded.
"I'm sorry." She breathed before jumping out. She caught a washing line and cut the cord at the right moment, swinging and bracing for impact as she smashed into a window of the abandoned building opposite their apartment.
Nik winced as her skin got cut, groaning a little as she rolled before sitting up. Levi was staring at her across the distance with wide eyes, panicked, knowing there was no quick way to get to her. She stared back for a moment. Then she turned and limped away, scared but ready to start her new life.
A.N: This is an idea I've had in my head for a while but I'm not sure if I should keep going with it. Let me know if you want another proper chapter :)