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Several days had passed since you met Levi, Isabel, and Farlan. You’d gradually warmed up to them, and were now on a more comfortable speaking term with Isabel and Farlan. Levi was another story. It seemed that the closer you got to the group, the more he pushed you away. Isabel tried to convince you that that was ‘just Levi,’ so you left the issue alone. The two of you only spoke when it was absolutely necessary, and those times were few. That was good, or so you tried to convince yourself.

Your wound no longer bothered you as much as before, and you could now walk without a limp. Currently, you were soaring above the capital of the Underground with Isabel at your side as she mentored you in your training with the 3DMG.

“Now this is the tricky part, so follow me carefully,” she explains, retracting the wire from where it was attached to a building. She takes out her handgrips, pointing it at a perpendicular wall, and you copy her. She squeezes the trigger, and the wire shoots out once more, the hooks attaching to the second wall. “Under these circumstances, we need to use our gas tanks. They should help-”

Your own wires are already reeling you in, and your body flips once before the tip of your blade digs into the wall of rock. Your body abruptly stops falling, and you balance your wrist and grip on the hilt of the sword to keep yourself from hanging upside down. You look up as Isabel reels herself in beside you.

“Wow, you’re a natural, [First]!” she compliments as you both land on the ground. You smile and thank her, putting away your gear as Farlan approaches you, clapping.

“You’re getting better, [First]. Keep up with that pace and no doubt you’ll be as good as us one day,” he praises, stopping short of you and Isabel. A gentle smile is sported on his face, as he holds up two bags, one for each of you. “But I bet you girls are hungry. Why don’t we call it a day?”

“Hell yeah!” Isabel leaps forward, snatching one of the bags from Farlan’s hands. She immediately begins sifting through the bag’s contents, her face falling when all she pulls out are four loaves of bread.

“All that fancy work for nothing?” she asks, giving Farlan an incredulous look. To your surprise, he chuckles.

“Idiot, don’t be so quick to make assumptions,” he looks at you. “Why don’t you open ‘your’ bag, [First]?”

You give him a weird look but comply, unwrapping the top of the bag. The fabric falls, revealing two round, crimson fruits. Apples. You blink down at them. The last time you had an apple seemed to be forever ago, and looking at them now only resurfaced old memories.

“How’d you get your hands on these?” you can hear the wonder in Isabel’s voice as she peers at the forbidden fruit resting in your hands. “Aren’t these like, impossible to get?”

“I have my ways,” Farlan grins proudly. “I managed to snatch two of them from a snoozing wagon-man. I’ll tell you now, he was not happy to find these gone.”

“Who would be? These are practically considered gold in the Underground!”

“And there’s only two,” you cut in, looking up at Farlan. He blinks at you, then scratches his cheek sheepishly.

“Well, like Isabel said, apples are hard to get a hold of,” he explains, “So I was thinking-”

“Hey, where’s Brother?” Isabel interrupts before Farlan can finish, and it is then that you notice that Levi is not with you. Before Farlan can answer though, another voice interjects – a voice that you know well.

“Right here,” Levi steps in and stands beside you, but he doesn’t look at you. His eyes are on Farlan and Isabel instead, and for some reason, you feel your heart drop to the pit of your stomach. Sure, you don’t know him that well yet, and you know that he’s been and still was reluctant about accepting you from the start, but every time he ignored you, every time he looked right past you, that sense of belonging was driven to the grave.

He made you feel like you didn’t exist.

He made you feel unwanted.

And even though it shouldn’t, it hurt.

“…Anyway, as I was saying, the fruits are for you and [First]. Think of it as a treat for a job well done,” Farlan claps a hand on your shoulder, and you instinctively jump at the sudden contact. He smiles brightly at you, clasping your left wrist and bringing it to your face. “Enjoy it.”

“You’re such a flirt,” Isabel rolls her eyes but weasels the second apple from your right hand. She takes a bite out of the fleshy fruit, giggling as she chews and swallows. “It’s been too long! For once, I have to thank you, Farlan! You aren’t as useless as you appear to be!”

“Hey! I resent that!” he protests, but his expression shifts to surprise when Isabel shoves the bitten apple into his mouth. Various emotions flicker across his hazel eyes, with surprise being the most evident.

“Don’t give me that face,” she smirks at the priceless look on his face, but you can see the soft undertone, “I know when to show my thanks.”

Farlan takes her place on the hold of the apple, biting and smiling.

“Thanks Isabel,” he grins at her, and she reciprocates the look.

“Don’t mention it!”

He chuckles, wrapping a loving arm around her as she weakly protests. You watch their exchange, and you suddenly become aware of the feeling of the apple in your hand. Glancing down at the crimson fruit that Farlan had raised to your lips and remembering the interaction that took place no more than ten seconds ago, your brows furrow and you turn sideways.

“Here,” with your free hand, you reach out to wrap your fingers around Levi’s hand, squeezing slightly when he tries to retract. You push your apple into the palm of his hand, curling his fingers over the fruit before pulling away.

“[First]?” Farlan looks at you curiously, but you shake your head.

“It’s okay. This is the least I can do to show my gratitude. You all saved me after all. So,” you hesitate as you turn to meet Levi’s unwavering gaze, “Enjoy it.”

Levi holds your gaze for once, but his only response is a slow blink. You do your best to remain nonchalant, but internally, you’re screaming.

“Well. It’s good to see you’re more open with the group,” Farlan breaks the tension with a loud clap, walking over to you and placing a friendly hand on your shoulder. “You’re one of us now, [First]. So it’s no biggie. We’re all family here. Right, Levi?” He looks back over his shoulder at the shorter male, who closes his eyes momentarily. For a second, you think he’s about to take a bite out of the apple when he raises the fruit towards his mouth, but instead of that happening, the apple comes sailing towards you. You snatch it midair, just as Levi turns his back to you.

“We’re done for the night. Let’s head back.”

Your attention and feelings drop to the apple in your hands. Did he-

“He doesn’t hate you, you know,” Farlan says as he guides you after Levi and a tailing Isabel. “Just give it time. With Levi, you have to earn his trust. But I’m sure you already know what I mean, [First].”

You look away, nodding as you turn the apple over in your hand. You didn’t fully trust Levi –that much was still true- but at the same time, you wanted him to trust you.

And you were determined to prove your worth to him.